Read a little. Learn a lot. • Tightly-written news, views and stuff • Follow us on TwitterBe a Facebook FanTumble us!

04 Mar 2012 20:00

tags

Politics: Gingrich predicts Big Oil will hand the election to the GOP

  • “That’s a pretty big burden while he’s waging war on the Catholic Church and apologizing to Islamic extremists”: In which Newt Gingrich tells CNN’s Candy Crowley that Big Oil will intentionally tank the American economy, placing an insurmountable obstacle on President Obama’s path to re-election. source

30 Jan 2012 14:56

tags

Politics: Obama to take interview questions from YouTube, Google+

  • Maybe this is just a result of having been born in the 80s, but every time we hear the word “virtual,” regardless of the context, we always think of low-tech virtual reality gaming from the mid-90s (Dactyl Nightmare, anybody?). Here, we’re imagining a poorly-rendered 3D version of Obama, moving awkwardly against a cheap Oval Office background and glitching out every couple of seconds. Anyway, this “fully virtual interview” will focus on the content of the President’s State of the Union address, and will likely constitute the majority of Google+’s lifetime web traffic (don’t get us wrong; we love G+, but sometimes we feel like we’re the only ones). source

24 Jan 2012 10:50

tags

Politics: Five things rumored to be on Obama’s State of the Union agenda tonight

  • one He’ll likely propose reforming taxes, ending the Bush tax cuts and raising taxes for the wealthy.
  • two He’ll likely make another push for the “Buffett Rule,” which would set a minimum tax rate for the super-rich.
  • three More tax breaks for big business, in an effort to encourage them to bring jobs back to the U.S.
  • four More job-training and education, largely meant for high school grads who want technical degrees.
  • five A renewed push to help refinance homeowners who are still struggling to make ends meet. source

26 Jan 2011 10:55

tags

Politics: Video proof: Paul Ryan wasn’t red-eyed during SOTU response

  • The video quality here is fairly crystal-clear, and one big difference we noticed between what we saw between what we watched last night and the clip we saw today is that Ryan didn’t really need Visine. It was all bad lighting, guys. But there were other issues with the speech, as Dave Weigel makes clear at the link over here: source

26 Jan 2011 10:48

tags

Politics: Michele Bachmann: True GOP dissent or propping herself up?

  • She was very much the schoolteacher, slapping Obama on the wrist for not solving these problems, and speaking as if the difference of opinion was the result of a lack of awareness of the reality of the situation.
  • The Daly Caller’s Alexis Levinson • Offering a take on Michele Bachmann’s staring-off-into-space speech that she pointed out contrasted Paul Ryan’s conciliatory tone. Is this a sign of a much larger divide, or Bachmann just creating a division all her own, perhaps one that might get her into the Oval Office? God, we hope not. source

26 Jan 2011 10:35

tags

Politics: Obama giving Wisconsin tender love and care today

  • yesterday Obama took his dog-and-pony show into a joint session of Congress and made a State of the Union address. Wisconsin’s very own Paul Ryan responded.
  • today Obama’s headed to Wisconsin today. Now it’d be a better match if, say, he was heading to Janesville instead of Manitowoc, but coincidence? We think not. source

25 Jan 2011 15:01

tags

U.S.: Three Supreme Court justices likely to skip State Of The Union

  • 6Supreme Court justices likely to attend the State Of The Union source
  • » Three justices are fine, thanks: Reports from Washington suggest that the Supreme Court may be three members down during President Obama’s address tonight. Though a court spokeswoman would not verify which justices would be attending, it’s expected that Samuel Alito, Antonin Scalia, and Clarence Thomas will skip the address. This seems particularly relevant to Alito, who irritatedly mouthed “not true” during last year’s address, after the President’s criticism of the court’s “Citizen’s United” ruling.
 

25 Jan 2011 14:11

tags

Politics: Obama unlikely to tip hand on deficit reduction tonight

  • Reaching agreement requires both sides to demonstrate a willingness to compromise. He’s going to want everyone to show their hand at the same time.
  • Rep. Chris Van Hollen • The Maryland congressman, who is the most senior Democrat on the House Budget Committee, commenting on President Obama’s likely tact on deficit reduction in his State Of The Union address. its been widely said the President will not endorse any specific suggestion of the Deficit Commission tonight, in particular their proposal to raise the retirement age and make cuts to Social Security. source

25 Jan 2011 11:21

tags

Politics: Tea Partiers: We’re NOT trying to usurp Paul Ryan’s SOTU response

  • I think you get a variety of opinions and all Republicans aren’t the same, but I don’t see it as trying to usurp somebody else’s prerogative. I think one main Republican message, but other voices as well.
  • Sen. Rand Paul • Defending Michele Bachmann’s decision to offer her own, secondary, Tea-Party-focused response to the State of the Union speech tonight. (We’ll be covering this as much as we can tonight, by the way.) Anyway, Paul is trying to make it clear that Bachmann’s speech isn’t meant to take the wind out of the sails of Paul Ryan’s speech, but just to offer a different perspective. To which we say, don’t do this, Michele. People already don’t take you seriously, and this only makes you look worse. It also greatly damages your party, which, based on the “R” next to your name, is not the Tea Party. source

24 Jan 2011 22:13

tags

Politics: Mitch McConnell won’t participate in bipartisan seating arrangements

  • yes In a rare show of unity, Republicans and Democrats are pairing together at the State of the Union address.
  • no Senator Mitch McConnell won’t be partaking in the festivities; “I’m going to sit where I usually sit,” he told Fox News.
  • maybe If a Democratic legislator walks up to McConnell’s table and sits next to him anyway, will he change seats? source