Pajamas Media

Cristina Kirchner: From First Lady to Argentina’s President

PJM Buenos Aires: Argentina didn't really elect Latin America's Hillary Clinton on Sunday. Ian Mount writes that Cristina Kirchner's use of image over substance separates her from America's former First Lady.

Poor, Not Dumb: Common Sense Reform for Medicaid

There's got to be a better prescription for the American health care system than increased government intervention, argues Dr. Linda Halderman, a breast cancer surgery specialist whose rural practice was destroyed by "frustrating, unsustainable bureaucracy."

Week 41 in Progress

Over 130,000 votes have been cast in the weekly PAJAMAS MEDIA PRESIDENTIAL STRAW POLL. The thirty-ninth week has officially begun.

NEW DEAL: Pajamas Media editors have noted that the number of weekly votes in our poll has diminished drastically from the tens of thousands cast at the outset. For months now, many readers have been complaining to us about the increasing inutility of the poll because of vote-swarming by second tier candidates. Many voters have lost interest and are not participating. Websites that had run our widget were no longer doing so.

Something needed to change.

Therefore, especially since the campaign itself appears to be narrowing its focus to front-running candidates, henceforth the Pajamas Media Poll will be restricted to those first tier candidates listed on the front poll page of the leading online poll aggregator Real Clear Politics. As of now, that is four candidates on the Democratic side and five on the Republican. We will change our lineup on the Sunday after RCP does, if it does.

DON’T FORGET: You can put the poll on your website or blog with our free voting widget and become a precinct in the Pajamas Media Straw Poll. Learn how the readers of your site are voting and compare it the the total.

Going After Rudy and Hillary

PJM's Monday Morning Quarterback William Bradley looks ahead to the coming week in politics, where he expects the Democratic pack to finally remove the gloves when it comes to Hillary Clinton and hit the front-runner harder, while the GOP continue to squabble over who is the real conservative.

Islam in the Heartland

PJM Indianapolis: "Flyover country" is generally thought to be a conservative stronghold. But Ari Kaufman finds that the center of the country is more complicated than that - citing as an example the push in Indiana to accomodate ritual Moslem footwashing in public airports.

Is Mikhail Khodorkovsky A Political Prisoner?

If President Bush really wants to understand today's Russia, maybe he should spend less time looking Putin in the eye and peer into the eyes of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, writes PJM's Russia analyst Kim Zigfeld. The former tycoon sits in a Siberian prison convicted of committing corporate fraud. When his arrest and prosecution is scrutinized, Khodorkovsky looks more and more like an old-style Soviet dissident.

Flemming Rose: Do Swedes Want Free Speech?

In the wake of death threats to Swedish artist Lars Vilks for drawing the prophet Mohammed as a dog, Swedish newsmagazine Fokus polled Swedes on whether offending religious images should be forbidden. A full 25% said they supported such a ban – the figure was even higher among women and the poor. A worrisome trend in liberal Sweden, reports PajamasXPress blogger Flemming Rose. Read the full post here.

The Invulnerable Networked Insurgency, Part 2

Why doesn't the government close down all the poisonous hate sites run by terrorist webmasters? PJM Sydney editor Richard Fernandez continues his analysis of the Internet Jihad. (Read part one here)

Politics of Envy and Fear in Canada

PJM Saskatchewan: The attack ads are running and the half-hearted promises for change are being made. Catherine McMillan reports on the election campaign in one of Canada's most politically-charged provinces.

Michael Ledeen: We Need Regime Change in Iran

The mullahs in Iran aren’t going to develop a love of peace or common sense anytime soon, warns PajamasXpress blogger Michael Ledeen. “Those who loudly demand negotiations and bridle at the very thought of the president calling for regime change in Tehran and its sister city Damascus, are actually making war more likely.” Read the full post here.