Pajamas Media Changes Sleepwear

In preparation for adding more content in video, audio and text forms, Pajamas Media today is changing its layout slightly and its publishing platform. Because of the narrowing of the presidential election, the Straw Poll is being discontinued. We look forward to new features coming soon.

In Focus: The Old Story of McCain the Thwarted Democrat

Is it news that John McCain nearly became John Kerry’s running-mate and may have once considered becoming a Democrat? New York Times thinks so, writes Michael Weiss.

Can Obama Overcome the 'Wright Stuff?'

Barack Obama never wanted to run for president as “the black candidate.” But now, he doesn’t have a choice, writes Bill Bradley.

Turning the Tables on the Associated Press

The AP threatened to sue Brian C. Ledbetter for reproducing their photos without authorization. But they didn’t ask permission before they grabbed Ashley Dupre’s pictures.

Lone Blogger Takes On the UN

The power of one

We all get chain emails calling for some kind of political action. What happens if you actually follow through? Liza Rosenberg did — and was amazed.

News Without Reporters

Unnecessary?

Reporters are a dying breed, says Steve Boriss, and that’s a good thing. America got along fine without them once before.

Biased Schnooks Write Slanted Books

Toobin, biased schnook

Burt Prelutsky always worries that he might miss the subtle biases of nonfiction books. He finds no such subtlety in Jeffrey Toobin’s Supreme Court tome.

Goeglein, The Plagiarist Too Easily Forgiven

Plagiarism, like imitation, is a sincere form of flattery, writes Stefan Beck. Just ask all the people White House official Timothy S. Goeglein stole his words from…

UPDATE: PJM’s Roger Kimball offers some (unoriginal) thoughts on plagiarism here.

In Focus: What McCain, Clinton and Obama Do Have In Common: Passport Breaches

Now that every candidate’s passport file has been hacked by nosy State Department officials, can we drop the conspiracy theories? Of course not. Michael Weiss rounds-up blogger opinions.

Let's Save the Planet — Without Starving People

Turning food into fuel may create more problems than it solves, says The Anchoress. If we are serious about global warming, here are a few modest steps we should take today — while letting people eat their corn.

European Union = Corruption?

The European Union has an interesting definition of theft, David Abbott and Catherine Glass write: multiculturalism. How else to account for the billions of euros pilfered by EU civil servants?

In Focus: Dems Debate Do-Overs

The fact that the Michigan and Florida Democratic primaries are such a mess isn’t good for democracy, writes Sheryl Longin.

U.S. Elections: The View From Paris

Francis Turner says the French are pro-Obama, anti-Clinton, and vaguely neutral on McCain — but mostly happy to get rid of President Bush.