Some of you may remember my "Miers Withdrawal Watch" series at The Reaction. If not, the name more or less speaks for itself. It was a five-part series looking at reactions to the Miers nomination from around the blogosphere and, to a lesser extent, the MSM. Part 5, with links to the previous 4, is here. In the end, as you all know, Miers withdrew, meaning that my watch was … [Read more...] about SCALITOVISION 2005 — Part 1

There's an interesting question before the Supreme Court: Do religious groups have the right to use regulated substances (i.e., narcotic drugs) for religious purposes? Thus far, the justices (with Kennedy as the lone exception) seem to be siding with the New Mexico church against the government's hardline position. … [Read more...] about SCOTUS and the hallucinogenic tea

NPR Politics & Society: Listen to this story... Talk of the Nation, November 1, 2005 · Next Tuesday, voters in Ohio and California will consider redistricting reforms. The measures would take the power to draw the district lines away from politicians, and put it in the hands of independent bipartisan commissions. Guests: Rob Richie, executive director of the Center … [Read more...] about Taking Redistricting Away from Politicians

I'm tempted to say yes. And now it has a "war room" to try to revamp its image. Good luck with that. (Note: I bought a DVD at Wal-Mart the other day. It was really cheap. Thanks, Sam.) … [Read more...] about Is Wal-Mart evil?

Scooter who? … [Read more...] about Scooter Libby and the dustbin of history

I'm lovin' it. … [Read more...] about Trent Lott goes after Karl Rove

This is serious. The BBC is also reporting that "[s]cientists from Brazil and the US say new research suggests deforestation of the Brazilian Amazon has been underestimated by at least 60%". Apparently, "selective logging" is to blame for part of it. The researchers, who used satellite technology from NASA, "concluded that the area of rainforest destroyed between 1999 and 2002 … [Read more...] about The disappearing rain forest

Yes, cow entrails. Did you know that Sweden is home to the first ever biogas-powered train and that the city of Linkoping's buses and taxis all run on entrail-derived biogas? Click here for more. … [Read more...] about Biogas: The power of cow entrails

From the Times: "Democrats invoked a rarely used rule [yesterday] that sent the Senate into a two-hour closed session, infuriating Republicans but producing an agreement for a bipartisan look at whether the Republican leadership was dragging its feet on a promised inquiry into the Bush administration's use of prewar intelligence on Iraq." The GOP was not amused. I'm happy that … [Read more...] about Closing the Senate, changing the subject

Charles Lane: Nominee's Reasoning Points to a Likely Vote Against Roe v. Wade As far as anyone yet knows, Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. has not made any public declaration calling for the overruling of Roe v. Wade , the 1973 Supreme Court decision that recognized a constitutional right to abortion. At least on the surface, Alito's record as an appeals court judge contains … [Read more...] about Washington Post Analysis of Judge Samuel Alito

They say it's wise to pick and choose your battles, and amid news reports suggesting that Democrats are increasingly hesitant to use the filibuster against conservative Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito, Minority Leader Harry Reid gave the GOP a sucker punch that reminded everyone that a minority party can still pack a political wallop. Seldom has a political leader pulled … [Read more...] about Democrats Forced Senate Shutdown: The Political Winner And Loser

From TMV's favorite poet, Wall Street Poet Michael Silverstein:Asked to shepherd the young master, Was a faithful old retainer, His role this to shirk the limelight, While assisting a slow learner. "See my boy through his first hard days," Those instructions he received. "You'll be rich rewarded later, When, in time, you've been relieved." Who could guess this sly … [Read more...] about The Faithful Old Retainer (A Dick Cheney Poem)

TMV NOTE: We loved this post when Jonathan Singer posted here — about 5 minutes before Harriet Miers withdrew her Supreme Court nomination, and the post seemingly got "lost" amid the breaking news. So we've reposted it, so more readers can enjoy it. Every month or so, I write a column for The Collage, a campus newspaper founded by current New York Times executive editor … [Read more...] about The Reporter’s Dilemma: Real Objectivity or False Balance

MANY THANKS! Because if you read this site you know TMV is the ultimate journalist freed from the DISCIPLINE of an editor — who can write what he wants, and make it as long as he wants to make it (he has agreed to have Holly from Cincinnati proofread for him, much to the relief of one of our nicest readers in Texas). That violates most blog rules, but what the … [Read more...] about Thanks To U All

As covered by Blogger Shakespeare's Sister. … [Read more...] about Harry Reid’s Press Conference…

E. J. Dionne Jr. in the Washington Post Has anyone noticed that the coverup worked? In his impressive presentation of the indictment of Lewis "Scooter" Libby last week, Patrick Fitzgerald expressed the wish that witnesses had testified when subpoenas were issued in August 2004, and "we would have been here in October 2004 instead of October 2005." Note the significance of … [Read more...] about E.J. Dionne: What the ‘Shield’ Covered Up

I heard this on NPR earlier but found an article on the BBC's website: The US military says it believes that a rocket-propelled grenade has been fired at one of its helicopters delivering aid in earthquake-hit Kashmir. … [Read more...] about RPG Fired at US Copter Delivering Aid in Pakistani Kashmir

...formerly reserved to strictly secular organizations, the question arises: Is it important to consider the source when giving disaster aid? One faith-based organization apparently felt it was, and acted accordingly. … [Read more...] about In the thrust to rely more on faith-based organizations to provide services…

It's been buried what with Libby, Alito, and the Senate's closed section on pre-war intelligence, but this is actually important news. The judge originally slated to preside over Tom DeLay's corruption trial has been removed. … [Read more...] about New Judge for DeLay

The Democrats forced the Senate into an unusual closed session - sparking tons of news coverage in the wires and on television and raising questions what this portends for the party's position on other issues — and the size of Minority Leader Harry Reid's political bag of surprises:WASHINGTON - Democrats forced the Republican-controlled Senate into an unusual closed … [Read more...] about Democrats Force Closed Senate Intelligence Session