RAGGED THOTS

• Reality Bites

  Prediction: While it will undoubtedly create a First Amendment hullabaloo, figure that within a year or two, expect more legislation, perhaps starting at the state level, to start addressing reality-TV publicity-seekers. The "Balloon Boy" fiasco was the beginning. Now, with the absurdity of the so-called "society" duo crashing the White [...]
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  Posted: November 30, 2009, 9:31am EST
  

• Paging Michael Dukakis!!

  Does Mike Huckabee face a 'Willie Horton' problem? The suspect in the weekend shooting of four police officers in Seattle received clemency in Arkansas nearly a decade ago. Uh-oh. [...]
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  Posted: November 30, 2009, 9:15am EST
  

• The Light Bulb on Climategate

  Anyone out there still under the anthropogenic Global Warming delusion?It may be difficult to come to terms with the fact you have been duped by some climate scientists, but as the Washington Post reports:Electronic files that were stolen from a prominent climate research center and made public last week provide [...]
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  Posted: November 25, 2009, 4:45pm EST
  

• Old Media vs. New Media

  The social media uber-blog Mashable responds to Rupert Murdoch's floated idea to hook up with Microsoft to take out Google's indexing of Newscorp sites. Obviously, given my day job, I won't comment fully. However, there are two undeniable truths here: As Mashable states, "No, the future is in the web,'" [...]
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  Posted: November 24, 2009, 9:05pm EST
  

• A Pro-Choice RNC?

  A handful of RNC members are trying to impose a certain amount of consistency on Republicans running for office by releasing a 10-point summary of principles. Candidates expecting party support should adhere to at least 7 out of 10. One part kind of jumps out: (9) We support protecting the [...]
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  Posted: November 24, 2009, 8:32pm EST
  

• A Dickens of A Time

  In Washington, DC, it's sorta the "best of times" for Democrats: On Saturday, the "motion to proceed" on health care reform passed along party lines in the U.S. Senate. Despite varying poll numbers, various twists and turns and hours-to-come of debate and amendments, this decades-long legislative desire for the Left [...]
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  Posted: November 23, 2009, 9:00am EST
  

• Rudy's End

  Any slight chance that New York might get a Republican governor next year basically ended with Rudy Giuliani's apparent decision not to run for the office in 2010. There's still some discussion in Hizzoner's camp that he might run for senate against incumbent Kirsten Gillibrand. It's not likely that Giuliani [...]
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  Posted: November 20, 2009, 9:33am EST
  

• Palin Prophecy

  As the Sarah Palin media blitz continues full swing this week, it's not a bad idea to realize how scarily prescient Saturday Night Live was with its skits one year ago. Forget the "I can see Russia from my house" bit. This one a couple days before the election is [...]
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  Posted: November 18, 2009, 9:48am EST
  

• Partying Like It's 1994

  Like the Ghost of Christmas Past, the specter of 1994 haunts the contemporary political scene. The Obama administration is desperate to learn from the mistakes of the Clintons in 1993 and 1994; the Republicans use those years to inspire them to remember how quickly the electoral landscape can change. In [...]
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  Posted: November 16, 2009, 11:45pm EST
  

• Obama's Karzai Konundrum

  Eight months ago, President Obama chose General Stanley McChrystal to chart out a new Afghanistan policy. His primary recommendation was for a "surge" of 40,000 more troops. Wednesday's New York Times outlined three primary strategies for troop increases -- with McChrystal's plan being one of them. : Three of the [...]
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  Posted: November 12, 2009, 11:37pm EST
  

• Wiping Stains Off The Uniform

  Veterans Day should not be a sad day. The day before America pauses to honor the men and women who step and volunteer to fight for this great nation was indeed a sad one. The country was forced to note the awful handiwork of two men who dishonored their country [...]
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  Posted: November 11, 2009, 7:32am EST
  

• Don't Sleep on the Huckster

  Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has managed to extend her 15 minutes of fame. Barely known 15 months ago, she's become the "It" girl of the right in the interim. One week from today, her "Going Rogue" book will be released. Her book promotion tour will include stop with both [...]
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  Posted: November 10, 2009, 9:53am EST
  

• Open Thread

  Hmmm, interesting week! Including a link from the still-influential Mr. Drudge! Feel free to chat amongst yourselves. [...]
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  Posted: November 06, 2009, 8:47pm EST
  

• Presidential Disconnect

  UPDATE: Welcome, friends and foes directed here from the Drudge Report! -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Democrats worried about this week's off-year elections on Tuesday might have reason to go into full-fledged panic after Thursday. The "spin" over the exact reasons why Republicans won governors' races in New Jersey and Virginia [...]
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  Posted: November 06, 2009, 7:32am EST
  

• Changing Winds Of Change

  Consider the two portentous signs Barack Obama received Tuesday. Taken together, they represent perhaps the biggest obstacle yet to passing the sweeping health care reform that consumed most of the energy of his first year in office. Sign No. 1 was Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, chastened by reaction from [...]
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  Posted: November 04, 2009, 10:31am EST
  

• A Promise Unfulfilled

  One year after the exuberant optimism that accompanied Barack Obama's historic election, the nation's mood is considerably different. Conservatives and Republicans are both furious and disappointed that the admittedly liberal senator elected last year has hardly proven to be an individual with whom they can find much ballyhooed "common ground." [...]
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  Posted: November 03, 2009, 7:25am EST
  

• Dede Does Dems

  A whirlwind 24-hour period in New York's 23rd congressional district shows the peril and possibilities for the shaky relationship between the conservative movement and the Republican Party. Saturday morning, a Siena Research poll had Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman leading Democrat Bill Owens 36-35 percent. The official Republican choice, Dede [...]
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  Posted: November 02, 2009, 3:01am EST