A few months ago, Tom Engelhardt noted that the “debate” over [tag]permanent[/tag] [tag]U.S.[/tag] [tag]bases[/tag] in [tag]Iraq[/tag] was practically non-existent. After a search of the LexisNexis database, he explained, “American reporters adhere to a simple rule: The words ‘permanent,’ ‘bases,’ and ‘Iraq’ should never be placed in the same sentence, not even in the same paragraph; […]
Fortunately, just enough senators had the good sense to defeat an estate-tax repeal yesterday, but today, [tag]Paul Krugman[/tag] offers some good advice about how to talk about the policy. On one side, a measure that would have increased scrutiny of containers entering U.S. [tag]ports[/tag], at a cost of $648 million, has been dropped from a […]
The debate among conservatives over “[tag]a la carte[/tag]” [tag]cable[/tag] — in which consumers pay only for cable [tag]TV[/tag] [tag]channels[/tag] they want — got a little more interesting this week when the James Dobson weighed in, on the opposite side of Pat [tag]Robertson[/tag] and Jerry [tag]Falwell[/tag]. Advocates for cable choice have picked up a big endorsement: […]
I was more than a little worried that the [tag]FDA[/tag] would cave to conservative political pressure (again), but the agency clearly did the right thing yesterday. In what officials called a major public health breakthrough, the [tag]Food and Drug Administration[/tag] yesterday approved the first vaccine developed to protect women against cervical cancer. The vaccine, which […]
By now, you’ve probably seen the clip of [tag]Matt Lauer[/tag] interviewing [tag]Ann Coulter[/tag] about her new book, which includes a scathing attack on [tag]widows[/tag] who lost loved ones on [tag]9/11[/tag]. “These broads are millionaires, lionized on TV and in articles about them, reveling in their status as celebrities and stalked by grief-arazzies,” Coulter wrote. “I […]
I suspect I don’t harbor the same ill will towards Sen. [tag]Joe Biden[/tag] (D-Del.) that some of my colleagues do — though, to be sure, the vote on the bankruptcy bill was unforgivable — but like Michael Crowley, I think his reaction to [tag]Zarqawi[/tag]’s death was not quite right. The Senator from Delaware also said […]
For a while, it seems like the [tag]White House[/tag] was intent on at least giving the appearance that [tag]Bush[/tag] was willing to move away from his [tag]bubble[/tag], at least a little. Richard Wolffe and Holly Bailey write in Newsweek, however, that when it comes to the [tag]president[/tag]’s [tag]immigration[/tag] pitch, he’s gone right back inside. (via […]
It was close, but proponents of a [tag]permanent[/tag] [tag]repeal[/tag] of the [tag]estate tax[/tag] needed 60 votes to overcome a [tag]filibuster[/tag] and send this nonsense to the [tag]president[/tag]. They came three votes short. Senators voted Thursday to reject a Republican effort to abolish taxes on inherited estates during an election year with control of Congress at […]
I can appreciate that many [tag]Republicans[/tag] are slightly embarrassed that [tag]Iraq[/tag] didn’t have [tag]weapons of mass destruction[/tag], but that’s no reason for lawmakers to go into denial. Last night, Rep. [tag]Curt Weldon[/tag] (R-Pa.) faced off in a debate against [tag]Joseph Sestak[/tag] (D), a former deputy chief of naval operations and the first director of Deep […]
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 a surprising new Quinnipiac poll out of Connecticut today, Sen. [tag]Joe Lieberman[/tag] is leading his primary rival, businessman [tag]Ned Lamont[/tag], but not by the kind of margin Lieberman might expect. According […]