Bush administration ignores its own commission on mercury emissions

I mentioned a few weeks ago that the Bush administration is working to undo federal regulations that would force power plants to sharply reduce mercury emissions and other toxic pollutants. The Washington Post had an interesting item today (unfortunately buried on page A17) explaining some of the behind-the-scenes work that led to the move. To […]

I guarantee it won’t be a Dean-Cleland ticket in ’04

I usually don’t pick on a journalist like this, unless it’s Fox News, but this one’s so sloppy, I can’t help myself. Helen Kennedy had an item in Sunday’s New York Daily News speculating about potential running mates for Howard Dean, should he get the Dem nomination. The problem was one of these possibilities is […]

Poverty up, incomes down under Bush

I noticed, via Hesiod, a disturbing story about U.S. incomes and poverty rates going in the wrong direction under Bush’s leadership. It’s not a pretty picture. In fact, as the LA Times’ Peter Gosselin noted late last week, everything’s going in the wrong direction. The annual income of middle-class Americans fell by almost $500 last […]

Guess who else had a secret energy task force?

Howard Dean’s campaign has produced a very compelling “Bill of Rights for a New Generation of Americans,” with a number of key government priorities, including the “right to a quality education,” the “right to patriotic dissent,” and the “right to leadership which seeks to form a more perfect union — and does not divide its […]

U.S. casualties in Iraq are getting worse

Every time it seems as if we’ve turned a corner in Iraq and that we’ll finally start to see progress in protecting our troops and bringing a level of stability to the country, we learn of discouraging news about the series of attacks U.S. forces are enduring every day. The Washington Post noted yesterday that […]

Tragedy in Iran

Friday’s earthquake in Iran is an unimaginable tragedy. When I consider the deaths and destruction, it’s just overwhelming. It’s simply impossible for me to even imagine the pain of those in Bam struggling to cope with the suffering around them. Though it’s little consolation, it is heartening to see so many people and countries from […]

Dean threatens to take his ball and go home

Like every Democratic presidential candidate, Howard Dean has said he’ll support the eventual party nominee, even if it isn’t him. The problem is Dean keeps saying things that lead me to believe he doesn’t really mean it. Campaigning in Iowa yesterday, Dean said his base of supporters may simply sit out the 2004 election and […]

Carpetbagger’s Top 10 political stories of 2003

All the cool kids are running year-end Top 10 lists, so I thought I’d join in the fun and write about my 10 favorite political stories of the year. This list is intended to be, shall we say, quirky. If it were a serious list of the most important political events of 2003, it’d be […]