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- It's entirely possible that Harry Reid will bring the Senate health-care reform bill to the floor next week, but I don't see how he's going to cut deals with or twist the arms of the Joe Liebermans and Ben Nelsons of the world who keep making public statements promising to filibuster the legislation. Perhaps if the stories about Reid being fed up about Republican obstructionism are true, he might start making some threats about passing the bill through reconciliation, or better, going after the filibuster directly to get around the real obstructionists in his own party.
- It goes without saying that Robert Kaplan's thesis that war is the only thing that gives European civilization meaning is first order nonsense and a poor imitation of Orsen Welles' cuckoo clock speech. But what's most stunning is his ignorance of recent European history. Does the senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security really not know that Europeans eagerly threw themselves into the first World War, and in its devastating aftermath, have spent the decades since trying to make sure such a thing never happens again? Maybe if he read the Prospect's book reviews he'd learn a thing or two.
- I realize this is impossible for the "drill baby, drill" crowd to comprehend, but fossil fuels are a finite resource that will ultimately be outpaced by demand, and that the sooner we start preparing for the transition away from fossil fuels, the better off the planet will be. Of course, if the best estimates about the status of global oil production is potentially an inflated guess based on political considerations, then the problem before us becomes that much more difficult to resolve.
- Remainders: The New York Post seems like a great place to work if you have no interest in journalism, are sexist/bigoted; for Dick Armey, freedom is making sure the poor and disadvantaged suffer; maybe Dinesh D'Souza can write another book about the synergy between Islamic extremists and American conservatives; and David Vitter shares the latest evidence of the coming Obama dictatorship.
--Mori Dinauer
