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Montana Sen. John Walsh's thesis written to earn a master's degree from the U.S. Army War College contains unattributed passages taken word-for-word from previously published papers. The Democrat said Wednesday he was on medication and being treated for post-traumatic stress disorder from his service in Iraq when he wrote the paper. He said he also was dealing with the stress of a fellow veteran's recent suicide. Walsh said he made an unintentional mistake and did not intend to plagiarize. "I don't want to blame my mistake on PTSD, but I do want to say it may have been a factor,"...

Well, it seems “Papergate” just ensnared Montana Democratic Senator John Walsh. Mr. Walsh was appointed by Gov. Steve Bullock to replace outgoing Sen. Max Baucus, who decided to become the Obama administration’s Ambassador to China. Walsh is described by the New York Times as having something the Democrats lack in their political ranks: a seasoned military record. Walsh is a decorated Iraq War veteran, but his reputation might be marred by a final term paper he wrote in obtaining his master’s degree, where a substantial portion was written without crediting anyone (via NYT): An examination of the final paper required...

When writing about politics, it's all too frequent to use terminology that often obscures more than elucidates. That's especially true when it comes to the word "wave"—shorthand for a landslide victory for the winning party. I've argued before that the likelihood of 2014 being a wave election has been rising, given the president's consistently low approval ratings and the fact that Republicans are running evenly on the generic ballot (which usually translates into a clear GOP edge) and that the right-track/wrong-track numbers are near historic lows. All these big-picture signs are ominous for the party in power.

(VIDEO-AT-LINK)Jim Gilchrist — one of the founders of the Minutemen Project — said he’s reaching out across America to recruit at least 3,500 volunteers who will go to the border to patrol and cover the “porous areas” between San Diego and Brownsville, Texas. The campaign is called “Operation Normandy,” and it’s set for May 1, 2015, Raw Story reported. “If you are familiar with the Normandy invasion of France in 1944, then you have an idea how large and logistically complicated this event will be,” Mr. Gilchrist said, Raw Story reported. “However, there is one difference. We are not going...

Has the Obama administration competently and effectively managed the government? A Fox News poll released Wednesday finds a majority of American voters says no -- including about a third of Democrats. A 58-percent majority says the White House has not been competent at managing the federal government. Some 32 percent of Democrats join 67 percent of independents and 84 percent of Republicans in holding that view.

On Wednesday, former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin endorsed conservative Tennessee state representative Joe Carr in his primary bid to oust incumbent Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN). Carr has been hammering Alexander before the August 7th primary for voting for the Senate's Gang of Eight comprehensive amnesty bill even after he was warned by law enforcement officials that it would exacerbate the border crisis. Even Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS) voted against the final bill. Palin thanked Alexander for his service and then promptly said it is time for new leaders who will have the guts to tell the Obama administration, "no mas."...

Democrats were thrilled when John Walsh of Montana was appointed to the United States Senate in February. A decorated veteran of the Iraq war and former adjutant general of his state’s National Guard, Mr. Walsh offered the Democratic Party something it frequently lacks: a seasoned military man. On the campaign trail this year, Mr. Walsh, 53, has made his military service a main selling point. Still wearing his hair close-cropped, he notes he was targeted for killing by Iraqi militants and says his time in uniform informs his views on a range of issues. But one of the highest-profile credentials...

Navi Pillay said Tel Aviv's two-week onslaught on Gaza - which has cost more than 650 Palestinians lives - would be thoroughly investigated. Ms Pillay, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said the attacks have destroyed houses and hospitals and killed civilians. "These are just a few examples where there seems to be a strong possibility that international humanitarian law has been violated, in a manner that could amount to war crimes. "Every one of these incidents must be properly and independently investigated." According to Gaza officials, 475 houses have been destroyed and 2,644 damaged, while 46 schools, 56 mosques...

Not an unusual data point at all, based on the polling trend -- but a timely reality check for the delusional "people love Obamacare!" propagandists. CNN's latest national survey includes a number of noteworthy nuggets, including the "Affordable" Care Act fallout verdict referenced in the headline (via Ed Morrissey): (1) President Obama's job approval rating is mired at (42/55), languishing roughly where it's been for months. He is underwater with men (39/58), women (45/52), young people (45/49), and independents (34/62). Seventy-seven percent of Democrats and nearly two-thirds of non-white voters continue to give Obama high marks, but virtually everyone...

PPP's new Colorado poll finds the exact same numbers in the races for both Governor and the Senate- Democratic incumbents John Hickenlooper and Mark Udall are clinging to 44/43 leads over their challengers Bob Beauprez and Cory Gardner respectively.

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- The Daily Caller - http://dailycaller.com - Member Of Dem. Campaign Sent Vulgar And Sacrilegious Tweets Posted By Lauren Eissler On 3:48 PM 07/23/2014 [Ben Gagnon with Governors Deval Patrick of Massachusetts, Peter Shulmin of Vermont and Congressman Michael Michaud of Maine at fundraising luncheon on the day before Gagnon was suspended for tweeting vulgar statements.] A team member of the Democrat’s nominee for governor of Maine tweeted a lot of sacrilegious and vulgar statements and was suspended for it. Maine Rep. Michael Michaud’s team member Ben Gagnon was suspended after tweeting sexist, expletive-laden statements. The tweets were taken down...

PPP's newest North Carolina poll finds Kay Hagan continuing to grow her lead over Thom Tillis as the legislative session drags on. Hagan now has 41% to 34% for Tillis and 8% for Libertarian Sean Haugh. Her lead is up from 2 points in May and 5 points in June. The protracted legislative session with Tillis at the helm of it can't be doing him any favors. Only 19% of voters approve of the job the General Assembly is doing to 57% who disapprove, and legislative Republicans specifically have a 31/52 favorability rating. Those things are working together to help...

On the day he won a Western Conservative Summit straw poll, Dr. Ben Carson reported he’s “starting to think about” the possibility of a White House bid in 2016. Reporting that hundreds are showing up for his book signing tour, Carson says of the idea it’s one he “cannot simply ignore.” Carson rose to prominence after the public dressing down of Obamacare at a prayer breakfast at which President Obama was in attendance. Since that address, Carson’s star has continued to rise among key GOP constituents fed up with what is perceived as a less-than-aggressive response by House leadership. Despite...

Vladimir Putin just showed the world exactly what he thinks of the President of the United State and NATO allies calls for him to rein in the pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine. Less than a week after rebels took down a Malaysian passenger plane carrying nearly 300 civilians, the militants loyal to Moscow are not laying low. “Two Ukrainian fighter jets were shot down Wednesday in the eastern regions of the country that are controlled by Russian-backed separatists, according to Ukraine’s defense ministry,” USA Today reported on Wednesday. It was the first reported shoot down of a plane over eastern Ukraine...

The head of the IRS confirmed Wednesday that investigators looking into missing emails from ex-agency official Lois Lerner have found and are reviewing "backup tapes" -- despite earlier IRS claims that the tapes had been recycled. IRS Commissioner John Koskinen, testifying before a House oversight subcommittee, stressed that he does not know "how they found them" or "whether there's anything on them or not." But he said the inspector general's office advised him the investigators are reviewing tapes to see if they contain any "recoverable" material. The revelation is significant because the IRS claimed, when the agency first told Congress...

Yesterday, Democratic National Committee chairwoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz appeared on Ralston Reports - a regional Nevada talk show which discusses politics and news. As is so often the case, she presented herself as America’s number one ObamaCare cheerleader. Unfortunately, though, she had no idea what she was talking about. While talking about the recent DC Circuit Court ruling, host John Ralston suggested that most Americans believe ObamaCare is a “shaky mess.” Wasserman-Schultz, he claimed had “to be worried.” The chairwoman disagreed, so she tried to make a point. She failed. “Just take a state like Nevada,” she said. “Where you have...

GOOGLE TRANSLATE: Univision decided to fulfill a single information function, commit and take a stand to defend the children of the border, those who come looking for a dream or reecontrarse with his parents in the United States and were arrested. Within the framework of the Annual Conference of the Council of La Raza (NCLR, for its acronym in English), Vice President of Univision, Bob Llamas, announced that the company would allocate resources to protect children from the border: "We can not let circumstances or the political and economic distract us from helping children. I guarantee that none of these...

(Newser) – Businessman David Perdue has won the GOP nomination for a Senate race the party cannot afford to lose. Perdue, former CEO of Reebok and Dollar General, narrowly beat 11-term Rep. Jack Kingston in a runoff election in Georgia to become the party's Senate nominee, reports the New York Times. He will face Democrat Michelle Nunn, daughter of former Sen. Sam Nunn, in a race seen as key to control of the Senate for the last years of President Obama's term. Democrats see Georgia as their best chance of picking up another Senate seat this fall, while Republicans need...

Montana Democrat’s Thesis Presented Others’ Work as His Own Senator John Walsh of Montana Confronts Questions of Plagiarism Democrats were thrilled when John Walsh of Montana was appointed to the United States Senate in February. A decorated veteran of the Iraq war and former adjutant general of his state’s National Guard, Mr. Walsh offered the Democratic Party something it frequently lacks: a seasoned military man. On the campaign trail this year, Mr. Walsh, 53, has made his military service a main selling point. Still wearing his hair close-cropped, he notes he was targeted for killing by Iraqi militants and says...