United States

As has probably been made far more obvious lately, it’s far easier for the Senate to do nothing than anything. They haven’t even been able to pass an unemployment benefits extension for the past three weeks, depriving long-time victims of the shitty economy of at least a modicum of support. Ezra Klein points out that with President Bush’s hallmark tax cuts set to expire this year, it might be better, at least in the long-term, for the Senate to do nothing and let them expire: For the deficit hawks in Congress, the next few months are going...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqnjzONrPiA Another smash commercial, but this time from a candidate to represent the Arizona 3. Her name is Pamela Gorman, and she does have quite a shot. Although they never do show her actually hitting a target (?).

No wonder she’s trying to avoid the news-folk. Sharron Angle may have spouted some radically conservative ideas and convictions since becoming a candidate for Senate, but this has to take the cake: In a segment that has gone unnoticed since it first aired, the Tea Party-backed candidate told the Bill Manders show — a favorable platform for Republican candidates — that she opposed abortion even in cases of rape and incest. A pregnancy under those circumstances, she said, was “God’s plan.” Okay, sure, her opponent Harry Reid is pro-life as well, so maybe it doesn’t seem like...

Back when Elena Kagan was first nominated for the Supreme Court, I mentioned her 1995 critique of confirmation hearings– she said they had become “a vapid and hollow charade, in which repetition of platitudes has replaced discussion of viewpoints and personal anecdotes have supplanted legal analysis.”  I was optimistic that Kagan would adhere to that viewpoint and approach her own hearing with more candor, but it doesn’t appear that that will be the case. In fact, during Kagan’s confirmation for Solicitor General last year, she took a step towards disavowing her earlier analysis: ““I am . ....

The New York Times Caucus Blog reports that with the passing of Senator Byrd, Senator Daniel Inouye is next in line to become the president pro tempore of the Senate. Just want to point out that this makes the presidential line of succession the following: an African-American, an Irish-American, an Italian-American, and, finally, a Japanese-American. Somewhere, Strom Thurmond is turning over in his grave.

This is going to end well: LAKELAND, Fla.—When his budget for pencils, paper, and other essential supplies was cut by a third this school year, the principal of Combee Elementary School worried children would suffer. Then, a local church stepped in and “adopted” the school. The First Baptist Church at the Mall stocked a resource room with $5,000 worth of supplies. It now caters spaghetti dinners at evening school events, buys sneakers for poor students, and sends in math and English tutors. The principal is delighted. So are church pastors. “We have inroads into public schools that...