“Britain” on The Daily Caller

It’s the pop culture controversy of the day – is MTV’s “Skins” too racy for young American audiences? (more)

LONDON – A U.S. pastor who had threatened to burn a Quran on an anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks has been barred from visiting Britain, its government said Wednesday. (more)

1.) Will newly elected governors put on a better show than House Republicans? — We are all fiscal conservatives now; at least at the state level. According to the New York Times, the majority of newly elected governors have said they will redeem their states’ economies in a similar manner: “Slash spending. Avoid tax increases. Tear up regulations that might drive away business and jobs. Shrink government, even if that means tackling the thorny issues of public employees and their pensions.” Scott D. Pattison at the National Association of State Budget Officers told the Times that the rhetoric is so consistent, “[Y]ou can’t tell if it’s a Republican or Democrat, a conservative or a liberal.” There are exceptions to this new rule: In order to get at the vast wealth of his few remaining rich residents, incoming Illinois Gov. Patrick J. Quinn signed into law a 66% income tax increase. (more)

NPR recently ran a two-part series on media bias. The reports, by David Folkenflik, were quite good, with a couple major flaws. Folkenflik ignored the question of who gets hired by the major media and why. Isn’t it time to do a nuts-and-bolts investigation of who gets brought on to the Washington Post, New York Times, CBS, et al, and who does not? Answering that question may answer why the media has lost its capacity to report fairly, not to mention delight, compel, and surprise — characteristics that, idiotic pronouncements about “objectivity” aside, are part of what makes good journalism. (more)

We all breathed a sigh of relief when the ball fell in New York’s Times Square and the holiday season this year ended without another terror attack — or attempted attack — on our homeland. You’ll recall that on Christmas Day 2009, the notorious “underwear bomber” tried to blow up his jet over Detroit. Young Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a Nigerian citizen, wanted to take down his Northwest Airlines flight right over Detroit’s airport. Had he succeeded in detonating his BVDs, his victims would not only have been the 288 passengers and crew he was flying with, but doubtless hundreds or thousands on the ground. (more)

The put-down war between Simon Cowell and Ryan Seacrest hasn’t stopped just because Cowell quit the show. (more)

Until Taimour Abdulwahab al-Abdaly’s explosive belt went off prematurely in Stockholm last month, Sweden was the poster child for isolationism in the war on terror. While Abdulwahab’s bomb failed to achieve his desired result, it did obliterate the myth that nations can remain neutral to global terrorism. (more)

Listening to the local news on the radio recently, I heard a report about how newly elected Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz plans to save $8 million by, among other things, merging the “Office of Sustainability” with the Department of Environmental Protection and Resource Management. (more)

One of the most underreported stories of 2010 is how the black center-right gained significant ground around the globe. We are aware of the historic victories of Congressmen-elect Allen West and Tim Scott, the first black Republicans to be elected from the South since Reconstruction. Florida Lieutenant Governor-elect Jennifer Carroll also had an historic year. Many political observers note the growing number of black Tea Party activists. (more)

BRITAIN’S winter is the coldest since 1683 and close to being the chilliest in nearly 1,000 years. (more)

Rupert Murdoch faces plenty of attacks from the left in the United States for his ownership of Fox News. However, those attacks pale in comparison to what he faces in the United Kingdom. (more)

Liam Neeson is the voice of Aslan the Lion in the new 3-D Narnia film, “Voyage of the Dawn Treader.” He’s got a great voice for the role. Neeson is even from the North of Ireland, the same area from which C.S. Lewis, the beloved Christian author of The Chronicles of Narnia, hailed. (more)

Last month American reporters expressed concern at a recent study published by the Conference Board which claimed that the US economy would be overtaken by China in two short years.  This alarming news came just weeks after a ranking of the world’s most powerful people put President Barack Obama at number two — beaten into second place by Chinese premier Hu Jintao. (more)

LONDON — The Tea Party movement’s recent electoral gains have gotten international attention, including in the mother country whose taxes inspired the first Tea Party — the United Kingdom. (more)

This week, let us give thanks for “Countdown.” In particular, let us give thanks that it’s a short week. (more)

LONDON (AP) — Leaders of conservative Anglicans on Wednesday rejected a proposed covenant to hold their global communion together just as the Church of England gave preliminary approval to the plan. (more)

LONDON (AP) — Prince William and Kate Middleton will marry April 29 in Westminster Abbey, the historic London church where Princess Diana’s funeral was held. (more)

DUBLIN (AP) — Debt-crippled Ireland formally applied Sunday for a massive EU-IMF loan to stem the flight of capital from its banks, joining Greece in a step unthinkable only a few years ago when Ireland was a booming Celtic Tiger and the economic envy of Europe. (more)

Prince Charles is expected to fork out millions of pounds for his son’s wedding, royal aides said last night. (more)

November has been one tough month for President Barack Obama. (more)