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A Palin Theory

post from Open Left - Front Page on 03 July 2009 11:50:29 PM. © Open Left - Front Page

Lots of speculation tonight over the "real" reason for Sarah Palin's abrupt[...]

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Iran officially charges British embassy official

post from AMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth on 03 July 2009 11:48:00 PM. © AMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth

The hard line regime is obsessed with the British. The capturing of the British sailors in 2007 was odd but arresting embassy workers is even more bizarre. They're fixated on picking a fight with a world power and without the US, the UK is the best they can hope for. (The US is no stranger to such strange behavior either as we discovered during the invasion of Iraq.) The EU ambassadors are staying put for now as that was apparently part of the deal when Iran released other embassy workers. The Guardian:

A British embassy employee is to stand trial in Tehran for "acting against national security" ? a dramatic escalation in Iran's campaign to blame Britain for protests against disputed election results.

The man, a 44-year-old Iranian who is the British embassy's chief political analyst, was arrested on Saturday and has been formally charged at Tehran's Evin Prison, his lawyer, Abdolsamad Khorramshahi, said. "Apparently he will be put on trial. We have prepared and submitted the defence documents and I have to see the judge next week."

It was is not clear whether any other embassy staff will face prosecution. A senior cleric claimed that some had "confessed" to playing a role in the protest movement. The staging of political trials is likely to lead to a breach in relations not only with Britain, but also with the European Union. Iranian ambassadors were summoned to foreign ministries in capitals across Europe in a coordinated rebuke.

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Polling and Political Wrap-Up, 7/03/09

post from Daily Kos on 03 July 2009 11:46:05 PM. © Daily Kos

I was busy most of the day, but I heard that something might have happened with regard to the 2010 elections. Some sort of a candidate announcement. Might have been a governors race? Perhaps someone here can fill me in....

MN-Gov: Apparently, Norm Coleman IS Serious About This
Norm Coleman is obviously trying to resemble one of those sandy-bottomed childrens toys that you keep knocking over, only to see it rise again to your endless amusement/frustration. According to this article, a Coleman advisor is saying that he is actively discussing a 2010 gubernatorial bid with Republican activists. This comes, of course, less than 72 hours after he finally conceded the 2008 Senate race, in which he was defeated by Democrat Al Franken.

OH-Gov: Poll Confirms Softening of Strickland's Position
A new poll from Quinnipiac shows that the state's financial dire straits have had a political effect on the state's first-term Democratic governor, Ted Strickland. Once considered in a strong position for re-election, Strickland now leads his potential GOP rivals by single digits. Strickland holds a one-point edge over former Senator Mike DeWine (41-40) and a five-point edge over former Congressman John Kasich (43-38). In early May, Quinnipiac had Strickland leading both GOP candidates by double-digit margins.

NATIONAL: The Dire Straits of Republican Governors
As Sarah Palin jogs off into the sunset (for now), Kyle Munzenreider of the Miami New Times has a pretty solid read on a topic that will probably unleash a little healthy weekend schaudenfreude in these parts: the shockingly swift descent of the Republican governors, once considered to be the bedrock upon which the GOP resurrection would be built. The gallery of GOP gubernatorial drama alone is worth the visit.

IL-Sen/IL-Gov: Could Kirk's Statewide Plans Get Scuttled By Right-Wing?
Mark Kirk has taken most of his abuse lately from the political left, in particular for his somewhat dangerous attempt to give Barack Obama and the Democrats a swift kick in the knees by telling China that America's government could not be trusted. Now, he is taking on water on the starboard side. Yep, the right-wing in his state is less than thrilled that he was one of eight Republicans to support the President on last week's very tight Clean Energy vote.

NV-Sen: Heller Looking Less Likely As A Senate Challenger in 2010
Barely a week after John Cornyn insisted that a Republican challenger to Democratic Senate leader Harry Reid was forthcoming, the main target of the NRSC's recruitment efforts seems to be intent on staying put. Dean Heller, who has served northern Nevada in Congress since 2006, has not made up his mind definitively, but the signs are pointing towards him not running for statewide office in 2010. This is doubly good news for Democrats, since not only does this mean that he is unlikely to challenge Reid, but it also means that he is unlikely to challenge incredibly vulnerable GOP Governor Jim Gibbons. Top Republicans seem resigned to a Heller non-candidacy: John Thune, now in the Senate leadership, simply said of Heller, "I think he likes the job he has."

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-Wrap-Up,-7-03-09

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Open Thread

post from Crooks and Liars on 03 July 2009 11:30:25 PM. © Crooks and Liars

"You won't have Miz Palin to kick around anymore."

Click here for larger.

Open Thread below...

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Governor Sarah The Barracuda Palin To Leave
Office Permanently, Effective July 26th

post from The Gun Toting Liberal on 03 July 2009 11:25:34 PM. © The Gun Toting Liberal

In Other News: Rupert Murdoch Denies Interest In Purchasing The New York Times (”LIE” Alert)First things first — remember — who’s the guy in the Blogospheres who brings you the REAL news before it ever actually happens, thanks indeed to my G.O.P. Insider? ...

This is only a comment summary. Visit http://guntotingliberal.com to view the lastest content complete with some of the most outrageous original photoshops in the political blogosphere!

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Top 10 reasons for Palin resignation

post from Daily Kos on 03 July 2009 11:06:07 PM. © Daily Kos

Feel free to add your own theories in the comments.

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lin-resignation

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Late Night: Elephants Palin on Parade

post from Firedoglake on 03 July 2009 11:00:40 PM. © Firedoglake

Mere days after bragging about her stamina, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin up and quits. Her hastily organized presser?called on a super-news-dump Friday before a national holiday?coupled with the half-baked logic contained in her farewell, can only leave[...]

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C+L's 4th of July Late Nite Music Club

Title: Fourth of JulyArtist: Soundgarden
video details and more

Christmas sure has a lot of songs, but 4th of July not so many. This one by Soundgarden is a fantastic slab of total sludge that's buried toward the end of their classic album Superunknown, and I always skip ahead to it.

"Fourth of July" by X is another great one.

What will you be spinning at your BBQs this weekend?

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Department of Book Reports: Julian

In the Spring of AD 380, letters are exchanged between two old men, philosophers, one in Athens and the other in Antioch. They squabble over the price of copying and their respective ages. One complains about the aging process while the other brags about his on-going virility. Most importantly, they discuss the existence of a hidden memoir written by the Emperor Julian, their friend, who was killed in 363 while conducting a military campaign in Parthia, modern day Iran.

Gore Vidal's Julian (Vintage $16.00) was first published in 1964, and remains one of the great historical novels. For me, it bears a rereading often as new ideas and details emerge on each reading. The prose is luminous, and the voices of the three narrators, the philosophers Libanius and Priscus, as well as the Emperor Julian, are lively and engaging.

Julian reigned only two years, but the memory of his time remains. He was the nephew of the Emperor Constantine, who built the new Roman capital of Constantinople, as well as adopting Christianity as the preferred state religion. Following the death of Constantine, Julian, reared as Christian, managed to avoid the family fighting among his cousins for the Imperial throne. He fell in love with philosophy, studied in Athens, which he loved, and secretly renounced his Christianity. Ultimately impressed into Imperial duties, first as Caesar in Gaul, where he warred successfully against the threat of the German tribes on the frontier; and then as acclaimed Emperor. As Emperor, he tried much less successfully to reintroduce Paganism to the Empire, resisted at all times by the various Bishops of the Church. Perhaps thinking himself a new Alexander, Julian went on to march against Rome's great Eastern nemesis, Parthia, where he was killed in a skirmish, maybe by a Roman lance.

Gore Vidal is our best historical novelist. Anyone who read his series on American history know how compelling a storyteller he can be. From Burr, to Lincoln, 1876, Empire and Hollywood, he knows (and is related to many) the major actors of the American past. He is one of the last of those great public intellectuals born in the 1920's that included Norman Mailer and is as well-known for his essays on contemporary affairs as well as his novels. He has also written plays like Visit to a Small Planet, as well as mysteries under the name of Edgar Box. In any event, if you enjoy history and historical novels, do yourself a favor and read Julian. Or re-read it.

Julian, and other novels by Gore Vidal, is available at Jackson Street Books and other fine independent bookstores.

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http://patriotboy.blogspot.com/2009/07/department-of-book-reports-julian.html

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No Quit in the Hagiographers

BEFORE:Rod Dreher, Dallas Morning News, Sept. 7, 2008:She's a fighter, this one. And worth fighting for. Come what may in November, we now know what the future of the GOP and the conservative movement looks like.Mary Mitchell, Chicago Sun-Times, Sept. 4,[...]

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