[ Posted Friday, July 30th, 2010 – 16:51 UTC ]
Whoops! Looks like the first thing that's been going on is that the region now has a new nickname -- the "DMV" -- amongst the hipster set (note: I fully understand that that use of "hipster" automatically disqualifies me from judging what is cool and what is not among today's youth). This moniker comes from the hip-hop music scene, and it stands for "District (of Columbia), Maryland, and Virginia."
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[ Posted Thursday, July 29th, 2010 – 18:20 UTC ]
So I have arrived back home from the big Netroots Nation conference in Las Vegas. Since it was the first one I've been to, I thought I'd share some random impressions. Now, I know this sort of thing doesn't appeal to everyone (which is why I didn't even attempt to "liveblog" the conference), because quite frankly if you weren't there then you probably don't want to hear about it. For those readers, I apologize, and swear we'll be right back to normal columns here starting tomorrow. This is also why I posted a column very late yesterday as well, to give you something else to read, just in case this sort of thing bores you.
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[ Posted Thursday, July 29th, 2010 – 00:34 UTC ]
Crack cocaine, it is widely known, causes irrational behavior. I speak not of irrational behavior among the drug's users, but rather among politicians. It has done so ever since crack appeared on the scene in America during the 1980s. Today it was announced that Congress has approved a bill (which will now head for President Obama's desk) which will scale back the worst of the irrational legislation which passed in the Reagan era. Somewhat. In true incrementalist fashion, Democrats have now made things slightly less unfair, but fell far short of actual fairness. It's as if, right after the Civil War, Congress announced that black people would now count as four-fifths of a person, instead of the previous three-fifths -- in other words, a step towards equality, but not exactly the giant leap of the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments. Which makes it rather hard to praise such an effort, even though it does represent (some) progress.
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[ Posted Wednesday, July 28th, 2010 – 04:23 UTC ]
We are back at home base, as is the car... to which I can only respond: "don't ask."
I apologize for the interruption in our normal column service, and promise everyone that a Wednesday column will appear at least pretty close to normal posting time.
I just drove 500+ miles, and for the first time in a [...]
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[ Posted Friday, July 23rd, 2010 – 17:00 UTC ]
[Program Note: Sorry, no Friday Talking Points column today. The good news is that this will be our final "encore presentation" of an old column, and new columns will begin again on Monday. This column ran approximately a year ago, and was rather prophetic, since a report just out by the folks at [...]
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[ Posted Thursday, July 22nd, 2010 – 17:00 UTC ]
Another dispatch from our resident cartoonist, C.W. Cunningham. And you thought there would be nothing here but a reprint of an old column today... surprise!
About the Cartoonist | Reprint Policy
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[ Posted Wednesday, July 21st, 2010 – 17:00 UTC ]
Quick -- who was Michael Collins?
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[ Posted Tuesday, July 20th, 2010 – 16:29 UTC ]
Tea doesn't get much respect in America. This historical snubbing will continue Wednesday, with protests across America meant to evoke the Boston Tea Party, a seminal event in the foundation of our county. How effective these protests will be is going to be open to interpretation, however.
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[ Posted Monday, July 19th, 2010 – 17:29 UTC ]
The White House is, quite obviously, getting back into campaign mode. This is a good thing for Democrats, because it means putting the last spadeful of dirt on the carcass of President Obama's hopes of bipartisanship in Washington during his term of office. But while Obama has recently begun to make the case to voters why electing Democrats this November is a good idea, Vice President Joe Biden has apparently been doing a much better job in terms of framing the debate on Democratic terms. Which means the smartest thing Obama could do right now is to send the Vice President out in front of the media and in front of campaign events to make the case a lot more strongly than Obama could (or should). In other words: more Biden, please.
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[ Posted Friday, July 16th, 2010 – 16:14 UTC ]
This week, Congress -- moving with its usual less-than-blinding speed -- passed a Wall Street reform bill, a mere two years after the crisis hit. Wall Street responded by pulling a secret lever which caused the biggest earthquake Washington has ever felt.
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