Senate Democrats Reach Broad Agreement to Ditch Public Option in Favor of Medicare Expansion

December 9, 2009

All about triggers now: “Senate negotiators moved decisively away from including a government-run health insurance plan that would start on Day One in any final compromise, a major disappointment for the Democratic base but one that is likely to prove necessary to win over fiscally moderate senators.”

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Government Motors 1975: This Was Better the First Time Around

December 9, 2009

Lessons from the UK: “The sheer size of the National Enterprise Board, Thatcher warned, would ‘surely defeat any attempt at really effective management or adequate Parliamentary accountability … Anyone with less talent than a reincarnated consortium of Henry Ford, Attila the Hun, and Immanuel Kant will fall down on the job.’”

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Massive TSA Breach Tells Terrorists Exactly How to Crack Our Faulty System

December 9, 2009

Whoops, our bad: “The document shows sample CIA, Congressional and law enforcement credentials which experts say would make it easy for terrorists to duplicate. The improperly redacted areas indicate that only 20 percent of checked bags are to be hand searched for explosives and reveal in detail the limitations of x-ray screening machines.”

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Introducing Edgecast: Is Method Acting Dead?

December 9, 2009

Our new sister site, Edge, is focused on all the fascinating things about pop culture that we don’t cover in our mix of politics, foreign policy, and the marketplace. In our first Edgecast, I ask Cole Abaius of FilmSchoolRejects: Is method acting really dead? Can a style of acting die? What does that even mean? And he answers, with bonus Richard Milhous Nixon references.

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The Huffington Post's Sam Stein is an Accomplished Humorist

December 8, 2009

The Huffington Post’s Sam Stein’s latest endeavor in the humorous vein deserves highlighting. In the hands of a lesser comedian, this would fall flat on its face. But in Stein’s hands, it becomes epic hilarity.

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Copenhagen Climate Summit in Disarray After Leaked "Danish Text" Proposal

December 8, 2009

The end of Kyoto: “The UN Copenhagen climate talks are in disarray today after developing countries reacted furiously to leaked documents that show world leaders will next week be asked to sign an agreement that hands more power to rich countries and sidelines the UN’s role in all future climate change negotiations.”

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Health Care Update: Prospects in the Senate

December 8, 2009

As the Senate considers a health care bill that amounts to the largest entitlement expansion in American history, we sit down today with health care and budget policy expert James Capretta to discuss the prospects in the Senate and the wide-ranging economic ramifications of the current legislation.

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Fear of Big Government: Is Obama Sparking a Backlash?

December 7, 2009

Has he gone too far for middle America? “For President Obama, the era of big Government is not over. ‘It is true, we cannot depend on government alone to create jobs or generate long-term growth,’ he proclaimed in his first budget to Congress. But ‘at this particular moment, government must lead the way.’”

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Afghan Decision Process Reveals Odd Command for Victory: Defeating Taliban

December 7, 2009

“In June, McChrystal noted, he had arrived in Afghanistan and set about fulfilling his assignment. His lean face, hovering on the screen at the end of the table, was replaced by a mission statement on a slide: ‘Defeat the Taliban. Secure the Population.’” Response: “‘Is that really what you think your mission is?’”

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Obama Job Approval Numbers: CNN at 48, Gallup at 52, Rasmussen at 46

December 5, 2009

RCP’s poll aggregator has the details.

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