jsp.org » Law & Politics

John Quincy’s Oath

jsp — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 19:41:33 +0000

Imagine a president-elect doing this today: “John Quincy Adams, according to his own letters, placed his hand on a constitutional law volume rather than a Bible to indicate where his fealty lay.” –Slate

My Fellow Americans

jsp — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 16:51:35 +0000

Please get out there and vote! I’d love to see record turnout numbers.

Things I’d also like to see, in order of importance:

A Barack Obama win (of course)
A Prop 8 (CA) loss
An Al Franken (MN-Sen) win
A Michelle “anti-American” Bachmann (MN-6) loss

Tonight, I’ll either be on the fringes of Barack’s Grant Park party — or staring at DirecTV channel 352.

The Vet Who Did Not Vet

jsp — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 18:04:21 +0000

Clever little YouTube video: The Vet Who Did Not Vet.

Voter fraud? Please.

jsp — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 08:07:17 +0000

Registration fraud does not equal voter fraud. (So “Mickey Mouse” registered. How’s that going to affect an election?) And all this ACORN whining? Give me a break.

Make-Believe Maverick

jsp — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 20:41:37 +0000

Long, but illuminating: Rolling Stone on John McCain.

Barack Obama + iPhone

jsp — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 17:34:48 +0000

Nerdery + politics + good branding = the trifecta! Hot. (via df)

Did I Hear That Correctly?

jsp — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 14:28:07 +0000

So I know that Sarah Palin doesn’t interview well and seems to lie effortlessly and frequently. It’s a shame, but I understand it.

Even with all that, I’m still stunned by this (see from 0:36):

I watched [Tina Fey's impersonation on Saturday Night Live] with the volume all the way down, and I thought it was hilarious, she was spot on. … It was hilarious, again, didn’t hear a word she said, but the visual — spot on.

So let me see if I understand this correctly: a famous actress parodies you on a show watched by millions of people, and you don’t even listen? Where was this, a bar? On the street outside an electronics store? The trading floor of the NYSE? (No, wait, that’s closed Saturdays… and possibly weekdays, soon enough.)

How could she not have heard it, if not then, later? She has friends, neighbors, aides, kids. They’ll all have heard about it, probably even e-mailed her the Web links if she can’t be bothered to spend 20 seconds searching online for the video. And even if they didn’t, why wouldn’t she seek it out on her own?

No, this is patently ridiculous. She didn’t just happen to miss it, she chose to — or claims she did. Therefore she’s either criminally incurious or she can’t take criticism, even from professional comics. I’m not sure which is worse.

Bloomberg.net

jsp — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 21:11:24 +0000

I know Mike Bloomberg, who recently ditched the GOP, has homes in New York and Bermuda. I wonder if he keeps a place in my aunt’s building:

OK, probably not. But that’s OK — that means at least two people have some shame.

Would You Fire This Man?

jsp — Sun, 15 Apr 2007 09:32:17 +0000

The continuing clusterfuck that is this whole U. S. Attorney scandal has been a fascinating look into yet another ugly face of the current administration. And when I say “ugly face”, I’m using metaphor, but others are being a tad literal. Consider this photo of Wisconsin U.S.A. Steven Biskupic (from this J-S article):

You’re telling me that they sent a staff photographer (the photo credit is to “Jack Orton”, no wire service) down to this guy’s office and that’s the best photo they came up with? I shudder to think what didn’t make the cut…

Don’t Know What to Say

jsp — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 10:53:22 +0000

All of our efforts in Iraq, military and civilian, are handicapped by Americans’ lack of language and cultural understanding. Our [Baghdad] embassy of 1,000 has 33 Arabic speakers, just six of whom are at the level of fluency. In a conflict that demands effective and efficient communication with Iraqis, we are often at a disadvantage. There are still far too few Arab language–proficient military and civilian officers in Iraq, to the detriment of the U.S. mission.

– Iraq Study Group Report, p92 (emphasis added)

Six people in the embassy can speak the language. Six. I sure hope they’re all straight…

But the GAO also noted that nearly 800 dismissed gay or lesbian service members had critical abilities, including 300 with important language skills. Fifty-five were proficient in Arabic, including Copas, a graduate of the Defense Language Institute in California.

– Army dismisses gay Arabic linguist, AP (via MSNBC, emphasis added)