Of all the federally-funded abstinence programs, “Silver Ring Thing” has always been among the most problematic. This is an evangelical Christian program that’s received more than $1.2 million in federal and state subsidies, despite offering wildly irresponsible lessons about contraceptives to young adults — including the notion that a sexually-active teenager is better off avoiding […]
Over the weekend, Sen. George Allen (R-Va.) looked pretty ridiculous comparing violent militias in Iraq to the various state and federal agencies in American law enforcement. Of course, in Republican circles, embarrassing appearances on national television only increases one’s stature in advance of a presidential campaign. Conservative Republicans are becoming increasingly convinced that Virginia Sen. […]
By now, nearly everyone has probably heard that TV preacher Pat Robertson has put aside his Christian sensibilities and called for the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. As Pat explained on his 700 Club program yesterday: “You know, I don’t know about this doctrine of assassination, but if he thinks we’re trying to assassinate […]
The United Nations clearly is not making strides in resolving the crisis in Darfur, but there is an institution capable of intervention: NATO. As my friend Eugene Oregon noted, Wesley Clark was on NPR yesterday discussing his proposal for NATO involvement in the region. Even if the African Union can overcome the political obstacles to […]
Newsweek’s Howard Fineman brought up a point on The Today Show this morning that I hadn’t thought about before: if Iraq becomes a country governed by Islamic laws, Bush’s base (i.e., politically-conservative Christians in “red” states), which has tacitly offered support for the war all along, will be thoroughly displeased. “[Enshrining Islam into the Iraqi […]
Patrick Fitzgerald’s role as the special prosecutor in the Plame scandal has been considered from a variety of angles, but Toronto’s Globe and Mail had a good piece over the weekend noting a certain pattern to Fitzgerald’s work — he almost always goes after the guy at the top, and more often than not, he […]
In looking for a historical parallel for the war in Iraq, political observers everywhere are drawing comparisons to other historic military campaigns. In just the last few days, I’ve seen three major comparisons — but only one seems to be on the right track. The LA Times, for example, noted a parallel to World War […]
It was only a matter of time before Bush’s approval rating dropped from the 40s to the 30s. And here we are. George W. Bush’s overall job approval ratings have dropped from a month ago even as Americans who approve of the way Bush is handling his job as president are turning more optimistic about […]
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: * Disappointing GOP leaders who hoped he’d take on Katherine Harris in a primary, MSNBC blowhard Joe Scarborough announced over the weekend that he will not run for the Senate in Florida next […]
The last several months haven’t been great for progressive voices seeking paid air time on TV. In January, MoveOn.org raised enough money to buy an ad during the Super Bowl, but CBS rejected it, noting its “long-term policy not to air issue ads anywhere on the network.” Just a few weeks prior, CBS and NBC […]