The Washington Post reports today that Jeff Bingaman opened and closed the last of the pro-forma sessions for the chamber in the now-ending 110th Congress. In less than 30 seconds this morning, Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) gaveled to a close a 14-month standoff between Senate Democrats and President Bush, effectively ending the contentious 110th Congress and also blocking any last-minute appointments by the White House. At 10 a.m. ET sharp, Bingaman oversaw the last of the pro forma sessions of the...

Rumors are now swirling that New York Governor may choose a “caretaker” Senator for Hillary Clinton’s seat, as was also diligently reported below by our Editor-in-Chief. In general, this strikes me as a sound plan (and far better than looking at Carolyn Kennedy) but a more alarming prospect would be the idea of Bill Clinton as the caretaker in question. The former president is among several boldface names being touted as possible “caretakers” for New York’s Senate...

Long time TMV author and friend Shaun Mullen makes an interesting proposal in the wake of the Blagojevich appointment of Roland Burris to the Senate. Is it time, as Shaun suggests, to “strip the power of filling Senate vacancies from governors and give that job to the voters, where it belongs?” It’s not the first time, and I’m sure it won’t be the last, but I’m going to disagree with Shaun on this one. First, primarily on general principles, I’m hesitant...

Allow me to send out a hearty congratulations to the excellent political author James Joyner and his wife Kimberly on the birth of Katharine Webb Joyner on Dec. 31, 2008. Pictures are available at the link of the new arrival who checked into the world at seven pounds, six ounces and 18.5 inches in length. Notice how, as with all Good Republicans, James managed to get the kid delivered in time for an extra tax benefit for 2008. (Just kidding ya, James. Congrats and our best wishes to you and the family.)

With the onset of a new year upon us, the time has once again come for clean slates and fresh starts. With that in mind, I think it is high time that I revealed some of the deep, dark secrets which should be brought to light in our new era of hope, change and open government. The largest of these, of course, is Global Warming. You often hear many Democrats talking about global warming as a man-made phenomenon, but blaming it on industrial activity, pollution, and a lack of government controls over...

Both here at TMV and in other locations across the intertubes I’ve been seeing all sorts of protestations, rending of clothing and gnashing of teeth regarding Rod Blagojevich’s decision to appoint Roland Burris to the now-vacant Senate seat once occupied by President Elect Obama, who has himself termed the choice unacceptable. Harry Reid and the Senate Democrats are claiming that they won’t seat Mr. Burris if he is presented. State politicos in Illinois are crying foul, with the...

Over at The Skepticians, James Richardson examines a Christmas gift from Chip Saltsman – an aspirant to the RNC chairmanship – to the various members of the committee. It’s a tasteful gift, providing we remember that “taste” runs a wide range, including “poor.” In an exercise of political suicide, Republican National Committee Chair hopeful Chip Saltsman distributed a controversial CD by conservative satirist Paul Shanklin to national committee members this...

Are you in love with America or is it just a summer fling? This weekend, The Lady Logician takes a long, hard look at this question as she examines a recent column by Joel Stein. The L.A. Times piece seeks to continue the culture wars in America by addressing the question of whether or not conservatives love our country more than liberals do. I don’t much care for blatant generalizations about “The Left” or “The Right” and what they do or don’t do, as if they...

For those of you keeping tabs on Signs of the End Times, I have another entry for your journal. This morning I was awoken at 4:00 a.m. on Dec. 27 in Upstate New York by a thunderstorm with lightning flashing across the sky. This, my friends, is just not right. During the spring, summer and fall, we put up with nonsense like this because: A. It’s warmer B. The streets aren’t covered in ice and snow and C. Sometimes it clears up and you can go fishing. Having thunder and lightning this...

The Washington Post is reporting that embattled Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich’s attorney is asking for investigators to bring in a number of witnesses for a chat, including Obama Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. I’m not sure what Santa may have left in Blago’s stocking this year, aside from the odd lump of carbonized Carboniferous vegetable matter, but he could he be up to something here? An attorney for Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) has asked the legislative panel considering...

I hope you all had a great Christmas, but it’s time to begin burning off that big holiday dinner and get back to work. One story which may have slipped beneath your radar over the holiday was flagged by James Joyner on Wednesday, as detailed in the Politico. As per constitutional dictate, each ten years we have to take a look at the shifting populations of the several states and reapportion their representation in the House accordingly. Initial projections of where we will stand in 2010 are...

To all of TMV’s readers and especially our wonderful commenting community, whether we agree or disagree on the issues of the day, my wife and I would like to wish you all a safe, happy holiday season (and yes, a Merry Christmas) and a happy, healthy, prosperous New Year. Here’s a special greeting from the newest member of our tribe, Max, who my wife continues to embarrass by dressing him up against his wishes.

The police have now conducted a raid on the New Jersey home of New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress. Given the amount of time that’s passed since his last arrest, you might think that he’d have cleaned up the place a bit. Police yesterday seized a small cache of weapons and ammo from the Totowa, NJ, home of troubled Giants star Plaxico Burress, possibly setting up the suspended grid star for more legal trouble, law-enforcement sources said. If the guns are unlicensed, the embattled...

It now seems clear that we won’t know the outcome of the Minnesota Senate race until next year, but Senator Norm Coleman has come forward with some observations which seem downright fatalistic. “I feel fairly confident. In the end, the good Lord’s going to decide,” Coleman told the local Fox affiliate. “The numbers look good to us. Certainly there’s uncertainty. I’m not worried about it. I’ve done everything I can do. I’m not really agonizing about the outcome.” Coleman went...

(Hat tip to Hot Air.) Yes, it seems that scientists truly have run out of things to study. Some Aussie doctors have concluded that bees behave in a similar fashion to human beings when you get them hooked on cocaine. Australian researchers found that bees which had been given a dose of cocaine threw themselves into unusually energetic dance routines, felt compelled to “talk” to their nest mates – and even went “cold turkey” when the drugs ran out. Rather like a cokehead...

The sad and sordid tale of Rod Blagojevich has undoubtedly been an unexpected feast for pundits during a lame duck holiday season which is normally quite dull for observers of politics. The meal has, of course, been particularly juicy for Republicans, exhausted from seemingly endless news cycles devoted to GOP politicians caught in scenarios which ranged from the embarrassing to the outright criminal in nature and hoping for a Democrat to capture the limelight for a while. The troubles of one Democratic...

Following his recent death, pundits were lining up to sing the praises of Mark “Deep Throat” Felt and his role in the downfall of Richard M. Nixon and the Watergate Plumbers Local 107. This weekend I found myself reading a decidedly-different perspective on Felt’s life and times in Clarice Feldman’s column, “Deep Throat: Too Late the Hero.” Feldman brushes straight past the Hollywood figure, depicted as a trench coat and fedora-adorned Captain America, out to...

This week I provide some background to Governor David Paterson’s political history and how a Caroline Kennedy Senate appointment could affect his future in my latest column at Pajamas Media. The Sheriff of Wall Street was a solid contender for the governor’s mansion, but he hailed from the affluent side of the tracks and was several shades too white for his party’s diversity minded handlers. Paterson, being both African-American and legally blind, was exactly what the ticket needed. The...

Rasmussen Reports continues to take the pulse of the nation’s voters and the approaching holiday season sees the approval ratings of Congress once again diving into single digit territory. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of likely voters found that only nine percent (9%) give Congress good or excellent ratings, while 54% give the legislature poor marks. Just one-out-of-50 voters (2%) think Congress is doing an excellent job. The last time the ratings were this low was...

With the holiday season in full swing, I’m sure that you – like most of us – find your thoughts turning to… time travel. While not practical at this time, explorations of the furthest limits of general relativity and quantum physics bring us to the nearly inescapable conclusion that travel through time is almost certainly possible if we could just manage to get one of those pesky wormholes under control. “Aha!” I hear you say. “That’s all well and good...

If New York Congressman Gary Ackerman (D-Queens) was harboring any secret ambitions to fill Hillary Clinton’s senate seat, he effectively scotched them this week. Many local officials and residents expressed outrage Thursday with comments a downstate U.S. congressman made about Utica this week on a radio show. U.S. Rep. Gary Ackerman, D-Queens, said on WOR radio Monday that he wouldn’t want to take U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s Senate seat “because I don’t do Utica, and that’s...

I wonder if anyone failed to see this coming? In one of the craziest elections in American history, he overcame a lack of experience, a funny name, two candidates who are political institutions and the racial divide to become the 44th President of the United States. I suppose I don’t have a problem with this. I mean, in the end, who else was it going to be? Even if Obama had lost the primary and Hillary was currently picking her cabinet appointments, I wouldn’t have been shocked to see...

The Pew Research Center, clearly having a lot more time on their hands now that the election has ended, released a study on people in various age groups who embrace “nontraditional appearance-altering practices.” These modifications included tattoos, dying one’s hair a nontraditional color and body piercings other than ear lobes. I found the results to be a bit surprising, particularly regarding the possibility of skin ink. Only 10% of citizens aged 41 to 64 have a tattoo, while...

Alert the media! This evening, at 8 pm eastern, I’ll be raising a ruckus over at The Rick Moran Show where we will discuss a host of topics, most of which are sure to annoy me and peg the snark-o-meter into the red zone. Ed Morrissey and Doug Ross will also be joining in on the verbal jousting. Stop by for the online chat or call in with your own outrageous views. See you on the radio.

Reports continue to pour in from the chattering class about pushback from both sides of the aisle regarding the possible appointment of Caroline Kennedy to fill Hillary Clinton’s soon to be vacant Senate seat. Allow me to add one more voice to the chorus from the perspective of one who has seen our junior Senator’s seat occupied by persons of questionable qualifications for some time now. It’s not that I hold any particular malice against Caroline nor the Kennedy clan in general....