Getting caught up on my RSS Feed reading....
+ The President plans to veto the latest Defense Authorization bill. His reasoning? A 3.9 percent pay raise during a time of war is simply too much. Better that they be given an increase of 0.5 percent, says he. Lest you suggest that he doesn't support the troops, however, I've heard he plans on putting a yellow ribbon magnet on all of the cars in the presidential motorcade.
+ Want a counter to my prediction that Webb will be Obama's VP? This is as good as it gets. the more I think about it, the less confident I become in my predication, but since I already have a $5 bet riding on this, I guess I'll have to stick it out until the end.
+ McCain's flip flops on immigration are dizzying, and his right wing friends are not the least bit pleased. But always remember: if you focus on his actions, and not his rhetoric, he has been remarkably consistent, and yes, even reasonable. His problem is that reasonableness is forbidden in a coalition that includes today's edition of the Know-Nothings.
Why McCain thinks he can get away with his rhetorical flip flops is beyond me. Steve Benen summarizes as follows:
For those keeping score at home, McCain does not support "comprehensive immigration reform."Nearly all of these, by the way, come from the last six months.
+ I never really much liked Ellen DeGeneres before now. But now she's my hero:
+ McCain's Pastor Disasters have gotten all the coverage this past week. Not only was he forced to reject Hagee's endorsement, he also had to let go of Rod Parsley's support. In both cases, McCain and his team had actively sought their support, and in Parsley's case gone so far as to call him "one of the truly great leaders in America," "a moral compass," and a "spiritual guide." But no longer, apparently. Are we finally at the beginning of the end for the Republican embrace of self-proclaimed "Christocrats?"
+ Will Evangelical voters push back? It is an interesting question, but the early indications are that they are not happy.
+ Sen. Webb's new and improved GI Bill passed this week. On the one hand, it passed with a veto proof majority. On the other, it passed without the support of Sen. John McCain, who couldn't even be bothered to show up for the vote. Word is that the president wants to help his party commit political suicide by vetoing the bill, and that McCain plans on supporting his action.
+ Although McCain wasn't there to vote, Obama was, and during the debate he took the time to single out McCain for his refusal to support the bill. Watching Obama's comments I actually thought they were too tame, but not McCain. He went ballistic, firing off a press release that questioned Obama's patriotism and suggested that only those who have served in the military can have an informed opinion about the military.
Mark my words: if McCain keeps that rhetoric up, his party will not only lose the military vote, it will lose the national security vote quite badly too. Less than 1% of this nation currently serves in uniform. This isn't 1945, and McCain has no idea how to frame this battle. But Obama does, and so far, he's winning the rhetorical war. McCain thinks that he can take the veterans vote for granted by virtue of his war record, but that's just nonsense. If he keeps this up - and I have no reason to think that he won't - he's in for a very rude shock.
+ Want to see what real straight talk looks like? Check out Obama going into the heart of anti-Castro sentiment in the US to deliver a speech demanding more engagement with Cuba, not less.
+ Is there a flood of Obama Supers coming? Al Giordano says yes.
+ Is Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani switching sides in Iraq? Let's hope not, because if he does, we're screwed. Which reminds me... for the 5,479th time: violence is down in Iraq, and the Iraqi security forces seem to be finding some marginal success. So can we please - please - start to disengage our forces before something else goes wrong? Like, for example, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani issuing fatwas against us? Juan Cole, as always, has much more.
+ Sex used to be against the rules of the UCMJ, but after 6+ years of war it looks like the military has decided it is time for a change. The new policy? It would seem to be something equivalent to a hetero version of don't ask, don't tell. It's not technically legal, but so long as no one knows and you don't tell...
+ Don't look now, but Bush gave a speech before the troops at Fort Bragg, and it was all lies!
+ Dana Milbank heads out into the far right "Obama is a communist muslim socialist terrorist" fringe so that you don't have to.
+ Ta-Nehisi Coates: This is why it's foolish to compare racism and sexism.
+ It's pretty funny: Clinton's donors keep threatening Democratic Party leaders with cutting off their checkbooks if the party doesn't comply with their wishes. Apparently they haven't noticed that Obama has democratized fundraising in a way that makes their threats meaningless.
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