Archive for 2012
June 12, 2012
LEAK MYSTERY: Who Told What To Whom? “President Obama says the White House did not ‘purposely’ leak classified information. But the information at issue could only have originated with those closest to the president. On ‘ABC This Week,’ you could spot one big giant loophole hanging over the president’s denial in this exchange between David Axelrod and George Stephanopoulos.”
WALTER RUSSELL MEAD: Public Pension Cutbacks Spread Across The Country. Something that can’t go on forever, won’t.
INVESTOR’S BUSINESS DAILY: Poll: Weak Economy Sours Independents On Obama.
MATTHEW HOY: GOP Pledge-O-Meter: Promise Kept. “I’ve got a journalism degree. I’ve got a Pulitzer Prize on my shelf. I know how to fill out forms. So, on April 12, for the first time since I was a wee little reporter at The Lompoc Record, I filed a FOIA with the Air Force.” Plus this:
But this is only a little bit about Speaker Boehner and his promise. This is more about Politifact, which continues to tout its 2009 Pulitzer three years later. If you look back at the genesis of Boehner’s promise in the Pelosi scandal… If you look back and see how that malfeasance was uncovered… If you want to verify it’s not happening again…
You file a FOIA.
You don’t leave it to some guy in his pajamas to do it for you. [Clarification: I’m actually wearing jeans and a T-shirt.]
PolitiFact has been pretty sad this election cycle.
THE HILL: Issa threatens AG Holder with contempt; DOJ calls it ‘political.’ I’m not sure the current DOJ can imagine anything that isn’t political.
WHY ISN’T MIKE BLOOMBERG FOCUSING ON PROBLEMS LIKE THIS ONE? Bed Bugs Are Even Peskier Than We Thought. “Bed bugs have afflicted humans for a long time—they were even mentioned in the writings of Aristotle and Pliny the Elder—and a number of natural remedies have been used around the world, from black pepper to wild mint to eucalyptus oil. In the years after World War II, bed bugs were nearly wiped out in Western countries by heavy use of pesticides. Since the late 1990s, though, they have come back with a vengeance.”
Rats on the west side, bedbugs uptown — but not a Big Gulp in sight. This is progress?
I SEE A PROBLEM WITH THIS PLAN: Woman Posted Fake Obituary To Get Time Off Work.
TODAY ONLY: 24: The Complete Series, 56 DVDs for $114.99.
JEREMY LOTT: Why “Groomzillas” Are Rare.
THE HILL: Commerce secretary’s hit-and-run keeps Obama off message.
Related: Commerce secretary to take medical leave after two car accidents.
UPDATE: Reader Joe Ware writes: “Bryson and his car wrecks are a good metaphor for Obama’s presidency.” Car, train, whatever.
COURAGE: Being scared to death and saddling up anyway. Of course, there can be courage in a bad cause — in fact, there usually is, if it gets anywhere.
HOWARD DEAN: “Relic Of A Dying Era?”
SIR ISAAC NEWTON AS BADASS ACTION HERO. Neal Stephenson has already explored this territory in The Baroque Cycle. Here’s my review of those books.
GIVE NOW: They’re Coming For Your Charitable Deduction. Actually, since nonprofits are preponderantly left-leaning and the nonprofit sector provides a lot of lefty infrastructure, Republicans should probably support abolishing the charitable deduction out of political self-interest . . . .
HOW’S THAT HOPEY-CHANGEY STUFF WORKIN’ OUT FOR YA? (CONT’D): Americans saw wealth plummet 40 percent from 2007 to 2010, Federal Reserve says.
ETHICS QUESTIONS and Dartmouth investments.
WALTER RUSSELL MEAD: Italy — and Europe — in the Crosshairs.
NEWS YOU CAN USE: Don’t Sleep Through Your Sex Life.
ED DRISCOLL: Confirmed: The Death of the Cool.
ROGER SIMON: Mr. Netanyahu’s Dilemma. “Who would want to be Benjamin Netanyahu? As the prime minister of Israel he has a dreadful calculus to make: Is Barack Obama sufficiently serious about preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons?”
June 11, 2012
AN ODE TO Trader Joe’s.
A BLOG ON Minnesota State Parks.