Tuesday Open Thread [7.23.13]

5 Comments
Michael Mann is one of the most famous and most referenced scientists on Climate Change. He is the creator of the famous Hockey Stick graph, a graph that the writers at the Competitive Enterprise Institute and the National Review used to specifically denigrate by accusing Penn State (at the time wrapped up in the child-abuse coverup business) of covering up research fraud by Dr. Mann. Mann filed a defamation lawsuit against them both and.....

Monday Open Thread [7.22.13]

1 Comment
You've probably heard that Nate Silver and FiveThirtyEight are leaving the NYT and going to ESPN/ABC. This deal will give him a chance to expand his franchise, it seems, but I just care about the political modeling, really. I'll maintain a subscription to the NYT for his work, but won't be getting cable to keep up with it, so do hope that the website is still the centerpiece of his work. TPM quotes Political (of all people) on why Nate left:
Wednesday Open Thread [7.17.13]

Wednesday Open Thread [7.17.13]

4 Comments
"Nobody in Wyoming likes a long campaign, and anybody from Wyoming would know that." -- Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY), quoted by the Washington Examiner, taking a dig at primary rival Liz Cheney (R) who announced her bid yesterday. I am not going to attack Liz Cheney for being a carpetbagger, because Hillary Clinton was a carpetbagger and thus I would be a hypocrite. In my opinion, if a state's residency laws allow someone not currently living in the state to run, then that is the state's law. But New York is a different place than Wyoming. Many New Yorkers wanted Hillary to run, and she won in a landslide, twice. It doesn't sound like the Republican establishment in the state wants Cheney to run, and are quite offended about it, actually. It remains to be seen if the Republican primary voter will warm to someone like Liz Cheney. A reader at TPM makes a great point ....

Monday Open Thread [7.15.13]

3 Comments
The Editorial Board of the Independent on the Zimmerman verdict:
[T]he first black president of the United States ventured an early comment, saying that if he had had a son “he would look like Trayvon”. In so saying, Barack Obama pinpointed the truth that a great many white Americans will see a young man up to no good before they see a president’s son. For all the civil rights advances over half a century, personified by the black family now residing in the White House, racism remains pernicious and entrenched. [...] [T]he verdict leaves the impression not just that it is acceptable for an individual in large parts of the US to take the law into his own hands, but that the life of a young black man is cheap. This incendiary case from central Florida – electorally, a swing district of a swing state – shows how far, despite Mr Obama’s election, the US still fails to practise racial equality.
And if you celebrated Zimmerman's verdict, Andrew Sullivan" says you just might be a racist. At the very least you are repellant. And I agree with him.

Friday Open Thread [7.12.13]

3 Comments
A new Quinnipiac poll in New Jersey finds Gov. Chris Christie (R) has a 2-1 job approval rating and a 61% to 29% lead over challenger Barbara Buono (D). However, just 20% of voters say they are more likely to vote for a state legislative candidate endorsed by Christie, with 15% less likely and 63% who say the governor's endorsement won't influence their vote.
Said pollster Maurice Carroll: "The governor continues to thrash Sen. Buono, but voters say they're not inclined to support legislative candidates because Christie supports them, or, as a matter of fact, because Buono supports them. It could change when the real campaign starts after Labor Day, if Christie decides to emulate his mentor, former Gov. Tom Kean, and work for the rest of the ticket. But at this stage, Christie is good only for Christie.".
Thursday Open Thread [7.11.13]

Thursday Open Thread [7.11.13]

6 Comments
A new poll from Quinnipiac shows a massive shift of public attitude on the war on terror and how it affects our civil liberties. Among those polled, 45% say the government's anti-terrorism efforts go too far restricting civil liberties, a reversal from a January 10, 2010, survey by the independent Quinnipiac University when voters said 63 - 25 percent that such activities didn't go far enough to adequately protect the country. Now 40% say they don't go far enough. Among younger votes, the numbers are far more striking.

Wednesday Open Thread [7.10.13]

2 Comments
So yesterday Speaker Boner... oh I'm sorry, Boehner, you know, the orange weeping fellow, announced that Immigration Reform was all but dead in this current Congress. Brian Beutler at TPM reports that “John Boehner stated a specific policy preference Tuesday that will alienate the entire Democratic Party if he adheres to it, and thus doom the reform effort." Here is the wonderous weeping Speaker:
“It’s clear from everything that I’ve seen and read over the last couple of weeks that the American people expect that we’ll have strong border security in place before we begin the process of legalizing and fixing our legal immigration system,” Boehner said outside the Capitol Monday afternoon.
First, I always love how Boehner uses the American People as his shield, and then lies about what the American People want. His usage of that phrase implies that all Americans, which includes, as mush as he hates it, Latinos. Yes, Latinos are Americans too. What he is talking about is what he and his conservative members and the base of his party wants. Yes, they are Americans too, but Boehner best be more specific in describing who wants what, lest he be called a liar. Brian Beutler says that this statement is an endorsement of the conservative view that any steps to legalize existing immigrants should be contingent upon implementation of draconian border policies. But the bill already contains draconian border policies. Come inside for more...
Sunday Open Thread [7.7.13]

Sunday Open Thread [7.7.13]

3 Comments
National Journal:
"With an anxious eye toward the coming debt-ceiling negotiations, House Republicans are drafting what members call a 'menu' of mandatory spending cuts to offer the White House in exchange for raising the country's borrowing limit." "This menu is more a matrix of politically fraught options for the Obama administration to consider: Go small on cuts and get a short extension of the debt ceiling. Go big - by agreeing to privatize Social Security, for example - and get a deal that will raise the ceiling for the rest of Obama's term." "It's a strategy meant to show the GOP is ready to deal. But even conservatives admit that this gambit might do little to help them avoid blame should the negotiations reach a crisis stage."
The country's improved economy, which brings in more revenue, and the raising of the taxes on the rich, has delayed the moment of reaching the debt limit for most of this year. But eventually, this fall, it will have to be raised again. Hopefully the President sticks to his guns as he has since the 2011 debt ceiling sequester deal, in that he says he will not negotiate on the debt limit. Either Congress raises the limit or it gets the blame for the untold disaster that occurs if it is not raised. I will tell you one thing, the second that Democrats regain control of the House, the first order of business is to do away with this arbitrary debt ceiling one and for all by passing legislation that says the Fed must always pay the nation's debts. Otherwise, the internets are pretty quiet with political news this holiday weekend. I hope you all are enjoying yours.

Saturday Open Thread [7.6.13]

3 Comments
President Obama, in his weekly message, focuses on the meaning and importance of our Independence Day. Governor Markell's weekly message, in which he lauds the just concluded legislative session and the bills he sought to get passed.