I don’t like flying. It’s not a phobia, per se, because I can (and do) get on airplanes with some regularity, but I’m not crazy about it. When terrorists used four commercial airliners as missiles on Sept. 11, 2001, whatever pleasure I may have taken in flying seemed to evaporate. I took some solace, however, […]
The story that looks like it couldn’t get more ridiculous somehow manages to find a way. When we last left our Texas adventure, a new special session was beginning in the Texas legislature to pass Tom DeLay’s outrageous redistricting scheme. 11 Dems in the State Senate fled to New Mexico to deny their chamber a […]
The top tier of Democratic presidential candidates has shifted a bit over the last six months. Sometimes it’s included Edwards, other times Lieberman, usually Gephardt’s in there, and now Dean has solidified his position near the top. The only consistent member of the top-tier club has been Kerry. Since Dean has charged ahead, every campaign […]
Kudos to Salon.com’s Michelle Goldberg not only for her excellent article on the national gathering of the College Republicans over the weekend, but for having the patience to endure the audience’s vile anti-American rhetoric. I suspect the temptation to run from the convention hall screaming would have been awfully strong if I were in her […]
It’s not often, but occasionally a political issue will offer distinct options between helping American families and helping business interests. In the early 1990s, for example, Democrats championed the Family and Medical Leave Act to help families by allowing a worker to tend to a sick relative or care for a child for a limited […]
Sometimes Republicans in Congress do things that are so insane, it’s hard to know where to begin a sincere criticism. It’s no secret that the House GOP doesn’t care much for the principle of church-state separation. When federal appeals courts issued rulings against “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance and against a two-ton Ten […]
Like a character in some bad horror movie, the Texas redistricting story refuses to die. Yesterday things kicked into high gear all over again. The history on this takes too long to reiterate; there are just so many layers to the story. In essence, after some bizarre turn of events in May, Texas Republicans began […]
Today’s “Bushism” in Slate was one of my all-time favorites. It isn’t one of the malapropisms that have become infamous with a president who has trouble matching subjects and verbs, but it’s one of those great instances when you can hear Bush struggle to end his own thought. Here’s the quote: “Our country puts $1 […]
I was going to let this go, but something has come to my attention that suggests the issue warrants some additional attention. If you’ve been reading the site for a while, you’ve seen my ongoing concerns over Bush’s nomination of Bill Pryor to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. I have said, on more than […]
The Pew Research Center, which consistently does excellent non-partisan research, has an interesting new report out on religion and politics in America. It’s definitely worth reading if the topic interests you. The report covers a lot of ground, including public attitudes on gay marriage, Bush’s use of religious rhetoric, whether Dems and Republicans are “friendly” […]