Well, Americans were disappointed when Tony’s family did not die in the final episode of the Sopranos, seemingly Hamas learned from that (and the criticism), and decided to give Farfour Mouse quite a different treatment. In the final episode of the show that featured Farfour (“Tomorrow’s Pioneers”), Farfour dies a violent death. An actor, pretending to be an Israeli official, tries to convince Farfour – who is every Palestinian’s child best friend – to sell...

This is major news: With the second quarter closing on Saturday, Hillary Clinton campaign spokesman Howard Wolfson said in a memo the campaign expects to take in at least $27 million, conceding that Barack Obama will be collecting “significantly” more in April, May and June. The Clinton campaign did not break down how much of that $27 million was for the primary and how much was given for the general election contest. The only figure that counts politically is money raised for the primary...

If I were American, my vote for first lady would definitely go to Elizabeth Edwards. And yes, I am a conservative. What a classy lady.

After a video appeared at YouTube of John Kerry saying he wants to revive the fairness doctrine, the Heritage Foundation responded with a video of their own. If you want to watch both videos and read my thoughts on the Fairness Doctrine, please click here. There is also an interesting discussion going in the comment section of the post.

A lot of Americans complain about the overpartisanship in American politics these days: both sides are more busy fighting and insulting each other, than persuing policies that are actually worthwhile. Sometimes, to an outsider like me, Washington seems to be ruled by little children, who all try to bully each other, and steal each other’s money, instead of by adults who believe in what they do and actually try get things done. If there is one thing wrong with American politics – and,...

Scott Horton wrote quite an interesting column for Harper’s Magazine about US vice president Dick Cheney. Cheney has been under fire for a while now; especially since the Washington Post started publishing a series on him / his vice presidency (of which the last installment was published yesterday). Scott, too, isn’t exactly a fan of Cheney either: Aristotle, writing in his Politics, spends a good bit of papyrus on the question of tyranny. What exactly makes a leader a tyrant, he asks....

The day before yesterday, Matthew Yglesias linked to a report by the Center for American Progress on Iraq, called “Reclaiming Control of U.S. Security in the Middle East.” He read it in its entirety, I only read the summary I am afraid, but it does sound very interesting, so I will try to read more of the report in the coming days (busy busy busy). For now, some excerpts, notes, etc. Of course, I strongly urge you all to read the report yourself. Page 1. “active steps to stabilize...

The following, I thought, might be interesting to all of you: here are the commandments of the Sabbateans. They are, as you all will see, much like the 10 commandments, but they are quite clearly different at the same time. I will copy (literally, including it errors) what the document which was sent to me by before mentioned helpful person on this subject in its entirety: These are the eighteen commandments of our master, our king, our Messiah, his majesty Shabbetai Zevi: 1. The first is that one...

CNN reports that a recently conducted poll has found that support for the war in Iraq is at an all time low: the latest CNN-Opinion Research Corporation poll released Tuesday, 69 percent of those polled believe things are going badly in Iraq. Seventeen percent think the situation is improving. Thirty percent of Americans polled say they favor the war, the lowest level of support on record. Two-thirds are opposed. But there is more – not only are Americans as a whole more negative about the...

Thomas Friedman wrote yet another fascinating column for the New York Times, this time about the blogosphere, the Internet and the impact both have on one’s every day and professional lives. Friedman argues that, nowadays, everone is a publisher: it is incredibly easy for every person to create a blog and to start writing and sharing. It is also very easy these days to make photos, videos, etc. This way, according to Friedman, everyone is a potential publisher and a potential paparazzo. This...

I greatly encourage you all to check out the POMED Wire. The POMED Wire is the blog of the Project on Middle East Democracy. POMED “is dedicated to examining how genuine democracies can develop in the Middle East and how America can best support that process.” To accomplish its goals “POMED will first foster dialogue on political reform and democracy between and among Americans and Middle Easterners.” Furthermore, the organization “will provide accurate and thorough...

The Washington Post published its fourth installment of their series about the most powerful vice president in US history, Dick Cheney. Like the other ones, the fourth part is definitely worth the read. The subject: Evironmental policy. By combining unwavering ideological positions — such as the priority of economic interests over protected fish — with a deep practical knowledge of the federal bureaucracy, Cheney has made an indelible mark on the administration’s approach to everything...

This sounds like an open declaration of war: Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani on Tuesday accused former President Clinton of not responding forcefully enough to the 1993 World Trade Center bombing or later terrorist attacks. The former New York mayor criticized Democrats, accusing them of weakness and naivete in dealing with terrorism. Giuliani made the comments to about 650 business, corporate and political leaders at Regent University, the conservative Christian college founded by...

Governor Mike Huckabee now has his own Blog Talk Radio Show. I greatly encourage all of you to listen to it. Huckabee is, slowly but constantly, rising in the polls in some key states, and he is, perhaps not a potential president (looking at the money), but certainly a potential vice president, and a good one at that. I have to admit that I have a lot of sympathy for Huckabee. I do not agree with him on everything, but he seems to be a good man, who believes in what he does, and he is more of a uniter...

I am very happy to announce that at my blog we are joined today by another columnist. A short while ago, Rich Horton joined us, today Jessica Schneider does so as well. I am very happy that Jessica accepted my offer: she is one of the best writers and critics on the net (and she’s got a great sense of humor). You can read about Jessica here. Besides being a columnist for this blog, Jessica also has a blog of her own, she also runs one of the most successful independent literary websites on...

I read Jeff Gerth and Don van Natta’s biography of Hillary Clinton, Her Way: The Hopes and Ambitions of Hillary Rodham Clinton, and wrote a review about it for Monsters and Critics which can be read here. To say that I am not exactly positive about this book would be quite an understatement. This book was, in my opinion, not a biography but a hit piece, designed to point out Hillary’s flaws (which she obviously has) without pointing out her virtues.

Two articles at my own blog that might interest (some of) you: - Dems Attack Thompson: The Politico has an article up, claiming that the DNC has decided to go after Fred Thompson. As far as I am concerned it is all part of the game and, one thing that bugs me about Thompson: I simpy do not think that he will be a good President. He might be able to win the Republican nomination – who knows – but that does not make him a good president of the most powerful nation in the world. - Useless...

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about a religious group in Turkey called the Dönme, after reading an article about them at Forward.com (Jewish news). Before reading that article, I had never heard of the Dönme, but after reading it, I was fascinated and wanted to find out more about them. Little over a week ago, a person who wishes to remain anonymous, sent me a lot of articles about them, hoping that they would help me understand the Dönme better. They most surely did, so here is my follow-up...

To say that Tom Friedman does not exactly like the energy bill that recently passed the US Senate would be quite an understatement: When you watch a baby being born, after a difficult pregnancy, it is so painful and bloody for the mother it is always hard to tell the truth and say, “Gosh, that baby is really ugly.” But that’s how I feel about the energy legislation passed (and not passed) by the Senate last week. The whole Senate energy effort only reinforced my feelings that we’re...

Good news for Hillary Clinton and Fred Thompson (who has yet to officially announce his candidacy): the two of them lead the polls in Nevada. For the results click here.