Informed Speculation

I got most of my partying out of my system, and these days I’m the kind of guy who, without ever swearing off alcohol completely, enjoys a quite occasional drink or two and not much else. Even when I did engage in heavier consumption, though, New Year’s was always a bit risky for a [...]

…this time from Alec Baldwin (yes, that Alec Baldwin), and it involves hurricanes, global warming, and an impeachment (but not that one you’re thinking of). Read on, if you dare…

The first Jackass of the Year, Micheal Moore, was an easy pick. He neatly symbolized the ‘progressive’ strain of politics that proved so fatal to the Democrats’ hopes for regaining the White House, and it certainly didn’t hurt that he is a pompous serial liar and a complete moral hypocrite.
This year’s pick is more [...]

…is illustrated handsomely by W. C. Varones…

This is getting more ridiculous by the day:
The White House said Friday its Web tracking technology is consistent with federal rules because it only counts the number of visitors anonymously and doesn’t record personal information.
The White House’s site uses what’s known as a Web bug — a tiny graphic image that’s virtually invisible — to [...]

No, it’s not my Jackass of the Year (coming up later today or this evening); it’s even worse! How bad is it? Well, the runners-up are Robert Mugabe, Alexander Lukashenko, and Muammar Qaddafi…can you guess the category and winner? The answer is here (free registration may be required)…

In the midst of a harangue on what a joke our congressional representation has become, Bob Novak sheds light on what happened during James Sensenbrenner’s refusal to grant the six-month extension of the Patriot Act the Senate had passed earlier this month:
This bizarre Senate session reflects a general decline on Capitol Hill. If there [...]

That’s the speculation from Germany’s Spiegel Online, based largely on reports from unnamed sources and close parsing of travel itineraries:
…”western security sources” claim that during CIA Director Porter Goss’ Dec. 12 visit to Ankara, he asked Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to provide support for a possibile 2006 air strike against Iranian nuclear and [...]

Who’s the funniest Supreme Court justice? Adam Liptak has the answer (but most of these ‘jokes’ – well, you really had to be there, I bet)…

In the wake of an energy crunch in Iraq caused by terrorist threats on tanker drivers, the Oil Minister has been asked to take a leave of absence – and guess who was named to temporarily fill the position? That dastardly Cheney has done it again!…

James Lileks channels his future self, and presents us with a preview of next year’s end-of-year wrap-up:
The New York Times, fresh from reporting the self-destruct codes for the American spy satellites that had inadvertently listened into 15 pay-per-view porn orders from cable subscribers in Omaha, revealed that U.S. subs have been violating Chinese territorial waters [...]

…from Ann Althouse, including this gem:
“What are you, some redneck blogger pig?”– Claire Fisher on “Six Feet Under” (to her boyfriend, when he defended the war in Iraq)
That’s good stuff; I’m glad I’m not one of tho- hey, wait a minute!
I represent that remark…

Chris Cillizza’s WaPo blog is becoming an essential resource for political junkies. Today, he looks back on ‘05 as it related to 2008 hopefuls. Read the whole post, but his best and worst I would largely agree with: Mark Warner and Bill Frist.
What about the worst, on the Democratic side? I would [...]

Can’t find a link yet, but the Justice Department has announced it will investigate the leak of the NSA eavesdropping program. More later…
UPDATE 10:13 a.m.: From the Associated Press:
The Justice Department has opened an investigation into the leak of classified information about President Bush’s secret domestic spying program, Justice officials said Friday.
The officials, who [...]

NRO and the Anchoress have a look ahead at the year that will be…
My predictions? Decision ‘08 will surpass Daily Kos to become the most popular political blog. Howard Dean will resign as head of the DNC and take over as head of PETA. Bono will quit U2 and join the Backstreet Boys, [...]

Dennis Overbye, author of the excellent Einstein In Love, has a fascinating piece in the NY Times on the first experimental data to achieve the ‘cat’ state. Schrodinger would be so proud – or would he be chagrined? In any event, enlighten yourself and check out the link…

…from the Washington Post. My favorite:
“Matt, Matt, Matt, Matt, Matt, Matt, you don’t even — you’re glib. You don’t even know what Ritalin is. If you start talking about chemical imbalance, you have to evaluate and read the research papers on how they came up with these theories, Matt, okay? That’s what I’ve done. [...]

…reads the hilarious Huffington Post headline, referring to the story I covered earlier. This dastardly technique is known as the ‘cookie’. And, in fact, here’s a blockbuster for you – Huff’n’Puff uses ‘em, too, and this blog, and virtually every site on the Internet. It’s been clear for quite some time that Huffington [...]

…please consider reading Michael Totten’s piece in L.A. Weekly on his visit to Libya. It’s an oddly moving account of the cultural, social, and political desperation that sets in under totalitarian regimes. Highest recommendation on this one…

… – and we have been, haven’t we? – Chris Cillizza’s WaPo blog shows why, in his words, “polling is equal parts science and art”. Two pollsters, two party affiliations, same results, different interpretations. Read it and enlighten yourself, grasshopper…
A far more substantive poll is on the verge of being pretty much tossed, [...]