Free Republic

What do "Big Rig Bounty Hunters" and "Swamp People" on History Channel have in common? They both pummeled CNN and MSNBC's brand new shows' debuts last week in the ratings. CNN's attempt to mimic Fox News' hugely successful "The Five" with a five person panel show called (get to) The Point" seems to have crashed and burned in spectacular fashion. The week-long tryout at 10:00 PM ET, in place of an Anderson Cooper repeat, was dead last in cable news ratings, finishing behind CNNHLN and CNBC.

General David Petraeus illuminates two grand military issues at just the right moment: officer corps character and flag officer performance. Petraeus could be the poster child for a clueless Gilbert and Sullivan character too -- "The very model of a modern major-general." Major-general was the highest rank to which an officer might aspire to in the last century. Grade inflation has created the contemporary glut of four stars, including Petraeus. Read more: http://www.americanthinker.com/2012/11/generals_and_geographic_bachelors.html#ixzz2CJv3fjUF

Didn't read this article. No need. The point is not the article's contents, but rather the wording of the headline. "Embedded With," did you say? Hmmm.... "Somehow I don't think that word means what you think it means." - Inigo Montoya

Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) on Friday vowed to subpoena outgoing CIA Director Gen. David Petraeus if he won’t testify voluntarily about the Sept. 11 attacks in Benghazi, Libya. Gowdy said that while he regretted the “personal ramifications” of Petraeus’ sudden resignation over an extramarital affair, it would not stop Congress from hearing from him about the assault on the consulate that left four Americans dead. “The fact that he’s resigned and had an affair has nothing to do with whether or not he’s gonna be subpoenaed to Congress,” Gowdy said on Fox News’ “On the Record with Greta Van Susteren.”...

The reporter-source relationship can blossom into something more intimate and more troubling, as evidenced by the Suzy Wetlaufer-Jack Welch affair. But other types of close ties between journalists and newsmakers can also pose nettlesome problems. It was a cozy reporter-source relationship in the extreme, a clear conflict of interest and a deliciously scandalous affair that produced gasps and gossiping among journalists. The editor--not just a lowly reporter--but the top editor of the Harvard Business Review had become romantically involved with the married former General Electric chairman, Jack Welch, after she interviewed him for a story. Now, Suzy Wetlaufer did what...

Ronald Kessler of Newsmax has more details on the Petraeus affair. They are rather sordid, and raise more questions about the timing of his resignation: [A]n FBI source says the investigation began when American intelligence mistook an email Petraeus had sent to his girlfriend as a reference to corruption. Petraeus was commander of U.S. Forces in Afghanistan from July 4, 2010 until July 18, 2011. The investigation began last spring, but the FBI then pored over his emails when he was stationed in Afghanistan. … Given his top secret clearance and the fact that Petraeus is married, the FBI continued...

Even by the standards of the friday afternoon news dump tradition, yesterday's news that Gen. David Petraeus had resigned from the CIA was a stunner. The most heralded military officer of his generation fell from grace after it was revealed he'd had an affair with his biographer. The affair was discovered earlier this year soon after the FBI began monitoring his email. This raises a very serious question. Who authorized the FBI to monitor the e-mail of the Director of the CIA?

While Texas Gov. Rick Perry has made no formal announcement, he told Time magazine in an interview he wants to run for president. "I mean I wouldn't be this far into the process. … The issue of, 'is this what I want to do?' was dealt with about 45 days ago in a conversation with my wife," Perry said. "Prior to that, no. Being the president of the United States was not on my radar screen from the standpoint of something I wanted to do." Perry added he has a "calmness" in his heart about running. (see below for supposed...