I realize this isn’t at all new information, and I suspect this new report will get lost in the shuffle because it reinforces already-known facts, but Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction Stuart Bowen’s perspective shouldn’t be overlooked. The U.S. government was unprepared for the extensive nation-building required after it invaded Iraq, and at each […]
The Washington Post’s editorial board argues today that the White House and congressional Dems have “drawn deep lines in the sand” over how to proceed with the purge scandal investigation. The WaPo graciously acknowledges that lawmakers have legitimate questions — “[G]iven the administration’s incorrect and inadequate answers to the Senate thus far, Congress is right […]
If you haven’t already seen it, this clip from last night’s Hardball was awfully amusing. Confronted with a quote from his own book, Tom DeLay denies the plain text. Shown the book itself, DeLay says he doesn’t have his glasses. If I didn’t know better, I’d say DeLay didn’t actually write the book. Given that […]
The [tag]Bush administration[/tag]’s deal with the [tag]tobacco industry[/tag] in 2005 has always been curious. As you may recall, the government, for reasons that no one could explain, asked the industry to pay $10 billion, instead of the $130 billion previously recommended by a government expert witness, at the conclusion of a massive racketeering trial. Today, […]
Just yesterday, I noted that not all of the purged prosecutors were equal. The administration may have had legitimate grounds for dismissal for a couple of the purged prosecutors, a fact that only helps highlight the weak reasoning for the others. The LA Times, for example, reported that in San Francisco, where Kevin Ryan was […]
Today’s edition of quick hits. * Al Gore did a terrific job testifying on climate change this morning before the House Energy Committee. Gore had a particularly lively exchange with right-wing Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas), who rejects the science on global warming. Gore told him, “The planet has a fever. If your baby has a […]
Kevin Drum summarized the White House’s principal political problem with the purge scandal extremely well today. They’ve now had nearly two months to come up with a simple, clear, understandable explanation for why they chose those eight to fire but not the others. So what is it? And why has it taken such an interminable […]
Following up on an earlier item, TPM and The Politico reported on an intriguing [tag]18-day[/tag] [tag]gap[/tag] in the latest [tag]purge[/tag]-related [tag]document dump[/tag]. According to the available materials, the Justice Department originally planned to start the [tag]U.S. Attorney[/tag] firings in mid-November, but ended up making the calls on December 7. In between, when one assumes there’d […]
Former Republican Rep. Bob Barr (Ga.) was, I once thought, a rather despicable right-wing hatchet-man. Throughout the Clinton impeachment ordeal, Barr was one of the leading moralist crusaders, and in office, his voting record was indistinguishable from the likes of Tom DeLay. But then a funny thing happened — Barr left office and became, what’s […]
Of all the dubious firings of purged prosecutors, it seems former U.S. Attorney Paul Charlton is probably getting the least amount of attention. That’s a shame; his story is about as bizarre as his colleagues’. Paul Kiel points to this Arizona Republic piece with details that should raise a few eyebrows. Two weeks after Arizona […]