"This was the voice of moderation until 13 Sept, 2025"
by publius Obama is starting to get his second wind – for the first time, he’s making aggressive and even openly partisan attacks against the stimulus opponents. To which I say – it’s about time. The Obama team has a tendency to be a few days late on tactics, but they’re pretty good when they … Read more
by hilzoy From Leon Panetta’s confirmation hearings: Transcript (emphasis added): FEINSTEIN: Will the CIA continue the practice of extraordinary rendition by which the government will transfer a detainee to either a foreign government or a black site for the purpose of long-term detention and interrogation, as opposed to for law enforcement purposes?PANETTA: No we will … Read more
by publius PJTV (my new favorite station) has a video discussion of the stimulus with economic experts Glenn Reynolds, Michelle Malkin, and Joe the Plumber. I lack the literary skills to provide the appropriate level of ridicule. Fortunately, we have John Cole for such things.
by hilzoy I am, as most of you know, generally in favor of reaching out to one's opponents, trying to understand why they take the positions they do, and seeing whether their reasonable points can be accommodated. And I dislike trying to undercut one's opponents just for the heck of it, when there is no … Read more
by publius One more — here's a press release from a horse trade group thanking McConnell and Bunning for getting horses included in the livestock disaster program. The release goes on to say: …Last year Senators Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Jim Bunning (R-KY) and Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) introduced the Equine Equity Act (EEA), which proposed to … Read more
by publius Here's a press release from one John Thune bragging about expanding livestock disaster insurance (this is the program cited as "honeybee insurance"). I trust Neil Cavuto will give this the attention it deserves.
by publius The Post reports that unemployment offices are being overwhelmed by the number of claims they're receiving: Thousands of people in the Washington area and hundreds of thousands more across the country are waiting longer than they should for unemployment benefits at a time when they need the money the most because rising joblessness … Read more
by publius I’m sensing a bit of Democratic anxiety – maybe even panic – about the stimulus bill. And while I’m not exactly thrilled with how things are going, I think everyone needs to step back, chill, and look at the bigger picture. First, the stimulus bill remains one of the most aggressively progressive efforts … Read more
by Eric Martin To make a rather mundane observation, it is quite common for politicians, legislators and others in leadership positions to leak details of a prospective policy to the press in order to market test it. Run it up the flagpole, and see how many salute and how many set match to fabric. I can only hope that … Read more
by hilzoy As you are all undoubtedly aware, Tom Daschle has asked that his nomination as Secretary of HHS be withdrawn, and Obama has agreed. As I wrote a few days ago, I think this is a good thing. I think Daschle would have been an immense asset in trying to get health care passed, … Read more
by publius This image from tomorrow’s NYT made me so happy, I had to cut and paste it. Quoting wasn’t enough – you have to see it in its natural splendor for the full effect. __________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ This is very good news – and surprisingly aggressive, frankly (assuming there aren’t loopholes). And while I agree … Read more
by hilzoy This morning I read a piece by Darren Hutchinson at Dissenting Justice about rendition, which has been linked by Instapundit and others. It contained the following passage: "Hilzoy also argues that absent torture and indefinite detention, rendition includes practices like extradition. This patently false assertion has floated around the web. Unlike rendition, extradition … Read more
by publius A few days ago, a commenter argued that I should stop accusing Republicans of acting in bad faith on economic matters. Instead, I should realize that most conservatives sincerely prefer these policies because they think the policies will ultimately help the country. I’ve been thinking more about it, so here are some additional … Read more
by Eric Martin Prior to this past weekend's provincial elections in Iraq, I warned that the elections could portend a spike in violence depending on the extent to which the competing parties (many only recently adopting the political approach to the exclusion of more violent methods) view the results as legitimate. Marc Lynch offers some admittedly preliminary, … Read more
by hilzoy Since the publication of the LA Times story about rendition yesterday, I've noticed some confusion about the topic. So Dr. Rendition will try to answer your questions. Q: What is rendition? A: Rendition is the act of transferring a person into a different jurisdiction. Q: "It occurs to me that this more benign definition of … Read more
by hilzoy From the NYT: "The Senate voted overwhelmingly Monday evening to confirm Eric H. Holder Jr. to be the new attorney general of the United States. The vote was 75 to 21, with all the votes against the nomination coming from Republicans." About time, too. I don't really understand the point of delaying a nomination that … Read more
by Eric Martin Jim Henley looks at a picture of an Iraqi soldier wearing a mask that covers most of the face and takes note of the quality of “victory” in Iraq: It’s 2009. Iraqi soldiers still wear masks to hide their identities. From other Iraqis. Actually, it’s worse than that. Those Iraqis that have … Read more
by publius Via Ambinder, I see that New Hampshire's Governor Lynch has promised to appoint a Republican to replace Gregg. To me, this promise makes the Gregg appointment seem a lot more risky. In fact, a placeholder Republican could be far worse than Gregg himself. Here's why — Gregg was facing a very tough re-election … Read more
by von I have three questions regarding PJM's abrupt decision to wind down its blog network so that they can focus on what PJM supposedly does best: streaming video. Here they are: Does PJM still refuse to carry porn? Was PJM the outfit that sent "Joe the Plumber" to Israel? Were Dennis the Peasant's comments in October, 2005, … Read more
by Eric Martin In assessing the early returns from Iraq's provincial elections over the weekend, Max Boot readies, aims, fires and…misses the target by a neocon mile. Most of Boot's errant marksmanship is attributable to his ideological devotion to a cherished, if thoroughly discredited, proposition: that the invasion of Iraq has not played to Iran's benefit. Thus, Boot … Read more
by Eric Martin Joseph Stiglitz makes a compelling case for nationalizing troubled banks, rather than continuing the pattern of misdiagnosis and ill-suited (if unbelievably expensive) band aids that fail to address the underlying hemorrhaging – and, perhaps more importantly, the conflicting incentives at the top. America's recession is moving into its second year, with the situation only worsening. The hope … Read more
by von "I think that the boldest part of [the stimulus] is that it is big and that it gets money out there quickly for the right sorts of things." That's Alice Rivlin, Brookings Institute, former director of the Office of Management and Budget under Bill Clinton, in a interview on NPR yesterday, February 1, 2009. (Listen here). What are … Read more
by hilzoy From the WSJ: "American International Group Inc. is in discussions with the government about Washington backstopping some of its troubled assets and is considering selling units through initial public offerings. (…) Backstopping of assets would be similar to government guarantees on troubled assets owned by Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp.Were the federal … Read more
by hilzoy The LA Times has an article today called "Obama preserves renditions as counter-terrorism tool": "The CIA's secret prisons are being shuttered. Harsh interrogation techniques are off-limits. And Guantanamo Bay will eventually go back to being a wind-swept naval base on the southeastern corner of Cuba. But even while dismantling these programs, President Obama … Read more
by publius Shorter Amity Shlaes: The history of the New Deal shows that Obama should give rich people a lot more money. For a slighter longer take, see Dean Baker: [Shlaes's] discussion is contradicted by the known facts of the era. Roosevelt's New Deal Agenda lowered the unemployment rate from 25 percent in 1933 to … Read more