Open Thread

After what seemed like a successful overthrow of the Egyptian government during the Arab Spring, giving way for a possibly freer and more democratic government, experts from the Obama administration to academia to media commentators were all proclaiming the students who overthrew Hosni Mubarak's regime would be the same ones to bring the democratic values to a new Egyptian government. Many conservative journalists had long feared the opposite, noting that the power vacuum could also give rise to radical Islamic politics, especially in the Muslim Brotherhood.

Now that the election results are partially in, it seems that the conservative journalists were correct. Check out an election summary after the break, and let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Later this month, running up to the Iowa caucus, Newsmax is hosting a debate in the Hawkeye State to be moderated by businessman, former potential candidate, and reality TV star Donald Trump. However, two candidates have already turned down the debate -- Rep. Ron Paul and Gov. Jon Huntsman. According to the Paul campaign, "The selection of a reality television personality to host a presidential debate that voters nationwide will be watching is beneath the office of the Presidency and flies in the face of that office’s history and dignity," and "will distract from questions and answers concerning important issues."

What do you think of the selection of Trump as moderator? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

As the college football season winds down, the NFL is heating up. Great how that works.

Basketball returns on Christmas Day. What are your thoughts?

Anything else on your sports mind this weekend?

While the Occupy Wall Street protesters may not have accomplished much in the way political change, they are taking credit for bringing the topic of income inequality to the national stage. They are not completely wrong about incomes, either. American incomes have grown more unequal, but as AEI's Nick Schulz explained at the Los Angeles Times, there are also three inconvenient truths about income inequality for the OWS movement.

What do you think? Are there any "inconvenient truths" you would add to the list? Check out Schulz's list after the break, and let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Following the contemptible storming of the British Embassy in Iran by violent protestors, President Obama rightly condemned the Iranian government for not controlling the protestors and protecting a diplomatic outpost. In doing so, however, he made yet another embarrassing foreign policy gaffe: referring to the embassy as "English" instead of "British."

How do you think the media would have treated a Republican presidential candidate if he or she made the same mistake? Check out a video of the press conference after the break, and let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Even President Obama's supporters would agree that enthusiasm for his 2012 campaign pales in comparison to the energy generated by his 2008 campaign. The stammering of his campaign has led some to question whether his heart is even in it for re-election, especially after his recent comments on American voters, who he said have "fallen behind" and gotten "lazy."

Do you think Obama is hoping to be re-elected? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

With the Super Committee failure last week, lawmakers are considering going back to previous debt proposals proposed over the past year. The three main plans are President Obama's National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform's 10-year, $4 trillion plan, Rep. Paul Ryan's 10-year, $6 trillion plan, and the Gang of Six 10-year, $4 trillion plan.

Do you think any of the previously proposed plans could be successful in Congress the second time around? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Speak out.

So many great sporting events this weekend who knows what to watch?

Last night, CNN, the Heritage Foundation, and AEI hosted the eleventh GOP debate of the campaign, this time on the topic of national security. Some of the biggest disagreements came with questions on the Patriot Act, immigration, and foreign aid. Did you watch the debate? Check out video highlights after the break, and let us know your thoughts in the comments.

The congressional supercommittee tasked with finding ways to reduce the federal deficit is looking like they will admit defeat sometime today. The failure of the supercommittee will create and end of the year battle over jobless benefits and an expiring payroll tax, among other programs set to expire at the end of December.

Democrats on the committee are seeking to extend jobless benefits, which currently supports about 3.5 million people for up to 99 weeks of unemployment, and the one-year payroll tax cut. However, extending all the programs through 2012 would add around $300 billion to the annual budget. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) explained that extending the payroll tax holiday is not the biggest problem in the face of the "greater threat" of the national debt.

What do you think will happen if and when the supercommittee fails? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

For general discussion and debate about whatever the heck you want as long as it's decent. So have it.

In case you haven't seen it yet, the Daily Show host Jon Stewart did a segment on the class divisions at Occupy Wall Street, while OWS protesters were supposedly protesting for a classless society. In the two months of occupation in Zuccotti Park, OWS had evolved a hierarchal system with an upper class living in one end of the park and a lower class living in the other end of the park.

Check out the segment after the break, and let us know your thoughts in the comments. 

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich has been surging in national polls lately, many of which put him in first place for the Republican presidential nomination, slightly ahead of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

However, like any other GOP candidate could tell you, the better you are polling, the more criticism you get. Gingrich is now being scrutinized for his ties to the widely disliked Freddie Mac, which paid a consulting firm run by Gingrich more than $1.6 million over seven years.

Do you think Gingrich's ties to Freddie Mac will hurt him? Read former lobbyist Jack Abramoff's opinion after the break, and let us know your thoughts in the comments.

For general discussion and debate about anything in the world you want.

With a number of news organizations labeling former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney "inevitable", a group of conservative bloggers and activists has banded together to demand a different Republican nominee. Their website, Not Mitt Romney, launched yesterday to encourage conservative primary voters to select a different nominee that conservatives are enthusiastic about supporting.

Do you think conservatives can agree on a different candidate? Read bloggers' takes after the break, and let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Can we talk?

Some really spectacular football games today ending with tonight's LSU vs. Alabama. Let's chat!

More good stuff tomorrow, as well as anything else you wanted to discuss about the weekend's sporting events.

With a number of GOP presidential contenders hitting snags on the campaign trail, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is being pushed to take more conservative positions than his once more moderate ideas. After having been attacked repeatedly from the right for Romneycare, Romney might be shifting to a more conservative stance on healthcare.

Will taking more conservative views help Romney? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Despite allegations of sexual harassment during his time at the National Restaurant Association, conservatives are still rallying around GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain, likening attacks against Cain to attacks against Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas in 1991.

Cain has labeled the charges as a baseless witch hunt, denying sexually harassing anyone. Some are even suggesting that since Cain has become such a target of the left and the media, the attacks could actually bolster Cain's support among conservatives. Do you think the "high-tech lynching" of Cain draws parallels to the Clarence Thomas/Anita Hill hearings? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.