I can appreciate that Samuel Alito’s allies are having trouble justifying Alito’s membership in the Concerned Alumni of Princeton, and the fact that he touted said membership in 1985 to help highlight his conservative bona fides. I can also appreciate the fact that Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) has a tendency to be, shall we say, […]
Just last month, intelligent-design creationism faced its first major legal challenge — and lost miserably. The second round is about to begin, this time in California. Americans United for Separation of Church and State today filed a lawsuit in federal court in California to stop a public school district from teaching a course that promotes […]
Behind the scenes, the White House hopes the Senate Judiciary Committee will forgo hearings on the president’s warrantless-search program. In fact, Time quoted a GOP official saying that the White House is “going to lean on Specter very hard not to hold hearings.” In front of the cameras, however, Bush has a different story. President […]
Granted, the Alito hearings have been a little on the dull side from the very beginning. But this afternoon offered something a little different: a meaningful, heated conflict. Yesterday, the hearings touched on Alito’s membership in the controversial Concerned Alumni of Princeton, a group formed in 1972 to oppose the admission of women to Princeton, […]
Last week, TV preacher Pat Robertson told his national television audience that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s stroke was divine punishment. Yesterday, Robertson denied having said exactly what a video shows him saying. Today, we learn that Robertson’s lunacy sometimes has consequences. Israel won’t do business with Pat Robertson after the evangelical leader suggested Prime […]
Campaign for America’s Future sought to capitalize on Tom DeLay’s close connections to Jack Abramoff by running a damaging TV commercial highlighting the relationship and calling on DeLay to resign from Congress. In Houston, however, the ad has been pulled, thanks to threats from DeLay’s lawyers. A day before a television ad linking Rep. Tom […]
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: * Former Connecticut Gov. Lowell Weicker (I) may be undecided about taking on Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D) in November, but if he does, Lieberman will start with a huge lead. According to a […]
The controversy surrounding the administration’s warrantless-search program is percolating along nicely, with several items in the headlines today that move the ball forward. For example, a 20-year veteran of the NSA acknowledged yesterday that he was a source for the New York Times article that broke the story, and he’s anxious to tell lawmakers what […]
In his questioning of Samuel Alito yesterday, Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), who is pro-choice, mentioned Roe v Wade 14 times over the course of 30 minutes. Alito eventually pledged to have an “open mind.” Supreme Court nominee Samuel A. Alito Jr. said yesterday that his 1985 assertion that the Constitution does not protect the right […]
Following up on my kvetching from last week, I was pleased to see the Washington Post do an editorial today on Bush’s stated intention to ignore the anti-torture measures recently passed by Congress. [Given the administration’s comments], it might be concluded that the Bush administration has committed itself to ending the use of practices falling […]