"This was the voice of moderation until 13 Sept, 2025"
by Eric Martin An open thread with some gratuitous baby Eric mugging for the camera. Similar pose, one he's really trying to work into more of his shoots. Artists. Finally, an action pose. He loves to stand up already – with daddy there to spot him of course. Although he'll claim he doesn't need the … Read more
by Eric Martin Then maybe they would, one-by-one, drop out of their respective races in order to oppose Obama's agenda. After all, he's managed to get the GOP to come out in opposition to tax cuts, paygo, a freeze on discretionary spending, cuts in discretionary spending and a commission dedicated to deficit/debt reduction. From Sam Stein (via Benen) Some … Read more
By Lindsay Beyerstein Osama bin Laden is speaking out against climate change: "The effects of global warming have touched every continent. Drought and deserts are spreading, while from the other floods and hurricanes unseen before the previous decades have now become frequent," bin Laden said in the audiotape, aired on the Arab TV network Al-Jazeera. … Read more
by Eric Martin Listening to critics of Obama's decision to try certain terrorist suspects in civilian courts, one gets the impression that Obama is taking a big risk, and that civilian courts are either ill-equipped to handle such cases, or the rules governing the proceedings in those venues create too big an advantage for defendants. Obama's critics … Read more
by Eric Martin Coming on the heels of the Senate's passage of a bill authorizing President Obama to impose a new round of sanctions against Iran (a truly counterproductive policy), Flynt and Hillary Mann Leverett diagnose a drift in Obama's Iran policy that, sadly, rings true: Obama has moved, during just one year in office, from relatively … Read more
by Eric Martin Dexter Filkins' story about the recent flipping of one large and powerful tribe in Afghanistan is generating a lot of buzz – with some touting the conversion as the first stage in a recreation of the Sons of Iraq program which established alliances with Sunni elements against al-Qaeda in Iraq. However, there … Read more
by Eric Martin Bernard Finel argues against knee-jerk resort to the use of military force in places like Yemen – or rather, argues that the full implications of such involvement should be subject to a more rigorous strategic analysis before the bullets fly. Finel points out that military involvement creates reinforcing loops of circular reasoning that … Read more
by Eric Martin In the aftermath of the recent earthquake that devastated the already beleaguered people of Haiti, the impoverished condition of that nation – which greatly exacerbated the lethality of the quake - has received sudden heightened scrutiny. Unsurprisingly, various factions have simply plugged Haiti's current condition into their preferred framework to reach their desired explanation. In some cases, the … Read more
by Eric Martin Giving in to popular demand, I hereby decree this post to be used for State of the Union haranguing and other related commentary. The million dollar question: which Republican lawmaker coarsely interrupts the proceedings this time? My money's on Steve King.
by Eric Martin A microcosm of how warped the incentives, practices and ethics are on Wall Street and in the country's major financial institutions: [Today the] New York Times [has a] story on ailing banks that are nevertheless doling out huge bonus packages. This is a throwback to 2008, when failing banks like Merrill Lynch … Read more