Over at The Reaction, co-blogger J. Kingston Pierce takes a look at King's foray into midterm politics here. … [Read more...] about The politics of Stephen King

(Or maybe in Thailand.) I'm fully supportive of the rights of transgendered individuals, but I can't help but find this incident from the zany world of Italian politics amusing: An Italian opposition MP and former showgirl has expressed outrage after meeting a transgender colleague in the parliament's ladies' toilets... The incident led to heated debate about which toilet the … [Read more...] about Only in Italy: The transgendered tale of Vladimir Luxuria

The question has to be asked. I was awakened this AM by yet another pollster. I informed her that I don't speak to pollsters and hung up. I hang up on pollsters and robocalls every day. My friends with Caller ID or Privacy Manager don't even answer the phone. So, just how reliable and useful can polls be? … [Read more...] about Are Polls Useful?

Lest we forget, we ought to be ever mindful of the human cost of the ongoing war in Afghanistan, forgotten Afghanistan. From Reuters: A leading human rights group on Monday urged NATO to do more to avoid civilian casualties in Afghanistan, saying reports of increasing civilian deaths were "turning the local population against" the Western alliance... Afghan authorities are … [Read more...] about Civilian deaths in Afghanistan

Yesterday we did a post (see post chain link below) on progressive talker Stephanie Miller getting a death threat. Since some readers noted that they haven't heard her, we found this GREAT You Tube clip (before she got her threat) where she talks about Air America's bankruptcy and talk radio in general. If you haven't heard Miller (you can listen to some of her show via her … [Read more...] about Meet Threatened Talk Show Host Stephanie Miller

So if the Democrats win one or both houses of Congress and get back on the road to power, ending divided government, will there be a big transformation? The Christian Science Monitor doesn't think so:In poll after poll, prospective voters name Iraq as the No. 1 issue in the upcoming midterm elections. So if voters tip one or both Houses of Congress out of Republican control, … [Read more...] about What A Democratic Win Would Mean To Iraq Policy

The always independent Citizen Smash doesn't mince words when he takes a look at the contributions or lack of thereof by baby boomers:IF YOU'RE A BABY BOOMER, stand by. I'm about to p-p-put you down. You may be the most insufferable, self-centered, and irresponsible generation in American history. Oh, one-on-one, some of you are tolerable. But as a group, I can't stand you. … [Read more...] about Did The Baby Boomers Screw Up American Politics?

In show biz, performers are often warned that they can be overexposed to the extent where the public no longer considers seeing them novel or it even works to their disadvantage. Is that what's happening in this poll?President Bush's popularity has not been buoyed by a series of public events in recent days, a new CNN poll suggests. Bush's approval rating hovers in the high … [Read more...] about Stumping Isn’t Helping Bush In Polls

Hmmmmmmmmm:At least two dozen federal judges appointed by President Bush since 2001 made political contributions to key Republicans or to the president himself while under consideration for their judgeships, government records show. A four-month investigation of Bush-appointed judges by the Center for Investigative Reporting reveals that six appellate court judges and 18 … [Read more...] about Things That Make You Go Hmmmmm Dept.

I wrote up a little post the other day about how important GOTV is in close elections. Well, here's a little article about five commonly held myths on GOTV. Many of them have floated around these parts. In a summary of the article at MyDD, the five myths are: 1) Voter turnout is lower than previous decades. This is a myth because it fails to take into account the rising … [Read more...] about Five Myths about GOTV

Battlestar Galatica: The next frontier of legal research? I don't actually watch the show, but any fans are welcome to have at it in the comments section. … [Read more...] about The Law of BSG

Very pertinent now: North Dakota Found To Be Harboring Nuclear Missiles. Possibly the best Onion article ever. Meanwhile, I received Destined for Destiny, the unauthorized autobiography of George W. Bush today. It's also by a writer for The Onion, and receives credit for best title of a book in quite some time. … [Read more...] about Democratic People’s Repulic of Dakota

That COULD actually be happening. Normally we would make a (lame) joke about you believing the Easter Bunny will visit your house and leave some nice, colorful eggs if you believe that. But it could be happening.... FOOTNOTE: Note that polls are see-saws during campaign season, especailly in these two races. And we may see them change several times. The old cliche is true … [Read more...] about Is Negative Campaigning Backfiring This Year?

Americans earn more yet spend less according to the US Commerce Department: Instead, they put aside more of their income — or at least, borrowed less and drew down assets less. As a result, the personal savings rate in September, though still negative, was less so than it has been in a year and a half. The Commerce Department reported today that personal income in September … [Read more...] about Incomes Rise, Spending Does Not

Perhaps, according to this interesting piece in Saturday's Globe and Mail: "Some speculate the world's second-most wanted man, a pioneer in the use of suicide bombings and martyr videos, has become the group's new No. 1.": "Ayman al-Zawahiri prefers to be the second man; he feels it's the most effective position," said Mohammed Saleh, editor-in-chief of Egypt's al-Hayat … [Read more...] about Is al-Zawahiri now al Qaeda’s #1?

The Pakistani army announced earlier today "that it had destroyed a religious school used for training militants in the Bajur tribal area, which straddles the border with Afghanistan. The attack killed at least 80 people, the military said, describing them as militants. The strike started at about 5 a.m. local time, when helicopter gunships fired missiles into the religious … [Read more...] about Pakistani Army Attacks Madrassa Killing 80

Total Donations: $2,092 Total Legal Fees: $2,500 John left a comment at Old War Dogs, once again drawing attention to the case of (now former) Liberty and Justice co-blogger Isaac Schrodinger. Here it is: "FOURTH DOWN, GOAL TO GO (The case of Isaac Schrödinger) I have posted before about Isaac Schrödinger here. He is now within what ought to be easy striking distance of … [Read more...] about Update: Please Help Out

Someone mailed a typed death threat to Stephanie Miller, one of the funniest (and most talented) progressive talk show hosts on radio today. She had a short lived late night TV show some years ago and today has a radio show that is packed with not just info and her political views but crammed with one liners, drum rolls and political satire. It's moves so quickly it's almost … [Read more...] about A Progressive Talker Gets A Death Threat

By now you may all know that NBC has refused to air national ads for the new Barbara Kopple documentary on the Dixie Chicks, Shut Up & Sing, which looks at the aftermath of the Dixie Chicks' lead singer Natalie Maines's now notorious remark during a concert in 2003 that the Chicks are ashamed that President Bush is from their home state of Texas. To me, this is about free … [Read more...] about Show your support for the Dixie Chicks

This is sad news in terms of the human cost and bad news for the GOP a week away from elections:The October death toll for U.S. soldiers in Iraq reached 101 as National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley made an unannounced visit to Baghdad today to consult with Iraqi officials. The tally makes October the fourth deadliest month for Americans since the U.S.-led invasion in March … [Read more...] about U.S. Deaths In Iraq Hit 101 Mark For October