Posts by Doug Mataconis

Doug Mataconis
About Doug Mataconis
Doug Mataconis held a B.A. in Political Science from Rutgers University and J.D. from George Mason University School of Law. He joined the staff of OTB in May 2010 and contributed a staggering 16,483 posts before his retirement in January 2020. He passed far too young in July 2021.

Roy Moore Hits Back At Trump’s Call For Him To Stay Out Of Senate Race

Republicans nationwide are trying to discourage Roy Moore from running for Senate again. Roy Moore doesn’t care.

Kamala Harris Wants To Use Federal Authority To Monitor State Abortion Laws

Kamala Harris is trying to jump-start her Presidential campaign with an idea for a new law, but it’s probably unconstitutional and would never get through Congress.

Biden Continues To Lead Democratic Field, Sanders Slips

Just over a month after he entered the race, Joe Biden has a commanding lead over his fellow Democrats while Bernie Sanders has several candidates hot on his heels.

Trump Placing Tariffs On All Trade With Mexico

Last night, President Trump announced a new round of tariffs against Mexico for reasons that have nothing to do with trade itself.

Thad Cochran, Longtime Congressman And Senator, Dead At 81

Thad Cochran, who represented Mississippi in Congress for 45 years, has died at the age of 81.

New Poll Shows Strong Support For Abortion Rights In Wake Of New Laws

New polling shows support for abortion rights rising amid a plethora of new laws aimed at striking down Roe v. Wade

To Impeach Or Not To Impeach? That Is The Question

I continue to be opposed to impeachment of the President, but I’m slowly moving in that direction thanks primary to the Administration’s own actions.

Warren Rises In The Polls, Threatening Sanders

Quietly, Elizabeth Warren has been campaigning and putting out policy proposals while also appearing to gain ground on her closest rival, Bernie Sanders.

White House Aides Asked Navy To ‘Hide’ USS John McCain During Trump Visit

White House aides asked the Navy to keep the USS John McCain “out of sight” while the President visited a Navy base in Japan earlier this week.

Israel Headed For New Elections As Netanyahu Fails To Form Government

Despite appearing to have emerged from April’s election as the winner, Benjamin Netanyahu was unable to form a government. This means that Israel will have to hold new elections in September.

Justin Amash Doubles Down On His Charges Against Attorney General Barr

Michigan Congressman Justin Amash doubled down on his assertion that the Attorney General was deliberately misleading Congress and the American public.

Robert Mueller Declines To Clear Trump

For the first time since being appointed Special Counsel, Robert Mueller spoke to the media regarding his report on the Russia investigation. The news was not good for the President.

SCOTUS Lets Ruling In Favor Of Transgender Student Bathroom Access Stand

The Supreme Court let a ruling against students opposed to a school district policy allowing transgender students to use the bathroom corresponding to their gender identity stand.

Boris Johnson Ordered To Appear In Court On Charges He Lied During Brexit Campaign

Boris Johnson, who is currently the apparent frontrunner to succeed Theresa May as Conservative Party leader and British Prime Minister, has been ordered to appear in court on charges he lied during the 2016 Brexit campaign.

Supreme Court Issues Split Ruling On Indiana Abortion Law But Sends A Signal

The Supreme Court sent a signal yesterday that seems to indicate how it might deal with future abortion law challenges and it doesn’t bode well for pro-lifers.

McConnell Says Senate Would Fill SCOTUS Vacancy In 2020

Mitch McConnell has had an unsurprising change of heart on the issue of Senate consideration of Supreme Court nominees in a Presidential election year.

Roy Moore Expected To Run For Senate Again

Some reports are saying that Roy Moore will run for the GOP nomination for Senate again in 2020.

The Reaction To Justin Amash Reveals Just How Far Gone The GOP Is Today

Justin Amash’s call for impeachment of the President, and the Republican Party’s reaction to it, is telling us a lot about the current state of the GOP.

Irish Voters Approve Liberalized Divorce Laws

Despite opposition from the Catholic Church, or perhaps in rebellion against it, Irish voters overwhelmingly approved a new law liberalizing that nation’s divorce laws.

Senate Republicans Have Already Made Up Their Mind On Impeachment

The House of Representatives has not even acted on impeachment, but Senate Republicans have already made up their mind.

North Korea Sends A Message To Trump

The DPRK sent a message to the United States over the weekend, but it’s unlikely the President was listening.

Donald Trump Wants To Get Men On The Moon By 2024, NASA Isn’t That Optimistic

President Trump says he wants to see men back on the Moon by 2024, but NASA thinks it’s going to take longer than that.

There’s Too Much Money In Politics Because There’s Too Much Politics In Money

Do you want to get money out of politics? You need to get politics out of money.

Thousands Show Up To Mourn A Departed Veteran

Late last week it appeared as if a 90-year-old veteran of the Korean War would be buried without anyone to say goodbye. Then the word got out, and thousands of people responded.

Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party Scores Big Win In British E.U. Parliament Elections

The pro-Brexit Brexit Party and the anti-Brexit Liberal Democrats both scored big wins in the United Kingdom’s E.U. elections, while the two major parties suffered big losses.

Stan Lee’s Former Manager Arrested For Elder Abuse

Stan Lee’s former business manager has been arrested on charges that he used his influence over the late Marvel Comics founder to divert funds and alienate Lee from his family in his final months of life.

Boris Johnson On The Rise In Race For Conservative Party Leader

Boris Johnson seems to be the leader in the race to replace Theresa May as Conservative Party leader. Whether that’s a good thing is another question.

Five Former Priests Arrested In Michigan Child Sex Abuse Investigation

In the latest development in the child sex abuse investigations in the Catholic Church in the United States, five former Priests in Michigan have been arrested on sex abuse charges.

Bart Starr, Winning Quarterback In First Two Super Bowls, Dies At 85

Bart Starr, who led the Green Bay Packers to five N.F.L. Championships in the pre-Super Bowl era and in Super Bowls I and II, has died at the age of 85.

Virginia Woman Ordered Dog Euthanized, Buried With Her After She Died

A Virginia woman left unusual instructions for the Executor of her will, and it’s become something of a controversy.

West Point Graduates Record Number Of African-American Women

This year’s graduating class at West Point includes a record number of African-American women.

While In Japan, Trump Dismisses Missile Tests That Threaten Japan

President Trump is in Japan, and while there is is dismissing the seriousness of new North Korean missile tests that threaten Japan.

Federal Judge Blocks Mississippi’s ‘Heartbeat’ Abortion Law

A Federal Judge in Mississippi has blocked Mississippi’s law that purports to ban abortions after detection of a fetal heartbeat.

SpaceX Begins Deployment Of Satellite-Based Internet

Earlier this week, SpaceX deployed the first 60 satellites in a network that could result in Internet access from virtually anywhere in the world.

Lawsuit Filed Against Alabama’s Plainly Unconstitutional Abortion Law

The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit against Alabama’s patently unconstitutional abortion law.

Judge Orders Halt To Trump’s ‘National Emergency’ Border Wall Funding

A Federal Judge has put at least a partial hold on President’s Trump’s effort to use a “national emergency” to fund his border wall.

Justin Amash Further Bolsters His Call For Impeachment

Michigan Congressman Justin Amash is the lone Republican voice speaking out against the President, and he’s making a strong case for his position in favor of impeachment.

Reagan And Bush In The Days When The GOP Had A Sane Immigration Policy

As Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush remind us, there was a time when Republicans weren’t xenophobic nationalists when it comes to immigration policy.

Theresa May To Step Down As Conservative Party Leader On June 7th

Theresa May has announced she is stepping down as leader of the Conservative Party as of June 7th, starting a process that will have her out of Downing Street withing the next two months or so.

Julian Assange Indicted On Additional Counts Alleging Violations Of Espionage Act

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has been indicted on seventeen counts under the Espionage Act arising out of his role in the Chelsea Manning affair.

John Walker Lindh Released From Prison

John Walker Lindh, the so-called “American Taliban,” has been released from prison but the war in which he was captured goes merrily along.

Investigation Into Northam Racist Yearbook Photo Inconclusive

An independent review of the racist photo on Virginia Governor Ralph Northam’s 1984 medical school yearbook was unsurprisingly inconclusive.

Former Stormy Daniels Lawyer Charged With Fraud, Other Charges

Michael Avenatti, the former attorney for Stormy Daniels who briefly flirted with the idea of running for President, has been charged with multiple counts of fraud and other charges, some of them in connection with his representation of Daniels herself.

Appearing On Fox Not Hurting Candidates With Democratic Voters

So far at least, appearing on Fox News Channel does not appear to be hurting the candidates who’ve done it with Democratic voters.

New York Passes Law That Will Allow Congress To Get Trump’s State Tax Returns

New York has passed a law that would allow Congress to obtain copies of the President’s New York State tax returns.

Federal Judge Deals Trump Stonewalling Strategy Another Loss

President Trump’s stonewalling strategy suffered another legal setback in New York City yesterday.

Trump Administration Punts Yet Again On Putting Harriet Tubman On The $20 Bill

Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin punted once again on the question of replacing Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill, making clear that any change that does occur won’t happen until after Donald Trump is out of office.

Most Americans Do Not Want Roe v. Wade Overturned

A new poll shows that roughly two-thirds of Americans, including a large number of Republicans, do not want to see Roe v. Wade overturned.

Trump Not Pleased With Fox News Reaching Out To Democratic Candidates

President Trump isn’t pleased that a news network that has generally been his own personal propaganda network is reaching out to Democrats.