I'm not going to talk about the legal issues touched upon in this article, but let's not be too dismissive of Liu's chances to become Mayor.

After all, in this age of the 99%, who better to represent the cause than a man who’s raised most of his money from poor workers in minimum wage jobs? Did John Liu announce his candidacy for Mayor last night? | The Empire empire.wnyc.org  

Back in the old days it was considered a "reform" for elected officials not to be subject to the dictates of party officials on issues of public policy. Now, not so much.

Still one feels bad for those Democratic State Committee members who were under the delusion that it is the Democrats who elected them to who they are accountable. Capitol Confidential » Democrats table resolutions on taxes, fracking blog.timesunion.com  

Wow! An "Occupy" movement focused on larger issues, rather than the purity of their process. Occupy Albany Occupies The Capitol www.capitaltonight.com  

At last, the "Occupy" movement finds a way to get support on the right. An 'Occupy' shooter? - Ben Smith www.politico.com  

Replacing the OWS library will be far more difficult than if it belonged to  Rick Perry—his consists of three books, and he hasn't even finished coloring one yet. Common Cause Calls On Bloomberg To Replace OWS Library | PolitickerNY www.politickerny.com  

One of the scary parts of the Romney narrative is that he will appeal to moderate voters by challenging the President on competence rather than ideology (admittedly not always a successful narrative for technocratic Massachusetts  governors).

While Romney ‘s total lack of belief in anything outside his underwear will probably be helpful here, it is useful to remember that Mitt has so far governed largely within the contours of the campaign promises he has made, and the promises he has made during this campaign are far to the radical right. How Romney Could Win www.nytimes.com  

As I've noted before, I rarely discuss the Second Amendment with my friends, because I have the somewhat controversial opinion that the plain meaning of words is exactly that, so the regrettable Second Amendment means people can own guns, subject to regulation. I don't particularly care for that, but I don't like equal representation in the US Senate either.

That being said, Pro-Gun legal historian Don Kates has noted that the Second Amendment, like other parts of the Bill of Rights, was intended to incorporate English Common Law rights of the time, and that means there's no Second Amendment entitlement to carrying a concealed weapon, since militias were required to produce their guns for inspection.

We won't even mention the part about State's Rights being trampled. GOP packs gun bill www.nypost.com  

As usual, Frum is the last honest conservative:  

ACKERMAN: Knowing everything you know now, if you had been in Congress in 2002, would you have voted to authorize force against Saddam Hussein, yes or no?

FRUM: No. For an Iraqi, there was no price too high to pay to rid the country of Saddam Hussein. For Americans, the issue was not Saddam's badness, but his nuclear weapons program. Knowing that the nuclear program was not a real threat, the invasion was too large a commitment. The world is a better place without Saddam, but as with everything, the question is one of costs and benefits. The costs to the U.S. were too high, the benefits to the U.S. too few. Yglesias Award Nominee andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com  

Kinsley sagely calls bullshit on Christians complaining they are under attack, and neatly sorts out Church and State.

I can think of some locals who should take note. Catholic Bishops Issue Hollow Plea for Sympathy: Michael Kinsley www.bloomberg.com  

Hooray for the Catholics and Muslims!  A Religious Right The Religious Don't Want  andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com  ‎

There's a certain irony in Andrea Peyser complaining that anyone is unqualified to do journalism, but she's not technically in the wrong about Chelsea.

The problem is that Peyser is supposed to be a champion of free enterprise, and NBC is in business to make money, and from that perspective, and only that perspective, the decision to hire Chelsea is utterly defensible.

Anyway, Peyser doesn't believe her own argument, which was made oh so much better in "Broadcast News.”

Meanwhile, if you don't like Chelsea, just don't watch. If enough people agree, you'll never have to see her again.  Dear NBC: What the Chel? www.nypost.com  

I woke up in the middle of the night with a stratling revelation: my recent complaints about City Hall News and The Capital conflating the Brooklyn Democratic Party's entire "Reform" movement together as if they were part of the "New Kings Democrats."

I had forgotten to note that Jo Anne Simon is not only not a part of NKD, but that when Simon ran for City Council in 2009, NKD ran sure loser Evan Theis against her, helping to sabotage her campaign and elect the Lopez candiate, Stephen Levin.  

Hope that's not too hypertechnical for CHN. 

Bouldin's very gracious description of our nite on the Rock, with profuse flattery for Gatey, humble reflection, a slight personal overshare and a title that is perhaps the not the best choice of words. Didja hear the one about the gay guy going down to Staten Island? | The Daily Gotham dailygotham.com