About a month ago, Sens. Jim Webb (D-Va.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) had a rather heated discussion on “Meet the Press” about Iraq. In one contentious exchange, Webb told Graham, “You know, you haven’t been to Iraq.” Graham snapped back, “I’ve been there seven times.” Webb, a decorated veteran and a former Secretary of the […]
Let’s define ‘critic’
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) was on CNN yesterday, positioning himself as a critic of the president’s Iraq policy. KIRAN CHETRY: It seems you’ve been painted as being a huge supporter of the president’s Iraq strategy. Is that an inaccurate portrayal? MCCAIN: It’s entertaining, in that I was the greatest critic of the initial four years, […]
The wrong answer on single-payer healthcare
When it comes to Democratic presidential candidates, I more or less look at single-payer healthcare the same way I look at gay marriage — it’s something the top-tier candidates probably want to support, but hold back for political reasons. The unstated position seems to be, “I like the idea, but the country’s just not there […]
This Week in God
First up from The God Machine this week is a follow-up to a major story from mid-week. As regular readers noticed, the Rev. Wiley Drake, pastor of the First Southern Baptist Church of Buena Park, issued a press release endorsing Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee — on church letterhead. Because federal law prevents tax-exempt, non-profit […]
First, Purple Hearts; now, ammo
Yesterday we talked about the Navy running out of Purple Heart medals because so many U.S. troops are being wounded in combat. One veteran was told he qualified for the medal, but if he wanted one, he’d have to pay $42 at a military surplus store. As if that weren’t enough, there’s apparently a national […]
Child-labor reality show draws complaints
Saturday-contributor Morbo is off on a top-secret mission again this weekend, but should return next week. While he’s away, I thought I’d mention a story that I know he’d like. It’s about a reality show revolving around child labor, which, oddly enough, has sparked a controversy. The ads promoting “Kid Nation,” a new reality show […]
A third-rate burglary
By this point, we know all about the partisan, political briefings the White House conducted in government buildings for government employees, despite clear prohibitions by the Hatch Act. The defense from the Bush gang is that the briefings had nothing to do with political corruption; they were just informal meetings about key congressional races for […]
Friday’s Mini-Report
Today’s edition of quick hits. * AP: “President Vladimir Putin placed strategic bombers back on long-range patrol for the first time since the Soviet breakup, sending a tough message to the United States on Friday hours after a major Russian military exercise with China. Putin reviewed the first Russian-Chinese joint exercise on Russian soil before […]
Mr. Sensitive doesn’t want a fashion critique
Karl Rove chatted with Rush Limbaugh the other day, and the far-right blowhard asked the far-right operative how Bush and his team deal with all the criticism directed at the White House. Rove said: “Rush, you ignore it. I mean, if you have to wake up in the morning to be validated by the editorial […]
O’Reilly wants audience to ‘relax on all this gay stuff’
About a month ago, Bill O’Reilly went on one of his tirades against gays, in this instance because the San Diego Padres baseball team hosted a gay-pride night and a children’s hat giveaway promotion during the same game. The notion of kids and gay people in a stadium at the same time caused O’Reilly to […]