Covered at Hot Air. Begging the question, of course, does this preclude a 2012 presidential run? I guess so. I mean, we know she’d never walk out on a job with time left on the commitment.

The recent focus on terrorism concerns and national security casts a rather odd light on a little reported story playing out in Saugerties, New York, a little hamlet along the Hudson River in the state’s 22nd congressional district. There we find Emilio Maya, an immigrant from Argentina, along with his sister, his wife and their small child embroiled in a battle with the ICE. (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) As the linked article tells the story, Emilio is a hard working man who runs...

Good Lord, you just have to LOVE New York City! I know I do. The Health Department is always looking out for the needs of their citizens, most recently by issuing a pamphlet teaching you the proper way to be a junkie. I’m sure that many of you, like me, could be very confused about how to mainline smack, should you try to do so. What am I… a doctor? Never fear… this helpful guide will walk you through the process and start you on your way to a safe, happy career path as a heroin...

I’d hate to have to work at the TSA these days. A thankless job on the best of days and responsible for horrific disaster when you fail. Some of their rules make sense, while others are just plain silly. We take a bit of a more light hearted look at the TSA today in my latest column at Pajamas Media. Please enjoy and share you own suggestions here as to how they could do things better.

Perhaps the “teens” will be known as the Scrimmage Decade. One of the chief characteristics of the 2008 election – aside from the primary battles, of course – was a rather unified front among the bloggers, the talking heads on television and the politicians themselves. There were sporadic exceptions, of course, such as the never ending, quixotic campaigning of Ron Paul’s minions and Hillary’s PUMAs, but for the most part it was a big love festival among the R’s...

When governors give their annual State of the State address, much like the president’s State of the Union, it’s generally an occasion for self-indulgent praise and swelling the ranks of mutual admiration societies. Not so in New York this year, where Governor David Paterson took to the podium to scold the state legislature – both houses of which are controlled by his own Democratic Party – for the way they have spent their way to the precipice of disaster. We can debate the...

Picked this up via Twitter from several people (H/T Ed Morrissey) but it seems that Michael Yon, independent photojournalist who has done a ton of work in Iraq and Afghanistan, was detained and handcuffed at Seattle airport for not answering pressing national security questions such as… how much money he earns? When they handcuffed me, I said that no country has ever treated me so badly. Not China. Not Vietnam. Not Afghanistan. Definitely not Singapore or India or Nepal or Germany, not Brunei,...

In the history of pointless ideas in politics, this one should not come as any surprise, except in terms of how pointless it seems. MSNBC is reporting that Congressional Democrats will seek to skip the normal conference committee process to combine the House and Senate versions of the health care bill and try to get one identical bill passed in each chamber which both can agree on. Bill pong: All the attention on failed terrorist attack, as well as the likely attention on the economy this Friday,...

More change in the air from Rasmussen. Total number of Democrats in the country falls. Republicans gain a tiny amount, but stay essentially flat. In December, the number of Americans identifying themselves as Democrats fell to the lowest level recorded in more than seven years of monthly tracking by Rasmussen Reports. Currently, 35.5% of American adults view themselves as Democrats. That’s down from 36.0 a month ago and from 37.8% in October. The number of Republicans inched up by a point in December...

With all apologies to Dean Martin, the people in Britain don’t seem to be exactly thrilled with mother nature at the moment. People normally used to “brisk” are finding themselves dealing with conditions more often found in the parking lot outside of a late season Buffalo Bills football game. But everybody deserves a shot at a winter wonderland once in a while, don’t you think? Britain facing one of the coldest winters in 100 years, experts predict Britain is bracing itself...

So Time Warner and Fox have come to an agreement, at least for the time being, to continue bringing the various Fox channels to subscribers. Oh, good. In case you’re wondering who the winner is in that little staged drama, it’s both of them. There’s only one loser, and that’s you. You’re going to wind up paying more than you were before yet again. Except now, when they jack up your rates, they have provided themselves with the convenient fig leaf of saying, “But...

Disclaimer: This is primarily amusing speculation with not a shred of evidence to support it, though absolutely possible, but I needed something amusing for a lazy New Years day at home. I followed a tweet from Steve Benen this morning to an article of his at the Washington Monthly because the subject was pretty funny. The title is, “THEY NEVER LEARN” but that wasn’t nearly as humorous as the tweet, which said, “Dear conservative bloggers reviewing WH visitor logs: sometimes,...

I had to check the date to make sure it wasn’t April Fools day instead of New Years Eve. Why? Because it’s so rare to see a politician these days who actually seems to grasp the basics of government spending during a disastrous fiscal period such as the one we’re in now. Fresh from YouTube, an encouraging interview with Minnesota Governor and 2012 presidential hopeful, Tim Pawlenty. PAWLENTY: In Minnesota, we need to do things like prioritize military spending, veterans programs,...

You knew it was coming, I’m sure. Every Tom, Dick and Harriet with a pencil or a keyboard is probably assembling their own list of the political news stories which shaped the news in 2009. Never being one to shy away from running with the herd, I’ve assembled my own and you can find it this morning at Pajamas Media. But when you’re finished with that, I thought it might be fun to take a moment here at TMV and pick over some of the tidbits which didn’t make the cut. One name...

I’m getting rather bored with the blame game this week, and thought perhaps we could begin winding down the year here at TMV with the Name Game instead. It’s a topic which I’ve seen crop up in passing on a few web sites and talking head discussions on television, but I don’t believe any consensus has been reached. What’s it all about? We referred to the period from 1970 through 1979 as “the seventies.” The next two decades were the “eighties”...

I’ll be co-hosting The Rick Moran show this evening from 8 to 10 pm eastern for your end of the year or end of the world listening pleasure. Stop in and feel the love!

An interesting, if somewhat inflammatory article comes to us today from Barbara Kay at Pajamas Media, in which she calls upon “the West” (however we are to define that term today) to ban the burqa and nix the niqab. She pulls no punches and comes right out of the gate praising France and Nicolas Sarkozy (of all people) for their attempts to ban the primarily Muslim full body covering for women in that country. President Nicolas Sarkozy had called for a ban on the public wearing of the...

And when he does, he never, ever comes back. Before I head out on my Christmas break to visit relatives partake in the usual holiday celebrations, there is one last Christmas present to bring to all of you. We found out earlier this month that President Obama was planning on taking some of the TARP funds which are either left over from the initial allotment or flowing back in from banks repaying the loans for a job stimulus plan. Some of the more pessimistic among us (such as, well… me) initially...

I really don’t understand these people sometimes. Out here in New York, Eric Massa is releasing a special video right before Christmas Eve which will likely not come as a very nice present in the Christmas Stockings of our troops overseas. Washington, D.C.- Today House member Eric Massa (D-NY 29th District) renewed his call for an “up or down” vote on funding for the additional 30,000 troops to Afghanistan that was announced by President Obama. It has been eight years since Congress...

It’s the day before Christmas eve, and what am I doing? Am I hanging festive lights on flammable pieces of shrubbery? Wrapping last minute gifts? Sharing a cup of hot cocoa with visiting relatives? No, I’m not. I’m reading and re-reading and re-re-reading sections of this stupid, behemouth Senate health care bill which I’m quickly growing to hate just for its length and horribly lawyerficated language. What sent me back to it yet again this time was a pair of complaints from...

Deja Vu’ is a cruel mistress, as I’m sure most of us with a few gray hairs have figured out by now. But in the wake of the crumbling health care debacle … (I’m sorry – “debate”) it’s hitting some of us awfully hard today. I couldn’t help but notice quite a few supporters of Obamacare ™ chiming in with their mournful regrets about the Senate filibuster. These include the always enjoyable Steve Benen, chiming in on Paul Krugman’s column...

Was it really that bad when Al Franken, holding the temporary gavel for the health care debate, told Joe Lieberman, “I object?” As with most things in the political arena, it seems to depend on who you ask. Today I have a new column up at Pajamas Media where I look at some of the history of U.S. Senate floor fights and what this one might mean for Franken’s future efforts in the upper chamber. But with that in mind, I’ll pose a question for the populace. The Senate, as I note...

As the Senate prepares for yet another post-midnight vote under cover of darkness to pass a bill which underwent a massive revision only hours ago, observers on both sides of the aisle should take a moment to count their blessings on this score, limited though they may be. Back during the summer I took part in a panel discussion with a few people, including Rick Moran and Ed Morrissey, where I predicted that Congress would eventually pass something with the words “health care” stamped...

For the last few weeks of the year, regardless of the heated debates going on in Washington and the various crisis situations plaguing the nation, I will be writing a bit less than usual. (You may have noticed a slowing of output already.) This is nothing unusual for me, as this is a season for some of us to focus on things closer to home, friends and family. But before those final shopping days slip away, I wanted to share a few things with our readers and extend my heartfelt wishes for a safe,...

That pressing issue of major importance to all rational beings is the subject of my latest column at Pajamas Media today. Bernanke? Really? And Obama didn’t even make the top five on their list. But should it have been? I examine that question, along with why anyone would have nominated Sarah Palin, and further invite our good TMV readers to chime in below on who deserved to make the list, who didn’t, and who should have won. Who was naughty? Who was nice? Political Santa wants to know!