For all the political news we cover here, I’m generally not on the Middle East/escalating violence/regional war beat. But a) that doesn’t mean I’m not following developments with great interest; and b) that’s no reason why we can’t open the subject up to some discussion. So, how scary is the Middle East? Israel, after provocation, […]
Desperate for something fresh to complain about, congressional Republicans launched quite an offensive this week against the DCCC for an online video that that laments the crises that Republicans have mismanaged in recent years, and includes an image of caskets of U.S. soldiers coming home. The GOP called it “despicable.” Now there’s a new name […]
Maybe, just maybe, all the virulent and threatening conservative rhetoric about the New York Times lately drove one nut to pull a dangerous stunt. A mysterious white powder sent to The [tag]New York Times[/tag] [yesterday] was found by a mailroom employee and sparked an evacuation of the building’s eighth floor, while police determined if the […]
Given the circumstances, I’d expect [tag]private schools[/tag] to produce higher test scores than [tag]public schools[/tag]. I’m an ardent advocate of public education, but private schools have built-in advantages: they can accept and exclude students for any reason at all; use entrance exams; expel students on a whim; cap class sizes, and even mandate parental involvement. […]
First up from the God machine relates a bit to an item from yesterday about the right’s sudden obsession with “In God We Trust,” this time, in Ohio public schools. Despite constitutional concerns, Gov. Bob Taft signed a bill [this week] requiring all public and community schools to display any donated copies of the national […]
Guest Post by Morbo I shudder to think of the number of Americans sitting in prisons because of low-level drug offenses. Kids are locked up next to armed robbers, murderers and rapists because they bought and sold some dope. Mandatory sentences are draconian, and our prisons swell thanks to the right-wing obsession of fighting an […]
Guest Post by Morbo Have you ever wondered why Dr. [tag]James Dobson[/tag] of [tag]Focus on the Family[/tag] is such a nutcase? Why is he so obsessed with the sex lives of people he doesn’t even know? Why does he hate gay people so much? Why does he claim to love Jesus so much, and then […]
One of the more routine [tag]Republican[/tag] talking points argues that Bush deserves more credit for the “growing” economy. It’s not fair, they say, that [tag]GDP[/tag] is up and the [tag]unemployment[/tag] is relatively low, but Americans continue to say they strongly disapprove of the president’s handling of the [tag]economy[/tag]. As a public service to Bush sycophants […]
This is a fascinating story, not only because of the resignations, but also because the resignations tell us a great deal about how the [tag]Bush[/tag] gang operates. Nearly all the religious leaders serving on a committee created by the Bush-Clinton [tag]Katrina Fund[/tag] to disburse money to [tag]churches[/tag] destroyed by [tag]Hurricane Katrina[/tag] have [tag]quit[/tag] their posts, […]
I’ve heard a lot of odd stories about Rep. Katherine Harris (R-Fla.) and her misguided Senate campaign, but this is a new one. Katherine Harris’ floundering U.S. Senate campaign lost its high-level staff again this week and is groping for a message — which doesn’t surprise Republican insiders who trace the seeds of her trouble […]