Unless there's an incumbent president or vice president in the race, the Republican Party always nominates the second-place finisher from the last primary. That's the conventional wisdom, anyway, and it goes all the way back to sad sack Thomas Dewey, the butt of the greatest YA BURNT photograph in US political history: Dewey was actually … Continue reading It’s probably still not Rick Santorum’s turn

At Arms Control Wonk, Michael Krepon has written a great piece comparing the skepticism over Hasan Rouhani's outreach to the West with the skepticism that greeted Mikhail Gorbachev's similar overtures in the 1980s: The Reagan and Bush administrations were initially caught off-guard by Gorbachev’s rhetorical flourishes and diplomatic initiatives. US intelligence community assessments, shaped by … Continue reading Sometimes it’s OK to take the other guy (or lady) at his (or her) word

Atrios, on Jay Leno: Leno's an asshole because too much of his comedy involves punching down. Ratings demonstrate lots of people like that, but I didn't. Glad he's outta there. Over at Balloon Juice, DougJ expands on "punching down": More and more, I’m inclined to group everyone I encounter, whether on teevee screen or on … Continue reading On people who are paid to punch down

Stunning news out of Egypt: Hosni Mubarak Gamal Abdel-Nasser Generalissimo Francisco Franco Field Marshal Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi is planning to run for the presidency: Sisi is expected to secure a landslide victory in the presidential elections, having earned a cult status among many Egyptians. Well, something tells me he'll manage to secure a landslide victory regardless … Continue reading “Roads? Where we’re going, we don’t need roads.”

The most controversial thing to come out of Sunday's Super Bowl wasn't the lopsided score, or some halftime accident exposing our precious children to the horrors of the partially nude female form, or even the fact that Peyton Manning's habit of choking in playoff games* is suddenly something we're allowed to talk about. No, the … Continue reading I’d like to buy the world a Coke, and then tell it to SPEAK ENGLISH

In a move with fairly wide-ranging implications for global Islamic terrorism and the Levant region, Al-Qaeda Central (AQC) has issued a communique denying any link between itself and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). As you know, ISIS has been embroiled in a civil war within a civil war, in recent weeks spending … Continue reading You ain’t never caught a rabbit and you ain’t no friend of mine

As I wrote a few days ago, I was away over the weekend, taking advantage of a long school weekend to take my daughter to visit her grandparents (FYI posting may continue to be a little light for a while; I want to be able to start writing about what's happening in Russia and Ukraine, … Continue reading Sail on, silver girl, sail on by

Hey, Republicans? I know i give you guys some grief around here, but, sincerely, heck of a job last night. What? No, really, you guys definitely came off looking good, not unhinged or insane or anything like that. I thought your criticisms of President Obama were incredibly trenchant, even poignant. Your foreign policy critiques were … Continue reading The State of the Republican Party is…TOTALLY EXTREME

We're lucky to have been given an advance copy of Senator Rand Paul's State of the Union Response. Senator Paul has been a good friend to this blog, and we are grateful for his continued support. Here is Senator Paul's speech, in its entirety: My fellow Americans, I speak to you tonight in frank terms … Continue reading EXCLUSIVE: Full Text of Rand Paul’s State of the Union Response

Proof that the good don't necessarily have to die young, folk legend Pete Seeger lived to the ripe old age of 94 before passing away peacefully yesterday evening. One of this blog's categories is the title of a Pete Seeger song, so it seems appropriate to mark his passing here. The 60s were a bit … Continue reading Pete Seeger, 1919-2014