Orrin Hatch shows just how smart he is

I find it hard to believe, nearly three years after the start of the war in Iraq, any serious person would try and use the Saddam-al Queda link to justify the invasion. Of course, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) is not a serious person. (via ThinkProgres) “[W]e’ve stopped a mass murderer in Saddam Hussein. Nobody denies […]

Tuesday’s political round-up

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: * As recently as a couple of months ago, the Republican field of gubernatorial candidates in Iowa was wide open and crowded. Now, it’s over. Yesterday, businessman Bob Vander Plaats (R) announced that […]

The Dems’ plan for Iraq

For months, national news outlets have gone to great lengths to point out that not all Dems agree on how best to deal with the war in Iraq. I’ve never fully understood the criticism — not only do top Republicans disagree on Iraq, but Dem unanimity seems unnecessary — but party leaders have responded by […]

Monaghan’s slice of heaven — in southwestern Florida

Every once in while, some conservative will come up with an idea to get thousands of like-minded friends together in one place, where everyone will agree, and a collective sense of religious “values” will dominate, whether outsiders like it or not. Usually, these efforts always seem to fail — the Christian Exodus drive didn’t take […]

The inspirational effect Bush has on Dem candidates

Tim Walz, a high school teacher, football coach, and veteran of the war in Afghanistan, toured his community yesterday to let voters know that he’s running for Congress in Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District, currently represented by Republican Gil Gutknecht. (thanks to KnobBoy for the tip.) Ordinarily, this announcement may not seem like a big deal, […]

They just don’t know how to handle classified — or declassified — information

The irony of the overly-secretive Bush White House is that they have incoherent standards — they’re leaking information that should be classified, but classifying old information that has sat on public book-shelves for years. In terms of recent, sensitive intelligence, the White House has authorized top staffers to disclose classified information to reporters about Iraq’s […]

I wish they’d make up their mind

At this point, I almost don’t care which energy goal the White House picks; I just want them to pick one and stick with it. Right now, that seems to be a bit too much to ask. From the State of the Union: “Breakthroughs on this and other new technologies will help us reach another […]

It takes a while to reach DEFCON 1

Daniel Henninger, deputy editor of the Wall Street Journal’s editorial page, wrote an interesting column the other day about the reaction and intensity of scandals surrounding the Bush White House. He makes a provocative argument, but I’m afraid he has the situation backwards. Have you ever noticed how on a scale of one to 10, […]

Homeland Security officers monitor library patrons in Maryland

This story didn’t generate much attention over the weekend, in part because it appeared in the Washington Post’s local section, but it’s a disturbing tale. Two uniformed men strolled into the main room of the Little Falls library in Bethesda one day last week and demanded the attention of all patrons using the computers. Then […]

Monday’s political round-up

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 out this morning in Pennsylvania shows the sizable gap between Rick Santorum and Bob Casey staying pretty much the same. The latest numbers show Casey up by 16 […]