Anthony Weiner's Financial Disclosures

At National Journal, "Weiner OK Financially but Needs to Work":

If the Internet sex scandal that has already damaged Rep. Anthony Weiner’s political career ends up costing him his $174,000-a-year job, the New York Democrat would have a bit of a financial cushion.

Congressional lawmakers' financial-disclosure forms for 2010 were released on Wednesday, and Weiner's lists investments in a range of companies--including Hewlett-Packard, Corning, 3M, Dow Chemical, and Sony--that are worth as much as $117,000.

And he would clearly be better off if the scandal doesn’t also cost him his wife, Huma Abedin, an aide to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. The filings show that Weiner, 46, has an investment portfolio worth $16,017 to $117,000. His financial activity for 2010 involved buying into and unloading a number of companies, including the purchase of an interest worth $1,001 to $15,000 in Live Nation, the live-entertainment and e-commerce company.

Stripper Ginger Lee Alleges Anthony Weiner Pressured Her to Lie About Online Relationship

At Los Angeles Times, "Ex-porn actress alleges Anthony Weiner told her to cover up online activities."

Also, at New York Post, "Weiner text pal Ginger Lee set to strip again tonight."

And at The Other McCain, "Weiner’s Teen Tweeter."

Debate Boosts Bachmann

Stokin'.

At USA Today, "Debate showing elevates Bachmann to higher tier":

"This is really her first introduction to the voters of New Hampshire and I think she made a really good impression," says Kevin Smith, executive director of a conservative advocacy group, Cornerstone Action, which is affiliated with the Tea Party movement. "Most people thought maybe she was just a clone of Sarah Palin, and what I think they saw was that she was more articulate than Palin is and probably has a better grasp of the issues."

Also, at ABC News, "Coming Off Strong Debate Michele Bachmann Takes the High Road."

Huma Abedin Arrives Home

At London's Daily Mail, "Judgement day: Weiner's wife returns home to confront errant husband as new: images emerge showing congressman cross dressing and 'oiled up'."

And at Politico, "Decision time? Weiner's wife returns":

Rep. Anthony Weiner’s wife, Huma Abedin, returned to Washington early Wednesday from a trip abroad, setting off a new round of speculation that the New York Democrat’s resignation could come soon.

Friends of Weiner have said he would not make a decision on whether to quit until he had a chance to talk to Abedin, a top aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who returned to the United States from a trip to Africa with Clinton that began early last week.

Weiner and Abedin are expected to meet on Wednesday, and she was spotted driving into the garage alone at their northwest D.C. apartment building in the early morning hours. She has not yet been seen leaving the building.

See also, The Jawa Report, JammieWearingFool, and iOwnTheWorld.com (via Memeorandum).

Candidates Show G.O.P. Less United on Goals of War

At New York Times:

DERRY, N.H. — The hawkish consensus on national security that has dominated Republican foreign policy for the last decade is giving way to a more nuanced view, with some presidential candidates expressing a desire to withdraw from Afghanistan as quickly as possible and suggesting that the United States has overreached in Libya.

The shift, while incremental so far, appears to mark a separation from a post-Sept. 11 posture in which Republicans were largely united in supporting an aggressive use of American power around the world. A new debate over the costs and benefits of deploying the military reflects the length of the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, the difficulty of building functional governments and the financial burden at home in a time of extreme fiscal pressure.

I noticed this, and I wondered a bit about Michele Bachmann on foreign policy. She hardly sounds like a neocon, but I think that's good. We've been in Afghanistan for almost 10 years, and that's hard to sustain politically. Look for a lot of folks to declare victory and advocate a rapid drawdown.

New Ruling Upholds Proposition 8

I'm not surprised: "Gay judge wasn't required to remove himself from same-sex marriage case, U.S. judge rules."

I wasn't surprised at all. And ICYMI, yesterday's New York Times had a good piece on the road ahead for gay marriage, "Same-Sex Vote Unlikely in California":

Regardless of how the lower courts rule, most legal analysts believe the Boies-Olson case will eventually be decided by the United States Supreme Court. No one seems to want anything to happen outside the courtroom to prejudice judges at any level.

“We’re right at the cusp, and it is the conventional wisdom that we can’t go to the ballot to repeal and lose,” said Kate Kendell, the executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights in San Francisco. She said an electoral loss could “create a very toxic environment” for same-sex marriage and “send a message that might chill an otherwise more compassionate court.”

Evan Wolfson, the president of Freedom to Marry, another rights group, echoed that statement, saying the federal case has been a “tremendous boost to public understanding about how the denial of marriage really harms families,” but it’s also had a chilling effect on a California ballot push. “While the case is pending, it has made it harder to mobilize the volunteers and money and energy,” he said. “That’s really been the good and bad of it.”

In addition to the potential impact on the federal case, some worry that a 2012 ballot campaign could also galvanize conservative groups in a presidential election year, and bring more Republican voters to the polls in California in a year when initiatives on issues like immigrant rights and the death penalty may make the state’s ballot.

But the wait-and-see decision will no doubt displease some who feel that the voter-approved ban on gay marriage — in a year in which President Obama was elected — was a low-water mark in the gay rights movement.

Seems weird how long ago it's been. Polls have shifted a bit toward gay marriage, but not that much. Politics will still matter, a lot.

House Dems Won't Punish Anthony Weiner

The want to do something, yet ...

At Wall Street Journal, "Democrats Choose Not to Punish Weiner" (via Memeorandum).

Why Are Male Bloggers Pretending to Be Lesbians?

I blogged Jonah Goldberg's commentary piece yesterday morning, and now here's an interview with Glenn Reynolds:

Leftists Lie Compulsively

Kathy Shaidle's awesome roundup on the "Gay Girl in Damascus."

... the reasoning of the terrorist.

Pakistan Arrests C.I.A. Informants Who Assisted Bin Laden Operation

Via Astute Bloggers, "UNREAL BREAKING NEWS: PAKISTAN ARRESTS CIA'S INFORMANTS WHO AIDED ASSASSINATION OF BINLADEN."

And the link to the New York Times, "Pakistan Arrests C.I.A. Informants in Bin Laden Raid."

Over the past several weeks the Pakistani military has been distancing itself from American intelligence and counterterrorism operations against militant groups in Pakistan. This has angered many in Washington who believe that Bin Laden’s death has shaken Al Qaeda and that there is now an opportunity to further weaken the terrorist organization with more raids and armed drone strikes.

But in recent months, dating approximately to when a C.I.A. contractor killed two Pakistanis on a street in the eastern city of Lahore in January, American officials said that Pakistani spies from the Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence, known as the ISI, have been generally unwilling to carry out surveillance operations for the C.I.A. The Pakistanis have also resisted granting visas allowing American intelligence officers to operate in Pakistan, and have threatened to put greater restrictions on the drone flights.

And follow the links for the whole thing.

Michele Bachmann Enters Presidential Race

At Bloomberg, "Tea Party Favorite Bachmann Enters Republican Presidential Race."

And New York Times, "Bachmann Announces Presidential Candidacy."

Michele Bachmann Steals the Show at New Hampshire Presidential Debate

Andrew McCarthy took the words right out of my mouth, "Re: Bachmann Smart, Media Dumb":

I second Stanley’s analysis. I also saw Michele in person for the first time at David Horowitz’s retreat, and I was amazed at her combination of command and charisma. She spoke at great length about a wide variety of topics and took questions from the very engaged audience — without notes, with clarity and depth, and with a nice mix of humor and charm. She’s got a good lawyer’s mind for getting from A to B to C without losing the big picture, and she has the rare ability to grasp wonky details without sounding like a wonk.

I didn't have "a long chat" with Bachmann, as McCarthy says he did at the post, but as I said at the time, her talk at the Horowitz retreat sounded like a stump speech. I'm really happy for her, and pleased that she's getting a huge boost. She was a real winner last night.

See also Memeorandum.

I'll have more later.

How Many Male 'Lesbian' Bloggers Are Out There?

Radical anti-American lesbian feminism is on the rocks, but you knew that. The twist is that even radical anti-American lesbian feminists need fake radical anti-American lesbian feminists to keep the flame from being extinguished.

At Washington Post, "‘Paula Brooks,’ editor of ‘Lez Get Real,’ also a man."

And don't miss Jonah Golberg, "The 'Gay Girl in Damascus' hoax is worse than a lie. It's propaganda" (via Instapundit).

Liberty Belle B-17 Crash

At LAT, "Restored WWII bomber crashes."

GOP Presidential Debate in New Hampshire (VIDEO)

Bachmann hit a home run, and Romney did well too. See National Journal, "EXCLUSIVE: Political Insiders Give Debate Nod to Romney, Bachmann" (via Memeorandum). Bachmann looked extremely well prepared and on point, and her announcement that she filed papers for a presidential run was a PR coup. I'll update with more information and links to additional commentary throughout the day.

Obama Calls for Weiner's Resignation

At New York Times, "Obama Suggests That Weiner Step Down."

Also at NBC News, "Obama: 'I would resign' in Weiner's situation" (via Memorandum).

I'll post a video clip tomorrow, if I can find it.

Romney Set to Face Challenge From Right

It's a big front-page story at the Wall Street Journal.

It's gated, but click through at Google for the text sample.

Turns out that Romney's signature claim to free-enterprise fame --- his turnaround of the the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics --- in fact relied heavily on federal subsidies. And apparently tea party activists have made the federal backing for the Olympics an issue in recent campaigns:

The Salt Lake Games got more federal cash than any previous U.S. Olympics. A review of lobbying records shows the Games hired 16 lobbyists from five firms for nearly $4 million. Mr. Romney was at the center of the effort, according to federal, local and Olympics officials. Among other things, Washington helped pay for a wider Interstate 15, a light-rail system in Salt Lake City and University of Utah housing.

Many projects were approved before Mr. Romney's arrival, but he was instrumental in securing much of the funding, say officials involved. "We were both working it pretty hard," said Deedee Corradini, Salt Lake City's then-Democratic mayor.

Federal backing for the Games tripped former Republican Utah Rep. Merrill Cook when he ran for the U.S. Senate last year. Tea-party activists blasted his Olympics work. He lost in the GOP primary, as did sitting Republican Sen. Robert Bennett, who was also involved in the lobbying. Sen. Bennett said he didn't expect the Olympics to be an issue. "It's too old. It can't be held against him," he said.

Mr. Cook wasn't so sure: "Having run a very successful Olympics, being credited with all that may not go over very well with the Tea Party crowd."

More at those links above.

I'm not so sure federal backing for the Olympics is the biggest issue with which to hammer Romney. Seems like the case could be made for the Olympics as a sort of public good, and public/private partnerships in professional and world class athletics aren't at all unusual. But we'll see how it all plays out.

RELATE: That's the new Romney web ad at top, via William Jacobson, "All In All We're Just Another Bump In The Road."

Also, at Gallup, "Romney Support Up; Widens Advantage in 2012 Preferences" (via Memeorandum).

Dakota Thunder

See Rapid City Journal, "Air show brings out young and old alike."

Congressman Weiner House Gym Photos Could Be Ethics Breach

A follow up to my report, "Anthony Weiner Lewd Photos at House Members' Gym!"

The TMZ photos are here.

But check New York Post, "New Weiner photos taken in House gym could be an ethics breach."

And on ABC News, "Good Morning America"

[VIDEO PULLED]

There's a new photo of Huma Abedin at London's Daily Mail, "What is there to think about? After days of humiliation for his pregnant wife, Weiner FINALLY considers stepping down as shocking new lewd pictures emerge."

Protesters Demand Weiner's Resignation Outside His Office

At New York Daily News, "Protesters enraged by Anthony Weiner's sexting antics demand his resignation." Also, at NY1 News, "Queens Voters Rally For, Against Weiner's Resignation." Added: At New York Times, "Despite Plan to Enter Rehab, Weiner Still Faces Calls to Resign."

See also Marooned in Marin, "Weiner Now Considering Resigning, His Staff Rumored To Be Looking For The Door."