Below The Beltway

I believe in the free speech that liberals used to believe in, the economic freedom that conservatives used to believe in, and the personal freedom that America used to believe in.

Archive for February, 2009

Dumb Things Senators Say

by Doug Mataconis @ Monday, February 23rd, 2009. Filed under Dumbasses, Politics, Supreme Court

It’s pretty hard to decipher the logic behind this statement by Kentucky Senator Jim Bunning:
ELIZABETHTOWN, Ky. — U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning predicted over the weekend that U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg would likely be dead from pancreatic cancer within nine months.
During a wide-ranging 30-minute speech on Saturday at the Hardin County Republican Party’s [...]

George Will: Repeal The 17th Amendment

by Doug Mataconis @ Sunday, February 22nd, 2009. Filed under History, Legal, Politics, U.S. Constitution

In a column today regarding Senator Russ Feingold’s proposal to amend the Constitution to prohibit Governors from replacing Senators, George Will makes this provocative point:
The Framers established election of senators by state legislators, under which system the nation got the Great Triumvirate (Henry Clay, Daniel Webster and John Calhoun) and thrived. In 1913, progressives, believing [...]

Memo To The GOP: Don’t Go Down This Road

by Doug Mataconis @ Sunday, February 22nd, 2009. Filed under Barack Obama, Obama Derangement Syndrome, Politics, Republicans

Ben Smith passes along this tidbit from Alabama:
Another local resident asked [Alabama Senator Richard] Shelby if there was any truth to a rumor that appeared during the presidential campaign concerning Obama’s U.S. citizenship, or lack thereof.
“Well his father was Kenyan and they said he was born in Hawaii, but I haven’t seen any birth certificate,” [...]

Hillary To China: Please Keep Financing Our Insanity

by Doug Mataconis @ Sunday, February 22nd, 2009. Filed under China, Economics, Foreign Affairs, Hillary Clinton, Politics

Yes, it’s true, the Chinese Communists are now our bankers:
BEIJING (AP) – U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton wants China to continue investing in the United States because the two countries’ financial futures are closely tied together.
“I certainly do think that the Chinese government and central bank are making a smart decision by continuing [...]

The Good, Bad, And Ugly Side Of Tax Protests

by Doug Mataconis @ Sunday, February 22nd, 2009. Filed under Barack Obama, Politics, Republicans

Seemingly spontaneously propelled by Rick Santelli’s suggestion of a Chicago Tea Party, the idea of taxpayer protests against Obama Administration spending policies seems to be taking off:
Rick Santelli simply vented the frustration of millions of Americans who are working, continue to pay their bills and are very angry at being forced to reward the “Bad [...]

A Good Compromise On Gay Marriage ? Not So Much

by Doug Mataconis @ Sunday, February 22nd, 2009. Filed under Gay Marriage, General, Individual Liberty, Politics

David Blankenhorn and Jonathan Rauch, who come from totally opposite sides of the same-sex marriage debate, offer this compromise in a New York Times Op-Ed this morning:
It would work like this: Congress would bestow the status of federal civil unions on same-sex marriages and civil unions granted at the state level, thereby conferring upon them [...]

This Is What We Send Them To Richmond For ?

by Doug Mataconis @ Sunday, February 22nd, 2009. Filed under Virginia, Virginia Politics

Apparently, our legislators have been spending their time debating the need for an official state reptile:
The Eastern Box Turtle slogged its merry way through the General Assembly this year only to die a disrespectful death in the House chamber.
Del. Frank D. Hargrove Sr., R-Hanover, was confounded by the notion of enshrining a species as the [...]

And, For An Encore, President Obama Parts The Red Sea

by Doug Mataconis @ Sunday, February 22nd, 2009. Filed under Barack Obama, Economics, Politics

The saddest thing about this story is that there are going to be a lot of people who will believe it:
WASHINGTON — After a string of costly bailout and stimulus measures, President Obama will set a goal this week to cut the annual deficit at least in half by the end of his term, administration [...]

Another Broken Promise ?

by Doug Mataconis @ Sunday, February 22nd, 2009. Filed under Barack Obama, Individual Liberty, Politics, War On Drugs

Tim Sandefur notes that Barack Obama hasn’t followed through on yet another campaign promise:
I just thought I would mention that it has now been a month, and President Obama, despite repeated promises, has done exactly nothing to stop DEA raids on medical marijuana clinics. David Kopel actually praised Obama on this front…but after a month, the [...]

Alan Keyes Is Back, With A Full Dose Of Crazy

by Doug Mataconis @ Saturday, February 21st, 2009. Filed under Barack Obama, Dumbasses, Legal, Obama Derangement Syndrome, Politics

There’s always been something just a little off about Alan Keyes, but his latest obsession plants him firmly at the head of the tinfoil hat brigade:
The controversy over the validity of Barack Obama’s birth certificate is back on a burner with firebrand conservative Alan Keyes making serious new charges.
In a video (see below) released Friday [...]

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

[Below The Beltway is proudly powered by WordPress.]