The Washington Post, presumably before it knew all the details, agreed to co-sponsor the Pentagon’s upcoming “America Supports You Freedom Walk.” Having lived in DC for several years, I know the Post Co. routinely lends its name to local events (Taste of DC, 4th of July festivities, etc.), but Rumsfeld’s exploitative 9/11 event is clearly […]
I’ve been talking about the “Military Readiness Enhancement Act,” which would undo the government’s experiment with “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” for a while now, but as it turns out, the need for the change may be less obvious than I had assumed. In fact, with recruiting down and casualties high, the policy isn’t being enforced […]
If you haven’t already seen it, Murray Waas’ piece in the Village Voice is chock full of interesting Plame Game tidbits. Most notably, federal investigators have been under the impression Karl Rove lied about what he knew from the beginning of the probe. Justice Department officials made the crucial decision in late 2003 to appoint […]
Paul Krugman noted today that Bush’s drive privatize Social Security “flopped so badly that the topic has almost disappeared from national discussion.” That’s true, of course, but it’s part of a political problem for Dems. The whole debacle fell apart so quickly, there’s a real fear that voters might forget about it. Thankfully, Republicans are […]
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: * According to Bob Novak, top GOP leaders are watching Pennsylvania’s Senate race and they’re not happy. “Republican insiders in Washington fear that Sen. Rick Santorum, chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, is […]
It comes as something of a surprise, but the radical right’s “Justice Sunday II” was reminiscent of too many movie sequels — rehashing lines that generated applause the first time to produce more of the same. In fact, the only thing interesting about yesterday’s massive church rally in Nashville was what wasn’t said. If you […]
It’s hard to keep up with every angle and development in Jack Abramoff’s scandalous saga, though Josh Marshall seems to be staying on top of them, but I’ve been anxiously watching GOP lawmakers with close ties to Abramoff to see how they respond to his indictment. So far, Republicans have been rather shy. With former […]
With Deputy Attorney General James Comey on his way to the private sector, there’s been ample speculation about who, exactly, special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald will report to as his Plame investigation continues. It seemed last week that Bush-buddy Associate Attorney General Robert McCallum was slated for the job, which raised plenty of concerns about the […]
Improvised explosive devices (IEDs) have caused devastating damage to American troops in Iraq, so it’s only natural that the Pentagon would make every effort to thwart attacks using these devices. I have to admit, though, that of all the possible approaches, using advertising to ask insurgents to stop using IEDs hadn’t occurred to me. The […]
Sony’s movie studio made up critical praise for some of its movies and used quotes from a non-existent critic in its TV ads. The Bush administration made up fake-news segments featuring an actress pretending to be a reporter in its televised propaganda. One of the two is embarrassed and will pay $1.5 million in an […]