For the last time: there will be no health care bill passed

The lede on this NYT article begins “In a surprise setback for Democratic leaders,” and then goes on to describe how Joe Lieberman has said he will not vote for the health care bill, even in its current form: a watered-down compromise of a compromise of a compromise. And all I can think is, which [...]

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Obligatory Afghanistan post

It’s what all the cool kids are talking about tonight. I won’t pretend to know what’s in Obama’s heart regarding his decision to send 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan with the intention of starting to withdraw in 2011. All I can judge him by is what he actually does, and I think what he actually [...]

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Pics or it didn’t happen

How charming. The Supreme Court, as expected, reversed a lower court ruling with an unsigned decision, forcing photos of American soldiers mistreating detainees to remain under wraps.
The reasoning by the Court is fairly straightforward — the photos put soldiers in harm’s way:
In a brief, unsigned decision issued Monday without elaboration, the court cited a provision [...]

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Oh Politico, how I hate you so

The Politico is a true Beltway institution, and emblematic of so much of what is sick with our journalism. Today, John Harris has a piece called “7 stories Obama doesn’t want told.” It’s about controlling the narratives and memes that constitute the image of Obama. Hmm, well that could be interesting. Maybe something about how [...]

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Re: Obama losing independents

On the Corner today, Rich Lowry has a snarky post called “More depressing news for the GOP.” In it, Lowry touts the 22-point lead the GOP has among independents on the generic Congressional ballot question. Now, even though Lowry doesn’t mention Obama, I immediately sprung into defensive mode, and began to think of reasons why [...]

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Election night thoughts

You might have noticed that I’ve stayed quiet during the run up to the elections that were held today. Part of this is because I am still very busy with the paper I am writing (first draft is sitting on my adviser’s table). But the other reason is because I just don’t find them interesting. [...]

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More on Obama’s Nobel

As I promised, I have a few more things to say about Obama’s Peace Prize.
First off, Douthat has a piece in today’s NYT about how it is a travesty that Obama didn’t reject the award. Please. As if rejecting it would have made anything better, or different. At this point, almost all criticism from the [...]

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On that Nobel

I’m at a scientific meeting today, but needless to say, I will have comment on it later.
Well, fine, I’ll give one comment for now:
LOL

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Olympic thought for the day (UPDATED)

It’s a good thing that Rio got selected. An Olympics has never been held in South America, and it’s long overdue. Regarding Chicago getting bounced in the first round of voting, get ready for media narrative, already written by Drudge. His front page now reads: “THE EGO HAS LANDED, WORLD REJECTS OBAMA: CHICAGO OUT IN [...]

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Re: Baucus

Having now actually taken the time to read large parts of the Baucus bill, which you can read here, I have fewer reservations about it than I used to, and I believe its major shortcomings (free rider provision, lower subsidies) can be hammered out in conference.
Now, I’m aware of Linus’ distaste for the bill, particularly [...]

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