The “[tag]don’t ask, don’t tell[/tag]” policy has been a frustrating mess for years now, but we’re reaching a point in which it’s actually dangerous. A decorated sergeant and Arabic language specialist was dismissed from the U.S. Army under the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, though he says he never told his superiors he was gay […]
I have mixed feelings about [tag]Bush[/tag] meeting today with the finalists from the [tag]American Idol[/tag] competition. All presidents have had social calls for public relations purposes, whether it’s entertainers or athletes, so it’s hard to begrudge Bush for hosting a little event with some amateur singers. Tony Snow said it’s going to be “a very, […]
After the incidents at Haditha, Ishaqi, Hamandiya, and Samarra, Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki lashed out at the American military, denouncing what he characterized as habitual attacks by troops against Iraqi civilians. That was last month. This month we learn of Sgt. Lemuel Lemus’ decision to change an earlier account of a May 9 raid […]
[tag]Patrick Michaels[/tag] is a professor of environmental sciences at the University of Virginia — and noted [tag]global-warming[/tag] [tag]skeptic[/tag]. When reporters, desperate for unnecessary “balance” need a scientist willing to refute [tag]climate change[/tag], Michaels is the go-to guy. As it turns out, however, Michaels may have a bit of a [tag]conflict-of-interest[/tag] problem. Coal-burning [tag]utilities[/tag] are contributing […]
First, the good news. Fifty House [tag]Republicans[/tag], most of them slightly less conservative and nearly all of them worried about re-election, wrote a letter this week urging Majority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) to schedule a floor vote on a [tag]minimum-wage[/tag] [tag]increase[/tag] this week. [tag]GOP[/tag] leaders, suddenly worried about “bolstering a thin list of legislative accomplishments” […]
I’ve been supportive of the idea that [tag]congress[/tag]ional [tag]Democrat[/tag]s should remind voters of their differences with the [tag]GOP[/tag], and explain to the electorate what a Dem Congress would do differently than what we have now. It now appears that the party is taking the strategy pretty seriously. [tag]Democrats[/tag] plan to press for a minimum wage […]
You may have seen the very nice pictures of the president stopping at some kids’ lemonade stand in West Virginia this week. What you may not have heard is that the whole scene was, as Dan Froomkin described it, a “cynically staged photo op.” The president’s motorcade came to a halt when Bush stopped to […]
There are a handful of interesting national polls out today from a variety of news outlets, including NPR and NBC/Wall Street Journal, but I think Greg Sargent found the most important polling numbers of the day from the new CBS/New York Times poll. As Greg noted, it inexplicably didn’t make it into the Times’ article […]
In recent years, conservatives have targeted the federal judiciary as an enemy of all that is good in the world. Even among elected officials, the rhetoric can sometimes push reasonable boundaries of civil discourse. Tom DeLay, for example, made some veiled threats against judges after the Terri Schiavo controversy. Shortly thereafter, Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) […]
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: * Michigan Gov. [tag]Jennifer Granholm[/tag] (D) is the most vulnerable Dem incumbent governor in the country, but she may finally be fighting herself off the ropes. Though several recent polls have shows Amway […]