August 11, 2026

Newt Gingrich and the Art of Not Answering Questions

Mr. Dough Boy was not in full form last night. Not, unless that is, you realized just how doughy and soft his brand of conservative is. Rather, he spent the night looking sour and dour.

And who is Mr. Dough Boy? None other than the only Speaker of the US House of Representatives to ever resign in disgrace, Newt Gingrich.

Let’s stop for a minute, though. We’ll come back to the debate in a minute. Why are we calling him “Doughboy?” I mean, other than that he brought in $25,000 a month while “consulting” Freddie Mac (others might call that lobbying on behalf of…) and because he looks like a Doughboy?

Perhaps we should be calling him the comeback kid, instead. There was a time when he was almost done, when his candidacy was written off, when he went on a cruise to Greece with wife #3 and 13 of his 15 fundraising chairs resign in disgust. Yeah. Less than a year ago, that was. [cont…]

Because the NSA hates competition, President Obama brings us National Stalking Awareness Month

No one should be able to follow and watch your every move unless, of course, that person works for the federal government and is authorized by the PATRIOT Act, which President Obama reauthorized in part on May 26, 2011 (roving wiretaps, search of business records, and surveillance of “lone wolves” suspected of terrorism). Or, perhaps, the Department of Defense which, after said federal stalking occurs, may detain you indefinitely without any process.

But only if you are suspected of terrorism, of course. [cont…]

Could Google predict the next “not Romney” candidate? Maybe…but what about Ron Paul?

Could Google predict who’s next in the “not-Romney” race for the nomination? Maybe, suggest political scientists. Says Erik Voeten at The Monkey Cage: One of the driving forces behind the creation of Google Insights was the observation that Google searches can predict flu epidemics more quickly than other types of observations. Shauna Reilly, Sean Richey, and Benjamin Taylor have a forthcoming article (nongated), […]