Informed Speculation

…is (and there really is no close second) the spellbinding “Where The Streets Have No Name”, from U2’s Joshua Tree album. It is as perfect as a song can be, from the spinetingling arpeggios of the intro, shimmering right down into the very root of your soul, to the incredibly energetic and joyous choruses, [...]

True to form, Iran has already rejected the U.S. overtures to open talks over their nuclear program:
The official Iranian news agency said Wednesday the U.S. offer to join in direct talks with Iran about its disputed nuclear program was “a propaganda move.”
The American proposal, a major policy shift after decades without official public contact [...]

Well, you get a good interview, naturally – it is Hitchens. I make no secret of my admiration for Hitchens the writer, but I do wish Hitchens the man were not so dismissive (actually, he’s downright hostile) towards religion. I don’t expect everyone to share my beliefs, mind you – it’s just that [...]

Actually, Howard has jumped multiple sharks in the last couple of years – he’s our foremost shark-jumper!  Nevertheless, in an article titled If Hillary Can’t Win, Then Who?, it certainly comes as a shock to see that the putative challenger is…Christopher Dodd.
Says Fineman:
Maybe Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut has no chance to win the presidency. [...]

I’m a few weeks too late, but congrats to NZ Bear – the new look is very, very cool!…

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has unveiled a new proposal for talks with Iran, if it makes the first move:
The United States is willing to join European nations in direct talks with Iran if the Iranian government first agrees to suspend its programs to enrich uranium and reprocess spent nuclear fuel, activities that Washington charges [...]

Brendan Murray of Bloomberg tries to throw cold water on my preferred message for 2006:
Karl Rove, President George W. Bush’s top political adviser, laid out a plan to win the 2002 congressional elections by stressing national security. For 2006, Rove is framing a strategy for Republicans to sell the U.S. economy. [...]

Tom Bevan notes the growing evidence of a Congress that feels it needn’t play by the rules and sees the seeds of a November surprise:
As is so often the case in politics…perception is reality. And right now the perception is that members of Congress don’t feel they have to live by the same rules the [...]

You know it’s going to be good. Responding to the recent interview where Galloway stated that the murder of Tony Blair would be morally justifiable, our man Hitch hits all the right high notes:
Much of the commentary that I read about this amazing statement seemed to conclude that Galloway had provided himself with enough [...]

Larry Kudlow has taken the measure of Bush’s new Treasury Secretary, and he likes what he sees:
People tell me it’s not easy being a pro-Bush Republican in the executive suite at Goldman Sachs.
So give Treasury nominee Hank Paulson some credit for holding the line. And give Josh Bolten credit for indefatigably recruiting Paulson, his former [...]

No, really, I mean it – the White House press corps just wouldn’t be the same without her extreme anti-Republican bias.  Here’s the latest:
QUESTION: Why did the president pick a man who is so contemptible of the public servants in Washington to be his domestic adviser, saying, People in Washington are morally repugnant, cheating, shifty [...]

…hey, dude, like – wanna let us know where your remains are now?  We’ve ruled out Giants Stadium, and this horse farm thing didn’t work out, either…you win!
Oh, I forgot – dead men tell no tales – and you can’t trust the ones told by live mobsters, apparently…

I highly recommend this extraordinarily blunt exchange between German magazine Der Spiegel and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for the way the questioner peels back the layers of the anti-Semite’s mind:
SPIEGEL: First you make your remarks about the Holocaust. Then comes the news that you may travel to Germany – this causes an uproar. So you were [...]

Put another nail in the coffin of the ‘Culture of Corruption’ talking point:

Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid, who has criticized Republican ethics, accepted free ringside tickets to three professional boxing matches from Nevada officials who were trying to influence his federal legislation regulating the sport.
Reid, D-Nev., took the free seats for [...]

I’m not speaking of the resignation of John Snow as Treasury Secretary – that’s been rumored for months.  What is surprising is that Bush already has tapped a replacement:
Treasury Secretary John Snow resigned Tuesday and President Bush nominated Goldman Sachs Chairman Henry M. Paulson Jr. as his replacement — another chapter in the shake-up to [...]

You may recall the PoliPundit brouhaha, when Lorie Byrd, Alexander McClure, DJ Drummond, and Jayson (i.e., the ‘guest bloggers’) were kicked off for having an independent view on immigration (to be replaced by Oak Leaf). Well, PoliPundit has been nice to this blog, so I wish him well, even though I strongly disagree with [...]

It’s more than possible, it’s probable, says Ron Fournier:
Republicans are three steps from a November shellacking _ each a grim possibility if habitually divided Democrats get their acts together.
First step: Voters must focus on the national landscape on Nov. 7 rather than local issues and personalities that usually dominate midterm elections.
That [...]

First, the good:
Our good friend AJ notes the capture of another high-ranking al-Zarqawi aide, in a pattern that seems to indicate we’re closing in.
Next, the bad:
Our condolences to the families of the slain CBS crew, and best wishes for a full recovery to correspondent Kimberly Dozier.
Finally, the horrible: I’ve avoided blogging on the alleged Marine [...]

It just isn’t a holiday unless RINOs are rampaging all over creation – Don Surber makes sure that’s the case…

Owen West, founder of Vets for Freedom, on the cause of our newest veterans:
…[I]n battle you move forward from where you are, not where you want to be. No one was more surprised that Saddam Hussein had no weapons of mass destruction than the soldiers who rolled into Iraq in full chemical protective gear. But [...]