The Murdoch Post:

February 26, 2007 -- The NYPD fears that Iran has targeted the Big Apple for terror attacks, a grim new report reveals.

"We're concerned that Iranian agents were engaged in reconnaissance that might be used in an attack against New York City at some future date," Police Commissioner Ray Kelly told Newsweek.

That's the whole story.

What objective Iran would serve with this isn't quite clear, nor is anything else about this, it seems. What is vaguely disturbing is that the 'Let's make war on Iran' drumbeat is now reaching the local level. Haven't we been here before?

On Monday at noon, George Pataki will finally, blessedly, get out of the way. This state can then at long last breathe a sigh of relief and get back to actual governance.

He is not, however, going away entirely, caught up as he is in the desire to cast wider the nets of his failure by running for President. On the one hand, that's a remarkable leap of faith on his part; on the other, one has to be strangely fascinated by the fact that he believes in himself so strongly that this quest of his hasn't been aborted by the incredulous derision it inspires.

George Pataki leaves behind a state that neither loves nor hates him. If he inspires any reaction, arguably, it's boredom, the kind you get from an uncle whom you like at some level, but who can't stop yapping about golf. Your relief when this uncle finally leaves your Thanksgiving dinner is precisely what New Yorkers are feeling as the Pataki era draws to a close. Pataki is Calvin Coolidge, without the excitement.

Pataki's legacy is, in fairness, mixed. He preserved more open space than any of his predecessors. He championed the cleanup of the Hudson. Until he started running for President, he supported gay rights and a woman's right to choose. He also cut taxes, especially in his first term, and took some steps to shrink state government, notably the sale of the World Trade Center in 2001. He even managed to deliver an on-time budget two years in a row. By the low standards set by contemporary republicans, he was not as bad as he could have been, which, I suppose, translates into a gentleman's C, politically speaking.  read more »

The above two columns, via HuffPost, ran this morning in the New York Post, a newspaper seemingly devoid of copy editors.

One column snarls that Barack Obama is 'too left for New York' - as if - and the other titters excitedly the, um, case that he's a rock star who just might derail Hillary.

How goddamn fucking stupid are the people at the Post, anyway? Seriously? No wonder they're giving it away on Union Square.

The New York Post offered up its endorsement today in the R primary for governor, and managed to deliver an abject example of a bar set a hairsbreadth above floor level.

The seeming inevitability of Eliot Spitzer has conservatives of conscience [sic!] in New York so disheartened that many may be tempted to forego statewide elections this year - especially the race for governor.

Which could be disastrous for healthy two-party politics in the state for many years to come.

Taking a pass on going to the polls could result in a third-place finish (or fourth or fifth) for the GOP's gubernatorial nominee - embarrassing the party, costing it the second line on the ballot and weakening it even further, possibly for years.

Yup, this is true. The GOP could wind up jostling for third-party status with the WFP and Mike Long's little outfit. Nice job. Pataki should consider running for President.

Even Democrats enthralled with the notion of regaining the Executive Chamber should fret about the prospect of prolonged one-party rule.

Yes, I lie awake nights worried about that as often as the Post editorial board does over the same awful prospect in Washington.

Albany's dysfunction can only grow worse in such a circumstance.

Albany without Pataki and Bruno to speed things along; what a nightmarish idea.

Mind you, this was an endorsement. The polite thing to do when you endorse someone is, as a bare minimum, to pretend he can win. Not to ask him to sacrifice himself so your spot on the ballot doesn't drop to just above the Greens.

I refuse to give The New York Times the hard earned Google juice and page rank I have earned with my blogs. When I checked out their new design I noticed their "Most blogged" box linking to .... no blogs. Excuse me? How can you know it is most blogged if you don't show who is blogging to you in the first place?

Well, I'm glad I am not the only one who noticed.

[via New York Times faux "most blogged" list -- what a bunch of leeches. - The Jason Calacanis Weblog]:

Just when you think the NYT is starting to get it they create a "Most Blogged" list *without* the back up data of who's blogging the stories!!!

Come on NYT... would it kill you to link to a blog!??!?!?!

Let me get this straight: you'll mine the data from the blogosphere to make your list, but you won't reward the blogosphere by linking back?!?!?!

That makes you a bunch of leeches--you take but you give nothing.

You see, the more we link to them, the not only the more traffic the get, but the higher in Google ranking they will be. And that is worth money. A. LOT. OF. MONEY. Jason Calacanis knows this. That's why he calls them leeches.

So boo to them.

Washington Post, on the other hand ... Thanks to Technorati, they get my heart-felt, "Yeah!"

Sure, they fucked up royally with Ben Domenech, but at least they acknowledge the existence of blogs ... more importantly my blogs.

Other blog friendly publications?  read more »