Justin Gardner published an interesting post yesterday about Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul. Justin's conclusion: This is going to be one interesting race. I still think Huckabee is a second tier candidate, but he’s definitely the front runner for a VP nod. One last thought about Ron Paul…it would do him well to leave the GOP race immediately and start a 3rd party campaign. … [Read more...] about Paul and Huckabee
Another Bad Day at Wall Street
The New York Times reports: Stocks fell sharply on Wall Street again today in the latest reverberations of the crunch in the American credit market. After the Dow Jones industrial average dropped more than 300 points in early-afternoon trading, stocks pared their losses. At 2 p.m., the Dow was down more than 133 points, or 1 percent. And the Standard & Poor’s … [Read more...] about Another Bad Day at Wall Street
Sabato’s Crystal Ball: UNTANGLING THE NETROOTS
Some have probably noticed that I'm not too crazy about Kos and the Netroots even though I'm a center-left Democrat. The rapid rise of Daily Kos and the liberal blogosphere The group gathered in the Chicago McCormick Place Convention Center was not the usual audience for a presidential debate. While the Democratic candidates for president may not have fully realized this … [Read more...] about Sabato’s Crystal Ball: UNTANGLING THE NETROOTS
People Who Blog DO Have Lives and Emergency Needs
They write all of these posts that you write for free (very few blogs make money and even ads you see on blogs aren't enough for most bloggers to give up even a week of work). One of our co-bloggers, who has posted a lot of stuff on TMV generating a lot of discussion, recently got engaged and faces a crisis. And YOU CAN DEFINITELY HELP and it doesn't take much (because small … [Read more...] about People Who Blog DO Have Lives and Emergency Needs
The Rule of Law and Illegal Immigration
At his own blog, The Gazette's Dustin Metzger quotes the following paragraph from this article: Immigrant advocates said Wednesday that they are weighing a variety of legal and legislative challenges to slow down or halt the Bush administration’s crackdown on illegal workers. Laura Reiff, co-chairwoman of the Essential Worker Immigration Coalition, said her … [Read more...] about The Rule of Law and Illegal Immigration
Iraq Progress Report: The Back Story
Bomb victims won't get to read progress report. The back story to the anxiously awaited Iraq progress report to be delivered next month by General David Petraeus keeps getting fascinatinger and fascinatinger. First we learned – and certainly not from the White House – that despite President Bush's repeated statements that the report will reflect evaluations by … [Read more...] about Iraq Progress Report: The Back Story
Has Fred Thompson Blown It?
The world -- the conventional wisdom goes -- continues to wait for actor and former Senator Fred Thompson to jump into the race for the 2008 Republican nomination. Voters are just waiting for him as an alternative to Mitt, Rudy, John and others (except Ron Paul whose supporters want a different kind of Republican). The early conventional wisdom was that once he jumps in … [Read more...] about Has Fred Thompson Blown It?
(Updated) Jose Padilla & Our Shame
A jury returned two guilty verdicts in the case of so-called "dirty bomber" Jose Padilla this afternoon, but no matter how it ruled this man -- who is an American citizen -- already had been convicted in the court of public opinion by a people inured to the Bush administration-approved coercive techniques. As the Christian Science Monitor puts it in an … [Read more...] about (Updated) Jose Padilla & Our Shame
Center of Attention
A round up of recent posts by a few centrist, moderate, and independent bloggers. Dennis Sanders reminds us that, despite the conventional wisdom, "some Republicans actually like gays." Meanwhile, Andrew Sullivan constructs a poignant and point-blank case for gay civil marriage. Elyas Bakhtiari is concerned about the effectiveness/bias of "behavior detection officers" … [Read more...] about Center of Attention
Iran: The Gordian Knot Tightens
The notion that there could be anything resembling a popular uprising in the U.S. these days is silly. But what would happen if the Bush administration takes us into a war against Iran? While I am not paranoid by nature (although I would appreciate it if you'd stop looking at me that way), evidence is mounting that the White House is seriously contemplating doing just … [Read more...] about Iran: The Gordian Knot Tightens
Let’s Not
Ace (of Spades) has a post up that will, most likely, scare the you know what out of most (American) Catholics. It seems that a Dutch Roman Catholic Bishop has suggested that, from now on, Christians refer to God as "Allah." According to Bishop Tiny Muskens, God does not care what we call Him. If we, then, can "foster understanding" between Christians and Muslims by calling … [Read more...] about Let’s Not
Rudy Giuliani Is Dangerous
The great thing about having no interest in breathlessly covering every jot and tittle in a presidential race that still is 15 looong months from the finish line is that I can drop in whenever I damned well please, whether it is to opine on the paucity of candidates' offspring in the military or Mitt Romney’s crazy pet tricks. Which leads me to today's installment on a guy … [Read more...] about Rudy Giuliani Is Dangerous
A House Divided
RJ Matson, The New York Observer … [Read more...] about A House Divided
Donald Rumsfeld Actually Resigned Before 2006 Election
Here's a news story that is likely to create significant bitterness in some Republican circles towards the already politically-jumped-the-shark Bush administration: Donald H. Rumsfeld, who came to symbolize the Bush administration's problems in the war in Iraq, resigned as secretary of defense one day before last fall's elections, although President Bush did not announce … [Read more...] about Donald Rumsfeld Actually Resigned Before 2006 Election
Stupid Political Moves 101
LESSON ONE: Don't mischaracterize a blog and demonize a blog. It has readers and it can talk back (and probably lose you votes). PS: This whole new line of calling political sites people don't agree with "hate sites" is a bit ironic because so far most of the people calling sites "hate sites" are trying to inflame their readers and listeners to a) hate another site b)hate … [Read more...] about Stupid Political Moves 101
Intra-Party Debate, Part III
Confession: I'm feeling somewhat guilty about not posting original material here the last couple of days. But then, enough of you have shown interest in the previous chapters in this Central Sanity series, that I thought it only fair to include a pointer to the third and likely final installment. Comments, as always, are welcome. … [Read more...] about Intra-Party Debate, Part III
Iranian Revolutionary Guards: Terrorists in Disguise
The Washington Post reports that the ‘United States has decided to designate Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, the country’s 125,000-strong elite military branch, as a “specially designated global terrorist,†according to U.S. officials, a move that allows Washington to target the group’s business operations and finances.’ The reason? Iran’s constant and … [Read more...] about Iranian Revolutionary Guards: Terrorists in Disguise
Iraq & Petraeus’s September Surprise
General David Petraeus, the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, may have a surprise up his sleeve when he gives the much anticipated September progress report on the war. The Los Angeles Times reports that Petraeus will recommend removing American troops from several areas where commanders believe security has improved, possibly including Al Anbar province where much has been … [Read more...] about Iraq & Petraeus’s September Surprise
Giuliani Breaks With Bush On Palestinian State Issue
Former New York Mayor Giuliani has now made it clear he differs from the Bush administration on the idea of a Palestinian state: Republican 2008 White House front-runner Rudolph Giuliani warned Tuesday it was not in the interest of the United States to help create a Palestinian state that would "support terrorism." President George Bush has repeatedly said the U.S. … [Read more...] about Giuliani Breaks With Bush On Palestinian State Issue
U.S. Will Label Iran’s Revolutionary Guard “Terrorist”
The U.S. is taking the unusual step of labeling the government of Iran's Revolutionary Guard a "global terrorist" group -- because of its activities in several fronts and, the Washington Post report says, after a clamor from Congress: The United States has decided to designate Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, the country's 125,000-strong elite military branch, as a … [Read more...] about U.S. Will Label Iran’s Revolutionary Guard “Terrorist”