Our world leaders' use of the Brechtian suspension of belief is admirable, but it's really no way to run a war on terror, says Marina Hyde in The Guardian...Worth a read. … [Read more...] about President Bush and His Angry Guests

Will this cause problems? The police officer leading the investigation into train bombings that killed more than 200 people in the Indian city of Mumbai in July accused Pakistan's spy agency on Saturday of masterminding the attack. Tariq Azim, Pakistan's minister of state for information, denied the claim, calling it "sad and unfortunate." "We reject this allegation, and … [Read more...] about Indian Police: Pakistan’s Spy Agency Planned Train Bombings

Well, reasonable Muslims have, again, proven themselves to be completely unable to deal with criticism. This time, a French philosophy teacher and author had the nerve to criticize Islam in a newspaper commentary. Afterwards, he received a "series of death threats, including one disseminated on an online radical Islamist forum." Continue reading. … [Read more...] about Philosophy Teacher In Hiding After ‘Insulting’ Islam

“There shall be wings! If the accomplishment be not for me, ’tis for some other. The spirit cannot die; and man, who shall know all and shall have wings…â€? - Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) --------------------------- "It is wonderfully appropriate that an Iranian-American woman is the first non-NASA based American woman to go into space. First of … [Read more...] about Anousheh Ansari: First Female Space Tourist Is Back

Rollcall has a potentially damning story: it suggests key House GOPers had gotten a complaint a year ago about now-resigned Rep. Marc Foley's emails to a 16-year-old male Congressional page — and didn't tell Democrats about it. The emails in question are apparently some of the less-sexually- explicit ones than the highly explicit ones obtained by ABC News. But the … [Read more...] about Did GOP House Leaders Keep Mum On Interviewing Foley On Complaint Last Year?

When many thought that the greying Robert Upshur "Bob" Woodward, one of the best-known investigative journalists in the United States, was leading a comfy life away from the harsh realities of the world, here comes his new book State of Denial. His 'investigative' spirit is probably still alive. Thanks largely to Woodward's work (in a historical partnership with Carl … [Read more...] about Watergate to Iraqgate: Bob Woodward At It Again

Republicans Could Stay Dry on Higher Ground PLUS - The 2006 Midterm Map of AmericaThe drumbeat has become the daily background noise in most Beltway political circles, as pervasive as it is percussive. It echoes on today, just as it has for well over a month: in just 40 days and 40 nights, Democrats will wake up to find that they have emerged from four years in the wilderness, … [Read more...] about Sabato’s Crystal Ball: THE LAY OF THE LAND IN 2006

TMV has to leave for L.A. he will post a little tonight and tomorrow but will be unable to post much on this site tomorrow. Keep checking since our cobloggers may have some things to say. You may see some short "pointer post" posts by TMV put on a timer to be on the site at various times on Saturday. … [Read more...] about TMV Will Be Posting Less Due To L.A. Trip

R.I.P., Magna Carta: 1215-2006. … [Read more...] about Forgive Them Father

Oh boy:Saying he was "deeply sorry," Congressman Mark Foley (R-FL) resigned from Congress today, hours after ABC News questioned him about sexually explicit internet messages with current and former congressional pages under the age of 18. A spokesman for Foley, the chairman of the House Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children, said the congressman submitted his resignation … [Read more...] about Republican Foley Resigns Over Messages To Minor

Co-blogger Holly sent me an email about a online chat with Democratic Israel Working Group. I was interested to see the co-chairs of the group: Rep. Henry Waxman (CA) Rep. Alcee Hastings (FL) Rep. Linda Sanchez (CA) Rep. Gene Green (TX) A fair amount of diversity (Hastings is Black, Sanchez is Latino). Waxman is the only Jewish leader on the board. Green himself replaced one … [Read more...] about Diverse Offerings

Bob Woodward writes in his new book In Denial that Andrew Card asked / advised US President Bush to get rid of Donald Rumsfeld... twice, thus reports the Washington Post. Card was afraid that the Iraq war would (rightfully) be compared, into time / in the course of history, with the Vietnam war. The first time he advised Bush to fire Rumsfeld was right after the elections in … [Read more...] about Card Asked Bush To Get Rid Of Rumsfeld… Twice

...but I now know what kind of car I will definitely NOT BUY since they've picked a highly polarizing figure to promote their cars. … [Read more...] about I Need A New Car

The Commissar of the Politburo Diktat 2.0 does the incredibly difficult but ultimately right thing in issuing a mea culpa: I think we (allegedly informed and thoughtful conservative bloggers) should have done better. There were plenty of warning signs and contrary voices. I didn’t want to listen to them. Stephen takes an action that is beyond the capabilities of many, … [Read more...] about Often the hardest thing to do is the right thing to do

The Washington Post reports that the Democrats are no longer afraid to debate the GOP on national security issues. One of the 'telling signs' is that the far majority of Democrats voted against the "legislation governing the treatment of terrorism suspects". Continue reading. … [Read more...] about Better Late Than Never

Lately there have been a number of local events highlighting the current intermingling of religion (especially fundamentalist Christianity) and politics, the separation of church and state and how these issues affect our lives. I have been meaning to blog on this for awhile but have been busy with both the holidays and a case of bronchitis. I attend as many of these events as I … [Read more...] about Religion & Politics

Perhaps an interesting topic to debate: should your country have a social security system that gives hundreds of dollars every month (, euros, &c) to people who are not even looking for a job, yet are physically able to work nonetheless? If so, should there be a limit to it? UPDATE I believe that welfare should be completely abolished. In the Netherlands we have a system … [Read more...] about Welfare

Pieter at Peaktalk is keeping track of the (run-up to the) Dutch elections. Read his latest entry on this subject: he does a wonderful job informing American readers about the situation in the Netherlands. … [Read more...] about Elections In The Netherlands

Over at The Reaction, Heraclitus reports that "[t]he recently declassified NIE report has a passage warning of the dangers of left-wing groups using the Internet to promote domestic terrorism". What does that mean exactly? What "left-wing groups"? See here. … [Read more...] about Detaining leftists

Remember how the White House was trying to distance itself (and Bush himself) from Abramoff and his disgrace? Remember how we learned that the relationship between Bush and Abramoff was much closer than we were being led to believe it was? I wrote about the affair here and here. Well, it now seems that "close" doesn't quite describe it. Here's Roll Call: A House committee has … [Read more...] about Partisans, a love story: George W. Bush and the passion of the disgraced lobbyist