Once again it seems a perception about the Bush administration is proven “inoperative” by new facts. The mantra has been that the Clinton folks blew it on terrorism. And the legend, recorded for posterity on an ABC special, was that a top Clinton aide pulled the plug on an operation to catch the bad guys. Now it turns out there reportedly was such an event — but the plug was pulled by the Bush administration. Remember the monster controversy over ABC’s “The Path To...

They say that journalism is “instant history.” And if journalism is instant history, then blogging is instant history coupled with gut reactions. And if “instant history” must be revised and/or retracted from time to time, just imagine the complications when it comes to blog-like gut reactions. And if you can’t imagine it read THIS POST which discusses Capitol Hill Blue‘s retraction of a highly controversial post blasting Republican “maverick” Ron...

When folks try and tell me–after Stenberg II, after Hein, that the Roberts Court should be applauded for how well it “respects precedent”, I just grow ever-surer in my realization that precedent can mean anything if you set your mind to it.

An Aboriginal group kicks off the Australian leg of the Live Earth Concert in Sydney, one of nine concerts worldwide aimed at persuading people to go green. More here. Photograph by Reuters

That dwindling minority of unquestioning supporters of the Iraq war have sought out one fall guy after another as Mission Accomplished has become the Forever War: That cooked pre-war intelligence was the fault of an incompetent CIA. Joe Wilson lied and thousands died. The Democrats have been giving comfort to the enemy. Those treacherous Irani mullahs are to blame. Yada yada yada. And now that a chickenhawk like Senator Pete Domenici is sidling toward the lifeboats, the gig is truly up despite some...

Paresh Nath, National Herald, India

A new Newsweek poll has three key elements: (1) Americans are ready to elect a black President. The poll has some hedges in these numbers but the bottom line is: Americans say they are ready. (2) Despite predictions that President George Bush would get a “bounce” from his conservative base for commuting the sentence of Scooter Libby, it looks like it has not helped him one bit. He remains at 26%. The only Presidents who had lower numbers were Richard Nixon and Harry Truman. (3) If you...

. . . with a hanging chad when I found out that George Bush and the Dalai Lama were both born yesterday. But then you know what they say about karma. Well, wait. What do they say? This confoozlement led me to consult at the knee of Craig Johnson, a practicing Buddhist who has not let a previous life as an international investment banker cloud his big picture (which to say cosmic) perspective. Sayeth Craig: “Two men born on the same day, George Bush and the Dalai Lama. “One who forgoes...

Does he really or doesn’t he? Ron Paul, who has created a huge buzz on the Internet since he displaced Senator John McCain as the “maverick” in the Republican primary race, says he has more cash on hand than the Arizona Senator whose campaign has not been doing well in the money collections department: ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos Reports: Though often regarded as a longshot candidate for president, Republican Ron Paul tells ABC News that he has an impressive $2.4 million...

Mike Lane, Cagle Cartoons

As he goes off on vacation, perhaps to write the book for which Rupert Murdoch gave him a $1 million advance, Clarence Thomas can take satisfaction in having embarked on his real life’s work–dismantling the progress in race relations since Brown v Board of Education in 1954. In her syndicated column today, Ellen Goodman points out a significant statement by the usually silent Supreme Court Justice in the decision striking down voluntary integration plans in Seattle and Louisville schools: “One...

The wide-spread belief that women talk more than men? It’s a myth. And I have some theories as to where it comes from.

What’s funnier: Hookers, cocaine or… censoring president Bush? Fox News again, taking things out of context. Watch the video. Journalistic integrity anyone? Michael Linn Jones strongly disagrees with Broder (who basically wrote that politicians sometimes have to ignore the ‘wishes’ of ‘the people’). Jim Martin: stop fund the war in Iraq ASAP. A rising (young) star in the blogosphere – Kevin Sullivan – has an interesting post up about the growth of...

Should you teach your children that they are special? Jeff Zaslow says no: Don Chance, a finance professor at Louisiana State University, says it dawned on him last spring. The semester was ending, and as usual, students were making a pilgrimage to his office, asking for the extra points needed to lift their grades to A’s. “They felt so entitled,” he recalls, “and it just hit me. We can blame Mr. Rogers.” Fred Rogers, the late TV icon, told several generations of children...

I wanted to take this opportunity to let you all know that I have a new co-blogger at The Reaction — a political scientist from California (UCSD) who specializes in elections, electoral systems, and electoral reform (as well as organic farming), who writes the blog Fruits & Votes, and who, at my blog, goes by the name AviShalom. Here are his three most recent posts, each one extremely interesting. Take a look: – Madison on suspicious sheltering and its constitutional consequences –...

A newly released study finds that when people were contacted by MoveOn’s get-out-the-vote canvassers, they appeared to be seven percent more likely to vote than the general population, which is damned significant. For the record, I find MoveOn’s appeals to be akin to the sound of fingernails on a blackboard, but if the study is anywhere near accurate, they are to be commended. Hat tip to Henry at Crooked Timber

For those of you who are wondering whether John Doe really is stupid: today, Nick Rivera links to this poll. The results of the poll: Even today, more than four years into the war in Iraq, as many as four in 10 Americans (41 percent) still believe Saddam Hussein’s regime was directly involved in financing, planning or carrying out the terrorist attacks on 9/11, even though no evidence has surfaced to support a connection. A majority of Americans were similarly unable to pick Saudi Arabia in...

Here’s the alluring headline at WaPo: Romney Criticized for Hotel Pornography And what an amusing story it is: “Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney, who rails against the ‘cesspool’ of pornography, is being criticized by social conservatives who argue that he should have tried to halt hardcore hotel movie offerings during his near-decade on the Marriott board.” Yes, horny men (and women, too) in hotel rooms all over America, and all around the world, are, at...

If the area in which I live had an “official” flower, it would be the day lily. Beginning in mid-June and peaking in mid-July, the ubiquitous bright orange blossoms begin appearing on country roadsides, in woods and in gardens until the last flowers fade in August. As their name implies, the flowers of the day lily are transitory, opening at sunrise and withering at sunset, usually to be replaced the next day by another flower on the same stem. Although day lilies are extraordinarily...

Gary McCoy, Cagle Cartoons

WALL STREET JOURNAL MARRIES BILLIONAIRE AFTER LONG AFFAIR UNDER CLINTON THERE WERE AFFAIRS, TOO BILL O’REILLY COLUMN TO FOLLOW We thought we’d leave some Rupert Murdoch style headlines to highlight this “exclusive” just out on The Business website announcing that sale of the venerable Dow Jones company has reportedly gone through to the controversial media maven. THIS JUST IN! Dow Jones has denied the report and say the only agreement is on editorial independence. From The...

I be a bad ass hired gun getting rich off of da war. Let’s be cynical for a moment by suggesting that one of the reasons Iraq has become a Forever War is the billions and billions of dollars being made from it not just by stateside defense contractors, but all of the camp-follower companies that now have more employees in the war zone than there are U.S. soldiers. Perhaps that’s not cynical at all, but an unpleasant conclusion that is reinforced by three inter-related realities: *...

In the wonderful musical “Annie’” the lyrics to the song “Tomorrow” go like like this: The sun’ll come out Tomorrow Bet your bottom dollar That tomorrow There’ll be sun! Just thinkin’ about Tomorrow Clears away the cobwebs, And the sorrow ‘Til there’s none! But in the case of aspiriing 2008 Republican Presidential candidate former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, some gathering storm clouds — or cobwebs — may be now accumulating,...

Pajamas Media is starting a new column called Ask Dr. Helen. You can read the first installment HERE. We’ve linked to forensic psychologist Dr. Helen on some of the nonpolitical posts on her weblog in our popular Around The Sphere linkfest (which we will be doing on a much more regular basis from now on). She has been nicknamed “Instawife” because she is married to Glenn Reynolds — but her weblog is highly provocative and informative reading and it wouldn’t matter if...

Wright, The Detroit News