Month: July 2005
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A Federal Reserve for gas taxes
We have a problem in this country: we use too much oil. It pollutes the air, increases global warming, and forces us to police the Middle East to ensure a stable energy supply, which has helped radicalize angry Arab youth. What’s the easiest way to reduce oil consumption? A gas tax, as Matthew Yglesias noted
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Mortgage junk mail
Since my wife and I bought a house, I started getting a ton of junk mail peddling home repair services, second mortgages, etc.. Does anyone know if my mortgage company is selling my contact information, or if the junk mailers are getting it from public documents? If it’s the former, can I opt out? Or
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Best picture ever
Don’t miss today’s New York Times story on the indigenous female pro wrestlers of Bolivia, which includes the greatest front-page photograph in the history of the newspaper:
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What is Richard Cohen talking about?
On Tuesday, I predicted that John Roberts will be easily confirmed (see here and here). Today, Richard Cohen, a reasonably influential left-of-center pundit, agrees in the Washington Post, but his reasoning is bizarre: Another hanging chad has dropped. His name is John G. Roberts Jr., and he undoubtedly will turn out to be opposed to
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Affirmative action for the fit in Bush White House
Today, Elizabeth Bumiller reports in The New York Times that George W. Bush wasted time asking a potential Supreme Court nominee about how much he exercises: When President Bush sat down in the White House residence last Thursday to interview a potential Supreme Court nominee, Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III of the United States Court
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Will Democrats lay down a marker during the Roberts confirmation hearing?
It should become pretty obvious in the next few days that John Roberts is unlikely to be defeated. Game theory says that players should anticipate their rivals’ next move and play their best response to that move. So if the Democrats play like game theorists, they may focus on laying down a series of markers
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What is Eric Alterman talking about?
On his Altercation blog today, Eric Alterman is the latest liberal to repeat the canard that approving an anti-choice justice means that Roe v. Wade is doomed, joining Eleanor Smeal, Atrios and Josh Marshall : Anyway, the Roberts nomination seems to mean we should plan on saying goodbye to thirty-two years of life under Roe,
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David Ignatius worries about GOP disinformation
As political scandals develop, establishment moderates are the canaries in the mine shaft. When they get upset, you’re usually in trouble. So it’s important that David Ignatius, a centrist foreign affairs columnist for the Washington Post, blasts Ken Mehlman’s use of the “Big Lie” to defend Karl Rove in his latest column: In place of
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The demeanor fetish
News reports are already playing up the “demeanor” of John Roberts as a selling point. But isn’t this a silly way to judge a person in politics? George W. Bush’s 2000 campaign was largely based on how his demeanor was different than conservatives like Newt Gingrich, and it fooled a lot of people into thinking
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John Roberts will be confirmed
Per my post below, this is over before it begins. Roberts was approved by unanimous consent on the Senate floor in 2003 after passing the Judiciary Committee on a 16-3 vote. Given that he just went through the confirmation process, it’s extremely unlikely that anything will turn up that would allow the Democrats to defeat