Via Matt Yglesias of TPM Cafe, we find this short but sweet article in The Atlantic, by James Fallows. It describes a War Game session The Atlantic held two years ago to explore the possible outcomes of an escalating conflict between Iran and the United States. The article is worth a full read, and it [...]
We learn from the Washington Post that President Bush is miffed. Miffed that news sources would print articles about his administration’s plans for dealing with Iran. From the article(quoting the President): “I know here in Washington prevention means force,” he said in response to an audience question after a speech at Johns Hopkins University’s School [...]
It is a good feeling. Oh, and remember that “War on Christians” conference I blogged a few days ago? Well, The Nation’s Robert Scheer heard about it too, and his take is spot on: Let’s leave aside for a moment the absurdity of right-wing Christians’ persecution complex at a time when their adherents effectively control [...]
What to say about Tom DeLay? His zeal, arrogance, determination, and power reached incredible heights in his time. It seemed he would do anything to further the creation of a Republican majority in Congress. His success lives on, though he will not be a part of it any longer. It is tempting to bask in [...]
The Washington Post’s Jeffrey Birnbaum has written a column titled, “Looks Like It Will Be A Lost Year In Legislation.” While I agree with his main premise, that Congress ought to be working harder to enact laws that will serve the nation, his explanation for the status quo is instructive: One word characterizes the situation: [...]
It seems like the conventional wisdom has coalesced around two metrics that determine electability: authenticity and certainty. Certainly, that’s one idea I get from this Washington Post article, which analyzes the President’s recent use of less-scripted, more off-the-cuff public appearances to improve his poll numbers. Apparently, Bush makes little jokes, and “plays the rube,” and [...]
David Broder’s column today in the Washington Post opens tellingly: Jim Nussle took a little time off from his campaign last week to handle a small chore in Washington: writing a budget for the U.S. government. In the piece, Broder examines the offhandedness of the GOP’s handling of this huge task. I recommend the whole [...]
When the Jack Abramoff scandal was the scandal du jour, and Tom DeLay’s money laundering indictment made headlines every day, Republicans knew they had to act quickly to clean up the reputation of the Congress. They replaced DeLay with John Boehner, who made it clear that he would get the job done. From a February [...]
I do not understand the persistent, vocal assertions from some groups of people that there is some War on Christians going on in this country. It just isn’t true. These groups ordinarily claim that some pervasive culture of licentiousness is being actively promoted purposely to undermine Christian values, but in reality, whatever license flourishes in [...]
There is so much data out there now that confirms the climate models of human caused global warming, it is sometimes hard to believe that many Americans believe the issue is still not settled. Of course, we must remember that some of our elected leaders choose to ignore the evidence and pretend that everything is [...]