I know conservatives and other Bush supporters love to blame "the media" for only reporting bad news in Iraq. And to some extent, perhaps they have a point. Take, for...[More]
April 1, 2006
SANTORUM SAYS EUROPE IS "DYING"
Whenever I need a good laugh, I turn to SantorumExposed.com. Our boy Ricky has quite a way with words. Today is no exception: Rick Santorum spoke to the conservative Pennsylvania...[More]
JILL CARROLL UPDATE
Yesterday I wrote a bit about the backlash on the right against the statement made by Jill Carroll just prior to her release. Although I personally wasn't entirely sure what...[More]
I DON'T MEAN TO CAUSE UNDUE ALARM, BUT...
This is a bit terrifying, no? Attacking Iran May Trigger Terrorism U.S. Experts Wary of Military Action Over Nuclear Program By Dana Priest Washington Post Staff Writer Sunday, April 2,...[More]
April 3, 2006
WORDS OF WISDOM
Today's library research topic is wilderness preservation, and after spending a few hours reading about the formation of The Wilderness Society back in the early decades of the 20th century,...[More]
SPOILED BRATS
I'm not usually one to defend the airlines, but c'mon people... you sound like spoiled children. Demanding the lowest price possible for airline tickets, combined with the expectation that prices...[More]
ONE DOWN....
Several hundred more to go. DeLay is going to resign from Congress. The surprise decision was based on the sort of ruthless calculation that had once given him unchallenged dominance...[More]
April 4, 2006
IS THERE ANYONE IN THIS ADMINISTRATION WHO DOESN'T BREAK THE LAW?
Good lord. Now its the Deputy Press Secretary for U.S. Department of Homeland Security: e deputy press secretary for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security was arrested Tuesday for using...[More]
TRAGEDY IN BOSTON
Earlier today, a three-ton scaffolding collapsed on Boylston Street here in Boston. Three people were killed, including one passerby who just happened to be in the wrong place at the...[More]
April 5, 2006
DAVID FRUM IS A PATHETIC HACK
This is really just too much: Republicans, though, will remember Tom DeLay as the man who marshaled the votes for the great Republican legislative triumphs of the 1990s: welfare reform,...[More]
KERRY STANDS TALL. WHERE WAS THIS GUY IN 2004?
When he does things like this, I can't help but shake my head and wonder... "where the hell was this guy in 2004?" From this morning's NYT: WE are now...[More]
MASS HEALTH CARE
I have to be honest... I haven't been following my state's universal(ish) health care effort that closely, but if the hype is even partially true, what my home state did...[More]
THE POWER OF PRAYER
Via Kevin Drum, it appears serious planning is underway for a military strike on Iran. If you believe in a god, now would be the time to start praying. --------...[More]
I'M WITH STUPID
Via Andrew Sullivan... The Pet Shop Boys have a new album, and the first single, "I'm With Stupid," is a shot at Tony Blair and his love affair with our...[More]
ABRAMOFF PROPOSED LOBBYING ON BEHALF OF SUDAN?!?
This story from today's LA Times is mind-numbing. Take a look: WASHINGTON — Two eyewitnesses say that former lobbyist Jack Abramoff proposed to sell his services to the much-criticized government...[More]
THE MEDIUM LOBSTER SMACK DOWN!
Whooboy! After years of diligently and thanklessly serving his donors, his lobbyists, and himself, the former House majority leader is leaving the United States Congress. He has endured one of...[More]
REFRAMING THE ABORTION DEBATE
One of the most frustrating things in American politics for me is the ridiculousness over the debate on abortion. Although you'd never know it by reading the media coverage or...[More]
OSAMA BIN LADEN, MICROMANAGER
I don't suspect this is how you've imagined Osama, is it? WASHINGTON — To hear Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed tell it, Osama bin Laden was a meddling boss...[More]
DETAINEES IN IRAQ
Andrew Sullivan has a post today highlighting some new information on US detainees in Iraq. The info comes via Foreign Policy Magazine's blog, which says the following: "Despite public statements...[More]
DELAY: "NOTHING WORSE THAN A KNOW-IT-ALL WOMAN"
You've got to see this. Be sure to pay attention to the way Chris Matthews fawns all over DeLay. I forget. Is he part of the vast left wing media...[More]
IF YOU SLOW DOWN WALMART, YOU'RE HELPING THE TERRORISTS
So says the Retail Industry Leaders Association: Yesterday, a RILA Vice President argued before Congress that improving these security measures would help terrorists: "If commerce is disrupted ... either through...[More]
MORE ON IRAQ THAN POST-WWII GERMANY
I had to read this report from ThinkProgress several times before I believed it. We've now spent more on post-war reconstruction in Iraq than we spent on Germany post-WWII. There...[More]
WHEN DOES A PROTEST BECOME A RIOT?
Josh is right. If you're lighting police cars on fire, you're not protesting, you're rioting. And "escalated into a protest?" That implies it didn't start out as a protest, right?...[More]
TAX CUTS FOR THE RICH
Today's moment of "Duh," brought to you by the friendly folks at the NY Times: An analysis of Internal Revenue Service data by The New York Times found that the...[More]
2 STORIES IN 24 HOURS
Good lord. A second DHS official has been busted for sexual misconduct involving a teenage girl. But this one just takes the cake. The guy used to run "Operation Predator,"...[More]
CATHOlICS UNITE AGAINST... REPUBLICANS?
I frequently criticize the American Catholic church for its elevation of abortion over the wide variety of concerns its founder so eloquently outlined in His Gospels, so its only fair...[More]
THE CURE FOR CANCER?
I've been trying to figure out what to say about Rep. Weldon's bizarre decision to make his opponent's 5 year old daughter's cancer a political issue, but words escape me....[More]
April 6, 2006
WHY IS IT...
...that on the days I have no time to blog my thoughts, everything happens? Today: The NSA wiretapping takes a dramatic new turn (if you don't think they are already...[More]
April 7, 2006
LEAVE IT TO A BLOGGER NAMED...
Publius to nail in one sentence the fatal law in the constitutional interpretation put forth by the Bush administration: One of these common “roots” is the assumption that the executive...[More]
April 8, 2006
GEEK ALERT: WIRETAPPING WHISTLEBLOWER PROVIDES TECHNICAL DETAILS
Looks like a whistleblowing geek in my old home town of SF has some of the technical details on the NSA's domestic wiretapping program. The News comes via Wired, believe...[More]
DEMOCRATIC DISORGANIZATION?
Think the Democratic Party is neither organized nor willing to stand and fight? Think again. And while you're over at Washington Monthly, take a look at their new story on...[More]
THE NUCLEAR OPTION IS ON THE TABLE. GOD HELP US. (WITH UPDATES)
Earlier this week, in response to a report that the administration was moving forward quickly with plans for an attack on Iran, I suggested that for those of you who...[More]
SET TIVO'S TO STUN!
Looks like Frontline has a great one coming up this week. I actually have a poster of the Tiananmen Square "tank man" on the wall of my office at BU....[More]
SEN. JOE BIDEN ON REAL TIME WITH BILL MAHER
I've never really been a fan of Joe Biden. I may never forgive him for his sponsorship of The RAVE Act. And more than a few of his decisions and...[More]
April 9, 2006
ABOUT THOSE LEAKS...
Those leaks that Libby claims Bush and Cheney authorized? They knew they were lies. President Bush's apparent order authorizing a senior White House official to reveal to a reporter previously...[More]
IMMIGRATION REFORM BILL - WHAT REALLY HAPPENED
The on-again, off-again immigration reform compromise collapsed early Friday morning. I've seen plenty of commentary around the sphere as to why it happened and what it means, but until now...[More]
FROM THE WEST...
Republicans are for state's rights, until of course the states decide to do something they don't like. Out in Montana, you've got one of the nation's most popular governors, Democrat...[More]
WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE WASHINGTON POST?
Do its editors not even read their own paper? This makes no sense whatsoever. The editorial page is explicitly contradicting the lead story on page A1. I understand the difference...[More]
INTELLIGENT DESIGN UPDATE
First we had a report this week on the discovery of a key "missing link" between sea and land animals, and today its one on a discovery that shreds the...[More]
WE WON'T GET FOOLED AGAIN
Another senior military official calls for Rumsfeld's resignation. With apologies to Time Magazine for borrowing the entire piece, here it is: Two senior military officers are known to have challenged...[More]
IS THIS WHAT CIVIL WAR LOOKS LIKE?
Remember that the central component of Bush's Iraq strategy is that "when they stand up, we will stand down." We are responsible for training Iraqi security forces. And this is...[More]
DIRTY WATER
With stories like this, is it any wonder military leaders are turning against this administration? Remind me again... how is letting Halliburton supply soldiers with contaminated water "supporting the troops?"...[More]
THE OFFICIAL VIEW FROM BAGHDAD
Right win pundits and supporters of the president seem to have a near endless ability to blame the media for our problems in Iraq. "If only the media would report...[More]
THE TRUTH ABOUT THE WAR
For what literally feels like months, if not years, I've been struggling to find the words to describe my feelings about this war in the months before it began. But...[More]
MILITARY PROPAGANDA
Another day, another revelation: The U.S. military is conducting a propaganda campaign to magnify the role of the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, according to internal military documents and officers...[More]
BUSH, NIXON, AND USA TODAY
In the words of USA Today, he's "Nixonian": President Bush's quest to muzzle leakers in his administration has always looked a bit odd. In the most charitable interpretation, it's a...[More]
April 10, 2006
AND HERE I THOUGHT THEY HATED LEAKS
WASHINGTON, April 9 — A senior administration official confirmed for the first time on Sunday that President Bush had ordered the declassification of parts of a prewar intelligence report on...[More]
WHAT DOES A REALGINMENT LOOK LIKE?
This. And this. And this. And this. And this. And this. "Today we march. Tomorrow we vote." And not a "Free Mumia" in sight. Beautiful. Finally, via Atrios this reminder:...[More]
MORE BIDEN
Apparently I'm not the only one who noticed how well Joe Biden performed on Bill Maher this week. Interesting. --------...[More]
EZRA IS ON FIRE!
Ezra Klein is on fire today. My favorite? This: ...what is this "lethal strategic challenge" to the West? Bin Laden and friends are dangerous, sure, but they pose a lethal...[More]
ANOTHER POLL, ANOTHER LOW, TAKE 57
The WaPo has Bush at 38 percent approval, the lowest they've ever recorded for him. But that's not what stands out. This is: Sixty percent disapprove of his performance. He's...[More]
METHINKS THE GENTLEMAN DOTH PROTEST TOO MUCH
I had to see this linked to and quoted 4 or 5 times before it really set in what I was reading. Its just too unbelievable. Before I explain who...[More]
April 12, 2006
THOSE MOBILE WEAPONS LABS? YUP, YOU GUESSED IT... LIES! (WITH UPDATES)
At some point you have to ask... Is there anything these people say that is true? More lies: On May 29, 2003, 50 days after the fall of Baghdad, President...[More]
TRADEMARKING K-STREET
This is just hilarious. Grover Norquist, Republican insider extraordinaire, wants to trademark the phrase "K Street Project" so that he can both protect it from "misuse," and, well... make money...[More]
GOOD PEOPLE RISING UP!
Wow. Publius was seriously inspired by the DC march. Give him 5 minutes of your time and read this post. "Change is coming," he says. I feel it too. Do...[More]
DO YOU LIKE SUSHI?
Me too! Only one problem... Apparently we're all supporting Rev. Sun Myung Moon and his utterly insanse Unification Church. Grr.... Equally bad, they're seafood processing plants apparently have abysmal health...[More]
CARE ABOUT PUBLIC HEALTH?
Read this bit of lunacy. All through a Republican sponsored earmark, no less. It may only be $200k, but its still our money. Brilliant. --------...[More]
GARRISON KEILLOR ON MARRIAGE, AIRPLANE SEATS, BENEFITS, AND MORE!
Go forth and read this. My favorite bit? This: I get on the plane and I'm in seat 8D on one of those toy jets that airlines have introduced, which...[More]
DEAN PUTS BUSH IN A BIND (UPDATED)
When last week's firestorm over Bush's involvement in the Plame leak erupted, the administration's defense ultimately rested at least in part on the idea that the president had "declassified" the...[More]
April 13, 2006
THINK BEFORE YOU TYPE, PEOPLE!
Roger Clegg over at NRO's Corener makes a very odd defense of conservatism. Take a look: Frequently liberals will argue to us, "If you were truly conservative, you would" (fill...[More]
"LITTLE WHORES"? HARDLY! (UPDATED)
For those of you out there without cable or DirecTV, you missed South Park at its best last night. In the final half of a two part series, the kids...[More]
THIS IS WHAT REALIGNMENT LOOKS LIKE, PART TWO
Via HuffPo, Field and Stream a magazine that speaks for sportsmen nationwide, has turned on Bush and Cheney for their disastrous environmental policy. Take a look: Rod and gun in...[More]
QUOTE OF THE DAY
I know so little about that hornets' nest... I must kick it! Now go put it in context --------...[More]
THE POWER OF NARRATIVE
Every time I think I cannot possibly add a new blog to my list of daily (or is that hourly?) reads, I find one that I realize I simply cannot...[More]
April 14, 2006
"THIS IS WORLD-HISTORICAL STUFF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT NOW"
Another night, another brilliant post by Publius. A taste: I strongly oppose all the impeachment talk, and I oppose (less strongly) the censure movement too (and have drawn ire from...[More]
"THIS IS WORLD-HISTORICAL STUFF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT NOW"
Another night, another brilliant post by Publius. A taste: I strongly oppose all the impeachment talk, and I oppose (less strongly) the censure movement too (and have drawn ire from...[More]
FINALLY... WE LEARN TO SPIN!
Amazing how far the left has come in the last few years. This is brilliant: "The Republicans invented this bill. And they voted for this bill before they voted against...[More]
RAKE THAT MUCK!
If you haven't been reading TPM Muckraker on a daily basis, you really need to start. They've got a number of fabulous posts today, each worth a bit of your...[More]
WAR IN IRAN: HAS IT ALREADY BEGUN?
Occam's Razor dictates that the simplest explanation is the one most likely to be true. So which is less likely: That generals are speaking up to demand Rumsfeld's resignation at...[More]
MORE ON THOSE CHENEY LEAKS
Firedoglake is, as always, all over this one. The latest from Murry Waas really is a bombshell - one of the documents Cheney ordered Libby to show to Judith Miller...[More]
14 MONTHS?
Wow. Read this. --------...[More]
LEARNING TO SPIN, PART TWO
Like I said... we really are getting better at this: There’s a famous old American tradition, "Speak softly and carry a big stick." The Republican approach has been to talk...[More]
WHEN GENERALS SPEAK, WHO WILL LISTEN?
With the total of former Army and Marine Corps Generals publicly calling for Rumsfeld's resignation now up to 6, I've been wondering when the pushback from the right would begin....[More]
April 15, 2006
TAIBBI TAKES THE GLOVES OFF
Matt Taibbi has an amazing piece on Jack Abramoff over at Rolling Stone. This is the most comprehensive article I've ever seen on the man's life, one that goes all...[More]
THE SPLIT DEEPENS
Although there wasn't ever much empirical evidence that "values voters" determined the last election, the idea nevertheless rapidly became part of the conventional wisdom about the campaign. Fortunately for the...[More]
ANALOGIES ARE FUN
Kevin Drum nails it George Bush : Fixing National Security Problems :: Herbert Hoover : Fixing National Depressions. --------...[More]
THE MOAT OF DEATH
Science is cool! --------...[More]
BLAIR TO BUSH: "THIS IS WHERE I GET OFF..."
Man down! TONY Blair has told George Bush that Britain cannot offer military support to any strike on Iran, regardless of whether the move wins the backing of the international...[More]
A CHILD SHALL LEAD US...
Read this. Her parents must be very, VERY proud. Imagine what a world full of Kai Leigh's would like. --------...[More]
PIRATES IN DINGHIES? MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING...
Newsweek delivers the breathless headline: Can Al Qaeda Infiltrate Somali Pirates? And then, the story: American sailors patrolling off the coast of Somalia are accustomed to chasing down pirates but...[More]
THE GOSPEL OF JUDAS
Hitchens-style --------...[More]
I DON"T KNOW WHY I STARTED READING...
...this article, but damn the ending is good: Whether you're leaving the house with tighty whities on your head, or continuing to program Shark Week into your TiVo every year,...[More]
April 16, 2006
GOING NUCLEAR (WITH UPDATES)
On and off over the past 2 years, I've run across some really interesting articles on nuclear power that have suggested a shift might be underway within the environmental community....[More]
WHEN DIGBY IS ON...
He is ON! I find it simply mind-boggling that after the unbelievable intelligence manipulation and incompetence that led us into the Iraq anyone in this country is willing to trust...[More]
THE BLOGGER STATE OF THE UNION
TomDispatch has today what can only be describe as a blindingly brilliant post that is the blogger equivalent of a State of the Union. I wish I could excerpt the...[More]
April 17, 2006
TYPICAL?
In a post over at NRO entitled "Typical", Jonah Goldberg links to the latest James Carroll piece in the Boston Globe with the following comment: The week the deranged president...[More]
PHONEJAMMING SCANDAL GETTING SOME SERIOUS ATTENTION
Well now... This is getting interesting. Back in 2002, the New Hampshire Republican Party led an illegal election day effort to jam the phones at the Democratic Party's get out...[More]
WAPO: AGAINST ANGER BEFORE THEY WERE FOR IT?
This is pretty funny. On Friday, the Washington Post had a front page piece on "the angry left", a hit piece targeting the progressive blogospehere by a writer who admits...[More]
GENERAL WES CLARK & THE WAR ON RUMMY
Great insights from Gen. Wes Clark on the growing pressure on SecDef Rumsfeld. Good stuff. I don't know much about this FoxNews show "Heartland," but if the questions offered up...[More]
FITZGERALD GETS HIS MAN
For those not already aware, Fitz has more than Libby and Cheney on his plate. He's also the lead US Attorney responsible for prosecuting former Illinois former Governor George Ryan...[More]
MORE LIKE THIS, PLEASE!
Although we're still about a year away from the start of the 2008 campaign, that's not stopping junkies from speculating like crazy about the upcoming race. Here's one rumor I'm...[More]
IT IS COMING FROM THE WEST
Visions of Western realignments dancing in my head today. Take a look at this from Washington Monthly: Today's GOP-contro