From the AP
Al-Maliki faces revolt within government
By HAMZA HENDAWI, Associated Press Writer 31 minutes ago
“Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki faced a widening revolt within his divided government as two senior Sunni politicians joined prominent Shiite lawmakers and Cabinet members in criticizing his policies.
Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi said he wanted to see al-Maliki’s government gone and [...]

AP- MSNBC-TRENTON, N.J. – Conservative groups in New Jersey are pushing a proposal that would grant the rights of marriage – but not the title – to gays, siblings and others involved in domestic partnerships. The plan comes in reaction to a landmark Supreme Court ruling last month that said gay couples in New Jersey [...]

Representative Steve “No Money for Katrina Victims” King (R-IA) released a report that claimed illegal immigrants murdered more people this year than all the combined deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan since both wars began. His math comes out to 4,380 Americans murdered by illegals each year out of around 17,000 total, more than 25%. [...]

I realize that I’m a bit late with this article, but the last few weeks have been hard to come to terms with. Like every other American, I witnessed the crushing defeat of one big-government party at the hands of another big-government party, so, I had to come to grips with the effects this change [...]

It is high time we get back to the basics in this country. Our voice in our government has been choked by lobbyists and courtroom blackmail by the likes of the ACLU. Our Representatives in Washington have created a country club of rich elitists appalled by our common sense and amused by our [...]

EC-Recently we reported on Ispat/Mittal Steel acquisition of International Steel Group for approximately $4 billion. This acquisition placed approximately 15% of domestic steel production and 40% of domestic flat-rolled steel production in foreign hands in a single stroke. We reported that 17,000 jobs and an “important national security issue” (according to President Bush) [...]

AJC-AP- WASHINGTON — Frustrated by Bush administration inaction on global warming, states and environmentalists urged the Supreme Court Wednesday to declare greenhouse gases to be air pollutants that the government must regulate.
The court’s first case on the politically charged topic showed an apparent split between its liberal and conservative justices, with Anthony Kennedy potentially the [...]

The total Federal Debt is roughly $8.628 trillion dollars.
To pay it off in twenty years, like a mortgage, would cost taxpayers another $727 billion dollars a year. That’s if, and a huge if, deficit spending is stopped.
The 2004 deficit wound up being about $400 billion dollars, an error from the predicted deficit of $521 [...]

USA TODAY-President Bush said Tuesday that he wants more countries in a program that allows foreigners to stay in the USA without visas, despite criticism that the move could open the door to terrorists.
Under the program, citizens from visa-waiver countries can travel to the USA for up to 90 days without a visa. To be [...]

I know it won’t convince those who believe every word that comes out of the President’s mouth, but word to the wise…just because a website has a catchy title and a headline you’re salivating over at the moment, doesn’t mean it’s legit. The irony (perhaps over ‘yall heads) is that the thing becomes, “The [...]

George Orwell introduced me to the concept of words being used to defend what is indefensible, saying that our language “becomes ugly and inaccurate because our thoughts are foolish, but the slovenliness of our language makes it easier for us to have foolish thoughts.” The reality of life for those suffering in Iraq provokes [...]

LeftHook’s data doesn’t paint the “Whole Picture”. It tries really hard. But Fails.
Here are some tips about how to fairly judge tax cuts:
First, start the clock about 1 year after the tax cut is passed. For example, 1981 was Reagan’s first year in office. It was also an awful year economically. The Economic Recovery Tax [...]

The New York Times has a wonderful story today about … a Christmas wreath.
A local homeowners association, a powerful legal force, notified a homeowner that a fine of $25 per day was being assessed because their wreath was divisive.
Those of us who have never read our subdivision covenants should do so now. The homeowners [...]

Some times, it’s very easy to ignore stories that have political twists and turns. I have two that we should be discussing on this blog.
In New York, five cops tried to stop a car outside a strip joint. As events unfolded, more than 50 shots were fired by three of the cops at the car. [...]

The Union Leader: Newt Gingrich yesterday said the country will be forced to reexamine freedom of speech to meet the threat of terrorism. Gingrich said a “different set of rules” may be needed to reduce terrorists’ ability to use the Internet and free speech to recruit and get out their message. [Here are some more [...]