Informed Speculation

The Senate has engaged in enough horse trading to push health care reform reasonably close to the finish line.  That’s bad news for Republicans, though I’m not ready to concede yet…but it’s also bad news for a country that is teetering on the edge of insolvency.  The reforms in the Senate bill will not, Orszagist cheerleading notwithstanding, [...]

If you’re travelling, be safe…enjoy good food, friends, family, and football!…

For those of you who don’t keep up with the comments, we’ve been having a spirited, off-topic conversation about the news that the email servers of Britain’s Climate Research Unit of the University of East Anglia were hacked, with the result that some very revealing and embarrassing emails have been made public. Climate skeptics are [...]

Everyone with an iota of sense knows the NY Times is one of the most biased media outlets in the country…but seldom does the bias show itself as blatantly as this. The headline?  ”A Holdout Will Support Democrats’ Health Bill” – and the subject is Mary Landrieu.  The implication is clear – Senator Landrieu has [...]

…do we REALLY want to be pursuing legislation that costs jobs? If that seems like a no-brainer, consider that non-partisan FactCheck.org analyzes health care reform and cap-and-trade, and concludes both are job-killers. First, health care reform: The truth is the House legislation would likely have a “small” effect on jobs, according to the nonpartisan Congressional [...]

It is simply un-American to be unconcerned with due process and the rights of the accused. That’s a given.  However, in the arena of crimes against humanity, the regular court system has often proved inadequate to the task of prosecution.  While military tribunals and special courts like the one at Nuremburg aren’t perfect, and are [...]

…here’s an idea for Veteran’s Day, and a very simple one. Why not send them an email or text message, or even phone them up, and simply thank them for their service? It takes only a very small amount of time, but it’s an effective way to ensure they are remembered… God bless all of [...]

…but I know I didn’t miss any important developments, particularly on the health care front, so I – what’s that? It passed the House? D’oh! Okay, okay…we’ll see about the Senate. By the way, I was in Vegas, where I had the kind of fortune that only smiles on you once in a lifetime. No, [...]

I’ve been blogging about U2 almost incessantly this year, but last night, I went to a very different kind of rock and roll show.  No social conscience stuff here – just flat-out rock and roll.  It was AC/DC at a sold-out Frank Erwin Center, but more accurately, it was the Angus Young show. Simply put, [...]

…this is not good: The United States economy shed 190,000 jobs in October, and the unemployment rate reached a 26-year high of 10.2 percent, up from 9.8 percent in September, the Department of Labor said Friday in its monthly economic appraisal. While the pace of the job losses has slowed significantly since the peak of [...]

…at least at the statehouse level.  The big statewide offices in Virginia have been swept by the Republicans, and it’s looking probable, though not declared yet, that Christie will win in New Jersey.  NY-23 hasn’t been called at this time, but appears likely to go to the Democrat, in what will be widely read as [...]

That’s the WSJ editorial board talking, and the subject is Nancy Pelosi’s health care bill: Speaker Nancy Pelosi has reportedly told fellow Democrats that she’s prepared to lose seats in 2010 if that’s what it takes to pass ObamaCare, and little wonder. The health bill she unwrapped last Thursday, which President Obama hailed as a [...]