Possible Louisiana Senate candidate (and porn star) Stormy Daniels may be learning just how dangerous the political arena can be. (Or maybe not.) It’s being reported that her political adviser had his car blown up this week, and there’s even video of it after the jump. A political adviser to Stormy Daniels, the porn star who’s considering a Senate run in Louisiana, told a New Orleans TV station Monday that someone bombed his car. Brian Welsh, who wasn’t hurt in the incident,...

There’s been a plethora of coverage, both here and elsewhere, of the “Gates-Gate” affair currently choking the news cycle to death. Of course, most of these people are choosing to focus on “teachable moments” and the “status of black-white relations” and blah, blah, blah, blah. Sadly, what most of these analysts are missing is the good news underlying the affairs of the last week, and that is that racism, while perhaps not entirely dead, is on its last legs...

As we’ve discussed in the past, Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight.com has proven himself to be a political prognosticator of extraordinary skills since his debut on the scene. This may only come in second to his abilities in scoring major league baseball. Of course, when he wanders off into other areas, such as global warming, his platform as an analyst can go a bit pear shaped, but we shouldn’t hold that against him. That’s why I was looking forward to reading his analysis of how...

Coming up shortly, I’ll be one of the guests on The Rick Moran Show to discuss the birther movement and the state of health care reform today. For those of you here screaming at me recently on either of these issues, you can stop by, call in, and scream in person if you wish. Follow the link for details. See you on the radio!

It seems that the mortgage troubles of two Democratic Senators – Chris Dodd and Kent Conrad – just won’t go away. (Let’s remember, Dodd was the same one who claimed he had no idea who inserted a clause in the stimulus bill to allow AIG executives to collect huge bonuses, and then later recalled that it was him.) After assuring us that he never received any special, preferential treatment from Countrywide lenders, a different opinion on the subject has emerged from, ummm…...

Following our last discussion on the Franking Commission, I did a bit more digging on the history of Franking. There were also more nuggets buried in the news containing quotes from the various players involved in this mess. With that in mind, I invite you to read my latest column, currently up at Pajamas Media, titled The Franking Sign Monster. As always, your witty observations are welcome.

As a freelance pundit and political addict, I must pause to bow my head and give thanks for one small thing. Even after Sarah Palin stepped down from the public stage, we’ll always have Minnesota, home of Jesse Ventura, Al Franken and… our favorite member of Congress for high comedy. Today, Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-HI) introduced a resolution commemorating the 50th anniversary of Hawaii’s statehood. The resolution also proclaims the state as President Obama’s birthplace… Just...

Nancy Pelosi is a woman on a mission. We may not know exactly what that mission is or where these train tracks end, but she’s on a path. America, having had more than sufficient time to observe her leadership as our first female Speaker of the House, has registered a rather overwhelmingly negative view of her performance to date, but would a little thing like that bother Pelosi? No way, Jose’. Nancy Pelosi on being unpopular: ‘I don’t care’ House Speaker Nancy Pelosi...

It seems that Orly Taitz will be showing up on The Colbert Report this week. She will doubtless have her own certified United States birth certificate on hand. Aside from the delicious entertainment such a meeting promises, we should take this chance to attempt predicting some of the highlights. A lot of this will depend on the rationale of Taitz for accepting the interview. Is she simply unaware of Colbert’s format and nobody has had the heart to tell her that he’s not actually an adjunct...

Scientists are now worried that machines will grow smarter than human beings with upcoming advances in artificial intelligence. Impressed and alarmed by advances in artificial intelligence, a group of computer scientists is debating whether there should be limits on research that might lead to loss of human control over computer-based systems that carry a growing share of society’s workload, from waging war to chatting with customers on the phone. Their concern is that further advances could create...

The Obama administration recently unveiled a proposal which would make changes to international tax law in the United States tax code. The general thrust of this effort would be to reduce tax avoidance by American companies for overseas investments and resources and reduce the incentive for expatriating profits and jobs. An excellent nine point summary of the plan can be found in this International Business Law Services article. Here are a few of the key bullet points: Deny immediate deductions...

When exactly did the Franking Commission become part of the Democratic Party? Somehow, though the tradition of “franking” dates back to the English House of Commons, I don’t think very many people saw this coming. First they shut down the mailing of a graphic with a flow chart about health care on it, and now Rep. John Carter of Texas has been informed that he can’t record a telephone town hall introduction message with the awful, America endangering phrase, “government...

In entry number 752 of my ongoing, 4,000 part series of baseless and despicable attacks on Sarah Palin and her family, we find the soon to be ex-governor’s popularity heading for non viability as she packs her bags to evacuate the Alaska executive mansion. A new Washington Post – ABC poll seems to indicate a definite pattern in changing views towards Mrs. Palin, and they’re all heading in one direction. As Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin prepares for the next stage of her political career,...

This was disappointing to be sure. Even after the Democrats ran up the white flag and admitted there would be neither cap and tax nor health care reform prior to the August recess, Roy Blunt (R-Mo) initially informed us that the GOP wouldn’t bother offering their own alternative to reforming health care. (Hat tip to the Plum Line.) “Our bill is never going to get to the floor, so why confuse the focus? We clearly have principles; we could have language, but why start diverting attention from...

Yesterday we discussed the refusal by the Secret Service to provide a list of health care executives who had visited the President at the White House to discuss policy changes. Shortly after President Obama’s presser, as promised, the list was delivered. I would like to retract my previous comments and simply say, well done, Mr. President. That’s what we need to see. By following the link you can see not only the full list, but the dates when they visited. In case you don’t recognize...

Long time readers will recall that I was one of those annoying dogs yapping at the heels of Dick Cheney when he had all those secret meetings with oil industry executives while establishing U.S. energy policy. I differed from the Bush administration’s position that executive privilege shielded the content of those meetings, as well as the industry attendees. Yes, I’m sure the fact that I was opposed to the Iraq war might have factored into my curiosity about the meetings, since we were...

I’m trying very hard to give a good chicken butt who the Surgeon General is, though it may wind up being a futile battle. Yes, the SG is technically in charge of the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and has some vaguely defined duties in the event of a health emergency, and they can put warning labels on your smoke and your booze. But they never really seem to do very much. Still the office exists, and as with any good governmental function, it needs to be filled, I suppose. So now...

I had the sad experience today of moderating an online chat during an interview with Nick Gillespie of Reason TV and yet another screed on how awful it is if people should actually ask their government to “Buy American.” (Featured earlier today on Hot Air.) Nick’s primary modus operandi was the usual distraction of saying that some products (gasp!) have a lot of foreign made parts in them, followed up with a generous dose of bashing the Obama administration for having the nerve...

The Washington Post reports a glimmer of hope for 2nd amendment supporters this week, as several moderate Democrats may be lining up with the GOP to back a provision which would ensure the rights of gun owners in states with permissive laws when they travel across state lines. Senate Democrats are scrambling to defeat a Republican-backed provision that would allow gun owners to carry their weapons across state lines, overriding the stricter laws of many jurisdictions and giving preference to states...

As the Rochester, Minnesota Post Bulletin reports, a major manufacturer of ethanol, is hoping for a government waiver which will allow more ethanol to be blended into the gasoline you purchase at the pump. Richard Eichstadt is hoping the federal government will give the green light to blending gasoline with 15 percent ethanol. Eichstadt is the general manager of POET Biorefining in Preston, one of several ethanol plants in Minnesota that could benefit if the percentage of ethanol is gasoline is...

Since it seems to be the week for space news, dramatic photos are emerging of what appears to be the results of a major impact on Jupiter. Scientists have found evidence that another object has bombarded Jupiter, exactly 15 years after the first impacts by the comet Shoemaker-Levy 9. Following up on a tip by an amateur astronomer, Anthony Wesley of Australia, that a new dark “scar” had suddenly appeared on Jupiter, this morning between 3 and 9 a.m. PDT (6 a.m. and noon EDT) scientists...

Everyone loves a good science fiction film where heroes set forth boldly to battle asteroids, comets, aliens or The Borg. On the anniversary of our first steps upon the moon, it’s easy to fall into that old longing for adventure, heroism and exploration. But should we be pushing for a manned mission to Mars rather than further robotic explorations? Or even a permanent manned base on the moon? That’s the subject of my column this week at Pajamas Media, where I discuss the incredible risks...

Please. Make. It. Stop 2012 Match-ups: Obama, Romney Tied at 45%; Obama 48%, Palin 42% It’s not even nine months since the last election. Really. I can’t take it. I think the only reason those numbers look the way they do is because they failed to offer all of the most likely responses. “If the election were held today, would you…” 1. Vote for Barack Obama 2. Vote for Mitt Romney 3. Vote for Sarah Palin 4. Shoot yourself. Number four came in at roughly 68%. We can’t...

I only noticed this story, for which I can find no suitable adjective, because it was highlighted and responded to by Rick Moran at Right Wing Nuthouse. It’s from Free Republic honcho Jim Robinson, who apparently is unhappy with the performance thus far of President Obama and the Democratic controlled Congress, and seeks a remedy to this untenable situation by marching millions of people to Washington, D.C. and overthrowing the government. We have reached the point where the government’s...

We saw plenty of it both during and shortly after the election, but as with most cycles, it died down pretty quickly afterward. Oh, you missed it? I’m talking about the tempting, low hanging fruit of blaming independents and third party candidates for your fortunes after you get your ass absolutely kicked in and handed to you on a platter in the killing fields of the political arena. But today, watching the fumbling, crumbling remains of the national Republican Party in this nascent era of...