"This was the voice of moderation until 13 Sept, 2025"
Katherine R It’s after midnight. So, as we know from the parade of TV specials this week, John F. Kennedy was killed forty years ago tomorrow. Obviously, I was not alive. It had a profound effect on my parents, especially my mother, the liberal Irish Catholic college freshman. My father went through a (fortunately brief)* Goldwater phase … Read more
I thought I’d continue the tradition of bloodthirsty late night posts, in this case combined with junior high journalism class: WHO: Tom Daschle of South Dakota WHAT: should resign as majority leader, or be voted out WHEN: at his earliest convenience WHERE: in the Capitol building WHY: 1. Because with the exception of Jeffords’ party … Read more
China is about to impose more stringent fuel economy standards for new cars, and especially for light trucks, minivans, and SUVs, than the United States. This is good news, but the contrast makes metaphorical smoke come out of my ears. We have abdicated, so completely. The world has given up on us, and decided that … Read more
They unveiled the eight finalists today. Lots of gardens, reflecting pools, named inscribed on walls, light effects. Here’s an AP story with a brief description of each. The NY Times has a slide show on its main page, which I can’t figure out how to link directly. And the Lower Manhattan Development Corp has more … Read more
For posterity, in alpabetical order:
First, I may have been mistaken about Baker. The general counsel of the Massachusetts Bar Association thinks the ruling does not allow civil unions as a solution, via the NY Times: “The court essentially stayed its order for six months “to give the Legislature a chance to respond to regulation of same-gender marriage in terms … Read more
Massachusetts’ Supreme Judicial Court has finally decided their gay marriage case. AP story here. The headline is somewhat misleading; they leave the remedy to the legislature with a 180 day deadline, much like the Baker court in Vermont. This is probably bad for Dean’s campaign. I don’t care. It’s the right thing to do, and … Read more
Here is what my friendly neighborhood environmental lawyers have to say about the Energy Bill. At least it doesn’t include this provision. As far as I know. While I think liberal diagnoses of Bush as the “Worst. President Ever”* are exaggerated (or at least premature), my guess is he will have the worst environmental record … Read more
One of the Democrats’ main critiques of Bush’s foreign policy is “unilateralism.” I have a suggestion for a better word to use: isolation. Not isolationism, but isolation.
Three problems with “Unilateralism”:
1) It is technically not true, as a reporter can point out by asking “What about England”? Denouncing “bilateralism” doesn’t work as well.
2) It is very wonky sounding.
3) It will not automatically be regarded as bad–“We’re not letting the French be the boss of us.”
Instead, you phrase it in these terms:
Esteemed co-blogger von just wrote: “We know the Bush plan: all offense, all defense, all the time.” I disagree. If anything, I’d characterize it as “all offense, no defense.” The administration has consistently neglected ways of protecting us from terrorism that do much more, in the short run, to keep us safe than invading Iraq–that … Read more