For the record, I'm rooting for Tom Watson. I'm still bummed out over his British open choke.

Nevertheless, Tiger Woods is the focus of this years Masters. And with great coverage comes great scrutiny.

Including of one's religious faith. Tiger did, after all, attempt to explain his various and sundry marital infidelities on having strayed from his belief in Buddhism.

Apparently, not everyone in the gallery was inclined to accept this rationalization, as the following sign shows: more...

Posted by: Jack M. at 08:28 AM | Comments (245)
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And odds are Obama would join the ambush rather than prevent it.

Netanyahu, who plans to send a deputy and two senior advisers to the April 12-13 conference instead, canceled "after learning that some countries including Egypt and Turkey plan to say Israel must sign the NPT," an Israeli official said.

By staying outside the 1970 Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), Israel has not had to forswear nuclear arms nor admit international inspectors to its Dimona reactor, which experts believe has produced plutonium for between 80 and 200 warheads.

Netanyahu's attendance at the 47-country summit would have been unprecedented. Israeli premiers long shunned such forums, hoping to dampen foreign scrutiny on their nuclear secrets.

Aides said Netanyahu originally agreed to go after being reassured by the United States that the summit communique would focus on efforts to secure fissile materials and shun language challenging Israel's nuclear "ambiguity" policy.

Such coordination between the allies has been clouded, however, by rifts over stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

This ties in nicely with Liz Cheney's speech last night at the Republican Southern Leadership Conference. Her crazy theory? Maybe the US should be friendly towards our allies.

Israel is our strongest ally in the Middle East and one of our strongest and most important allies in the world. Barack Obama is playing a reckless game that could have deadly consequences if he continues on the path of diminishing America’s ties to Israel. Israel is not the only ally to have felt Obama’s wrath — last year the Obama Administration pulled the rug out from under leaders in Poland and the Czech Republic by abruptly canceling a missile defense system they had committed to host. We did so because the Russians complained.

Afghan President Karzai, whose support we need if we are going to succeed in Afghanistan, is being treated to an especially dangerous and juvenile display from this White House. They dress him down publicly almost daily and refuse to even say that he is an ally. There is a saying in the Arab world: “It is more dangerous to be America’s friend than to be her enemy.” In the age of Obama, that is proving true.

On the day that Iran announces once again that it is moving ahead with its nuclear program, Obama's vaunted conference on nuclear terrorism is about to be hijacked by Muslim nations to attack Israel. Wonderful.

As Teh Fred said in The Hunt for Red October, "This business will get out of control. It will get out of control and we'll be lucky to live through it. "

Posted by: DrewM at 08:24 AM | Comments (133)
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Gallup calls this a tie, which it is, virtually, statistically. But according to the actual numbers it's a 1-point edge.

The Suicide Squad has accomplished its mission.

For a long time I've been saying it sarcastically. But now I mean it: Thanks, Nancy! And thanks Barry and thanks Harry!

Americans' favorable rating of the Democratic Party dropped to 41% in a late March USA Today/Gallup poll, the lowest point in the 18-year history of this measure. Favorable impressions of the Republican Party are now at 42%, thus closing the gap between the two parties' images that has prevailed for the past four years.

...

The images of the two major parties have particular significance in a midterm election year. For example, the favorable rating of the Democratic Party exceeded that of the Republican Party by 52% to 37% just prior to the 2006 midterm elections, in which the Democrats gained 31 House seats.

Americans' current 41% favorable rating of the Democratic Party is five points lower than the party's previous low, recorded twice in 2005.

I'd like to see someone give a speech patterned on FDR's indictment of the Republicans, in which every political evil was assigned to "Martin, Barton, and Fish."

"Harry, Barry, and Nancy."

The Brand: What annoys me with Stupak's retirement is that the next candidate will probably claim he would have voted against the Health Care Destruction Act. Which is a lie. He would have voted against that bill only if Harry, Barry, and Nancy gave him permission to do so, i.e., they had enough votes to allow his no.

It's good to see the entire Democratic brand suffering to lessen the usefulness of these sorts of claims. At the end of the day, "history" comes calling, and they answer the phone with with a chirpy "Yes, sir!"

Also: Get the tape! All of these new improved Democrats should have run against them all the media accounts and proclamations from Democrats that Nancy Pelosi is extremely good at twisting arms and getting the votes.

The Democrats have said this again and again. (It turns out it's true.) They should not be allowed to run on an "Independent from Nancy Pelosi" plank, because that's a lie. And we have the boasts, and the votes, to prove it.

Harry, Barry, and Nan: suggested by maddogg, which does have the same cadence as Martin, Barton and Fish, and works a bit better.

Trust Us, We're Liberals: Nancy Pelosi tells the public not to sweat the details of the legislation.

ItÂ’s like the back of the refrigerator. You see all these wires and the rest. All you need to know is, you open the door. The light goes on.

That's about the level of comprehension Harry, Barry, and Nan had of the bill, but thank God the American people are slightly more interested in it than that.

Posted by: Ace at 07:54 AM | Comments (108)
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Just breaking.

Not really a surprise after the interviews he gave recently.

Midterms just got more interesting, if that were possible. Do Obama go for the upfront, honest ultra liberal he and the left want or does he need to go for another stealth, pretend moderate like Sotomayor?

Early guess...he goes for broke.

From FNC.

The leading candidates to replace Stevens are Solicitor General Elena Kagan, 49, and federal appellate Judges Merrick Garland, 57, and Diane Wood, 59.

Stevens' departure will not change the court's conservative-liberal split because Obama is certain to name a liberal-leaning replacement. But the new justice is not likely to be able to match Stevens' ability to marshal narrow majorities in big cases.

Stevens was able to draw the support of the court's swing votes, now-retired Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and Justice Anthony Kennedy, to rein in or block some Bush administration policies, including the detention of suspected terrorists following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, its tilt toward protecting businesses from some lawsuits and its refusal to act against global warming.

Thanks to tmi3rd for the heads up.

Update [Slublog] - As has been pointed out in the comments, politically speaking, the timing couldn't be worse for the Democrats. Via RCP, here are the lean and toss up races for the Senate:

Look at this PPP roundup of senate polls, post health care vote. Things haven't improved for the Democrats.

Stevens will retire in late June or early July. Obama will name a successor after that and then the fight begins. I fully expect Obama to go full-liberal and pick a hard lefty for the post. If the fight continues until late August or even into September, Bennet and Specter are going to have to choose between further ticking off the electorate and displeasing The One.

Independent voters in the states with an open seat are going to see the party in power once again going full left with another vote, which may increase their desire for a divided government. So a lot of them will decide to take a chance on the Republican candidate for that seat. As an added bonus, imagine what Ben Nelson must be thinking. Sure, he isn't up for election until 2012, but he's got to be wondering if confirming Obama's nominee is worth further irritating his already angry constituents.

If this weren't so serious, I'd be enjoying how unpleasant life is going to be for Senate Democrats much more.

Posted by: DrewM at 06:36 AM | Comments (292)
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Have to pass it to know what's in it:

The session exemplifies the overwhelming sense of confusion among state lawmakers and health care officials around the country as they scramble to figure out what exactly health care reform means for their governments, their citizens and, not least of all, their budgets. With estimates ranging from state savings of $1 billion to $27 billion in additional costs, the one thing clear about health care reform is that little, if anything, is actually clear.

“It’ll probably be 10 years before it all shakes out,” says Chris Whatley, of the Council of State Governments, only half-jokingly. “This will push the fabric of the state-federal relationship in new directions, and we don’t know how it will all come out.”

That's from a long article on new state costs associated with ObamaCare and other drafting flaws likely to cause trouble in the near future. Many states are looking at serious budget deficits as a result of spending mandates:

Still, it’s true that the Medicaid expansion will cost Texas additional money. Even 10 percent of the estimated cost of the Medicaid expansion in the state would be $370 million for a state facing a dire budget situation. On a smaller scale, Alabama, which has an even stricter Medicaid program than Texas, estimates the law will cost that state “anywhere between $60 million to $100 million” each year, says Carol Steckel, the state Medicaid commissioner.

While there’s no shortage of cost estimates, Judy Solomon, a health policy expert at the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, says it’s still early to be putting any sure price tags on individual states. “It’s not a question that’s easily answered,” she says. “When our state groups come to me and want an estimate, I really can’t give them one.” In Solomon’s view, there are simply too many variables to allow confident prediction.

Definitely read the whole thing.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 05:33 AM | Comments (110)
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Whoa.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 05:05 AM | Comments (91)
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Image Update - As Stupak is not worthy of the flaming skull, and the Stevens news is much bigger, I've replaced the skull with a more appropriate image.

Adios, chump.

Michigan Rep. Bart Stupak, the congressman who led anti-abortion rights Democrats in the House during health care negotiations, will retire this year, CBS News has learned. He is expected to announce his plans later this morning.

Had Stupak sought re-election, he would have faced challengers from both the left and the right backed by interest groups angered by Stupak's health care vote.

The move really isn't surprising, though. After folding on the one issue he once pretended to take a stand on, he doesn't have anything left to sell.

(h/t: Hot Air headlines)

Update - Remember, this isn't 1994. This year, they have Obama:

Obama called Stupak Wednesday, asked him not to retire. Rep. Dingell, dean of delegation, did too. Per colleague Chad Pergram

You'll be fine.

Posted by: Slublog at 05:04 AM | Comments (144)
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Happy Thursday M&Ms.

Filthy Apartments AKA The Moron Habitat

I once had to go pick up some furniture from a self-described 'collector' lady. It was horrible - as bad as any of these photos. The really sad part was that she was married and her husband and son had to live in the filth as well. And if you've ever watched the show Hoarders, you'll realize how horrible it can get. It really is a mental illness for some people.

So...maybe you oughta clean up a little this weekend. At least try and get all the fast food wrappers and empty bottles into just one room. Baby steps...that's the key. Next week we'll try and uncover the toilet.

Posted by: Maetenloch at 05:47 PM | Comments (1122)
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All the news we were too busy to bring you in one easy post.

GOP governors are going around their Democratic attorney generals to sue the federal government over Obama's intended destruction of the best healthcare system in the world. Governors Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota, Jan Brewer of Arizona, and Jim Gibbons of Nevada are all getting into the act.

Also on that front, several states are pulling together legislation to prohibit abortion coverage in health plans under the bill. Tennessee, Oklahoma, Missouri, Mississippi, Kansas and Arizona are working on bills for that.

Recent polls that caught my eye: 31% still think Bush is to blame for the economy. Democrats in Congress were blamed by 16%, while President Obama was blamed by 14%.

And a record low 28% believe that Congress should be reelected.

Finally, in the "makes you go 'huh'" department, non-shoebombing dunderhead Al Modadi was on his way to Denver to meet with convicted Al Qaeda agent Ali Al-Marri.

This is an open thread; all topics welcome.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 05:34 PM | Comments (151)
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Obamaland's experiencing some change.

First of all, Kirk's bringing in some nice money through fundraising.

Republican U.S. Senate nominee Mark Kirk raised $2.2 million since the start of the year, his campaign announced Wednesday.

The figure is the first fundraising total released since the five-term North Shore congressman won the nomination Feb. 2. Kirk faces Democratic state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias for the Senate seat once held by President Barack Obama. It's currently occupied by appointed Democratic Sen. Roland Burris, who is not seeking election.

With the infusion of cash, Kirk's campaign said it has more than $3 million left ahead of the November election.

Giannoulis declined to release his own figures, which may indicate either he's not doing too well or he's getting a lot of money from his mobbed-up mob-bank. Or both.

Giannoulis' bank, however, may be going under soon:

Asked if the problems at the Giannoulias family-owned Broadway Bank would affect the candidate's voter support in the Senate contest, Madigan replied, "I'm glad I don't have any deposits there."

Federal regulators have said the bank must be recapitalized or it could face a takeover this month. Giannoulias had touted his banking expertise in running for treasurer in 2006.

That's a Democrat making fun of Giannoulis' nearly-bankrupt mob-bank, note.

Vote for me -- I managed to bankrupt a bank, so I know all the pitfalls our nation's finances face.

And Kirk is ahead:

Kirk has 37 percent support overall while Giannoulias has 33 percent, Public Policy Polling has found. The Republican has gained little in terms of favorable voter opinion since the pollster found him with 27 percent of voters viewing him positively in January; he is still unknown to 53 percent of voters, and 24 percent continue to not have enough information to form an opinion of him.

The congressman, however, is reaping the benefits of a drop in popularity for Giannoulias, who lost 10 points in terms of favorability since the last survey. The Democrat, facing controversy over bad loans approved by his family's bank, now has only 21 percent of voters thinking of him in a positive light, and 28 percent, up from 19 percent, viewing him negatively.

Kirk, a five-term representative, has more support from his party than does Giannoulias. He enjoys 77 percent support among Republicans, while his rival has 54 percent support from Democrats. Moreover, 36 percent of Democratic voters are undecided about whether to support Giannoulias.

...

Giannoulias, 34, is facing questions about his role in $20 million his family's bank is said to have lent to criminals.

There's a good chance the Democratic Party will attempt another last-minute substitution. Primaries are, in the Democratic Party, only the first draft of candidacy.

In the gubernatorial race, Republican Brady leads incumbent Democrat Quinn.

n a new poll from Dem-leaning Public Policy Polling, Brady's leading Quinn 43-33 and garnering 80% of the GOP vote. Quinn, meanwhile, has just 53% of the Democratic vote.

33 percent! And he's an incumbent!

This is good news.

Posted by: Ace at 11:32 AM | Comments (840)
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