Politics Archives

This is from an ad for a Mexican newspaper. More uses of the image of Bush from around the world here....

Love this. Since we know, sadly, that this election will not be decided on anything resembling issues, but instead on personality and themedia "Freak Show", McCain will have to be marginalized as too old and out of touch to be...

Take Bill's Advice; Vote for Obama....

Conservatives cannot govern well for the same reason that vegetarians cannot prepare a world-class boeuf bourguignon: If you believe that what you are called upon to do is wrong, you are not likely to do it very well. — Alan...

Today, the Olympic Torch Relay for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics has come to San Francisco. Right now, a few hundred yards from where I'm writing this, the torch is traveling down the Embarcadero. During lunch I went down to...

George Bush loves to say current opinions about his administration don't matter. That history will be the true judge and we won't know until everyone here is dead whether his policies were a success or not, for example: "As far...

Frontline's most recent 2-part documentary on the Iraq War was yet another look into how George Bush got us into the fucking mess we are in the Middle East. The how of it well known, but it's interesting to see...

I first heard about the memorial on NPR and it was just strange to hear a news story about something so close in a town I pass all the time. The jist of the storaty was not that the memorial...

I finally saw Al Gore's movie this weekend. It was everything I expected. Depressing, disturbing and maddening. Clearly we have a problem, but it seems as though if we act collectively, we can change the disasterous course that we're currently...

I'm going to write more about this amazing election in the days to come, but let me just say that this was a watershed election in so many ways and a breath of fresh air for people around the world...

The Unknown As we know, There are known knowns. There are things we know we know. We also know There are known unknowns. That is to say We know there are some things We do not know. But there...

What an amazing night. Democrats have taken the House, have a majority of the governorships in the country and are poised to take the Senate. If Tester can hold on in Montana and Jim Webb survives the inevitable recounts and...

One of the major issues of this election are the electronic voting machines and their susceptibility to fraud. It's a huge problem because it undermines the faith of the electorate in voting process. Why vote if your vote won't be...

from Rolling Stone: The Worst Congress Ever How our national legislature has become a stable of thieves and perverts -- in five easy steps There is very little that sums up the record of the U.S. Congress in the Bush...

I haven't been writing much lately. I have been reading and observing and thinking and getting angry. I think that our country, and by extension the world, is at a very dangerous crossroads. The path we take is in large...

North Korea detonated a nuke early this morning. The only real question now is who is responsible. I'm pretty sure it's either Bill Clinton or George Soros....

Why does it seem strange to me that seemingly the only member of the national media who is willing to take the Bush administration to task day in and day out is Keith Olbermann? Maybe it's because he used to...

As I write this, the Senate is debating a bill that will give the president essentially carte blanche to designate any person in this world, resident aliens or foreigners, citizens of this country, you or me even as an "Enemy...

In this place where valor sleeps, we are reminded why America has always gone to war reluctantly, because we know the costs of war. We have seen those costs in the war on terror we fight today. These grounds are...

If you want to keep up to date with the all the legal machinations of the Bush Administration and the twisted logic of his one-eyed defenders, there is no better place than Glenn Greenwald's Unclaimed Territory. Glenn's insightful commentary rooted...

The official team bus to be used by the United States during the World Cup will not bear a flag for security reasons. The 32 official buses were presented Thursday in Frankfurt and the other 31 buses have large national...

Congress must keep the Internet free and open by voting for meaningful and enforceable Network Neutrality--the Internet's First Amendment.If you haven't been following this story, there's a movement afoot in Congress to end Net Neutrality in the United States which...

I've been saying this for a long time now offline, and it's finally time to say it online. This political season for the 2006 midterm elections is going to be ugliest we have ever seen in our lifetimes and possibly...

This is really unbelievable. It heard about it on the radio on the way home. What does this mean? What's the end result? Don't know. But one thing's for sure is that this is going to raise the impeachment debate...

This piece in New Yorker about the secret investigation the Bush administration untook regarding the the decision-making within Saddam Hussein's dictatorship is really unbelievable. Here's a sample of the devastating threat that we went to war with to protect American...

It's rare that I find myself sgreeing even a little bit with the likes of Pat Buchanan, but in some respects in in the same camp with him when it comes to immigration, at least a little immigration. Let me...

George W Bush's approval ratings have plumetted post State of the Union to a low of 39%. Basically that means that just about everyone in the country who isn't a wide eyed Cult of Personality devotee has serious questions about...

Glenn Greenwald has another excellent post, this one entitled "Do Bush followers have a political ideology?" on understanding the George w. Bush Cult of Personality. He articulates many of the thoughts that I have had about Bush followers over the...

"Tim, we can do what we have to do to prevail in this conflict. Failure's not an option. And go back again and think about what's involved here. This is not just about Iraq or just about the difficulties we...

I will tell you this: that after five years of war, there is a need to make sure that our troops are balanced properly, that threats are met with capability. And that's why we're transforming our military. The things I...

Here at home, America also has a great opportunity: We will build the prosperity of our country by strengthening our economic leadership in the world. Our economy is healthy and vigorous, and growing faster than other major industrialized nations. In...

On September 17, Bill Maher, host of ABC's Politically Incorrect, took issue with Bush's characterization of the hijackers as "cowards," saying that the label could more plausibly be applied to the U.S. military's long-range cruise missile attacks than to the...

The eureka moment is two reasons why the output-based standard should be adopted: common sense and accountability. Input-based standards don't encourage energy diversity; they don't create any incentives; they don't produce solar, hydro, nuclear. As a result, companies are actually...

Russ Feingold, Senator from Wisconsin, took to the Senate floor and delivered an eloquent and harsh condemnation of the administration's illegal wiretapping activity at the NSA: The President issued a call to spread freedom throughout the world, and then he...

It is important, likewise, that the habits of thinking in a free country should inspire caution, in those entrusted with its administration, to confine themselves within their respective constitutional spheres, avoiding in the exercise of the powers of one...

Glenn Greewald, one of the most astute political bloggers out there, breaks down the NSA scandal for mass consumption: Thus, to compel the Administration to face real consequences for their unlawful actions, Bush opponents must do something they virtually never...

The CIA has been hiding and interrogating some of its most important al Qaeda captives at a Soviet-era compound in Eastern Europe, according to U.S. and foreign officials familiar with the arrangement. The secret facility is part of a covert...

Republican Who Oversees N.S.A. Calls for Wiretap Inquiry By ERIC LICHTBLAU WASHINGTON, Feb. 7 - A House Republican whose subcommittee oversees the National Security Agency broke ranks with the White House on Tuesday and called for a full Congressional inquiry...

I just spent the last hour or so watching Mayor Jerry Sanders speak and take Q&A from the students at Hoover High School in San Diego. If you're interested, you can watch the video here: http://www.studentsandleaders.org/sandiego/speakers/jerry_sanders.asp...

A hopeful society has institutions of science and medicine that do not cut ethical corners, and that recognize the matchless value of every life. Tonight I ask you to pass legislation to prohibit the most egregious abuses of medical research:...

Everything you need to know to understand the background of the current NSA domestic wiretapping scanal courtesy of Shane Harris of Issues & Ideas and The Washington Note....

Our own generation is in a long war against a determined enemy -- a war that will be fought by Presidents of both parties, who will need steady bipartisan support from the Congress. And tonight I ask for yours. Together,...

It is said that prior to the attacks of September the 11th, our government failed to connect the dots of the conspiracy. We now know that two of the hijackers in the United States placed telephone calls to al Qaeda...

Joshua Micah Marshall of Talking Points Memo found a 2003 photo of Abramoff and Bush on the site of a company called Reflections Photography, among numerous archived Republican political photos. Marshall identified the URL where the pic was supposed to...

If we have any hope of turning the tide against the extreme direction this country is headed in and change paths in a more progressive and honest direciton , we need someone like Russ Feingold in the Oval Office. I...

Now, by the way, any time you hear the United States government talking about wiretap, it requires -- a wiretap requires a court order. Nothing has changed, by the way. When we're talking about chasing down terrorists, we're talking about...

The New York Times, perhaps making ameds for previous errors and lapses of judgement in covering the current administation seems to be pulling out all the stops to cover the NSA wiretapping, domesic survelliance scandal. This morning, there's an editorial...

If the Bush Administration can ignore laws, write statements that they intend to ignore other laws, and deny constitutional rights to American citizens, all in the name of national security under the guise of "The War on Terror" that will...

This still remains the big question about the NSA domestic, um, terrorist surveillance program run by the administration over the last 5 years. Why? I speculated on the reason a few weeks back and I would have suspected that the...

There are so many good reasons to dislike our current president, but this is one that absolutely drives me insane. It's the president's need to rephrase something that he has just stated and preface it with "in other words" as...

The Nation is featuring an article by former Congreswoman Elizabeth Holtzman who layed a key role in House impeachment proceedings against President Richard Nixon entitled The Impeachment of George W. Bush. Like many others, I have been deeply troubled by...

This is from the ABC News website: NSA Whistleblower Alleges Illegal Spying Former Employee Admits to Being a New York Times Source By BRIAN ROSS Jan 10, 2006 — - Russell Tice, a longtime insider at the National Security Agency,...

Back in October, before the 2004 election, I wrote about what I thought was the most important issues of the campaign, one that was being ignored, one which should have had more prominence. Here what I wrote: We've got a...

With more revelations that's Bush secret spying program conducted by the NSA has ensnared domestic calls and emails and Tom Daschle coming out and saying that, contrary to administration claims, Congress never authorized the program of warrantless surveillance of Americans,...

Once again, Bilmon nails the story with the perfect analogy over at the Whiskey Bar: Bush declined to discuss the domestic eavesdropping program in a television interview, but he joined his aides in saying that the government acted lawfully and...

It has to be quite the thrill ride to be a Republican these days. I'm not talking fun-filled, exciting, blow your top, throw your hands in the air amusement park coaster. I'm talking, nauseating, I'm going to throw up, Jane,...

Key Bush Intelligence Briefing Kept From Hill Panel "The administration has refused to provide the Sept. 21 President's Daily Brief, even on a classified basis, and won't say anything more about it other than to acknowledge that it exists." [more]...

This country needs more Republican leaders like Chuck Hegel and fewer politicans like the ones currently in power who are running a perpetual campaign. The Iraq war should not be debated in the United States on a partisan political platform....

If you realy want to understand why Iraq is such a fucking mess, read this article in Harper's about how the neconservative wet dream visions of a free market utopia in Iraq led directly to the trouble the country is...

The Prez hit the stump again today to lash out at war critics in a vain attempt to regain some credibility and pull up his poll ratings which have sunk below 40%. Here's the kernel of his speech: While it's...

You have to love those online sign generators. (Thanks to my sister for this shot)....

... in March, 2003, Bush, in perhaps the greatest strategic blunder in U.S. history, invaded an Arab nation that had not attacked us, did not want war with us, and did not threaten us-to strip it of weapons we now...

How Cool! My first cousin (by marriage) is now the Mayor of San Diego. Congratulations to Jerry and Rana and best luck fixing that fiscal mess. If anyone can do it, Jerry can....

If you read through Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald's indictment of Scooter Libby, besides the charges, you'll see a comprehensive chain of events and you'll also see this passage (I. b.) right at the top: b. In connection with his role...

Libby indicted on five counts: perjury X 2, false statement X 2, obstruction of justice X 1. The big question: Is this just the tip of the iceberg or the end of the story?...

Word on the street is that somewhere in the neighborhood of 1-5 indictments are in the offing in the Plame CIA outing case which is coming to an end after what seems like an endless two year investigation by Patrick...

When I read things like this , it makes me a) realize that that 2000 election will go down as one of the greatest tragedies in American history and b) wonder with great curiosity what W would be doing with...