Hell no, he won’t go

It’s a shame to see stories like these, but one has to assume that we’ll be seeing more of them in the coming months. A Navy petty officer opposed to the war in Iraq refused to board his ship Monday as sailors and Marines deployed for the Persian Gulf. Petty Officer 3rd Class Pablo Paredes, […]

Rumsfeld tells troops to expect, and accept, less

No wonder the Bush gang usually insists on speaking exclusively to sycophantic crowds; real people who haven’t been vetted by campaign operatives sometimes ask difficult questions. The nerve of these people! Donald Rumsfeld, for example, probably thought a little chat with troops serving in Iraq yesterday — mostly National Guard and Reserve soldiers — would […]

I don’t suppose Bush is prepared to call Musharraf a flip-flopper

In case you missed Monday’s episode of The Daily Show, which brought this to my attention… Sunday afternoon on CNN: Blitzer: So the bottom line, is the world safer today as a result of the removal, the invasion of Iraq, or is the world less safe? Musharraf: Oh, I think it’s less safe, certainly. We […]

Biden looking ahead

It’s still ridiculously early, and most likely candidates have barely gotten past the imagination stage, but we should all keep an eye on Delaware’s Joe Biden for 2008. My friend Poppy tuned into Imus and got the scoop. On Imus this morning, Joe Biden said that he is “proceeding as if I am running” for […]

Medical professionals less-than-thrilled about draft considerations

In October, the NYT reported that the government was making contingency plans for a draft of medical personnel. The Selective Service has been updating its contingency plans for a draft of doctors, nurses and other health care workers in case of a national emergency that overwhelms the military’s medical corps. In a confidential report this […]

We can’t even keep the caucus together on Social Security

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, but I thought if there was one issue that congressional Dems could be united on, it would be the drive to protect Social Security. Apparently not. President Bush’s call for private accounts within Social Security drew an early expression of bipartisan support Tuesday when Florida Rep. Allen Boyd stepped […]

The guy just can’t follow the rules

What a shocker — part of Tom DeLay’s political machine violated campaign finance laws. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay’s legal expense fund accepted improper contributions from two registered lobbyists in 2001 and this week returned the checks, totaling $3,500, fund trustee Brent Perry said Tuesday. House rules prohibit lobbyists from making contributions to a member’s […]

Those guys watch way too much television

You may have heard about the slew of complaints generated by the public about offensive things seen on television. To hear the FCC tell it, the agency is being inundated. In an appearance before Congress in February, when the controversy over Janet Jackson’s Super Bowl moment was at its height, Federal Communications Commission chairman Michael […]

Bush’s France-o-phobes backed the wrong candidate

The day before the election, the Wall Street Journal noted that French President Jacques Chirac, despite his “differences” with Bush over the years, sees a big silver lining to a second Bush term. For Mr. Chirac, a Bush victory could make it easier for him to achieve some key goals — such as unifying Europe […]

Eliot Spitzer finally jumps in

Everyone knew this was coming, but today he made it official. New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, whose investigations of white-collar crime have shaken the nation’s financial institutions, said Tuesday he will run for governor in 2006. Spitzer has long been known to be interested in the job, but it was the first time the […]