Ben Domenech is a former low-level speechwriter for George W. Bush’s cabinet, and a plagiarist.  He’s also one of the leading voices of the conservative blog network. Here’s what he has to say about Mitt Romney’s debate performance tonight: Considering that President Obama is up against it in the polls, I expect him to pull […]

Sullivan’s Daily Dish collects comments explaining Romney’s complete reliance on mobilizing a near-unprecedented 61%+ of the white vote… and why it won’t every be possible again. The Romney-Republican strategy is the dark side of the older Republican strategy: the Reagan of hardline conservative Pat Buchanan rather than of public relations man Michael Deaver. It could still work […]

Todd Akin, Republican candidate for Senate in Missouri, more or less stands by the medieval view of female sexuality that’s caused him so much negative press this week. So does Congressman Steve King (R-Iowa), a well-regarded but consistently crazy member of the Tea Party Caucus. But the boldness of these offensive, sexist, but commonly-held views […]

For the second time in as many cycles, a panicked, plausibly-centrist Republican presidential nominee selected a relatively unknown, extremist running mate. By doing so, Mitt Romney jettisoned the (apparently losing) message of his campaign to date — “I’m different from Barack Obama in important but unspecified ways” — and embraced, in turn, a highly-specified, woefully unpopular […]

Doesn’t the right-wing’s favorite new discovery — that Obama called off the raid on Bin Laden three times, before finally committing U.S. forces to the historic mission — better support a theory of his agency? If Obama did something more than just say “go” the minute the battle plan crossed his desk, if (for example) he decided […]

Left and right, the consensus on Brian Ross seems to be that the ABC anchor was far, far out of line when he confused the alleged Aurora, Colorado shooter with a Tea Party activist with a similar name. The Tea Party was certainly quick to play the victim card, with the right-leaning media running interference, and […]

The American Spectator takes a string of California municipal bankruptcies as proof of the dangers of the extravagance of the modern liberal welfare state.  Ben Domenech’s Transom — a subscription-only daily email blast offering a good window into the right’s talking points du jour, analogous to a paid, partisan version of Mike Allen’s daily must-read — echoes the […]

I’ve been taking some time off — maybe you’ve noticed? — to acclimatize to a new life and a new job. The job, I think I’ve said, is as an appellate prosecutor for a New York metropolitan jurisdiction. It’s a great choice, for all parties involved: I get a chance to do what I really […]

I like to think that some of you enjoy reading this site; to the extent that’s true, please accept my apologies for the prolonged hiatus. I’ve redesigned the site, and re-emphasized small posts, to make site management more sustainable with my new schedule, which includes new responsibilities at the new-ish job, and now a new […]

With apologies for this week’s more relaxed posting schedule. I’ll get back to work sometime soon! Several of my close friends — coincidentally, all extremely intelligent, math/science oriented, and leaders in the freethought/rationality/atheist communities — find themselves practicing and promoting an arrangement they term “polyamory.” Essentially, this describes a post-jealousy, highly rationalized state where participants […]