Contradictions abound

Bush’s economic policies have been a sterling success that have put the country on the path to long-term growth. Simultaneously, long-term growth looks precarious, so we better embrace Bush’s economic policies. These are the kinds of valuable insights one picked up watching the White House “economic summit” this week. Throughout a two-day conference on the […]

A whole lot of religion in the public square

One of the more common complaints from the religious right is that matters of faith are ignored by mainstream society in general, and the popular press in particular. It’s the reason, they say, right-wing religious news outlets such as Pat Robertson’s “700 Club” is necessary. But have you noticed the cover stories of the nation’s […]

Rumsfeld’s GOP support slips even further

Add two more senators to the list. First, Trent Lott has lost confidence in the flailing Defense Secretary. U.S. Sen. Trent Lott doesn’t believe Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld should resign immediately, but he does think Rumsfeld should be replaced sometime in the next year. “I’m not a fan of Secretary Rumsfeld,” Lott, R-Mississippi, told the […]

Making those ballot measures a little easier to understand

I generally don’t like the idea of “dumbing down” democracy, but the complexity of ballot questions is a legitimate issue. A lawmaker in Nevada seems to be on the right track. State Sen. Valerie Wiener, D-Las Vegas, said Monday that she is drafting a bill to require the state to write election ballot questions at […]

A welcome Bush administration reversal

This was a disappointing development when it was announced, but fortunately, there appears to be a positive resolution. In an apparent reversal of decades of U.S. practice, recent federal Office of Foreign Assets Control regulations bar American companies from publishing works by dissident writers in countries under sanction unless they first obtain U.S. government approval. […]

Neo-confederate makes state school board

Ron Wilson is quite a colorful character. The defeated Republican candidate for a South Carolina state Senate seat is perhaps best known for selling and praising anti-Semetic textbooks for homeschoolers — one of which touted the idea that Jews are working toward world domination. He’s also gained notoriety as the former commander of the Sons […]

Just what we need, more tax cuts we can’t afford

Newsweek’s Allan Sloan is always good for a strong column, but he’s looking particularly smart this morning. A couple of weeks ago, Sloan argued that the failures of Bush’s repeated tax cuts for the wealthy will in no way deter the White House from doing the exact same thing again. My predictions, based on four […]

Least…persuasive…spin…ever

Following up on yesterday morning’s post about the latest failed test of the criminally wasteful missile defense system, I was struck by the boldness of the spin coming from the Pentagon. Wednesday’s two-part test called for the interceptor to be launched from the Ronald Reagan Test Site on the Kwajalein Atoll in the Central Pacific […]

And the hits just keep on coming

The Boston Globe’s Joan Vennochi wrote a column today arguing that Donald Rumsfeld’s tenure at the Pentagon must, for everyone’s sake, end very soon. But Vennochi also noted that it’s not the left that’s giving Rumsfeld the most trouble. There is a drumbeat, and at this moment it is coming from the right, not the […]

Seeing Roy Moore and raising him one

Former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore was ultimately forced from the bench after decorating his courthouse, Taliban-style, with monuments to his religious beliefs. But while Moore was content to promote the Protestant version of the Ten Commandments with two-ton granite statues and hand-carved plaques, a fellow Alabama jurist has decided to kick things […]