There are varying media reports with slightly different details, but it appears that the Bush White House has finally given in and accepted John McCain’s amendment on torture. After months of resistance, the White House has agreed to accept Sen. John McCain’s call for a law banning cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of foreign suspects […]
Perhaps more so than at any time in recent memory, the politicization of Christmas is a little overwhelming this year. Republicans at the activist level are crusading against “happy holidays,” while Republicans on the Hill are rallying behind a congressional resolution to “protect… [the] symbols and traditions of Christmas.” Perhaps hoping to level the playing […]
About six months ago, a national Zogby poll found that a whopping 42% of the electorate would favor impeachment proceedings against Bush if the president did not tell the truth about his reasons for going to war with Iraq. Since then, polls asking this or similar questions have been far and few between. I tend […]
I’ve followed the creationist movement for years, and I thought I’d seen just about every attack on modern biology imaginable. Alas, I was wrong. As one very astute reader brought to my attention, Phyllis Schlafly’s Eagle Forum published its latest attack on evolution this week with one argument that left me shaking my head — […]
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: * In an announcement that should surprise no one, Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) said he will not seek a second term. Romney, whose term ends in January 2007, vowed to serve his […]
A new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll was released late yesterday, showing Bush’s approval rating soaring all the way to 39%, from 38%. (An MSNBC headline, which is no longer online, described this as Bush getting “a boost” in popularity. I’d call it a “rounding error,” but I’m not a national cable network.) But even […]
I’m hard pressed to think of a single political issue where I agree with conservative writer Cal Thomas, but his point about the non-existent “war on Christmas” should be circulated far and wide, particularly in right-wing circles. The effort by some cable TV hosts and ministers to force commercial establishments into wishing everyone a “Merry […]
The Bush administration is the first in decades to appear anxious to pick fights with Canada. Relations frayed in 2002, and the administration, for reasons that defy comprehension, seems intent on making them worse. As Toronto’s Globe and Mail noted yesterday, the U.S. ambassador to Canada has decided it’s a good idea to meddle in […]
Since I criticized Ford Motor Company for its bizarre decision to back down from American Family Association threats, it’s worth praising Ford for coming to its senses. Ford Motor Co. yesterday said it will resume advertising Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles in gay-themed publications, following an outpouring of fury from gay groups that said Ford’s […]
Less than 24 hours after NBC News reported that the Pentagon has been spying on law-abiding, anti-war protestors, the Defense Department announced an internal review of their policies. Pentagon officials said yesterday they had ordered a review of a program aimed at countering terrorist attacks that had compiled information about U.S. citizens, after reports that […]