Can anyone give me a good reason to oppose this? Because right now it seems to be another Obama coup–a bill that both is unabashedly progressive and uncontestably justified. At the very least, barring voter suppression should be the flip side of the new emphasis on cracking down on voter fraud. Illinois’ Junior Senator strikes again…

Has the moment arrived for Republican centrists? The case is made here that it has.

It’s a real problem in Asia but it’s down.

It truly sounds as if another area in which the Bush administration is blowing it is in continuing to have Scott McClellan as press secretary. Just note this item from Washington Post columnist Dan Froomkin: Press secretary Scott McClellan was questioned repeatedly and persistently about what sort of exemption the White House is requesting from a proposed congressional ban on torture. He wouldn’t say....

As the inimitable John Harwood reports for The Wall Street Journal, President Bush’s approval rating has continued to slide even through this week. The CIA leak investigation has deepened President George W. Bush’s political problems, driving his approval rating to its lowest-ever point in the new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll. Just 38% of Americans now approve Bush’s job performance, while...

Yes: It HAS frozen over: WASHINGTON (AP) — Former FEMA chief Michael Brown is no longer on the agency’s payroll, the Homeland Security Department said Wednesday, ending nearly two months of compensation after he resigned under fire. Brown stepped down as director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency on September 12 in the wake of the government’s sluggish reaction to Hurricane Katrina...

We would NEVER think of being so crude as to tell you “I told you so” — heaven forbid…but read this from the New York Times: The New York Times and Judith Miller, a veteran reporter for the paper, reached an agreement today that ends her 28-year career at the newspaper and caps more than two weeks of negotiations. Ms. Miller went to jail this summer rather than reveal a confidential source...

That’s the conclusion I come to in my latest Debate Link post.

House Republicans, still desperately struggling to find the votes to pass the amended budget, seems poised to remove the portion of the bill that would allow companies to drill for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve. CQ Today‘s Midday Update (a free email service) has the story. House GOP leaders appear likely to drop a provision opening Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling...

BBC: An explosion hits a major hotel in the Jordanian capital Amman, reportedly killing at least five people and injuring several others. For more details: http://www.bbcnews.com CNN via wire services: : Explosions hit two Western hotels in Amman, Jordan, reported to be a Radisson and a Grand Hyatt, killing at least five. According to NPR, a THIRD bombing has occurred at Amman’s Days Inn. Now “several”...

How about this: Risking the kind of nationwide ridicule it faced six years ago, the Kansas Board of Education approved new public-school science standards Tuesday that cast doubt on the theory of evolution. The 6-4 vote was a victory for “intelligent design” advocates who helped draft the standards. Oh, and how’s this for some icing on your cake of ignorance: “In addition, the board...

…and Frist and Hastert have egg on their faces. So much for that new leak investigation.

I haven’t yet commented on the horrible situation in France, though, privately, I’ve noted the lack of contextual perspective (that is, a lack of understanding of French history and politics) in much of the right-wing reaction to the riots — as if the right, succumbing to the moral ease of enemy-of-my-enemy-is-my-friend gymnastics, is somehow relishing this apparent attack on the French state....

We’ve often noted here that weblogs are an incredibly new infotechnology where anyone can publish their own newspaper/magazine/multi-media package at very little cost. But do bloggers including yours truly take advantage of this? We routinely run posts featuring bloggers who do original reporting or interviews. We’ve done some of that here, but not nearly enough (the latest being our extensive interview...

The media verdict is coming in…a verdict that will mutate over the next few days into the conventional wisdom…a verdict that those running for election in 2006 and 2008 will have to analyze so they can possibly adjust their political behavior accordingly: It has not been a great day for the GOP. The Washington Post has a roundup of the latest election results HERE. Although some Republican-backed...

TMV will be on the road for the next few days, in Montana. His posts will be on this site, although at varying times due to travel and scheduled daily events. He WILL be posting but perhaps not as much as usual. Keep checking back often since our always independent co-bloggers will have some things to say throughout the day.

Okay, no reason to get too excited. The gubernatorial wins in New Jersey and Virginia were expected. Joe will comment further on yesterday’s results. I’ve got more here.

A constitutional ban on gay marriage was approved by 77 percent of voters (with a turnout of just 16 percent of registered voters). Would any Texans out there care to comment?

So the Governator gets caught up in a voting irregularity?

Reuters reports what everyone expected: New York’s Mayor Michael Bloomberg has been re-elected after New Yorkers finally warmed up to him — and he spent a buck or two: NEW YORK, Nov 8 (Reuters) – New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg was re-elected to a second term on Tuesday in a widely predicted victory after the most costly race in city history, media outlets reported. Experts estimate that when...

Reposted from late last night. President George W. Bush had made a last minute campaign appearance to help the GOP candidate in the closely-watched Governor’s race in the GOP-leaning state of Virginia but it apparently didn’t help the Republican candidate, who is expected to lose, according to the AP. And, in another closely watched state race, the Democrats are ahead in New Jersey. The AP: Democratic...

This post got overtaken quickly by other posts so we’re reposting it from yesterday. In the latest polling from The Pew Research Center, President Bush’s approval rating has fallen to 36 percent — down four points since late last month. Among Republicans and Independents, the President’s numbers are at an all-time low of 77 percent and 29 percent, respectively. (Note that Independents...

This post got pushed down on our site due to many posts yesterday so we’re reposting it today. I have a lot of trouble believing that this is true. But God help us if it is. H/T: Balloon Juice. UPDATE: The Christian Science Monitor asks “Did the US military use chemical weapons in Iraq?”

NOTE TO READERS: Due to the timeliness of this post, the fact that Jack Grant lives in France, and its in depth nature, we’re going to keep this at the top of this site for much of the day. Please SCROLL DOWN to see other, more recent breaking news. As an expatriate in France, I have the dubious privilege of being able to view (from inside the country) the violence while it becomes more widespread. As...

…has taken place in Tennessee and an assistant principal is dead.