Latest Blogs

In separate reports for the Associated Press during the past week, Christopher Rugaber and Jeannine Aversa, economics writers for the wire service, each dealt with estimates for next year's average unemployment rate. They came back with significantly different predictions for 2011 without recognizing how widely those estimates varied. On Tuesday, Rugaber dealt with the Federal Reserve's…

It appears that at NPR, even a fat lip for the President is to be heralded as a crowning achievement furthering his prestige and street cred when dealing with despots like Kim Jong Il and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. According to Scott Simon, a president with a "gnarly, vivid scar" might even be able to intimidate China's rulers into halting their currency manipulation (audio follows with partial…

Barbara Walters on Friday allowed Barack and Michelle Obama advance the myth that presidents always lose Congress during midterm elections. This not surprisingly happened during a special "20/20" interview with the first family at the White House (video follows with transcript and commentary):

Charles Krauthammer on Friday tore into the liberal media for being obsessed with former Alaska governor Sarah Palin. After Krauthammer scolded the "editorial judgment" of the producers of PBS's "Inside Washington" for week after week prominently displaying her as the "only representative of conservatism of any importance" in this nation, the Washington Post's Colby King proved his point (…

For general discussion and debate about politics, the economy, sports, or whatever else tickles your fancy. Possible talking point: the FBI thwarted a  terrorist from setting off a bomb at a Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Portland, Oregon, Friday.

Typically, The New York Times has released its annual book reviewers' list of the 100 Most Notable Books of 2010, and they favor liberal authors, and most helpfully, current and former staffers of the New York Times. For people who may buy Christmas gifts or make Christmas lists based on this top-books list, Obama is still the hero. The Times recommended both The Bridge by David Remnick, editor…

Brian Maloney at the Radio Equalizer blog reported that the Rev. Al Sharpton used his radio show to accuse someone else of having a radio show with a racial bias. Sharpton said clearly the FCC is not trying to block "free speech" just racist or sexist speech, as defined by a wise man, like Al Sharpton: And part of what I think the FCC needs to do is give the guidelines of what is excusable…

The Big Three networks all briefly covered the conviction of former House Minority Leader Tom DeLay for campaign money laundering on Wednesday night. But none of them allowed DeLay air time to defend himself. "This is an abuse of power," he said outside the courtroom. "It's a miscarriage of justice, and I still maintain that I am innocent. The criminalization of politics undermines our very…

How about that, there's someone on the airwaves more unhinged than liberal radio talker and MSNBC heat miser Ed Schultz. And go figure, that someone happens to be a frequent Schultz guest. But between his appearance on Schultz's radio show Nov. 22 and Schultz's MSNBC program several hours later, the caffeine apparently wore off for Mike Papantonio, a lawyer and co-host of the radio show "…

Columnists who prize equality of the sexes in college athletics often scowl at how men’s athletic programs get more money and media attention. But a new frontier on the battleground of men’s and women’s athletics is upon us: When is a female jock really female, and a male really a guy? Kye Allums, a shooting guard on the George Washington University women’s basketball team, has decided that…

When I first saw this video at a non-Government/General Motors site, I said, "Wow, that's quite a spoof. Who did that?" It's not a spoof. It's for real. It's posted in the media section at GM's web site. Even diehard defenders of the GM and Chrysler bailouts have to wonder what in the world the folks who put together the 60-second ad were thinking. Here's the hype for the ad found at GM's…

"When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir?" So said John Maynard Keynes when a dearly held belief of his was confronted by new facts. He changed his mind and was not ashamed. I am an extreme empiricist. Show me the facts, and I shall make up my mind. Show me the new facts, and I shall change my mind. Last week, goaded by Drudge's hordes, I took my stand against the…

Looks like an angel; strong as the devil . . . Hey, it's the Friday after Thanksgiving, a classically slow news day.  So let's have some fun. For months I've been fascinated by the TV commercial for DirectTV. The focus is a man we instantly understand to be a Russian billionaire businessman/mobster. "Opulence: I has it. I like the best" he explains, as the commercial opens.  And sure…

Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin on Thursday struck back at media members that bothered reporting the slip of the tongue she made the previous day concerning North Korea being America's ally. In a Facebook posting entitled "A Thanksgiving Message to All 57 States," Palin mocked news outlets for not giving similar coverage to gaffes made by Barack Obama: