Back in May, the Department of Justice’s [tag]Office of Professional Responsibility[/tag] was prepared to launch an investigation into how and why the agency’s lawyers approved the president’s warrantless-search program. The probe came to a sudden halt, however, when the OPR discovered it had been “denied [tag]security[/tag] [tag]clearance[/tag]s for access to information about the N.S.A. program.” […]
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: * A new Rasmussen poll in Rhode Island offers discouraging news for Sen. [tag]Lincoln Chafee[/tag], “whose support has gone from bad to worse,” highlighting why this is a key Dem pick-up opportunity. Chafee […]
A not-so-liberal emailer contacted me over night with a fair argument about today’s vote in the Senate about expanding [tag]stem-cell[/tag] [tag]research[/tag]. The email suggested a certain hypocrisy: if we know [tag]Bush[/tag] is going to [tag]veto[/tag] the bill, then there’s no point in going through the motions. I’ve criticized lawmakers repeatedly for wasting time on legislation […]
The simmering debate between [tag]Howard Dean[/tag]’s [tag]DNC[/tag] and [tag]Rahm Emanuel[/tag]’s [tag]DCCC[/tag] over how best to allocate the party’s resources probably won’t end, at the earliest, until Wednesday, Nov. 8 (the day after the midterms). Emanuel wants to focus limited resources on the most competitive races as part of a drive to win back the House […]
In light of the Republican uproar over the [tag]DCCC[/tag]’s web [tag]video[/tag] that included a brief still shot of [tag]coffins[/tag] of U.S. troops — the GOP said it was “despicable” to use such imagery in a political context — maybe the right can explain why it’s perfectly acceptable for Republicans to run similar ads. Using vivid […]
I find this frustrating on multiple levels. Federally funded “[tag]pregnancy resource centers[/tag]” are incorrectly telling women that [tag]abortion[/tag] results in an increased risk of [tag]breast cancer[/tag], infertility and deep psychological trauma, a minority congressional report charged yesterday. The report said that 20 of 23 federally funded centers contacted by staff investigators requesting information about an […]
Here’s how the LA Times described one of the stranger moments I’ve seen in a long while between two heads of state. Entering the meeting room, as relayed by a Russian television camera, [tag]Bush[/tag] headed directly behind [German Chancellor [tag]Angela Merkel[/tag]], reached out and, placing both hands on the collar of her gold jacket, gave […]
I can appreciate the fact that the science behind stem-cell research is extremely complicated for those of us without a scientific background. But I feel pretty confident in saying that one need not be a medical researcher to know the difference between a legitimate argument and a blatant scare tactic. During the Senate debate today […]
It’s hardly the first time, but I think the [tag]media[/tag] is missing the point about today’s big political story. Right now, the lead political AP item is, “[tag]Bush[/tag] utters expletive on [tag]Hezbollah[/tag] attacks.” The top headline on CNN is, “Open mic catches Bush [tag]expletive[/tag] on Mideast.” The Washington Post’s story mentions in its second sentence […]
About a month ago, the [tag]Senate[/tag] went through the motions and held a vote on a [tag]constitutional amendment[/tag] to ban [tag]gay marriage[/tag]. It failed miserably; proponents needed 67 votes in the Senate and they couldn’t even break 50. With one chamber already rejecting the measure, the [tag]amendment[/tag] can’t be approved, at the earliest, until next […]