The American Humanist Legal Center has a new court case that’s definitely worth watching. “An Illinois member [of the American Humanist Association] voted in a church that displayed a four-foot wooden crucifix right above the election judges. Another member in California was confronted by a large marble plaque dedicated to the ‘unborn children’ who are […]
Time magazine’s Scott MacLeod, reporting from the Middle East, recently spoke to a veteran Western diplomat who couldn’t muster any optimism about the future of the region. “The region is in as serious a mess as I have ever seen it,” he said. “There is an unprecedented number of interconnected conflicts and threats.” It led […]
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: * Outgoing Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), who was always a long shot as far as 2008 was concerned, has reportedly decided not to run for president. According to National Journal, he […]
Despite stanch support from the [tag]Bush[/tag] White House, Pervez Musharraf’s government in Pakistan has not exactly been reliable of late. Musharraf recently suggested, for example, that Osama bin Laden could find safe haven in Pakistan, so long as he promised to behave himself. For that matter, [tag]Musharraf[/tag] also publicly disagreed with Bush’s notion that the […]
The president held a private reception at the White House shortly after the election for newly-elected members of Congress. Sen.-elect Jim [tag]Webb[/tag] (D-Va.), whose son is a Marine lance corporal serving in Iraq, attended, but had no interest in being phony — Webb skipped the presidential receiving line and declined to have his picture taken […]
Far too many conservatives have made it abundantly clear that they’re unhappy about a Muslim getting elected to Congress. Right-wing activists opposed Rep.-elect [tag]Keith Ellison[/tag]’s (D-Minn.) campaign while he was running, and after having won, most of these same activists are openly questioning whether his faith makes him unfit for office. These concerns reached new […]
The first hint that the Bush gang was prepared to throw Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki under the bus came in September, when senior administration officials leaked word to the New York Times that they’re no longer confident that Maliki has what it takes to hold the country together. Patience, the NYT reported, is […]
Today’s edition of quick hits. * The post-election season hasn’t been kind to the Bush White House. A new Harris poll shows the president’s job performance rating dropping to just 31%, down three points since late-October. Overall, 31% of Americans also believe that things in the US. Are going in the right direction, which is […]
Dick Cheney was in Riyadh over the weekend, but the VP’s office, which is not exactly forthcoming on a regular basis, was unusually vague about this trip. According to what Cheney aides were willing to share, the Vice President traveled half-way around the world for a two-hour meeting with King Abdullah, then hoped on his […]
I’ll give you the quote; you guess the politician who said it. “‘Stay the course’ is gone. We’re going to try and devise some new strategies, hopefully with the President’s concurrence,” the senator said. “Our soldiers, sailors and airmen should not be in there, risking their lives, losing their lives to stop a Civil War.” […]