In the small village of Endicott, located in Upstate New York, we find Lloyd Knecht III, a man who is fed up with “the government under President George W. Bush and Congress trampling on citizens’ rights for the past eight years.” Rather than sitting still in the face of continued outrages, Knecht is striking a blow for liberty and personal freedom. How is he doing this, you may ask? By refusing to let those damned firemen come in to his heating and air conditioning business and...

James Reynolds is an experienced actor with an extensive career. He is probably best known for his Emmy nominated role as Abe Carver on “Days of our Lives” but has also performed in the theater and appeared in a number of big screen films including “Mr. Majestyk” and “Fun With Dick and Jane.” As author and film critic Betty Jo Tucker points out, his work and background extend beyond that. Recently named Chairman of the Department of Veterans Affairs 2009 National...

As we reported earlier, the saga of the recently perforated New York Giants wide receiver, Plaxico Burress, continues to unfold and the story just gets curiouser and curiouser, to quote Alice. With that in mind, we thought it would be appropriate to bring you up to date on the latest news and responses from around the web. The Big Apple’s Mayor Bloomberg has weighed in on the subject and he is not a happy camper. The NYPD first found out about Plaxico Burress’ bone-headed accidental self-shooting...

We’re pleased this week to welcome a fresh entry in the political new media community in the person of James Richardson and his new web site, The Skepticians. James was the Republican National Committee’s Online Communication Manager for the 2008 Presidential election, supporting John McCain’s bid for the White House and was instrumental in providing many bloggers and new media pundits of all stripes with unparalleled access to the GOP campaign. With all of the discussion regarding...

It seems that the New York Giants’ former hero of Superbowl XLII, wide receiver Plaxico Burress, will not be lining up with the offense at Fed Ex Field during today’s meeting with the Washington Redskins. His prospects were already doubtful as he’s nursing an injured hamstring, but we can forget it entirely now, since it seems he managed to shoot himself in the thigh at a nightclub in Manhattan on Friday night. Burress was involved in what the Giants are calling “an apparent...

A recent survey of Americans conducted by Rasmussen seems to indicate that the popularity of the Pledge of Allegiance (never really all that unpopular) is on the rise. Seventy-seven percent (77%) of U.S. voters say school children should say the Pledge of Allegiance every morning at school, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. Just 13% say they should not, and nine percent (9%) are undecided. Eighty-two percent (82%) say the words “under God” should remain in the Pledge...

How horrible of a person might you have to be to take any pleasure from a person suffering a broken jaw? I may be one of the most horrible people in the world. You are invited to use this as a TMV holiday Friday open thread and abuse my lack of basic humanity at your leisure. Or… whatever else is on your minds.

This is a question posed by Politico’s Carol Lee today in, Bidentity Crisis: Where’s Joe? More than three weeks into the transition, and Vice-president elect Joe Biden generates less buzz than the non-existent first puppy. The vice president-elect has not spoken publicly since the election, and was at Barack Obama’s side just once this week as the president-elect delivered a series of grim news conferences on the economy. In terms of Obama’s cabinet appointments and the evolving...

You know, it seems like it was only last week when I was reflecting on one of the positive aspects of Hillary Clinton’s possible appointment as Secretary of State, that being the fact that we here in New York would finally get our other Senate seat back. (Ok, it actually was last week.) But now a couple of sadistic editorialists at the Washington Post have taken it upon themselves to ruin my holiday meal before I even get a chance to eat it. Send Bill Clinton to the Senate Amid the blizzard...

I normally follow the unwritten rule around here of, “In the name of all that’s good and Holy, don’t link to Drudge!” but this article was simply too delicious to pass up. RUSSIAN ANALYST PREDICTS DECLINE AND BREAKUP OF USA A leading Russian political analyst has said the economic turmoil in the United States has confirmed his long-held view that the country is heading for collapse, and will divide into separate parts. Professor Igor Panarin said in an interview with the respected...

Yes, this is another column on the Freedom of Choice Act. (FOCA) This week finds an article in Slate by Melinda Helleberger getting all sorts of folks – including friends of mine – up in arms over the prospect of FOCA being passed by the strengthened Democratic majority in Congress and immediately signed into law (as promised) by then President Barack Obama. What do they foresee as the possible net result of this? Catholic hospitals around the country (comprising up to a third of all...

As the tenure of the 43rd president draws to a close, George W. Bush has issued another set of 14 pardons and two sentence commutations. (You may view a complete list here.) The specific details seem to provide little satisfaction on either side of the political divide, being mostly little-known criminals convicted of either drug trafficking or bank fraud offenses. Critics of the Bush administration on the Left seem to be disappointed that none of the high-profile, GOP-friendly names which were anticipated...

While I knew a number of these would be coming along all through the winter, (after the GOP lost an election that wasn’t exactly a squeaker) I’ll confess I felt a bit of nostalgia and empathy upon reading Sophia Nelson’s Lost Republican Love Song in the Washington Post this weekend. Much of it is predictable for those of us who have suffered through the same recriminations and regrets in the past, but a few highlights are worthy of mention. After such a devastating loss, Republicans...

On this date in 1980 Mt. St. Helens in Washington State blew its top. A friend of mine who lived in nearby Yakima mailed us photos of people with shovels clearing out ash from their driveways and sidewalks as if it were an early snowfall. Area residents, much like the rest of the nation, were in shock, not really comprehending the nature and scope of the disaster. Many seemed unaware that the volcanic debris was never going to melt away in the spring and would have to be removed in trucks. While...

If this Associated Press release is to be believed, the nomination of Hillary Clinton to head up the State Department is all but a done deal. WASHINGTON – President-elect Barack Obama plans to nominate Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of state after Thanksgiving, a new milestone for the former first lady and a convergence of two political forces who fought hard for the presidency. One week after the former primary rivals met secretly to discuss the idea of Clinton becoming the nation’s...

As the debate raged over Card Check during the 2008 election, I kept waiting for somebody to put it in perspective. Surely, I thought, I had been bedazzled by some sort of Right wing trickery. After all, I reasoned, Unions battle on behalf of the worker, keeping the hob nailed boot of management off the collective throat of the middle class. (I should note that this is not sarcasm. I come from a union family and was, for a time, a member of the I.B.E.W. after leaving the military. I’m also...

If’ you’d like a short break from politics, I will be manning the co-pilot’s chair this afternoon for a special holiday edition of Movie Addict Headquarters with author and film critic Betty Jo Tucker. We’ll be talking to film critic Nell Minow about some of the classic holiday films of all time, both new and old. Nell Minow writes as “The Movie Mom” for Beliefnet. She has been featured in USA Today, Parents, The Chicago Tribune and other publications as well as profiled...

Let’s take a quick poll here and have a show of hands if you didn’t see this one coming. CNN is reporting that Joe Lieberman looks to be a “shoe-in” to keep his chairman’s seat on Homeland Security and stay in the Democratic Caucus, while being “punished” by losing some less prestigious position. Predictably, his opponents in the Democratic base who are still boiling mad over his endorsement of John McCain and attacks on Barack Obama, are up in arms. Um,...

Today is an anniversary which often passes without notice, but in true American style, we should honor it here lest we ever forget. Forty years ago today, on Nov. 17, 1968, the New York Jets were barely leading in a pitched battle with the Oakland Raiders, hanging on to a slim 32-29 lead. There was still 65 seconds left on the game clock, but NBC television executives were looking at the real world clock instead. It was 7:00 pm on the East Coast and there was a decision to be made. They made that...

Today, James Joyner takes a look at how Barack Obama may soon have to give up his Blackberry, a difficult task for an avowed technophile. The chief problem here is the Presidential Records Act. In addition to concerns about e-mail security, he faces the Presidential Records Act, which puts his correspondence in the official record and ultimately up for public review, and the threat of subpoenas. A decision has not been made on whether he could become the first e-mailing president, but aides said...