Morning Coffee Reading for May 23, 2011

Here's your morning coffee reading for today:

• In case you missed the news over the weekend, Herman Cain is in the race for President, Tim Pawlenty will officially announce he's getting in today, and Mitch Daniels is out.

• Abel Harding at the Florida Times-Union had an interesting blog post yesterday about the spread of fake Twitter accounts parodying political figures, notably in the Florida Republican Senate primary. IMHO, several of these accounts cross the line from being funny to being ugly and abusive. There's no way to completely prevent someone from creating one of these accounts, so I guess the next best thing is to spread the word and hopefully people become aware the fake accounts are out there, and know not to attribute any of the nonsense to the real candidates.

Jacksonville.com | PolitiJax Blog | Fake Twitter accounts raise eyebrows, create confusion in Florida Senate primary

• The St. Petersburg Times and POLITICO are teaming up to cover the 2012 elections. They'll be sharing content in both their respective print and online editions. This new arrangement is partially due to the 2012 Republican Convention being in Tampa.

St. Petersburg Times | The Buzz Blog | Times, POLITICO team up for 2012 coverage

• Gene Simmons from the band KISS had some harsh words for President Obama over the weekend. Simmons, whose real name is Chaim Witz, was born in Israel and let's just say he strongly disagrees with Obama's suggestion that Israel go back to its 1967 borders. Added bonus: he discusses the United Nations as well (Spoiler: he doesn't like them, either). Video of Simmons' interview is included with the article (warning - NSFW language):

Real Clear Politics | KISS' Gene Simmons: Obama "Has No F***ing Idea What The World Is Like"

• Here's Erick Erickson, making a lot of sense, as usual, in a brief post about the current crop of Republican Presidential candidates: "I can live with the field and I hope you can too."

RedState | Off to the races with the horses we have

•  George Soros-funded Media Matters apparently started a campaign to target companies that advertise on the Fox News Channel (keeping with their usual theme of "free speech for me but not for thee"). One thing they didn't count on was a corporation that had a backbone. Travel website Orbitz responded to the call for a boycott from "DropFox.com" with force and confidence. Well done, Orbitz. The boundaries of free speech should not be set by bullies.

Big Journalism | Travel Giant Orbitz Stands Up To Soros "Smear Campaign"