Friday Talking Points [292] -- From Russian Panties To Animal Skulls
[ Posted Friday, February 21st, 2014 – 18:29 UTC ]
We've got a lot to get to in our weekly roundup of politics this week, it seems.
Archive of Articles in the "Sports" Category
Insanely Early 2016 Speculation (Hillary Clinton Edition)
[ Posted Wednesday, February 5th, 2014 – 17:32 UTC ]
Other than the Electoral College shift, another rather strange dynamic seems to be shaping up between the two dominant American political parties. Democrats and Republicans are reversing their traditional scenarios when it comes to nominating presidential candidates. This tradition even comes with its own bumpersticker slogan to define it: "Democrats fall in love, Republicans fall in line." Democrats, in other words, have a large field to pick from and select the one that everybody likes best, in the end, and then enthusiastically gets behind them for the general election. Republicans, however, pretty much know who is "next in line" for the nomination, and while other candidates may put up a limited fight, everyone knows who the nominee is going to be long before the first primary happens -- after which, Republicans all fall into line behind him, like him or not. But this time around the primary field is going to be wild and wooly over on the Republican side, with nobody being able to convincingly claim to be "next in line" (Rick Santorum or Paul Ryan could come closest to making such a claim, but this is going to be challenged by many others). But over on the Democratic side, there is only one woman standing, at least at this point, and her name is Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Friday Talking Points [289] -- Avoiding Immigration Traps
[ Posted Friday, January 31st, 2014 – 18:21 UTC ]
Republicans in the House have announced they are now ready to do something on immigration. I only mention this in passing here, because the entire talking points section is going to be devoted to a warning for Democrats: there will be traps laid by the Republicans, so Democrats have to be vigilant about defusing each one as it pops up.
Friday Talking Points [288] -- 2014 The Year Of The Marijuana Voter?
[ Posted Friday, January 24th, 2014 – 18:37 UTC ]
Sooner or later, though, whether it is 2014 or 2016 or beyond, the "Year Of The Marijuana Voter" is coming.
Packing A Super Bowl
[ Posted Tuesday, January 21st, 2014 – 16:46 UTC ]
For those of you not up on the lingo of the marijuana subculture, that headline is meant to be a pun of sorts, combining the Super Bowl (more on this in a moment) with the phrase "packing a bowl." Barack Obama, back in his "Choom Gang" days, would certainly have known what this is meant to refer to -- cramming marijuana in the bowl of a pipe constructed to smoke the substance.
From The Archives -- Native Americans, Inc.
[ Posted Tuesday, October 8th, 2013 – 16:49 UTC ]
Today I thought it be a good idea to take a break from the budgetary staredown and run a repeat of a column I wrote all the way back in 2007. Now, sometimes what seems like a bright idea when I write a column winds up sounding pretty silly, even a few months later. But this one has stood the test of time, I think, and it is currently relevant because President Obama actually weighed in on the debate recently, when asked about it in an interview.
Friday Talking Points [266] -- The Corpse-Like Stench Of Washington's Giant Misshapen Penis
[ Posted Friday, July 26th, 2013 – 17:19 UTC ]
While it may seem like that headline refers to yet another poll released which proves that Congress is held in lower esteem than dead bodies (dead bodies are actually now enjoying a resurgence of support, due to the proliferation of zombies in pop culture), it is in fact nothing short of literal. The U.S. Botanic Garden is currently experiencing record-breaking crowds eager to see -- or, more accurately, to smell -- the blooming "corpse flower" (or amorphophallus titanum, which -- no lie! -- translates to "giant, misshapen penis"). We merely note the event for those in the D.C. area who are inclined to visit the blossom before it shrivels up, and not to inspire any jokes in the comments or anything. I mean, how could you possibly joke about a corpse-like stench... the Nation's Capital... or "giant, misshapen penises"?
Friday Talking Points [262] -- War On Women Continues Apace
[ Posted Friday, June 14th, 2013 – 16:37 UTC ]
Last week, Republicans seem to have decided that the whole "autopsy" business after they got beaten so badly in the 2012 elections was just hogwash, and that they should double-down on their demonization and scapegoatery efforts. The "Plum Line" blog over at WashingtonPost.com has a good rundown (although now that the site is disappearing behind a paywall, I may have to reconsider linking to its articles in the future).
Hail To The Pigskins?
[ Posted Thursday, June 13th, 2013 – 17:10 UTC ]
Frank Luntz, celebrated spinmeister, has taken on a new task, it seems. He'll be in charge of figuring out a way to convince the public that a blatantly racist major sports team's name is really nothing to get upset about.
Friday Talking Points [254] -- A Very Full Week
[ Posted Friday, April 19th, 2013 – 17:17 UTC ]
Some weeks, I sit down to write this weekly wrapup, and find that there isn't that much to talk about, because nothing much happened that particular week.