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I’m a little surprised that Mark hasn’t beaten me to the punch on this: a helluva speech by the President. My personal favorite moment was when he noted that defending Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid “does not make us a nation of takers; they free us to take the risks that make this country great.” [...]
Archive for the ‘Lese-Majeste’ Category
January 2nd, 2013
There is much bemoaning in Blue Blogistan that by agreeing to the fiscal cliff deal, President Obama relinquished his leverage of the sunsetting Bush tax cuts. (Markos says that the higher tax rates are the President’s “ONLY leverage.”). Even those who aren’t angry think that somehow he has little leverage left. I don’t think that [...]
September 4th, 2012
Category: Defense and national security, History, Human rights, Law Notes, Lese-Majeste, Terrorism and its control
The Obama Administration’s decision — released the Friday afternoon before Labor Day — that no one will be held accountable for the systematic policy and use of torture would be more nauseating if it were not so predictable. I cannot add to Lemieux, Serwer, Drum, Sullivan, and Greenwald, and you should read them. American political [...]
September 4th, 2011
Category: Energy and Environment, Lese-Majeste
So over this past weekend I’ve had something of a cold: lots of sneezing, runny nose, the works. I could have gone through several boxes of tissues, but then I came upon an old “Environmentalists for Obama” t-shirt that I bought during the 2008 campaign. It worked great! I’ll make sure to tell everyone else who [...]
August 2nd, 2011
A couple of friends asked me whether the debt ceiling deal signalled a new Age of Extortion, in which we go through this mess every time we have to raise the debt ceiling. Not to worry, I said. In 2013, given President Obama’s steadfast refusal to do anything about jobs and economic growth, there will [...]
July 26th, 2011
Category: Debt ceiling, Lese-Majeste
I realize that a large part of President Obama’s strategy through the debt limit fight has been to present himself as the grown-up, the reasonable one when everyone else is screaming and yelling. Fair enough. But he should also listen to his most recent Democratic predecessor: When we look weak in a time where people [...]