In the ArenaUncategorized
On the same page as it publishes Nick Kristof’s list of worthy charities, the New York Times publishes this lengthy and shoddy bit of warmongering by Alan Kuperman of the University of Texas. Why? Balance, I suppose. Almost every non-neoconservative observer, including, unanimously, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, believes that bombing Iran’s …
In the ArenaUncategorized
A prediction: 2010 will be the year when China’s persistent failure to act responsibly on the world stage–its persistent amoral mercantilism–becomes a central global issue. In the recent past, the world’s assorted globalists and do-gooders had an easy target in the United States, given the Bush Administration’s disdain for …
In the ArenaUncategorized
A few weeks ago, I suggested that the President, in his West Point speech, should have encouraged Americans to really support the troops by sending money to the various non-governmental organizations and charities doing terrific, humane work in Afghanistan. Nick Kristof, who is an journalistic treasure, lists some worthy charities in …
There was only one Senator missing for this morning’s historic vote in the Senate Chamber. And where was Kentucky Republican Jim Bunning? His spokesman Mike Reynard tells me by e-mail:
The Senator has family commitments.
Oh.
Over at TIME.com, fellow Swampers Kate Pickert, Amy Sullivan and I look forward to some of the issues that will be important as the House and Senate attempt to reconcile their two versions of the bill.
I’m up early this morning to watch the coverage of the Senate vote on health reform. Capitol Hill looks so festive that I am a little sorry that I didn’t make it up there to see it in person.
Vice President Biden just arrived to preside in his capacity as president of the Senate, though it doesn’t look like he will be needed to break …
In the ArenaUncategorized
Tom Friedman has been banging the green drum incessantly and wisely, and he does it particularly well today. Just thought I’d help him spread the word–and as we approach the New Year, I also hope that we can pass a stiff carbon tax in 2010 and use the funds to (a) reduce payroll taxes for the working poor and (b) give tax breaks to …
As Republicans have become less and less inclined to reach out to the Democrats and the Obama Administration – those even willing to listen are becoming noteworthy. Lindsey Graham is one of those who’ll listen, though it remains to be seen if any major legislation will be produced from his talks. In researching this story, I was …
Because others won’t be far behind… The general in charge of U.S. troops in northern Iraq has issued an order that would make female soldiers who become pregnant subject to court-martial (the same would apply to male troops who impregnate another soldier, although that’s obviously harder to prove). Does that mean that if two unmarried …
It was probably bound to happen sooner rather than later. Alabama’s fifth district is one of the few in the South held solidly by Democrats since Reconstruction thanks to economic development on the backs of the Tennessee Valley Authority, the military’s Redstone Arsenal and NASA’s Marshall Flight Space Center. But in recent years …
This is way more than 1,000 words. In this photo essay for LIFE, Brooks Kraft gives us an inside view of the lives of the Secret Service agents who protect the President. It’s worth a clickthrough, though this one is my favorite.
I’m a little late on this, but had to share the latest evidence that investors in private health insurance companies feel they prevailed in their lobbying efforts over the Democratic health care bill. Here’s what happened after the Senate voted to break the Republican filibuster on Monday, according to the AP:
In the ArenaUncategorized
A friend suggests that one of the reasons why support for health care reform has ticked upwards in recent days–and that support for the war in Afghanistan ticked upward after the President announced his policy–is that people hate DC gridlock, with its accompanying ration of pettiness. They want action and hope it works. I hope it works, too.
