- Newt Gingrich's rudderless campaign is on the brink of imploding as donors bail. Who are these people advising Newt to call the Republican budget "right-wing social engineering" while he's running to win the Republican nomination for president?
- In the first successful judicial filibuster since 2005, Senate Republicans blocked Goodwin Liu's nomination to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. The 9th is widely considered the most liberal appeals court in the nation, and has the dubious distinction of leading the country in the number of decisions that later get overturned by the Supreme Court. It is also the largest appeals court jurisdiction by far and includes my home state of California. Liu is a law professor at Berkeley (my alma mater) and has won praise as one of the most brilliant legal minds of his generation.
- Yet another potential Republican presidential candidate catches flak for his past support for an "individual mandate" to buy health insurance. Turns out that Jon Huntsman, the former Utah governor and Obama Administration ambassador to China, attempted to attach an individual mandate to health care legislation in his state. Like Romney - and numerous GOP luminaries in years past -, Huntsman concluded that an individual mandate was crucial to the success of health care reform. That is, until Obama adopted this moderate Republican plan and the individual mandate became anathema to the snarling Republican base almost overnight.
Showing posts with label health care reform. Show all posts
Showing posts with label health care reform. Show all posts
Friday, May 20, 2011
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Speaker Emerita: Nancy's Fashions
Nothing gets my juices flowing like poring over photo galleries of Nancy Pelosi's stylish "powersuits." I just love it when women pull off a classy feminine flair in their business suits, and no one color coordinates while whipping votes and twisting arms quite like Nancy. The Daily Beast and the New York Times have both done some clever coverage on how the Speaker Emerita balances feminine and powerful (the secret, they both agree, is apparently Tahitian pearls). The NYT piece has a great photo of Nancy draping a statement red shawl over a matching red skirt suit.
Charles Dharapak / Associated Press
While she looks effortless in eye-catching red, Nancy is also known to wear purples for important ceremonial occasions - purple being a gimmicky bipartisan blend of Republican red and Democratic blue - as she did at her 2007 swearing in as the first woman speaker in history.
Nancy shatters the "marble ceiling" in a burgundy purple skirt suit.
...and that time she led a procession to the Capitol ahead of the historic health care reform vote in the House. (Disclaimer: there was nothing bipartisan about the health care reform vote, which garnered exactly 0 Republican "ayes" and involved a controversial procedure called reconciliation designed to amend the bill to the House's liking while bypassing a Senate filibuster). Nancy in a lilac skirt suit and matching pumps moments before the final 2010 health care vote:
Lauren Victoria Burke / AP Photo
The Daily Beast compares this outfit to a lavender runway look in the Philip Lim show that same year.
Stan Honda / Getty Images
I prefer this pairing with Nancy looking cosy in camel. I myself have been looking for a good camel jacket for months as well! (LOLOL Harry Reid, what r u doing in this photo? In a matching camel coat to outshine Nancy no less! Opposite Harry Reid, a model in Alexander Wang's Fall 2010 show)
Alex Wong / Getty Images; Slaven Vlasic / Getty Images
And my favorite high-fashion analogy from the Daily Beast: "'Anna [Wintour] is basically the Nancy Pelosi of fashion' [...] Pelosi, for her fearsome authority and consistent style, could likewise be called the Anna Wintour of Congress." That, and they both wear their hair in a fashionable bob.
Associated Press
I also liked Nancy's autumn green outfit with basket weave detailing at last year's State of the Union address. Since we're doing her style in terms of couture, I'm gonna say that the weave detail looks like the intrecciato technique used in Bottega Veneta bags.
Getty Images
While she looks effortless in eye-catching red, Nancy is also known to wear purples for important ceremonial occasions - purple being a gimmicky bipartisan blend of Republican red and Democratic blue - as she did at her 2007 swearing in as the first woman speaker in history.
...and that time she led a procession to the Capitol ahead of the historic health care reform vote in the House. (Disclaimer: there was nothing bipartisan about the health care reform vote, which garnered exactly 0 Republican "ayes" and involved a controversial procedure called reconciliation designed to amend the bill to the House's liking while bypassing a Senate filibuster). Nancy in a lilac skirt suit and matching pumps moments before the final 2010 health care vote:
The Daily Beast compares this outfit to a lavender runway look in the Philip Lim show that same year.
I prefer this pairing with Nancy looking cosy in camel. I myself have been looking for a good camel jacket for months as well! (LOLOL Harry Reid, what r u doing in this photo? In a matching camel coat to outshine Nancy no less! Opposite Harry Reid, a model in Alexander Wang's Fall 2010 show)
And my favorite high-fashion analogy from the Daily Beast: "'Anna [Wintour] is basically the Nancy Pelosi of fashion' [...] Pelosi, for her fearsome authority and consistent style, could likewise be called the Anna Wintour of Congress." That, and they both wear their hair in a fashionable bob.
I also liked Nancy's autumn green outfit with basket weave detailing at last year's State of the Union address. Since we're doing her style in terms of couture, I'm gonna say that the weave detail looks like the intrecciato technique used in Bottega Veneta bags.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Speaker Emerita
I worked as a research analyst for a few months in 2010. On my first day, all the new RA's were introduced to the permanent staff and we played an ice breaker. We each said our names, the school we went to, a wild animal we would domesticate, what we would name it, and why. When came to my turn, I said, "I'd get a cougar and I'd name her Nancy Pelosi."
I said it to break the ice, but I only half intended it as a joke. I have a very complex adulation for Nancy, but she's a complex intersection of some of my favorite things. Maybe it's because I'm a gay guy, and it is a truth universally acknowledged that gay men are attracted to powerful women. Maybe it's that she's a Californian, or that she's the Congresswoman for my beloved gaysian San Francisco. Or maybe it's because Nancy Pelosi is single most effective, unwavering champion for liberal causes in national politics since I became politically conscious.
It's not just that I want to differentiate myself by worshipping at the altar of someone other than the president. I admire President Obama, but when the White House wanted to abandon comprehensive health care reform in favor of a piecemeal approach after RILF Scott Brown's election to the Senate, it was Nancy who famously rejected the White House capitulation and declared, "You go through the gate. If the gate's closed, you go over the fence. If the fence is too high, we'll pole-vault in. If that doesn't work, we'll parachute in. But we are going to get health care reform passed for the American people."
via the Economist
Along with Russ Feingold, Nancy's speakership was the biggest casualty to liberals in the 2010 midterm elections and it's a travesty. I'll never forget that November day when Democrats took back Congress just a few years ago in the 2006 midterms. Bush and the Republicans had been running around unfettered for 6 years - really as long as I knew anything about politics - when Nancy Pelosi appeared on television to declare that "Democrats are ready to lead." It was the first time I remembered a big electoral victory, and the speech was music to my ears. And boy did she give Bush a hard time for the remainder of his presidency. Nowadays, John Boehner calls the shots in the House, but I for one will keep trumpeting the awesomeness of the first woman Speaker of the House until she gets that gavel back!
via the Economist
I said it to break the ice, but I only half intended it as a joke. I have a very complex adulation for Nancy, but she's a complex intersection of some of my favorite things. Maybe it's because I'm a gay guy, and it is a truth universally acknowledged that gay men are attracted to powerful women. Maybe it's that she's a Californian, or that she's the Congresswoman for my beloved gaysian San Francisco. Or maybe it's because Nancy Pelosi is single most effective, unwavering champion for liberal causes in national politics since I became politically conscious.
It's not just that I want to differentiate myself by worshipping at the altar of someone other than the president. I admire President Obama, but when the White House wanted to abandon comprehensive health care reform in favor of a piecemeal approach after RILF Scott Brown's election to the Senate, it was Nancy who famously rejected the White House capitulation and declared, "You go through the gate. If the gate's closed, you go over the fence. If the fence is too high, we'll pole-vault in. If that doesn't work, we'll parachute in. But we are going to get health care reform passed for the American people."
Along with Russ Feingold, Nancy's speakership was the biggest casualty to liberals in the 2010 midterm elections and it's a travesty. I'll never forget that November day when Democrats took back Congress just a few years ago in the 2006 midterms. Bush and the Republicans had been running around unfettered for 6 years - really as long as I knew anything about politics - when Nancy Pelosi appeared on television to declare that "Democrats are ready to lead." It was the first time I remembered a big electoral victory, and the speech was music to my ears. And boy did she give Bush a hard time for the remainder of his presidency. Nowadays, John Boehner calls the shots in the House, but I for one will keep trumpeting the awesomeness of the first woman Speaker of the House until she gets that gavel back!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)