All Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) wanted for Christmas was for the Senate to approve his plan to drill the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil. No such luck. The question then becomes what Stevens is prepared to do about it. First, he apparently plans to do some traveling in order to spite everyone who voted […]
When it comes to intelligent-design creationism, Sen. Rick “Man on Dog” Santorum (R-Pa.) can’t quite figure out where to stand. In 2001, he pushed for a provision in Bush’s No Child Left Behind legislation that was intended to promote discussion of creationism in public schools, which appeared to put him firmly in the anti-science camp. […]
The controversy surrounding Bush’s warrantless-spying program isn’t quite a week old, but plenty of ink has been spilled reviewing the scandal from every angle. To date, my very favorite analysis comes by way of Slate’s Dahlia Lithwick, who asked the right questions in a devastating way. Lithwick details the way in which the nation thought […]
Anyone familiar with Fox News broadcasts has come to expect a level of professionalism on par with an elementary school food fight, but once in a while, even the FNC gang manages to surprise. C&L and Newshounds offered terrific coverage last night of Fox News’ John Gibson completely losing his mind, on the air, while […]
With all that’s been happening this week on Capitol Hill, post-Katrina tax breaks for Gulf Coast businesses has been lost in the media shuffle. It was an interesting legislative debate, though, because it pitted two conservative constituencies against each other — with a surprising result. President Bush signed legislation Wednesday that provided $8.7 billion in […]
“Snoopgate” has reached Day Six and, as with every preceding day, key bits of information keep trickling out. Today, for example, we learn that the judge in charge of the FISA court is organizing a little get together with the Bush administration’s lawyers to find out why the president feels he can circumvent the legal […]
The legal background on alleged “dirty bomber” Jose Padilla is a long and bizarre tale. It’s important, though, particularly after yesterday. Padilla, an American citizen, was first “arrested” in Chicago in May 2002 under suspicion that he was involved with a plan to detonate a radiological “dirty bomb.” Padilla was named an enemy combatant in […]
Before the Senate reached a deal on extending the Patriot Act, the White House was still railing against Senate Dems for their concerns over the law’s civil liberties protections. At yesterday’s press briefing, one reporter noted that Dems aren’t the only ones who want to extend the law to allow more debate. Q: You suggested […]
The Senate debate over the Patriot Act was a classic game of “chicken.” After Dems blocked the bill from moving forward until concerns over civil liberties and federal authority were addressed, they offered to extend the law — as is — for another three months so it wouldn’t expire completely on Dec. 31. Bush and […]
The warrantless-search story is now in its fifth day and I keep waiting for the vaunted White House political machine to come up with a compelling defense that doesn’t include, “the president can do whatever he wants.” I’ve seen these guys spin some pretty ugly facts — Bush, after all, won a second term despite […]