Archive for September, 2009

September 14th, 2009

Steven Cohen, a white Congressman from a largely black district in Memphis, is facing another race-baiting campaign. Candidate Barack Obama spoke out against similar tactics the last time. I’d like to see President Obama do a fund-raiser for Cohen.

September 13th, 2009

The man who stood outside a hall where the President was speaking, with a gun strapped to his leg and a sign reading “It is time to water the tree of liberty” may or may not be a lunatic, but he’s no historian. His sign refers to the letter written by Thomas Jefferson, then in [...]

September 13th, 2009

When Tyler Cowen linked to this bit of feel-good about conditions in sub-Saharan Africa by Charles Kenney, I was annoyed by its casual use of data. For example, Kenney mentions average growth in GDP per capita of 67% between 1950 and 2001 as if that were an encouraging statistic. But 67% over 51 years is [...]

September 13th, 2009

“What I heard was an unspoken word in the air: ‘You lie, boy!’ “

September 13th, 2009

The John Birch Society hurt Barry Goldwater. The Teabaggers ought to hurt the Palins and Pawlentys.

September 13th, 2009

Here’s a preview: Update Transcript and video. Obama was cool, reasonable, cheerful, forceful, and completely in control of the facts, himself, and the interview. KROFT:  …in some ways, this debate has brought out the worst in us. OBAMA: Well… KROFT: Not the best. OBAMA: …well, I think you’ve got a convergence of things. Look, worst [...]

September 13th, 2009

“Loath” means reluctant; “loathe” means detest.

September 13th, 2009

One problem with telling a lie – especially a stupid, easy-refuted* lie such as “There were more than 1 million teabaggers in Washington on 9/12″ – is that people might not believe you. One way to deal with that is to attribute the lie to someone else, ideally a respected institution like a major news [...]

September 12th, 2009

These days even a motherhood bill is controversial, if it’s attached to health care reform.

September 12th, 2009

Young blonde teenager carrying a printed sign:
“Bury Obamacare with Kennedy.”