Got an opinion? These people do.
"The Battle of DADT is over, and the mopping-up operations are ready to begin."
That’s Mark Kleiman’s assessment of the effort to end Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, the Clinton-era law that "requires homosexuals in the services to keep their sexual orientation secret."
What prompted Kleiman’s assertion is a new essay — "The Efficacy of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" — in a military journal. If that sounds like a thin reed, consider these additional facts. The publication, the Joint Forces Quarterly, is considered "the Joint Chiefs’ ‘flagship’’ security studies journal," and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Adm. Mike Mullen, reviewed the essay before it was published. In addition, the essay won the the Secretary of Defense National Security Essay Competition for 2009 and its author, Air Force Col. Om Prakash, now in fact works in Robert Gates’ office.
Stocks are up. Ben Bernanke says that the recession is over. And I sense a growing willingness among movers and shakers to declare "Mission Accomplished" when it comes to fighting the slump. It’s time, I keep hearing, to shift our focus from economic stimulus to the budget deficit.
No, it isn’t. And the complacency now setting in over the state of the economy is both foolish and dangerous.
Dems taunt GOP: Where's your health care plan?
There is no power behind the media curtain for talk jocks like Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck. They claim to represent a hidden majority but, in fact, represent a mere niche.
You wish, David. They represent a good chunk of the Republican party... the Palin and birther voters. Don't just denounce the shock jocks, denounce the niche.
The rise of Beck, Hannity, Bill O’Reilly and the rest has correlated almost perfectly with the decline of the G.O.P. But it’s not because the talk jocks have real power. It’s because they have illusory power, because Republicans hear the media mythology and fall for it every time.
See health care. Your beloved party has real problems, and the symptoms should not be mistaken for the cause (which is bankrupt ideas and failed conservatism.)
Speaking of bankrupt ideas, Charles Krauthammer: Barfle, snorf, WAR!! Dribble, IRAN!! Foam, spittle, FRENCH FRIES!!
Today, however, California has become a warning sign. Beset by economic disaster and political paralysis, the state is in the midst of a systemic crisis. And while the meltdown has certainly been accelerated by the recession of the past two years, its causes involve two decades of poor judgment, reckless mismanagement, and irresponsibility. How California got into this mess has a lot to teach the rest of the country; how it gets out will say a great deal about America's prospects.
From a new magazine called National Afairs.
