The Carpetbagger Report

You may have heard about this elsewhere, but Matt Stoller sparked an interesting debate the other day by noting what appears to be a journalistic ethics problem posed by James Carville’s political commentary on CNN. On Wednesday’s Situation Room, for example, Carville, a contracted CNN political commentator, offered some relatively mild criticism of Barack Obama. […]

In 2003, for reasons that have never been entirely clear, the Congressional Black Caucus co-sponsored a Democratic presidential debate with Fox News. It didn’t go well — the questions were slanted, the in-studio analysis was ridiculous, and the coverage of the event itself on Fox News was cut short so conservative talking heads could start […]

Saturday-morning contributor Morbo tried to appropriate This Week in God for his own purposes about an hour ago, but I’ve reclaimed control of the God Machine in a bloodless coup. First up is a flap over a life-sized Chocolate Jesus in New York City. A planned Holy Week exhibition of a nude, anatomically correct chocolate […]

Guest Post by Morbo Time magazine religion writer David van Biema has jumped aboard the “let’s-put-classes-about-the-Bible-in-public-schools” bandwagon. To buttress his contention that we need this instruction more than, say, scientific or economic literacy, van Biema borrows this anecdote from Boston University religion professor Stephen Prothero, who wants to see mandatory classes about the Bible in […]

Guest Post by Morbo The Carpetbagger often writes a post on Saturdays called “This Week in God.” I’m going to steal the idea today with my own collection of stories about religious weenies. Please understand that I’m not knocking religion here, just religious weenies. I am sure that after reading these stories you’ll see the […]

Guest Post by Morbo Wal-Mart recently opened a store in Landover Hills, Md. The move was significant because this store is one of the company’s first in the inner suburbs of Washington, D.C. In fact, it’s “inside the Beltway” — the ring road that surrounds the nation’s capital. This is a densely populated, highly urban […]

Today’s edition of quick hits. * Attorney General Alberto Gonzales told the AP today that he may have been involved in purge discussions but he doesn’t “recall being involved in deliberations” over which prosecutors were to be ousted. He added that he’s “fighting for the truth.” Of course he is. * Fascinating profile in the […]

CNN reports today that when it comes to a flat-tax, Rudy [tag]Giuliani[/tag] was against it before he was for it. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani once said that a flat income tax “would be a terrible mistake for urban areas,” but the presidential hopeful now is open to the idea. Giuliani made his […]

The showdown between the president and Congress over funding the war in Iraq has led to a common, White House-generated myth: a veto will put the troops in jeopardy, denying them necessary resources. “Congress continues to pursue these [withdrawal] bills, and as they do, the clock is ticking for our troops in the field,” Bush […]

Maybe Time managing editor Richard Stengel is trying to make some kind of point. Last weekend, on national television, Stengel explained his perspective on the prosecutor purge scandal. “I am so uninterested in the Democrats wanting Karl Rove, because it is so bad for them. Because it shows business as usual, tit for tat, vengeance,” […]