Democrats offered a deal in the past day or two to break the impasse that could lead to Senate rules being changed, forever diminishing the institution’s unique protection for the minority. As Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., pointed out this week, being able to filibuster, even in the face of a determined majority, keeps the Senate [...]
Posts from ‘May, 2005’
Muslims killing their kind — where’s the outrage?
Quote: “Yet these mass murders  this desecration and dismemberment of real Muslims by other Muslims  have not prompted a single protest march anywhere in the Muslim world . . . “
What do you want to bet Newsweek’s been had?
This whole Newsweek Periscope item brouhaha about flushing the Quran looks a lot like a setup. We strongly suspect the magazine is being rolled. We’ve hung back before commenting on this, watching, listening, thinking through the facts as they’ve emerged. The likelihood of Karl Rove’s handiwork pegged the needle on our Dirty Trick-O-Meter™ . That [...]
Moyers in splendid fighting-back form
A few observations follow concerning the liberal and Democratic end of the political spectrum. Mad as hell and not going to take it any more: The forces of darkness have been prodding, plotting, pushing and poking at Bill Moyers, at his program until a few months ago, “NOW,” and at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. [...]
Relationship with Saudis needs dose of reality
Saudi Arabia’s head of state is a prince of a fellow and is obviously a really swell guy in President Bush’s estimation, what with all the hand holding. But Abdullah and his central government are only part of the story. Inside Saudi Arabia people with very different ideas about the West, especially the U.S., go [...]
Man shy a finger linked to fraud suspect
Ayala’s guilt or innocence is for a court to determine. It’s looking as though that won’t be too difficult a task.
S. Dakotans losing out every which way
Last year when Republican John Thune was campaigning to unseat Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, the challenger assured South Dakotans he’d be in a better position to save Ellsworth Air Force Base. Well, guess what. Today’s base closing proposal from the Pentagon targets the big B-1 bomber base for closure (story). That means the sure [...]
DeLay is Schlafly’s kind of guy, which figures
In its painfully obvious quest to suck up to conservative Republicans generally, and Fox News viewers most especially, CNN leaves no right-winger uninterviewed. Today, the Conservative News Network offered a real blast from the past: Phyllis Schlafly. For those not familiar, Schlafly earned her place in the far-right pantheon back in the 1980s and is [...]
Trade deficit dip hardly reassuring
Trade Deficit Hits Lowest Level in 6 Months,” the headline reads, sounding a positive, hopeful note. The reality, however, is anything but hopeful and positive. The story begins with, “The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that the gap between what the United States imports and what it sells to foreign countries narrowed by 9.2 percent in [...]
Agriculture Dept. also paid for positive press
USA Today provides the latest revelation of a federal agency buying the news it wants you to know. This time, the U.S. Department of Agriculture touted the alleged benefits of Natural Resources Conservation Service programs in publications for outdoor enthusiasts. The story tells us: Documents released by the Agriculture Department show it paid a freelance [...]
