Blogger Patrick Frey has recently revealed details of how he was nearly murdered for being Conservative While Blogging. As I read this story, I had a creeping sense of horror. And my oft-stated sentiment that maybe I made a mistake ten years ago by blogging under my own real name became a genuinely fearful reaction. Really, this should be called terrorism. I’ve been known to call some people who comment...

UPDATE: Safely in the U.S. — in “the heart of Greenwich Village” — Mr. Chen held “the kind of open-air news conference that he could have never imagined while under virtual house arrest in China,” says the New York Times. Speaking through a translator, Mr. Chen said, “I hope to see that they continue to open discourse and earn the respect and trust of the people.” Some additional excerpts...

If you’re independent, you won’t be voting today in Idaho… Poor poor Michael Russnow, can’t find Dianne Feinstein’s name in the “clutter”! … WI Gov Walker failing with indies… Americans Elect failing… Christine Quinn plays it safe to get the 2013 NYC Mayoral… CA TOP TWO California Primary Ballot Hodgepodge: We Need a Return to Voting By Party...

President Obama recently announced he was in favor of “Gay Marriage” but added that it was up to the 50 states to decide. He simultaneously did not mention his position on the repeal of the 1996 Federal law called “The Defense of Marriage Act” (DOMA – Codified in 1 USC Sec. 7 & 28 USC Sec. 1738C). DOMA permits each state to ignore the acts and laws of other states when it comes to recognizing...

When Obama fought for the repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy from the time he assumed the Presidency until its repeal in September 2011, he took many political risks. It took courage and he did the right thing. When Obama made the decision one year ago to go after Osama bin Laden, he took tremendous risks. If anything had gone wrong, if the daring mission had failed, he could...

The New York Times is reporting that the “would-be suicide bomber dispatched by the Al Qaeda branch in Yemen last month to blow up a United States-bound airliner was actually a double agent who infiltrated the terrorist group and volunteered for the suicide mission,” according to American and foreign officials. The Times: In an extraordinary intelligence coup, the agent left Yemen, traveling by...

Despite his dreadful human rights and anti-democracy record, Vladimir Putin’s first decrees as President could help to reverse centuries of socio-economic backwardness compared with the West and trigger better lives for Russians-in-the-street. They could also give cause for trepidation by triggering changes in the geopolitical balance among the US, Europe, China and Russia. In the ornate room from which the...

Germany’s Angela Merkel will sleep less easy tonight because the French people have confirmed their opposition to her austerity programs for all Europeans except Germans by electing Francois Hollande as their new President. Tom Janssen, The NetherlandsThe Merkel-Hollande clash will occur soon since she is the first foreign leader he will meet after his swearing in by May 15. He is also likely to clash with...

There has been a flurry of accusations that the Obama administration botched the case of blind Chinese dissident lawyer Chen Guangcheng when he was, for all practical purposes, “handed over” to the Chinese earlier this week without concrete assurances that he would not be prosecuted, persecuted, or worse. Chen, who has protested China’s laws on forced abortions and sterilizations of women — part...

It is now “wheels-up” at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, for Air Force One taking the President of the United States home after a secretive, whirlwind trip to the war front to salute the troops, sign an agreement with Afghan President Hamid Karzai on post-war expectations and make an address the nation on the future of that long war. For those who were not able to watch President Obama’s address to the...

UPDATE II: “The surprise trip was a closely guarded secret, kept by White House officials and members of the White House press corps — as is customary with presidential trips to war zones.” — for the security of the President (added by author) Read here how the rumors and news were handled by the media and the White House. UPDATE I: The New York Times now reports: On Surprise Visit to Kabul, Obama...

Buzz Feed gets it almost right, but the tense is wrong: Will The Navy SEALs Swift Boat Obama? —  The operators’ resentment is real.  And their criticism could undermine the president’s clearest-cut victory, the slaying of America’s most notorious enemy.  —  President Barack Obama making a statement on the death of Osama bin Laden on May 1, 2011. Gee. On May 1, a British tabloid smearer...

Rupert Murdoch is filthy rich and has amassed enormous political power in Britain, the U.S. and Australia that would have made even Citizen Kane blush, but he has never attained and now never will attain the one thing he has most wanted — respect. In an extraordinarily damning report released today, a select Parliamentary committee concludes that Murdoch is “not a fit person” to run his huge...

What kind of person is Dania Londoño Suare, the woman at the center of one of the biggest scandals to hit the U.S. Secret Service since its inception under President Lincoln in 1865? Reporter Jerly Calvo Licero of Colombia’s El Espectador interviewed neighbors, the cab driver that drove her home after she was reportedly stiffed by her Secret Service client, and even a man who painted her apartment. For...

UPDATE: While Rick Santorum still refuses to officially endorse Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich has finally done the right thing — in addition to suspending his foolhardy campaign. Mr. Gingrich plans to officially endorse Mr. Romney’s candidacy after suspending his own efforts next week. Newt Gingrich called Mitt Romney today (Wednesday) and told him that he would suspend his presidential campaign next week...

A final, final update for tonight — and it has to be on the “unstoppable” Newt Gingrich. AJC.com reports: Newt Gingrich said he was rethinking his bid for the presidency after another series of disappointing primary showings Tuesday night, but he stopped short of dropping out. Gingrich, the former U.S. House Speaker from Georgia, maintained that he was committed to bringing conservative ideas to the...

UPDATE II: It is not clear from subsequent reports on the Blackhawk helicopter crash last Thursday in Helmand province, Afghanistan, whether the four crew members killed were medics or crew in a helicopter flying along a medevac helicopter on a mission to pick up Afghan policemen wounded in a bombing. Regardless, the helicopter was a “fallen angel” in aviation parlance and the four crewmembers were all...

Tomorrow is Earth day. Did you notice? The New York Times didn’t mention the fact in today’s edition of the paper. Neither did the Wall Street Journal. Nor did the Los Angeles Times, though it did have a short piece about German environmentalists and nuclear power in their coutry. Come Earth Day itself, of course, some notice of the natural environment will be on view. Doubtless the Obama Administration...

As of Tuesday, April 17, 2012, at least 1,810 members of the U.S. military have died in Afghanistan as a result of the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, according to an Associated Press count, and 15,672 U.S. service members have been wounded in hostile action, since the start of U.S. military operations in that country, according to the Defense Department. Since Osama bin Laden was killed —...

The New York Times, my favorite newspaper, has won two 2012 Pulitzer Prizes, one for its reporting on Africa (INTERNATIONAL REPORTING: Jeffrey Gettleman) and another for an investigative series on obscure tax code provisions that allow wealthy corporations and citizens to avoid paying taxes, (EXPLANATORY REPORTING: David Kocieniewski). I was also pleased that The Huffington Post — an online news outlet...