For anyone out there who shares my enjoyment of poring over these things and reading too much into them, I’ve pasted after the jump a list of the expected attendees at tonight’s White House State Dinner for the Indian Prime Minister. Which Emanuel brother wasn’t at the dinner? Does the fact that Peter Orszag went stag [...]
UPDATE: Since publishing this post about the US Preventive Services Task Force around 2 p.m., I have been told by the White House that my interpretation of the Senate legislative language is off. This was, incidentally, the interpretation of several non-partisan policy experts I spoke to as well, but that doesn’t matter. What matters is [...]
Over at the Commentary blog, Max Boot notes that even the gung-ho U.S. special forces seem “a bit worn down and pessimistic” in recent conversations he’s had with them about the situation in Afghanistan. I’ve had similar conversations with rank-and-file members of the U.S. military recently–in part, because they’re not sure that this mission can [...]
One of the joys of Thanksgiving when I was a kid was my parents’ insistence on inviting friends from other countries to join us for this most American of holidays. Scott Simon celebrates that tradition in a column today–and makes the point that we are increasingly, triumphantly, a nation of mongrels…one of the things I [...]
Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey will tell you that he doesn’t get many more calls from fundraisers or constituents about abortion than he does the public plan, death panels or immigration. “We’re getting a lot of inquiries from lots of different groups on several differnet topics,” he demurrs. “I don’t think it’s any different or intense [...]
For months few have mentioned it. But as the public option withers on the Senate vine, progressive groups are beginning to push Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to use reconciliation rather than pass a health care reform bill without a public option in it. I’ve heard a few whispers on the Hill that this is [...]
The South Carolina Ethics Commission has released the details of 37 ethics charges against embattled Governor Mark Sanford. Interestingly, while nearly all of the allegations involve travel (airline upgrades at state expense, reimbursing himself with campaign funds for personal expenses), none of those trips seem to have been to Argentina. It wasn’t so long ago, [...]
Two amplifications to my Sunday post on the Senate bill: 1. Marshall Wittman, who is Senator Joe Lieberman’s Communications Director, says I left an incorrect impression when I wrote that David Gregory should have asked the Senator if he would filibuster the bill if it didn’t cancel the insurance companies’ anti-trust exemption. He may be [...]
