It's raging. It's flaring. It's spreading. In light of emails linking his office closely to shutting down lanes of the George Washington Bridge in what looks like a hack partisan revenge move, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christy was t-h-e political story yesterday. And the conventional wisdom was spreading full blast. By the end of the day some written and broadcast pundits were … [Read more...] about Avoid Conventional Wisdomitus: Don’t Count Christie Out (Yet)
Dreher on Gates/Obama
Rod Dreher comments on Robert Gates' memoir in The American Conservative. On Afghanistan: Is it just me, or is this nuts? Obama’s judgment of the sleazy Karzai was correct, Obama knew the war was unwinnable, Gates thinks Obama made the right calls — but he faults the president for not being a True Believer? As if George W. Bush’s unwillingness to reassess American strategy … [Read more...] about Dreher on Gates/Obama
Rodman apologises for N. Korea outburst, blames drink
Rodman apologises for N. Korea outburst, blames drink (via AFP) Former NBA star Dennis Rodman apologised Thursday for his televised outburst about a US missionary detained in North Korea, explaining that he had been stressed and drinking at the time. Rodman was roundly criticised for his angry tirade in an interview… … [Read more...] about Rodman apologises for N. Korea outburst, blames drink
Chris Christie’s role in GWB bridge scandal questioned in wake of newly revealed e-mails
Chris Christie's role in GWB bridge scandal questioned in wake of newly revealed e-mails (via NJ.com) TRENTON — The release of a stunning series of e-mails implicating his administration in the controversial lane closures at the George Washington Bridge last September leave Republican Gov. Chris Christie weathering his first major political scandal… … [Read more...] about Chris Christie’s role in GWB bridge scandal questioned in wake of newly revealed e-mails
Invasion of the Political Entertainment Media Body Snatchers
(Sigh.) And so we see another example of a cable political personality's previous branding bite the dust. Another apology. Another brand altered. This time it was MSNBC's Melissa Harris-Perry, the writer and political science professor at Tulane University. When her weekend show debuted on MSNBC last spring some called it dull. She recently urged her panelists to be funnier … [Read more...] about Invasion of the Political Entertainment Media Body Snatchers
Sam’s Best Movies of 2013 (Guest Voice)
Sam’s Best Movies of 2013 (via SFBay) After 365 days of quasi-voracious moviegoing, I consumed 123 new releases in 2013. Naturally, when you experience anything that many times, one is bound to run into extreme highs and lows. While the general public had to endure yet another abhorrent… … [Read more...] about Sam’s Best Movies of 2013 (Guest Voice)
Defining the NSA’s role
WASHINGTON -- President Obama's anticipated reform of the National Security Agency's practices needs to go beyond ending the mass surveillance of innocent Americans' phone calls. He should force the agency to think less about the quantity of information it gathers and more about the quality. Obama should ignore the choir of apologists singing in lamentation over the … [Read more...] about Defining the NSA’s role
Chris Christie’s handling of George Washington Bridge scandal veers from his norm (Guest Voice)
Chris Christie's handling of George Washington Bridge scandal veers from his norm (via NJ.com) TRENTON — There’s a reason why Gov. Chris Christie is one of the nation’s most popular politicians. People believe he tells is like it is. But Christie’s response to the scandal over the closure of lanes to the George Washington Bridge draws… … [Read more...] about Chris Christie’s handling of George Washington Bridge scandal veers from his norm (Guest Voice)
Christie offers short statement saying was “mislead” by staff member on bridge scandal
Faced with new emails that suggest one of his closest aides called for closing some lanes on the George Washington Bridge in a political revenge move, New Jersey Chris Christie has issued a four line statement saying he was "mislead" by a member of his staff. Initial reaction -- on blogs, among radio and cable pundits -- suggest the rapidity of the statement, its brevity and … [Read more...] about Christie offers short statement saying was “mislead” by staff member on bridge scandal
Fournier Counters Woodward
Frequent Obama critic Ron Fournier compliments the President after his preliminary read of former Defense Secretary Robert Gates' book in The National Journal. In what Bob Woodward called a "harsh" judgment of President Obama, former Defense Secretary Robert Gates writes of the commander-in-chief adding troops to Afghanistan over the objections of his political team, … [Read more...] about Fournier Counters Woodward
BREAKING: Two Helicopters Down (Updated)
Update: The 48th Fighter Wing Public Affairs, Lakenheath, England, has released the following information: Capt. Christopher S. Stover, Capt. Sean M. Ruane, Tech. Sgt. Dale E. Mathews, and Staff Sgt. Afton M. Ponce were the HH-60G Pave Hawk aircrew members killed in a crash on the Norfolk coast in England Jan. 7. An HH-60G helicopter carries a four-person aircrew: … [Read more...] about BREAKING: Two Helicopters Down (Updated)
Drunken 9 year old in New Zealand who smokes weed at skatepark (Video)
The old saying is you need a license to drive, you need a license to get married -- but no one needs a license to have kids. And some should. There's an uproar in New Zealand, with dismay spreading throughout the world due to the Internet, over a 9 year old shown in a video who's drunk and also smokes weed. No, it isn't funny. No it isn't cute. It's a kid at risk and posing … [Read more...] about Drunken 9 year old in New Zealand who smokes weed at skatepark (Video)
Gates Opening Up: Long-Hidden Ego Has Landed
The first question about the former Defense Secretary’s memoir is timing. For someone who prides himself on patriotism, why now? In a flurry of leaks, advance excerpts and reviews, Robert Gates has put the President and his White House on the kind of political griddle he professes to abhor. In his book, Gates says he “bristled at what's become of congressional hearings, … [Read more...] about Gates Opening Up: Long-Hidden Ego Has Landed
Americans rejecting Republican party (or are they lying to Gallup?)
There's no lack of irony in the fact that two top stories today are political haymaking in New Jersey and a record percentage of Americans telling Gallup that they are political party independent. Combine that with a record low saying that they are "Republicans". Here's what folks are saying on social networks and blogs. Christie 2016 pic.twitter.com/nofNUYoEBq— … [Read more...] about Americans rejecting Republican party (or are they lying to Gallup?)
Nepotism in Defense of Torture
Andrew Sullivan on Liz Cheney's abrupt exit from her Wyoming Senatorial race on The Daily Dish. But can we please, please find a way to limit the role of pure nepotism in American politics? I know it’s as old as the republic, but it’s just one of those weird, strange things in a country of well over 300 million people, with a robust and rowdy political scene, that it picks the … [Read more...] about Nepotism in Defense of Torture
Gallup: Record-High 42% of Americans Identify as Independents as GOP Identification Plummets
A new Gallup Poll finds a record number of Americans are identifying themselves as political independents, Democrat Party identification unchanged, and identification with the Republican Party going south. The bottom line: look for the 2014 mid-terms to be more unpredictable than ever: Forty-two percent of Americans, on average, identified as political independents in … [Read more...] about Gallup: Record-High 42% of Americans Identify as Independents as GOP Identification Plummets
Bob Woodward’s Embarrassing Robert Gates Book Review (Guest Voice)
Bob Woodward's Embarrassing Robert Gates Book Review (via http://crooksandliars.com) By John Amato January 7, 2014 10:59 pm Former defense Secretary Robert Gates penned a new book about his time in the Bush and Obama administrations and Bob Woodward twisted himself in knots trying to smear Obama. Robert Gates has just written a new… … [Read more...] about Bob Woodward’s Embarrassing Robert Gates Book Review (Guest Voice)
Earrings (Cartoon)
See great cartoons by all the top political cartoonists at http://cagle.com. To license this cartoon for your own site, visit http://politicalcartoons.com … [Read more...] about Earrings (Cartoon)
Dennis Rodman Sings Happy Birthday To BFF Kim Jong-Un (Video)
Dennis Rodman Sings Happy Birthday To BFF Kim Jong-Un (via Sky News) Former US basketball star Dennis Rodman has led a team of retired American players in a game to celebrate the birthday of the North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un. The match in North Korean capital Pyongyang is described by organisers as a "birthday present… … [Read more...] about Dennis Rodman Sings Happy Birthday To BFF Kim Jong-Un (Video)
Christie in trouble: Emails Link Top Christie Aide To George Washington Bridge Closure (UPDATED)
Has the political success story of New Jersey Chris Christie now hit a vehicle-destroying speed bump? It sounds that way :The Record reports that emails tie a top Christie aide to the lane closures on the George Washington Bridge that many believe was done to retaliate for Christie's problems with Fort Lee's mayor in Christie's re-election bid: Private messages between … [Read more...] about Christie in trouble: Emails Link Top Christie Aide To George Washington Bridge Closure (UPDATED)