Rep. Virgil Goode is afraid. Very afraid. … [Read more...] about Scary Scary Muslims

Tom DeLay, on why he started his blog:When was the last time the Republicans or conservatives attacked the left for their outrageous comments or outrageous activities? We don't attack. Jaw-dropping. … [Read more...] about No More Mister Nice Guy

We've noted this trend on this site for many months now — the isolation of the Bush faction of the Republican Party from other key segments of the party. U.S. News notes it here:Colin Powell's break with the administration's Iraq policy is more evidence of the rift between the Bush team and members of the Republican establishment in Washington. Powell, who was Bush's … [Read more...] about Isolation Of Bush Administration Over Iraq Apparently Widens

How Texas Law Professor Sanford Levinson explains those who do not consider sleep deprivation to be torture. I'm less pithy, so I'll substitute by being glib. Anyone who thinks that sleep deprivation is a peachy way to treat accused felons is perfectly free to move to the type of authoritarian regimes that practice it. I hear Pyongyang is lovely this time of year. … [Read more...] about “Reading Too Much Action Literature”

My Congressman, third-term Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), has been selected as the new head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC). I'm a big fan. I campaigned for Van Hollen when he was still a primary underdog (the frontrunner was Kennedy relative Mark Shriver) in 2002. He scored an upset victory, then became one of only two Democratic challengers to knock … [Read more...] about Van Hollen to Head DCCC

A post, not about politics, but about something that actually matters. How will you celebrate Christmas? I for one will celebrate it with my parents, my sister, brother-in-law, niece and girlfriend. Saturday: girlfriend and I will buy most of the presents (... we only bought one present thus far), Sunday Church service in the evening, Monday claim that all presents under … [Read more...] about The Most Beautiful Time of the Year

Unfogged is a blog I 'discovered' (as in started reading) last week. A (mostly) Centrist blog (although that's very difficult to tell since, as you all know, centrists stand for exactly nothing... while, at the same time, for everything as well. In fact, it seems, they are insecure about, well, about just about everything, are afraid to form a real opinion, and as a result, … [Read more...] about Check it Out

Race angles in the Genarlow Wilson case. … [Read more...] about Abuse of Discretion

The scenario is by now familiar: A gung-ho public servant with impeccable credentials joins the Bush administration's War on Terror. He is ignored and marginalized because fresh thinking is verboten. He finally quits in frustration. More here. … [Read more...] about Only the Good Leave Young

It's a sad day for cartoon lovers and they most be grieving in Toon Town. For it is officially the end of an era:Joseph Barbera, an innovator of animation who teamed with William Hanna to give generations of young television viewers a pantheon of beloved characters, including Tom and Jerry, Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound and the Flintstones, died yesterday at his home in Los … [Read more...] about Joseph Barbera: Cartoon Genius Of Hanna-Barbera Fame Dies (UPDATED)

Please read Shaun's post from today: The Generals Draw a Line in the Sand. This post is merely a round-up with opinions from other bloggers about this. Here we go: Balloon Juice:Eventually true statesmen recognize that their historical moment has passed and subsume their ego to the good of the country. LBJ did it. Sadly, I think that we can all acknowledge that Bush is not … [Read more...] about Joint Chiefs of Staff vs. Bush

Bruce Bartlett suggests that Libertarians would likely be more effective as an interest group than as a separate party. I think that the same reasoning is true for Centrists and Moderates.In place of the party, there should arise a new libertarian interest group organized like the National Rifle Association or the various pro- and anti-abortion groups. This new group, … [Read more...] about A More Effective Course for Libertarians and Centrists

Now this might give some conservatives quite a headache... The Bush administration has sent signals since last month's elections that the president is prepared to accept some tax increases on upper-income families, worrying congressional Republicans and fiscal conservative watchdogs who say he will compromise with Democrats to win a legacy accomplishment. These moves come … [Read more...] about Bush to Raise Taxes?

And so the Joint Chiefs of Staff have drawn a line in the sand: No more troops will be committed to the war in Iraq until when and if the White House can present a plausible mission statement. As noted at the end of my previous post, the joint chiefs are unanimous in their refusal to approve more cannon fodder until President Bush stops talking the talk and begins walking the … [Read more...] about The Generals Draw a Line in the Sand

A good read over at Gun Toting Liberal. It seems that U.S. special forces and the CIA clashed with each other on quite some occasions... and not in Iraq. … [Read more...] about Hey! What are You doing Here?

It wasn't so long ago that conservatives were all for free speech, particularly on university campuses, where they opposed P.C. speech codes. (At Tufts in the early- to mid-'90s, during the culture wars, I was with them on this, and, indeed, with my weekly political column in The Tufts Daily I was one of the major voices on campus against any such attempts to regulate … [Read more...] about Newt Gingrich and the GOP’s Culture of Fear

Let me start by apologizing: sorry for the general link, there doesn't seem to be a specific link to the article yet. Anyway, is this reason for concern? Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh received a promise from Iran of extensive economic aid, cash, military cooperation, and also good news, from his perspective. Lower your profile, calm the situation, the Iranians told … [Read more...] about A Major Announcement to Come?

Over at The Reaction, Heraclitus looks at how blogs are better than newspapers (and organs of the MSM generally) in shaping the civil associations and social bonds necessary for the functioning of a healthy modern democracy. It's a fascinating post. See here. … [Read more...] about Alexis de Tocqueville and the uses of blogging

This damaged tank, with armor plate and turret rearranged and one set of tracks off, is an apt metaphor for where the U.S. is in Iraq as we slouch toward the New Year. Three years and nine months into the war, attacks against U.S. troops are at a record high, which is all the more extraordinary because many units are staying in barracks except for occasional forays out among … [Read more...] about Three Years & Nine Months Into the War . . .

JTA reports that Israel is being considered for membership in the British Commonwealth:Commonwealth officials said this week they had set up a special committee to consider membership applications by several Middle Eastern and African nations. Speaking on condition of anonymity, diplomats said those interested in applying include Israel and the Palestinian Authority, both of … [Read more...] about Israel Being Considered for Membership in British Commonwealth