August 2010

Morning Constitutional – Thursday, 26 August 2010

Good morning, folks. Miley and Liam broke up. Now, your morning constitutional: An aide to Afghan President Hamid Karzai who is being investigated for corruption is actually paid by the C.I.A. The Security and Exchanges Commission has approved new rules giving shareholders of companies more power to nominate board members. Food inflation is unexpectedly low, despite the rise in commodity prices. A solid case on how raising interest rates could be better for the economy than the ultra-low rates now. Will Wilkinson: How Reason Imperils Our Fake Libertarian Heritage. Choice passage: There is no form of libertarianism that...

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Sounds familiar…

There was a cool story in the Times yesterday celebrating the history of women’s suffrage. Definitely recommend reading it. One part of the story really speaks to my 2010 self. Doesn’t this sound familiar? That year (1918) the 19th Amendment passed the House. It stalled in the Senate — blocked by conservative Southerners — but Wilson muscled it through in 1919.

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Morning Constitutional – Wednesday, 25 August 2010

Good morning, folks. Unfrozen Caveman Center-Fielder will stay in Detroit. Now, your morning constitutional: John McCain fends off a challenge from the right, Ben \”Obama\’s the Worst President Ever\” Quayle wins his crowded primary, and Lisa Murkowski might need to find a new job. Also, nobody\’s quite sure what happened in Vermont. Jimmy Carter is in North Korea on a mission to secure the release of an American prisoner and, quite possibly, break an impasse in U.S.-North Korean relations. The Mexican Navy has discovered 72 dead bodies on a ranch in Tamaulipas, the largest discovery of dead...

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What it would be like in your backyard

Sometimes I find it hard to know exactly how large a country is without looking at a globe (When I was a kid, I was convinced Germany was the size of New York. Oops.). Sometimes, even after looking at a globe, it isn’t so clear. So, when big events happen, it’s really hard to know how big the event is, exactly. Dimensions, a new project from the BBC, looks at helping with that problem. Above, you can see how big that major flooding in Pakistan (where there are reports of 8,000-10,000 victims sleeping in mud in 118-degree...

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New York Times Columnist Line of the Day

If you’re one of the four-or-so frequent readers of this here blog, chances are you also occasionally check out the New York Times op-ed page. You may even know the names: Thomas “Friedman’s Just Another Word For Nothing Left to Lose” Friedman, Gail “The Colander” Collins, Nicholas “The Dark Crystal” Kristof, &c. This is a daily feature dedicated to these folks: one line that is either awesome, funny, insightful, intelligent, ridiculous, or utterly divorced from reality. I hope you enjoy. Today\’s is from David \”Yawny Pants\” Brooks, who in his column \”A Case of Mental Courage,\” writes:...

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Morning Constitutional – Tuesday, 24 August 2010

Good morning, folks. It\’s primary day in Alaska, Arizona, Florida, Oklahoma and Vermont. But now, your morning constitutional: Chief Judge Royce C. Lamberth of Federal District Court for the District of Columbia has blocked President Obama\’s executive order that expanded embryonic stem cell research. At least 33 were killed after Somali insurgents disguised themselves as police officers and stormed a Mogadishu hotel. According to an American aid worker and a Congolese doctor, Rwandan and Congolese rebels gang-raped nearly 200 women and some baby boys over four days within miles of a U.N. peacekeepers\’ base near remote eastern Congo...

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Republicans Supporting Non-Republicans

Interesting news from the Pennsylvania senate race today: Former Senator Chuck Hagel will endore Joe Sestak. Hagel was a Republican; Sestak is a Democrat running against Republican Pat Toomey. Hagel told The Associated Press on Monday that Sestak has demonstrated during his two terms in Congress that he puts what’s best for the country before the interests of his party. He said Sestak’s courage and integrity as a legislator are qualities the nation needs more of. This just shortly after we’ve learned that Bob Dole, former Republican senator and presidential candidate, has thrown a $1,000 check to...

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New York Times Columnist Line of the Day

If you’re one of the four-or-so frequent readers of this here blog, chances are you also occasionally check out the New York Times op-ed page. You may even know the names: Thomas “Friedman’s Just Another Word For Nothing Left to Lose” Friedman, Gail “The Colander” Collins, Nicholas “The Dark Crystal” Kristof, &c. This is a daily feature dedicated to these folks: one line that is either awesome, funny, insightful, intelligent, ridiculous, or utterly divorced from reality. I hope you enjoy. Today\’s is from Paul \”The Little Professor\” Krugman, who in his column \”Now That\’s Rich,\” writes: [I]t’s...

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New York Times Columnist Line of the Day

If you’re one of the four-or-so frequent readers of this here blog, chances are you also occasionally check out the New York Times op-ed page. You may even know the names: Thomas “Friedman’s Just Another Word For Nothing Left to Lose” Friedman, Gail “The Colander” Collins, Nicholas “The Dark Crystal” Kristof, &c. This is a daily feature dedicated to these folks: one line that is either awesome, funny, insightful, intelligent, ridiculous, or utterly divorced from reality. I hope you enjoy. Today\’s is from Paul \”The Little Professor\” Krugman, who in his column \”Now That\’s Rich,\” writes: [I]t’s...

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