I want to say here and now that in my opinion Rachel Maddow's tireless and consistent coverage of this legislation helped produce this outcome. As far as I know, she is the only on-air news reporter to have covered this story and one of the few from any major media outlet, print or broadcast. I really think that she is largely responsible for making this as much of a public … [Read more...] about White House Officially Condemns Ugandan Anti-Gay Law
GOP Atwitter Over Obama
Ten months and trillions of dollars after taking office, Barack Obama has finally found a way to make Republicans happy: Go to Europe, do a Bush impersonation, order Freedom Fries and tell those pusillanimous peace-mongers they would be toast if Americans weren’t always ready to come over there and kill bad people. Dick Cheney hasn’t weighed in yet, but Sarah Palin and Newt … [Read more...] about GOP Atwitter Over Obama
Tiger Woods “Indefinite” Golf Hiatus Good For Him, His Sponsors — but Not Golf
When the news emerged yesterday that Tiger Woods announced he was taking an indefinite break from golf while he tries to mend his nearly decimated fences with his wife in the face of an increasingly growing sex scandal (would the number of women who come forward or are said to have had affairs with him eventually match those filing last month for unemployment?) there were … [Read more...] about Tiger Woods “Indefinite” Golf Hiatus Good For Him, His Sponsors — but Not Golf
Saturday Radio and the Big Congressional Credit Card
Mid Stream Radio will rear its ugly head again today for our last show of the year, reviewing a couple of the top stories currently absorbing the 24 hour news beast. Hot off the griddle will be the effort by Congress to pass a $1.1 trillion spending bill and raise the federal debt ceiling by $1.8 trillion, along with Cindy's latest story about how, with little media attention, … [Read more...] about Saturday Radio and the Big Congressional Credit Card
The Conservatism of Barack Obama
In my unsolicited and potentially wrong opinion, Andrew Sullivan is at his worst when he fixates on Sarah Palin. He's at his best when he writes about the conservative motifs in Obama's words and governing style. In the latter category, consider one if his posts yesterday, "The Tragedy of Hope." An excerpt: When I have been asked why I, as a conservative, support [Obama] … [Read more...] about The Conservatism of Barack Obama
Sticky Slopes Draft Posted
You can download the full text of the draft at my SSRN page. Below is the abstract: Legal literature is replete with references to the infamous “slippery slope”, basically, where a shift in policy lubricates the path towards further (perhaps more controversial) reforms or measures. Less discussed is the idea of a “sticky slope”. Sticky slopes manifest when a social movement … [Read more...] about Sticky Slopes Draft Posted
Matt Taibbi on Obama’s Economic Policies
UPDATE: Taibbi responds to critics; details below. I just got done reading Matt Taibbi's rant in Rolling Stone in which Taibbi tries to support a reasonable, basically unarguable premise -- that Wall Street has gotten a free ride from the Obama administration, that the same corporate interests that created the economic crisis are being rewarded instead of held accountable, … [Read more...] about Matt Taibbi on Obama’s Economic Policies
And Now A Zippy Hanukkah Song
Hanukkah In Santa Monica by the great satirist Tom Lehrer: This song comes from this CD: … [Read more...] about And Now A Zippy Hanukkah Song
The Rich Show Their Hand at Copenhagen: Estadao of Brazil
Continuing with our translated foreign press coverage of how the United States is being portrayed at the Climate Summit in Copenhagen, this editorial from Estadao of Brazil illustrates the rupture that a leaked document, which originated in Denmark and seems to favor wealthy nations, has created between the developed and developing worlds. The Estadao editorial says in … [Read more...] about The Rich Show Their Hand at Copenhagen: Estadao of Brazil
Fed Spending Falls On Deaf Ear(marks)
Sen. John McCain, who should know, once complained that Congress spends money on earmarks like a drunken sailor. This spending spree seen by penny-pinching Republican taxpayers was one of the central causes why the GOP lost both houses of Congress by the 2008 elections. Now that the Democrats are in control, earmarks continue to pad appropriation bills but at a slightly … [Read more...] about Fed Spending Falls On Deaf Ear(marks)
The Joke That Bombed
What kind of paranoid world are we living in? A University of California, Davis, police declaration supporting the arrest of James Marchbanks [a graduate student drama instructor in the theater and dance department] describes the fear three students reportedly felt when he presented an envelope holding end-of-course evaluations by saying, "I have a bomb." "There was no … [Read more...] about The Joke That Bombed
Taking the Mission to Secure America to Copenhagen
Guest post by Jonathan Powers and Robert Diamond Jon Powers is the Chief Operating Officer of the Truman National Security Project. He is a veteran of the Gulf War, serving as an officer in the United States Army, and the founder of War Kids Relief. He was previously Veterans Program Director at the Eleison Group, where he worked on outreach efforts by the progressive … [Read more...] about Taking the Mission to Secure America to Copenhagen
Obama’s Afghan Withdrawal Must Be ‘Some Sort of Joke’: Guangzhou Daily, People’s Republic of China
Is there any reason to believe that American troops will begin leaving Afghanistan in 18 months, as President Obama announced last week? Or, as this surprisingly forthright article from China's state-controlled Guangzhou Daily asserts, was this just an eloquent rhetorical fig leaf to hide the fact that America won't leave anytime soon? Implying shamelessness on Obama's part, … [Read more...] about Obama’s Afghan Withdrawal Must Be ‘Some Sort of Joke’: Guangzhou Daily, People’s Republic of China
Doesn’t This Undercut Senator Baucus’ Arguments for Frugality in Health Care Debate?
Senator Max Baucus, chair of the Senate Finance Committee, asserted himself as a major voice in the debate over health care reform almost immediately after last November's election. He has argued for cost containment and frugality throughout the intervening months and used his powerful position to make his arguments stick. Now, we learn that the Senator isn't nearly so … [Read more...] about Doesn’t This Undercut Senator Baucus’ Arguments for Frugality in Health Care Debate?
Spankers for McCain?
Correlation does not equal causation, and all that, but this is a pretty interesting graph. This comes from an in-the-works book about authoritarianism and polarization in American politics. Here's the explanation from one of the authors: In states with lower percentages of people that endorse spanking and washing kids' mouths out with soap, which is the case in New … [Read more...] about Spankers for McCain?
Book Review: Beg, Borrow, Steal: A Writer’s Life
As we watch the perhaps terminal death of the newspaper industry unfold (who ever thought we'd see the day when Editor & Publisher would fold? Read this and this) one of the many journalistic questions remains: Are newspaper columnists about to go the way of pay phones? Already newspapers have trimmed op-ed pages and laid off editorial cartoonists. Yes, there are still some … [Read more...] about Book Review: Beg, Borrow, Steal: A Writer’s Life
The Water Glass Stock Market
We now have a water glass stock market. A market in which every empty glass is deemed half full, and every half full glass is viewed as brimming. Today's market, up considerably at the time of this writing, illustrates the point. It's rise is linked to reports released in the last day or two. Retail sales, for example, rose a better than expected 1.4 percent in November — a … [Read more...] about The Water Glass Stock Market
Consequences Hit Mark Sanford: Wife Jenny Files for Divorce
It looks like he has escaped impeachment for a bunch of possible issued related to the scandal, but South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford has just been clobbered with some major consquences for his admitted affair with a lover in Argentina: his wife Jenny is filing for divorce. "I am now filing for divorce," she said in a statement. "This came after many unsuccessful efforts at … [Read more...] about Consequences Hit Mark Sanford: Wife Jenny Files for Divorce
“Too Small to Fail”: President Obama and the Dilemma of Political Parties (Guest Voice)
"Too Small to Fail": President Obama and the Dilemma of Political Parties by Alex Hammer President Obama is up against it. While it is certainly possible that Barack has utilized change language to in fact mask a more traditional interest and/or partisan focus, I believe instead that the President genuinely wants to be "a different kind of politician" bringing "a … [Read more...] about “Too Small to Fail”: President Obama and the Dilemma of Political Parties (Guest Voice)
Harry Reid, Uncensored (Guest Voice)
Harry Reid, Uncensored Making Sense, by Michael Reagan On the Senate floor this week, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid abused the dignity of his position with yet another desperate attack on Republicans and other Americans who understand the dangers of President Obama’s flawed health care proposal. Rather than debating the unremarkable “merits” of the Democratic plan, … [Read more...] about Harry Reid, Uncensored (Guest Voice)