Monthly Archives: December 2012
December 23, 2012 — Paul Mirengoff
Chuck Hagel didn’t have as bad a Sunday as the Tennessee Titans did, but his Sunday was bad enough. The Green Bay Packers outplayed Tennesse on offense, defense, and (to a much lesser extent) special teams. Hagel took hits on the Sunday talk shows from a leading Republican, a leading Democrat, and (to a much lesser extent) a leading independent. On Meet The Press, Lindsey Graham said that he expects
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December 23, 2012 — Paul Mirengoff
What are the common features of Chuck Hagel’s attacks on the “Jewish lobby” and his attack on James C. Hormel, the openly gay San Francisco philanthropist nominated by Bill Clinton to be ambassador to Luxembourg in 1997? First, both attacks are wrongheaded. The “Jewish lobby” is actually a pro-Israel lobby that includes non-Jews. And it was ridiculous to suppose that, in Hagel’s words, Hormel’s openly gay status would be an
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December 23, 2012 — Paul Mirengoff
Like Steve, I was struck by President Obama’s threat during “cliff” negotiations to use his inaugural address to blame Republicans for any breakdown in the talks. How Lincolnesque would that be? A speech for the ages. On reflection, though, we shouldn’t be shocked if Obama attacks the Republicans in his inaugural address and/or his State of the Union speech (which he also threatened to use for this purpose), regardless of
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December 23, 2012 — Steven Hayward
A day later I’m still picking myself up off the floor over Obama’s comment to Speaker Boehner, related in the Wall Street Journal story Scott linked here yesterday, that “You get nothing; I get that [$800 billion tax increase] for free.” More startling than this—after all, we know Obama is a bad or insincere negotiator—is his threat to attack Republicans in his inaugural address and state of the union speech
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December 23, 2012 — John Hinderaker
Michael Mann is the climate scientist who invented the now-notorious “hockey stick” graph, which purported to show unprecedented warming in the 20th century. The hockey stick has come and gone, but Mann lives on as one of the principal figures in the world of climate alarmism. Currently, climate realists have gone to court to try to obtain email communications that Mann, who teaches at Penn State, authored as a public
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December 23, 2012 — Scott Johnson
At the Telegraph Daniel Hannan reflects on a painful experience: At the Oxford Union the other day, I was comprehensively outperformed by this man: Dr Cornel West. If you’ve heard him live, you’ll know that he speaks in the manner of a charismatic preacher, and that the timbre of his voice captivates almost any audience. The motion was This House would occupy Wall Street. He won. For a while, I
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December 22, 2012 — Paul Mirengoff
I don’t think it’s possible to go over only half of a cliff, any more than one can kill half of a dog. But the “fiscal cliff” isn’t really a cliff; it’s a metaphor. The metaphor refers to two very different phenomena. The first is a tax hike for everyone who pays federal incomes taxes. The second half is a rather large cut in federal spending. I don’t know of
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December 22, 2012 — John Hinderaker
A National Health Service hospital in Great Britain has paid claims by 38 patients or their families, and has apologized to all of them for the grossly negligent care it provided. The Telegraph headlines:”Hospital apologises to 38 families for appalling care that saw a patient starve to death.” An NHS hospital has apologised to 38 families after a patient starved to death and it left other dying people screaming in
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December 22, 2012 — Scott Johnson
The Wall Street Journal’s reconstruction of Obama’s fiscal-cliff negotiations is accessible online, but is behind the Journal’s subscription paywall. Quotable quote: Mr. Obama repeatedly lost patience with the speaker as negotiations faltered. In an Oval Office meeting last week, he told Mr. Boehner that if the sides didn’t reach agreement, he would use his inaugural address and his State of the Union speech to tell the country the Republicans were
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December 22, 2012 — John Hinderaker
Further to the ongoing debate over school safety, gun control, etc., one of my daughters texted me this graphic: I think the emerging consensus is that the best way to protect schools is by ensuring that at least one or two responsible adults in each school are armed. Of course, it will take some time to implement that consensus. Teachers, administrators and custodians can’t be trained overnight. In the meantime,
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December 22, 2012 — Scott Johnson
One of my bold predictions for 2013 — coming soon! — is that Obamacare will experience “unexpected” glitches as the date of full implementation approaches. As of the applicable deadline this week, only 17 states had officially declared that they would take full responsibility for creating their own Obamacare health care exchanges. Peter Suderman reviews a few of the “unexpected” glitches. Another of my bold predictions is that none of
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December 22, 2012 — Steven Hayward
From a broadcast Churchill made from the White House on his visit to FDR in December 1941 a few weeks after Pearl Harbor was attacked: Let the children play and have their night of fun and laughter. Let the gifts of Father Christmas delight their play. Let us grown-ups share to the full their unstinted pleasures before we turn again to the stern task and the formidable years that lie
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December 22, 2012 — Scott Johnson
In Allen Drury’s Advise and Consent, the president’s left-wing nominee for Secretary of State has a secret. As a young man — echoes of the Hiss case — he was a member of a Communist cell. Leffingwell’s Communist past is a secret that must be covered up. Complications ensue, giving life to a Washington novel that is one of our favorites. Novelist Thomas Mallon renders his considered literary judgment in
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December 21, 2012 — Steven Hayward
Glenn Reynolds has a link to an extraordinarily thorough and convincing blog post about the “gun issue” in the aftermath of Sandy Hook that is the most impressive I’ve seen anywhere. It’s by a fellow named Larry Correia, a novelist and obvious gun expert; his blog is called Monster Hunter Nation. It is clear from the opening paragraphs that Mr. Correia knows what he is talking about. I’d love to
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December 21, 2012 — Paul Mirengoff
As we approach the “fiscal cliff,” I see three possible scenarios. One is a punt that pushes the “cliff” back. The second is that we go over the cliff. In that scenario, everyone who pays taxes will have to pay more and, as things stand now, most taxpayers will blame Republicans. Also, in that scenario, the Democratic Senate will promptly pass legislation lower taxes for everyone who makes less than
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December 21, 2012 — John Hinderaker
I held off on posting today just in case the world might end, but since it looks like we will all be here tomorrow, here are some thoughts on the House’s failure to pass Speaker Boehner’s Plan B last night, and why I think that failure was a setback, if not a disaster, for the GOP. Let’s start with a dose of reality. Over the next few years, taxes are
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December 21, 2012 — Paul Mirengoff
If Congress legislates to avoid the “fiscal cliff,” it will do so through a coalition of Republicans and Democrats. Cliff-avoiding legislation could, in theory, still spring from a deal between President Obama and Speaker Boehner. Or it could spring from the Senate. But in either scenario, the Democrats must want to avoid going over the “cliff,” even though the plunge would probably work to their political advantage. And Speaker Boehner
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