Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum is in the news today for commenting on his Google problem: Try it for yourself: Enter “Rick Santorum” into Google. In a fraction of a second you’ll have hundreds of thousands of results. But two of the top four cite a graphic definition for a sexual neologism. In this case, the neologism is a reference to anal sex. This, of course, is no accident. Santorum himself...

In “The Iraqi Phoenix Rises Again,” I described how the once proud and powerful Iraqi Air Force (IqAF)—at one time the sixth largest air force in the world—was decimated as a result of both the 1991 “Persian Gulf War” (Operation Desert Storm) and Saddam Hussein’s desperate concealing, disassembling and “stashing abroad” of its remaining aircraft before the 2003 U.S. invasion...

Several bloggers on the right are criticizing Nir Rosen for engaging in an extended Twitter exchange trivializing and making fun of what happened to Lara Logan. I’m going to single out Jim Geraghty’s comments for quoting, because I feel that he makes the point without engaging in partisan name-calling or ad hominem attacks:

Last week, President Obama, in a letter to surviving relatives and friends of 28 patriots evoked a tragic accident that occurred 50 years ago in the Atlantic Ocean 85 miles off New York City. In the letter, the president recognized the 28 men who died when Texas Tower No. 4 (TT4) collapsed into the ocean during a violent storm the night of January 15, 1961: “Our nation is grateful for the dedication, pride,...

New controversies about inclusion and exclusion in American life bring to mind Groucho’s dictum, “I don’t want to belong to any club that takes people like me as members.” At a recent meeting of social psychologists, 80 percent defined themselves as politically liberal, leading to a broader debate about under-representation of conservatives in academia. On a more parochial level, nasty...

Kate Sheppard writes in Mother Jones about a bill under consideration in the South Dakota legislature that would expand the definition of “justifiable homicide” to include actions taken to prevent the death of an “unborn child.”

She waited seven months to do this, so obviously she’s given some thought to it. Or maybe she wanted to give Breitbart a chance to apologize, or in some way acknowledge the harm his irresponsible actions did to her, professionally and personally, or maybe at least take the defamatory video off his site, but to date he has done none of those things:

Jodi Jacobson, editor-in-chief of RH Reality Check, finds a couple of bright spots in Pres. Obama’s proposed budget for FY 2012:

Don’t bother, they’re here (emphasis is Steve’s):

Here’s hopeful news that will lift the spirits of all Americans who have a heart: one month after being shot, Gabrielle Giffords is briefly talking — and mouthing the lyrics to songs. The operative question now is whether the hopes that this further raises match realistic medical realities. But hope has reason to spring eternal: Representative Gabrielle Giffords, an eloquent speaker before she was...

How many of us remember our first young love? Probably quite a few. However, if that first romance occurred some 70 years ago, how many would still remember it well enough and still cherish it deeply enough to write a screenplay for a movie celebrating such love? That is exactly what 90-year-old, World War II veteran John Tschirhart has been dedicating virtually every waking hour of his life to for the last...

Like I said, if George W. Bush or any of the current Republican contenders for the White House were there right now, this mentality would not be confined to the nutcases who show up at CPAC — it would be driving U.S. policy toward Egypt and in the Middle East in general.

How many people plant an expression in the English language that half a century later becomes shorthand for the state of the world? As Obama’s dilemmas on the economy and the Middle East are labeled “Catch-22s,” I recall my friend Joseph Heller whose novel of that name has become shorthand for no-win situations of insane proportions. Back then, Joe seemed an unlikely candidate for immortality–a...

The Trust Women Political Action Committee reports on its website:

That’s the question that Bob Herbert ponders, in his column today:

To use his words, they’re “not pretty” (emphasis is mine):

Just as Tunisia ignited Egypt, how far will their example go in the wider Arab world, where many join in celebration of Mubarak’s overthrow? Could Iran be next? A parallel comes to mind from half a century ago. Just as social media played a big role in this month’s events, TV in its infancy enabled the civil rights movement in the U.S. The young protesters in Cairo, with no formal organization,...

Unless you are Glenn Beck you probably see the demonstrations in Egypt as a revolt against tyranny.  I suggested here a few days ago that it might be more about unemployment and the skyrocketing price of food.  I’m not alone in thinking that. The western media may be obsessing with social media but believe me this isn’t the thing you are focusing on if you don’t have enough to eat. Egypt,...

President Obama has just given his reaction to the momentous and fast-moving events in Egypt. Some of his comments: There are very few moments in our lives where we have the privilege to witness history…The people of Egypt have spoken. Their voices have been heard… Egypt will never be the same…This is not the end of Egypt’s transition. It is the beginning…Egyptians have made it clear that...

Update (15:20 ET) The Washington Post: The People of Egypt Have Spoken In an address from the White House, President Obama said the “people of Egypt have spoken, their voices have been heard and Egypt will never be the same.” He likened the relatively peaceful ouster of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to the fall of the Berlin Wall and to the advances of the American civil rights movement. Invoking...