In yesterday's New York Times, Ted Sorensen and Arthur Schlesinger wondered what JFK would have done about Vietnam. It's all quite speculative, of course, but they knew first-hand what JFK was planning to do -- that is, withdraw from Vietnam before it turned into a quagmire, an unwinnable war. But Sorensen and Schlesinger are also right about this, in response to Bush's speech … [Read more...] about JFK and Vietnam, GWB and Iraq

And what a grand failure it is, both as a wholly un- and anti-scientific theory and, increasingly, as a faith-based political movement. It still gets quite a bit of attention, but: Behind the headlines, however, intelligent design as a field of inquiry is failing to gain the traction its supporters had hoped for. It has gained little support among the academics who should have … [Read more...] about The failure of intelligent design

According to the Cincinnati Enquirer's Washington Bureau (AKA Gannett News Service), Rep. Jean Schmidt (R, OH2) has been awarded the annual Marie Antoinette "Let Them Eat Cake" award by the Coalition Opposed to Additional Spending and Taxes (COAST):The award - the fifth of its kind - is handed out to the politician who "best displays their blithe ignorance of the plight of the … [Read more...] about Marie Antoinette Award Given to Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-OH)

The Coalition for Darfur, a joint effort of Demagogue and Southern Appeal of which I'm a member, is helping to organize a petition calling on the international community "to organize and implement a strong, well-manned, and well-resourced intervention in Darfur, Sudan, in order to stop the ongoing genocide being perpetrated by Government of Sudan (GOS) troops and the Janjaweed … [Read more...] about A petition for Darfur

We ran a host of posts about it, including links to many sites with differing viewpoints. Now read Tom Watson — who asks whether it is all "step and repeat" and points to one Senator's idea that is sure to lead to a lot of discussion (and heated controversy). … [Read more...] about George Bush’s Victory Strategy Revisited

Despite the alliteration in my headline, this is not at all funny. Terrorists of the Islamic Jihad brand sent a suicide bomber to the shopping mall in Netanya, Israel. So far, reports indicate 5 dead and fifty or more wounded. Here is a link to coverage in Haaretz UPDATE: The names of the dead have been released. According to Haaretz: The names of four out of the five victims … [Read more...] about More Mayhem from Murder Mavens – UPDATED

Good old incompetence...that's how! … [Read more...] about How’d The Terrorists Escape In Afghanistan?

American blogger Michael Totten, living in Lebanon for several months to give a first-person account of its politics, society and government, is handing off the blog reins to a Lebanese blogger as Totten heads to Cairo, where Internet access (unlike Lebanon) may be spotty. The Lebanese blogger, who shall remain anonymous, usually writes for other Lebanese, so this will be … [Read more...] about Moderate Lebanese blogger fills in for American in Beirut

How did HE know about me? … [Read more...] about One Question

It sounds like the Bush administration is now finding itself smack against an immovable force — Arizona Senator John McCain, who insists he will not be backing down on his demand for a ban on torture. Not that he's simply not talking with the administration. Quite the contrary. News reports indicate he's discussing the situation with Bush team bigwigs, but he will not … [Read more...] about McCain Won’t Back Down On Torture Ban

Apparently the phrase is still controversial. I defend its usage over at The Debate Link … [Read more...] about “War on Terror”?

Here is a pointer to my post at Julien's List: This began as a comment I posted at Pam's House Blend. While the wingnuts are busy banning Harry Potter and other pagan things, they might want to consider dropping use of the names of the days of the week (from pagan gods) and months of the year (from pagan gods, festivals and emperors).... … [Read more...] about More Pagan Stuff to Ban

Recently, Bush has equated Communism with radical Islam. Is the comparison apt?In a series of recent speeches to the American people, President Bush has sought to equate the current terrorist threat with the 20th-century menace of communist totalitarianism. His case is that the terrorist challenge is global in scope, "evil" in nature, ruthless toward its foes, and eager to … [Read more...] about Bush, Radical Islam And The New “Cold War”

...she not only will go after them but try to get others to go after them. Literally. … [Read more...] about If Ann Coulter Doesn’t Like Someone….

Political Wire has a tidbit on an upcoming Time poll that contains a political sucker punch for President George Bush — one of the worst pieces of news polling will have brought him yet:Political Wire received an early copy of a new Time magazine poll that finds President Bush's approval rating at 41% with 53% disapproving. This is down a point from the last poll two … [Read more...] about New Time Poll Will Provide WORSE News For George Bush

She's going to meet with European leaders this week, in an effort to sell the Administration's policy on torture. Will she get a warm reception?On Tuesday Rice will touch down in Bucharest to sign a deal opening American facilities in Romania that will provide stopover points for US missions in the Middle East and central Asia. One of them is likely to be the air force base of … [Read more...] about Condi On CIA Black Sites In Eastern Europe

Thousands upon thousands turned out in Hong Kong's streets to tell China's leaders which type of government they want. Will Mao's children listen? … [Read more...] about Democracy In Hong Kong

This promises to be another controversy-packed week for the all-controversy-all-the-time Bush administration as the former 911 Commission releases a report saying the United States hasn't learned much from 911 or the Commission report:The 9/11 Public Discourse Project will release a "report card" Monday on how well the government has implemented the 41 recommendations made by … [Read more...] about Former 911 Commission Will Give Thumbs Down On U.S. Post-911 Measures

The new word in the war on terrorism? Cover-up. From the Wash Post:In May 2004, the White House dispatched the U.S. ambassador in Germany to pay an unusual visit to that country's interior minister. Ambassador Daniel R. Coats carried instructions from the State Department transmitted via the CIA's Berlin station because they were too sensitive and highly classified for regular … [Read more...] about CIA To Detainee, “Whoops, Sorry About Those Lost Five Months!”

The controversy over the Washington Post's Bob Woodward rages on. Is it isolated, personal, or does it mark the end of a kind of journalism and journalism sourcing? OUR VIEW: When Bernstein and Woodward wrote "All The President's Men" and did their "investigative journalism" series of award-winning Watergate stories for the Post, those stories didn't really rely on "access … [Read more...] about All The Prize-Winning Journalist’s Scruples