Christopher Beam's Slant

The census data released yesterday counted people, but it didn't say anything about who they are. The figures show that the populations of traditionally Republican states like Texas, Georgia, Arizona, and Utah are growing, while those of Democratic states like New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, .. submitted 05/21/12

0 Likes Comments

On Meet the Press this week, David Gregory asked Sen. Mitch McConnell to defend the Bush tax cuts. "You've had these tax rates in place since 2001," he said. "What's been the impact on jobs?" "Imagine," McConnell responded, "how much worse it would have been if we'd had the higher tax rate." Never m .. submitted 05/21/12

0 Likes Comments

The bombers, in this case, are Republican freshmen, who don't even take office until next year. Many incoming GOPers attacked their opponents during the 2010 campaign for voting to raise the debt ceiling, arguing that such a move allows out-of-control government spending. Now that stance has put the .. submitted 05/21/12

0 Likes Comments

"Make no mistake," McConnell said on the Senate floor. "I know the good that has come from the projects I have helped support throughout my state. But there is simply no doubt that the abuse of this practice has caused Americans to view it as a symbol of the waste and out-of-control spending that ev .. submitted 05/21/12

0 Likes Comments

The preliminary plan released by the co-chairs of President Obama's deficit commission Wednesday wasn't just dead-on-arrival. It was pre-dead. Its death can be dated to Jan. 26, 2010, when the Senate rejected the idea of a bipartisan commission that would have the power to bind Congress. Without tha .. submitted 05/21/12

0 Likes Comments

After a brief back-and-forth, MSNBC's Norah O'Donnell cut in: "Congressman, we just called the House for the Republicans." A pained smile. "Well, I think that's a mistake," he said. Ten minutes later, all three networks made the same call. Tuesday night tested the Democratic spin machine like never .. submitted 05/21/12

0 Likes Comments

The complete list of scapegoats will not be available until after the election. But it never hurts to get a head start. Here are some of the people, institutions, and political phenomena Democrats are likely to blame:Barack Obama. The president swept into office promising to pass monumental legislat .. submitted 05/21/12

0 Likes Comments

It was both. The Rally To Restore Sanity and/or Fear, held on the National Mall Saturday afternoon, ridiculed the whole idea of a political rally. But it also managed to send a message about the broken political system, how the media abets it, and why it's OK to care—even for professional ironists .. submitted 05/21/12

0 Likes Comments

Republicans and Democrats—also known as the voter-fraud police and the voter-fraud-police police—are already manning their stations. David Norcross, chairman of the Republican National Lawyers Association, says that attempts to commit voter fraud are under way. Michelle Malkin announced on Fox N .. submitted 05/21/12

0 Likes Comments

Pretty much. The default labor contract in the United States is "at-will" employment, which means private employers can fire you at anytime for any reason, good or bad, or for no reason at all. (Slate employees, for example, are "at-will.") There are exceptions for discrimination based on race or ge .. submitted 05/21/12

0 Likes Comments

Staff Sgt. Ronald Ketterman jokes around with an Afghan policemanEvery morning at Police Substation 5, two Afghan children come in and collect the trash, presumably to resell. They don't sort out the bottles and cans. They take everything, down to the last Nutri-Grain wrapper. "They're the hardest-w .. submitted 05/21/12

0 Likes Comments