MSNBC is reporting that Senator Tim Johnson, 59, D-SD, has apparently suffered a stroke. In the event of Johnson’s death or retirement, the Senate could change control in January – South Dakota’s governorship and legislative chambers are both currently held by Republicans. Our thoughts should be with the senator and his family this evening.

What do Barack Obama, Ben Franklin, “The Purpose Driven Life,” Jesus Christ, AIDS and the environment all have in common? I try to connect the dots here.

Given this year’s election results you knew it had to happen: the New York Times has printed an obituary for the “Yankee Republican (Republicanus newenglandensis).” Pam Belluck describes the subspecies as “Dignified in demeanor, independent in ideology and frequently blue in blood [how the heck did I miss out on that one?], they were politicians in the mold of Roosevelt and Rockefeller: socially tolerant, environmentally enthusiastic, people who liked government to keep its...

The unveiling of the designs for the “Presidential $1 Coin Program” has prompted some thoughts about the state of money in America, so I figured why not throw some random suggestions out there. First, I like the idea of a dollar coin, since it makes so much more sense (not to mention cents) for the government to produce coins rather than dollar bills (they last a bit longer, not surprisingly). However, I think Kevin Drum is right in saying that if bills and coins are in circulation simultaneously,...

Longtime centrist Republican Rep. Jim Leach’s defeat last Tuesday is a great loss for the House of Representatives, but it need not be a loss for the country. There is a diplomatic position for which Leach is not only qualified, but also particularly well suited: Ambassador to the United Nations. I am proud to jump on the Leach bandwagon today by announcing my strong support for his nomination and confirmation by the Senate. Blog-ally Steve Clemons at The Washington Note has long been favorably...

On Tuesday last, Vice President Cheney was being interviewed by WDAY talk radio host Scott Hennen, operating out of Fargo, ND. Hennen asked Cheney “Would you agree that a dunk in water is a no-brainer if it can save lives?” The Veep responded “Well, it’s a no-brainer for me. But for a while there I was criticized as being the vice president for torture. We don’t torture. That’s not what we’re involved in.” Understandably, Cheney’s comments...

Yesterday afternoon, Vermont Senator Jim Jeffords (I) made his valedictory speech before the Senate prior to his retirement at the end of this session. The text is available here. Jeffords took the opportunity to decry the current fiscal insanity with which this Administration and Congress have saddled our country, saying “It seems to me the very least we should do is pay today for the fiscal costs of our policies. Instead, we are floating IOUs written on our children’s future. This...

Every year or so one of those polls comes out telling us how many more Americans can identify [insert pop culture reference here] versus how many can identify [insert historical, governmental or news reference here]. Well, it’s that time again. Zogby International did the polling, on behalf of a new game show, “Gold Rush.” Just over 1,200 Americans were polled, and the margin of errors is +/- 2.9%. Some of the results (mainly just for their scare value): - 60.4% knew that Bart is...

As Israel prepares to widen ground operations and continues its air assault on southern Lebanon even during a putative 48-hour pause, and President Bush maintains his refusal to call for a cease-fire, Republican senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska has broken ranks with the Administration to call for strong steps toward ending the conflict before it expands still further. In a speech on the Senate flood yesterday, Hagel said “The sickening slaughter on both sides must end and it must end now. President...

Back on July 14, I declared myself “cautiously optimistic” on the deal reached between the Administration and Senator Specter on the NSA eavesdrop program. I cannot say that is the case anymore. After yesterday’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearings on the issue, it appears that the Administration is seeking even more power outside the FISA framework. While the agreement would still submit the eavesdrop program to the FISA court for review, it would also provide a Congressional blessing...

There’s been some building momentum in recent weeks on the redistricting reform front, and I’ve been behind the eight-ball, for which I must apologize. Here are some recent developments: - Back on July 18, Reps. John Tanner (D-TN), Zach Wamp (R-TN) and other supporters of the Fairness and Independence in Redistricting Act held a news conference in response to the Supreme Court’s end-of-term ruling on redistricting issues. “If we are going to fix this problem and give control...

I’ve posted a review of Doris Kearns Goodwin’s Team of Rivals here at PhiloBiblos.

In honor of the Fourth, I’ve posted a review of Gordon Wood’s Revolutionary Characters: What Made the Founders Different at Charging RINO.

There is finally!!! agreement in the Senate to take up legislation to loosen federal restrictions on stem cell research. Under a plan proposed by Majority Leader Bill Frist, the Senate will debate three bills: one identical to H.R. 810, which allows federal funding on stem cells from embryos that would otherwise be discarded; another proposed by Senators Specter and Santorum which “encourages the National Institutes of Health to finance work that might someday allow scientists to produce cells...

TMV’s PERSONAL NOTE: Last night in redating some posts on this site I inadvertantly pushed this GREAT POST back when it should have been put on today’s blog. I just saw Jeremy’s note when he could not find his post. So I’m putting it on TOP and leaving his note on as well. TMV regrets the ERROR. The Supreme Court has kept the partisan gerrymander (pictured here in its original form) alive and kicking. A splintered ruling today in the case of League of United Latin American...

My long post from last night on the Supreme Court’s redistricting decision seems to have disappeared into the ether (ah, the wonders of modern technology), so if you missed it, it’s here. TMV’s NOTE: This was a mistake in redating the blog. We have corrected the error. This long and GREAT post is now at the top of today’s posts.

Winston Groom’s new book Patriotic Fire (about the Battle of New Orleans) is the subject of my latest book review, which I’ve posted here at my brand-new literary-related blog, PhiloBiblos.

Senator Specter hauled an administration official (this time it was Michelle E. Boardman, deputy assistant attorney general in the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel) before the Judiciary Committee yesterday to sit and take a lambasting for the Administration’s use of “signing statements” as an m.o. to get around provisions of the law they just don’t like (I’ve discussed signing statements before in the context of the anti-torture bill, and don’t...

Yesterday’s Supreme Court “decision” in Randall v. Sorrell, the Vermont campaign finance case is one of those collections of concurrences, dissents and opinions that come along every year at the end of the term, the kind that must drive reporters who cover the Court up the wall. There were six separate opinions in this case: Justice Breyer announced the Court’s judgment with an opinion joined by Chief Justice Roberts and partly by Alito; Alito wrote his own opinion “concurring...

I read Washington Post reporter Juliet Eilperin’s new book Fight Club Politics this morning and have posted a review here. Quite a good book, and an important discussion of excessive partisanship, redistricting and other centrist themes.

House Speaker Denny Hastert and Majority Leader John Boehner have taken a decision that almost certainly means there will be no immigration bill passed by this Congress. Yesterday the leadership announced that House committees will hold a series of “field hearings” around the country during Congress’ August recess … meaning that a House-Senate conference to reconcile the different bills passed by each chamber wouldn’t be able to begin work until September – i.e....

The folks at alphaDictionary and the Harvard Computer Society have released an amusing little linguistics quiz, “Are You a Yankee or a Rebel?” It’ll calculate your relative score based on how you use or pronounce certain words. My score was “30% Dixie. You are a Yankee Doodle Dandy.” Not surprising, considering I grew up in upstate NY. That 30% must be from my two Alabama aunts Feel free to post your score in the comments.

Newly-minted Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne has rejected a proposed policy shift for national park management which would have allowed snowmobiling and increased commercialization, according to a report in today’s LATimes. Instead, policies will continue to encourage preservation as the preeminent function of the park system. Kempthorne said yesterday that preservation “is the heart of these policies and the lifeblood of our nation’s commitment to care for these special places...

If you’ve been unconvinced by my continuous prattling on about the issues with earmarks, I hope that a Charles Babcock article in today’s Washington Post will help. Called “The Project that Wouldn’t Die,” Babcock’s piece examines funding for “Project M” – an earmark-funded contract given to Vibration & Sound Solutions Limited (VSSL) of Alexandria, VA. Since 1997, the company has marketed its product successively as “a way to keep submarine...

In answer to my question of “Who’ll Blink?” on the so-called emergency supplemental to fund Iraq, Afghanistan, and Katrina relief (other posts on that here and here), the answer’s in: the Senate blinked. The House passed a pared down supplemental of $94.5 billion on Wednesday, and yesterday the Senate followed suit. The bill was approved 98-1, with Senator Specter voting against passage because he argued the bill wasn’t expensive enough. President Bush signed the bill....