Rasmussen published new poll results: Schwarzenegger continues to lead in the race for governor of California, now with 49% vs. 40% that is “a single-point improvement in the incumbent’s favor since last month’s poll.” More: Nearly one-quarter of voters (24%) report “very favorableâ€? opinions of the governor, while only 10% say they feel the same about Angelides. At the other end of the continuum, 25% have “very unfavorableâ€? opinions of Angelides....

You’re out! Homosexual ‘activist’ Mike Rogers seems to consider it to be perfectly fine and ethically correct to ‘out’ a Senator (without any proof except for some anonymous sources). Mike Rogers, who calls himself “the nation’s leading gay activist blogger” has just finished a nationally-broadcast interview on the Ed Schultz Radio Show in which he alleges that Idaho Republican Senator Larry Craig has engaged in same-sex sexual activity. Senator...

Ghazi Hamad, spokesman of the Palestinian government and senior Hamas official wrote an article for the Palestinian newspaper al-Ayyam. In it, he wonders whether violence has become a Palestinian disease. “Has violence become a culture implanted in our bodies and our flesh?” [...] “We have surrendered to it until it has become the master and is obeyed everywhere — in the house, the neighborhood, the family, the clan, the faction and the university.” [...] “(Violence)...

Del Ali reports at the Political Wire: The morning after the 1994 election, while Democrats were licking their wounds, they got kicked again when Sen. Richard Shelby announced that he was switching his party affiliation from Democrat to Republican… There is a realistic possibility that if the Democrats pick up at least five Senate seats on Election Night, several current Republican Senators could switch to the Democratic side of the aisle. Remember, Shelby switched because he felt Democrats...

H/t ‘Interested’ The US population is expected to reach the magical number of 300 million Tuesday: The Census Bureau projects that America’s population will hit 300 million at 7:46 a.m. EDT Tuesday. The projection is based on estimates for births, deaths and net immigration that add up to one new American every 11 seconds. And there is room for more: America still has a lot of wide-open spaces, with about 84 people per square mile, compared with about 300 people per square mile...

Samir Azzouz Haaretz reports that the highly-anticipated trial against 20-year old Dutch Moroccan Samir Azzouz took off today. Samir Azzouz (I love foreign press: we Dutch are not allowed to use his last name that easily, our press calls him, therefore, Samir A.), is charged with planning terrorist attacks. Dutch prosecutors say they have gathered fresh evidence and can now use tougher laws in trying to secure a conviction of Azzouz, whose acquittal sparked discussions about how close a suspect...

Joe published an interesting article earlier today about Bush 41 aids being fed up with Bush 43, that they believe that Bush 43 is destroying his father’s legacy, etc. I just read this great post by Dick Polman about this subject. They feel somewhat emboldened by the fact that 41 alumnus Jim Baker (as I mentioned last Friday) is co-helming an Iraq commission that is mandated by Congress to help the son find some light at the end of the tunnel. But all this intra-family tension will probably...

So I have to write an essay for “American Society”. The topic? America’s biggest problem. I am currently in the ‘brainstorm phase’: just thinking about this topic and trying to come up with a satisfactory answer to the question: what is America’s biggest problem and why? Because most of you are Americans I thought that it might be useful to have some input from all of you and I am hoping that (at least some of) you all would be willing to drop some ideas about...

As Andrew Sullivan points out, in the West we have a tendency to laugh at Kim Jung-Il every now and then, for instance because of NK’s ridiculously sad state of technology or Kim Jung-Il’s porn-obsession. But we should never forget that he does not just pose a threat to us, to the West and to stability in the region, but also to his own people. Make no mistake about it, Kim Jung-Il is one of the most brutal dictators living today. THE North Korean regime’s obsession with racial...

The New York Times reports that Hawaii has been ‘shaken’ by an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.3. ‘with at least a dozen aftershocks’, one of them measured 5.8. Logically “the quakes immediately set off fears of a tsunami.” However, ‘the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a report saying that “no tsunami is expectedâ€? as a result of the quakes.’ More: Power was out in many areas. Emergency management officials were urging residents and...

The Washington Times published a review of Robert Spencer’s new book: The Truth About Muhammad. Andrew Bostom is very positive about Robert’s book and makes it sound like a very interesting and informative read: even when one does not agree with the Robert’s conclusions as to how to best deal with Islam and more specifically and perhaps better said, integration. Andrew explains that Robert Spencer went as far back as possible to analyse the behavior / life of Muhammad, to be able...

Jules wrote another great column for the Boston Herald. Issue at hand? The October Theater of the Absurd. Welcome to the spectacular surprises of October 2006. A tour de force in the political theater of the absurd. He deals with North Korea’s claimed nuclear test first and concludes: North Korea wants a big stage, upon which it can inflate its own importance and set up a good pratfall for the United States. And there are American politicians who want to reward Kim Jong Il’s saber-rattling...

Nobel Prize winner Edmund S. Phelps wrote a very interesting article for the Wall Street Journal. In it he deals with the differences between the economical system in, for instance, the US on the one hand and the one in West Europe on the other. He explains: There are two economic systems in the West. Several nations–including the U.S., Canada and the U.K.–have a private-ownership system marked by great openness to the implementation of new commercial ideas coming from entrepreneurs,...

Crooks and Liars has an interesting video up. Tucker Carlson made extremely clear to Matthews what “Republican elites feel about the Extreme Christian Right”. From the transcript: CARLSON: It goes deeper than that though. The deep truth is that the elites in the Republican Party have pure contempt for the evangelicals who put their party in power. Everybody in… MATTHEWS: How do you know that? How do you know that? CARLSON: Because I know them. Because I grew up with them. Because...

The New York Times has an interesting article up about the FBI: it seems to be struggling to reinvent itself as to be able to fight terrorism effectively.

German police have arrested a 36-year old Iraqi man – Ibrahim R. – earlier today. The prosecutor’s office said that they suspect him of aiding Al Qaeda: “by posting messages from Osama bin Laden and other leaders of militant Islamist groups on the Internet.” Authorities believe the 36-year-old suspect, identified only as Ibrahim R., broadcast numerous audio and video messages from al Qaeda chief bin Laden, his deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri and the late leader of al Qaeda...

Saddam Hussein was thrown out of court earlier today. It seems that the former dictator could not control himself any longer and “began to shout during his trial on charges of genocide against Iraq’s Kurdish population.” He suddenly shouted a verse from the Koran: “Fight them and God will punish them!” he yelled. I am not sure whether you are helping yourself there Saddam. You know, when people accuse you of murdering tens of thousands of innocent human beings, men,...

I was reminded recently of a post I published – when I was still studying law – about just and unjust laws based on Dr. Martin Luther King’s “letter from Birmingham Jail”. I thought that some of you might find it an interesting read as well, so I will republish it here. In his “letter from Birmingham jail” Martin Luther King jr. writes about something he calls ‘just’ and ‘unjust’ laws. He makes a clear distinction between both of...

H/t Interested: Denmark acted on Monday to calm Muslim indignation at a new series of cartoons ridiculing the Prophet Mohammad and advised its citizens against traveling to the Middle East as Islamic leaders condemned the drawings. Muslim anger was roused when a public Danish television station aired amateur video footage showing members of the youth wing of the anti-immigrant Danish People’s Party (DPP) taking part in a competition to draw images mocking the Prophet at a summer camp in August. [...] The...

Down, down, down he goes.

The Washington Post has some, umh, negative news about Virginia Senator George Allen: For the past five years, Sen. George Allen, has failed to tell Congress about stock options he got for his work as a director of a high-tech company. The Virginia Republican also asked the Army to help another business that gave him similar options. Congressional rules require senators to disclose to the Senate all deferred compensation, such as stock options. The rules also urge senators to avoid taking any official...

Yet another American has won the Nobel Prize. “Edmund S. Phelps won the 2006 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences on Monday for explaining the relationship between inflation and unemployment, work that has had a profound impact on macroeconomic policy.” Phelps is a professor at Columbia University and is 73 years old, he “challenged prevailing views in the 1960s by developing a new economic model that has helped corporate and government leaders balance inflation and unemployment...

According to NYT’s DealBook, Google may announce a deal to buy YouTube for 1.6 billion dollars today. “Discussions could still break down, however, or another party could present a more-attractive offer.”

US President George W. Bush has called on the UN to respond to North Korea’s nuclear test ASAP. He described the test as a “provocative act”. He also said that the US does not stand alone in this: China, Russia, South Korea and Japan all agree that the UN should act / respond immediately. He could not yet confirm NK’s claims but said that “such a claim itself constitutes a threat to international peace and security.” Russia, however, did confirm NK’s claim:...

After all the attention he received throughout the conservative blogosphere, Isaac is far more positive now than he was just one month ago: A month ago, I was anxious and depressed. Today, I have an excellent lawyer and my financial worries are gone. Well, although he is close to solving his financial problems he can still use your help. From the 2500 dollars legal fees, he has already received 2000. Only 500 to go. If you could… please consider helping Isaac achieve this amount… As I...