Way back in December, the San Diego Union-Tribune, as part of its reporting on [tag]Duke Cunningham[/tag]’s bribery scandal and his relationship with Defense contractor lobbyist [tag]Brent Wilkes[/tag], noted that the lobbyist “ran a [tag]hospitality suite[/tag], with several bedrooms, in Washington.” Now, one does not necessarily need a dirty mind to wonder why, exactly, Wilkes needed, […]
A few random notes to share. * As you may have heard, [tag]Glenn Greenwald[/tag], of [tag]Unclaimed Territory[/tag] fame, has a new book coming out, “[tag]How Would a Patriot Act[/tag]? Defending American Values from a President Run Amok.” It won’t be out for a couple of weeks, but because so many of us in the blogosphere […]
Most Bush critics seem to be congratulating [tag]Fox News[/tag]’ [tag]Tony Snow[/tag] for his new gig as [tag]White House[/tag] [tag]press secretary[/tag] by reminding him of the many, many disparaging remarks he has made about the president from recent years. But I’ve noticed a handful of [tag]Bush[/tag] allies offering a compelling response: if the White House is […]
The president who has never had to use his veto pen issued his 135th veto threat yesterday, this time on an emergency spending bill that covers, among other things, the war. The White House promises to veto a huge Senate bill to pay for the rising costs of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan and […]
It seems desperate times call for desperate measures. Clergy in the nation’s capital and across the country pray for lower gas prices…. Many are talking about the rising gas and energy prices and overlooking the power of prayer when it comes to resolving this energy crisis. Many of the nations most prominent clergy will join […]
In 1993, most Americans believed the national health-care system was at or near a crisis. With that in mind, I wonder what the right word would be to describe that same system in 2006 (thanks to Hark for the tip). The percentage of working-age Americans with moderate to middle incomes who lacked [tag]health insurance[/tag] for […]
[tag]Patrick Fitzgerald[/tag]’s [tag]Plame[/tag] [tag]grand jury[/tag] met on Friday morning, sparking a new round of speculation about indictments, [tag]Karl Rove[/tag], and what might happen next in the ongoing White House criminal investigation. There’s new grist for the mill this morning. CNN’s John King reported: CNN is told by three force sources familiar with the investigation that […]
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: * The good news for Rep. [tag]Katherine Harris[/tag] (R) is that she still enjoys some support among Republicans in Florida. The bad news is, it’s fading fast and primary voters are open to […]
It’s sometimes easy to believe there are a handful of powerful, wealthy interests who work, outside the spotlight, to ensure Congress represents their greedy interests. It’s even easier to believe when it’s true. As the Senate nears a planned vote on abolishing the [tag]estate tax[/tag], a leading government-watchdog group yesterday released a report cataloging the […]
With so many retired [tag]generals[/tag] calling for [tag]Donald Rumsfeld[/tag]’s resignation, Democrats on the Senate Armed Services Committee got an idea: why not hold a hearing to explore why these decorated veterans feel so strongly about the issue. As [tag]Hillary Clinton[/tag] suggested in a letter to Chairman [tag]John Warner[/tag] (R-Va.), an open discussion “can help ensure […]