Month: April 2010

Brief Thoughts on the New Orleans Voyage

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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

Taxes, Simplified for Better Government

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–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

Taxes

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—by Sebastian H April is always a good time to think about tax policy, and I see Kevin Drum making fun of the idea of a very short tax code.  Now I'm not entirely sure that we could reduce the tax code all the way to the size of the Constitution.  But it would probably … Read more

You said, “baby, we don’t speak of that.” Like a real aristocrat.

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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

‘Til Tuesday

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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.

The Goggles, They Do Nothing

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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

Guest Post: Nuclear Scorecard

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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

Tell Me Something I Don’t Know

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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

Weekend Open Thread: Splish Splash Edition

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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:

Confederate History Month, The Conclusion (?)

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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