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I am one of those pesky libertarian bloggers who did, in fact, have a problem with surveillance policies initiated by George W. Bush's administration, even though I am a Republican, just like I'm not a big fan of a very, very powerful executive branch, despite my "Republican-ness." That has tended, in past, to result in protracted moments of sympathizing with Democrats, generically, when they raise concerns about things like the executive branch's method of collecting intelligence and advocate...

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I missed this caption contest at Matier & Ross last week.  But better late than never, here's a LOL for your Monday, using their picture.

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This week, the much-debated Arizona immigration law will come into effect, thereby raising the profile of immigration, generally, as a political issue again, just in time for the final 100 days of campaigning ahead of this year's midterms.
As in previous years, many Republicans have staked out a hard line on the issue. Backing for Arizona's law as a model for other states is widespread.
Unlike in previous elections where immigration also emerged as a hot-button issue, however, one...

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Paul Krugman's column is up today, and I have some problems with it. I know, you're surprised.
I'm not a hater of the mainstream media (I go on MSNBC and CNN from time to time, I read at least portions of the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal daily, I read stuff from ABC and Politico in particular usually throughout the day, in addition to publications like the LA Times, which I read for work purposes).
But it annoys me when Nobel prize winners who write for major...

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Dave Weigel is my friend. Not one of my best friends. But he is a friend.
So when I see stories erupt involving him, like the one in which he is currently engulfed, I take an interest-- and find myself prepared, and arguably well-placed, to say some things that may not prove popular but which I think deserve an airing. And with that, here goes nothing.
Earlier in the week, Dave caught fire, proverbially, when comments he made in a supposedly off-the-record email listserv ...

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That's the title of a piece I ran over at BlogHer on Monday... here's an excerpt:
About two weeks ago, following June 8 primary night, the big meme in political media was “The Year of the (Republican) Woman.” Primary victories by the likes of Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina in California, and a strong performance by Nikki Haley in South Carolina, followed on the back of victory the week prior by Susana Martinez in New Mexico.
But since then, another narrative...

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Democrats across the country may be playing off of the BP disaster in the Gulf of Mexico to raise money, but Patty Murray, it appears, isn't one of them. Nope: Murray is using something more tried-and-tested-- hyping the dreaded Karl Rove's determination to take her down this November.
Here's a screenshot of an email I received just a few minutes ago, entitled "Karl Rove & Dino Rossi":

Why I find this interesting: Right now, I know very few self-proclaimed liberals or...

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A poll commissioned by the campaign of Jaime Herrera-- one of the Republican candidates running to succeed retiring Rep. Brian Baird in WA-03-- indicates that Republicans, and Herrera in particular, have a good shot at recapturing the seat:
In response to the question, "If the election for U.S. Congress were held today, would you be voting for the Republican candidate or Democratic candidate?" 42 percent said they would vote Republican, 35 percent said they would vote Democratic,...

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I guarantee it:
A pediatric urologist at Cornell—Dix Poppas—has been operating on little girls with what he judges to be oversized clitorises, cutting away important clitoral tissues, and then stitching the glans to what remains of the shaft.
[...]
At annual visits after the surgery, while a parent watches, Poppas touches the daughter’s surgically shortened clitoris with a cotton-tip applicator and/or with a “vibratory device,” and the girl is...

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I've long maintained that Democrats are just as prone to infringing on Americans' civil liberties as Republicans, and very frequently in the name of combating terrorism-- something more associated with Republicans in the public's mind, probably thanks to the very aggressive (and in my view often problematic) approach taken by the Bush administration, with the vocal support of key Republicans in Congress.
But today comes a reminder that Democrats aren't really all that much better. ...

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