The New Republic

Forget Inglourious Basterds. Quentin Tarantino's most mind-bending onscreen offering of the year has to be this Japanese ad for what appears to be a dog-shaped cell-phone speaker, in which the director converses with an (actual) talking dog, declares "I am Tara!" in what even my ear can detect is atrocious Japanese, and busts out some non-Kill-Bill-worthy kung fu moves. The clip below includes both a short and a longer version of the ad:  READ MORE >>

Did Politico Executive Editor Jim VandeHei get named to the Pulitzer Prize Board? It was hard to tell from the four references to this captivating news story that were included on the Politico website in the last 24 hours. READ MORE >>

I find the voice undeniably authentic (yes, I know the book was written “with the help” of Lynn Vincent, but many books, including my most recent one, are put together by an editor). It is the voice of small-town America, with its folk wisdom, regional pride, common sense, distrust of rhetoric (itself a rhetorical trope), love of country and instinctive (not doctrinal) piety. It says, here are some of the great things that have happened to me, but they are not what makes my life great and American. READ MORE >>

Laura Rozen reports on a troubling report from retired general Barry McCaffrey and commissioned by Centcom commander David Petraeus: "The international civilian agency surge will essentially not happen ---although State Department officers, US AID, CIA, DEA, and the FBI will make vital contributions. Afghanistan over the next 2-3 years will be simply too dangerous for most civil agencies." READ MORE >>

In House testimony now underway, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan and our ambassador to Kabul, whose relationship was strained by the leak of Eikenberry's recent cables to Washington questioning a potential troop increase, are singing from the same songbook. Early in the hearing, Eikenberry claimed that his cable was described in a selective way that made him seem opposed to any military escalation--but said that isn't his view. READ MORE >>

Everything You Know About American Involvement in Iran Is Wrong by Abbas Milani Will You End Up Paying More for Health Insurance Under the Current Senate Bill? by Jonathan Cohn READ MORE >>

With no signs of cooperation from Tehran and Obama's year-end deadline approaching, the administration is pushing for new sanctions against Iran starting in January. For a better understanding of the sanctions situation, check out these recent TNR pieces: In "Over a Barrel," David Makovsky and Ed Morse argue that the current sanctions being considered are unlikely to have much effect:   READ MORE >>

Appropos my last item, Mark Blumenthal found even more precise evidence that supporters plus liberal critics of health care reform outnumber conservative critics: READ MORE >>

TNR Senior Editor Michelle Cottle appeared on ABC News to discuss today’s political headlines. She spoke about the criticism of White House social secretary Desiree Rogers handling of the Salahis' White House Party crashing: READ MORE >>

Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann are set to meet for the first time tonight* and, with apologies to the latter, I think we all know who's The Kurgan in this scenario and who's the nameless immortal extra about to have her head cut off.  READ MORE >>