It is midnight right now and Rand Paul is still filibustering John Brennan’s nomination over the issue of domestic use of drones. And good Lord, it is beautiful.
Some choice quotes:
When I asked the president, can you kill an American on American soil, it should have been an easy answer. It’s an easy question. It should have been a resounding, an unequivocal, ‘No.’ The president’s response? He hasn’t killed anyone yet. We’re supposed to
Here’s the thing that struck me as I read Obama’s State of the Union address: very little of this is going to happen. There is no way he will get even 10% of his agenda through a Republican House. Most of it would not even go through a Democratic House. This read less like a SOTU speech and more like a rally for liberals.
That would be fine except that … there are some things … Read more
Goodness me, that President Bush is evil. How could he possibly assert that he has the exclusive power to … oh … it’s President Obama? No way!
Yes way.
A confidential Justice Department memo concludes that the U.S. government can order the killing of American citizens if they are believed to be “senior operational leaders” of al-Qaida or “an associated force” — even if there is no intelligence indicating they are engaged in an
I didn’t have time until yesterday to read through the President’s faux inauguration speech. While it was, as expected, stirringly delivered, and had some nice turns of phrase like this:
For history tells us that while these truths may be self-evident, they have never been self-executing; that while freedom is a gift from God, it must be secured by His people here on Earth. The patriots of 1776 did not fight to replace the
Having thought about Barack Obama’s gun plan, I’m still convinced that most of it is a non-issue: the government doing what it is supposed to do with background checks and enforcing laws. The only issue that is likely to be really contentious is the assault weapons ban (and related bans on high-capacity magazines).
I oppose the ban for a number of reasons, the biggest of which is that I think it will be ineffective. There … Read more
Obama is announcing his new gun policies right now. I’ll post as I get updates. There are apparently 23 executive orders. I’ve looked over them quickly and I don’t really see anything terribly objectionable. Most of it is strengthening exiting law and the background check system. Here they are, with my commentary. None would have prevented Sandy Hook. But if you’re looking to reduce gun violence overall, they do address that.
1. “Issue a presidential
I get backlogged on stories. And I hate open tabs. So here’s a smattering of stories I don’t have time to do full blog posts on but thought were interesting.
Well, this is interesting news:
California has been Exhibit A for the fiscal upheaval that has rocked states throughout the recession. Year after year, California officials reported bigger and bigger deficits and sought to respond with spending cuts that left the state reeling.
“The deficit is gone,” Mr. Brown proclaimed, standing in front of an array of that-was-then and this-is-now charts that illustrated what he said were dramatic changes in California’s fortunes.
“For the next
That’s probably the most sensational headline I could have gone with, but it does get to the point of those petitions demanding that the White House allow states to secede.
Although the founders established a perpetual union, they also provided for a government that is, as President Lincoln would later describe it, “of the people, by the people, and for the people” — all of the people. Participation in, and engagement with, government is the
Obama has made it official, nominating former Republican Senator Chuck Hagel to be Secretary of Defense. This is not a surprise. Hagel has been an informal consultant for Obama when he’s looking for an alternative view on policy. He has a background of being a squad leader in Vietnam where he earned two purple heart and spent 20 years as a businessman. And his name has been circulating for weeks.
Hagel, of course, has been … Read more
