It certainly sounded like Dick Cheney had admitted that U.S. interrogators subjected terrorist suspects to a controversial interrogation technique called “water-boarding.” In an on-air chat with Scott Hennen from WDAY in Fargo, N.D., Cheney appeared to say that the administration doesn’t regard water-boarding as torture and allows the CIA to use it. “It’s a no-brainer […]
I recently mentioned that Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) has decided to block one of the Bush White House’s judicial nominees because she attended a commitment ceremony for a lesbian couple four years ago. The president’s nominee has gone out of her way to satisfy Brownback’s concerns — but he still won’t budge. If you’re just […]
It didn’t exactly capture the media’s attention, but in June, a federal court issued a very important ruling when it comes to the separation of church and state. Prison Fellowship Ministries, founded by ex-Watergate felon Charles Colson, was effectively given an entire wing of Iowa’s Newton Correctional Facility, at which Colson’s group created what was […]
There are plenty of fascinating angles to Rush Limbaugh’s attack on Michael J. Fox this week, but the media’s coverage of the story. I had hoped reporters would hold up Limbaugh’s repugnant accusations as an example of right-wing discourse gone horribly awry. It clearly hasn’t happened. Literally within 24 hours of the on-air remarks, for […]
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: * Last week, the Republican establishment denied rumors that it was giving up on Sen. Mike DeWine’s (R) campaign in Ohio, but this week, the rumors were confirmed. The RNC announced yesterday that […]
As you may have heard, a new documentary about the [tag]Dixie Chicks[/tag], called “[tag]Shut Up & Sing[/tag],” is hitting theaters in LA and NYC today, and the rest of the country on Nov. 11. It sounds pretty interesting — the documentary highlights the band’s experiences after lead singer Natalie Maines said she was ashamed that […]
The president had a very lengthy chat in the Oval Office this week with a series of conservative writers, including National Review’s Byron York and US News’s Michael Barone. There are plenty of gems in the transcript, but like Michael Crowley, this one left me shaking my head: “One of the stories – interesting stories […]
I suppose it’s possible for a Defense Secretary to come up with a worse response to questions about a disastrous war, I’m just not sure what it would be. With his chorus of critics expanding deeper into Republican ranks, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld told detractors yesterday to pull back as U.S. and Iraqi officials […]
The right is all atwitter with revelations, leaked to the Drudge Report, that Virginia Democratic Senate candidate [tag]Jim Webb[/tag], an accomplished and successful [tag]novel[/tag]ist, included a racy fictional scene in one of his books about a pedophile. It seems like a relatively odd thing to base the campaign on, but Sen. George Allen (R-Va.) is […]
Today’s edition of quick hits. (It’s a little bit longer than usual, but there’s a lot of good stuff in the news — and in my inbox — today.) * In light of recent speculation, it was only a matter of time before we saw our first national poll gauging Barack Obama’s presidential prospects. Fox […]