Today’s edition of quick hits.<\/p>\n
* If you haven’t seen “War of the Words,” check this out<\/a>. (Thanks to D.M. for the tip.)<\/p>\n * Only the Bush administration would conclude that half of $412.7 billion is $248 billion. No wonder the budget is so messed up; these guys are bad at arithmetic<\/a>.<\/p>\n * In an apparent effort to “avoid any further gaffes,” Sen. George Allen’s (R-Va.) campaign seems to have agreed on a new strategy for the remainder of the campaign: stop the candidate from speaking in public<\/a>.<\/p>\n * Tim F. asks<\/a> if maybe, just maybe, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) ran over the AP’s John Solomon’s dog. Given Solomon’s recent work, that’s a reasonable question.<\/p>\n * Frederick Maryland asks<\/a> if maybe, just maybe, Rep. Chris Shays (R-Conn.) is losing it. Given Shays’ recent comments, that’s a reasonable question, too.<\/p>\n * Religious white people, the key to the Republican base, are moving away from the GOP<\/a>, at least for now.<\/p>\n * I have a very hard time understanding how this kind<\/a> of campaign direct mail can be legal.<\/p>\n * Media Matters has a terrific report<\/a> out today “chronicling the growing wave of misinformation floating throughout the media since the Foley scandal broke almost two weeks ago.” It’s amazing how many myths the right can come up with a) in a short period of time; and b) with a straight face. * When you listen to conservative talk radio, you can hear official Republican talking points — from hosts and<\/i> callers<\/a>.<\/p>\n * Increase the minimum wage, help the economy<\/a>. What a concept.<\/p>\n * This LA Times editorial<\/a> isn’t perfect, but it’s right about at least one thing: when Bush said we must fight them “over there,” so we don’t have to fight them “over here,” it is a crude formulation that’s “insulting to Americans’ intelligence.”<\/p>\n * Ezra believes that Christopher Hitchens has gone completely crazy<\/a>. I didn’t realize that this was still open to question, but I’m glad it’s official now.<\/p>\n * If I were running for governor in California, I wouldn’t want to admit being associated with George W. Bush, either, but with video available<\/a>, Schwarzenegger sounds like he doesn’t know what he’s talking about.<\/p>\n * John Danforth’s perspective continues to fascinate me, and his new podcast<\/a> on the religious right is worth checking out.<\/p>\n
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\n* Evangelist K.A. Paul is going to get as much publicity<\/a> as humanly possible out of that inexplicable meeting with Speaker Hastert yesterday.<\/p>\n