It’s not a widely recognized “holiday,” but today is the official National Day of Prayer. The name is rather self-explanatory: It’s a day, set aside by law, in which the federal government encourages the nation to pray. And if you’re thinking it’s none of the government’s business whether you pray or not, we’re on the […]
Kudos to [tag]Montana[/tag] Gov. [tag]Brian Schweitzer[/tag] (D) for these [tag]pardons[/tag], but it’s tragic that they were necessary. Before a packed crowd in the state Capitol, Gov. Brian Schweitzer signed pardons on Wednesday to clear the names posthumously of 78 Montanans convicted of [tag]sedition[/tag] during World War One. The 78 people — all but one were […]
A long-time reader, D.M., emailed me yesterday with an interesting document. It was a .pdf of a report written by retired Army Gen. [tag]Barry McCaffrey[/tag], addressed to two West Point professors, on his observations stemming from a week-long trip through Iraq. It included plenty of optimistic assessments, but a few discouraging facts, including lengthy delays […]
I would have been more than happy to let the [tag]Stephen Colbert[/tag] story go — I went all of yesterday without even mentioning it — but the WaPo’s [tag]Richard Cohen[/tag] decided he’d weigh in on the “controversy” and his comments were odd enough to warrant a response. Why are you wasting my time with [tag]Colbert[/tag], […]
After the 2000 presidential race, Karl [tag]Rove[/tag] was reportedly confused about where his missing evangelicals were. As he explained it, “If you look at the model of the electorate, and you look at the model of who voted, the big discrepancy is among self-identified, [tag]white[/tag], [tag]evangelical Protestants[/tag], Pentecostals, and fundamentalists. … [T]here should have been […]
The good news is the House is poised to vote on a measure today that allegedly will change the way the chamber operates. The bad news is it’s a plan crafted by [tag]House[/tag] [tag]Republicans[/tag], which is hollow and insulting. House lawmakers today are expected to approve the first overhaul of [tag]Congress[/tag]ional [tag]ethics[/tag] rules in a […]
This has been making its way around several conservative blogs for a few days, but I think [tag]John McCain[/tag]’s provocative comments about campaign-finance reform should generate concerns on both sides of the aisle. On [tag]Imus[/tag], [tag]McCain[/tag] said: “I work in Washington and I know that money [tag]corrupt[/tag]s…. I would rather have a clean government than […]
It’s been nearly a year since the [tag]Senate[/tag] nearly tore itself apart over Bush’s most conservative judicial nominees and the “[tag]Gang of 14[/tag]” got together to help the chamber avoid the [tag]nuclear option[/tag]. Now, it seems we’re poised to see the sequel. Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats on Thursday quietly blocked consideration of President Bush’s three-year-old […]
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: * Ohio’s primary day included several key races, but few big surprises. In the gubernatorial race, Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth [tag]Blackwell[/tag] won the GOP nod, while Rep. [tag]Ted Strickland[/tag] (D) easily […]
It’s almost amusing to see Republicans walk the tightrope. They’ve insisted for years that all decisions about U.S. [tag]troop[/tag] deployment in [tag]Iraq[/tag] have to be dictated by conditions on the ground and the judgment of military leaders in Iraq. They also admit, usually behind the scenes, that a serious drawdown in forces might give [tag]Republicans[/tag] […]