In 1999, Arkansas’ child welfare board banned gay people from becoming foster parents, arguing kids would be better off in orphanages. Four residents sued, claiming discrimination. Today, the state Supreme Court agreed. Arkansas cannot ban homosexuals from becoming foster parents because there is no link between their sexual orientation and a child’s well-being, the state’s […]
I like to keep an eye on Fox News’ TV ratings, and smile a little when they drop, so this new (subscriber-only) article from U.S. Politics Today also caught my eye. Joe Rothstein reviewed web traffic for a number of top outlets for online conservative commentary and found that the leading voices are still talking, […]
Just to update readers on a low-profile story I’ve been following, the Senate Commerce Committee took up a proposal yesterday to allow cable customers to pay only for those channels they actually want. How’d it turn out? The vote wasn’t even close. Cable networks’ advertising sales divisions may be breathing a sigh of relief now […]
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 Ohio, Rep. [tag]Ted Strickland[/tag] (D) appears to be well-positioned to beat far-right Ohio Secretary of State [tag]Ken Blackwell[/tag] (R) in this year’s gubernatorial race. But just to make things a little […]
Today’s [tag]Supreme Court[/tag] ruling in the [tag]Hamdan[/tag] case was an encouraging development for a couple of reasons. One is the obvious limit on the president’s desire to expand his war powers; the other is a setback for court stripping. It may even have implications on torture. The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that President Bush overstepped […]
In recent weeks, we’ve seen a series of disconcerting items about the widespread data-security breach now encompassing nearly all active-duty military, Guard, and Reserve members, and millions of veterans. While Bush’s Veteran Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson initially said personal information for 50,000 military personnel was stolen in May, it turns out the theft affected over […]
Some Democratic candidates, particularly in the South, are reluctant to oppose a constitutional [tag]amendment[/tag] on [tag]flag burning[/tag] for fear of being called unpatriotic. Then again, when you’re a Marine who’s won the Navy Cross, the Silver Star Medal, two Bronze Star Medals, and two Purple Hearts, the charges apparently don’t worry you too much, especially […]
The House Republicans’ “American Values Agenda,” a sop to the party’s far-right base, includes some unusually vapid ideas, including a uniquely pernicious proposal called the “[tag]Pledge Protection Act[/tag].” Here’s the idea: some people believe Congress violated the separation of church and state when it changed the Pledge in 1954, adding the phrase “[tag]under God[/tag].” Worried […]
I know I’m a day late on this one, but it’s too funny not to share. A caravan of jeeps and heavy equipment crawls across the [tag]Iraq[/tag]i desert, headed for a secret location on the banks of the Euphrates River. Their mission: to dig 25 feet down into the riverbed and unearth concrete bunkers filled […]
I’d like to read the text of the entire speech before saying for sure whether I think he’s right or wrong, but [tag]Barack Obama[/tag] offered his party some provocative [tag]advice[/tag] today. Sen. Barack [tag]Obama[/tag] chastised fellow Democrats on Wednesday for failing to “acknowledge the power of [tag]faith[/tag] in the lives of the American people,” and […]