Nothing gets by those sleuths in the media.  Turns out, John McCain’s new right-hand man HAS NO HAIR!

• Politico’s Jonathan Martin: “cueball-headed, barrel-chested Steve Schmidt”
• Los Angeles Times: “The bald and tough-talking consultant has never run a presidential campaign”
• CNN’s John Roberts: “Steve Schmidt walks into a room, you kind of pay attention to him, bald head, barrel-chested. He’s a tough guy to miss.”
• CNN’s Don Lemon: “All right, so, he’s bald, he’s barrel- chested and pulls no punches. And now he is John McCain’s right-hand man.”
• Newsweek’s Andrew Romano: “So what should we expect from Schmidt? A bald, barrel-chested ‘partisan pugilist’”
• New York Daily News: “Schmidt - an imposingly barrel-chested, bald-headed tactician”

In case you missed the subtlety in the coverage, here’s a picture of Steve Schmidt.

Ooops.  Sorry.  Wrong picture.  Here he is.

Fascinating to see Ron Paul’s campaign soliciting Willie Nelson’s help for events surrounding the Republican convention:

Paul is planning a one-day shadow convention that could be the wildest party of the entire week. Especially if a certain famous long-haired, bandanna-wearing, pot-smoking, libertarian-leaning country star accepts Paul’s invitation to perform.

Yes, Willie Nelson.

The Paul campaign, which has morphed into a grass-roots movement called the Campaign for Liberty, is on pins and needles awaiting Nelson’s response. “We would be thrilled if Willie Nelson could come, and he has an open invitation to join us,” says Paul spokesman Jesse Benton.

Seems to be a match made in heaven.

Whether it’s their joint antipathy toward the IRS …

… or their mutual feelings toward American foreign policy.

Headed to the National Mall for the Smithsonian Folklife Festival this holiday weekend?

Then make sure you’re there Thursday, July 3.
NASA is one of the featured programs — and at 2:15 p.m. there’s a panel discussion on “New Media: Reaching a New Generation.”  One of the panelists: Extreme Mortman’s own Extreme Mortman.

Click here for the exciting details.  Come by and say hello.

Oh, sorry, it’s coal that makes us sick, according to Harry Reid.

Time to cite The Waco Kid from “Blazing Saddles”: “No thanks, food makes me sick.”

Should be a no-brainer, but just in case, here’s a recommendation for Keith Olbermann’s Worst Person In The World Award tonight.

Husam Taysir Dwayat.

He’s the terrorist who killed three people and wounded 66 during his bulldozer rampage in Jerusalem today.

Certainly that’s the caliber of person Olbermann’s award is designed to recognize?

Spotted by Newsbusters’ Warner Todd Huston, we present Philadelphia Inqurer columnist Chris Satullo:

Put the fireworks in storage.

Cancel the parade.

Tuck the soaring speeches in a drawer for another time.

This year, America doesn’t deserve to celebrate its birthday. This Fourth of July should be a day of quiet and atonement.

For we have sinned.

We have failed to pay attention. We’ve settled for lame excuses. We’ve spit on the memory of those who did that brave, brave thing in Philadelphia 232 years ago. …

We’ve shamed the memory of Jefferson, Adams and Franklin.

I like the shaming the memory of John Adams part best.  Reminds me of the glory days of the Alien & Sedition Acts.

Video here.

We admit.  Until we saw the headline “Powell Met With McCain and Obama,” we had forgotten that Colin Powell is such a desired property in politics.

Makes us nostalgic for those bygone glory days when Colin Powell’s future was the only thing we ever dreamed about.

How so?

He earns the cover of the new Campaigns & Elections magazine.
And you’ll see by Patrick’s sourcing why he’s the most entrepreneurial and brilliant reporter today.

Keep an eye on this kid.  He’s going places.

At the Club For Growth’s new Dumb Laws round-up, Andrew Roth posts this photo from a California go-kart track: