When Barack Obama first announced he was running for the Dems presidential nomination I have to admit that I was interested. After all he’s obviously a very intelligent guy and is a strong orator. When Obama took young black men to task back in June for failing to be proper fathers I thought he might…
Author: marc
Marc is a software developer, writer, and part-time political know-it-all who currently resides in Texas in the good ol' U.S.A.
Black Waters Indeed
Congress has issued a report that is critical of the private security firm Blackwater, according to the NY Times. The report by the Democratic majority staff of a House committee adds weight to complaints from Iraqi officials, American military officers and Blackwater’s competitors that company guards have taken an aggressive, trigger-happy approach to their work…
Hillary’s Baby Plan Redux
The Chicago Tribune just published an analysis of Hillary’s plan that is rather similar to mine. Their conclusions? Well, the editorial is titled "Clinton’s baby boondoggle" for a reason… It would be expensive — about $20 billion a year — and Clinton offered no way to pay for it. Absent a funding source, the cost…
Summers of Our Discontent
Kathleen Parker says that Lawrence Summers, the former Harvard President, is the prototypical example of this generation’s McCarthyism – political correctness in academia. Summers, you’ll recall, was driven out of his university post in 2005 after he suggested at a conference that gender differences might account for an under representation by women in science, math…
Dog Walker Law Bites Volunteers
Austin’s city government is now requiring that volunteers at the city’s animal shelter submit to background checks and turn over private information such as social security numbers. Under the new rules, each volunteer must give his or her legal name, date of birth and Social Security number for an annual background check. Fingerprinting is required…
Bolton says U.S. Should Take Out Iranian Nukes
In the U.K., the Guardian reports that John Bolton, the former U.S ambassador to the United Nations, told Tory delegates that “he saw no alternative to a pre-emptive strike on suspected nuclear facilities in the country”. More: Mr Bolton, who was addressing a fringe meeting organised by Lord (Michael) Ancram, said that the Iranian president,…
A Review of Richard Wright’s Native Son
I decided to read Native Son as a result of Michael posting a notice about Jess’s Book Club at Monsters and Critics. While I’d heard of Wright before this is the first book of his that I’ve read. The Marc’s Notes summary of the book follows: “Bigger” Thomas, a twenty-year old do nothing is offered…
8 Transferred out of Guantanamo
The Houston Chronicle reports: Eight detainees were transferred from the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to the custody of Afghanistan and Middle Eastern governments, a Pentagon spokesman said today. Six detainees were transferred to Afghanistan, and one each to Libya and Yemen, said Navy Cmdr. Jeffrey Gordon, a Defense Department spokesman. Their identities…
Hillary: $5000 for Every Baby! (and a Car in Every Garage)
Devlin Barrett writes: Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton said Friday that every child born in the United States should get a $5,000 "baby bond" from the government to help pay for future costs of college or buying a home. … The New York senator did not offer any estimate of the total cost of…
Marc’s Prez Pick
According to this poll, my top candidate for 2008 is…drum roll, please… Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney (R) 81.25% match This is the second poll that has pointed me to Romney.