Good morning, folks. Mark David Chapman is up for parole again this week. Now, your morning constitutional: Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard will remain prime minister, although with a minority government, after winning the support of two key independent MPs. However, six months after its election, Iraq still has yet to form a government, which one minister is suggesting may be encouraging insurgents. The Obama administration is pressing Congress to stimulate the economy with $50B in transportation spending, $100B business tax credit, and a tax write-off for capital investments. The ideological polarization of the current Supreme Court...
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Sharron Angle versus Alvin Greene
Sharron Angle does not believe unemployment insurance helps anyone. In an interview with conservative radio talk show host Heidi Harris (she really does only interview with conservatives, and it really does seem it’s only radio), she raised her game a little from before, where she just claimed that unemployment benefits “spoil” the unemployed: “People don’t want to be unemployed,” she explained. “They want to have real, full-time, permanent jobs with a future. That’s what they want, and we need to create that climate in Washington, D.C. that encourages businesses to create those full-time, permanent jobs with a...
Continue reading...New York Times Columnist Line of the Day – 3 September 2010
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 Roger “Life of the Party” Cohen, who in his column “Obama’s Post-Iraq World,” writes:...
Continue reading...Larry Sabato predicts huge wins for Republicans in November
Republicans are undoubtedly going to have a good November, but University of Virginia political science professor Larry Sabato makes a pretty bold claim: Given what we can see at this moment, Republicans have a good chance to win the House by picking up as many as 47 seats, net. This is a “net” number since the GOP will probably lose several of its own congressional districts in Delaware, Hawaii, and Louisiana. This estimate, which may be raised or lowered by Election Day, is based on a careful district-by-district analysis, plus electoral modeling based on trends in President Obama’s Gallup...
Continue reading...Morning Constitutional – Thursday, 2 September 2010
Good morning, folks. Tiger’s getting a new place. Now, your morning constitutional: President Obama urged Israeli and Palestinian leaders to not let the opportunity for a permanent peace deal slip away on the eve of new direct talks between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. According to a new report, the recession and tougher border security have resulted in fewer illegal immigrants entering the U.S. On the other hand, over the last two decades, the number of children born to immigrants has doubled, while the number of children born to native-born Americans has...
Continue reading...Vanity Fair has a new piece on Sarah Palin, and it's somehow way more awesome than you'd expect
Seriously, this thing is amazing. Here are some choice parts On Sarah the Hunter: This whole hunter thing, for Sarah? That is the biggest fallacy,” says one longtime friend of the family. “That woman has never hunted. The picture of her with the caribou she says she shot? She got out of the R.V. to pose for a picture. She never helps with the fishing either. It’s all a joke.” On rumors that their marriage was rocky: One person who has been a frequent houseguest of the Palins’ says that the couple began many mornings with screaming...
Continue reading...Why did Murkowski lose?
David Weigel offers a post-mortem, as well as how it was her ability and willingness to work across the aisle that brought her down: The post-election gloating over Murkowski’s problems revealed the problems conservatives had with her. She voted for the Troubled Asset Relief Program in 2008. In October 2009 she said she was “open” to compromise on cap-and-trade legislation if it expanded drilling and nuclear power. She had a moderate record on abortion, siding with liberals on some matters of federal funding for the procedure. And she occasionally spoke dismissively of Sarah Palin. Tell me if I’m missing...
Continue reading...An Iraq vet reacts to the end of combat in Iraq
Ryan Gallucci, an Iraq veteran and the editor at American Veteran Magazine, says it best: Tonight, President Barack Obama announced that combat operations in Iraq have ended for the United States, to which I say, as a veteran of the conflict, it’s about time. I was happy to hear the President acknowledge that through the hard work of America’s military men and women, our nation succeeded in its missions, affording Iraq the opportunity to pursue a prosperous future. The President was also clear to note that the American commitment will continue in a variety of ways. When...
Continue reading...Morning Constitutional – Wednesday, 1 September 2010
Good morning, folks. Conan’s going to tell us the name of his new show today. Now, your morning constitutional: Vice President Joe Biden and Defense Secretary Robert Gates presided over a ceremony this morning to mark the transition of military operations in Iraq. President Obama is looking to make progress on the three “big” tasks in the Middle East—Iraq, Iran and Israel—a task that eluded his predecessors. Inheriting Iraq: Haunting images from the war Obama didn’t want. Senator Lisa Murkowski has conceded her race for reelection against primary opponent Joe Miller, who narrowly beat her. Fidel Castro...
Continue reading...What does the new Oval Office say?
Somewhat strangely, when President Obama took office, he opted to eschew tradition and not change anything about the decor of the Oval Office. Well, while the president was on vacation last week, he finally put his own personal stamp on the office. The Oval got new furniture, a new rug and new wallpaper. He kept the pictures of Washington and Lincoln, as well as the desk (“The Resolute”). What’s interesting, however, is not the new decor (stately, yet bland—I actually really liked the old carpet) is that he chose to have the carpet bordered by some historical...
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