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Archive for July, 2009

Time To Check Out For The Day

by Doug Mataconis @ Friday, July 31st, 2009. Filed under Music

Have a good one, enjoy Friday:

Rush Limbaugh Continues To Defend The Birthers

by Doug Mataconis @ Friday, July 31st, 2009. Filed under Barack Obama, Obama Derangement Syndrome, Politics

On today’s show, Rush Limbaugh picked up on the argument that Andrew McCarthy made in his National Review column, which I responded to yesterday, and continued his not-very-subtle effort to give credence to birther paranoia:

Transcript:
RUSH: Oh, that birther thing, you know, the birth certificate thing. Andy McCarthy wrote a brilliant piece on this whole [...]

Lou Dobbs Goes Birther, Sends His Ratings Even Lower

by Doug Mataconis @ Friday, July 31st, 2009. Filed under Barack Obama, Media, Obama Derangement Syndrome, Politics

Well, I must say that this is a good sign:
Mr. Dobbs’ first began reporting on Obama birth certificate conspiracy theories on the night of Wednesday, July 15. In the roughly two weeks since then, from July 15 through July 28, Mr. Dobbs’ 7 p.m. show on CNN has averaged 653,000 total viewers and 157,000 in [...]

Tom Davis On The Future Of The GOP

by Doug Mataconis @ Friday, July 31st, 2009. Filed under Politics, Republicans

When he served as my Congressman, I had some pretty harsh things to say about Tom Davis sometimes (see here and here, for example), but he makes a lot of sense in this Hardball interview:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

The GOP will never become a majority party again if [...]

Milton Friedman On Socialized Medicine

by Doug Mataconis @ Friday, July 31st, 2009. Filed under Economics, Health Care Reform, Politics

Here is a speech that Nobel Laureate Milton Friedman gave at the Mayo Clinic 31 years ago about health care, socialized medicine, and the economics of health care policy. It’s still relevant today.

H/T: Jason Pye

Rubbernecking On The Information Superhighway

by Doug Mataconis @ Friday, July 31st, 2009. Filed under Barack Obama, Blogging, Obama Derangement Syndrome, Politics

The Pajama Pundit explains his fascination with the birthers:
[I]t’s like seeing a car accident on the highway; you are compelled to look as you slowly drive past.
The Birthers are a glorious train-wreck and I find myself craning my neck to see the carnage as-it-happens. If that makes me a bad person, then so be it. [...]

Obama Stepping Back From Bush-Era Obscenity Crusade ?

by Doug Mataconis @ Friday, July 31st, 2009. Filed under Barack Obama, In The News, Politics

It appears that the Obama Administration is dialing back the Bush Administration’s aggressive prosecution of so-called obscenity:
President Barack Obama’s Justice Department has quietly agreed to move a pornography prosecution out of socially conservative Montana to more urbane New Jersey – fueling perceptions by some attorneys that the new administration is stepping back from the aggressive [...]

Happy Birthday, Milton Friedman

by Doug Mataconis @ Friday, July 31st, 2009. Filed under Economics, Individual Liberty

Jason Pye reminds me that today is Milton Friedman’s birthday. Had he lived, he would have been 97 years old.
I am not an economist, or a political scientist, so this won’t be an examination of Dr. Friedman’s contributions to either of these disciplines. Instead, I thought it would be appropriate to focus on the influence [...]

How The Mighty Have Fallen

by Doug Mataconis @ Friday, July 31st, 2009. Filed under Politics, Sarah Palin

One week out of office, it’s pretty clear that Sarah Palin’s former constituents aren’t sad to see her go:
Less than a week after Sarah Palin stepped down as governor, Alaskans are evenly divided about their feelings toward her, according to the results of a new statewide poll by the Anchorage-based Hays Research Group.
Slightly more Alaskans [...]

What’s Really Wrong With “Cash For Clunkers”

by Doug Mataconis @ Friday, July 31st, 2009. Filed under Auto Industry, Business, Economics, Politics

This morning, we learned that the Car Allowance Rebate System, known more popularly as the “Cash for Clunkers” program was running out of money after only a few days in operation:
The government’s “cash for clunkers” program, aimed at boosting stagnant auto sales, is almost out of money, putting its future in question, according to sources [...]

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