A good discussion, and one I hope that Republican leaders are listening to. Because if Powell had won the fight instead of Cheney, I think we’d have a much different view of the Bush years. So what do you think? Will Republicans hew closer to Powell or will they continue down the Cheney/Limbaugh/Hannity path?

We’ve been hearing a lot about the new health care bill that’s set to drop soon, and now Obama talks about the road ahead. My hope is that, with the health care providers at the table, this doesn’t turn into a partisan bloodbath. Because this reform is way too important to get bogged down in [...]

Politicians don’t like to get egg on their faces, but one Czech politician is having a particularly difficult time avoiding that. Jiri Paroubek of the Social Democrat Party has raised the ire of his opponents to the point that he is routinely pelted with eggs — hundreds of eggs. Two weeks ago, someone threw an [...]

Interesting link to new corporate logos…

Some mildly encouraging news after months of 600K+ job loss. Still, the unemployment rate is now at 9.4%, but underemployment almost has to be at 16% this month since it was 15.6% last month. Underemployment is the number of people who are out of work plus those who are working part time but want full [...]

While the number of layoffs in May fell below expectations, the unemployment rate has now risen to 9.4%, a 25 year high. With 14.5 million Americans unemployed and countless others underemployed, any full recovery will have to be a long one. Many economists believe the jobless rate will hit 10 percent by the end of [...]

When has a President this early on in his first term made such an ambitious speech? As I said before, I thought it was historic. Because finally an American president has said publicly (and forcefully) that Israel needs to modify their behavior too. That’s huge. And regardless of what the right wing will say, that’s [...]

There are few images as iconic as this, and none that serve as both a realistic and symbolic portrayal of the war China has waged against freedom and free thinkers. And while this one was snapped on June 5, 1989, I felt the need to share it today. Because as Americans we should remember Tinananmen [...]

Jeffrey Goldberg’s words, my thoughts… An African-American President with Muslim roots stands before the Muslim world and defends the right of Jews to a nation of their own in their ancestral homeland, and then denounces in vociferous terms the evil of Holocaust denial, and right-wing Israelis go forth and complain that the President is unsympathetic [...]

“So long as our relationship is defined by our differences, we will empower those who sow hatred rather than peace, and who promote conflict rather than the cooperation that can help all of our people achieve justice and prosperity. This cycle of suspicion and discord must end.” – Obama in his speech to the Muslim [...]

Obama has arrived in Cairo to give a major speech that is expected to focus on improving ties with the Islamic world. One speech alone is obviously not going to be enough. The Islamic world is angry enough with the West that they are unlikely to suddenly forgive us just because the US has a [...]

Watch the following video of George Tiller’s suspected murderer and tell me if you don’t see something wrong with this picture. Let’s say, for argument’s sake, that Roeder actually did kill Tiller. Does that guy look like he has even a shred of remorse? It sounds like he’s getting directions to a restaurant, not being [...]

Number six is now official. From MSNBC: CONCORD, New Hampshire – New Hampshire became the sixth state to legalize gay marriage after the Senate and House passed key language on religious rights and Gov. John Lynch — who personally opposes gay marriage — signed the legislation Wednesday afternoon. After rallies outside the Statehouse by both [...]

With government now taking ownership stakes in banks and car companies, all we’ve been hearing is how we’re riding a slippery slope towards the dreaded “S” word. Well, Conor Clarke of The Atlantic put together a handy dandy pie chart to show just how serious this problem is… Oh my…how long before we reach 0.5%?!?! [...]

With the appointment of yet another Republican to his cabinet yesterday, one can’t help but think that there’s a secondary strategy to this string of bi-partisan moves. Because whether it’s intentional or not is beside the point since the net effect is fewer Republicans in elected office and more opportunities for Democratic pickups come 2010. [...]

“Whatever titles we give these murderers, both deserve our attention. Violence like that is no way to solve a political dispute nor a religious one. And the fanatics on all sides do great disservice when they confuse dissention with rage and death.” – Sarah Palin on the similarities between the Tiller and Long shootings Credit [...]

I talked about a Gallup poll yesterday that showed only 11% of GOP voters were non-whites. But after reading some of the comments on that post, I felt the need to amend those thoughts. Basically, the GOP has been VERY white for a while and are getting less so. But not enough to really make [...]

Please, please, please let this hack get defeated. From Political Wire: Creigh Deeds has a slight lead with 27%, followed by Terry McAuliffe at 24%, and Brian Moran at 22%. However, the momentum is with Deeds. Over the last month he has gone from 14% to 27% while McAuliffe has dropped from 30% to 24% [...]

People were asking for more of a connection. Well, here ya go. The number of Operations Rescue’s senior policy adviser. Not only that, the adviser was convicted of conspiring to bomb an abortion clinic in 1988. I’m all for prison reforming somebody, but why does she still work a militant anti-abortion outfit? Seem a little [...]

The Wall Street Journal helpfully reprints, without direct comment, Barack Obama’s written justification for voting against John Roberts for the Supreme Court. After reading Obama’s justification, I’m pretty sure anyone opposing Sonia Sotomayor could simply cut-and-paste the argument, make a few slight changes and call it a day. Why? Because Obama’s entire written statement is [...]