Following up on their earlier report on the government [tag]monitor[/tag]ing their [tag]calls[/tag], [tag]ABC[/tag] News’ Brian Ross and Richard Esposito added last night that the FBI has acknowledged that it is “increasingly seeking reporters’ phone records in leak investigations.” “It used to be very hard and complicated to do this, but it no longer is in […]
Last night, in his first [tag]Oval Office[/tag] address on domestic public policy, [tag]Bush[/tag] had a few goals in mind. It’s not at all clear he achieved any of them. President Bush, acknowledging that the nation “has not been in complete control of its [tag]borders[/tag],” said Monday that he would send as many as 6,000 [tag]National […]
As political desperation goes, tonight’s presidential prime-time address on immigration policy is rather dire. It was particularly telling over the weekend when one [tag]Republican[/tag] House member told the New York Times, “Karl Rove seems determined to secure the border.” Not [tag]Bush[/tag], not [tag]DHS[/tag], but [tag]Rove[/tag]. The new-found presidential interest in the issue, in other words, […]
Way back in January, NBC’s [tag]Andrea Mitchell[/tag] was interviewing New York Times reporter [tag]James Risen[/tag], discussing Bush’s warrantless-search program, which Risen helped expose. Mitchell, mid-way through the interview, asked, “You don’t have any information, for instance, that a very prominent journalist, [tag]Christiane Amanpour[/tag], might have been eavesdropped upon?” It seemed like an odd question, the […]
For those of us who’ve been watching the [tag]religious right[/tag] for a long while, a pattern emerges. The political movement helps elects [tag]Republicans[/tag], who in turn take the theocrats for granted, which prompts the religious right to threaten GOP leaders. The party throws the base just enough bones to placate [tag]James Dobson[/tag], which eases tensions […]
An interesting report was published in the May issue of American Politics Research, a poli sci journal, which suggests that young Americans’ political views are “negatively impacted” by watching my favorite show, [tag]The Daily Show[/tag] with [tag]Jon Stewart[/tag]. From the report: We test the effects of a popular televised source of political humor for young […]
On Thursday, in response to a growing national controversy over federal monitoring of Americans’ phone calls, the president publicly explained that there was no cause for concern. The administration’s target, [tag]Bush[/tag] said, is “[tag]al Qaeda[/tag] and their known affiliates.” Today, however, [tag]ABC News[/tag]’ Brian Ross and Richard Esposito reported that an administration sources have said […]
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: * [tag]Tommy Thompson[/tag], the former Wisconsin governor and former HHS secretary, told reporters recently that he’s considering a return to politics. “I’ve got to be honest with you,” he said in a telephone […]
Over the weekend, Truthout’s [tag]Jason Leopold[/tag] reported that [tag]Karl Rove[/tag] has, in fact, been [tag]indicted[/tag] for [tag]perjury[/tag] by [tag]Patrick Fitzgerald[/tag]’s grand jury. I’m more than a little skeptical about the report, but it occurs to me that I should take a moment to explain why, instead of just ignoring the [tag]Truthout[/tag] piece altogether. Obviously, this […]
I didn’t realize conservatives considered “[tag]24[/tag],” the [tag]Fox[/tag] action/drama, a [tag]Republican[/tag] [tag]show[/tag]. According to TNR’s Christopher Orr, it’s a fairly common sentiment. American hero [tag]Jack Bauer[/tag] is an ex-swat, ex-Delta Force commando working for the Los Angeles branch of the (fictional) Counter Terrorist Unit ([tag]CTU[/tag]), an elite, high-tech CIA spin-off. As befits his training, he […]