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What Abdelbaset Ali Al-Megrahi's football allegiances really teach us

August, 31st 2009
From Alex Massie:
Roddy Forsyth deserves our congratulations for revealing this:
One of the unforeseen consequences of Abdelbaset Ali Al-Megrahi's incarceration in Greenock Prison was that, by his own account, in whiling away the hours by watching live football on the now-defunct Setanta network he became a Rangers supporter.
No surprise that a man convicted of the worst terrorist atrocity in British history would forsake his local team - Morton - to support one of the...

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Snarky column endings FTW!

August, 31st 2009
From a column in yesterday's Orlando Sentinel re: Rep. Suzanne Kosmas and her apparent touting of Obama-style health insurance reform:
Congress can't print enough money to get us out of this jam. The Chinese may have funded our housing bubble, but I doubt they'll underwrite our hip replacements.

Yet, like so many others, Kosmas says we can have more when all we can afford is less.

No, Suzanne, there is no Santa Claus.
Goodness, that had to hurt......

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McDonnell oppo file: Irrelevant or implosion-indicator?

August, 30th 2009
The Virginia blogosphere is buzzing today over what Mike Allen’s Politico Playbook dubbed this morning the “oppo file” on Virginia Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell.
Conservative blogs Mason Conservative and Bearing Drift (together with RedState) weigh in, in McDonnell’s defense (no surprise). Blue Virginia (for the moment) simply asks “will today's Washington Post story scare the you-know-what out of Democrats and motivate them to start...

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We lose to Man U... the frustration

August, 29th 2009
Thanks, Almunia.  Nothing like letting this happen to endear me to you.

(image from the BBC)
As it stands, Arsenal are 6th in the Premiership behind that powerhouse of a football team... Stoke.
We need to do better.  Let's go...  chop, chop...

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Is RomneyCare a good thing/functional or not?

August, 19th 2009
Via Reason, I see that the Boston Globe is arguing "yes" as is the New York Times, while CATO's Michael Cannon is arguing "no" (and some more "no" here). That probably gives conservatives and libertarians an inkling as to where they're likely to come down on the debate, but that aside, as someone who has historically been a big-time critic of RomneyCare, I think it's worth noting Michael Cannon's criticisms of the plan since I don't think it's beyond the bounds of reason to think that...

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Also re: change-- is Obama on Afghanistan emblematic of it, or not?

August, 17th 2009
So... in addition to having his administration file briefs saying that DOMA is unfair but reasonably likely to be constitutional or somesuch, President Obama has also been busy touting his plans to continue and indeed expand US involvement in Afghanistan, a mission that has now gone far beyond its original purpose of tracking down and killing Osama Bin Laden (a purpose, I would add, that pretty much everyone accepted as good and sensible, unlike our stated purpose in getting into Iraq--...

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Obama administration: DOMA is unfair and we don't like it but hey, we'll defend it because it's probably constitutional

August, 17th 2009
That is the essence of what the Obama administration currently has to say on DOMA, at least if you believe what is reported today in this AP piece: "Obama administration says marriage law unfair." Excerpt:
The Obama administration filed court papers Monday claiming a federal marriage law discriminates against gays, even as government lawyers continued to defend it.
Justice Department lawyers are seeking to dismiss a suit brought by a gay California couple challenging the 1996...

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The most important news of the week

August, 8th 2009
It wasn't about North Korea releasing journalists, it wasn't about bust-ups at town hall meetings, it wasn't about health care, it wasn't Sotomayor's confirmation vote and swearing in.
It was this:

I'm an Arsenal fan and a Celtic fan whose family comes from Glasgow and who used to live in Islington.
I guess no matter what the result is, I should be happy, right?
But I have no idea who to support.  Please feel free to email with suggestions.

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On Sotomayor

August, 6th 2009
Today, I did MSNBC together with Ari Melber from The Nation. For those who missed it, I may post footage later, but the short version is, we were talking Sotomayor and what the GOP was thinking in voting against her (subtitle: will it further harm the party's standing with Hispanics). My basic line was that anyone who thinks that Hispanics are casting a vote in 2010 or 2012 purely with the Sotomayor confirmation vote in mind (or even at the forefront of their minds ahead of other issues) is...

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Funny

August, 5th 2009
From Taegan Goddard:

RNC Routes Angry Phone Calls to DNC
Republicans played a trick on Democrats today by redirecting angry telephone calls coming into their switchboard to the Democratic National Committee, CNN reports.
Earlier this morning, the DNC released a web video accusing the GOP of inciting mob activity.
"At the end of the video, the DNC instructs people to call the Republican National Committee to express outrage. Callers who dial the RNC's main number to...

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