I’ve been reluctant to go into too much detail in criticizing Bush’s latest federal budget, in large part because it’s too ridiculous to take seriously. It became irrelevant a few minutes after White House officials dropped off a copy at the Senate Budget Committee’s office. The document is helpful, however, in highlighting the president’s misguided […]
A neighbor of mine is a pilot who’s done two tours in Iraq. Both times, when we chatted before he left, there was an awkward truth that we were hesitant to say out loud: of all the U.S. soldiers in Iraq, the safest ones were in the sky, where there are no IEDs or snipers. […]
The more we learn about the Bush administration’s prosecutor purge, the more disconcerting it looks. Bud Cummins’ dismissal was suspicious in Arkansas, Carol Lam’s removal was odd in San Diego, and now we’re learning more about John McKay’s dismissal in Seattle. Former U.S. Attorney John McKay told The Associated Press on Wednesday that his resignation […]
The White House seemed quite pleased with itself. After weeks of private arm-twisting and public demagoguery, the Bush gang appeared to get exactly what it wanted on Monday: the complete absence of any anti-escalation resolutions in the Senate. Newsweek highlighted the president’s “notable triumph,” and said Bush “found a way to win, or at least […]
Today’s edition of quick hits. * The so-called “surge” is underway. * John McCain is, officially, the biggest hack in the Senate. * For all of the things that makes Joe Lieberman popular amongst Republicans, they probably won’t care for this: Sen. Joseph Lieberman, the Connecticut independent who has been a staunch supporter of the […]
There’s no official word yet on whether John Edwards’ presidential campaign has fired Pandagon’s Amanda Marcotte and Shakespeare’s Sister’s Melissa McEwan yet. Salon reported that the dismissal has already happened, but Edwards’ spokesperson cautioned Salon against reporting that they have been fired and said, “We will have something to say later.” Presumably, the internal debate […]
The LA Times had a fascinating article today on the audiotape played during Scooter Libby’s trial, in which jurors heard about Cheney and Libby crafting their own secret plan to leak previously classified intelligence — but wouldn’t tell other senior White House officials. As Libby sat silently in the courtroom, jurors heard his recorded voice […]
No, not that one; I’m referring to “filibuster.” According to a report in Roll Call today, the latest Republican effort to block the Senate agenda is going to be over the budget. Senate Democrats and Republicans are headed for a classic game of chicken this week over the nine remaining fiscal 2007 appropriations bills. Senate […]
There was plenty of grumbling in December when the new Democratic congressional leadership announced that lawmakers could forget about the two- and three-day work weeks they enjoyed during the GOP’s reign; from now on, Congress would work five days a week. Most of the complaining happened before the new schedule was even implemented. Now that […]
Following up on an earlier post on the pseudo-scandal about John Edwards’ official bloggers, an emailer who wishes to remain anonymous suggests I’m being hypocritical. I’ve made a big deal about who Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has brought onto his campaign staff, so I “shouldn’t be surprised” when there’s similar scrutiny applied to a Democrat’s […]