Last year, the House voted on a proposal to curtail the FBI’s ability to seize library and bookstore records. There had been dozens of reports of agents visiting libraries, asking for reading records, and defending their methods by hiding behind the Patriot Act. When lawmakers were given the chance to undo the measure, Dems and […]
At this point, I think it’s safe to say we’re seeing the beginning of the end of Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham’s (R-Calif.) career. Considering what we’ve learned this week, the guy’s toast. First we learn that Cunningham sold his house to a military contractor with business before his committee for an inflated price, ultimately leading […]
(Editor’s Note: The Carpetbagger Report, as regular readers know, has joined the Coalition for Darfur, a bi-partisan online initiative created to raise awareness and resources to address the crisis. This is the latest in a series of posts from the Coalition.) There can be no doubt that, relatively speaking, the crisis in Darfur has generated […]
My friend Poppy at Patridiot Watch started crunching some budget numbers yesterday and noticed that the costs of the war in Iraq, right now, add up to about $700 for every man, woman, and child in the United States. Since his household has three people, that means $2,100 for his family. And based on the […]
I hate to say “I told you so” (does anyone really hate to say that?), but I’ve been saying for months that this constitutional amendment on flag burning is cause for concern. Now, it appears supports of this effort are actually starting to make serious progress. The Senate may be within one or two votes […]
It was, predictably, soft-ball city when Dick Cheney sat down with Fox News’ Sean Hannity this week, but I have to admit, there was actually a good question in there. Hannity probably didn’t mean it to be, and the merit behind the question was purely accidental, but it’s a good question that deserves a good […]
The New York Times had a report last week on the CIA having to turn away large numbers of Arabic-language linguists, despite their critically important skills, because of security threats, specifically the fact that some of the specialists have relatives in Middle Eastern countries. Of course, this would be less of a problem if the […]
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 a hard-fought, multi-candidate primary in Ohio’s 2nd Congressional District, Jean Schmidt, who lost an Ohio Senate primary last year, staged a big comeback to win the GOP nod. Hamilton County commissioner […]
I’m not looking to belabor the point, and I’m pleased that the Senate apology for its failures on lynching in the past was successful, but it’s still rather troubling that there was no roll-call vote, putting each senator on the record on the measure. It turns out, the Senate Majority Leader insisted that it be […]
As nearly everyone probably knows by now, SurveyUSA has published a massive new poll, ranking each U.S. senator by their approval and disapproval ratings in their home states. It’s the kind of data that poll junkies can chew on for weeks. There are more than a few ways to break down the numbers. Kevin Drum […]