Adumbration

In all this, President O is known as a constitutional scholar, but it's clear he places little weight on the original construction of that document or the terms of the Bill of Rights. Particularly galling is how he invokes "the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America" to charter the Review Group, but like his predecessors he appears to believe the Constitution is infinitely flexible. more »

My ballot for the primary election includes a mark for Kate Martin, one of the dark horses in the field of eight.... Her candidate statement isn't much more informative than the others, but did strike a couple resonant chords: shared prosperity based on being socially liberal and fiscally conservative. I think there's a recipe in those ingredients, but it all depends on what else is in the shopping cart. more »

Evidently Seattle's Mayor McGinn thinks that proclamation is an effective method to improve the living standard of local citizens. Would that it were so. more »

I wrote earlier of my skepticism concerning attempts by some in the Seattle community to promote the local area as the site for a future Olympics games. Here is an article from the Guardian, written on the anniversary of the 2012 London games, describing some doubt as to the vaunted hopes claimed to justify the public expense on those Olympics. A few extracts that might give further pause before taking at face value such claims regarding any similar venture around Seattle. more »

twenty five years of bailouts can't be wrong.    oh, wait, maybe the can be after all. more »

Thank goodness it is only politics - I almost came to the conclusion that Mr McConnell and his ilk are simply power hungry sociopaths. more »

The crew at Planet Money can get so close sometimes, I feel like I could just tap them into a broader assessment of some of the issues raised by their stories, and a greater appreciation for the laissez faire perspective of classical liberalism. more »

I suppose one reason that Obama is now choosing to send arms to Syrian rebels is that it distracts attention from the domestic issue of widespread government spying on the citizenry.  more »

It is striking how such hubris grows in the politically powerful, imagining that they can spend a few hours in a region that has suffered from conflict for decades, and come out with a clear notion on how and where and who to support in the civil conflict in Syria. more »

Was there no one in the press corp to ask a simple question, such as "why were you lying to us before now?" or "why should we believe any other statement you might make?" more »