Friday Talking Points [331] -- Nous Sommes Charlie Hebdo
[ Posted Friday, January 9th, 2015 – 18:13 UTC ]
Je suis Charlie. In fact, let's go even further: Nous sommes Charlie Hebdo. Because we are all Charlie, this week.
FridayTalkingPoints Article Archive
My 2014 "McLaughlin Awards" [Part 2]
[ Posted Friday, December 26th, 2014 – 19:14 UTC ]
Welcome back to our annual year-end awards column!
My 2014 "McLaughlin Awards" [Part 1]
[ Posted Friday, December 19th, 2014 – 19:34 UTC ]
As we do every year, we are pre-empting our "Friday Talking Points" columns for the next two weeks, to bring you our best and worst of 2014. And, yes, we are going to continue our supercilious and no-doubt-annoying habit of using the editorial "we" throughout these two columns, so thanks for asking! Heh.
Friday Talking Points [330] -- How Bad Laws Get Made
[ Posted Friday, December 12th, 2014 – 17:29 UTC ]
There were two big things going on in the political world this week: the release of the Senate torture report, and the cromnibus bill which kept the government open. For the most part, we're going to cover the torture report at the end, in a very unusual talking points section.
Friday Talking Points [329] -- 'Tis The Season
[ Posted Friday, December 5th, 2014 – 18:05 UTC ]
It is indeed the season. Yes, it's that magical time of year when the wee folk of Capitol Hill actually get something done. These brief bursts of activity only happen very rarely, of course, and always immediately proceed another one of the many, many long vacations Congress takes during the year.
Friday Talking Points [328] -- Obama's Gutsy Move
[ Posted Friday, November 21st, 2014 – 17:40 UTC ]
When Congress wouldn't pass a bill, the president had to act on immigration and deportation policy, to keep families intact -- a measure that affected 40 percent of the undocumented immigrants in the United States. The president in question was George H. W. Bush, and the year was 1990. Congress, at the time, was run by the opposition party. What did they do in response? They passed a bill, which Bush later signed.
Friday Talking Points [327] -- The Calm Between The Storms
[ Posted Friday, November 14th, 2014 – 17:56 UTC ]
What walks like a duck and quacks like a duck but seems to have serious mobility problems?
Friday Talking Points [326] -- A Democratic Economic Platform For Next Time
[ Posted Friday, November 7th, 2014 – 17:14 UTC ]
President Obama called the 2010 midterms a "shellacking." He demurred on providing a label for the 2014 midterms, but others sprang into the void. The most notable label so far (the one seemingly most repeated, at any rate) is that Democrats suffered an "ass-kicking" this past Tuesday night. At this point, I won't quibble over terms. Democrats got beat, and they got beat pretty badly.
Friday Talking Points [325] -- McConnell For Sale!
[ Posted Friday, October 24th, 2014 – 17:58 UTC ]
A program note, before we get started: there will be no Friday Talking Points column next week. We have to make room for our traditional Hallowe'en column, where we try to scare the pants off of everyone across the political spectrum with spooky tales of what the upcoming election might mean (plus, we get to show off our politically-inspired Jack-o-lanterns). So don't miss that, but the Friday Talking Points column won't be back until after the election.
Friday Talking Points [324] -- Don't Panic
[ Posted Friday, October 17th, 2014 – 17:42 UTC ]
That headline, of course, quotes the cover to the fictional Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy: "Don't Panic." This week, it seems like timely advice, as the news media and American politicians go into full-blown panic mode over one death and two illnesses within the United States.