Frontrunner? What Frontrunner?
There's no "aura of inevitability" about any of the Democratic or GOP candidates for president as the Iowa caucuses draw closer and the polls get tighter. PJM's Monday Morning Quarterback William Bradley watches the campaigns prepare for their last-ditch scramble.
Romanian Health Care Is Terminally Ill
PJM Bucharest: Inherited from the former Communist regime, Romania's universal health care system is becoming a threat to the well being of its own citizens: mismanaged, corrupt and virtually immune to malpractice complaints, reports The New European.
Three More Reasons to Reject the NIE on Iran
To accept the U.S. intelligence community's finding that Iran halted its nuclear weapons development program three years ago, one must assume that Tehran suspended its most important state program on a "cost analysis" basis. Funny, writes Spook86, we never knew that Iran's ruling mullahs were B-school graduates.
The Glenn and Helen Show: John McCain in the Home Stretch
The Iowa Caucuses are just around the corner, and Glenn Reynolds and Helen Smith thought it was a good time to catch up with Senator John McCain, who's seeking the Republican nomination for President.
The View From Iowa: One Last Look
PJM Agency: The debates are over, the caucuses are around the corner - Iowan Brian Pickrell has been talking to friends, neighbors, and blog readers, shares his impressions and makes his predictions.
Noel Coward: A Letter Writer with a ‘Talent To Amuse’
Noel Coward became famous for his witty hilarious plays that revolved around cocktail chat. But he was also a globe-trotting "gentleman spy." His letters help reveal how he "gave the best part of himself, his suave, debonair, hopelessly show biz personality and temperament to his country," writes PJM's David Freeman.
I’m Happy to Live in a Christian Nation
Burt Prelutsky isn't a Christian. But even as a Jewish agnostic, he's grateful not to live in a country where a teacher can get thrown in jail over the name of a teddy bear.
Talk about Denial….
I found a href=”http://www.twincities.com/allheadlines/ci_7727454?nclick_check=1″this article interesting /a about a man whose wife tried to kill him in a murder-suicide attempt but he is standing by her:br /br /blockquoteNoel Hanson loves his wife. br /br /Even though she tried to kill him this week. br /br /The Blaine man, whose wife of more than 20 years, Sandra Rod Hanson, 55, appeared Friday morning in Anoka County District Court on attempted murder charges, said he’s worried about her. br /br /”She needs counseling,” Noel Hanson, 56, told the Pioneer Press, “because she tried to kill me. I don’t hate her for that. Irregardless of what happened, I’m alive. She’s alive. There’s gotta be some way we can go forward.” br /br /On Tuesday morning, facing eviction from their mobile home and mounting debt stemming from her husband’s medical needs, Sandra Hanson turned on the gas stove, but not the burner, in an attempt to kill her husband and herself, Anoka County prosecutors allege. /blockquotebr /br /My favorite line from the article was the following: br /br /blockquote”There’s a disconnect, because she obviously tried to murder me,” he recalled. “But then she started asking me about food and what I had to eat. She was worried about me. It seemed unreal.” /blockquotebr /br /Call me crazy, but I wouldn’t be letting this woman cook for me anytime soon if I were this guy.
For Iran, the NIE Report Is the Gift that Keeps On Giving
Hope of a strong united international front against Iran is gone, after the CIA gave it a clean bill of health regarding nuclear weapons. PJM Middle East analyst Meir Javedanfar shows how the world is suddenly a much friendlier place for President Ahmadinejad.
So Much Content, So Little Information
It's quantity, not quality that counts these days when it comes to words. Brad Rourke is nostalgic for the days of strong but silent leaders like President Calvin Coolidge. As for the media, with the ratio of junk to nutrition increasing, it's harder for people to find out what they need and want to know.
Dewey Cox: Sex, Drugs, and Members Only Jackets
Move over, Spinal Tap! There's a new hilarious fictional star on the music scene. Film critic Kyle Smith reviews the "outrageously funny" Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story.
Wounds of Mohamed al Dura’s Father Date Back to 1992, Surgeon Reveals
Jamal al Dura, who claims that Israelis fired at him and his son in 2000, was in fact injured by axe blade and not bullets in 1992, according to an Israeli surgeon who performed reconstructive surgery on the wounds two years later. PJM's Nidra Poller reports on the latest startling development in the mother of all fauxtography cases.
Dating Toxins?
Following up on the nice guy post from yesterday, Dan Collins at a href=”http://www.proteinwisdom.com/”Protein Wisdom /a emailed a column entitled: a href=”http://blogs.theage.com.au/lifestyle/asksam/archives/2007/12/ask_sam_friday_27.html”"Ask Sam Friday: Meeting Mrs. Right.”/a When men were asked why they didn’t date, this is what was said:br /br /blockquote”Too many princesses,” was one explanation I overheard during a blokes beer session the other night at the pub. “They’re all either gold diggers or married,” proffered up another. “I’m just way too shy,” piped a third. And perhaps he might be right. br /br /Recent scientific research has discovered that the fruitless search for love has less to do with the supposed Sheila Shortage (a term created by KPMG demographer Bernard Salt) and more to do with our own foibles and short-comings. br /br /According to the research of psychiatrist Dr Victoria Lukats, who polled 5000 daters for UK dating website PARSHIP and found that those who haven’t been on a date in the last six months or had a relationship in more than a year, it’s down to a simple theory: a build-up of Dating Toxins …/blockquotebr /br /Wow, dating toxins, sounded interesting so I clicked through a href=”http://www.parship.co.uk/docs/public/coaching/date.xhtml”to the website /amentioned to find out more:br /br /blockquoteDating toxins are the top 5 reasons that people give as to why they’re single when what they’re actually looking for is a serious long-term relationship. These include lack of self esteem, shyness, lack of opportunity, fussiness and desperation./blockquote br /br /Sounds plausible but the UK study seems to have overlooked an important aspect of what is going on in many western countries. Ambivalence –men are being told a href=”http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,200-2196058,00.html”not to get married /a because of the bias in the courts there and are, with good reason, reluctant to get married. Somehow, I think this ambivalence plays as much a part in why men are not dating as “dating toxins.”
Homeland Insecurity: Terrorist Fundraising in the Heartland
Are America's enemies operating freely from inside the country? Patrick Poole reports on one Somali terrorist leader's hassle-free trip to Minneapolis.
Fear in a Time of Terror
Roosevelt told us we have “nothing to fear but fear itself.” But actor, activist and now PajamasXpress blogger Ron Silver says that in the post-9/11 era, fear can be useful. (Excerpt from a forthcoming book)
Shots In the Arm Spread HIV in Afghanistan
PJM Kabul: HIV/AIDS cases in Afghanistan have already increased threefold from last year. Nasim Fekrat says the number will only go up if nothing is done to curtail drug addiction in the country.
Playing Nice in Des Moines: A Democratic Field Guide on Trying Not to Screw Up
VodkaPundit's Stephen Green watches the Democrats debate in Iowa and concludes: Maybe it really does pay to be nice in Iowa -- but it's really boring television.
PJM Political On XM 12/13/07–The Tropic Of Canada
Tune in each Thursday to XM Channel #130, POTUS ’08 at 6:00 PM Eastern/3:00 PM Pacific for PJ Media’s weekly PJM Political show! (And at 11:00 PM Eastern/8:00 Pacific for a rebroadcast) If you missed this week’s show, click here to listen:
December 13th PJM Political On XM Satellite Radio
Columnist to the world Mark Steyn joins Pajamas’ Roger Simon to discuss freedom of speech–or lack thereof–in Canada. And Tammy Bruce explores how Oprah Winfrey’s very public endorsement of Barack Obama will play out. Plus:
For extended versions of several of today’s interviews, don’t miss this week’s PJM Political “Director’s Cut Interviews.”
A lo-fi edition of this week’s show (mono, 16.3 MB) is available here. Finally, if you missed any previous episodes of PJM Political, click here and scroll through for hours of audio archives.
PJM Political 12/13/07–The Director’s Cut Interviews
Many of the segments on each week’s edition of PJM Political are edited to fit the show’s hour-long length. To hear the full-length versions of the edited interviews presented this week, just follow the links below, beginning with Roger L. Simon’s interview Mark Steyn on the Canadian Islamic Congress kerfuffle:
Mark Steyn And Roger L. Simon
Also from this week’s show:
What Happened to All the Nice Guys?
A number of readers (thanks!) have emailed me with a href=”http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/lax/483318927.html”this link to a post /aon the best of Craigslist from a recovering nice guy asking and answering the following question:br /br /”What happened to all the nice guys? The answer is simple: you did.”br /br /a href=”http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/lax/483318927.html”Read the whole thing./abr /br /Update: HotAir readersa href=”http://hotair.com/headlines/?p=4927″ blowback about /abeing a nice guy.br /br /Update II: For those of you at work who are not able to get the linked post–I placed the whole thing it in the comment section below, at around comment 55.
Gifts for Boys
Okay, are you looking for some stocking stuffers for the older elementary or middle school boys on your list but are at a loss for anything other than video games and iPods? Not that there is anything wrong with those items, they are fun and many boys love them. However, getting boys books that they will love is important too, but the key is finding something that might hold a 10-year-old’s interest. Not always an easy task.br /br /I recently received a whole stash of books from the Penguin Young Reader’s group that would be of interest to boys of around middle school age. I took a look at them and read through one of them by author Mike Lupica called a href=”http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0399247149?ie=UTF8tag=wwwviolentkicomlinkCode=as2camp=1789creative=9325creativeASIN=0399247149″emHot Hand/em./aimg src=”http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=wwwviolentkicoml=as2o=1a=0399247149″ width=”1″ height=”1″ border=”0″ alt=”" style=”border:none !important; margin:0px !important;” / The book is the first in a series entitled emComeback Kids /emand is quite engaging. It is about 10-year-old Billy who is dealing with the divorce of his high-powered lawyer mother and basketball coach father. I like that in-between sports talk–there is a great narrative dealing with the psychological dynamics of divorce, family and how to cope with the pain of a family break-up. However, the author stays up to the task of keeping boys interested in the story without alienating them with too much focus on relationship issues and feelings. br /br /There are two other series that I just skimmed through that you might want to check out–one is a new fantasy series entitled a href=”http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0142406635?ie=UTF8tag=wwwviolentkicomlinkCode=as2camp=1789creative=9325creativeASIN=0142406635″emThe Ranger’s Apprentice/em/aimg src=”http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=wwwviolentkicoml=as2o=1a=0142406635″ width=”1″ height=”1″ border=”0″ alt=”" style=”border:none !important; margin:0px !important;” /written by John Flanagan. The other is the a href=”http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0142406120?ie=UTF8tag=wwwviolentkicomlinkCode=as2camp=1789creative=9325creativeASIN=0142406120″emAlex Rider Adventures/em/aimg src=”http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=wwwviolentkicoml=as2o=1a=0142406120″ width=”1″ height=”1″ border=”0″ alt=”" style=”border:none !important; margin:0px !important;” / by Anthony Horowitz, which is a young adult thriller series that looks fun if you know a 5th to 10th grade guy who likes mysteries.br /br /Of course, there is always the old standby if you are at a loss for a book, a href=”http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0061243582?ie=UTF8tag=wwwviolentkicomlinkCode=as2camp=1789creative=9325creativeASIN=0061243582″emThe Dangerous Book for Boys/em/aimg src=”http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=wwwviolentkicoml=as2o=1a=0061243582″ width=”1″ height=”1″ border=”0″ alt=”" style=”border:none !important; margin:0px !important;” / although this would have to go under the tree as it is too big to fit in a stocking. If you have a book suggestion for gifts for boys of older elementary, middle school or early high school age, drop it in the comments.br /br /Meanwhile, if you’re looking for something more hands-on, a href=”http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000683A4?ie=UTF8tag=wwwviolentkicomlink_code=as3camp=211189creative=373489creativeASIN=B0000683A4″this electronics project kit/a seems to be pretty popular.
The Mansoor Ijaz I Know
Who exactly is Mansoor Ijaz - the guy who asked Mitt Romney the ill-fated question about whether or not he would put a Muslim in his cabinet? PJM's Richard Miniter has the answer - and knows why Ijaz asked the question. It involves both Bill Clinton and Osama Bin Laden.
Ghadafi Pitches His Tent in Paris
PJM Paris: Why would French President Nicolas Sarkozy sanction a state visit to France by the likes of Muamar Ghadafi? Well, the wild-haired Libyan leader did renounce nukes and terrorism, PJM Paris editor Nidra Poller reminds us. Remember the carrot and the stick? It's the carrot, stupid.
The Last Debate – Iowa Republican Edition
VodkaPundit's Stephen Green wants to know -- do any of these guys even want to win? And should we even care who wins in Iowa?
Tancredo to Drop Out and Endorse Thompson?
Tom Tancredo's presidential campaign is planning a "major announcement" on Thursday in Des Moines. PJM's Richard Miniter thinks the Colorado congressman will likely drop out of the race and endorse Fred Thompson.
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