"This was the voice of moderation until 13 Sept, 2025"
by Eric Martin Rob Farley wants to know if Anchorman really is the most quoted comedy of the last decade. I say the question is too restrictive and would rather point out that The Big Lebowski is likely the most quoted comedy ever. At least for the folks I run with. Which isn't saying much. … Read more
by Eric Martin This is just extremely, extremely wrongheaded: A plan by Senate Democratic leaders to reform the nation’s immigration laws ran into strong opposition from civil liberties defenders before lawmakers even unveiled it Thursday. Democratic leaders have proposed requiring every worker in the nation to carry a national identification card with biometric information, such … Read more
by Eric Martin First, noted "libertarian" Glenn Reynolds (not his only such defense of the indefensible of course): A reader says he’s suprised to see me support the Arizona bill. Well, I really don’t — that is, I don’t know if I’d have voted for it if I were in Arizona. I’m mostly reacting to the fact … Read more
by Eric Martin Unremarkably, the Obama administration has not been able to turn around the slide in Afghanistan, and the prospects going forward are bleak: A Pentagon report presented a sobering new assessment Wednesday of the Taliban-led insurgency in Afghanistan, saying that its abilities are expanding and its operations are increasing in sophistication, despite recent … Read more
–by Sebastian I don't have much to say on this. I'm mostly just drawing attention to something that I had assumed had stopped under the Obama administration, but apparently hasn't. They are still using sensory deprivation during transport of the Gitmo prisoners: cite Omar Khadr’s pre-trial hearing this morning experienced an unexplained hour-long delay. Court … Read more
by Eric Martin John Cole spotted something interesting in the media's coverage of recent revelations of widespread torture in Iraqi government prisons: the New York Times, Washington Post and NPR all use the word "torture" to, rightly, describe the type of abuse endured by the detainees in question. While that might seem like a mundane observation (media outlets … Read more
by Eric Martin Quelle surprise: A Senate panel investigating the causes of the nation's financial crisis on Thursday unveiled evidence that credit-ratings agencies knowingly gave inflated ratings to complex deals backed by shaky U.S. mortgages in exchange for lucrative fees. The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations will hold a detailed hearing on Friday, where its … Read more
by Eric Martin May I recommend that the Republican Party run on a promise to repeal the recently passed healthcare reform, what with its provisions cracking down on rescission and denial of coverage for pre-existing conditions: One after another, shortly after a diagnosis of breast cancer, each of the women learned that her health insurance had … Read more
by Eric Martin A recently leaked memo from Defense Secretary Gates has caused a bit of a stir in foreign policy circles due to the arguable "bombshell" lurking in the lede: Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has warned in a secret three-page memorandum to top White House officials that the United States does not have … Read more
by Eric Martin The power of the Executive to cast a man into prison without formulating any charge known to the law, and particularly to deny him the judgement of his peers, is in the highest degree odious and is the foundation of all totalitarian government whether Nazi or Communist. — Winston Churchill I believe … Read more
by Erique Martinique First and foremost I'm alive…but barely. Six nights in that town is enough to kill an elephant – at least the way we spent them. It's what I expected with approx. 30 of my closest and oldest friends converging on said city for nothing more than a prolonged party. Highlights from the … Read more
–by Sebastian H Part II. Part I Can Be Found Here One of the main reasons why the US tax code is so complicated is that it has tens of thousands of policy choices as tax deductions, tax credits, and other forms of tax breaks. I obviously can't comment on all of them individually (though … Read more
by von Regrettably — particularly given Eric's announcement below — I am taking a leave of absence from the blog, effective immediately. I hope that I won't be gone long. Be cool. UPDATE: In the waning hour, I claim victory. Jeffrey Goldberg, remarking on General Petraeus' friendly fêting in conservo-Washington, reports: I asked John Podhoretz, the editor … Read more
by Eric Martin I'm off to begin celebrating my brother's wedding in New Orleans tomorrow in the AM (wedding ceremony tentatively set for Saturday, pending continued aliveness of said brother). I've heard rumours about good food and music to be had, but I remain skeptical. See you all next week, I hope.
by Eric Martin Republican Congressman Ron Paul is definitely off-message: "The question has been raised about whether or not our president is a socialist," Paul said. "I am sure there are some people here who believe it. But in the technical sense, in the economic definition of a what a socialist is, no, he's not … Read more
by Cheryl Rofer So far we've had the New START Treaty completed by the negotiators and signed by the presidents of the United States and Russia. It lowers the numbers of nuclear weapons and lists the ways each side can track the other's. To come: ratification by the US Senate and Russian Duma. Treaty, Protocol, … Read more
by Eric Martin Brian Katulis highlights a telling aspect of the controversey surrounding WikiLeaks' release of video showing a U.S. Apache helicopter gunning down civilians, including a van arriving on the scene to evacuate the wounded: the story barely made a ripple in Iraq. That's not necessarily a good thing: GWEN IFILL: Rod, there — on a related … Read more
by Eric Martin Someone got his bath today - an event he enjoys immensely. In fact, he likes the water so much that his mother (an avid swimmer in her own right) is starting a swim class with him this week. The little baby wetsuit that he has to wear is insanely cute. This one is borderline NSFW: And the finale:
by Robert R. Mackey crossposted from the Huffington Post This is the third, and unless there is a major gaffe tonight from Richmond, the final part of my writing on the serious problems with Confederate Heritage Month in Virginia. In the first entry, I noted the slight "omission" by Governor McDonnell of the institution of … Read more
by Cheryl Rofer There are a number of ways to look at the NPR, and I hope to hit several of them in several posts. But I think that the most important aspects of this NPR are broad and long-term. The first NPR was in 1993; the idea of such a review came from the … Read more
by Robert R. Mackey Yesterday, I wrote on the subject of Virginia Governor Robert McDonnell's proclamation of "Confederate History Month" and the misuse of history. In response, the Governor's office issued a statement noting that "a major omission" in the original proclamation. That oversight? That there were actual slaves in Virginia in 1861. And that they … Read more
by Eric Martin James Fallows has an interesting meditation on the Wikileaks incident discussed in a previous post: [A]s with Abu Ghraib, there will be a strong temptation just to blame (or exonerate) the lower-level people who pulled the triggers, but that deflects us from real questions of responsibility. There will be lot of those "real questions" … Read more
by Robert R. Mackey (cross-posted from Huffington Post) I opened this morning's Washington Post to find that the governor of Virginia, Robert McDonnell, has determined that the state's tourism demands requires a renewal of "Confederate History Month," which has lain dormant for the past eight years. Ok, I get it. The state needs money and the … Read more
by Eric Martin Clearly, the unrelenting class warfare rampant in this country, and the onerous tax burdens that result, are taking their toll on top U.S. corporations: …Ben Armbruster highlighted a Forbes report on the taxes paid by top corporations last year. According to Forbes, General Electric managed to make $10.3 billion in pretax income, but paid nothing … Read more
by Eric Martin One of the over-arching problems with the much-hyped implementation of counterinsurgency doctrine (COIN) in recent U.S. war fighting is the disconnect between theory and practice. COIN sounds great on paper: a highly disciplined force, well-versed in local customs and culture, focused more on securing the population than kinetic operations against militants, with rules of engagement and … Read more
by Eric Martin This move makes so much sense, it's remarkable that more states and municipalities haven't followed the handful of trail…um…blazers: The city's new district attorney and the state Supreme Court are moving to all but decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana for personal use in an effort to unclog Philadelphia's crowded … Read more
by von The last sardine cannery is closing down: PROSPECT HARBOR, Me. — The women in their smudged aprons here at the sardine cannery work together in mesmerizing synchronization. Their hands flying, they fill the empty tins that clatter along the conveyor belt, packing in pieces of cut herring like, well, so many sardines. On … Read more
by von Ta-Nehisi Coates: Lane is trying to cover himself by noting that he's comparing attitude, not morals. This only works in the most absurdly narrow sense–both abolitionists and fire-eaters believed that aspects of the federal law should be resisted. But this is like saying that both Roosevelt and Hitler had resigned themselves to mass killings. I … Read more
by Eric Martin Apologies for the light posting this week. Here's an open thread to play around with in the meantime. And if you need something to kick off the conversation, I suggest either of these two pieces: 1. My boss (one of them at least) Robert Wright's eloquent piece on what it means to … Read more