"Diamonds v. Pearls" Student Blasts CNN (Updated With CNN Response)  —  Maria Luisa, the UNLV student who asked Hillary Clinton whether she preferred "diamonds or pearls" at last night's debate wrote on her MySpace page this morning that CNN forced her to ask the frilly question instead …

BREAKING: Reid shuts down Bush recess appointments during Thanksgiving  —  Now who's relevant?  A statement from Senator Harry Reid (and more background on this issue here):

Kerry vows to disprove Swift boat claims  —  BOSTON - Sen. John Kerry, whose 2004 presidential campaign was torpedoed by critics of his Vietnam War record, said Friday he has personally accepted a Texas oilman's offer to pay $1 million to anyone who can disprove even a single charge of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.

Those Anti-Romney Calls  —  Western Wats, the company making the calls, is based in Orem, Utah.  One of its dialers, Amanda Earnshaw, has maxed out to Romney for the primary.  The company's founder, Ron Lindorf (he sold it years ago), is noted here as a founder of the BYU Business School.

My best friend, Joy Behar  —  The nattering nabobs of ninnyism on "The View" never cease to amaze.  You may recall last month when "View" co-host Joy Behar appeared on the Bill Maher show and called me a "selfish bitch" because I questioned Harry Reid's poster family for the massive S-CHIP entitlement expansion.

Huge Admin. Win in 9th Cir. on Terrorist Surveillance Litigation — 3-0 Vote, and all the Judges are Carter and Clinton Appointees.  Who can MoveOn blame now?  —  Filed under: Civil Liberties, Court Decisions, General, Government, Judiciary, Law, Terrorism, War — WLS @ 12:48 pm

Democratic Party's Image More Positive Than GOP's  —  PRINCETON, NJ — According to the latest USA Today/Gallup poll, Americans are much more positive in their assessments of the Democratic Party than of the Republican Party — consistent with a trend Gallup has measured since April 2006.

Flying Spaghetti Monster's existence mulled  —  (AP) — When some of the world's leading religious scholars gather in San Diego this weekend, pasta will be on the intellectual menu.  They'll be talking about a satirical pseudo-deity called the Flying Spaghetti Monster, whose growing pop …

Friday Afternoon Scuttlebutt  —  * I'm told that "Bitch-Gate" has caused McCain's campaign to have one of its best Internet fund-raising days so far.  —  * CORRECTED: In the polls, Michigan is looking like a two man race between Rudy and Romney.  Thompson has lost ground since the last Detroit News/WXYZ-TV poll.

Newsweek Editor: Who Cares If Bloggers Criticize Us?  As Long As They Link Us, We've Succeeded  —  One thing that really bums this blog out is this inane idea still harbored by some in the traditional media that if you're getting criticized equally by both sides of the blogosphere, you're "doing something right."