For most television personalities, the release of a book is akin to tossing a giant, bleeding hunk of red meat to their most fervent admirers. Substantive content be damned, Daddy needs a new yacht! But Rachel Maddow's Drift addresses questions that people of every political persuasion should be asking as we approach our twelfth year embroiled in wars both acknowledged and covert. How did American society become so disengaged with its military? When did the executive branch effectively swallow Congress' warmaking powers and how do we shift the balance back? more ›

The Stormin' Mormon has been eclipsed by Governor Goodhair, meaning that it's now two-for-one chalices of AFL-CIO blood at every Stonecutters meeting hall in Texas. According to a Washington Post/ABC News poll, 27 percent of all Republicans and "GOP-leaning independents" back Texas governor Rick Perry, while Mitt Romney registers 22 percent. Tonight, Perry will face his first debate in five years, and while "the bar for Perry has been set pretty low," here are five tips for Perry to clear that "low bar," for Freedom. more ›

In case you didn't realize, Donald Trump is a frontrunner among Republicans for the 2012 election. And he'll probably win, because what Trump does best is "China, jobs, OPEC.". Still, some people think he needs a push, which is why the Spring Mountain Republican Women Active Republican Women of Las Vegas and Southern Hills Republican Women are hosting an event at the Treasure Island casino (in Las Vegas) to "Bring Back the Reagan Revolution." Because we need to triple the deficit again and not regulate the financial industry! more ›

The death of New York native, Queens Congresswoman and groundbreaking 1984 vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro prompted local lawmakers to offer their thoughts about her. The Observer has a roundup of statements; Rep. Carolyn Maloney said, "She changed my life and she changed the course of history." more ›

With the media beginning to buzz about the 2012 election, former half-term Alaska governor and TLC documentary host Sarah Palin is trying to be sneaky about what will most likely be a controversial, soundbite-heavy clusterfuck of a presidential run. Previously, she said she would "give it a shot" if the American people were ready for her (which VA Tea Partiers said they weren't), and at a private dinner in Florida hosted by Newsmax this week, she reportedly reminded attendees that nobody thought Reagan was electable either in 1980. more ›

Legislative Democrats are fed up with Gov. Paterson's chief of staff, who's allegedly attempting a power grab from his embattled and "disengaged" boss. One top official told the Post's Fred Dicker that the governor's highest-ranking staffer Larry Schwartz "has become the Alexander Haig of state government, saying, 'I'm in charge,'" referring to Ronald Reagan's former secretary of state, who made the presumptuous claim after Reagan was shot in 1981. Some go so far as to accuse Schwartz of sabotaging Paterson's already plodding budget proceedings (Dicker estimates a final budget won't be done before the end of the month.) "Larry is calling up Wall Street bankers, telling them not to sign on to a legislative borrowing plan," said a leading Democrat. "He's working against his own lieutenant governor." more ›

The former mayor is finally out of the hunt for the White House. Rudy Giuliani made the announcement at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California, with John McCain beside him. Giuliani endorsed McCain, saying the country needed "someone who can be trusted in times of crisis." He added, "Obviously I thought I was that person. The voters made another choice." more ›

With the South Carolina's Democratic primary on this coming Saturday, the three leading Democratic candidates, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John Edwards gathered together at a Martin Luther King Day Jr. debate in Columbia, S.C. When Clinton addressed the crowd, she said, "We have come so far together. Barack Obama, an extraordinary, young African-American man with so much to contribute. John Edwards, a son of the South — in fact, a son of South Carolina. And a woman — all of us running for president of the United States of America!” more ›

Mayor Bloomberg may deny any desire to run for president in 2008, but his non-NYC homework seems to suggest otherwise. According to the Huffington Post, he has regular foreign policy briefing session "on a wide variety of topics...from non-proliferation to the defense budget, with a specific focus on the war in Iraq." Who has been briefing him? Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and an adviser during the Clinton administration Nancy Soderberg: "One source... more ›

Mayor Michael Bloomberg hasn't totally eschewed the Republican party. According to the NY Sun, the Democrat-turned- Republican-turned- independent will be "entertaining" Nancy Reagan "as well as hosting a fund-raiser for the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library." Like the former First Lady, Bloomberg has progressive views on health and science issues (like stem cells). And Bloomberg has been known to host many fund-raisers for various people and causes. But some suspect that Bloomberg might be looking for... more ›

In the wake of U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales's resignation last month, President Bush will nominate former U.S. District Court Judge Michael Mukasey for the position. Mukasey, who was born in the Bronx and educated at Columbia and Yale Law School, was "appointed to the federal bench" by Ronald Reagan and has presided over terrorism trials, such as the trial of Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman. more ›

MOVIE: Guess it's only fitting that Trey Parker and Matt Stone's Team America play somewhere tonight. This Bushwick theater is new and on an outdoor rooftop -- so check the sky before you head out. If it's all clear, get ready for food from their grill, drinks from their bar and the wind in your hair. more ›

The first debate amongst Republican presidential candidates was held last night at the Ronald Reagan Library. With former first lady Nancy Reagan sitting in the first row, Rudy Giuliani, as well as other candidates, mentioned the Gipper many times (partially due to the setting and prompting of moderators). more ›

Actor David Arquette has fought off murderers and giant spiders, but recently he faced a new challenge: writing, directing, and staring in his own feature length film. His debut is The Tripper, a slasher film where a killer in a Regan masks terrorizes a group of hippies. Gothamist sat down with David to ask him a few questions as he promotes his film in the Big Apple. more ›

A new wrinkle to the Rudy Giuliani presidential campaign that doesn't involve the words "anti-" (like anti-gun, anti-abortion, and anti-straight-only marriage) or "marrying his cousin." Yesterday, the NY Times revealed that Andrew Giuliani had been estranged from Rudy Giuliani, because of problems with his dad's new wife. more ›

The first line of a NY Times Caucus Blog post on Giuliani speaking today: "Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani invoked Ronald Reagan at least a dozen times in his speech this afternoon before a fairly young audience at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington." Is Reagan Rudy's new 9/11? The Politico says there's a "Mood of Gloom at CPAC" and people are wistful for Reagan, so, clearly Giuliani knows his audience. more ›

James Brown, the legendary performer who influenced scores of musicians today, died today at age 73. The cause was congestive heart failure. Read what Jon Pareles of the NY Times wrote in an obituary that we believe will be updated throughout the day:

Mr. Brown's music was sweaty and complex, disciplined and wild, lusty and socially conscious. Beyond his dozens of hits, Mr. Brown forged an entire musical idiom that is now a foundation of pop worldwide. more ›

"Probably a lot of Republicans would want Hillary, but I think they'd be making a mistake," he said, pointing out that Democrats licked their chops over Ronald Reagan in 1980. more ›

If you're not interested in flag stamps, or pairing a 37-cent stamp with a 2-cent stamp, Gothamist highly recommends the wonderful "Favorite Children's Book Animals" stamps that we found yesterday. We were too impatient to wait for our personalized stamps, and the post office at Church and Vesey was pleasantly quiet. There's The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Wilbur from Charlotte's Web, Fox in Socks, Maisy (dressed as a Queen), a Wild Thing, Curious George, Olivia the pig from Ian Falconer, and Leo Lionni's Frederick! The postal employee helpfully suggestd that we use the pig stamps "for bills" but even those are too nice. Maybe we'll use Ronald Reagan stamps for those.
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- The Staten Island Ferry assistant captain who piloted the ferry that crashed into the pier, killing 11 and injuring over 70, was sentenced to 18 months more ›

the essentially limitless resources to seem committed, in an ad buy, to any constituency. more ›

...FOR DOING THEIR JOBS. The NY State Assembly has passed a budget on time for the first time in 20 years. This is big news, because these politicians have been called the most dyfunctional in the nation, which is no small task. The NY Post calls it a miracle, but Governor Pataki will be trying to renegotiate the budget because he thinks it spends too much (and, as many people have noted, it does not include $300 million that the state is supposed to put aside for a Jets Stadium). Some things for NYC: An additional $325 million for public schools; an increase of .125% in the sales tax (for a sales tax of 8.5%) to supplement mass transit; and $17.9 billion for the MTA. more ›

Ah, Presidents Day Weekend is here. Really not much to say about that, except those of you with office jobs can add an extra day to your weekend. Which probably means that the LES bars will be equally annoying on Sunday night. To fill up the extra 24 hours of non office time, here are some suggestions which include (but are not limited to) porn and existential clowns: more ›

Looking for a play for your weekend's entertainment? In previews now at the Signature Theatre Company is THE OLDEST PROFESSION by Paula Vogel. We love the description of this plot: more ›

We saw this ad on the Daily Show, during Lewis Black's segment about the commercialization of September 11, but we thought it was a joke: How could there be a coin created from silver ? Besides being unspeakably tacky and horrible, it just didn't compute. Luckily, reader Dan emailed us to with a link to the actual site about the Freedom Tower silver dollar coming from National Collectors Mint, which also traffics in an A-Rod quarter and a Ronald Reagan silver dollar. Dan even posted the MPEG of the Daily Show clip so you can see for yourself that the shilling of September 11 has created new markets not just for the street vendors selling Patriot Day t-shirts on Church Street but also for opportunists across the country. This makes Gothamist sick, angry, and wondering about a NYC secession. more ›

Geoff Wolinetz, Freelance Satirist more ›

Todd Barry, Comedian more ›

My Life is #1 on Amazon. More on William J. Clinton Jr. at his official site, where you can see video of his remarks at the Chicago Book Expo. And Clinton was on 60 Minutes last night and is on the cover of Time magazine. more ›

The terror email, as reported by Gawker (where you can read it in full), that's been circulating to a number of people, telling them that the NYPD has ordered an extra 2,000-3,000 body bags in anticipation of a terror attack, most likely in the subways, on the national day of mourning for President Ronald Reagan, has been dismissed by the NYPD. Yes, dismissed, even though it had a CNN email address attached to it. The NYPD says that they have "received no credible threat information concerning a widely circulated E-mail message that discusses a purported subway attack." The police believe the email was part of a virus that infilitrated the sender's various books. They are investigating the email's origins. more ›