The White House’s drive to privatize (or should it be “piratize“?) Social Security is not getting off to a good start. The White House, in a private memo to conservative allies, strongly argues that Social Security benefits paid to future retirees must be significantly reduced. The memo disputes those on the right who insist that […]
One of the more unexpected pieces of news that came out over the holidays was the Bush White House’s plans to cut the Defense budget a little. That’s right — Bush, the pro-military president, while we’re still fighting a costly and deadly war, believes the Pentagon needs less money. Under orders from President Bush to […]
The United Nations Population Fund, which is generally called UNFPA, focused this week on one of the many crises caused by the Asian tsunami. Among the 5 million people directly affected in the region, there are at least 150,000 women who are currently pregnant or who may be facing complications of pregnancy, including trauma-induced miscarriage, […]
I know there’s been some debate about the necessity of keeping the Dems together to stop Bush’s Social Security scheme, but no matter which side of the divide you’re on, this is encouraging news. Two groups of prominent Democratic centrists plan to oppose the centerpiece of President Bush’s proposal to restructure Social Security, potentially dimming […]
It took a while, but our collective efforts against Sinclair have made a difference. Office-supply retailer Staples Inc. is pulling its advertising from news programming on Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. television stations, saying the decision was fueled in part by e-mails from customers angry at what they consider to be the broadcaster’s right-wing bias in […]
There have been plenty of developments in the last few days in the race to become the next chairperson of the Democratic National Committee. Two candidates have left the race, one has formally announced, another is facing an embarrassing reminder from 1993, and the frontrunner has picked up a key endorsement. First up, Harold Ickes, […]
This week’s reversal from House Republicans on some proposed changes to the chamber’s ethics rules has been widely noted. ABC News characterized it as DeLay & Co. “retreating” on an ethics overhaul. Roll Call said the GOP “blinked.” This gives the House leadership far too much credit. Over the last several weeks, DeLay, Hastert, and […]
In light of the Bush administration’s decision to give “faith-based” groups more than $1 billion last year, Oliver Willis raised a good point the other day. An idea I’ve had since ’99: Satanists Against Hunger. See if that one gets any federal bucks. Oliver was touching on a point in this debate that is frequently […]
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist has spent the better part of the last two years insisting that the Senate has never tolerated a minority of the chamber to filibuster a president’s judicial nominees. To hear him tell it, the very idea flouts constitutional principles, ignores the Founding Fathers, and undermines the judicial process. Dems have […]
If there’s a reasonable explanation for all of this, I can’t think of one. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has accepted tens of thousands of dollars worth of gifts since joining the high court, including $1,200 worth of tires, valuable historical items and a $5,000 personal check to help pay a relative’s education expenses. The […]