There is a commonly-found belief in the Middle East that the U.S. is invading Iraq as part of a broader crusade against Islam. Many Muslims in these countries perceive Bush as a fundamentalist Christian, closely allied with many American religious “leaders” who have condemned Islam, and fear that the U.S. will follow Ann Coulter’s advice […]
Here’s something I had hoped to share on Friday, but was delayed due to some technical difficulties. At this point, it seems a little dated, but I nevertheless wanted to share. You may recall my dismay about the administration’s diplomatic bullying tactics against Canada. Naturally, once Canadian officials heard that their doubts about war were […]
At this point, it doesn’t matter how big Bush’s so-called “Coalition of the Willing” is in Iraq. The administration tried, sort of, to get some allies together, they came up with England and Australia, and they launched the invasion. The debate over the president’s success or failure in convincing allies of the war’s efficacy is […]
Last week I was complaining about obvious inconsistencies in the Bush administration’s approach to foreign policy. On justifying war with Iraq, dealing with the North Korean crisis, and even tacitly supporting a coup in Venezuela, the White House’s approach to foreign policy has repeatedly lacked coherence and consistency. It prompted the LA Times’ James Mann, […]
I had some technical difficulties that prevented me from uploading after about 1pm yesterday. I actually started having withdrawal symptoms, but fortunately all is well again. It appears that all the problems I was having have been fixed. Or more accurately, my wife, let’s call her Evening, was able to fix them for me. Many […]
As expected, the House voted overwhelmingly today to “recognize the public need for fasting and prayer.” It was surprising that the vote was not unanimous. The final tally was 346 yeas, 49 nays, and 23 members voting “present.” Sure, that’s pretty lopsided, but 49 politicians were willing to vote against government-promoted religion during a time […]
In the weeks leading up to the war, I mentioned several diplomatic debacles committed by the Bush administration, including failures with several key allies, such as Russia, Turkey, and Mexico, just to name a few. This week, we can add Canada to the list. As has been mentioned by several excellent bloggers, including Dan Drezner […]
The ridiculous “fasting and prayer” resolution I mentioned yesterday is scheduled for a floor vote in the House today. The question isn’t whether it will pass or not, it’s whether anyone will have the guts to vote against it. There are usually four or five members who take church-state separation seriously enough to vote against […]
It’s pretty common for candidates vying for their party’s presidential nomination not to get along. Bush infuriated Reagan for calling his tax policies “voodoo economics” in 1980, Dukakis hated Gore for bringing up problems with Massachusetts’ prisoner furlough program in ’88, and Clinton resented Tsongas’ accusations attacking his integrity in ’92. Sometimes intense rivals can […]
I’ve seen potential scandals surrounding House Majority Leader Tom DeLay arise before, only to be disappointed. But spring is a time of renewal and hope, so the latest questions surrounding DeLay lead me to some inklings of optimism. Four years ago, The New Republic reported on DeLay’s apparently conflicting statements under oath stemming from a […]