Losing sight of the big picture at Veterans Affairs

We learned on Friday that Bush’s Department of Veterans Affairs has come up $1 billion short in meeting the current health care needs for veterans. Today we learn that this is but one of the VA’s many priorities. “As you know,” Deputy Undersecretary [at the Veterans Health Administration] Laura Miller said on the May 27 […]

An Ethics Committee chairman with an ethics problem

House Ethics Committee Chairman Rep. Doc Hastings (R-Wash.) has not exactly impressed his colleagues with stellar work. The committee stood at a standstill for most of the year until Hastings agreed to reverse ethics rules that had been manipulated to benefit Tom DeLay. Since then, Hastings’ committee has conducted no work because he insists on […]

The tireless Denver Three

Some of have you asked for an update on our friends in the Denver Three (Alex Young, Karen Bauer, and Leslie Weise), whom, you’ll recall, were removed from a public presidential event because a Republican staffer didn’t like their anti-war bumper sticker. The three have been remarkably successful in keeping their story alive, White House […]

It’s a nice baseball league you have here; it’d be a shame if something happened to it

Baseball in Washington seems to be something of a success right now. The Nationals are winning, merchandise is selling, and the stadium is full. But Republicans are unhappy about the team’s ownership prospects. Since the team moved from Montreal, the Nationals have technically been owned they Major League Baseball until new ownership can be put […]

Rumsfeld’s selective memory

There were any number of entertaining moments during Donald Rumsfeld’s appearance on Meet the Press yesterday, but one stood out for me. Tim Russert noted that Dick Cheney, just days before our invasion of Iraq began, dismissed the idea of long, costly and bloody battle with significant American casualties. Russert asked Rumsfeld if that was […]

Sunday Discussion Group

It’s been an interesting week for attempts to change the Constitution. The House passed a measure to undermine the First Amendment for the first time by approving an amendment to ban flag “desecration.” Also this week, we talked about a proposed amendment that would allow presidents to seek as many terms as they wish. Indeed, […]

Thou shall not tell fibs about the foundations of American law

Guest Post by Morbo The Supreme Court is expected to hand down two rulings on Monday dealing with government displays of the Ten Commandments. Based on what I have read about the oral arguments in these cases, I’m not optimistic that the justices will strike down the displays — one from Texas and one from […]

Is Wisconsin’s children learning in that ‘excellerated’ school?

Guest Post by Morbo Three years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Ohio’s voucher program, ruling that the plan, limited to the city of Cleveland, does not violate the separation of church and state even though most of the private schools taking part are religious in nature. Because that case drew so much national attention, […]

Kindergarten flop: California reconsiders Arnold

Guest Post by Morbo Believe it or not, but there is a politician in America less popular than George W. Bush. His name is Arnold Schwarzenegger. He’s governor of California. As the Carpetbagger noted on Wednesday, the latest Field poll is in, and the news is not good for the amazing steroid statesman: 37 percent […]

Focus on the Family presents great leaders in Christian history: Jesus Christ, Martin Luther, C.S. Lewis, John Hostettler

Guest Post by Morbo Imagine how the Religious Right would react if a Democratic member of the House got up and called all Republicans a bunch of zombie-like, snake-handling religious fanatics. They would be outraged, right? So why is it okay for a guy like U.S. Rep. John Hostettler (R-Ind.) to get up and accuse […]