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 […]
Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito’s perspective on abortion rights may be painfully obvious, but there were other Justice Department documents released today that have a certain political significance in light of recent events. Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito defended the right of government officials to order domestic wiretaps when he worked for the Reagan Justice […]
Maybe I’m missing something, but I’m not entirely sure why this is big news. Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito wrote in a June 1985 memo that the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling legalizing abortion should be overturned, a finding certain to enliven January’s confirmation hearings. In a recommendation to the solicitor general on filing a […]