Category Archives: Current Events

Paul Begala on how Rick Perry seems to have blown a solid shot at the G.O.P. nomination. Begala is no fan of Perry's but he does know political campaigns and I'll bet the Perry folks would agree with all or most of what he writes.

I don't claim to be an expert on Catholicism so there's probably an explanation for this. I can certainly understand someone considering themselves a devout Catholic and therefore an adherent to the church's opposition to the Death Penalty. I can even understand someone considering themselves a devout Catholic but admitting that they disagree with the church about the Death Penalty. What I can't understand is someone considered themselves a devout Catholic and just kind of pretending the church supports the Death Penalty. You'd think the longest-serving Justice of the Supreme Court would be able to cope with a fact that didn't support his personal prejudice.

Frank Pasquale on how Occupy Wall Street promotes Conservative principles.

I'm not going to embed it but Jon Stewart had an interesting conversation the other evening with Judge Andrew Napolitano of Fox News. I enjoy seeing two men on my TV discussing political differences without engaging in theatrics and hysterics and trying to shout the other down. When voices rise on most debate-type shows, it usually sounds to me like roleplaying, not unlike professional wrestlers putting on an act for us. On the old Crossfire series on CNN, I often thought that while the two combatants probably were genuinely Liberal or Conservative as per their roles, they couldn't possibly believe that their Talking Points weren't full of holes.

Napolitano is a Libertarian of the "government bad" mindset…though oddly enough he's all for government running a court system in which judges engage in what others on Fox would call "judicial activism" and "legislating from the bench." And while he despises the notion of the government taking tax dollars from you at gunpoint, he seems quite happy with the idea that it will enforce a judge's decision and take fines and compensatory damages from you at gunpoint or maybe lock you up.

The oddest moment to me in the Stewart/Napolitano chat was after the latter began asking why anyone would give their money to the government. The host responded…

STEWART: Because you think they're going to hire a bunch of people who if your house catches on fire will come there with water.

NAPOLITANO: I can do it better for you if I have an insurance company that promises to keep my house free from fire.

I'm going to guess that's one of those things that Judge Napolitano would wish he'd phrased differently…but given some of the other things I've heard him say, maybe not. Really? How is an insurance company going to make good on a promise to keep your house free from fire? Are they going to put it out for you? All eighty thousand insurance companies are going to have crews near where you live who'll be available 24/7 and have the necessary equipment and training?

Naw. He must mean that private fire departments are going to spring up and that State Farm and Prudential and Mutual of Wherever will contract with them to show up at your house with hoses and axes when needed. But how could these hypothetical companies do a better job than what we have now? And wouldn't they just hire the same firefighters and get the same equipment but build a profit for the company into the deal? How could that possibly be better or cheaper?

Maybe Napolitano isn't talking about private firefighters. Maybe he's talking about them letting your house burn down and then paying to rebuild and replace everything. No, that can't be it. Very few people whose homes burned would feel whole again to receive a check for the book value of what they lost. And can you imagine what your premiums would be like for insurance if they just let homes and their contents burn and then paid to replace everything? This kind of silly, impractical thinking is one of the reasons that the Libertarian movement doesn't get farther in this country.

A guide to the tax plans of the various Republican presidential contenders.

The Occupy movement has no spokesperson. But it's getting its voice from folks like Matt Taibbi, who writes a smart piece about what those folks are mad about. Give it a read.

Jonathan Chait on the ravings of Republican "policy wonk" Paul Ryan. I find it hard to believe Mr. Ryan really believes that what he's advocating would be good for anyone but the super-rich.

Pat Robertson is saying that the Republican Party is getting too extreme. A lot of sites this morning are reporting this as if he's saying that they need to temper their positions.

Not really. Take another look. He's saying they're in danger of losing elections by being so far to the right that they alienate moderates and independents. I suspect every leader in the G.O.P. and most of its more thoughtful members is thinking that…and worrying. Not that they know how to reverse this course. (Have you seen Rick Perry's latest tax proposal? He's getting very close to saying, "Everyone can just pay whatever they want!")

Robertson isn't saying the Republicans shouldn't go to the extreme right. He's just saying they need to not go there until after they get elected.

You know what the election of 2012 is going to be about? It's going to be Democrats telling you that if Republicans gain power, they're going to do a lot of crazy ultra-right things they'll now deny…and Republicans will be telling you that if Obama gets another term and/or Democrats gain seats, they're going to do a lot of crazy ultra-left things they'll now deny. And I'm not sure both sides won't be correct.

Fred Kaplan on Republican criticism of Obama's Iraq announcement.

When I first heard what Obama was announcing, I assumed it would be like killing Bin Laden. Republicans couldn't possibly attack what he'd done and would instead have to try and shift the credit over to Bush and others. You could actually mount a fairly credible argument that the G.W.B. administration deserved as much credit or more for ending the Iraq War. Of course, then you'd have to admit that ending it did not make up for starting it…

When Republicans complain about people who pay no Federal Income Tax and who actually may get back the money they paid into the government, they're basically complaining about the Earned Income Tax Credit. This was a plan introduced into our lives by that well-known Socialist, Gerald Ford and later expanded (and praised) by that Commie, Ronald Reagan. As this article notes though, it's misleading to suggest that those folks are getting a free ride and not paying taxes.

Exxon made $19 billion in profits in 2009 and paid zero federal income taxes. How come Republicans are upset about people paying no income tax but not about corporations paying none? Don't they know corporations are now people?

Okay, so someone who wants to disprove Global Warming sets up a study group to prove it ain't so…and his intentions are so obvious that even the Koch Brothers donate money to it. They figure it will yield data that they can use to argue that an important study has shown that the world isn't getting hotter…but guess what? The study comes to the opposite conclusion. I wonder if anyone who was prepared to declare it the definitive proof of no Global Warming will say, "Hmm…I guess we were wrong."

My one-time partner Dennis Palumbo discusses the feelings of worthlessness that some folks experience due to unemployment. There's a lot of that going around.

Tim Dickinson on why Herman Cain's silly 9-9-9 plan would raise taxes on the poor and middle class…and lower them on rich people. Not that I think the thing ever had a chance to becoming law.

David Roberts on how a growing number of Republicans are attacking the solar power industry because…well, there doesn't seem to be an overt reason. It's a growing, profitable industry that may help this country with its energy problems but Conservatives want to destroy it and a lot of columnists are struggling to perceive why. It may just be that Liberals are supportive of it. For some, that's reason enough.