Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Pat Leahy (D-Vt.) on Meet the Press this morning: "Well, I think it'd be very difficult for him not to." Full... [More]
July 1, 2007
When the History Is Written
Historians love to start chapters with anecdotes. Find something small, humorous, maybe even seemingly insignificant, and then use it as a metaphor for some larger... [More]
The Future of the Court
This doesn't happen all that often, but I think I'm going to have to disagree with Digby on this one: My personal feeling is that... [More]
Obama's Numbers Are In
$32.5 million in Q2. 258,000 unique contributors. Over 350,000 contributions. At some point the media's going to have to start question Hillary's inevitability, no?... [More]
July 3, 2007
Scratch That Previous Prediction
In less than 48 hours Bush made my previous prediction null and void. It won't be the "stuck boat" that will be used as a... [More]
Editorial Boards Begin to React
NYT: Soft on Crime Mr. Bush’s assertion that he respected the verdict but considered the sentence excessive only underscored the way this president is tough... [More]
Howling
There are so many things wrong with this David Brooks' column I barely know where to begin. Wait, I know. Here: Republicans who’d worked themselves... [More]
What Atrios Says, and Laura Rozen too!
A very, very important point: Inevitably, the subject of Marc Rich comes up every time presidential pardons come up. Without going into all of the... [More]
Begala on Fire
Wow. More like this, Mr. Begala, please: Tough enough to execute Karla Fay Tucker -- and then laugh about it. Tough enough to sign a... [More]
July 4, 2007
Great Moments In Footnote Writing History
Judge Reggie Walters has just issued an order asking the lawyers involved in the Libby case to provide their opinions about how Libby's probation /... [More]
Happy Fourth!
On Sunday, April 15, 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt - a Republican and a progressive - delivered a speech at the ceremony laying the corner stone... [More]
MLK and "The American Dream"
Delivered at Ebenezer Baptist Church, Atlanta, Georgia, on 4 July 1965 I planned to use for the textual basis for our thinking together that passage... [More]
July 5, 2007
Snow Makes the Case for Commutation (with Multiple Updates)
In this morning's USA Today, White House spokesman Tony Snow makes what has to be considered the official case for Scooter Libby's commutation. Steve Benen... [More]
Gephardt to Endore Clinton
My reaction? Who cares. Karen Tumulty reports that Gephardt "turned over his presidential e-mail list to the Clinton campaign." Given how well that list worked... [More]
More Passive Voice Nonsense
They're at it again. Another story about Edwards' hair cut, another passive voice lament about the unending coverage the story is receiving. In a story... [More]
Their Hero the Mole (Updated)
One of the long forgotten subplots of the entire Watergate saga is the story of Nixon's inside source on the Senate Committee investigating his administration.... [More]
Solving the Pardon Problem
Via Matt Yglesias, Jim Henley offers a solution to the problem of presidential pardons: Amend the President’s pardon and commutation power to exclude executive-branch employees... [More]
July 6, 2007
Think Fred Thompson Was Anti-Abortion? Think Again. Maybe.
Kevin Drum breaks his vacation-induced radio silence to pass along one hell of a story from his hometown paper. Fred D. Thompson, who is campaigning... [More]
If Cash On Hand Is Your Measurement...
...then Ron Paul is more a formidable campaign force than John McCain. This actually should be an interesting test for our media. They often defend... [More]
Blame Mr. Rogers?
Even for Fox News, this is a new low.... [More]
26 Percent
Via ThinkProgress and Atrios, a new poll from Newsweek, including some very helpful comparisons: Lowest Approval Ratings for Past Presidents President % Approve Clinton 36... [More]
OK, I'm Convinced. I Need to See Sicko
I hate Michael Moore. But if he's making audiences react like this, I need to see it for myself.... [More]
July 12, 2007
Things I Should Have Blogged About But Didn't...
Six days MIA from blogging feels like a lifetime. Here are some some topics covered by others that I would've, should've, could've.... + Filibusters: Once... [More]
July 14, 2007
al-Maliki: American Troops Can Leave "Any Time They Want,"
The American people want our soldiers brought home. The Iraqi people want American us to leave. A majority of them even approve of attacks on... [More]
What al Qaeda In Iraq Really Wants
Great catch by Spencer Ackerman. One of the leaders of al Qaeda in Iraq says that the US isn't his enemy. Iran is. Take a... [More]
July 16, 2007
They Come From Saudi
The administration loves to talk about all those "foreign fighters" streaming into Iraq from Syria and Iran. On Wednesday, the US Senate passed a resolution... [More]
July 18, 2007
About That Energy Task Force
Looks like someone in the administration got tired of keeping secrets. The Washington Post just published the records of Cheney's long-secert energy task force. And... [More]
About That Response to That NIE...
In case you missed it, the latest National Intelligence Estimate on the threat posed terrorism is out, and its filled with very little - if... [More]
More Musicians Than Diplomats
The United States military has more people employed in its bands and orchestras than the Department of State has employed in its entire foreign service.... [More]
July 19, 2007
In Your Name
Could someone please explain to me why a story this important is running in GQ Magazine? Don't get me wrong. I like GQ. But shouldn't... [More]
Drip, Drip, Drip... or Bang!
Larry Flynt says he has dirt on over 30 Republicans in congress. And his only question is, should he release them all at once or... [More]
Two Schools of Thought on Iraq?
This is the kind of writing that makes me want to rip my hair out. Writing in Time Magazine, Michael Duffy characterizes the debate over... [More]
FEMA Suppressed Health Warnings for Workers, Katrina Victims
Most of the things that go on with this administration I'm willing to write off to incompetence. But this is just straight up evil: The... [More]
Everything Is Not Comparable to 9/11 And Katrina
Not to pick on Time Magainze... but... to pick on Time Magazine, this article about yesterday's pipe burst in NYC is ridiculous. Yes, our infrastructure... [More]
Slow Motion Living and the Study of History
Over at the Atlantic, there's an interesting interview with Cullen Murphy, the author of Are We Rome?, about the past, present, and future of America.... [More]
Remember When...
Remember when conservatives used to yell and scream about small government? Somehow I don't think this is what they meant.... [More]
None of the Above
The Boston Globe reports today on a proposal to add "none of the above" to the ballot. Here's the brief version of how it would... [More]
Words That Are "Inherently Indecent"
Could someone please explain to me just what the hell this means? The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee approved a bill that would undo... [More]
Romney Declares War On "The Pop-Ups"
God help us if this man gets elected president. In an interview with The Examiner, Romney railed against “the unrequested pornography that comes into your... [More]
Quote of the Day
Michelle Obama: "The challenge will be scheduling Harry Potter reading time in between Iowa and New Hampshire and fundraising, but I guarantee you they will... [More]
Nine Republicans Were Invited. One Showed.
What does it say about the Republican Party that of the ten presidential candidates invited to the NAACP GOP Presidential Candidate Forum, only one -... [More]
July 20, 2007
For the 5247th Time, He Is a President, Not a King
Every time I think these fools can't push their claims of executive power further, they go and do something like this: Bush administration officials unveiled... [More]
More on Fred Thompson's Pro-Choice Lobbying
Billing records: Billing records show that former Senator Fred Thompson spent nearly 20 hours working as a lobbyist on behalf of a group seeking to... [More]
July 24, 2007
New WaPo Poll Out
Now here's something I did managed to catch before reading other blogs. There's a new poll from the Post out tonight. You'd think I'd be... [More]
More Debate Reactions
Now on to what others are saying... First off, the reaction from the guest commentators on CNN was remarkably positive, and that's even assuming that... [More]
YouTube Debate Highlights
I haven't yet surveyed the blog for a reaction to tonight's "historic" CNN/YouTube Debate,but for my money it was - surprisingly, I must admit -... [More]
No End In Sight
Coming soon from Magnolia Pictures: And check out the director's story. He's trained as a political scientist, then worked in the Internet world for a... [More]
Open Source Democracy?
Very, very interesting experiment going on over at Open Left. Crafting Internet legislation via the Internet may or may not be a special case, but... [More]
No Shame
Watching the highlights of Attorney General Gonzales testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee today, I can't help but wonder: What must it be like to... [More]
To Sub-Prime And Beyond!
Via Kevin Drum: Countrywide Financial Corp., the nation's largest home mortgage lender, just saw is stock tumble more than 10% after it announced a 33%... [More]
Actually, No It Isn't
Bush today: “It’s hard to argue that Al Qaeda in Iraq is separate from bin Laden’s Al Qaeda when the leader of Al Qaeda in... [More]
Obama To Run As Reagan-Styled Insurgent
I've long argued on this blog that the 2008 election offers the potential for a once in a generation political realignment, and that of all... [More]
July 28, 2007
Aquafina + Dasani = "Tap Water"
In case you missed it, PepsiCo and Coca-Cola have finally been forced to label the source of their bottled water: tap water. And its not... [More]
July 30, 2007
Another Reason Not to Trust
In my class last Wednesday, I was trying to explain to some of my more skeptical students why warrantless wiretapping programs bothered me so much.... [More]
Another Bush Political Apointee Blocks Another Inconvenient Report
I know stories like this really are no longer shocking. Nevertheless, prepare to be shocked: A surgeon general's report in 2006 that called on Americans... [More]
If Banks Can Do It, Why Can't We?
I know I've said this far too many times already, but if Diebold can build secure systems for banks to use, why can't they do... [More]
Think Kurdistan Is Our One Success In Iraq? Think Again.
Robert Novak: The morass in Iraq and deepening difficulties in Afghanistan have not deterred the Bush administration from taking on a dangerous and questionable new... [More]
In Case You Spent the Past Few Days Under a Rock
On Tuesday Attorney General Gonzales appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee. During that appearance even Republican Senator Arlen Specter called Gonzales a liar. On Thursday,... [More]
It Bears Repeating...
Just in case you, like most of the rest of congress, missed these stories when they first came to light a few years back, the... [More]
What Digby Sez
Bingo: My point is that in a democracy these issues are ultimately and always questions for the people. If we don't want an imperial president,... [More]
Thompson's Totals? Terrible.
It looks like you can just about forget about Fred Thompson: Fred Thompson plans to announce Tuesday that his committee to test the waters for... [More]
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