When it comes to presidential pardons, Bush can be a bit of a scrooge. President Bush has granted 11 pardons, bringing to 69 the number of clemency orders he has issued since taking office five years ago, the Justice Department said. Three moonshiners and a bank robber are among those pardoned, as is a Denver […]
Just a reminder, I’ll be filling in for Kevin Drum at The Washington Monthly for the next week or so. (My first post was yesterday, in case you were interested.) My plan is to publish posts here, as per the norm. Most, but not all, of the items will also be cross-posted over at The […]
It’s the last Sunday Discussion Group of 2005 so it seemed like a good time to look back at the year that was. I’ve compiled my list of favorite political stories of the year and invite you to weigh in with which one you like best. The standards of measurement are entirely subjective, so you […]
After 9/11, the Bush administration went to the FISA court to expand its surveillance efforts considerably. Judges asked the Bush gang for two things: to name a target and give a reason to spy on it. The administration balked. In case there was any doubt, the New York Times explains why. The National Security Agency […]
Guest Post by Morbo Those sneaky left-wingers have figured out yet another way to attack Christmas! Get this: Instead of taking children to the mall to sit on Santa’s lap, more and more parents are arranging to have a faux Santa call their kids on the phone. Details of this new anti-Christmas plot were recently […]
Guest Post by Morbo Remember the kook right’s wacky claims about Bill Clinton throughout the ’90s? We were told Clinton had established a secret network of prisons for his enemies and that he was so power mad he would even abuse federal agencies to spy on law-abiding Americans. Clinton was such a rogue, we were […]
Guest Post by Morbo The Washington Post Magazine had an interesting cover story recently about Barbara Kenny and Tibby Middleton, a lesbian couple from Virginia who were so worried about the state’s new anti-gay marriage law that they moved to Maryland. Read it. It will tear your heart out. What’s so sad about the story […]
Guest Post by Morbo I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed reading U.S. District Judge John E. Jones’ opinion (.pdf) striking down the teaching of “intelligent design” in Dover, Pa. As the Carpetbagger reported on Tuesday, Jones declared ID instruction a violation of the separation of church and state. He could have done that […]
Given what’s transpired, you’d think Bush and the White House would want to forget 2005 ever happened. From start to finish, the year has been an abject disaster for the president — Iraq, Social Security, Katrina, Harriet Miers, Plame scandal, warrantless-spying-on-Americans scandal, plummeting poll support, the list of fiascos goes on and on. It’s hard […]
I really had no intention of returning to the John-Gibson-loses-it story, but an observant commenter brought one more interesting angle to my attention. This week on BeliefNet, an excellent ecumenical site on religion, Gibson has been engaged in an online debate with the Rev. Barry Lynn about the so-called “war on Christmas.” (Full disclosure: Barry […]