One of the principal flaws in Rudy Giuliani’s presidential campaign is that he’s running, counter intuitively, on a platform based on subjects he knows nothing about — foreign policy and national security. But just as importantly, Giuliani keeps undermining his own credibility on all policy issues by exaggerating to the point of comedy. He can’t […]
The Guardian’s Ewen MacAskill had a good piece the other day about the president’s VFW speech, and included an anecdote in passing that caught my eye. The speech was aimed primarily at what White House officials privately describe as the “defeatocrats”, the Democratic Congressmen trying to push Mr Bush into an early withdrawal. In private, […]
Last weekend, the NYT published an op-ed from seven infantrymen and noncommissioned officers with the 82nd Airborne Division, who will soon be returning home frustrated and jaded. The piece, “The War as We Saw It,” was a sweeping condemnation of everything we’ve heard of late from the Kristol-McCain-Lieberman-O’Hanlon-Pollack crowd. For reasons that I still don’t […]
By any reasonable measure, Sen. John Warner’s (R-Va.) call this week for a slight reduction in U.S. forces in Iraq was pretty weak tea. Warner “suggested” to the White House — he opposes any congressional mandates — that the president bring home 5,000 troops by Christmas. As withdrawal plans go, Warner’s recommendation was little more […]
First up from The God Machine this week is a report out of Louisiana about the role of churches in the event of a disaster that leads to martial law. Could martial law ever become a reality in America? Some fear any nuclear, biological or chemical attack on U.S. soil might trigger just that. KSLA […]
Guest Post by Morbo I’ve often wondered why creationists spend so much time harping about evolution and the age of the earth when the Bible makes so many other scientific claims that, by their logic, should also be taught in public schools. For example, consider the claim that certain languages have a common origin. According […]
Guest Post by Morbo Just in time for back to school, I was pleased to see the latest issue of “Harper’s” run an article on one of my favorite themes: dumb attacks on public education. Peter Schrag’s piece, “Schoolhouse crock: Fifty years of blaming America’s educational system for our stupidity,” makes several important points. We […]
Today’s edition of quick hits. * Rep. Peter Hoekstra (R-Mich.), the ranking Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, announced yesterday that he no longer shares the president’s vision for a democracy in Iraq. “You’ve got a culture where democracy is not part of, ‘Let’s go there,’ ” Hoekstra said. “It was a stretch.” He insists […]
Fourth-string White House spokesperson Gordon Johndroe hosted a brief press gaggle today from Crawford Middle School. It was fairly mundane, except for this exchange. Q: Is it still administration policy that the U.S. commitment in Iraq is not open-ended? JOHNDROE: I think the President has made it clear that he eventually would like to see […]
I had a great idea for a post this morning. I was going to explain how conservative supporters of the president’s Iraq policy were making fools of themselves by arguing that recent successes against al Qaeda in Iraq were a result of the surge. I was really looking forward to pulling the post together — […]