At first blush, it might seem like a worthwhile project. [tag]Knowlegis[/tag], a software research firm, released a list this week of congressional “[tag]power rankings[/tag],” which ranked every member of [tag]Congress[/tag], in both chambers, allegedly based on their influence and effectiveness as lawmakers. Unfortunately, the list is almost entirely useless. It’s not political analysis; it’s a […]
For the last several years, [tag]Republicans[/tag], confident in the size and stability of its base, have targeted specific constituency groups who usually vote for Dems — Catholics, Hispanics, seniors — through aggressive outreach and wedge-issue campaigning. This year, Dems are turning the tables a bit. House [tag]Democrats[/tag], trying to capitalize on conservative dissatisfaction with Republicans, […]
I don’t mean to belabor the point, but it just doesn’t make sense that telecommunications companies are denying having cooperated with the NSA on its phone-records database. Think Progress uncovered a presidential memorandum, however, that may shed some light on the subject. Ordinarily, a company that conceals their transactions and activities from the public would […]
This AP story on [tag]Al Gore[/tag] covers relatively familiar ground, but it’s worth considering anyway. Al [tag]Gore[/tag] is running to California, New York, Utah, Washington, France and points in between to promote “An Inconvenient Truth,” a film chronicling his elaborate slide shows to educate people about global warming. But is the former vice president running […]
I understand the point, but this is just odd. New federal guidelines ask all females capable of conceiving a baby to treat themselves — and to be treated by the health care system — as pre-pregnant, regardless of whether they plan to get pregnant anytime soon. Among other things, this means all women between first […]
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: * Yesterday was Primary Day in Kentucky, Oregon, and Pennsylvania. Among the interesting results: Gov. [tag]Ted Kulongoski[/tag] (D) and [tag]Ron Saxton[/tag] (R) won Oregon’s gubernatorial primaries; LEO newspaper founder [tag]John Yarmuth[/tag] (D) cruised […]
Yesterday, Dick [tag]Cheney[/tag] made his third appearance on Rush [tag]Limbaugh[/tag]’s radio show. On the surface, it’s disconcerting enough that the Vice President would voluntarily appear on this clown’s program three times, but in this instance, that’s not the interesting part. Instead, it’s worth noting that Cheney was on for 13 minutes — and there wasn’t […]
Let’s take a second to review. [tag]USA Today[/tag] reported that the [tag]NSA[/tag] has created a massive [tag]database[/tag] with [tag]phone[/tag] records of nearly every call made in the United States. [tag]Qwest[/tag] did not cooperate, but acknowledged that the NSA asked the company to turn over the records and pressured Qwest pretty hard. Over the last several […]
The day after the [tag]president[/tag] talked directly to the nation about his [tag]immigration[/tag] proposal, lawmakers started sharing their assessments. Congressional [tag]Republicans[/tag], particularly in the [tag]House[/tag], were Bush’s target audience. Were they persuaded? Not so much. President Bush’s prime-time immigration speech has shown no signs of softening House Republicans’ opposition to allowing undocumented immigrants to become […]
One more comment about [tag]Tony Snow[/tag]’s first press briefing. There was one exchange that helped highlight just how well Snow will fit in at the Bush White House. A reporter asked about declassifying the [tag]NSA[/tag] phone-records database program, which prompted [tag]Snow[/tag] to point to public opinion as a gauge of the story’s significance. “Look at […]