When the White House crafted its Medicare “reform” package in 2003, it specifically outlawed using Medicare to negotiate more affordable drugs. Former HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson recently said the limitation was one his biggest disappointments during his time in the Bush administration. The complaint, of course, didn’t make any sense — Thompson backed the provision […]
Maybe I haven’t been paying close enough attention, but the existence of a “Pentagon Channel” came as something of a surprise to me. As Christy at Think Progress reported: The Defense Department recently announced it wants to provide wounded soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with news in their hospital rooms. No, not CNN, MSNBC […]
I’ve actually talked to former Rep. J.C. Watts (R-Okla.) a couple of times, and I was always amazed at how someone with so few abilities could reach such high levels of government. Despite a record of accomplishment that seems to have ended during his days playing college football, Watts quickly rose through the ranks of […]
Today’s installment of campaign-related news items that wouldn’t generate a post of their own, but may be of interest to political observers: * In case all of the other recent polls weren’t persuasive enough, the latest AP-Ipsos poll shows Bush’s job approval at 44%, while 54% disapprove. That -10 is the worst of Bush’s presidency […]
The Denver Three (Alex Young, Karen Bauer, and Leslie Weise) have done their level best to keep up interest in their situation. To their credit, they’ve done a fine job recruiting some pretty high-profile advocates. U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., on Wednesday asked a Treasury Department official and a Denver prosecutor to investigate the removal […]
What’s that old saying? Once is an accident, twice is a coincidence, three times is a trend? The campaign ads were bitterly divisive, even by the standards of a bare-knuckle primary, accusing the opponent of then Republican senatorial hopeful Mel Martinez of playing to the “radical homosexual lobby.” Martinez blamed the ads on ”young Turks” […]
The fire-breathing Republican rage against judges was finally on the wane. The Terri Schiavo controversy faded from view, several high-profile Republicans started distancing themselves from over-heated rhetoric, and one almost had the impression that cooler heads would once again prevail. But The Hammer had other ideas. Not satisfied with the current level of anti-judiciary animosity, […]
What is it with these guys? The Bush administration showed its respect for an independent media by putting pundits on the payroll, Jeb Bush did the same thing, and now Mitt Romney is getting in on the fun. Governor Mitt Romney’s administration has awarded a $10,000 contract to a Boston Herald op-ed columnist to promote […]
Recipients of the coveted Peabody Award, one of the highest honors in broadcasting, were announced yesterday. As my friends at Crooks & Liars noted, one of the award winners stands out. Comedy Central’s spoof news show won its second Peabody Award for election coverage Thursday, with many of the other broadcasting awards going to overseas […]
Bush’s very expensive bubble, which carefully shields the president from any kind of dissent, is pretty tough to pop. Nevertheless, the top two Dems in Congress are doing their level best to lure our shy president out of his shell to deal with Americans who aren’t pre-screened sycophants. In fact, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi […]