NPR’s Ken Rudin ranks the 21 Republican governors (Mark Sanford is still on the list) and their chances… I’ve decided, in a completely unscientific, data-free exercise, to rate the GOP governors in terms of their likelihood of ever reaching the White House (not necessarily in 2012, but sometime in the future). I readily concede that [...]

“The test of bipartisanship is not just how many Republican votes you have.” – Rahm Emanuel talking about healthcare legislation & bipartisanship I tend to agree in theory, but there are still a whole host of poison pills legislators can put into a bill that means they’d vote against something that included one or two [...]

They say they won’t pass any plan that doesn’t have a public option in it, and that inflexible position could scuttle the whole thing. From Roll Call: House liberals are warning the Senate, Democratic leaders and President Barack Obama that a government-run insurance option must be included in any health reform bill, or else the [...]

Not that this is a big deal, and it very well could have been an innocent mistake…but come on…

They’re seeing red in the Golden state. From Reuters: California’s controller said on Wednesday that he would have to issue IOUs in a week if lawmakers can’t quickly solve a $24 billion budget deficit, and the state’s treasurer plans to tap a reserve fund to meet debt service costs. The measures came as a budget [...]

The following video is simply heartbreaking… What she’s describing apparently all happened in Baharestan Square today. Some more details of what went on there via ThreatsWatch.org (spelling errors b/c an Iranian was liveblogging): More than 10.000 Bassij Milittias get position in Central Tehran, including Baharestan Sq. Army Helycopters flying over Baharestan and Vali Asr Sq. [...]

You know, it’s nice that we’re talking about the “Commerce Department’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership” and the “National Innovation Marketplace” coming in… (whatever that means.) It’s thoughtful of you to think of ways to connect “suppliers” with “buyers” (suppliers and buyers of what?) And it’s convenient of you to put two and two together (auto manufacturers, [...]

I’ve written quite a bit about the co-op option recently because it seems like a viable bipartisan solution. Now it looks like the White House is signaling that they’re willing to forgo a government run, public plan and accept alternatives (like co-ops) to garner Republican support. From Who Runs Gov: White House Chief of Staff [...]

Eye-opening updates via CNN: TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) — Security forces wielding clubs and firing weapons beat back demonstrators who flocked to a Tehran square Wednesday to continue protests, with one witness saying security forces beat people like “animals.”At least two trusted sources described wild and violent conditions at a part of Tehran where protesters had [...]

I didn’t write about this before because it seemed odd, but there wasn’t a lot of there there. Now there’s plenty. From The State: Gov. Mark Sanford admitted today that his secret trip to Argentina over Father’s Day weekend was to visit a woman he is having an affair with. “I have developed a relationship [...]

‘What?!’ you say? You don’t see my logic? Well, my train of thought starts here: Let’s start with Mark Sanford, who has inspired a new phrase — “I went hiking on the Appalachian Trail” — to describe any kind of mysterious disappearance. [...] Next, there’s Sarah Palin, who has had a rough last several months; [...]

First, the numbers… . Last year, after the recession had begun, the number of applications rose by 12 percent to more than 16 million, according to the Education Department. Detailed estimates are not yet available for last year, but of all full-time college undergraduates in 2007, 58 percent applied for aid, and 47 percent received [...]

Congressional Republicans have been telling voters that the cap and trade energy policy that’s set for a vote on Friday will cost each household about $3,100. CBO puts the lie to those numbers and shows that they’re nearly 20 times the actual costs…in 2020. From Reuters: WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Climate change legislation pending in Congress [...]

A mind meld with that I expressed earlier today… It really is disappointing to see McCain and Graham behave like this, especially when they haven’t filled in the blanks as to what Obama should say and why that would be more effective than the current course. And, again, what’s the end game to tough talk? [...]

As I’ve said before, I think he’s striking the right balance between condemning the regime’s actions against their own citizens, while not getting the US involved in what’s already an incredibly messy struggle for power. Why is this the right strategy? Because Obama has to hedge his bets on Iran…and that means not trying to [...]

This is even after election officials admitted that more votes came out of 50 cities than there were voters. Shameful stuff, but not much we can do at this point besides sit back and watch it all unfold. From BBC: Iran’s legislative body, the Guardian Council, has said there were no major polling irregularities in [...]

Truly horrifying… As I stated earlier today, the government is making a big mistake by starting to kill people. Because that’s what lead to the last Iranian revolution and it’ll only embolden protesters to get more militant quicker. More as it develops…

Hey all, Just found out about this blog and it’s disturbing. Basically, Iranian authorities are using Blogger blogs to ID protestors so they can arrest them. Here’s how you can help: Visit the blog and at the very top there should be a button that says “Flag Blog.” Click that. This will send you to [...]