"This was the voice of moderation until 13 Sept, 2025"
by von I stumbled across this post while perusing Jezebel.* Apparently, it's the second in a series from Alison Samuels explaining why Angelina Jolie is guilty of something — racism? stupidity? poor fashion sense? – based on the look her daughter's hair. I missed the first post, but here's the gist: Jolie's daughter is from Ethiopia. Jolie lets her daughter's hair grow … Read more
by publius I've been going back and forth on this for some time. But I've decided it's time to take a break from blogging for a while, maybe longer. I'm not quitting for good — I consider it more like taking "senior status." I'll continue to post now and then (Sebastian-style), but not that frequently. … Read more
by publius The League of Ordinary Gentleman is a good blog — one you should be reading. However, one of the writers there, Mark Thompson, has recently shown some questionable judgment by deciding to interview me about admin law and FCC stuff. But you should overlook that. Seriously, the interview is here if you're interested. … Read more
by Eric Martin One justification for continuing (and possibly escalating) our military/non-military commitment in Afghanistan centers around the potential for al-Qaeda to establish safe havens in that country from which to coordinate attacks on US targets. This al-Qaeda-based rationale rests on several assumptions that include, but perhaps are not limited to: 1. If we withdraw or significantly reduce our military presence, the Taliban will retake Afghanistan (presumably that … Read more
by Eric Martin Lucky for me and the missus, he seems intent on perfecting his "looks" which should pave the way for a lucrative career in male modeling. The best part: this isn't even his Magnum:
by Eric Martin Quotable 'conservative dissident' Daniel Larison on the GOP's bizarre obsession with the decision by the Obama administration to scale back the prior administration's missile defense policies in Eastern Europe: Cheney’s recent speech at the Center for Security Policy is much what you would expect from him, but that is not what interests me here. … Read more
by Eric Martin The New York Times, to its credit, attempts to dispel some of the stubborn misinformation concerning the interchangeability (or lack thereof) of the Afghan Taliban faction and Pakistani Taliban faction. Contrary to popular and pervasive fictions, these two groups are quite distinct in terms of strategy and objectives. As it devises a New Afghanistan … Read more
by publius Via Ta-Nehisi, I saw this amazing Anderson Cooper interview of Todd Willingham's defense attorney, David Martin. It's enough to make you literally nauseous. Remember that Martin's zealous defense consisted of getting the babysitter to testify: The defense had tried to find a fire expert to counter Vasquez and Fogg’s testimony, but the one … Read more
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) last week issued a scathing indictment of Nevada’s OSHA program. Nevada has a well-deserved reputation for being a dangerous place to work. Last year, a spate of construction deaths on the Las Vegas Strip prompted a congressional hearing. The Las Vegas Sun won this year’s public service Pulitzer for exposing the carnage. Nevada inspectors told federal investigators that their superiors pressured them not to write up employers for willful violations of safety laws.
by publius You'll be shocked to learn that Fred Hiatt opposes the public option. You'll be further shocked that his argument doesn't make much sense. Hiatt's main concern is cost control. He thinks (maybe correctly) that Congress is punting on controlling costs. Instead, Hiatt wants Congress (1) to impose taxes on employer-provided health care benefits; … Read more