Given the Republican sex scandals of 2006, it seemed reasonable to assume 2007 would be a little quieter. No such luck. Examples like these keep popping up. The headline is a real attention-grabber: “Cross-dressing state lawmaker blackmailed following late night tryst.” State Representative Richard Curtis says he’s not gay, but police reports and court records […]
Mukasey’s tortured response
Michael Mukasey’s confirmation as the next Attorney General continues to be in doubt, in large part because he refuses to answer a simple and obvious question. Attorney general nominee Michael B. Mukasey told Senate Democrats yesterday that a kind of simulated drowning known as waterboarding is “repugnant to me,” but he said he does not […]
I watch the debates, so you don’t have to
Not since the first debate for the Democratic presidential candidates, way back in April, has there actually been some anticipation about what might happen. Last night, in Philadelphia, it was obvious that Hillary Clinton’s rivals would be more aggressive towards the front-runner, but how much? Who’d benefit? Would it make a difference? We gained some […]
Tuesday’s Mini-Report
Today’s edition of quick hits. (Sorry I’m late today) * Another step towards instability in Pakistan: “A bomber blew himself up about a quarter-mile from President Gen. Pervez Musharraf’s office Tuesday, killing seven people and deepening Pakistan’s insecurity ahead of crucial elections. Officials said the attacker detonated his explosives among police at a checkpoint in […]
GOP candidates blow off another minority forum
Last month, PBS hosted a Republican presidential candidates’ debate at historically black college in Baltimore — and all of the top four GOP candidates decided to skip it. This followed close on the heels of a Univision-hosted Republican debate in Miami on Latino issues — which was canceled when all but one candidate declined invitations. […]
Snow touts the White House’s ‘intellectual vigor’
Former White House Press Secretary Tony Snow spoke to the American Magazine Conference, sharing his perspective on the media. Nothing terribly exciting, but I couldn’t help but love the way Snow described the White House’s decision-making process. (via D. Froomkin) “You don’t see it but there’s a process where everything gets discussed, and there are […]
Bush laments ‘wasted’ time
The president met with leaders of the congressional minority this morning — the Dems, who run Congress, weren’t invited — and read a statement to the press afterwards. Bush was in lecture mode. “Congress is not getting its work done. We’re near the end of the year, and there really isn’t much to show for […]
The big, bad Dems were mean to Republicans on S-CHIP
There’s been some debate, here and elsewhere, about why exactly so many Republicans balked on the bipartisan effort to expand the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP). The president’s veto, and the GOP’s reluctance to override the veto, just don’t make a lot of sense. It couldn’t have been the spending, because the bill is […]
Connecting 2007 Iran to 1933 Germany
Newsweek’s Fareed Zakaria recently had a terrific piece on the right’s foolish desire to attack Iran: “Iran has an economy the size of Finland’s and an annual defense budget of around $4.8 billion. It has not invaded a country since the late 18th century…. Israel and every Arab country (except Syria and Iraq) are quietly […]
Consumer Safety agency demands less money, authority
Long-time readers know that I have an odd sort of fascination with the Consumer Product Safety Commission. It’s just one of those unsung agencies that does important work for the public — the CPSC is responsible for reviewing thousands of consumer products to see which, if any, pose a health risk and might need to […]