Tag: California
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Beltway Traffic Jam
The Tuesday linkfest: Dale Franks explains why a national sales tax is “not all fuzzy kitties.” Winds of Change has had 2 million visitors. Dean Esmay compiles a list of Funny and Not Funny political humor. John Cole explains why Atrios is not only “the prince of darkness” but “wrong.” Mark Cuban is taking on…
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One Nation, Out of Many
Samuel Huntington, the most significant political scientist of the last half century, has an interesting piece in The American Enterprise entitled, “One Nation, Out of Many.” It’s a continuation of his recent theme that massive Third World immigration is threatening to undermine America as we know it. America’s core culture has primarily been the culture…
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Girlie Cave Men?
The Governator and the Girlie Men have reached an accomodation on the California Budget. Bloomberg – California’s Schwarzenegger, Lawmakers Strike Budget Agreement California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders said they’ve reached agreement on a $103 billion spending plan, breaching an impasse that’s held up passage of a budget 27 days into the fiscal year.…
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Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith
starwars.com – Special Announcement: Episode III Title starwars.com is pleased to announce that Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith is the full title of the next Star Wars film, scheduled for release on May 19, 2005. The Sith are masters of the dark side of the Force and the sworn enemies of the…
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Voters Very Settled, Intense and Partisan
NYT – Voters Are Very Settled, Intense and Partisan, and It’s Only July [RSS] The idea of a red America and a blue America, Republican and Democratic, two countries separated by a yawning cultural divide, has become a cliché, dismissed by many experts as overdrawn. The electorate, taken as a whole, is no more divided…
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President Bush and the Urban League
California Yankee has extensive coverage of President Bush’s remarks at the Urban League. The president argued rather forcefully that it’s not in the interest of black Americans to be monolithic voters, considering only political party. He’s right, of course, but it’s unlikely to translate into more votes for the GOP anytime soon. Update (1535): Dodd…
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Security Moms and a Shrinking Base
Michele Malkin has an op-ed in USA Today column entitled “Candidates ignore ‘security moms,’ at their peril.” I am what this year’s election pollsters call a “security mom.” I’m married with two young children. I own a gun. And I vote. Nothing matters more to me right now than the safety of my home and…
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Michael Jackson Denies Quadruplets Report
Reuters – Michael Jackson Denies Surrogate Mother Report Beleaguered pop star Michael Jackson on Tuesday flatly denied a magazine report that he is about to become a father to quadruplets by way of a surrogate mother. “This is not true, and we are not going to further comment on stories of this nature,” publicist Raymone…
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Beltway Traffic Jam
The linkfest: Kevin Aylward has an amusing tale of an AP reporter getting revenge on a TV reporter. Moe demands to be ethnically profiled. Dan Drezner has hit the Big Time with BlogAds. [Perhaps he should raise his prices? -ed.] Jeff Goldstein questions Ted Rall’s IQ. And answers it. Wretchard examines the economics of kidnapping…
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Governors Join as ‘Big Four’ to Pool Clout
NYT – Governors Join as ‘Big Four’ to Pool Clout [RSS] It is a lobbying dream team that calls itself The Big Four: a Hollywood star turned politician, a formidable East Coast fund-raiser, a close friend of the president and the president’s little brother. They are among the nation’s most prominent Republican governors – Arnold…
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Military Force Sizing
Several loosely related stories over the past couple of days present a mixed picture of our force structure. While the attention over the last several months has focused on the strain the Iraq conflict has had on the Army, it appears that the other services are overstaffed. And the Reserves are finally having difficulty with…
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Schwarzenegger Calls Dems ‘Girlie Men’
AP – Schwarzenegger Calls Dems ‘Girlie Men’ A spokesman for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Sunday that the governor would not apologize for calling lawmakers “girlie men,” despite criticisms from Democrats that the remark was sexist and homophobic. Schwarzenegger dished out the insult at a rally Saturday as he claimed Democrats were delaying the budget by…
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Interviews Of Muslims To Broaden
WaPo – Interviews Of Muslims To Broaden FBI agents have launched a series of interviews of Muslims and Arab Americans in the Washington area and across the country, hoping to glean information that could prevent a major terrorist attack during this election year. A few dozen voluntary interviews of community leaders, students, businesspeople and others…
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Hawking Resolves Black Hole Riddle
New Scientist – Hawking cracks black hole paradox After nearly 30 years of arguing that a black hole destroys everything that falls into it, Stephen Hawking is saying he was wrong. It seems that black holes may after all allow information within them to escape. Hawking will present his latest finding at a conference in…
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Kerry Conceding Battlegrounds?
Stephen Green, reacting to an unsourced Drudge blurb that “John Kerry has reduced his ad spending in Missouri, Arizona and throughout the South in the run-up to the Democratic presidential convention,” thinks Kerry’s internal polling must show that he can’t win there. We pretty much knew Kerry was uncompetitive in most of the South and…
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Senator Mike Ditka?
Drudge says former Chicago Bears (and New Orleans Saints) head coach Mike Ditka will announce that he plans to seek the US Senate seat from Illinois, with a 9:30 press conference this morning. So far, I can’t find confirmation. Chicago Sun-Times columnist Scott Fornek thinks Ditka is crazy to want to do it but some…
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Election Delay Backlash
The blogosphere is, once again, a couple days ahead of the curve: Washington Times – A loud ‘no’ to delaying the election A suggestion that terrorism might delay the November election raised loud cries of “no” yesterday from both Republicans and Democrats. The chairman of the House committee that oversees federal election law said devising…
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NBC Accuses Fox of Stealing Shows
Yahoo! News – Peacock peeved by Fox poaching Drawing a new line in the sands of TV land, NBC U television group prexy Jeff Zucker on Saturday accused Fox of going too far in ripping off reality shows from other nets. Peacock also got some payback by revealing the secret details of two reality skeins…
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House Leaves Patriot Act As Is
AP – Bush Wins; House Leaves Patriot Act As Is The Republican-led House bowed to a White House veto threat Thursday and stood by the USA Patriot Act, defeating an effort to block the part of the anti-terrorism law that helps the government investigate people’s reading habits. The effort to defy Bush and bridle the…
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Military Draft? Official Denials Leave Skeptics
NYT — Military Draft? Official Denials Leave Skeptics The Pentagon says no. The Selective Service System says no. And Congressional leaders say absolutely not. Yet talk of reinstating the military draft persists around the country, driven by the Internet, high-profile moves by the military to shore up its forces and fears that all those solid…
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Marlon Brando, R.I.P.
KPHO Phoenix (CBS) — Marlon Brando Dies at Age 80 The man called the greatest actor of all time has died. CBS 5 News has learned Marlon Brando passed away Thursday in Los Angeles. Brando may be best known for his roles in “The Godfather” and “On the Waterfront”. He won oscars for his work…
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Networks to Snub Conventions
The Hill — TV to Snub Conventions The major TV networks are planning to cut coverage at the political conventions, ignoring major speeches early in the week. The Republican and Democratic parties hope to nudge the networks into more live coverage, but broadcasters have concluded that there will be little news to report. “We know…
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OTB Gets Results
Mere hours after my taunting of the Democratic National Committee, My guess is that Teddy Kennedy, Maxine Waters, and Barney Frank will be in limited visibility at the Democratic National Convention as well. Or, in more parallel fashion, Robert Byrd, Nancy Pelosi, and Janet Reno. they have taken me up on my challenge: AP —…
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Terminator 4: Not Anymore the Two-Ply
NYT — Schwarzenegger, Confident and Ready for Prime Time [RSS] On fiscal matters, Mr. Schwarzenegger considers himself an old-school Republican determined to ferret out waste. No item is too minor to escape his attention. For instance, since Mr. Schwarzenegger took office on Nov. 17, the toilet paper in the Capitol has been switched from two-ply…
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Paul Johnson Video
Fox News — Saudi Kidnappers Threaten to Kill Hostage American Paul Johnson’s kidnappers issued a 72-hour ultimatum threatening to kill the hostage unless Saudi Arabia (search) frees Al Qaeda (search) militants, an Islamic Web site reported Tuesday. The Web site also aired footage of Johnson blindfolded and sitting in a chair with his profile to…
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Supremes Duck Flag Case
AP — Supreme Court Preserves ‘God’ in Pledge The Supreme Court preserved the phrase “one nation, under God,” in the Pledge of Allegiance, ruling Monday that a California atheist could not challenge the patriotic oath but sidestepping the broader question of separation of church and state. At least for now, the decision — which came…
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Reagan’s Last Decade
Evan Thomas and Eleanor Clift have a touching feature in Newsweek detailing President Reagan’s final years and, especially, Mrs. Reagan’s painful task. The news did not surprise her. A decade ago, Nancy Reagan took her beloved Ronnie to the Mayo Clinic. The former president, her soulmate of more than 40 years, had been forgetting things,…
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President Reagan Laid to Rest
I was out last night and fully expected to miss the burial services but, owing to the time difference, returned to a television set just in the nick of time. In many ways, the service at the Reagan Library was better than the grand affair at the National Cathedral. The speeches were less polished and…
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Reagan: Going Home
The trip home begins. A casket containing the body of former President Reagan is loaded by a military honor guard into a lift truck at Andrews Air Force Base Md., Friday June 11, 2004. Reagan’s body will return to California for burial. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
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Reagan Funeral Service
The speeches were all quite touching. It was a shame that Mrs. Thatcher wasn’t physically able to deliver her eulogy but the fact that she had the presence to record it so far in advance, despite her own ill health, says much about her genuine affection for her comrade-in-arms. Former President Bush was, as has…
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Reagan Funeral Details
AP — Tens of Thousands View Reagan’s Casket From Boy Scouts to Supreme Court justices, tens of thousands of Americans filed solemnly past Ronald Reagan (news – web sites)’s casket at the Capitol on Thursday, a quiet prelude to a majestic funeral shaped by his own hand. Visitors from the Reagan-era ranks of power and…
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Paying Their Respects to Reagan (D.C. Edition) – Part 1
Workers drape bunting on the Ronald Reagan Building in D.C. (Reuters) Things are rapidly getting underway in the DC area in preparation for the arrival of President Reagan’s casket, expected within the hour. WaPo – Reagan Remembrance Moves East An Air Force 747 bearing the flag-draped coffin of former president Ronald Reagan left California’s Point…
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Reagan Memorial Terrorism?
Michele Catalano worries that Friday’s Ronald Reagan memorial would be an ideal terrorist target, “All those people gathered in one place, on the 11th of the month. . . .” Presumably, so is the Secret Service, since they’ve taken charge of event security: The Department of Homeland Security has designated all the activities in California…
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Paying Their Respects to Reagan (California Edition)
Considering how long it has been since Ronald Reagan was in the spotlight–he’s been out of the public eye for over a decade now and left the White House fifteen years ago–the turnout to pay respects to him at his California Library is astounding: AP — Crowds Wait Hours to View Reagan Casket Waiting good-naturedly…
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Ronald Reagan Tributes
As one would expect, the major media have several tributes and reflections marking the passing of former President Ronald Reagan. (See this post from yesterday for the blogger tributes.) While they include criticism, most have emphasized the positive this morning. I’m sure that will change over the next few days. WaPo — Ronald Reagan Dies:…
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Ronald Reagan, R.I.P.
Fox News is reporting that former President Ronald Reagan has died at age 93. Ronald Wilson Reagan 40th President of the United States February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004 Update: WaPo/AP — Ronald Reagan Has Died NYT/AP — Former President Ronald Reagan Dies at 93 Ronald Reagan, the cheerful crusader who devoted his presidency…
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Beltway Traffic Jam
Kevin Aylward has details on tonight’s DC anti-Bush singles mixer. Alex Knapp ponders Superman’s continuing relevance. Commissar has an “interview” with Wonkette. Dan Drezner notes that American media celebrities are willing to endure anything. Steve Bainbridge has decided that, if getting up at 5 a.m. is the price of fame, he doesn’t want it. California…
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Reagan and Schwarzenegger
Lou Cannon, a veteran journalist and Reagan biographer, believes California’s current actor-turned-governor is a much better politician than his predecessor. Nobody saw this coming, especially not the new governor. Just before his election victory, he happily told Peter Jennings that were he to win, the state’s political establishment would “go crazy.” On his first day…
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Base Realignment
Federal Times — Base Realignment: New Approach To Delicate Task Previous base-closure efforts, known as base realignment and closure, or BRAC, began in the 1990s after the end of the Cold War. Four closure rounds shuttered 97 major military installations and 352 smaller ones across the country. But Congress and the Clinton White House brought…
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Gas Prices About Average
Jeff Jacoby, only a couple months behind OTB, points out in today’s Boston Globe that gasoline prices aren’t high by historic standards. Comparing today’s prices with those of yesteryear is a meaningless exercise unless the prices are given in constant, or “real,” dollars. And in real dollars, gas prices today are — well, normal. Sure,…
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IRR Call-Up Scam III
One of my correspondents, a retired lieutenant colonel who spent years working at the Pentagon, shares my suspicions that the memorandum Kevin Drum has received is a hoax: This OPORD has many of the elements found in “urban myth”, “urban legend” or “hoax” emails that make the rounds. I, too, have never seen an OPORD/WARNORD…
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CA in Play?
Via Glenn Reynolds via Roger Simon, I see that a poll conducted by several California television stations has it Kerry 46, Bush 44 with a margin of error of +/- 4. Says Glenn, “If California is in play, Kerry’s in big trouble.” Indeed. All the more so since Ralph Nader isn’t included as a named…
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DoD Intel Transformation
NYT has an interesting overview of the effort to transform the DoD’s intelligence apparatus, by far the largest part of the Intelligence Community. An Overseer Of Intelligence Efforts At The Defense Department [RSS] Stephen Cambone may have more influence over intelligence matters at the Pentagon than anyone who has previously tried to oversee that enterprise,…
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Phil Carter, Esq.
Congrats to Intel Dump’s Phil Carter, who graduated from UCLA law school today. Now, he just has to pass the California bar exam. (I understand no smoking is allowed.) And change his site bio.
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Doing a Torricelli
The latest meme spreading across the blogsophere, and now the mass media as well, is the idea that John Kerry will get replaced at the convention. James Ridgeway of The Village Voice prays for this: With the air gushing out of John Kerry’s balloon, it may be only a matter of time until political insiders…
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A Nation Divided?
Today’s WaPo fronts the first installment of a three-part series, AMERICA IN RED AND BLUE: A Nation Divided From Congress to the airwaves to the bestseller lists, American politics appears to be hardening into uncompromising camps, increasingly identified with the two parties. According to a growing consensus of political scientists, demographers and strategists, the near-stalemate…
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Difficult Tasks
Kevin Drum, reacting to recent problems, wonders If President Bush had faced the problem squarely a year ago and been honest about what needed to be done — several hundred thousand troops for the better part of a decade — would he have gotten the popular support he needed for the war? Maybe not. But…
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Beltway Traffic Jam
This marks the first Beltway Traffic Jam actually written and posted from inside the Beltway. Since I still live outside the Beltway, however, the blog’s name will remain unchanged. (Hey, if the bulk of the Washington Monthly‘s online content can be generated from California. . . ) The Wednesday linkfest: Jon Henke gets a whole…
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Cal-Mart
Kevin Drum reports on Wal-Mart’s troubles in Southern California, By a huge margin they voted down an initiative that would have allowed Wal-Mart to open a “colossal retail and grocery center” without an environmental review or public hearings. Hey, why would anyone object to that? Actually, outside of California, just about everyone. Who ever heard…
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The Housing Bubble?
Benjamin Wallace-Wells has predicted the impending bursting of the housing bubble and has both Kevin Drum and Matthew Yglesias convinced. I’m a bit more skeptical. Indeed, Wells doesn’t provide much proof. The most convincing bit is: One index of housing inflation is the difference between house prices and rents. In a healthy market, driven by…