The answer to David’s question about filibusters
December 15, 2009
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: Short answer: it takes a two-thirds vote – 67 votes – to change the archaic rules of the U.S. Senate. Do the math. It ain't gonna happen. Norman Ornstein, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, wrote this excellent analysis of the U.S. Senate back in March of this year Our
Keegan’s selective reading
December 15, 2009
by David Safier It almost looks like Lisa Graham Keegan and I agree. Almost. She has an op ed in the Republic praising the paper for its discussions of the problems with tuition tax credits. I am extremely grateful to editorial writer Doug MacEachern and The Arizona Republic for clearly defining in 2009 the intended
Let them eat (and eat and eat) filibusters
December 14, 2009
by David Safier Allow me a naive moment here. A filibuster is a delaying tactic where someone or a group of people talk endlessly on the Senate floor and continue talking until 60 Senators vote to end the incessant chatter. If no one can pull together 60 votes, the talking continues. It's not just saying,
NY Times, Nate Silver, G.I. and Me
December 14, 2009
by David Safier Imagine my surprise as I was reading through NY Times' 9th Annual Year in Ideas in its Sunday Magazine, when I came across the item, Forensic Polling Analysis. It's about uber-statistician Nate Silver's analysis of polling data from Strategic Vision LLC, in which he comes to the conclusion that the company makes
McCain and the Star
December 14, 2009
by David Safier The NY Times has an article this morning on McCain's current position in the Senate, filling a leadership vacuum by putting himself in the spotlight. It's a fairly nuanced piece, showing McCain's personal and political strengths and weaknesses. And the headline does a pretty good job of expressing the article's tone: McCain,
Trib editorial gets it wrong on tuition tax credits
December 14, 2009
by David Safier Two posts below praise the Republic (highly) and the Star (tentatively) for what they've written about tuition tax credits the past few days. But the East Valley Trib's editorial got it as wrong as the other 2 papers got it right. I understand there's a the wall between the reporting and editorial
Republic gets it really right on tuition tax credits
December 14, 2009
by David Safier My post below gives the Star some credit for writing a good editorial this morning on the recommendations of the R-dominated House committee on tuition tax credits. However, the editorial pales in comparison to the coverage in the Sunday Republic: 1 article, 5 separate opinion pieces and a graph. Congrats again to
Star gets it right on tuition tax credits
December 14, 2009
by David Safier The Star has a good editorial this morning blasting the recommendations the R-majority committee on tuition tax credits put together. I've complained mightily for weeks (months?) about the Star's lackluster-to-absent coverage of the topic. Let's hope this is the paper's first installment on tuition tax credit and STO abuse, not the final
