What are you going to do with these sand-hillbillies? A government minister has warned that inbreeding among immigrants is causing a surge in birth defects – comments likely to spark a new row over the place of Muslims in British society. Phil Woolas, an environment minister, said the culture of arranged marriages between first cousins was the “elephant in the room”. Woolas, a former race relations minister, said: “If you have

A bit of a Greenwalds piece regarding Chris Wallace: Chris Wallace interviewed George Bush today on Fox News and, after asking Bush about his views on waterboarding, this was the “question” which Wallace — sitting next to Bush in front of a cozy fireplace (after a borderline-romantic stroll with him down a picturesque, snow-covered Camp David trail) — asked of him: WALLACE: I want to follow up on that. Whether it is

ABCNews, TIME and others report that Sen. Hillary Clinton’s campaign manager, Patty Solis Doyle, has resigned.  The not-so-popular Doyle will be replaced by Maggie Williams, who was brought in to the Clinton campaign after Hillary’s loss to Sen. Barack Obama in Iowa.  That Doyle has gotten the boot before the Hispanic-heavy Texas tussle is telling. Update: Lefty blogger Matt Stoller will be discussing this and the rest of the race tonight… on Al-Jazeera.  Of course.

At TPM, Josh Marshall finds it “weird” that the Washington state GOP put out a press release announcing McCain the winner based only 87% of returns, given that the 1.8% margin separating Sen. John McCain from Mike Huckabee. It’s not weird at all.  The party apparatus has gotten the message that everyone is to simply shut up and get in line behind McCain.  Announce his victory now.  If the vote count

As the possibility of a Democratic delegate deadlock looms, former Dukakis-Gore-Kerry-Edwards consultant Ted Devine has been all over the media as an expert on super-delegates, from NPR to Comedy Central (yes, there is a difference). In today’s New York Times, Devine argues: The superdelegates were never intended to be part of the dash from Iowa to Super Tuesday and beyond. They should resist the impulse and pressure to decide the nomination

London’s Daily Telegraph reports: The Clinton camp hopes to stop the Obama bandwagon by winning Texas and Ohio primaries on March 4, after which Mrs Clinton is planning to call on party grandees including Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House of Representatives and Harry Reid, the party’s leader in the Senate, to persuade Mr Obama to stand down. Clinton aides have privately admitted that Mr Obama would only consider such

The Democratic presidential hopeful critiques her past style faux pas in Us Weekly‘s Fashion Police. The A.V. Club’s Amelie Gillete remarks: As an exercise in self-deprecation, Clinton’s Fashion Police feature is pretty good. But it doesn’t stoop nearly low enough to pass the Us Weekly comedian hack test. Simply put: Hillary’s quips just aren’t punny or terrible enough for the pages of Us Weekly. But that can be remedied… Gillete is so

Pimptacular! (h/t Good Glenn)

The New York Times updates on the candidates’ efforts to snag super-delegates in the event that the Democratic presidential nomination is not be settled in the primaries and caucuses.  Super-delegate Donna Brazile, last heard threatening to quit the party over the possible impasse, is getting lobbied by her niece.  Meanwhile, the candidates state their positions: Mr. Obama, talking to reporters in Seattle on Friday, said he believed superdelegates should follow the

As long as people whose work I normally respect and enjoy, like Jules Crittenden, continue to write pieces about how McCain refuseniks should “grow up” and stop throwing a “tantrum,” I guess I will have to continue writing pieces that point out that their position is hypocritical and their approach is counter-productive to their goal. Sen. McCain’s media supporters demand that everyone immediately rush to show party loyalty for one of the GOP’s worst cheaters.  There are less