As a rule, there’s very little point in critiquing Charles Krauthammer columns. It’s a bit like correcting George W. Bush’s grammar — the errors are obvious, but a little too easy. But Krauthammer’s latest column, a semi-coherent anti-Obama rant published yesterday, was an embarrassment to himself and the publication that ran it (the Washington Post). […]
White House warns of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed ‘walking around our neighborhoods’
The line between Republican rhetoric and parodies of Republican rhetoric seems to blur more and more all the time. The White House said Thursday that dangerous detainees at Guantanamo Bay could end up walking Main Street U.S.A. as a result of last month’s Supreme Court ruling about detainees’ legal rights. Federal appeals courts, however, have […]
Israeli gay pride event sparks Armageddon
Guest Post by Morbo On Monday the Carpetbagger mentioned One News Now and an amusing problem the fundamentalist “news” service had when it replaced “gay” with “homosexual” in a sports story. What he neglected to mention is that One News Now is a great source for kooky right wing news that you can’t find anywhere […]
Cutting-edge, ‘supplemental science’ comes to Louisiana
Guest Post by Morbo Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal has signed legislation allowing public school teachers to use “supplemental materials” in class when teaching about evolution. This is necessary, the new laws says, to promote “academic freedom.” After all, everyone knows evolution is “controversial.” What will these “supplemental materials” be like? It’s hard to say because […]
True Patriotism: An Independence Day Reflection
Guest Post by Morbo Some of the sharpest differences between liberals and conservatives relate to patriotism. Conservatives believe it’s easy to be a patriot; liberals know why it’s sometimes hard. It’s not hard because America is a bad place or because it’s not easy to love one’s country. It’s hard because being a true patriot […]
Former Sen. Jesse Helms dies at age 86
CNN reports on the death of one of the most notorious lawmakers of his generation. Former U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms, a North Carolina Republican who became an icon to conservatives, died Friday at the age of 86, a senior congressional source told CNN. The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, announced on its Web site […]
Friday’s campaign round-up
Today’s installment of campaign-related news items that wouldn’t generate a post of their own, but may be of interest to political observers: * This would be an interesting twist on a convention speech: “The Obama campaign hopes to turn the last evening of the Democratic National Convention in Denver on Aug. 28 into a giant […]
‘A third term for Karl Rove’
In October 2006, shortly before the midterm elections, John Kerry flubbed a joke by one word. He was insulting the president, but by inadvertently omitting the word “us,” Kerry was accused of insulting U.S. troops. A mind-numbing, inexplicable media firestorm erupted. It’s never been entirely clear to me why, though it probably had something to […]
Obama hears the FISA criticisms, and responds
The bad news is, Barack Obama is supporting a bad FISA bill. The good news is, Obama is aware of the criticism he’s received over the issue, and takes the concerns seriously. After a protest group gained prominence on Senator Barack Obama’s own campaign Web site, the candidate has written a response to those who […]
The Middle East is volatile, and we ‘don’t need it to be more unstable’
Bush administration officials, leading neocons, and conservative commentators were taken aback yesterday when Barack Obama reiterated his opposition to a military confrontation with Iran, and called, again, for increased diplomatic outreach to Tehran. The president and John McCain have, of course, called negotiations with Iran “appeasement,” and Obama’s remarks were like waving a flag in […]