MetaFilter posts tagged with politicsfilter

Eat your heart out, Tom Delay

Horace Rumpole — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 09:07:16 -0800

For serious Poli Sci junkies only: the Swing State Project is holding a contest for best redistricting of New York, using the nerdtastic Dave's Redistricting App. (Requires Silverlight, reading instructions highly recommended.) New York is virtually certain to lose a seat in the House of Representatives after the 2010 redistricting, so your challenge is to create 28 new districts that have a partisan makeup likely to elect no fewer than 26 Democratic representatives. New districts must have equal population (+/- 1%) and not violate the Voting Rights Act's provisions on minority representation. Bonus points for screwing Peter King in some fashion.

HCR: Naughty or Nice?

saulgoodman — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 07:23:15 -0800

Landmark health care reform legislation passes senate on a Christmas-eve party line vote. So after a turbulent and contentious legislative process with many sudden reversals and last minute surprises, what's actually in the bill? NPR offers a "Consumer's Guide" to the form the final, reconciled legislation now seems likeliest to take. President Obama speaks with Jim Lehrer about the final outcome of the legislative process. Also: An interactive history of the dismal, century-long history of health care reform in America. (Interestingly, even while advancing the sweeping reforms of the New Deal era, FDR reportedly decided not to take on the issue of health care reform, citing the political challenges). For bonus points: Compare and contrast the current health care reforms with those championed unsuccessfully by the Clinton administration in 1993.

Threat Level Elevated

saulgoodman — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 11:36:19 -0800

US News reports that in a new tell-all book, Tom Ridge admits manipulating terror threat levels for political motives. In the forthcoming book, Ridge reportedly acknowledges for the first time that he was pushed to raise the security alert on the eve of President Bush's re-election, something he "saw as politically motivated and worth resigning over." But as The Atlantic points out, Ridge apparently gave in to the White House demands anyway, resigning only after the election. Huffington Post also provides additional discussion on this developing story.

You Break It, You Bought It, America

saulgoodman — Thu, 21 May 2009 09:58:48 -0800

In his latest national security speech, President Obama unequivocally reaffirms his commitment to closing GITMO. President Obama's strong statements reaffirming his administration's commitment to cleaning up the legal and ethical mess the Bush administration left behind comes just after congressional Democrats recently saw fit to capitulate to the Republican minority by defunding President Obama's efforts to close GITMO, ostensibly to ensure that President Obama proceeds prudently and avoids setting the terrorists loose on America's strip malls. But others interpret these latest maneuvers from the "weak-kneed" congressional Dems as reflecting a sudden acute case of the political jitters, pointing out that, despite all the fearful talk of the imminent dangers of possible terrorists being held and tried on American soil, it's not as though we haven't done it before. Some interesting comments and observations from a Justice Department insider, not only on the subject of Guantanamo, but also on the possibility of future Bush administration prosecutions here.

Hurrah! We're all Free Now!

saulgoodman — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 13:12:33 -0800

New Allegations Have Surfaced that the US Is Effectively Holding Iraq's Oil Revenues Hostage to Force through a Proposed Long-Term Strategic Alliance, Raising New Questions about the US' Committment to an Independent, Self-Governing Iraq. The Deal, Which in its Current Form is Said to Provide for an Indefinite American Military Presence and Blanket Immunity from Iraqi Law for All American Troops and Civilian Contractors, Is Understandably Not All That Popular with Many Iraqi Citizens. Iraqi Lawmakers Have Also Expressed Doubts about the Deal. (IRAQ WAR/POLITICS FILTER.)

The Dangling Conversation

nasreddin — Fri, 30 May 2008 00:56:13 -0800

"People are talking, but no one is really listening. For all the fun and fantasy that can be had following this election on the internet, the overriding impression it gives after a while is of tuning into thousands of people as they sit in their cars and complain about the traffic." David Runciman on "The Cattle-Prod Election."

What does John Solomon have against Harry Reid?

papakwanz — Wed, 31 May 2006 00:49:53 -0800

Harry Reid accepted free boxing tickets from the Nevada Athletic Commission says John Solomon of the AP. Solomon implies that Reid might have gotten himself into an ethical dilemma as the NAC opposes the creation of a federal boxing commission, something the Senate was considering at the time. The article also tosses in some digs at Reid by repeating the claim that Reid is involved in the Abramoff scandal.

However, Media Matters points out that Reid did not act in the NAC's favor and instead allowed the passage of legislation that would create a federal commission, in opposition to the giftgiver's wishes. This is not the first time Solomon has attacked Reid. Politics/News-filter