May 13th, 2012
It was a “profile in courage” moment from the American president, but one loaded with political risk.
Consider the fact that just the previous day the citizens of North Carolina voted to ban same-sex marriage and all forms of civil unions by a 20-point margin, enshrining unequal treatment in their state constitution.
This has not been an unusual result when it has been put to the voters — more than 30 states have taken the same step, while in the half a dozen states where marriage equality is legal it has been achieved via state legislatures or judicial decision. Read More…
May 9th, 2012
It has been a historic 24 hours, with marriage equality rejected in North Carolina and embraced by the president of the United States.
“I am gratified that the president has thrown his personal support and the authority of the presidency behind the goal of justice, equality, and decency for all citizens,” said Ted Olson, founder of the Federalist Society and former Bush administration solicitor general.
Olson gained fame for his pioneering partnership with David Boies, his one-time professional rival in Bush v. Gore who joined with him to argue that California’s Prop 8 gay-marriage ban is unconstitutional. Read More…
April 29th, 2012
It’s been one year since Osama bin Laden was killed. I don’t imagine I’ll ever be as happy again to hear that someone was shot in the face.
Revenge, justice, call it what you will, but it felt good, like a hinge of history finally closing, a bookend to a decade spent with images in our minds of the twin towers imploding.
I was three blocks away in New York on 9/11, working as a speech writer at City Hall and spent the next three months writing eulogies. So yeah, this was personal. But the horror was personal to everyone with a heart and a head. Read More…
April 27th, 2012
The headline should be striking: U.S.A. Stops Illegal Immigration from Mexico in its tracks.
That’s an underlying insight in a study by the Pew Hispanic Center released days before the Supreme Court heard arguments over the controversial Arizona illegal immigration law.
It represents a rare success on a contentious culture-war topic, driven in large part by economic trends that have driven down demand for undocumented labor but also by dramatically increased border enforcement under President Obama. The bottom line: a four-decade flood of illegal immigration through our southern border has been slowed to a trickle. Read More…
April 3rd, 2012
It sounded like the dialogue from a bad spy film.
“This is my last election. After my election I have more flexibility.”
“I understand. I will transmit this information to Vladimir.”
But in fact it was a exchange between President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, accidentally caught on an open microphone as they discussed apparently deadlocked talks on a missile shield – and it quickly lodged itself in the American presidential campaign debate. Read More…
