In defense of Alan Simpson  —  (updated below)  —  The President's Deficit Commission is designed to be as anti-democratic and un-transparent as possible.  Its work is done in total secrecy.  It is filled with behind-the-scenes political and corporate operatives who steadfastly refuse to talk to the public about what they're doing.

Oval Office rug gets history wrong  —  A mistake has been made in the Oval Office makeover that goes beyond the beige.  —  President Obama's new presidential rug seemed beyond reproach, with quotations from Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy …

My Response To Stephen Bainbridge's Ad Hominem Attack  —  According to Stephen Bainbridge, suddenly I'm a holier than thou purist with no tolerance and an enemy of the good, ... along with my ilk.  It's difficult to see Bainbridge as the good here, given his mis-labeling me so falsely, while ignoring my arguments.

What America Has Lost  —  It's clear we overreacted to 9/11.  —  Nine years after 9/11, can anyone doubt that Al Qaeda is simply not that deadly a threat?  Since that gruesome day in 2001, once governments everywhere began serious countermeasures, Osama bin Laden's terror network has been unable …

Inside Al Qaeda  —  Nine years after 9/11, Osama bin Laden's network remains a shadowy, little-understood enemy.  The truth, as revealed by one of its fighters, is both more and less troubling than we think.  —  The incident didn't get much international attention at the time …

Tony Blair pelted with eggs at book signing in Dublin  —  Activists clashed with Irish police as they tried to push down a security barrier outside the bookshop  —  Eggs, bottles and shoes have been thrown at the former prime minister Tony Blair as he attended a book signing in Dublin.

Glenn Beck's “Restoring Honor” Rally, a Week Later  —  Last Saturday, Glenn Beck held his “Restoring Honor” rally in Washington, DC.  Reason.tv's segment on the event, which went up a few hours after its conclusion, is above.  (Shot by Jim Epstein with help from Josh Swain …

NO ONE SHOULD BE SURPRISED BY THE SHUTDOWN.... Josh Marshall had an item yesterday that I suspect represents the way many observers consider reports of a government shutdown next year: “When I first heard this talk of another ‘government shutdown’ in 2011, I figured it was just Democrats whipping it up as a cudgel for the election.

Palin Derangement Syndrome Outbreak: There Are Still Five A's in Raaaaacism … Some things are predictable — i.e., that the Palin-haters would decide it was a good time to recycle the old SPLC/LGF attacks on me in order to exploit my interview with Todd Palin for a guilt-by-association smear.

Broke—and Building the Most Expensive School in U.S. History  —  Benches that talk, a Cocoanut Grove auditorium, and a marble slab engraved with quotes from Ted Kennedy.  —  Los Angeles  —  At $578 million—or about $140,000 per student—the 24-acre Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools complex …

Keith Olbermann and Nate Silver at 538.com get faced by former Car Czar Steve Rattner — Chrysler closings were politically motivated  —  With word that former White House ‘car czar’ Steve Rattner's tell-all book is on the way, it's worth revisiting the ‘Dealergate’ controversy that broke in May of 2009.

What Kind of Socialist Is Barack Obama?  —  The assertion that Barack Obama is a socialist became a hallmark of the 2008 presidential campaign.  His opponent, John McCain, used Obama's own extemporaneous words to an Ohio plumber as Exhibit A: “When you spread the wealth around,” Obama had said, “it's good for everybody.”