Maybe We Should Get Us Some

by matt

**UPDATE 4/17/06: I can’t wait for the bumper stickers:
The Republican Party is in serious danger of losing political ground in November elections if it does not enact reforms that eliminate waste and hold the federal bureaucracy to higher standards, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said on Sunday.
Considering that all these Republicans are talking about reform […]

The Last Throes: Resolve and Sacrifice

by matt

When the wheels come off, it’s always the talking points that suffer. Top U.S. officer faults leaders on terrorism war stakes (Reuters):
The top U.S. military officer faulted U.S. political leaders on Friday for failing to get across what he portrayed as the huge stakes in Iraq and elsewhere in the U.S.-declared global war on […]

Gun-in-Your-Mouth Talk

by matt

The reason that it is important to track the statements of people like Grover Norquist, James Dobson, Pat Robertson et al is that, free from holding elected office, they are not bound by the same rhetorical constraints as their counterparts in government. Their candor produces quotes like this Norquist classic:
“Once the minority of House […]

How to Lose and Look Bad Losing

by matt

In case you haven’t been paying attention for the past few days, NARAL Pro-Choice America has been running an ad opposing John Roberts‘ nomination. The ad targets pro-choice Republican Senators in Rhode Island (Lincoln Chaffe) and Maine (Susan Collins, Olympia Snowe) in an effort to create pressure from their mostly pro-choice constituents. The […]

Bully Pulpit

by matt

The A1 headline of Monday’s San Francisco Chronicle practically leapt off the racks as I walked by:
Bush pushes very hot button
President’s comments embolden anti-evolutionists
Last week, I thought the President’s remarks calling for equal classroom footing for evolution and “intelligent design” were not even significant enough to justify comment. In the days following his […]

No Other Choice

by matt

As the war in Iraq drags on, and the death toll mounts, the challenge faced by military recruiters becomes increasingly difficult.
In our Memorial Day post, we took a look at “green card soldiers” who enlisted in the military in exchange for citizenship:

The most heartbreaking sight at the rally was Fernando Suarez del Solar stoically holding […]

Tree-Hugging Shuttle Astronauts

by matt

Why do the Space Shuttle astronauts hate freedom?
Commander Eileen Collins said astronauts on shuttle Discovery had seen widespread environmental destruction on Earth and warned on Thursday that greater care was needed to protect natural resources.
[…]
“The atmosphere almost looks like an eggshell on an egg, it’s so very thin,” she said. “We know that we don’t […]

Trading Away Our Chances

by matt

As I’ve made clear over the last few weeks, I believe that the Democratic leaders in Congress have fallen down on the job. We’ve given credit where credit has been due, but the sluggish reaction to the Roberts nomination kicked off a string of botched decisions and bad mistakes culminating with the passage of […]

“It Started on Slave Ships…

by matt

…in fact it’s a crime.”
“If you know better
Could you do better?
Or would you sell your soul
Just to roll in the cheddar?”
-Public Enemy - “More Hype Believers Than Ever in ‘97“
Largely lost in the subsequent Karl Rove and Supreme Court coverage was a story that, based on its place in history and significance to the current […]

Karen Hughes and More Senate Democratic Failure

by matt

“Look around. There’s a reason there aren’t any Democrats here. They’re scared. You think you can take me? You wanna piece of me?”
As if getting caught asleep at the switch wasn’t bad enough for Senate Democrats unprepared for the nomination of John Roberts, they punctuated the week with a flat-line by […]