My 2014 "McLaughlin Awards" [Part 2]
[ Posted Friday, December 26th, 2014 – 19:14 UTC ]
Welcome back to our annual year-end awards column!
Archive of Articles in the "Politicians" Category
Cyberwar Or Cybervandalism?
[ Posted Monday, December 22nd, 2014 – 18:10 UTC ]
The whole story would likely be rejected as a Hollywood plot, on the grounds that nobody would believe it could ever happen, even as comedy or farce. A dictator is insulted by an upcoming movie -- a comedy about his own assassination -- and he unleashes his hackers on the studio to take revenge, by posting their embarrassing emails and then prevents the movie's release by making ludicrous threats to theaters? Preposterous!
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.
The End Of The Cold War
[ Posted Wednesday, December 17th, 2014 – 17:13 UTC ]
Today, the Cold War's end is finally in sight. Begun almost immediately after World War II, the Cold War was the defining issue in American foreign policy right up to 1989 and the collapse of the Soviet Union. One final legacy remained for another quarter-century after the Berlin Wall came down, though: America's Cuba policy. This final leftover from the Cold War will now be brought to an end, decades after it had been proven not to work. President Barack Obama just spoke on the telephone with the leader of Cuba to finalize the two countries' new relations -- an event that hadn't happened in over half a century. The Cold War is now almost completely a matter of interest only to historians, to put things into context.
Thanks To The Anti-Federalists
[ Posted Tuesday, December 16th, 2014 – 16:52 UTC ]
The Bill of Rights celebrated its 223rd anniversary yesterday. Anyone who believes this is a positive addition to America's history should thank the Anti-Federalists, since they were responsible for the creation of the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. There aren't a whole lot of folks today who call themselves "Anti-Federalists," so you'll have to salute their memory instead.
Jeb Bush's Pros And Cons
[ Posted Monday, December 15th, 2014 – 18:05 UTC ]
The 2014 midterms are over. The lame-duck Congress is wrapping things up and preparing to flee Washington. The holiday season is in the air. So, naturally, it is now time to turn our attention to the 2016 presidential contest.
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.
The Feinstein Torture Report
[ Posted Wednesday, December 10th, 2014 – 18:13 UTC ]
Thanks to the tireless efforts of Senator Dianne Feinstein, we now have an official record of what, exactly, was done in all our names in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. As President Obama has already admitted, this can be summed up as: "We tortured some folks." We can't pretend it wasn't torture anymore, because the facts weren't swept under a historical rug this time.
The D.C. Marijuana Compromise
[ Posted Tuesday, December 9th, 2014 – 18:14 UTC ]
One Maryland Republican in the House, apparently still upset that his state donated the land for D.C. centuries ago (or something), pushed an amendment to the cromnibus that would have flat-out overturned the will of the people on Initiative 71, and kept recreational marijuana fully illegal in District law. Democrats indicated that this was a deal-breaker for them (on the entire cromnibus bill), so today a compromise of sorts seems to have been reached.
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.