I’ve hesitated in weighing in on the messy gubernatorial race in Washington state, but, fortunately, it appears to be near a welcome conclusion. Just as soon as the Republican candidate can compose himself. This, as you’ve probably heard, is one of the closest gubernatorial races in American history. The count on Election Day showed real […]
For anyone interested, I’ll be doing a syndicated radio show this afternoon, talking about some current political stories, plus a look ahead at 2005. The show is “Culture Shocks,” hosted by the always-great Barry Lynn. I’ll be on from 5 to 6 Eastern. (Regular readers may notice that this will be my second appearance on […]
I was working on a year-in-review project and stumbled upon a quote I had forgotten about it. While far too many people said too many stupid things this year, I believe this quote, which the president offered in January, may be the most breathtaking thing anyone said in 2004. “No President has ever done more […]
In case you missed it, the LA Times had a helpful article over the weekend about the, shall we say, “flaws” in the missile defense program Bush is so fond of. As the Times explained, to destroy a missile in the boost-phase of the existing system requires an unprecedented coordination of space-based sensors, signal-analysis computers, […]
This is just starting to make it into the news, but it warrants close attention. North Korea’s Kim Jong Il has purged some of his closest relatives, accusing them of trying to seize power, reports in Beijing and Seoul said. The purge began some months ago when Kim Jong Il put his brother-in-law, Chang Song-taek, […]
This year, the House Ethics Committee, led by Rep. Joel Hefley (R-Colo.), issued multiple admonishments of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. In response, congressional Republicans are taking steps, not to replace DeLay, but to replace Hefley. How typical. Unfortunately, this isn’t a terrible surprise. In October, Hefley was already feeling considerable heat. House ethics committee […]
Yes, Christmas is over and the alleged war to drive the holiday from the public’s mind through subversive “happy holidays” greetings can go back underground for another year. But before we drop the issue entirely, I have a final thought. Bill O’Reilly, Charles Krauthammer, and the truly ridiculous Committee to Save Merry Christmas have been […]
If I didn’t know better, I’d say we have a genuine meme going here. Washington Post, Dec. 10: To build public support and circumvent critics in Congress and the media, the president will travel the country and warn of the disastrous consequences of inaction, as he did to sell his Iraq and terrorism policies during […]
I realize presidential pardons have gotten a bad wrap lately. Clinton’s Marc Rich fiasco didn’t go well. The first President Bush pardoned — on Christmas Eve — the very officials who could have implicated him in the Iran-Contra scandal, not to mention a Pakistani heroin smuggler. Nevertheless, this President Bush’s stinginess when it comes to […]
If we privatized Social Security, and you could invest that money on your own instead of financing the retirements of today’s senior citizens, you’d have more money for your own retirement, right? Well, not exactly. At the heart of President Bush’s plan to sell Social Security private accounts is a simple notion: You’re always better […]