-
Republicans Cannot Simply Say "No," Despite What Bill Kristol Thinks
Tweet Share on Facebook February 26, 2009 Comment (13)By Mary Kate Cary, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
Republicans voted nearly unanimously against President Obama's stimulus package, GOP governors talked of rejecting stimulus funding for their states, and as of this morning, only a single Republican—Rep. Michael Turner of Ohio—has expressed support for the president's housing legislation. How can the GOP avoid becoming, as all the pundits are calling it, The Party of No?
-
Octuplet Dilemma: Should Hospital Let Kids Go, Should Taxpayers Be Burdened?
Tweet Share on Facebook February 26, 2009 Comment (166)By Bonnie Erbe, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
In case you watch Dr. Phil's show Thursday, you'll be privy to the second half of his interview with the now-infamous octuplets mother, the first half of which aired Wednesday.
The interview was pre-taped last week and since then Nadya Suleman has apparently been telephoning Dr. Phil McGraw on a regular basis. He told the Los Angeles Times she called him to say she now fears the "Suleman eight" may not be released to her when they are ready to leave the hospital. The infants are still in a neonatal care unit at the Kaiser Permanente hospital where they were born nine-and-a-half weeks prematurely.
Dr. Phil says Suleman believes the hospital won't release her children to her until, "she has a better living arrangement." On the one hand, who could blame the hospital given the following:
-
Wall Street Became Over-Dependent on Numbers, Lost Touch With Reality
Tweet Share on Facebook February 25, 2009 Comment (18)By Michael Barone, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
Several economic blogs have pointed me to this excellent article by Felix Salmon in Wired on the Gaussian copula devised by mathematician David X. Li in 2000. This was a mathematical formula to quantify risk that "was adopted by everybody from bond investors and Wall Street banks to ratings agencies and regulators. And it became so deeply entrenched—and was making people so much money—that warnings about its limitations were largely ignored." It turns out that the formula underestimated the risk of many homeowners defaulting on mortgages at the same time. A method which was useful for insurance actuaries—for estimating the likelihood that a person whose spouse had died would die earlier than the actuarial tables would lead one to expect—turned out to be unreliable.
-
Evangelical Churches Push Kinky New Sex Challenges--But For Married Couples Only
Tweet Share on Facebook February 25, 2009 Comment (28)By Bonnie Erbe, Thomas Jefferson Street blog.
More evangelical churches are pushing sex—in some cases, rather risqué sex, on married couples. The formerly straight-laced church is changing with the times and now promoting, even urging, married couples to have more varied sex and more of it. According to alternet.org, a progressive media website, "Christian sex shops, Christian sex advice columns, and Christian sex blogs" abound on the Internet.
-
Obama Deserves Benefit of the Doubt on Iraq Troop Withdrawal
Tweet Share on Facebook February 25, 2009 Comment (7)By Robert Schlesinger, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
President Obama will, reportedly, soon announce an Iraq withdrawal plan that will get most U.S. troops out of the Middle Eastern quagmire in 18 months (19 months, if you date it from his inauguration). "Most" is a critical and elastic word here: 30,000 to 50,000 U.S. troops will apparently remain that country a bit longer.
There are warnings of grumbling from the left ends of the grassroots: Barack Obama won the Democratic nomination in no small part because of the Iraq war and he promised to get our troops out within 16 months.
Everyone needs to take a deep breath and give the president some room on this one.
-
Obama Rally Prayers Are Dangerous, Bush-like and, Typically, Pandering
Tweet Share on Facebook February 25, 2009 Comment (15)By Bonnie Erbe, Thomas Jefferson Street blog.
My USNews.com colleague Dan Gilgoff has revealed that President Obama has produced a presidential first: his public rallies and events will start with invocations that have been commissioned and vetted by the White House:
-
Obama Speech Worked: Expect Rising Stock Market and Poll Numbers
Tweet Share on Facebook February 25, 2009 Comment (131)By Mary Kate Cary, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
President Obama gave a great speech last night—well delivered, gracious to his political opponents, concise and understandable. I cannot remember the last time a president put any humor into a joint session address. His "Don't mess with Joe" line reminded me of the Joe Biden impersonator on Saturday Night Live yelling "Biden Alert!" every time he enters a room. My favorite part of the speech was at the end, when the President quoted Ty Sheoma Bethea, who asked for help for her crumbling school by telling everyone, "We are not quitters." She had a look in her eye that told the room she was much older than she appeared—sort of an "old soul" type of child. The president repeated it several times, and I have to admit I got a little choked up.
So I laughed, I cried, I thought it was too long, and I disagreed with large portions of his agenda. But I think it worked.
-
MSNBC Wrong to Have Keith Olbermann Anchor Obama Speech Coverage
Tweet Share on Facebook February 24, 2009 Comment (70)By Robert Schlesinger, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
I've heard a couple of times on MSNBC today that Keith Olbermann will be anchoring coverage of President Obama's don't-call-it-a-State-of-the-Union speech this evening.
Didn't they learn their lesson the first time?
-
Gay Marriage in Rhode Island or Anywhere is a Bore (Unlike Abortion); Let's Move On
Tweet Share on Facebook February 24, 2009 Comment (52)By Bonnie Erbe, Thomas Jefferson Street blog.
I'm really bored with the gay marriage issue. How about you? I wish it would just go away. Why do some straight people care what gay people do? I care about my marriage, but not about anyone else's. Why should other straights care if the issue does not affect their own marriages? The issue comes up again as Rhode Island's state senate considers a bill to legalize gay marriage:
-
Dick Durbin Calls for Roland Burris to Quit, But I'm Not Holding My Breath
Tweet Share on Facebook February 24, 2009 Comment (9)By Robert Schlesinger, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
Dick Durbin said today that Roland Burris should resign, and he's right, of course.
But he also admitted that he can't force Burris out. The fact is that virtually the only person who can force Roland Burris out is Roland Burris. And I for one am not holding my breath.
The problem Durbin and his Democratic colleagues face regarding Barack Obama's replacement is that he is in fact no Barack Obama. If anything, Roland Burris is the anti-Obama. (A thought pops into my head: What will Obama do if, while making his way to the podium in the House chamber this evening, he is confronted by his successor?)
advertisement
Cartoons
