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: * In what the Providence Journal is describing as “one of the most spectacular flame-outs in Rhode Island’s long and florid political history,” Democratic Secretary of State [tag]Matt Brown[/tag] ended Senate campaign yesterday […]
At first blush, this New York Times article seems to point to an encouraging development regarding [tag]tax breaks[/tag] for [tag]oil companies[/tag]. It’s not, however, quite as heartening as it may seem. As anxiety spread in Congress on Wednesday over soaring oil prices, lawmakers in both parties said they were ready to take a tough look […]
For a party that claims to oppose “[tag]social engineering[/tag],” this just amazes me. Winston Graham and Saundra Corley finally tied the knot after almost 20 years and four children together. Now they’re planning to make their new marriage reap some additional benefits. They’ve signed up for a new pilot program for low-income couples in the […]
Thirty five [tag]Senate[/tag] [tag]Republicans[/tag], worried about excessive government [tag]spending[/tag] and wasteful [tag]pork[/tag], wrote the [tag]president[/tag] a letter (.pdf) yesterday, telling [tag]Bush[/tag] that he should [tag]veto[/tag] the emergency spending bill for [tag]Iraq[/tag] and hurricane preparation — and if he does, they’ll back him up. The number of senators is significant because if the 35 stick together, […]
A month ago, Republican Reps. [tag]Walter Jones[/tag] Jr. (N.C.), [tag]Ron Paul[/tag] (Texas) and [tag]Wayne Gilchrest[/tag] (Md.) joined Democratic Reps. [tag]Neil Abercrombie[/tag] (Hawaii), [tag]Ike Skelton[/tag] (Mo.) and [tag]Marty Meehan[/tag] (Mass.) in co-signing a “Dear Colleague” letter calling for “an open and honest [tag]debate[/tag] on the future of U.S. policy in [tag]Iraq[/tag].” Specifically, the bi-partisan group wanted […]
Way back in December, the San Diego Union-Tribune, as part of its reporting on [tag]Duke Cunningham[/tag]’s bribery scandal and his relationship with Defense contractor lobbyist [tag]Brent Wilkes[/tag], noted that the lobbyist “ran a [tag]hospitality suite[/tag], with several bedrooms, in Washington.” Now, one does not necessarily need a dirty mind to wonder why, exactly, Wilkes needed, […]
A few random notes to share. * As you may have heard, [tag]Glenn Greenwald[/tag], of [tag]Unclaimed Territory[/tag] fame, has a new book coming out, “[tag]How Would a Patriot Act[/tag]? Defending American Values from a President Run Amok.” It won’t be out for a couple of weeks, but because so many of us in the blogosphere […]
Most Bush critics seem to be congratulating [tag]Fox News[/tag]’ [tag]Tony Snow[/tag] for his new gig as [tag]White House[/tag] [tag]press secretary[/tag] by reminding him of the many, many disparaging remarks he has made about the president from recent years. But I’ve noticed a handful of [tag]Bush[/tag] allies offering a compelling response: if the White House is […]
The president who has never had to use his veto pen issued his 135th veto threat yesterday, this time on an emergency spending bill that covers, among other things, the war. The White House promises to veto a huge Senate bill to pay for the rising costs of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan and […]
It seems desperate times call for desperate measures. Clergy in the nation’s capital and across the country pray for lower gas prices…. Many are talking about the rising gas and energy prices and overlooking the power of prayer when it comes to resolving this energy crisis. Many of the nations most prominent clergy will join […]