National Affairs

1. The National Guard... Still MIA - It's been one week since Rolling Stone and CBS independently spotlighted the failure of the Gulf governors to mobilize the National Guard to combat the oil inundating the region's marshes and beaches. (Read: Dereliction of Duty). The spectacular failure of these governors to step up as commanders in chief continues. ...
2. Oiled Senate Wildlife - This ad from VoteVets.com targeting Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina for taking Big Oil's campaign cash sets the standard for not letting a serious crisis go to waste:
3. RS Editor Eric Bates Talks McChrystal With Charlie Rose - Rolling Stone editor Eric Bates discussed our bombshell Stanley McChrystal story with Charlie Rose last night. Watch the full episode above, and check out the rest of our McChrystal coverage here: • The Runaway General: Read the Full Story • McChrystal and Us by Matt Taibbi • Replacing McChrystal: Can ...
4. Judge to Salazar: No Drilling Moratorium For You - A federal judge in Louisiana this morning enjoined the administration's six-month moratorium on deep-water drilling, ruling that it is likely to be found "arbitrary and capricious." The decision is shocking at first blush. How, in the shadow of the ongoing catastrophe in the Gulf, could a judge conclude the administration ...
5. The GOP Gets Randy; Democrats Get Cocky - Be careful how much you read into last night's election results. November is poised to be a national election — a referendum on the Obama presidency and the effectiveness of Democratic rule. What we saw Tuesday night was a collection of local races — each compelling in its own story ...
6. BP's Bogus Math - Last week we learned that BP and the Coast Guard's estimate of the volume of oil leaking into the Gulf ? 5,000 barrels per day ? is a joke. Independent scientific analysis solicited by NPR of the lone video of the gushing pipe on the sea floor put the flow ...
7. The Kagan Closet - After all of the whispering, here at last is some reporting that Elana Kagan is not gay. I'm frankly baffled that so many on the left were eager to put a discussion of Kagan's sexuality off limits. Either a nominee's biography and identity are germane to judicial outlook or they ...
8. Going Gaga in Afghanistan - Based on this Lady Gaga remake, apparently made by American soldiers based in Afghanistan, the Pentagon may need to revise DADT to become, Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't 'Telephone.' Awesome.
9. Threat Assessment 4.16 - The Good SEC brings "securities fraud action" against Goldman Sachs for its role in subprime meltdown. The Bad Goldman Sachs execs whinge about the views from their new $2.1 billion headquarters. The Scary Move over vampire squids, hello Tyrannobdella Rex, that is to say, tyrant leech king — a species ...
10. iCensorship - Mark Fiore is a first rate political cartoonist who's innovative use of Web animation won the self-syndicated lampooner a Pulitzer this week. But while Fiore is the toast of the interwebs, you can't see his work on your iPad. And not only because Steve Jobs broke the Internet with his ...