Obama, the Recession, and Polls
A CNN poll released today finds that "opinion about which political party is responsible for the severe economic downturn is shifting." According to the survey, "38 percent of the public blames Republicans for the country's current economic problems. That's down 15 points from May, when 53 percent blamed the GOP. According to the poll 27 percent now blame the Democrats ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on November 20, 2009 18:06
Giuliani Running for Senate, Not Governor
Yesterday, the NYT and other outlets reported that former NYC mayor Rudy Giuliani has decided against running for governor of New York. But the Daily News is reporting that he is instead "very likely" to run in the special election to fill the remaining two years of Hillary Clinton's U.S. Senate seat. The Republican heavyweight was considered the GOP's best shot ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on November 20, 2009 08:52
Congress to Investigate Fake Districts
Amanda Carpenter broke the news Tuesday that "The government Web site that promised to show exactly where the $787 billion in stimulus spending was going to 'create or save' jobs is allocating billions of tax dollars to hundreds of congressional districts that don’t exist." Researchers at the Franklin Center for Government & Public Integrity found 440 “phantom districts” listed on Recovery.gov, ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on November 19, 2009 12:28
Did Texas Ban Marriage?
Barbara Ann Radnofsky, a Democratic candidate for Texas attorney general, claims a 2005 constitutional amendment designed to ban gay marriages actually bans all marriages. The amendment, approved by the Legislature and overwhelmingly ratified by voters, declares that "marriage in this state shall consist only of the union of one man and one woman." But the troublemaking phrase, as Radnofsky sees it, ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on November 19, 2009 09:04
OTB Radio – Tonight at 5:30 Eastern
The next episode of OTB Radio, our BlogTalkRadio program, will record and air live from 5:30-6:30 Eastern. Dave Schuler and I will talk about Sarah Palin's comeback tour and ensuing controversies and President Obama's Asia trip. Alex Knapp will join us to provide his legal expertise on the Khalid Sheikh Mohammed trial and Steve Verdon will stop by to discuss the ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on November 18, 2009 18:23
Pfizer Abandons Property It Stole From Kelo
I missed this story last week, but apparently Pfizer is abandoning its New London headquarters, and the land that it used the power of government to steal from Kelo et al. now lays fallow. Susette Kelo's little, pink house in New London, Conn. -- like the houses of all her neighbors -- is now a pile of rubble, overgrown with weeds. ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on November 18, 2009 16:01
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed Show Trial
In my initial posting on the Khalid Sheikh Mohammed Trial, I asserted that "there’s an incredibly good chance that Mohammed and his comrades will go free. The fact that KSM was repeatedly waterboarded would seem to taint any subsequent evidence, including his own confession." This was based on the presumption that the whole point of trying KSM in a civilian court ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on November 18, 2009 13:04
75 Gitmo Detainees in Limbo
Marc Ambinder finds a hidden news story in this WaPo report by Perry Bacon: Administration officials say they expect that as many as 40 of the 215 detainees at Guantanamo will be tried in federal court or military commissions. About 90 others have been cleared for repatriation or resettlement in a third country, and about 75 more have been deemed too ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on November 18, 2009 12:08
Newsweek’s Sarah Palin Cover
Newsweek's choice of cover art for its Sarah Palin issue has managed to generate controversy for three days now, finally prompting a response from the editors. The salient passage: To note that choosing that particular photograph has ruffled a few feathers is perhaps an understatement. Palin denounced it—and us—to her million-strong Facebook following last night. "The choice of photo for the ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on November 18, 2009 08:07
Obama Frustrates Europe on Climate Change
"Obama Has Failed the World on Climate Change," blares a Spiegel op-ed by Christian Schwägerl. The essay is another data point in the growing notion that the new American president's aura is fading on the other side of the Atlantic. But, as I argue in my New Atlanticist essay "Obama Disappoints Europe Ahead of Copenhagen," this was all too predictable. Indeed, ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on November 17, 2009 20:40
Terrorism vs. Crime
[caption id="attachment_43970" align="alignright" width="298" caption="From left: Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali, Waleed bin Attash, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Mustafa Ahmad al-Hawsawi and Ramzi Binalshibh. (AP)"][/caption] Responding to Attorney General Eric Holder's explanation that Khalid Sheik Mohammed is being tried in civilian courts because the 9/11 victims were mostly civilians and because the attacks took place on U.S. soil whereas his compatriots who attacked ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on November 17, 2009 12:07
Obama Stonewalling Senate Fort Hood Investigation
President Obama is refusing to allow serving police, military, or intelligence officials to testify before the Senate investigation into the Fort Hood massacre. The first public congressional hearing on the Fort Hood attack will not include testimony from any current federal law enforcement, military or intelligence officials because the Obama administration "declined to provide any" such witnesses, according to a Senate ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on November 17, 2009 10:09
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed Trial
I was out of pocket for a few days visiting the folks in Alabama and missed commenting on a few stories. Most notable among these was Friday's announcement that five Guantanamo Bay detainees, including 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, would be tried in New York. This one's a real head scratcher, in that I see no upside and lots of downside. First, ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on November 16, 2009 13:23
Sarah Palin’s Comeback Tour
Sarah Palin is kicking off the promotional tour for her book Going Rogue with an appearance today on the "Oprah Winfrey Show" and an interview tomorrow on "Good Morning America." The book's already a best seller, so the main benefit of the campaign is a chance for Palin to rebuild her image. She needs it. A recent CNN poll showed ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on November 16, 2009 10:24
Kelo Follow Up
Well looks like the entire town of New London, Conn. is going to get screwed by Pfizer. “Look what they did,” Mr. Cristofaro said on Thursday. “They stole our home for economic development. It was all for Pfizer, and now they get up and walk away.” That sentiment has been echoing around New London since Monday, when Pfizer, the giant drug company, ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on November 13, 2009 18:52
