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?

President George Bush has been sent a pointed message by the GOP-dominated Senate: give us detailed progress reports on Iraq, which include goals and progress so far. In reality, the message sent by the GOPers, in a bipartisan vote, amounted to the GOP leadership "stealing the thunder" of the Democrats who had been pressing for just this — except they also unsuccessfully … [Read more...] about GOP Senate Sends Bush Iraq Message But Balks On Exit Timetable

When it comes to basic legal rights, there's no room for moderation. … [Read more...] about No Moderate Here

What is written at Marginal Revolution encapsulates my view as to why the position of the administration on making "exceptions on torture for extraordinary circumstances" is dead wrong: But it does not follow from the "ticking time bomb" argument that torture should be legal. The problem with making torture legal is that the government will abuse its powers. I do not trust … [Read more...] about Devaluing our honor by cheapening torture

Here's a bit more on Spain's decision to investigate the rendition of prisoners by the U.S.: Apologists for America's torture regime, from Vice President Cheney on down through Bill O'Reilly and his "folks," will no doubt write this off as European anti-Americanism, Europeans gleefully sticking their noses into America's affairs in order to make America (and her wildly … [Read more...] about Investigating the rendition of prisoners by the CIA

One of many thoughts from Stephen Green, aka Vodka Pundit. A tiny taste (read it all yasself): Second-term Presidents usually have their eyes focused on their legacy – although most aren't crass enough to talk about it as publicly and as constantly as Bill Clinton. If Bush wants a legacy, he's going to have to do more than give us hawks a little pep talk every few months. … [Read more...] about Is George Bush Setting The Stage For Another Ross Perot?

Here is a link to Tom Toles' editorial cartoon in the Washington Post: I note a resemblance to Pete Seeger's famous song, "Waist Deep in the Big Muddy." How Waist Deep in the Big Muddy Finally Got on Network Television in 1968 (From GIVE PEACE A CHANCE, An 1983 Exhibit at the Peace Museum in Chicago) Pete Seeger Complete Lyrics (copyright 1967 by T.R.O.): It was back in … [Read more...] about Great Cartoon by Tom Toles

He just found himself here. … [Read more...] about Guess Where TMV Popped Up

A MUST-READ POST BY KEVIN DRUM AT POLITICAL ANIMAL: Did the Bush administration mislead the country during the runup to the Iraq war? It's true that they turned out to be wrong about a great many things, but that doesn't answer the question. It merely begs it. Were they sincerely wrong, or did they intentionally manipulate the intelligence they presented to the public in order … [Read more...] about Did Bush mislead the country into war?

At Majikthise, my fellow Tufts grad Lindsay Beyerstein has a good response to the allegedly sexist criticism of Dowd's new book, Are Men Necessary? Far from making the personal political, Dowd made the political personal in a particularly self-absorbed way. She chose to set up her experience as if it were universal and to bolster her prejudices with spurious data and … [Read more...] about On Maureen Dowd, feminism, and sexism

It's getting thornier for CIA agents overseas due to some countries prosecuting us for some of the techniques being employed in the war on terror — and this must-read article from Italy's Corriere Della Sera carried on the great site Watching America is truly dramatic. A small part:The date is January 14, 2003. A man with a long beard wearing a light-colored djellaba [a … [Read more...] about Italy Wants 22 CIA Agents Involved In Grabbing Egyptian Terrorist Suspect