Obama: Internet Fueled Rumors He’s Muslim

Speaking to Barbara Walters, President Obama says it’s the Internet that is largely responsible for keeping afloat the idea that he is of the Muslim faith. (via Mediaite)

“The internet has a powerful effect these ways,” he told Walters, “so the way rumors can take up a life of their own ends up being very powerful.”

He adds that “the thing that, obviously, is important to me is what I believe,” and continues to say that not only have he and his wife benefited from their religion (which, again, is not Islam), but their daughters have, too. He also …

Alaska GOP Chair Rips Joe Miller For Unwillingness To Concede

As Joe Miller continues to pursue a legal challenge to the results of the Alaska U.S. Senate election, Alaska GOP Chairman Rudy Ruedrich is speaking out against his ongoing efforts to win Lisa Murkowski’s Senate seat. Miller and his team don’t want voter intent to count.

In a 1,100-word statement posted on the party’s website, Ruedrich shoots down the claims put forth by Miller’s campaign both in the lawsuit and in the press. He blasts one of Miller’s supporters, former Lt. Gov. Loren Lehman, for saying earlier this month that voter intent was not the standard in effect when he …

Willie Nelson Charged With Pot Possession. What Decade Is this?

It seems like a throwback to another era. Country singer Willie Nelson was charged with pot possession after six ounces were found on his tour bus in Texas.

Patrol spokesman Bill Brooks says the bus pulled into the Sierra Blanca, Texas, checkpoint about 9 a.m. Friday. Brooks says an officer smelled pot when a door was opened and a search turned up marijuana.

Brooks says the Hudspeth County sheriff was contacted and Nelson was among three people arrested.

Nelson claimed the marijuana was his and was held briefly on a $2500 bond before being released.…

How Each GOP Presidential Hopeful Is Vulnerable

Aaron Blake in the Washington Post runs down each of the so-far-mentioned Republican presidential hopefuls and what the vulnerabilities are. Just a sampling:

Governor Mitch Daniels of Indiana:

Earlier this year, Daniels suggested to the Weekly Standard that the next president “would have to call a truce on the so-called social issues.” How’s that going to play among anti-abortion rights voters in Iowa? Daniels remains suspect to many social conservatives.

Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee:

…he’s still not being given much of a chance by smart political observers, mostly because he hasn’t corrected his major flaw from 2008 — his …

On Friday’s Radio Show…

Guest host Ellis Henican fills in for Alan.…

News Flash: Stimulus Worked

by Stuart Shapiro

Well it’s not exactly a news flash since many economists have been saying this for months.  But a new Congressional Budget Office report gives a new basis of support for stimulus supporters.

The massive U.S. stimulus package, widely viewed by voters to be ineffective, put 1.4 million to 3.6 million people to work between July and September, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said Wednesday.The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act also boosted national output by between 1.4 percent and 4.1 percent during that period, CBO said in its latest estimate.

So why has the stimulus been such a …

Obama Gets 12 Stitches After Basketball Injury

After an elbow to the mouth during a pickup basketball game, President Obama required 12 stitches in his lip.

Obama received the stitches under local anesthesia in the doctor’s office on the ground floor White House after he returned home.

The president had traveled to nearby Fort McNair to indulge in one of his favorite athletic pursuits, basketball. It was a five-on-five contest involving family and friends and including Reggie Love, Obama’s personal assistant who played at Duke University.

The owner of the offending elbow has not been identified.…

General Motors Thanks America

They call the commercial, “We all fall down.”  It’s a good one. Nice touch is the soundtrack.

…

Cher: “Teabaggers” Are “F*cking Nuts”

Jay Leno asked Cher about Sarah Palin’s reality show, and the ageless songbird responded by saying, “I can only get myself into problems and then no Republicans are going to see [my] movie.”  Cher then said “teabaggers” are “f*cking nuts.”

…

Palin Reacts To Latest Verbal Gaffe By Attacking Media And Obama; But Wrong Word Is The Least Of Her Problems

Sarah Palin took to one of her two favorite one-way communication mediums to decry those who underscored her latest verbal gaffe by attacking the media and President Obama for his verbal gaffes (h/t Political Wire). On her Facebook page, Palin mentions the already-hackneyed “57 states” gaffe, and says she doesn’t have enough time to mention all the faux pas of Joe Biden.

However, it isn’t her statement that North Korea is an ally that should be of such concern to anyone who takes a potential Palin presidential run seriously.  That can easily be overlooked as an …

New York Newspaper’s Historical Story Of Thanksgiving Has Posters Calling It “Liberal Propaganda”

James Baker, author of  Thanksgiving: The Biography of an American Holiday,  has a piece in the New York Daily News that punches holes in some Thanksgiving myths, and that has some of its posters hopping mad. Americans love to hear about how Pilgrims enjoyed the first Thanksgiving on a peaceful autumn afternoon, with their Wampanoag neighbors enjoying the harvest in harmony. Only it’s not true.

Past Thanksgivings were not always harmonious or comfortable. Some were proclaimed for bloody victories over other Americans, Native or Northern and Southern. Returning home once meant braving perilous conditions far more intimidating than …