Elites Losing Climate and Gun Argument
Michael Barone (via Glenn Reynolds) argues that elites are "out of touch" on climate change and gun control: Many years ago, political scientists came up with a theory that elites lead public opinion. And on some issues, they clearly do. But on some issues, they don't. Two examples of the latter phenomenon are conspicuous at a time when Barack Obama enjoys ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on May 11, 2009 09:59
Berkeley Energy Police Coming
A reader sends along a recent Survey USA poll question: The city of Berkeley is considering a law that would require all homes to be audited to be sure they meet strict energy standards in the city's plan to fight global warming. This would mean new double-paned windows, attic insulation, a new white roof that reflects heat, a forced-air furnace and ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on April 27, 2009 13:22
Ezra Klein to WaPo
The Washington Post company continues its consolidation of the media universe with the hire of Ezra Klein. Politico's Michael Calderone breaks the news: The American Prospect's Ezra Klein, one of the top bloggers on politics and policy, is heading to the Washington Post. Rumors about Klein's upcoming move spread on Wednesday night during a reception thrown by The Nation magazine in honor ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on April 23, 2009 12:07
One of These Is Not Like the Other
Timothy Sandefur is embarrassed: So I was watching this insane video of Christopher Hitchens and Salman Rushdie discussing the War on Terrorism with Mos Def. And it’s amusing to laugh at the utterly hapless ignorance of "Mr. Def," as he is repeatedly called—until you stop and wonder. Why is the black community not outraged by this? Bill Maher hosts a talk ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on March 31, 2009 11:38
These Kids Today: Conservative Politics Over?
Paul Waldman fleshes out a theme that many observers have made in passing: The young voters who helped propel Barack Obama to the presidency could create a "permanent" realignment in American politics. In 1984, 59 percent of the nation's Alex P. Keatons voted for Reagan, an extraordinary percentage for a Republican (and just over his proportion of the popular vote ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on March 17, 2009 14:51
Jim Inhofe Interview
On the night before CPAC, Senator James M. Inhofe's staff reached out to me to see if I would be interested in interviewing him. I was, indeed, but Inhofe never made it to CPAC Thursday because of a series of unscheduled votes, so it became an email exchange instead. Because Inhofe is the second ranking Republican on Armed Services Committee and ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on March 4, 2009 12:14
Snow In DC Brings Jokes, Questions
WaPo federal beat reporter Ed O'Keefe helpfully notes that, Washington, D.C.-area federal offices will operate today under "liberal leave" or "unscheduled leave" and delayed arrival status, meaning employees who cannot make it to work can request off, or should otherwise arrive to work no more than two hours later than normal, according to the Office of Personnel Management. In addition to perennially ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on March 2, 2009 11:50
Conservative Policy Solutions
Kevin Drum seconds my concerns about conservative public intellectuals and offers two example where the Right isn't offering useful policy alternatives. Conservatives on Global Warming Take global warming. Here's the rough conservative reaction to it starting in the early 90s: It doesn't exist. It exists but it isn't manmade. It's manmade, but it's too expensive to do anything about. Even this is a generous assessment. ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on November 24, 2008 15:44
Bailout Politics (Updated)
An interesting meme is developing among smart commenters from across the political spectrum that the House's failure to pass the bailout bill demonstrates the soft underbelly of our political system itself. Ezra Klein: Above all, though, this is a failure of politics. Like with global warming, with health care, with the national debt, with immigration. It is further proof that we have ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on September 29, 2008 15:45
Clean Air Causing Global Warming?
It seems that the leading man-made cause of global warming is environmentalism; specifically, efforts to improve air quality by reducing pollution, New Scientist reports. Since 1980, average air temperatures in Europe have risen 1 °C: much more than expected from greenhouse-gas warming alone. Christian Ruckstuhl of the Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science in Switzerland and colleagues took aerosol concentrations from ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on July 11, 2008 16:46
Why Rush Limbaugh is So Popular
Ezra Klein believes a recent NYT Magazine profile of Rush Limbaugh is a "puff piece." He lists, for example, Rush's "presidential platform" as published: 1. Open the continental shelf to drilling. Ditto the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. 2. Establish a 17 percent flat tax. 3. Privatize Social Security. 4. Give parents school vouchers to break the monopoly of public education. 5. Revoke Jimmy Carter’s ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on July 8, 2008 09:03
G8 and EU Growing Pains
Two articles cited in today's Small Wars Journal roundup have almost nothing to do with wars, small or otherwise, but are nonetheless interesting in showing the state of flux of some key international institutions. Steven Erlanger reports on a bold attempt to forge a "Union of the Mediterranean" which would be something of a minor league for the European Union. Perhaps the ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on July 7, 2008 08:49
“Storm Troopers In Clown Shoes”
That's how Instapundit refers to James Hansen, apparently the most intemperate of the global warming alarmists (yes, he's worse than Gore because he's Gore's science advisor). Here's Hansen's latest proposal: James Hansen, one of the world's leading climate scientists, will today call for the chief executives of large fossil fuel companies to be put on trial for high crimes against ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on June 24, 2008 00:48
McCain Proposes Prize for Battery Breakthrough
John McCain has proposed offering a $300 million dollar prize to the developer of "breakthrough battery technology."Senator John McCain on Monday proposed the creation of a $300 million prize for anyone who developed breakthrough car-battery technology and he recommended greater tax incentives for buyers of nonpolluting autos, saying that only a combination of increased oil production, conservation measures and ingenuity ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on June 23, 2008 23:17
ID Creationism In Louisiana
The creationists deserve a few props here. Since the Dover loss they've switched strategies away from claiming that ID is science and are instead focusing on "academic freedom". That the concept of academic freedom doesn't generally apply at the elementary and secondary levels seems to be of no consequence. The Louisiana legislature has passed, by a veto-proof ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on June 19, 2008 00:58
