Informed Speculation

…than Basic Instinct II? Highly doubtful…even Showgirls was twice as high on the Tomatometer…

…as if you had ever been held hostage for three months by militant Islamists with a penchant for beheadings (and I’m talking to you, Debbie Schlussel) – I present the following:
Video of kidnapped journalist Jill Carroll the night before her release is now being characterized by her employer The Christian Science Monitor as propaganda she [...]

Continuing my look at Senator Arlen Specter’s hearing Tuesday on NSA Surveillance…

At least that’s the plan of the Capitol Police:
Capitol Hill police are expected to seek an arrest warrant next week for Rep. Cynthia McKinney of Georgia, who was involved in a physical confrontation with a Capitol police officer Wednesday, police and legal authorities said Thursday.
Officially, the investigation of the incident, in which the DeKalb County [...]

Thanks to ____ (you know who you are) for providing me with the transcript to Arlen Specter’s FISA Hearing on Tuesday. Here are some random highlights and observations.

And to those who express similar sentiments: Jill Carroll is not the enemy. The right to dissent is a precious one, and the fact that you bash her on the day she was released from nearly three months in captivity is, frankly, a disgrace. It is a happy day when ANYONE, of any [...]

There are two unpardonable sins to the activists of the modern Democratic party: one, come out against abortion, and two, support Joe Lieberman (or, in their tasteless parlance, “Holy Joe”). Obama has committed sin number two:
U.S. Sen. Barack Obama rallied Connecticut Democrats at their annual dinner Thursday night, throwing his support behind mentor [...]

That’s the choice framed by the editors of the Wall Street Journal when they ask if America is to belong to Ronald Reagan or Tom Tancredo. Last weekend, I suggested Republicans adopt an agenda with both a long and short view of the immigration issue. The WSJ agrees:
The immediate danger is that Republicans [...]

Joe Wilson allies himself firmly with the Nutroots® by agreeing to appear at the YearlyKos convention in Las Vegas:
Former Ambassador Joe Wilson will join a panel discussion of the Bush Administration’s alleged role in the disclosure of the identity of his wife, the former Valerie Plame, as a covert CIA officer. The panel, which includes [...]

Not very nice of me, I know – but in this case, turnabout is fair play. Cohen, you may remember, is the guy who decided that since algebra was too hard for him, it ought not to be taught to anyone that doesn’t explicitly beg for it. This time, he commits the following [...]

Glenn Greenwald and the Anonymous Liberal do their best to keep up the facade that the FISA judges who testified before Arlen Specter think the president’s surveillance is illegal, but the facts appear to be against them (and the NY Times). They do get one thing right:
Although the judges were careful not to opine [...]

The National Journal’s Blogometer spotlight, that is. Just a glimpse of the scintillating excitement:
When did you start blogging and why?
I started blogging, oddly enough, after the 2004 election, thus missing the biggest traffic period. I was reading all the blogs, e-mailing friends and relatives relevant news stories, and generally doing everything but putting the [...]

Robert Novak looks at the swap of Josh Bolten for Andy Card and sees a supreme Karl Rove (put on your tinfoil hats, lefties!):
I talked to former White House staffers who served Republican presidents over the last quarter of a century. To a man, they were appalled that President Bush had squandered the opportunity handed [...]

Yesterday, the UN Security Council agreed to issue a non-binding, ‘pretty please with sugar on top’ request to the IAEA to report back in 30 days on Iran’s non-compliance (and that’s no typo) with demands that it stop uranium enrichment.
No need, because Iran has already categorically rejected the toothless proposal 29 days early:
In Vienna, Iran’s [...]

George Will says put current illegal immigrants on the path to citizenship, but for cryin’ out loud, take charge of the border:
…[C]ontrol belongs at the top of the agenda, for four reasons. First, control of borders is an essential attribute of sovereignty. Second, conditions along the border mock the rule of law. Third, large rallies [...]

The South Park guys are rapidly moving up in my estimation:
…South Park is becoming covered in smug generated by smug eco do-gooders. This combined with the No. 1 smug region in the nation — San Francisco — will soon be combining with the smug front generated by George Clooney’s Oscar acceptance speech and forming a [...]

Journalist Jill Carroll of the Christian Science Monitor has been released after more than two months in captivity in Iraq. Carroll says she was treated well, but she’s “just happy to be free” and wants to be with her family…
UPDATE 9:03 a.m.: Comprehensive coverage from the Jawa Report…
UPDATE 2 10:50 a.m.: Fox News has [...]

Exhibit A: one Cynthia McKinney…
UPDATE 10:59 p.m.: Michelle Malkin has the roundup…

Who’s the cluebat of the week? Find out with Rick Moran…
AJ thinks the NY Times is skewed in its coverage of the FISA judges’ testimony yesterday…say it ain’t so!…
The latest edition of Ken Rudin’s Political Junkie is up, with a focus on the departure of Andy Card…
Billions will die from global warming? Maybe…In the next [...]

Want to be sure of a McCain victory? Go on the attack early and often. That’s the message of this intriguing piece by John McIntyre of Real Clear Politics:
It’s amusing to watch the slow, yet inevitable shift in the media’s attitude toward their favorite GOP politician these past six years. You always knew that [...]