Cross-posted to Random Fate. --- The nomination of Harriet Miers to fill the seat of retiring Associate Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Conner has created something of a furor among those who lean to the right-wing, almost resembling internecine war in some aspects. I do understand and appreciate the points made by those for whom there are fundamental principles at stake, … [Read more...] about Some thoughts on the Miers nomination

...body language speaks volumes. Could this story have been published 12 months ago? Somehow, I think it would not have. Often times, stories that reinforce the apparent trends gain the headlines. Read that as you will. … [Read more...] about As the headline to this story says…

Earlier we commented on THIS POLL that shows President Bush's approval rating has sunk to 39 percent. But Tim Russert, on NBC's Today Show, pointed out some additional facts about this poll — politically devastating ones for the White House: Swing voters have deserted Bush and his administration. Only 2 percent of African Americans polled approve of Bush's … [Read more...] about Latest Poll Shows Swing Voters And African Americans Deserting Bush In Droves

This is a mother whose kids put her on a pedestal:LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Michelle Duggar just delivered her 16th child, and she's already thinking about doing it again. Johannah Faith Duggar was born at 6:30 a.m. Tuesday and weighed 7 pounds, 6.5 ounces. The baby's father, Jim Bob Duggar, a former state representative, said Wednesday that mother and child were doing well. He … [Read more...] about She Doesn’t Have Much Time For TV

Well, not always... … [Read more...] about If You Don’t Like A Service Always Ask For A Refund

Here's more PROOF that some politicians literally want to get into your bedroom:Following a public outcry, an Indiana state legislator has pulled back for further study a piece of proposed legislation that would have sharply limited the use of assisted reproduction medical technologies by married couples, and banned them for everyone else. "State Sen. Patricia Miller, … [Read more...] about Politicking And Lawyering Gone Mad

So Harriet Miers sucked (up) her way to the top:"You are the best governor ever - deserving of great respect," Harriet E. Miers wrote to George W. Bush days after his 51st birthday in July 1997. ... On March 25, on the letterhead of her Dallas law firm, Locke Purnell Rain Harrell, Ms. Miers wrote to thank him "for taking the time to visit in the office and on the plane back - … [Read more...] about Miers to Bush: Bestest President Ever

If Harriet Miers is confirmed to the Supreme Court — as is generally expected, despite the hub-bub over her credentials and lack of paper trial — it's increasingly clear that her confirmation is going to leave some bitterness in its wake. If anything, the controversy seems to be growing. The Wall Street Journal's John Fund has a new piece in which he not only … [Read more...] about No Sign Furor Over Miers Is Abating

....predictions that there's a chance the end of this administration could be near are coming from this guy... ....a seemingly clever statement by the President to send a message to Evangelicals that Harriet Miers is on their side is blasted by Republican independent thinkers, panned and lambasted elsewhere — and even called flatly illegal. … [Read more...] about The Bush Administration Should Know It’s In Big Trouble When….

At the new, totally revamped tabloid Sploid. We've always loved Sploid, a site in Nick Denton's Gawker media stable. It's just what it sounds like: an online tabloid. And who better to edit it, than Ken Layne? When Sploid first came out it was addicting enough, with its SCREAMING HEADLINES and quickly updated stories. Its one drawback was a design that seemingly limited its … [Read more...] about Take A Peek …

The polling news isn't getting any better for President George Bush in light of some positive news for the White House, plus the nomination of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court:WASHINGTON - It has been weeks since Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast; since gas prices began spiking to record highs; and since Cindy Sheehan, whose son was killed in Iraq, held her … [Read more...] about More Bad Polling News For George Bush

I valiently defend my, er, defense of Feministe from a lengthy rebuttal by Cathy Young (as well as Jeff Goldstein). And I might just say that Ms. Young is probably the most prominent figure yet to seize on one of my posts to bash to pieces. I'm most flattered by the attention. … [Read more...] about David versus Goliath

From the BBC: The remains of the world's oldest noodles have been unearthed in China. The 50cm-long, yellow strands were found in a pot that had probably been buried during a catastrophic flood. Radiocarbon dating of the material taken from the Lajia archaeological site on the Yellow River indicates the food was about 4,000 years old... … [Read more...] about Found: Oldest Noodles EVER

The issue of the volunteer Minutemen and the U.S.-Mexico border remains a red, hot emotional topic. If you're interested in this issue, you can listen to a detailed discussion about it tonight on a great Internet talk show: Jim Gilchrist founder of Minutemen Civil Defense Corps, which deploys volunteers along U.S. borders to watch out for illegal immigrants and candidate for … [Read more...] about The Minutemen And The Border On Internet Talk Radio

Now President George Bush has thrown a new ingredient into the controversy stew — one that might endear him to Evangelicals but could create more negative buzz and even chase more independent voters away: he now says Harrier Mier's religion was a factor in him picking her for the Supreme Court:WASHINGTON - President Bush said Wednesday that Harriet Miers' religious … [Read more...] about Bush Does More Than Wink: Says He Picked Miers Partly For Her Religion

(Since First Lady Laura Bush explained to everyone what's really going on regarding the GOP rebellion to Harriet Miers' nomination to the Supreme Court, we have incorporated it in our headline). You know you've upset people when lawyers for your own party on the Judiciary Committee diss your choice for Supreme Court...bigtime: As the White House seeks to rally senators behind … [Read more...] about Republican Sexist Staffers Blasting Miers Nomination

Currently showing at the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center 3900 Harewood Road, NE, Washington, DC 20017 (202) 635-5400 A Blessing to One Another: Pope John Paul II and the Jewish People … [Read more...] about Excellent Exhibit in DC

NOTE: This has been reposted from earlier. The long, drawn-out drama of Election 2005 has finally come to an end. For now. As I wrote in my last post on the German election, it was looking more and more likely that Gerhard Schroeder's SPD and Angela Merkel's CDU (along with the CSU, its Bavarian sister party) would form a so-called "grand coalition". With the SPD-friendly … [Read more...] about Democracy in Deutschland (all’s well that ends — for now)

Australian researchers Robin Warren and Barry Marshall recently won the Nobel prize for medicine. For what, you ask? For discovering that most stomach ulcers are caused not by stress but by a bacterium, specifically by Helicobacter pylori. Warren and Marshall had been shunned by a skeptical medical community for about two decades. How did they convince it that they were right … [Read more...] about Swallowing bacteria; or, how to win a Nobel prize

No joke. Schoolgirls throughout Togo, a small West African country nestled between Ghana and Benin, were recently sent home to shave their heads because teachers had complained that they were wasting too much time playing with their hair. … [Read more...] about The plight of the Togolese schoolgirls