James Traub, one of my favorite writers, has a piece in this Sunday’s New York Times on Iraq and civil wars in general. He quotes James Fearon, a Stanford University expert on civil conflicts, who ticks off the death toll, the massive refugee flows, the major players, and says “by any reasonable definition, Iraq is [...]

The Democrats have nailed down most of their committee assignments for the new Congress. Much has been made of the race and gender of the new chairmen and chairwomen. But what does that tell us about how business will be conducted come January? Beyond the politics of the individual chairmen, consider the way power shifted [...]

Meet Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, the incoming chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. Nice guy, by all accounts quite smart and hard working. And stunningly ignorant. Al Qaeda is what, I asked, Sunni or Shia? “Al Qaeda, they have both,� Reyes said. “You’re talking about predominately?� “Sure,� I said, not knowing what else to say. “Predominantly [...]

in incarcerations. From Reuters: “A U.S. Justice Department report released on November 30 showed that a record 7 million people — or one in every 32 American adults — were behind bars, on probation or on parole at the end of last year. Of the total, 2.2 million were in prison or jail. According to [...]

He’d have about as much as Abe Lincoln did…and maybe that’s a good thing. From Sun Times: Abraham Lincoln’s sole governmental experience was eight years in the Illinois House and just two years in Congress, yet he was one of our greatest presidents. Besides, more “experience” wallowing through the disgusting cesspool that is Washington may [...]

Looks like the new government is closing in on a quick fix that could actually work in the long run. Yeah, I’m being cynical, but in the modern Middle East one can nearly always trace the fighting back to oil. So if we solve that problem in Iraq, it could very well turn this thing [...]

With the upcoming film Blood Diamond about to hit theatres, more eyes are focused on the diamond trade and how those shiny little rocks make their way onto our fingers. And rightly so. Because while DeBeers, the company with the monopoly on the worldwide diamond trade, may no longer be indirectly financing genocide and civil [...]

First, because they make enough…: Under federal law, lawmakers, like many federal employees, receive a cost of living increase on each Jan. 1. The increase for 2007 is pegged at 2 percent, and would put the salary for rank-and-file lawmakers at $168,500. And second, for the obvious reason… Officials said Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California [...]

The dark horse? You bet. But a popular Democratic governor who talks about going forward instead of right or left. He definitely has my attention, much more so than Obama. From Fox News: Richardson was secretary of energy and later U.N. ambassador during the Clinton administration. In addition to his diplomatic experience, Richardson believes that [...]

This is doozy from Utah… Salt Lake City – Utah Supreme Court justices acknowledged Tuesday that they were struggling to wrap their minds around the concept that a 13-year-old girl could be both an offender and a victim for the same act – in this case, having consensual sex with her 12-year-old boyfriend. The Ogden, [...]

So then… The Federal Emergency Management Agency has recouped less than 1 percent of the $1 billion that investigators contend it squandered on fraudulent assistance, according to the Government Accountability Office. Its report shows the disaster relief agency’s struggles, one year after the deadly storm, to rush aid to those in need while also preventing [...]

And could it be made significantly less painful? Possibly, and BBC has the story.

Ignoring science has been the trend for the past 5 years, but that doesn’t mean things haven’t been progressing. From MSNBC: Today Burt has treated 170 patients with stem cells, and increasingly, others are following his lead. There are now more than 1,000 stem-cell therapies in early human trials around the world. The vast majority [...]

It wasn’t even close, but the no votes may surprise you. From CNN: WASHINGTON (CNN) — The Senate voted 95-2 Wednesday to approve Robert Gates as President Bush’s choice to replace Donald Rumsfeld as defense secretary. The vote came a day after the nomination sailed through the Senate Armed Services Committee. Gates, a former CIA [...]

…instead of 4. Good. From Wash Post: Rep. Steny H. Hoyer, the Maryland Democrat who will become House majority leader and is writing the schedule for the next Congress, said members should expect longer hours than the brief week they have grown accustomed to. “I have bad news for you,” Hoyer told reporters. “Those trips [...]

It took me awhile, but I’ve read the entire ISG report. My detailed thoughts are over at Midtopia. Here at Donklephant I’ll do the executive summary. There’s nothing earth-shattering in their analysis of the current situation, and nothing paradigm-shifting in their proposed solutions. But both are very solid, very reasonable. I came away with two [...]

Now that’s a beautiful thing. Congratulations ladies. I wish you and your partner Heather Poe a happy, healthy pregnancy. Still, Sullivan talks about the implications… You cannot be a party that sees gay love, marriage and parenthood as the work of Satan and have a vice-presidential family that is busy building a lesbian family as [...]

Put a soon-to-be top ranking Dem is saying we need more troops. Interesting times indeed. First, the Iraq Study Group’s recommendations… of U.S. forces in Iraq that will allow the United States to move forces out responsibly; prompt action by the Iraqi government to achieve milestones, particularly reconciliation; and new diplomatic actions in Iraq and [...]

(Note: I wrote this yesterday, but am reposting it with an update about where our mental injured vets eventually end up if they don’t recieve treatment. Read below the original post. Thanks.) Remember the picture? This rugged icon dubbed the “Marlboro Man” became the early face of our brave troops in Iraq. But that was [...]

When our children were little, their grandparents really liked talking “baby talk” to them. I’d watch as supposedly intelligent adults spent hours talking nonsense to unresponsive infants. Both baby and adult seemed to enjoy it. I hated it. Why? Because my wife and I were convinced that it stunted brain development. Because of that, and [...]