Today’s edition of quick hits. * Easing the crisis in Pakistan? “Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has decided that parliamentary elections will be held by Feb. 15 and reiterated plans to step down as head of the Army, partial concessions to the pressure building on him from Washington and inside Pakistan since he declared a state […]
Georgia is in the midst of an awful drought, so Gov. Sonny Perdue (R) has decided to, well, just take a look. (thanks to reader K.Z.) What to do when the rain won’t come? If you’re Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue, you pray. The governor will host a prayer service next week to ask for relief […]
The recent rash of conservatives who’ve publicly announced their support for torture seems to be broken up into two camps: those who support torture in rare, extreme circumstances, and those who think routine torture isn’t worth getting worked up about. Just this week, we’ve seen Cal Thomas take up the prior position, and National Review’s […]
Realistically, it’s almost impossible to believe that Bush is some kind of Manchurian President, intentionally screwing up and deliberately undermining the United States. In all likelihood, the president is failing because he’s incompetent, not because he hates us. But sometimes, it’s hard not to wonder. Dan Froomkin, for example, did a nice job today describing […]
It’s been a discouraging autumn when it comes to the right and torture. The Wall Street Journal’s editorial page argued that waterboarding doesn’t necessarily constitute “cruel, inhuman or degrading” treatment of U.S. detainees. The National Review’s Rich Lowry suggested, in Matt Yglesias’ words, that torture is “a defining value of the American conservative movement.” Republican […]
At the risk of belaboring the point, I’ve been anxiously awaiting the point at which Rudy Giuliani is asked why he’d embrace a crazed TV preacher who blamed Americans for 9/11. The State’s John O’Connor has the story. (via Greg Sargent) Giuliani defended Robertson’s past controversies, including statements after the Sept. 11 attacks that God […]
As a matter of common sense, global warming shouldn’t be a political issue at all. Climate change represents a catastrophic threat to humanity, and the likely disasters won’t discriminate on the basis of political party. And yet, this week, the WaPo ran a front-page story under the headline: “Climate Is a Risky Issue for Democrats.” […]
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: * The latest Zogby poll out of Iowa continues to show the top-tier Dems battling it out for the top spot. The poll showed Hillary Clinton ahead with 28%, followed by Barack Obama […]
There’s been ample discussion about the moral depravity of torture. And the illegalities of torture. And the impractical nature of acquiring information by way of torture. But what about the effect of torture on prosecuting suspected terrorists? This doesn’t usually get quite as much attention, but it appears prosecutors who want to put terrorists away […]
TV preacher Pat Robertson’s endorsement of Rudy Giuliani’s presidential campaign startled the political world yesterday, but apparently for all the wrong reasons. The media’s general take was, “Wow, a leading religious right figure is backing the least socially-conservative Republican in the race.” Perhaps the more appropriate response would have been, “Wow, Giuliani is taking a […]