Last week, I posted on the story of the possible use of white phosphorus as a weapon by U.S. forces in Iraq, specifically in Fallujah. Essentially, the story originated with a documentary broadcast by Italy's RAI TV network. It was then picked up by the BBC, The Independent, and The Christian Science Monitor. That post elicited some excellent comments from readers and I invite … [Read more...] about Phosphorus in Fallujah (revisited)

Read this and you'll see. (Sometimes he inserts things that help the average voter as well). … [Read more...] about Bill Frist Looks Out For His Constituents’ Interests

Apparently President George Bush's poll numbers have not bottomed out yet. But Democrats shouldn't take heart: the public holds them in low regard, too:President Bush's positive job rating continues to fall, touching another new low for his presidency, the latest Harris Interactive poll finds. Bush's current job approval rating stands at 34%, compared with a positive rating … [Read more...] about Bush’s Poll Numbers STILL Heading Down

A centrist GOPer calls for new leadership. … [Read more...] about The GOP House Leadership Under Fire

Can you guess who can complicate her march to the 2008 Democratic nomination by throwing some political rocks in her path? No. It's not Dennis Kucinich. It's this guy. … [Read more...] about The Man Who Can Make Things Most Difficult For Hillary Clinton

From The Silverwood Institute Soldiers killed daily, Bombs exploding ev'rywhere, Condi Rice sees progress. Markets are booming, Economic growth is brisk, So whose got my job? Cherry blossoms fall And season follows season; Don Rumsfeld remains. Congress cuts taxes, Federal deficits soar, What¹s the connection? Should Beltway makers Of really bad policies Commit … [Read more...] about Political Haiku

Vice President Dick Cheney is now so far down in the polls that he should beware of sniffing dogs. But that hasn't stopped the administration from sending him out as the attack dog to go after Democrats for allegedly "rewriting history" on Iraq:"Some of the most irresponsible comments have, of course, come from politicians who actually voted in favor of authorizing force … [Read more...] about Bush Uses Poll-Challenged Cheney To Bolster His Argument

Especially if you're a prosecutor blogging under a fake name and making snarky comments about judges:NEWARK, New Jersey (AP) — The author of a sassy blog about the federal judiciary, "Underneath Their Robes," is no longer cloaked in mystery, and it turns out it's a federal prosecutor. The writer of the Web log, which had humorous references to judges as "hotties" and … [Read more...] about Blogging Can Be Dangerous To Your Career

And a fat man will slide down your chimney this Christmas, too... I studied Harry Truman, I read Harry Truman, I watched the TV show in the 60s with Harry Truman, I did term papers on Harry Truman and he's no Harry Truman... … [Read more...] about Wishful Thinking Department

SurveyUSA has released its November polling (accidentally perhaps — you must click each state's tracking graph to see the new numbers), and once again, the situation looks grim for the President. A majority of voters in only three states — Utah, Idaho and Wyoming — approve of the President, with Bush scoring exactly a 50 percent approval rating in Mississippi. … [Read more...] about Bush’s Approval Continues to Fall in Many States

A new mini-firestorm is raging over the Los Angeles Times' decision to show liberal columnist Robert Scheer the door. Here's part of the newspaper's explanation:Assessing the merits of a column, like assessing the merits of a movie, is a subjective exercise, so readers can agree to disagree over the wisdom of our decision. It's inaccurate, however, to ascribe ideological … [Read more...] about On The L.A. Times Saying “Adios” To Liberal Columnist Robert Scheer

He's a good man and, here, he's absolutely right: Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) strongly criticized yesterday the White House's new line of attack against critics of its Iraq policy, saying that "the Bush administration must understand that each American has a right to question our policies in Iraq and should not be demonized for disagreeing with them. MORE: To question your … [Read more...] about Chuck Hagel on Bush, Iraq, and the patriotism of dissent

From Andrew Sullivan:What strikes me in the numbers is not so much the slightly waning GOP support for Bush and the intense Democratic opposition, but the shift among Independents. Last October, in response to the question: "Please tell me whether you agree or disagree with President Bush on the issues that matter most to you," 46 percent of Indies agreed with Bush and 50 … [Read more...] about Quote Of The Day: Bush’s Vanishing Independent Support

Tom Watson looks at the subject HERE in a must-read. One small quote 4 U:When we are reduced to defending torture by the standards of our enemies, we fail the grandest of our national ambitions and our arrogance looks weak and pitiful...The terrible irony in this defense of torture by the Bush Administration is that these men came to power through the efforts of a coalition of … [Read more...] about Pondering Torture

There's a new twist in the Plamegate story. The Washington Post's Watergate story legend Bob Woodward, it turns out, was told about Valerie Plame's identity apparently before any other journalist — and he only just informed his editors. No matter what happens, this could tarnish Woodward's reputation. He has been seemingly downplaying the Plame investigation's … [Read more...] about Washington Post‘s Woodward Was Told Plame’s Identity Two Years Ago (UPDATED)

...opposing black racism will give the left precious credibility it currently lacks. Please, read the post for the whole argument. … [Read more...] about If We Want to End White Racism…

Alas, two anti-Bush posts in a row... At AMERICAblog, John Aravosis reports on President Bush's state of mind (via Republican/conservative outlets The Washington Times and Matt Drudge). Here's Drudge: "The sources said Mr. Bush maintains daily contact with only four people: first lady Laura Bush, his mother, Barbara Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Undersecretary … [Read more...] about Dubya’s state of mind (it ain’t good)

Or, President Bush's culture of irresponsibility. I've started a new series called "Lies, damned lies, and the White House" to track all the spin coming out of the Bush Administration regarding Iraq. Here's Part 1. ********** And here's part of it: An editorial in yesterday's New York Times waded through all the spin, all the nonsense spewing forth from the Bush … [Read more...] about The revisionism of George W. Bush

Should judges with clear political beliefs recuse themselves from cases with obvious partisan dimensions? The DeLay case motivates a few reflections. … [Read more...] about Judicial Politics

Then CLICK HERE and visit the always fascinating and content-heavy Carnival of the Liberated. … [Read more...] about Want To Read Some Iraqi And Afghani Bloggers?