I know this guy wasn’t part of al Qaida or a white power group, but how can this not qualify as an act of terrorism given the obvious political motive, however nutty it was?
True/Slant blogger Michael Roston • Discussing crazy guy Joe Stack, who crashed a plane into an Austin, Tx. IRS building today. Nobody was killed except for Stack, but for whatever reason, the case isn’t being treated like a terrorism thang despite the fact that it looks like, smells like, and quacks like a duck. Roston isn’t alone in debating the political implications of this insane case, with this guy getting tied to liberals, tea partiers, conservatives, and anyone that won’t have him. Personally, we’d stick him with the Lyndon LaRouche company just because we need to stick him somewhere. source
My advice to them is to keep their distance from any single party and instead influence both parties on debt, spending and an over-reaching federal government.
Former Bush strategist Karl Rove • On what he thinks the Tea Party movement should do to grow in influence. There had been talk of directly aligning with the Repulbican party, though some sects of the movement disagreed. But he points out that, to gain mainstream influence, “they must now begin the difficult task of disassociating themselves from cranks and conspiracy nuts.” That oughta be fun. source
What I write and what I tweet is archived as a part of this Presidential Records Act of 1978 because it is work product created as part of my job at the White House. People that follow me, people that read that, people that re-tweet that, none of that goes into this or is archived as a result of the Presidential Records Act.
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs • On the archive status of his tweets. Gibbs, who just became the first person in the White House to tweet on an official basis, is required to have the information documented. It’s good because it keeps him honest. It’s good because it keeps the history alive. But it’s still kind of strange due to the fact that social media and the PRA aren’t super-compatible. In other news, after a questionable first post, he’s doing a pretty good job of going with the Twitter flow. source
The program has had its flaws. But the attention they have received is wildly disproportionate to their importance. To hark back to another big government program, it’s almost as if the lasting image of the lunar space program was Apollo 6, an unmanned 1968 mission that had engine problems, and not Apollo 11, the moon landing.
New York Times journalist David Leonhardt • In an analysis piece describing why the stimulus program actually worked. The numbers are somewhat inconsistent, but he points out in his article that yes, the stimulus has actually improved the job picture. People disagree on the details and Republicans will use it as a good excuse to trash Obama, but the numbers, Leonhardt argues, favor Obama. One point worth noting: In most worldwide financial crises this century, it generally takes five years for jobs to bounce back to normal numbers. Obama’s already doing better than that, Leonhardt says. source
There are better ways to serve my fellow citizens. I love working for the people of Indiana. I love helping our citizens make the most of their lives, but I do not love Congress.
Senator Evan Bayh • On his decision to leave Congress after two terms. His press conference today (which featured his son wearing perhaps the ugliest sweater ever) ripped hard on the gridlock of Congress, saying there was “too much narrow ideology and not enough practical problem solving.” Even though he could’ve safely won his seat (and also put the Democratic party in a scramble), fears on his electoral status didn’t play a part in his decision. Crappy politics did. “If Washington, D.C. could be more like Indiana, Washington would be a better place,” he said. Oh, and he didn’t tell Harry Reid. source