This is what happens when you cut over $100 billion from an economic stimulus bill — including $40 billion to help revenue-starved states — for no reason better than wanting the numbers to be smaller:

by Walter Brasch The headlines, pictures, and most of the stories about the Philadelphia Eagles 34–14 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs focused upon backup quarterback Michael Vick. The Eagles fans–desperate for a Super Bowl trophy and proclaiming that since Vick paid his time he should be forgiven–gave him a hearty ovation when he first appeared in the game early in the first quarter. Vick,...

While doing some research on the Afghanistan war for another publication, I soon discovered that there is no shortage of opinions—many of them “expert” opinions—on how to conduct and conclude that war. It made me realize how excruciatingly difficult it must be for the president—faced with an overabundance of advisers and advice—to divine the right policy and strategy to bring that...

Wow, I can’t believe that Chicago isn’t part of the United States anymore. How did that happen? The bizarre coverage of “Obama’s embarrassment” or as I like to call it Rio’s and South America’s triumph only goes to show the state of politics in America. Polarizing. I have always been told that America and Great Britain are very similar- two peas in a pod if you will. We share the same language,...

Pat Bagley, Salt Lake Tribune This cartoon is copyrighted and licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited. All rights reserved.

It’s amazing how many iron-clad truths have reversed themselves since the end of the previous administration:

Since despite having angered President Obama, the Israelis have succeeded in rejecting his demand that they halt settlements on Palestinian land, is it time the Palestinians took a page from Israel’s book and anger President Obama as well? According to K. Selim of Algeria’s Le Quotidien d’Oran, by failing to reject Obama’s request to have his photo taken with Israeli Leader Benjamin Netanyahu...

David Brooks’ column this morning is a guns-blazing assault on Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity and the rest of the conservative talk radio-sphere. As Pete noted earlier, Brooks also has harsh words for those Republicans who ignorantly overestimate the influence of Limbaugh & Co. Let the record also show that Brooks is no more fond of “cynical Democrats, who love to claim that Rush Limbaugh...

I think Ed Morrissey is right, more or less, that a “Left-Right consensus” is “building on Polanski.” I say “more or less” because I think that formulation oversimplifies the situation somewhat. It isn’t so much that both liberals and conservatives are coming out against Polanski and his apologists, it’s that pretty much everyone with a modicum of common decency...

The video: And extortion: A CBS News employee is under arrest for trying to extort $2 million from David Letterman, forcing the late-night host to admit in an extraordinary monologue before millions of viewers that he had sexual relationships with female employees. And arrest: In a statement late Thursday, the network said: “CBS was made aware of an ongoing police investigation involving David Letterman...

I was listening to an old episode of one of my favorite NPR shows and podcasts, Radio Lab. The topic was how we choose and it featured a fascinating and highly disturbing story that has relevance to anyone involved in the Internet today. It turns out that in the world of gambling, the casino chain Harrah’s is the undisputed leader. The reason? All visitors must first join a “loyalty” program. Since signing...

There is no claim so crazy that Michele Bachmann will not make it — no lie so brazenly outrageous that she will not tell it (emphasis is in original):

Continuing our foreign press coverage of the Roman Polanski saga, this news item from Switzerland’s Le Temps reports that an embarrassed Swiss foreign ministry is denying any deal related to the UBS scandal and that the people of Switzerland ‘can be proud’ that Polanski has been nabbed by Swiss authorities. The article also offers a description of how Polanski’s arrest was set in motion. By...

Derbyshire told Alan Colmes on his radio show today that women should not have the right to vote (emphasis is in original):

For those who have been following the European reaction to President Obama’s decision to ditch the Bush-era anti-missile shield, you know that the divide between East and West Europe has been stark. This article by Bartosz Weglarczyk of Poland’s Gazeta Wyborcza, in very cool-eyed fashion, councils Poles on some down home truths and urges people in that nation to accept the inevitable end of a...

Yesterday, I posted on the truth about Roman Polanski, and this was my conclusion: Whatever you think of the cinema and celebrity of Roman Polanski, it is the truth that should matter most, including the truth about what happened over three decades ago. What is that truth? That he drugged and raped a minor, a 13-year old girl (read the sordid details here). That is disturbing — and criminal — but...

As this article from the Romanian newspaper Romania Liberia shows once again – the divide between East and West Europe over President Obama’s decision to cancel the Bush-era missile shield couldn’t be starker. What West Europe regards as a reasoned and rational decision to bring Moscow more into the fold, Eastern Europe regards as naive if not betrayal. For Romania Liberia, Cristian Campeanu...

My last post took note of American arms sellers camping in New Delhi (see here). This post is about the increasing number of expats/professionals (including Americans) who are making India their home, and feel more than welcome here. Dave Prager and Jenny Steeves (photo above), who arrived in New Delhi from Brooklyn in 2007, say: “Unlike most countries in the world, Indians love Americans.” Their...

Newsmax has an article up today by one John Perry, predicting that the U.S. military will intervene to take over the Obama administration (via Talking Points Memo — h/t to njgruber in Comments for the permalink):

Maybe Schiller got out just in time. John Koblin in the NYObserver: On Wednesday, Sept. 30, Arthur Sulzberger will host his annual “State of The Times” meeting for Times employees, which is generally a sleepy and awkward affair with lots of corporate cheerleading. (Last year, Mr. Sulzberger started the proceedings by playing a slideshow touting all of the paper’s accomplishments with Coldplay’s “Clocks”...

Last week, 44 employees of the company that publishes Congressional Quarterly and Roll Call were given pink slips. Today, the newsroom editor, Brian Nutting, was fired for an email he sent to top management demanding to know the reason for the layoffs. Or, to be more precise, he was fired for refusing to apologize for sending the email. Nutting worked at CQ-Roll Call for 27 years, and was very highly regarded...

Another winner from the How to Take Back America Conference:

Lynn Sherr interviews Vivian Schiller, the first woman CEO of National Public Radio, at More.com (a site “celebrating women 40+”). Schiller’s been around — tour guide in the former Soviet Union, programming at TBS, documentary production at CNN and the head of NYTimes.com. Today, she says: I have the best job in the world. I’ve been in four positions since 1988, and each job I’ve...

Is the Polanski case an example of the Euro-American cultural divide striking again? Or is it about Switzerland, worried about its relations with the United States after the UBS debacle, trying to curry favor with Washington? Whatever the cause, the controversy triggered by the arrest and possible extradition to the United States of famed film director and pedophile Roman Polanski is fierce. For France’s...

The Death of a Good Man By Martha Randolph Carr It is startling how much time is being wasted parsing out the motive behind the murder of 51 year old substitute teacher, Bill Sparkman in tones that seem to indicate that some kind of feeble justification exists out there, somewhere. Sparkman was doing his civic duty as a census taker going door-to-door in rural Clay County, Kentucky, when he disappeared only...