When lawmakers weren’t using a $388 billion spending package to gain access to tax returns, they were loading the bill with pet projects and pork-barrel spending for their districts. One project in particular stands out: * $2 million for the government to buy back the presidential yacht USS Sequoia, sold in 1977 by President Jimmy […]
In case you were away from your computer over the weekend, you might have missed the fact that congressional Republicans nearly empowered themselves to review your tax returns without restrictions or regard to privacy laws. Yes, the law currently considers it a felony to disclose information from income tax returns, but under a new GOP […]
If there’s one thing I’ve noticed in all the years I’ve followed the religious right, it’s that this is a movement that loves to feel sorry for itself. Last year, for example, when Roy Moore wasn’t allowed to use the power of the state to promote his religious beliefs, religious right leaders like James Dobson […]
An interesting twist on an old problem is under consideration in Kentucky right now. It’s a unique situation, but one that raises a host of ethical and professional questions. Ernie Fletcher (R) is the governor or Kentucky. He also continues to be a licensed physician. So far, so good. In fact, the intersection of medicine […]
To follow-up on the Specter story for a moment, I had a random thought that’s probably silly, but I’ll mention it anyway. Could Specter face a recall vote in Pennsylvania? I don’t know what the state’s laws are for something like this, but Specter just spent every day for months telling a Blue state’s voters […]
Arlen Specter’s fight to win the chairmanship he was slated to get anyway more or less concluded yesterday. Every Republican member of the Senate Judiciary Committee has pledged to support Sen. Arlen Specter’s (R-Pa.) bid to become the panel’s chairman, paving the way for his ascension in January. To ameliorate the concerns of his colleagues […]
To their credit, Josh Marshall and Daily DeLay are doing yeomen’s work, tallying up which GOP House members supported changing House rules to allow indicted lawmakers (i.e., Tom DeLay) to serve in leadership posts. I’m concerned, however, that we’ll never really know for sure because, unlike a typical roll call vote, there’s no record of […]
A couple of months ago, Franklin Foer wrote a very compelling piece for The New Republic explaining that John McCain’s willingness to put aside his personal hatred for George W. Bush had everything to do with one last run for the Republican nomination in 2008. Foer was almost certainly right and McCain’s hints about the […]
It seemed like just yesterday that we learned that Colin Powell warned that Iran is working to adapt missiles to deliver a nuclear weapon, which was further evidence that the Islamic republic is determined to acquire a nuclear bomb. Oh wait, that was yesterday. Today, in news that proves once again that parody of the […]
Looks like the White House will have to find themselves a different token Dem for Bush’s cabinet. Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., has turned down a Bush administration offer to become secretary of the Department of Agriculture, congressional sources said Thursday. The Bush administration is seeking a new agriculture secretary after Ann Veneman announced Monday that […]