Recently in Politics Category

Every time I watch Meet the Press I'm reminded of the magnitude of the loss of Tim Russert. Yesterday's program only reinforced that as an unprepared Tom Brokaw allowed Karl Rove's claim that it was not the policy of the Bush administration to use Iraqi oil revenues to offset the cost of the war to go unchallenged: Here's the exchange:  <br />Brokaw's next statement was, "Well, let's talk about the insurgency." Here's what Russert would...

Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be Texans. Unless you want them to be taught that: * Latinos were put on earth for the sole purpose of mowing their lawns and bussing their tables. * Thomas Jefferson was a God-hating subversive. The time wasted studying the 3rd president of the U.S. would be better spent learning about Phyllis Schlafly, the Moral Majority, and NRA. * Republicans are responsible for passing civil rights legislation....

Guest blogged by GrassrootsLobbyist: I appreciate Mike Huckabee.  Gov. Huckabee is the kind of politician America needs more of.    Now, don't get me wrong.  I disagree with about 99% of Huckabee's positions and think he knows about as much about effective fiscal policy as Sean Hannity knows about honesty and integrity.  However, he has proven to mostly be a man who offers an opinion but will respect the opinion of others and give voice...

I don't have the words to express my disgust with this attack on Department of Justice lawyers from the Liz Cheney-led group that goes by the name of Keep America Safe, more aptly named Keep America Scared. Shameful, despicable, and contemptible aren't strong enough. Adam Serwer at The American Prospect appropriately called it "The New McCarthyism." For those who may not have seen it, here's the video:So now lawyers who defend people accused of being...

This appeared on CNN's Crossfire in 2004. Not much seems to have changed. We're still grossly partisan as a nation (or at least the politicians are), and the media are still hacks."I'm not your monkey" ... Jon Stewart, I love you.As you know, CNN cancelled Crossfire in January of 2005 -- more info in an interesting follow-up piece here: http://arstechnica.com/old/content/2005/01/4509.ars" ... most major media outlets, have a long way to go before the thinking public truly respects...

A couple of items of interest from Afghanistan. 1) President Karzai's latest power grab: "...a presidential decree to take total control of the country's electoral watchdog commission. Yes, that is the same commission that exposed widespread fraud in the 2009 vote...The Electoral Complaints Commission adjudicates violations and will play an important role in the September vote for a new Parliament. By law, it has five members: three non-Afghans appointed by the United Nations and two...

In the latest news from the war in Vietnam Afghanistan, General Westmoreland's McChrystal's strategy of "winning the hearts and minds" of the Vietnamese Afghani people took a hit over the weekend as another 33 civilians, including women and children, were blown away by an "errant airstrike". General Westmoreland McChrystal immediately issued an apology to President Nguyen Van Thieu Hamid Karzai."One day after Afghan President Hamid Karzai made an impassioned plea for American-led forces to do...

Sen, Jim DeMint, this past Thursday at CPAC (which he read from a teleprompter):"Now let's talk a minute about the Presidential race in 2012. I hope Americans will expect more from their next president than a great speech. You can't govern from a teleprompter."  Apparently Mitt Romney didn't get that memo:Neither did Dick Armey:  Or Liz Cheney:Or Papa Cheney the war criminal:Really, Dick. How difficult is it to remember, "I love me some waterboarding."...

Title 18, U.S. Code 2340 defines torture as "an act committed by a person acting under the color of law specifically intended to inflict severe physical or mental pain or suffering...upon another person within his custody or physical control;"USC 2340A defines the penalties:"Whoever outside the United States commits or attempts to commit torture shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both, and if death results to any person...

President Obama, in the name of the Nobel Peace Prize, put a stop to this, NOW:"MARJA, Afghanistan -- An errant American rocket strike on Sunday hit a compound crowded with Afghan civilians in the last Taliban stronghold in Helmand Province, killing at least 10 people [the number now stands at 12], including 5 children, military officials said....The strike came after American Marines and Afghan soldiers had been taking intense small-arms fire from a mud-walled compound...