June 13, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff
For many years, I’ve referred to Lindsey Graham as the “Arlen Specter of the South.” The idea is that, although Graham isn’t as bad as Specter was, he’s the “moral equivalent” of Specter, considering how much more conservative South Carolina is compared to Pennsylvania. Now, the same friend who gave me the Graham-Specter analogy suggests that Marco Rubio is the Lindsey Graham of the Tea Party. I think I’ll adopt
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June 13, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff
I respect the work of David Brooks even though I often disagree with it. But this Brooks column on immigration reform leaves me shaking my head. Brooks argues that “immigration opponents are effectively trying to restrict the flow of conservatives into this country.” What does he mean by this? First, I assume that Brooks isn’t talking about restricting the number of conservatives “flowing” into the U.S., but rather restricting the
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June 12, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff
Marc Thiessen makes a point I was preparing to write up, and wish I had written: The real culprit behind James Clapper’s false testimony to Congress regarding NSA data collection isn’t Clapper, but rather Sen. Ron Wyden who asked the question to which Clapper responded. Since Thiessen went first, I’ll let him explain: What is outrageous is not that Clapper tried to protect classified information in an open session, but
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June 12, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff
Paul Ryan tells a Washington audience assembled by the National Association of Manufacturers that “earned legalization is an issue I think the House can and will deal with.” In other words, as CNBC’s John Harwood tweeted, “Paul Ryan tells me House will pass immigration ‘path to citizenship.’ Despite flak on right, ‘House can/will deal with earned legalization.’” Earlier this year, when comments by Ryan caused me to suggest that amnesty
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June 12, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff
Evertonians Marouane Fellaini and Leighton Baines are listed among Europe’s top 50 players in a ranking by Bloomberg Sports that rates players based on new performance statistics. Fellaini comes in at 12th place; Baines at 16th. Liverpool star Luis Suarez slots in between the two at 15th place. Former Everton players Wayne Rooney and Mikel Arteta are listed at 26th and 46th, respectively. These rankings are only as good as
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June 12, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff
Immigration reform isn’t the only issue as to which Rand Paul is embarrassing himself these days. The Senator’s “Fourth Amendment Restoration Act of 2013” represents a stunning combination of ignorance and hysteria. Andy McCarthy demonstrates Paul’s ignorance. He writes: [T]he bill is unacquainted with the Fourth Amendment — either the one given to us by the Framers or even the one enlarged over time by Supreme Court jurisprudence. . .
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June 12, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff
Only 15 Republican Senators voted against the motion to allow debate to proceed on the Schumer-Rubio immigration reform bill. The 15 “no” votes were cast by: John Barasso, Wyoming John Boozman, Arkansas Mike Crapo, Idaho Ted Cruz, Texas Mike Enzi, Wyoming Chuck Grassley, Iowa Jim Inhofe, Oklahoma Mark Kirk, Illinois Mike Lee, Utah James Risch, Idaho Tim Scott, South Carolina Jeff Sessions, Alabama Richard Shelby, Alabama David Vitter, Lousiana A
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June 11, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff
On June 11, 1963, relievers Dick Radatz and Terry Fox dueled for more than seven innings in a game between the Boston Red Soc and the Detroit Tigers. Boston eventually prevailed 7-3 in 15 innings. Radatz and Fox were two of the very best relief pitchers in baseball. Radatz was known as the Monster (Detroit baseball writer Joe Falls quipped that “the Red Sox don’t warm him up, they assembled
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June 11, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff
Michael Gerson becomes the latest member of the Republican establishment to dive into the tank for Samantha Power, President Obama’s anti-Israel nominee for U.N. Ambassador. Like others in this category, Gerson apparently has been charmed by his personal interaction with Power. It appears to be Power’s passion and fire that charmed Gerson. Gerson initially found her to be an unfair, partisan critic of the Bush administration in which Gerson served.
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June 10, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff
Today was another newsy day on the immigration legislation front. First, Byron York reported that on Sunday, Marco Rubio made his strongest statement yet that legalization of the nation’s estimated 11 million illegal immigrants must happen before any new border security or internal enforcement measures are in place, and will in no way be conditional on any security requirements. Not surprisingly, Rubio made this statement in a Spanish-language interview with
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June 10, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff
Former NFL star Chad Johnson (known as Chad Ochocinco for a time during his playing days) was sentenced to 30 days in jail for a probation violation in a domestic violence case (he head-butted his wife). Johnson was set to serve no jail time, thanks to a plea bargain. But the judge rejected the deal after Johnson slapped his attorney’s backside when the judge asked him if he was satisfied
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June 10, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff
Everton’s 2012-13 season was eerily intertwined with that of Wigan Athletic, a provincial club — in a town better known for its rugby than its soccer — that will be playing in England’s second-tier next season. But before I explain, let’s have an overview of Everton’s season. By many measures, it was a successful year. We finished in sixth place, which is normally sufficient to qualify for European play. Only
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June 10, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff
Sen. John Cornyn plans to introduce an amendment to the Schumer-Rubio immigration reform bill. Cornyn’s amendment reportedly would require higher thresholds of border control before the bill’s “trigger” kicks in allowing undocumented immigrants to move toward citizenship. According to Politico, Marco Rubio has “praised” Cornyn’s approach, saying that it “will get this bill where it needs to be.” But Harry Reid begs to differ. Reid says that Cornyn’s forthcoming amendment
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June 9, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff
On April 1 of this year, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a decision to increase funding to the private-sector Medicare Advantage program by $8 billion. In the days before this announcement, there was a surge of trading in the stock of Humana and other private health insurers. The Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission are investigating whether Wall Street investors had advance access to
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June 9, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff
Yesterday, in discussing a possible amendment by Marco Rubio to his immigration reform legislation, I asserted that the amendment he reportedly is contemplating wouldn’t address what he says is the underlying problem with the legislation’s efforts to secure the border — lack of reason to trust that, in practice, the government will act effectively to secure the border. Let’s examine this assertion. Reportedly, Rubio is working on a proposal under
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June 9, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff
Mickey Kaus has produced an excellent, easy-to-use “pocket guide” to the reasons why the Schumer-Rubio immigration reform bill (S.744) is fraudulent. Kaus catalogues the provisions of the bill that promise tough future enforcement, etc. but don’t do what they pretend to do: “Multiple triggers” — Legalization is immediate. DHS just has to write border “plan.” The most any “triggers” can possibly do is delay green cards and citizenship. “90% effectiveness”
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June 8, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff
The Washington Post reports that “as the full Senate engages in intensive deliberations over a landmark immigration bill this week, proponents are scrambling to maintain crucial bipartisan support in the face of Republican demands to strengthen border security.” To me, though, the Senate goings-on look more like dancing than scrambling. Marco Rubio understands that, in the words of the Post’s Democratic sources, his “effectiveness as a conservative supporter of the
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