++Linda Greenhouse ,the SCOTUS reporter for the New York Times, outlines why the Court ruling for the plaintiffs in the case against Obamacare subsidies violates every right-wing view of "literalism" and other constitutional hijinks. She argues that a ruling for the plaintiffs would be radical and push a lot of issues into no-man's land. Like many court observers, she notes that when ACA was upheld but with the proviso that states could opt out of the federal exchange no one ever thought and the law usually doesn't permit that individuals be penalized for that option. Others have argued that the sheer numbers affected by a negative decision will influence Roberts.
++The testimony from one of the "hijackers" in 9-11 that the Saudis bankrolled Al Qaeda and the 9-11 plot has again brought the section on Saudi financing from the 9/11 Report to a head. The New York Times puts this section of the 9-11 report front page. The plaintiffs in the case about Saudi liability in the 9-11 case want the section of the report de-classified for their argument.
++A Federal judge is asking why the Pentagon is stalling on the release of the thousands of torture photographs that Leon Panetta had argued were a threat to national security. Good question. The ACLU has been per suing this case to the bitter end.
++Fox News is being hammered by the Guardian for showing the ISIS video of the Jordanian pilot being burned to death. The Guardian notes that ISIS is using the Fox News clip in all their social media.
++No, the Jordanian King did not fly jets to bomb Isis but he has struck out with multiple bombing runs. What people don't get and you won't read in the States was that the pilot came from an important tribe in northern Jordan so the reaction was intense.
++The UN reports that ISIS has been killing children and crucifying them. The religious leaders across the Sunni Moslem world have denounced all this and the burning to death of the Jordanian pilot as "un-Islamic".
++President Obama spoke today at the National Prayer Day of why we have separation of church and state and why when someone proclaims their religion in the United States it is more honest and genuine than if they did this in a Theocratic state.
++The Tennessee Senate began their session with a fundamentalist Christian prayer for God to abolish medicaid expansion in the state.
++Judge Moore of Alabama , Mr. Ten Commandments, has sent a letter instructing judges not to marry same sex couples. The Southern Poverty Legal Center has filed an ethics complaint against the Judge.
++Our Surgeon General has been appearing everywhere urging everyone to get vaccinated. And he lets on that marijuana can help certain medical conditions.
++The new theme about how President Obama is making us weaker is that he is desperate for an Iranian deal and will settle for a weak one. Conservative newspapers quote as their authors the Revolutionary Guard Commanders of Iran. They also bring back a quote from Khamenei from a few months ago that Iran must prepare a "resistance economy" for the prospects of increased sanctions. Meanwhile, Democratic congress critters leaked to the AP how they read Israeli Ambassador Dermer the riot act on the Bibi-Boehner stunt.
++Senator Corker sought of let the end game on Iran out of the bag. He said it is unlikely there will be a deal and that leaving the interim deal in place would suffice for now.
Showing posts with label Linda Greenhouse. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Linda Greenhouse. Show all posts
Thursday, February 5, 2015
Sunday, June 30, 2013
Sunday Blues
++SCOTUS rejected the Prop 8 supporters' petition to delay California's same sex marriages.
++Jim DeMint and Gary Bauer appeared to argue that same sex marriages hurt kids and to argue for transvaginal probes on the Sunday talk shows. Luckily Rachel Maddow was there to shut them down on both items.
++Chris Christie vetoed Medicaid extension in New Jersey indicating he is touching the base to make way for the primaries.
++The House's anti-abortion law was scored by the CBO and found that it would cost the government $75 to $400 million over 10 years.
++House Republicans are complaining that sequestration will mean that some military bases will not have enough money for July 4th fireworks.
++Republican members of the Senate sent the NFL a letter protesting the idea that they might run ads on Obamacare, claiming the Administration was strong-arming them on a "divisive "issue even though it is law.
++The NYTimes reports that Republicans have come up with a new strategy to fight Hillary Clinton--they claim she is too old to be President while the GOP has younger candidates who just happen to have really old ideas.
++Linda Greenhouse has a column in today's Times about the real John Roberts. It's not pretty.
++House Republican leadership has sent out hugely mixed signals on immigration reform. Newsmax is horrified that Paul Ryan has spent hours trying to persuade the Republican Caucus that passage of immigration reform is necessary. Eric Cantor said that the "Dream Kids" have to have a country. But the House is going ahead with its own version of reform that would not include a path to citizenship. Stay tuned.
++Ray LaHood,Obama's Transportation Secretary,and former Republican Illinois Congressman, told the Washington Post that he feared the Republican Party was bordering on irrelevancy with regard to their Do Nothing Attitude. He pointed to the immigration bill and the farm bill. The failure to pass the Farm Bill,lingering for two years, will hurt House members. Dairy farmers will go out of business if it isn't passed. It is one of those routine bills that needs to be passed every few years. Like debt ceilings, it almost always has.
++One wise guy noted that Rand Paul's claim same sex marriage would lead to bestiality is strange because in Kentucky bestiality is legal, while same sex marriage isn't.
++The Daily Beast had a piece that said that Rand Paul's problem in winning the Presidency is because he is short. As Randy Newman sang, "Short people got no reason to live." Maybe Rand Paul can run as an incarnation of James Madison, who was also very short.
++In the Beltway, Marco Rubio, Rand Paul,Paul Ryan are considered serious presidential contenders. Forget it,we had only two Senators in my lifetime who made it. Lightening isn't going to strike three times. I bet the governors will lead the race--Chris Christie,Rick Perry (Oh, yes), Mike Huckabee,John Kasich, Gary Pence, and Vishnu Jindal. The question national Republicans are asking is "who can take Ohio?"
++Most observers like myself believed that gerrymandering gave the GOP the House until at least 2020. Carville and Greenberg say,"Hold on." They have a poll this week that the American people identify Congress with Republicans and that Democrats stand great chances of picking up swing seats in the House. What's interesting is that their findings even baffled them who thought the same way as the rest of us. By the way, Charlie Cook wants to remind everyone that Obama has held a 50% approval rating the last two weeks.
++In their quest for the youth vote, the GOP is letting Elizabeth Warren's bill to cap interests rates die so the loans will double starting tomorrow.
++The New Yorker cover with Bert and Ernie cuddling and watching the television with the five judges who supported same sex marriages has come under flak. Heritage Foundation went out of its way to denounce Bert and Ernie "coming out" and of course this is another reason NPR should be defunded. Brian Fischer claims the New Yorker cover encouraged child sex abuse.
++Not all evangelical Christians are wackjobs,the New York Times has a nice piece on Mariano Rivera,who keeps chugging along. The article details how in his 19-year career everyone on the field has always known where his pitch will go, even the batter, but he keeps saving games with a single pitch. Go figure!
++But some Christians are wackos. The World Nut Daily has called for a Christian revolution because of same sex marriage and Obamacare and says that the Gary Bauer type Religious Right is just misleading "real Christians" and accepting there is a separation not church and state.
++Sarah Palin is thinking of leaving the Republican Party if it keeps forgetting its platform and joining Mark Levin in the Freedom Party.
++In the Republican quest for the youth vote, they might like to know over 50% of 18-30 say they have no religion. A much larger percentage say they are for same-sex marriage. And even greater percent think dope should be legalized. Rand Paul is talking about the last item but don't hold your breath.
++Nancy Pelosi aims to put the GOP to the test about its minority outreach by sponsoring the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. Senator Leahy says he is working on a draft in the Senate.
++The EU is going ballistic over revelations in Der Spiegel that the NSA has been eavesdropping on German citizens and the EU parliament.
++Jim DeMint and Gary Bauer appeared to argue that same sex marriages hurt kids and to argue for transvaginal probes on the Sunday talk shows. Luckily Rachel Maddow was there to shut them down on both items.
++Chris Christie vetoed Medicaid extension in New Jersey indicating he is touching the base to make way for the primaries.
++The House's anti-abortion law was scored by the CBO and found that it would cost the government $75 to $400 million over 10 years.
++House Republicans are complaining that sequestration will mean that some military bases will not have enough money for July 4th fireworks.
++Republican members of the Senate sent the NFL a letter protesting the idea that they might run ads on Obamacare, claiming the Administration was strong-arming them on a "divisive "issue even though it is law.
++The NYTimes reports that Republicans have come up with a new strategy to fight Hillary Clinton--they claim she is too old to be President while the GOP has younger candidates who just happen to have really old ideas.
++Linda Greenhouse has a column in today's Times about the real John Roberts. It's not pretty.
++House Republican leadership has sent out hugely mixed signals on immigration reform. Newsmax is horrified that Paul Ryan has spent hours trying to persuade the Republican Caucus that passage of immigration reform is necessary. Eric Cantor said that the "Dream Kids" have to have a country. But the House is going ahead with its own version of reform that would not include a path to citizenship. Stay tuned.
++Ray LaHood,Obama's Transportation Secretary,and former Republican Illinois Congressman, told the Washington Post that he feared the Republican Party was bordering on irrelevancy with regard to their Do Nothing Attitude. He pointed to the immigration bill and the farm bill. The failure to pass the Farm Bill,lingering for two years, will hurt House members. Dairy farmers will go out of business if it isn't passed. It is one of those routine bills that needs to be passed every few years. Like debt ceilings, it almost always has.
++One wise guy noted that Rand Paul's claim same sex marriage would lead to bestiality is strange because in Kentucky bestiality is legal, while same sex marriage isn't.
++The Daily Beast had a piece that said that Rand Paul's problem in winning the Presidency is because he is short. As Randy Newman sang, "Short people got no reason to live." Maybe Rand Paul can run as an incarnation of James Madison, who was also very short.
++In the Beltway, Marco Rubio, Rand Paul,Paul Ryan are considered serious presidential contenders. Forget it,we had only two Senators in my lifetime who made it. Lightening isn't going to strike three times. I bet the governors will lead the race--Chris Christie,Rick Perry (Oh, yes), Mike Huckabee,John Kasich, Gary Pence, and Vishnu Jindal. The question national Republicans are asking is "who can take Ohio?"
++Most observers like myself believed that gerrymandering gave the GOP the House until at least 2020. Carville and Greenberg say,"Hold on." They have a poll this week that the American people identify Congress with Republicans and that Democrats stand great chances of picking up swing seats in the House. What's interesting is that their findings even baffled them who thought the same way as the rest of us. By the way, Charlie Cook wants to remind everyone that Obama has held a 50% approval rating the last two weeks.
++In their quest for the youth vote, the GOP is letting Elizabeth Warren's bill to cap interests rates die so the loans will double starting tomorrow.
++The New Yorker cover with Bert and Ernie cuddling and watching the television with the five judges who supported same sex marriages has come under flak. Heritage Foundation went out of its way to denounce Bert and Ernie "coming out" and of course this is another reason NPR should be defunded. Brian Fischer claims the New Yorker cover encouraged child sex abuse.
++Not all evangelical Christians are wackjobs,the New York Times has a nice piece on Mariano Rivera,who keeps chugging along. The article details how in his 19-year career everyone on the field has always known where his pitch will go, even the batter, but he keeps saving games with a single pitch. Go figure!
++But some Christians are wackos. The World Nut Daily has called for a Christian revolution because of same sex marriage and Obamacare and says that the Gary Bauer type Religious Right is just misleading "real Christians" and accepting there is a separation not church and state.
++Sarah Palin is thinking of leaving the Republican Party if it keeps forgetting its platform and joining Mark Levin in the Freedom Party.
++In the Republican quest for the youth vote, they might like to know over 50% of 18-30 say they have no religion. A much larger percentage say they are for same-sex marriage. And even greater percent think dope should be legalized. Rand Paul is talking about the last item but don't hold your breath.
++Nancy Pelosi aims to put the GOP to the test about its minority outreach by sponsoring the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. Senator Leahy says he is working on a draft in the Senate.
++The EU is going ballistic over revelations in Der Spiegel that the NSA has been eavesdropping on German citizens and the EU parliament.
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