Today’s edition of quick hits. * Seven newspapers have now dropped Ann Coulter’s column. That’s pretty encouraging. * The IRS is outsourcing its writing of tax rules to the very lawyers and accountants who create tax shelters and exploit loopholes for the superrich. * TP: Wade Sanders — former deputy assistant secretary of the Navy, […]
The Wall Street Journal’s Peggy Noonan devoted her column today to what she sees as a harshness in our public discourse. She begins by equating Ann Coulter’s “faggot” comment with Bill Maher’s suggestion that Dick Cheney’s death could save lives in Iraq. The truth is many liberals were dismayed by Mr. Maher because he made […]
Apparently, Tom DeLay’s criminal indictment, his resignation in disgrace, his record of vituperative right-wing hate-mongering, his demagoguery, and his multiple admonishments from the House Ethics Committee weren’t enough to keep CNN from putting him on the payroll. Tom DeLay is becoming a commentator for CNN, according to John Fund. In today’s WSJ Political Diary, he […]
Karl Rove was at the University of Arkansas yesterday, addressing various aspects of Bush’s presidency. When he wasn’t wildly mischaracterizing the record regarding U.S. Attorneys, Rove touched on Bush’s “legacy.” [Rove] said that the biggest Bush legacy will be what he terms the “Bush doctrine.” It “says if you train a terrorist, harbor a terrorist, […]
Sidney Blumenthal shared an interesting anecdote about the latest meeting of the White House book club. As witnesses were trooping to the stand in the federal courthouse in Washington to testify in the case of United States v. I. Lewis Libby, and the Washington Post was publishing its series on the squalid conditions that wounded […]
To update a post from a few weeks ago, Democratic presidential candidates and the Nevada state party continue to face questions about partnering with Fox News to host one of the season’s major Democratic presidential debates in Reno, scheduled for August 14. [tag]John Edwards[/tag] was the first to announce that he would not participate in […]
The Bush administration is censoring scientists? You don’t say. (thanks to Gridlock for the heads-up) Internal memorandums circulated in the Alaskan division of the Federal Fish and Wildlife Service appear to require government biologists or other employees traveling in countries around the Arctic not to discuss climate change, polar bears or sea ice if they […]
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: * Rudy Giuliani’s fight with the International Association of Fire Fighters grew rather intense yesterday, and Giuliani will now be the only major presidential candidate from either party to miss the IAFF’s candidate […]
It’s been a while, but “national security letters” (NSLs) are back in the news. The letters were originally created in the 1970s for espionage and terrorism investigations, but were expanded under Bush, through the Patriot Act, to apply to almost anyone. The WaPo had a very helpful article on NSLs in November 2005, which explained […]
The common thread among the fired U.S. Attorneys is the fact that they resisted efforts to politicize their offices. GOP officials wanted them to “play ball,” they didn’t, so they were purged. Josh Marshall noted a couple of days ago that this raises another disconcerting question: how many of Bush’s federal prosecutors were willing to […]