“Transparency” doesn’t mean actually giving the public prompt access to press conference transcripts, does it?
Nathan Diament points out that now that they have been elected the Democrats’ fondness for values voters is fading — at least when it comes to spending money. He explains: “President Obama and congressional leaders have decided that billions of dollars in school modernization projects will aid America’s ailing economy by creating thousands of jobs to perform the work, and that such projects will also be wise investments in America’s energy independence and improving our children’s learning. They have, therefore, allocated $14 billion of the $825 billion economic recovery package to such ‘green schools’ initiatives. But the Democrats have, so far, excluded parochial and other nonpublic schools from eligibility in the multibillion-dollar program, even though modernizing these schools would achieve the identical goals of job creation and energy efficiency. It is this unfair exclusion that will rile religious voters.”
Should Republicans be getting nervous about Katon Dawson as a potential RNC chair? Objecting to government-required desegregation isn’t the sort of thing one wants to defend, says J.Peter Freire. Others are imagining what the headlines will look like if he is elected.
An interesting Rasmussen poll: “Nearly two-thirds of U.S. voters (64%) say U.S. Supreme Court decisions should be based on what is written in the Constitution, but only 35% think President Obama agrees with them.”
Should we nationalize the banks? Steven Calabresi says: “Of course banks should not be nationalized. To ask this question is like asking whether Federal Express and UPS should be nationalized and their functions turned over to the U.S. Postal Service. Government does a poor job of running things. It makes decisions for political and not economic reasons. Government run corporations were a disaster in Western Europe after World War II and throughout the Communist block. It would be a huge mistake for the government to take over the banking industry. In fact it was government pressure to make foolish loans to uncreditworthy buyers through Freddie and Fannie that helped get us into this mess in the first place. The government should come up with a program to privatize the banks it now owns while putting rules in place to assure that banks are more cautious about lending in the future.”
Jeffrey Goldberg has a point: “ Egypt is warning Hamas to cut a ceasefire deal with the Olmert government now, because it will find it far more difficult to deal with Bibi Netanyahu, who is the leading candidate for prime minister in the upcoming election. If I were a Bibi adviser, I’d take this gift and run with it. ”
The non sequitur award goes to George Mitchell for this one: “[T]here is no such thing as a conflict that can’t be ended. Conflicts are created, conducted and sustained by human beings; they can be ended by human beings.” Huh? Well, yeah, they can, but they often aren’t for a very long time. Unless, of course, one side is able to defeat the other side militarily (e.g. WWII, Civil War).
The State Department sounds saner (think about that for a moment): “Special Envoy Mitchell will work to consolidate the cease-fire in Gaza, establish an effective and credible anti-smuggling and interdiction regime to prevent the rearming of Hamas, facilitate the reopening of border crossings, and develop an effective response to the immediate humanitarian needs of the Palestinians in Gaza and eventual reconstruction, and reinvigorate the peace process.” Eventual is the operative word.
This from one of the President’s most earnest defenders in the blogosphere is almost right: “Obama wastes no time sending Middle East envoy Sen. George Mitchell out on assignment.” (Just an extra “no.”)
Sen John Cornyn voted for Geithner’s confirmation and Sen. Arlen Specter voted against it. Go figure.
New Yorkers blame Princess Caroline for messing up her own coronation.
The Wall Street Journal editors chide Nancy Pelosi for suggesting increased spending on contraceptives will “reduce cost to the states and federal government” by presumably controlling the population. The editors’ sub-caption reads: “Pelosi should abstain from social engineering.” But then what would she do all day?
Senator Winfrey? Yeah — how silly is the idea of a fabulously wealthy, national celebrity with no political experience in the U.S. Senate?
