It was a tough challenge that Stephen Colbert set for his audience, but they did their best. This one is exquisite.
Two Ideas at Once
It isn’t that difficult to keep the following two thoughts in one’s head at the same time — though it seems to be for many people:
(1) What Barack Obama is doing on Issue X is wrong, indefensible and worthy of extreme criticism;
(2) I support Barack Obama for President because he’s a better choice than John McCain.
In this case “Issue X” equals FISA, and Obama is completely wrong on the subject. I am very sorry for my friends who are just figuring out that Obama is center left at best, not a progressive angel.
Dodd, on the other hand, has it just right.
Infamy
Some days I’m ashamed to be a Democrat.
I don’t believe Obama and Reid will manage to strip the immunity clause. I suspect they know that. Obama’s support of the bill is a disgrace.
Contribute to the ad campaign here.
UPDATE: Froomkin has more.
What kind of a country is it where, when the head of state asks you to do something that may well be illegal, but assures you that he considers it legal, you can’t be held accountable for doing it?
Welcome to the new U.S. of A.
UPDATE: Jonathan Turley on Countdown last night:
McCain Said It First
Any Questions?
Love is Love
Huge congratulations to all those newly wedded in California. It’s about time.
My husband and I have been watching carefully for the destruction of our marriage, as balefully predicted by the religious right. So far, everything seems normal.
Notes: Josh and Zach hug before their wedding in New York state last May. By flickr user CarbonNYC, and used with permission. Also sending an extra hooray! to Phyllis and Del. Best wishes to you both.
McCain’s Tax Policy Favors the Wealthy
The Tax Policy Center has published an exhaustive comparison of the candidate’s tax policies. They see a stark difference.
The two candidates’ plans would have sharply different distributional effects. Senator McCain’s tax cuts would primarily benefit those with very high incomes, almost all of whom would receive large tax cuts that would, on average, raise their after-tax incomes by more than twice the average for all households. Many fewer households at the bottom of the income distribution would get tax cuts and those whose taxes fall would, on average, see their after-tax income rise much less. In marked contrast, Senator Obama offers much larger tax breaks to low- and middle-income taxpayers and would increase taxes on high-income taxpayers. The largest tax cuts, as a share of income, would go to those at the bottom of the income distribution, while taxpayers with the highest income would see their taxes rise.
This is their chart.
Further analysis.
The Obama plan would still provide the largest tax breaks, measured as a percentage of after-tax income, to those in the bottom quintile. Each quintile would, on average, receive a tax cut but those at the very top of the income scale would receive tax increases. On average, the top 1 percent would receive a tax increase equal to about 3 percent of income; that figure would rise to about 5 percent of income for the richest 1 in 1,000 households.
As in 2009, the McCain tax plan provides very little benefit to households at the bottom of the income distribution in 2012. Households in the lowest quintile receive tax cuts averaging about 1 percent of income. Because McCain
Friday Engineer Blogging
McCain vs. Habeas corpus
In one more example of why we can’t allow John McCain to choose any more Supreme Court judges, the Republican nominee backed Justice Robert’s dissent against yesterday’s Supreme Court ruling which allowed those indefinitely detained by our government to question their detainment in court.
Obama disagreed.
Mr. Obama issued a statement calling the decision