Jan
31
State of the Union
January 31, 2006 | Leave a Comment
All right, things are about to begin. Comment away.
Updated Hit read more to see last night’s running commentary.
9:01 Pregame on Fox, and Chris Wallace observes: “If you’re a political junkie, this is the Super Bowl.”
He’s right. It’s an overhyped event that usually winds up being an overlong snoozefest with too many break.
9:05 [...]
Jan
31
Guess who’s baaaaaaaaack?
January 31, 2006 | Leave a Comment
Don’t click on this link if you don’t want to find out about any returning characters to “24.” (See first character name as you scroll down).
But do beware of bear traps.
Jan
31
Live blogging the State of the Union
January 31, 2006 | Leave a Comment
It’s an annual tradition here at the Political Spectrum: I will be live blogging the State of the Union address tonight. I plan on doing it slightly differently this year. Instead of putting up a post for each point, I’ll just have a single post that I’ll constantly update. The comments section [...]
Jan
30
Cloture
January 30, 2006 | Leave a Comment
Well it was a valiant effort Johnny, but you came a little short on your filibuster try. You might have appeased the Kossacks, but guess what . . .
You’re still not EVER going to be president of the United States.
Jan
30
Bye bye Lincoln
January 30, 2006 | Leave a Comment
There is no person that I want to see defeated this November (or, preferably sooner) more than Lincoln Chafee (RINO-RI). Today he solidified his position as the king of all RINO’s by saying he will be voting against Samuel Alito’s confirmation. He softened his position by also stating that he will vote for [...]
Jan
27
JPod’s question
January 27, 2006 | Leave a Comment
Before heading out to lunch today, I caught this question from John Podhoretz in the Corner:
Harry Reid says a filibuster against Samuel Alito can’t succeed but that he’ll support it anyway. This is peculiar. One of the classic rules in Washington politics is that it weakens a party and its leadership to go down to [...]
Jan
26
The two faces of Google
January 26, 2006 | Leave a Comment
Somewhat appropos of DS’s blog immediately below, here are an interesting pair of cases involving Google. On the one hand, they have made a “brave” stand against the US government, refusing to hand over statistics on the number of internet searches for child pornography, thus warming the cockles of progressive hearts everywhere.
But [...]
Jan
25
Deus Caritas Est
January 25, 2006 | Leave a Comment
Pope Benedict XVI has issued his first Encyclical. I have not had a chcance to read through it yet, but here it is for all who care to read it.
Jan
21
Thirty facts about Jack Bauer
January 21, 2006 | Leave a Comment
Brilliant list. Includes:
Jack Bauer got Hellen Keller to talk.
Jack Bauer once forgot where he put his keys. He then spent the next half-hour torturing himself until he gave up the location of the keys.
Jack Bauer was never addicted to heroin. Heroin was addicted to Jack Bauer.
and Jack Bauer’s family threw him a surprise birthday [...]
Jan
18
Metrocons
January 18, 2006 | Leave a Comment
Oy, just what wee need, a new type of conservative. This is approximately number 1,389,849 in the series. Then again, perhaps I should be the last one critiqing the effort. And I do think one of conservatism’s many assets is that there are such a wide variety of us.
At any rate, Mark [...]
Jan
18
Further thoughts on Gonzales v. Oregon
January 18, 2006 | Leave a Comment
It’s amazing that a case that really is about a fairly arcane statutory matter could carry so much import. As many commentators have observed, this is hardly a groundbreaking decision, and it’s quite possible if not likely that any action Congress takes to clarify the CSA so as to deal with drugs related to [...]
Jan
17
Will Ray Nagin just please SHUT THE HELL UP
January 17, 2006 | Leave a Comment
Continuing with our idioterian series, next up is New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, who put his foot into his mouth once more:
“Surely God is mad at America. He sent us hurricane after hurricane after hurricane, and it’s destroyed and put stress on this country,” Nagin said as he and other city leaders commemorated Martin Luther [...]
Jan
15
The new majority leader
January 15, 2006 | Leave a Comment
Due to the exit of Tom DeLay from the House leadership, a new majority leader must be elected. The leading contenders had been Majority Whip Roy Blunt and John Boehner of Ohio, but Arizona Representative John Shadegg has put his hat into the ring. A darkhorse candidate, Shadegg has earned the endorsement [...]
Jan
15
Will
January 15, 2006 | Leave a Comment
George Will has a very good column that touches on the twin problems of pork and corruption. He notes, as Jonah Goldberg did a couple of days ago, that we really can’t expect reforms to change much of what plagues DC, but there are a few small steps that can be taken to alleviate [...]
Jan
12
Executed Virginia man guilty after all
January 12, 2006 | Leave a Comment
Just following up Uncomfirmable’s post from last week. It turns out the Virginia man executed over a decade ago was in fact guilty after all.
DNA tests released this afternoon confirmed the guilt of a Virginia man who had proclaimed his innocence in a slaying and rape even as he was strapped into the state’s [...]
Jan
11
Scum
January 11, 2006 | Leave a Comment
Posted at Confirm Them, but I’ve got a special unedited ending for my Political Spectrum readers.
At first when I heard the news about Mrs. Alito crying at the conclusion of the hearings today, I was merely upset for her. It must be difficult to hear your husband attacked as hers has on ethical grounds, with [...]
Jan
9
Alito confirmation hearings
January 9, 2006 | Leave a Comment
Or should I say circus, and you can catch it live on the internet here. Confirm Them and Scotus Blog also have continuous coverage.
Lots of bs from the Democrats, but that’s to be expected. And now the clowns on the committee are intent on bringing up everything except Alito’s actual judicial demeanor.
Here’s my take [...]
Jan
9
Kuttner on Alito
January 9, 2006 | Leave a Comment
Robert Kuttner pens what may be the worst op-ed I have ever read in a major American newspaper. (Well, maybe not, I’m just going with the theme he sets in the title). It is rich in baseless ad hominems and fruitless speculation, but quite short on substance. Read on:
He begins with [...]
Jan
5
Will Pat Robertson just please SHUT THE HELL UP
January 5, 2006 | Leave a Comment
The man is not even funny anymore:
The Reverend Pat Robertson says Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s massive stroke could be God’s punishment for giving up Israeli territory.
The founder of the Christian Broadcasting Network told viewers of “The 700 Club” that Sharon was “dividing God’s land,” even though the Bible says doing so invites “God’s enmity.” [...]
Jan
5
Another victory for the anti-smoking Gestapo
January 5, 2006 | Leave a Comment
Not content to be the biggest laughing stock of a deliberative body in the Nation, the City Council also decided to take upon itself the task of being nany to millions of DC residents and visitors. In an 11-1 vote, the Council - after many years of trying - finally succeeded in passing a [...]