After the stunning Sept. 16 incident at Nisoor Square, it appeared Blackwater’s reputation couldn’t get much worse. For that matter, the State Department’s oversight of its private army couldn’t get much more embarrassing. As it turns out, though, both assumptions are mistaken. Last Feb. 7, a sniper employed by Blackwater USA, the private security company, […]
A couple of weeks ago, Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, testified before a Senate panel yesterday on the impact of climate change on public health, but the White House altered her testimony before it was delivered. References to potential health risks were removed; one CDC official said Gerberding’s […]
After several weeks of wrangling, the Senate Judiciary Committee will consider a revised FISA bill today, including the much-discussed provision that provides retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies that illegally cooperated with the NSA on warrantless domestic searches. Perhaps the most notable player in the debate has turned out to be a retired AT&T technician most […]
Today’s edition of quick hits. * This really isn’t good: “Wall Street suffered its second big drop in a week Wednesday, with investors worried about spreading fallout from the credit crisis at banks and about a dollar that just keeps getting weaker. The Dow Jones industrial average fell more than 360 points — just about […]
By some measurements, TV preacher Pat Robertson is perhaps weaker when it comes to terrorism than any prominent American in public life. If he were a liberal, Robertson probably would have been run out of the country by now. Just since Sept. 11, 2001, Robertson has blamed the terrorist attacks on Americans, and agreed that […]
There seems to be something of a pattern here. A study is commissioned to test whether abstinence-only programs are effective in affecting teens’ sexual behavior. Another study is commissioned, and we see the same results. And on and on. Those who are concerned with reality probably didn’t need more evidence, but we have some anyway. […]
Whenever the subject of torture comes up, the White House responds reflexively with a simple, categorical statement: “We don’t torture.” Occasionally, the president and his team will go even further in their denials, adding statements such as, “We do not render to countries that torture. That has been our policy, and that policy will remain […]
A month ago, congressional Republicans quietly announced that they were crafting a comeback plan, which would get the party back on track. It would include new attacks on Dems, a new GOP policy agenda, and a series of new bills. The whole package was going to be awesome. To be sure, the party needs something. […]
As in comedy, sometimes in politics, timing is everything. Just this week, for example, Rudy Giuliani was praising the work of his disgraced former police chief, Bernie Kerik. “Sure, there were issues [with Kerik], but if I have the same degree of success and failure as president of the United States, this country will be […]
He may have decided to drop a possible Republican presidential campaign, but former House Speaker Newt Gingrich isn’t done trying to shape the political world. Much to my dismay, some powerful Democrats have decided to take him seriously. Roll Call reports today that Gingrich was on Capitol Hill last week, pitching the results of a […]