For the first time in 27 years, a senator (a Republican who prefers to remain anonymous) has blocked the Senate Intelligence authorization bill. You’ll never guess why. Senate Republicans late Wednesday blocked the authorization bill that guides the country’s intelligence programs. It was the first time in 27 years that the bill had failed to […]
It hasn’t been a great few months for Wal-Mart, at least as far as public relations goes. Two months ago, we learned that the retail behemoth is considering a new employment plan that includes fewer employee benefits and discrimination based one’s physical abilities. One month ago, questions arose over a suspicious sweetheart deal Wal-Mart struck […]
On Tuesday, Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel (Neb.) joined a bi-partisan group of senators demanding a full-scale congressional investigation into Bush’s domestic-surveillance program, suggesting he was one of a handful of GOP lawmakers who were less than pleased with the president’s approach to the rule of law. It wasn’t clear, however, just how irritated Hagel is […]
For the past week, as part of the administration’s defense of its warrantless-spying program, the Bush gang has insisted that Congress empowered the president to do, well, pretty much anything he wanted when lawmakers passed a post-9/11 measure on the war on terrorism. Members of Congress from both parties who voted for the law have […]
Just when it seemed the congressional wrangling over the Patriot Act couldn’t get any worse, lawmakers managed to find a way. It seemed like everyone on the Hill had figured out how to save face and keep the law going. After a filibuster stopped the Patriot Act from being renewed, Senate Dems wanted a three-month […]
A couple of readers have asked about the holiday schedule here at The Carpetbagger Report so I thought I’d give a quick rundown. In short, not much will change. I’ll be posting today, guest poster Morbo will have some words of wisdom tomorrow, and on Sunday there will be a special year-in-review Sunday Discussion Group. […]
Putting aside the question over whether the president will or should be impeached, the media coverage of the “I word” discussion has been a little odd. It’s as if news outlets want to talk about it, but are afraid to, so they mention it with a certain detachment, essentially discussing the discussion. Ron Hutcheson, White […]
All Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) wanted for Christmas was for the Senate to approve his plan to drill the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil. No such luck. The question then becomes what Stevens is prepared to do about it. First, he apparently plans to do some traveling in order to spite everyone who voted […]
When it comes to intelligent-design creationism, Sen. Rick “Man on Dog” Santorum (R-Pa.) can’t quite figure out where to stand. In 2001, he pushed for a provision in Bush’s No Child Left Behind legislation that was intended to promote discussion of creationism in public schools, which appeared to put him firmly in the anti-science camp. […]
The controversy surrounding Bush’s warrantless-spying program isn’t quite a week old, but plenty of ink has been spilled reviewing the scandal from every angle. To date, my very favorite analysis comes by way of Slate’s Dahlia Lithwick, who asked the right questions in a devastating way. Lithwick details the way in which the nation thought […]