Almost immediately after Sandra Day O’Connor announced her retirement from the Supreme Court last week, the Republican base has focused its criticism carefully. For far-right activists it was a three-pronged approach: argue that O’Connor was horrible because she was insufficiently right wing on social issues; insist that Alberto Gonzales would be worse; and explain to […]
Way back in January, prosecutors investigating whether corporations illegally financed Tom DeLay’s Texans for a Republican Majority (TRMPAC) struck an important deal as part of a “kingpin strategy.” Prosecutors already had the goods on the corporations making improper donations, but negotiated agreements whereby the businesses would get immunity in exchange for cooperation with the investigation. […]
In recent weeks I’ve noted that a Republican president and Republican Congress are burdened by multiple political scandals, but let’s not leave Republican governors out of the fun. In Ohio, Gov. Bob Taft (R) is overwhelmed by charges of corruption; California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) seems to have become a magnet for controversy, and former […]
How about a little Friday diversion from the usual political news? My friends at the World Stupidity Awards emailed this week to let me know about their third annual ceremony to be held in Montreal on July 22nd. The show will be hosted, appropriately enough, by Lewis Black (of Jon Stewart fame). There are some […]
If you haven’t already, be sure to check out Ben Adler’s piece in The New Republic on how many of the nation’s leading conservative thinkers and pundits describe their beliefs about evolutionary biology. It’s one of those questions I’ve always wanted to ask these guys, so I found this utterly fascinating. Admittedly, it’s kind of […]
Even after congressional intervention, politically-inspired misdiagnoses, and widespread slander, the Terri Schiavo matter lingered on when Florida Gov. Jeb Bush asked a prosecutor to investigate why Schiavo collapsed 15 years ago, under the notion that her husband may have called 911 too slowly. Thankfully, this lunacy came to an end yesterday when the prosecutor told […]
Slate’s David Plotz happened to be in London this morning, promoting a book and preparing for an interview on BBC Radio. He had an interesting report about what he saw and the reactions from Londoners. The natural state of the English is a kind of gloomy diligence, which is why they do so well in […]
Looking back over the last few hours, I realize that I’ve been treating today like a normal day. I had some of the usual political items on tap, wrote them up, and posted them, as if it were just another day. I now regret that. Today isn’t a day for political updates and observations; it’s […]
Jesse Taylor posted a helpful list this morning that I want to pass along. Hotlines The British Transport Police has set up a telephone number for those concerned about a friend or relative. The telephone number is +44 (0) 20 8358 0101. The Metropolitan Police also have a general hotline number set up; this is […]
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: * According to Kos, a new poll from the Feldman Group shows Sen. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) in a lot of trouble in advance of next year’s election. Only 31% of Ohio voters believe […]