"This was the voice of moderation until 13 Sept, 2025"
publius by publius Orwell once wrote, "[He] who controls the past, controls the future." Texas Governor Rick Perry has apparently taken the lesson to heart. He's now removed a fourth member of the Texas commission responsible for investigating whether Texas (and Perry) executed an innocent man. It's whitewashing at its worst. By now, you're probably familiar … Read more
by publius Several valued commenters have expressed concern lately that the comments are becoming increasingly hostile, etc. One aspect of ObWi that I really value is that it's a community for many of the people who visit here frequently and share comments. For that reason, we try (often unsuccessfully) to maintain basic levels of civility … Read more
by publius I'm not sure what the public option's current odds are. But regardless of the final result, the public option debate itself has been a beneficial and clarifying one for progressives. Generally speaking, political and intellectual coalitions often benefit from schisms that clarify and strengthen the coalition's ultimate positions. Sometimes, of course, these divisions … Read more
by publius Mark Thompson had a thoughtful response to my longer post on the Comcast case and the brief. It's worth reading the whole thing, but I had a few thoughts and comments. First, I think libertarians like Mark should be siding with the FCC—in this case, siding with the government agency best maximizes liberty. … Read more
by publius Previously obscure GA Representative Paul Broun thinks Pelosi is a "domestic enemy of the Constitution." As a result, he's now getting a bunch of attention. And while it's an obviously disturbing statement, my fear is that publicizing it only creates incentives for even more extreme statements. More broadly, the rising level of extreme … Read more
by publius Introducing a longer print article, Jay Newton-Small writes: John McCain returned to the Senate in 2000 a virtual liberal: throwing bombs at his Republican leaders (and especially George W. Bush). John McCain returned to the Senate in 2009 a virtual conservative[.] There's a pretty simple explanation for McCain's behavior over the past decade. … Read more
by publius Brendan Nyhan argues that Obama's health care speech didn't have much effect on public opinion. He notes that disapproval has now returned to previous levels after a brief bump. Numbers-wise, he's correct. But I think focusing on the numbers alone misses something very important about the speech — namely, it helped stop the … Read more
by John Blevins and Marvin Ammori (I'm using my real name because this piece is both co-authored and will be x-posted at Balkinization. I'll update with link when it gets posted. publius). Yesterday, a group of law professors and public interest organizations (listed below) filed briefs in Comcast v. FCC in the DC Circuit court—a … Read more
by publius Sorry for the non-posting of late, but I can explain. I helped file an amicus brief today in the Comcast litigation in the DC Circuit. I promise I'll explain it all in more detail later (and provide links to the brief for those interested). But now, must rest.
by publius I suppose it's funny if they're doing it ironically. If not, then not so much. Here's the review of Air's new one, if you can bear it: A half-decade of Balearic/glo-fi/'lude-house has since refined that mellow aesthetic to the point where taste-conscious end-runs around potential irony have become increasingly unnecessary. But while that … Read more