Hillary Clinton appeared on MSNBC’s “Countdown with Keith Olbermann” on Thursday, prompting CBS News to run a report on the interview. It included this jaw-dropper, by way of reader DOK: During the twelve-minute interview, the former first lady chuckled in response to Olbermann. But she never unleashed the highly-scrutinized, overly-analyzed belly laugh known as “the […]
This Week in God
First up from The God Machine this week is a story about a surprisingly heated fight on Capitol Hill over generic religious references on flags temporarily flown over Congress. The acting architect of the Capitol cleared the way Thursday for the certificates that accompany flags flown over the building to include the word “God,” reversing […]
With the Frosts’ smear complete, the right gets a new target
Smearing 12-year-old Graeme Frost and his family was so last week. Are there any new targets for the far-right to attack? Catholics United, a left-leaning educational group, seems to be waving a red flag at the conservative bulls. (via DemFromCT) Catholics United will launch a radio advertising campaign targeting ten members of Congress whose opposition […]
Giuliani feels sorry for ye of little faith
Guest Post by Morbo A weird, underreported story from the 2008 primary season is the relationship between Rudy Giuliani and TV preacher Pat Robertson. The two would not seem to have much in common. Giuliani claims to be pro-choice and pro-gay. When he left his second wife, Giuliani moved in with a gay couple and […]
Never underestimate the power of bad literature
Guest Post by Morbo Fifty years ago this week, Ayn Rand published the novel “Atlas Shrugged.” Never has such a wretched piece of work had such a powerful impact. “Atlas Shrugged” is a terrible book — it’s turgid, didactic and poorly written with character development that comes straight out of a cardboard factory. Yet it […]
Former U.S. Commander in Iraq sees a ‘nightmare with no end in sight’
Retired Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, who commanded U.S. forces in Iraq for a year after the March 2003 invasion, is an imperfect messenger for criticism of the administration’s war policy. He is perhaps best known for being the top U.S. general in Iraq during the Abu Ghraib scandal, though he was cleared of wrongdoing in […]
Friday’s Mini-Report
Today’s edition of quick hits. * The right has responded to Al Gore’s Nobel Peace Prize with the kind of class and dignity we’ve come to expect from conservatives. Here’s the National Review: “Who Else Should Al Gore Share the Prize With? How about that well known peace campaigner Osama Bin Laden, who implicitly endorsed […]
The CIA goes after its own inspector general
They don’t usually generate much attention, but federal agencies have Inspectors General as a kind of internal check on abuse. The point is to have an independent “watchdog,” with oversight authority, who can ensure agencies’ integrity, while preventing fraud, mismanagement, and potential crimes. Of course, given the last several years, and the White House’s unique […]
Gore has quite a decade
Al Gore is enjoying a very good press day, and I couldn’t be more pleased. He’s not only earned a Nobel Peace Prize, he’s also established himself as a global leader. Today is, I’m sure, an amazing honor for the former Vice President, but today is also a reminder of an amazing series of accomplishments. […]
When bad focus groups generate worse ads
One of my favorite moments from the six Republican debates thus far came in May, when Mitt Romney tried to explain how he perceives threats to the U.S. from the Middle East: “This is about Shi’a and Sunni. This is about Hezbollah and Hamas and al Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood. This is the worldwide […]