Obama's SOTU v. Bush's SOTU

http://www.cato-at-liberty.org/2010/01/28/bushs-third-term/

5 Books about Russia

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/arts_n_ideas/article/thomas-keneally-chooses-5-books-about-russia/398175.html

RIP...Howard Zinn....but let's not use his textbook.....

"Indeed, Zinn candidly said that history was not about "understanding the past," but rather, about "changing the future." That statement alone should have disqualified anyone from referring to him as a historian."

http://www.mindingthecampus.com/originals/2010/01/america_the_awfulhoward_zinns.html

Campaign Finance

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/27/AR2010012703909.html

"Barack "Pitchfork" Obama, in his post-Massachusetts populist mode, called the court's ruling a victory for, among others, "big oil" and "Wall Street banks." But OpenSecrets.org reports that in 2008 lawyers gave more money than either of them, and gave 78 percent of the donations to Democrats, who also received 64 percent of contributions from the financial sector.

Even if it were Congress's business to decide that there is "too much" money in politics, that decision would be odd: In the 2007-08 election cycle, spending in all campaigns, for city council members up to the presidency, was $8.6 billion, about what Americans spend annually on potato chips."

Email 6 Enlightened Ideas Brought to You by Evil Empires

http://www.cracked.com/article_18378_6-enlightened-ideas-brought-to-you-by-evil-empires.html

I'd vote for this Democrat...

The Clintonian Harold Ford Jr. [Robert Costa]

Harold Ford Jr. may run in New York’s Democratic Senate primary, and if he does, it looks like he’ll run to the right of incumbent Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D., N.Y.). In an interview with Jason L. Riley of the Wall Street Journal, Ford outlined his thoughts on the economy and what President Obama can learn from Bill Clinton. As Riley puts it, “it’s no wonder many consider Mr. Ford too conservative to win a U.S. Senate seat in New York:”

To address the anxiety Americans are feeling, Mr. Ford thinks that the White House needs to focus squarely on the economy. "First we need to cut taxes for businesses in the country, small and large," he says. "We ought to provide a six-month exemption from the payroll tax for all firms less than five years old. We ought to extend the current capital gains and dividend tax rates through 2012. We ought to make permanent all the research and development tax credits for businesses making those investments. And we ought to lower the corporate tax rate from 35% to 25% . . . Clinton was my kind of Democrat, and is what I came to know a Democrat should stand for . . . When Bill Clinton took office, he inherited a record-size debt, yet balanced the budget in 1998 . . . We created 22 million new jobs. The country handed a surplus to his successor. This is the lesson for our current president. You can find a way to grow the economy and be fiscally disciplined. It can be done."

More here.

The year in review...

http://media.nationalreview.com/post/?q=Nzc1YmUyNjNmNjY5YWNkYTMzZmYwMjJjNGM2MDFhY2E=

Obama's real problem

http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=MThlOTBiN2QwNDgzNTk0MDBkZjNhYzM2MWQyODUyOWY=

Very smart stuff

http://american.com/archive/2010/january/the-war-against-suburbia

Are Politicos reader mostly conservatives?

The daily poll results are always surprising....

Today's

http://dyn.politico.com/polls/poll_voterresults.cfm?uuid=4FD56AAA-18FE-70B2-A8B0AD9A70712BCB

48% give Obama an "F"?

Slavic burgers in NYC....food stuff

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/20/dining/20balk.html?em

http://pajamasmedia.com/instapundit/92165/

http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/03b4a86265/between-two-ferns-with-zach-galifianakis?rel=player

More ruling class....

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/01/18/us/politics/AP-US-Domenici-Governor.html

Ask Matt Labash

http://dailycaller.com/2010/01/11/welcome-to-ask-matt-labash/

What do fly fishing and dating have in common?
–Moira

I fly fish a lot more than I date these days, on account of my wife. Still, dating and fly fishing are practically one and the same. Both involve the excitement of the chase. Both require skill and cunning. Both involve making effective presentations, so that the pursuer can get the pursued to take something firmly in its mouth before it has a chance to spit it out. Finally, being successful at either will probably require you to wash your hands afterwards. Tight lines, Moira!

Good one...

How did he do it? It's a question John Yoo has been getting a lot lately. How did he manage to outwit Jon Stewart? ("He slipped through my fingers," Stewart recalled after Yoo's recent appearance on The Daily Show. "It was like interviewing sand.") Easy, says Yoo."I've spent my whole career learning to settle down unruly college students who have not done the reading."


http://www.slate.com/id/2241742/

Another argument for the Iowa Plan

Ed Markey: Raging Independent [Jonah Goldberg]

Lord knows I think the fetishization of the independent label can get out of hand in American politics. But Ed Markey (ADA rating: 100) has really got a lot of nerve going after Brown for not being independent enough. I mean, Markey's one of the House's most reliable, partisan, knee-jerk liberals. He makes the Kennedys look like pillars of maverick independence.

Update: From a reader:

The sign the Coakley people have no idea why they are losing is right there with Ed Markey. This is a guy who literally does not live in Mass. They carved up a district for him that is bullet proof. So, he lists his primary residence as his mother’s house, but otherwise lives in DC. I bet most people’s first thought when they saw him was, “wow, he looks a lot different since the last time we saw him.” The second thought was, “did he need GPS to find the place?”

Brown had Flutie, Schilling, Smerlas and Cliff Clavin at his event. Do you think Obama is more popular in Mass than any of those guys?

01/17 05:20 PMShare

Cliff Claven built the stage at Woodstock?!

http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=MTdiN2Y2YThiOGI1N2I1NTRiYmYyNTZiMWY3ZmI5YTk=

More of "the personal is the political"

http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=ZjRiZTI5ZTYwNTk4MTU4NjExNTZiZWIzNmQ4ZTg3ODI=

I thought the same thing when was I reading Tom's cloumn

http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=OWZjMWY4YWMzZmM2MmU4YzZiMDAzODFmOGNmNTNkNTg=

Using charts

http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2010/01/the-power-of-charts.html

Frank Rich gets one right on Wall Street

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/10/opinion/10rich.html?em

redistricting

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/Blueprint-of-the-Left-81008117.html

http://www.amazon.com/Career-Comeback-Repackage-Yourself-ebook/dp/B00329UW86/ref=dp_kinw_strp_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2

SE Cupp

http://dailycaller.com/2010/01/11/the-diary-of-s-e-cupp/

Mudcat Saunders is a smart guy....

"Rural polling has shown that when comparing “lack of economic fairness” to “health care reform” as driving issues, Bubba could give a rat’s ass about “health care reform.”"

http://dailycaller.com/2010/01/11/obamas-promised-change-bubba-says-git-er-done/

Goldman bonuses

“The move would be the latest in a series of initiatives by Goldman to soften criticism over the size of its bonuses, which are expected to be among the largest on Wall Street, bringing average pay to about $595,000 for each employee—with far higher amounts for top performers.”

http://www.thebigmoney.com/features/todays-business-press/2010/01/11/goldman-gets-ready-inevitable-bonus-backlash

Drink Like a TuscanCheap Chianti is often better than the expensive stuff.

http://www.slate.com/id/2240926/

Great column on "consensus journalism"

http://www.slate.com/id/2240601/

Cato Chair on Gay Marriage

Whenever government imposes obligations or dispenses benefits, it may not "deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." That provision is explicit in the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, applicable to the states, and implicit in the Fifth Amendment, applicable to the federal government....

http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2010/01/07/2010-01-07_the_moral_and_constitutional_case_for_a_right_to_gay_marriage.html

Pizza and Politics

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/outlook/6804427.html

Lebowski as Shakespeare

http://www.runleiarun.com/lebowski/

Training yo' brain....with some interesting political sidelights

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/03/education/edlife/03adult-t.html?em

http://rightwingnews.com/2010/01/the-6th-annual-40-most-obnoxious-quotes-of-2009/

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601110&sid=a6bQVsZS2_18

http://www.hulu.com/search?query=political+ads&st=1

http://reason.com/blog/2010/01/04/more-on-the-coming-war-over-pu

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/01/party-switcher-griffiths-capitol-hill-staff-quits-en-masse.php