Do You Have the Right Not To Be Framed?
The Supreme Court hears oral argument today in Pottawattamie County v McGee, wherein they will have to decide if prosecutors have immunity from lawsuits even if they frame someone for murder. On one side of the case being argued are Iowa prosecutors who contend "there is no freestanding right not to be framed." They are backed by the Obama administration, 28 ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on November 4, 2009 12:59
Obama’s Europe Neglect Could Bring Bush Nostalgia
My first piece for ForeignPolicy.com, "Europe's Obama Fatigue," is online. Despite George W. Bush's defiant "you're with us or you're against us" public stance, he actively solicited advice and input from his NATO partners. Obama, by contrast, is saying all the right things in public about transatlantic relations and NATO but adopting a high-handed policy and paying little attention to Europe. [...] It would ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on October 30, 2009 06:10
Chicago Won’t Get Olympics
CNN is reporting that Chicago has, along with Tokyo, been eliminated from consideration for the 2016 Olympics. Apparently, Oprah and Obama weren't enough. Chicago was eliminated in the first ballot of voting for the 2016 Olympics on Friday, a stunning defeat for the city that was expected to be one of the two finalists. Not even the presence of President Barack ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on October 2, 2009 11:38
Dept. of Silly Analogies
John Cole comments on Michelle Obama's pledge to "take no prisoners" as she helps her husband fight to get the Olympics for Chicago: You know who else hosted an Olympics? Hitler. Just saying… QED.Posted in Outside The Beltway on September 29, 2009 16:09
AARP Health Reform Stance Alienates (Some) Members
Some "60,000 people have canceled their AARP memberships since July 1, angered over the group's position on health care," CBS News reports. Many are switching to the American Seniors Association, a group that calls itself the conservative alternative as CBS News Investigative Correspondent Sharyl Attkisson reports. Last week alone, they added more than 5,000 new members. Our camera was there ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on August 18, 2009 08:43
Obama: No Pacemaker For You!
Via Megan McArdle, I see that President Obama told a woman whose now-105-year-old mother got a pacemaker five years ago that, under Obamacare, we might just give old ladies a pill: Megan observes, "I don't know that this is going to hurt the image of healthcare reform. But it probably isn't going to help." That was my reaction, too, until I ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on July 21, 2009 12:18
Obama’s Tax Pledge
Isn't true if you engage in a lifestyle that most people find icky. You know that pledge that if you make less than $250,000/year you won't see an increase in your taxes? Yeah, well not if you smoke. One of President Barack Obama's campaign pledges on taxes went up in puffs of smoke Wednesday. The largest increase in tobacco taxes ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on April 3, 2009 15:14
No Intention of Running GM—Yeah Right
Via Tyler Cowen we get this news story. The Obama administration will play a key role in reshaping General Motors' board of directors over the next six months, potentially giving it even greater control in the management of the storied American manufacturer. The president's auto task force plans to consult with the company as it replaces a majority of its board, a ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on April 1, 2009 12:03
Obama’s Afghanistan Plan: Same as the Old Plan?
President Obama's new strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan has won the backhanded praise of Hamid Karzai, who termed it "better than we were expecting." Gordon Brown has lauded the plan as well and called for NATO to do more. Even the neocons are happy with Max Boot pronouncing it "pretty much all that supporters of the war effort could have ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on March 28, 2009 07:01
The Obama Presser
I suppose I should say something about last night's Obama press conference. Like Andrew Sullivan, I did not watch it live. Unlike Sully, I did not DVR it and do not intend to watch it at some future point in time. (I did, however, watch the previous night's "Heroes.") My reasons are these: 1. The man's on TV constantly. Didn't we just ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on March 25, 2009 12:39
Does Voting Matter?
Jeff Pope begins an article titled "Does Voting Matter Anymore?" with "Since President Obama's inauguration" and then proceeds to give a litany of various awful things have happened as a consequence of the change in administrations. Asked and answered. via Glenn ReynoldsPosted in Outside The Beltway on March 12, 2009 10:10
Quote of the Day – Drinking Republicans
"There’s a lot of interesting data in the NBC/WSJ poll, although much of it is good news for the Dems and sobering news for the GOP (there’s been so much sobering news the last four years I feel like drinking). " - Glen Bolger Glen's a founding partner of Public Opinion Strategies, which employs my wife as its Chief Operating Officer ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on March 9, 2009 14:49
Obama Going Gray!
The Old Gray Lady has another of the epic scoops that made them the Newspaper of Record. Ace correspondent Helene Cooper breaks the news in a piece of journalism titled "For Young President, Flecks of Gray." Well, that didn’t take long. Just 44 days into the job, and President Obama is going gray. It happens to all of them, of course ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on March 5, 2009 08:18
Obama Foreign Policy: It Takes Two To Tango
Stephen Green (who I learned at CPAC is, despite the Vodkapundit moniker, an ecumenical drinker who will gladly coif a Sam Adams or a Bombay Sapphire martini with a twist -- especially if someone else is paying) has an amusing commentary on Obama's foreign policy to date: “I wanna talk!” said the President of the United States to the President of ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on March 3, 2009 15:55
Obamacons and Buyers’ Remorse
Earlier today, I took Andrew Sullivan and Christopher Buckley to task for their seeming surprise that Obama is a big spender. Some, including Steven Taylor, responded that they, like other center-right types who supported Obama, were aware that he would often make policy choices they would disagree with but were simply choosing between bad alternatives. While I take their point, ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on March 3, 2009 11:56
