Why polls on the war lack meaning for me

I’m a voracious reader of polls; I almost don’t care what the topic is. With that in mind, I’ve noticed several recent surveys from the last week or so regarding the war in Iraq. Not surprisingly, a strong majority of Americans are supporting the military, the war, and the president during the conflict. An ABC/Washington […]

2013 America is wondering what we’re up to

One of my favorite Jerry Seinfeld bits is about the eternal struggle between Night Guy and Morning Guy. Night Guy, for example, likes to stay out late and drink too much. There’s an important early meeting tomorrow morning at work? That’s Morning Guy’s problem! Morning Guy, naturally, hates Night Guy. Morning Guy has to deal […]

Turning a battle field into a mission field

Imagine for a moment that you’re a U.S. soldier fighting in Iraq. Your environment is hot and dry — all the time — and your unit hasn’t had the time or the wherewithal to do much bathing. An Army officer, who claims to have your interests in mind, has a 500-gallon pool of refreshing, clean […]

Kerry’s speech responding to his critics

Following up on my post yesterday about Kerry taking off the gloves with his chickenhawk critics, Salon was kind enough to post the transcript of Kerry’s speech in Georgia on Thursday. It’s really a good speech, well worth reading. The more Kerry gives speeches like this one, the better he’ll do in the campaign. Oddly […]

John Kerry stands his ground, takes the gloves off

There’s nothing I enjoy more than good political rhetoric. And as spinmeisters go, John Kerry’s got the best team of any Democrat in the field (particularly Chris Lehane, who used to work for Gore and is really one of the best in the business). Yesterday, Republicans went completely apoplectic when Kerry told an audience in […]

Tom DeLay explains what’s truly important in a time of war

I understand the occasional use of rhetorical hyperbole to make a point, but sometimes this idea can be taken to absurd degrees. Consider: House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) was asked by Congress Daily this week about how (and whether) the House and Senate may compromise on their differing tax cut plans. As you know, […]

Gephardt finds himself in the middle of the pack after the first quarter

Since I reported on all the first quarter fundraising totals for the other Democratic candidates, I’d be remiss if I left out the former House Minority Leader. Dick Gephardt announced yesterday that his campaign raised $3.6 million in Q1. This does not include an additional $2.4 million he transferred to his presidential campaign account from […]

What’s a war skeptic to do?

I was alerted to a really good article today by a friend and loyal reader, let’s call him Maverick, which discusses how critics of the war in Iraq can and should go about approaching the war now that it’s in full swing. (Thanks for the heads up, Mav) The piece, which appears in today’s Salon […]

Franklin Graham’s unpersuasive attempt to address the Samaritan’s Purse controversy

Franklin Graham, president of an evangelical relief organization called Samaritan’s Purse and also head of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, is obviously aware of the controversy surrounding his desire to provide aid to families in Iraq. Since news of Graham’s ambition was reported, a small firestorm has erupted. Even White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer […]

Colorado’s ridiculous new voucher scheme

It appears that the Colorado legislature is about to pass a private/religious school voucher plan for the state, one which Gov. Bill Owens (R) is anxious to pass. (If you follow this link to look at the story online, ignore the headline because it’s wrong. Colorado won’t be the first to pass a statewide voucher […]