National Polls

Here’s the latest round of political poll numbers…

Clinton, Giuliani Expand National Leads

A new Harris Interactive Poll shows Sen. Hillary Clinton for the first time earning a majority of support among Democrats with 52%. She’s followed by Sen. Barack Obama at [...]

THIS JUST IN: Clinton Slips in Iowa Poll

Joe (in DC) was mocked a week ago for saying that he didn’t think Hillary was going to get the nomination, that she’d lost her momentum going into these crucial final weeks. Not so funny any more, per the Washington Post. [...]

Tax Time

Here’s a happy thought for the holiday season.

Held Hostage by a $50 Billion Tax Loophole for the Privileged Few

I’m sure that some, or even many of you have heard of the Alternative Minimum Tax (“AMT”). And if you haven’t, then chances are that you will before this year is over. Now, I don’t want to talk about the details of the AMT or bore you with any tax-like analysis that will make your eyes glaze over so don’t worry. I will however, talk about how a couple of loopholes that pretty much only benefit hedge fund managers is holding hostage a temporary “patch” or fix to the AMT [...]

Southern Politics

Wow.  John at AMERICAblog really goes after Southern Voters in a post today.  We, thanksfully, are not as stereotyped as he’d like you to believe, but he does make some valid points.

Global warming may devastate the South’s agriculture, and it’s going to be their own fault

…It’s therefore funny, yet again, that the conservative South is shooting itself in the foot by siding with politicians (that would be Republicans) who deny the existence of global warming. Why? Because according to a new study, America’s South will be among the world’s regions worst hit by the impact of global warming on local agriculture. Check out [...]

Keep reading.  I’ve got more for you on our water woes…

America’s Water War

What if we run out of water? With 43 percent of the United States experiencing moderate to extreme droughts, many cities are asking themselves that question. Some experts predict that Atlanta may have just 80 days of water left, and smaller towns such as Rock Spring, South Carolina, are already shipping in water by truck. In this provocative, frightening article, Engelhardt suggests that the government and media largely have ignored the issue, and he warns of [...]

Another GOP Retirement

Actually, there are two of them. Let’s start in Congress. We may hit two dozen of these folks jumping ship before the election rolls around.  That’s a huge change, if most of those seats go to Democrats.

NJ-07: Ferguson to retire, Stender looking good

Nice. “After barely defeating Linda Stender last year, Congressman Ferguson says he won’t seek reelection in 2008. His announcement is surprising considering he’s only 37 [...]The district has a partisan voting index of R+0.6, meaning it’s a serious [...]

Then, from the President’s inner circle…

Townsend’s goodbye to Bush: ‘You are such a man.’

Outgoing Homeland Security Adviser Frances Fragos Townsend today sent President Bush a three-page handwritten letter announcing her resignation. A highlight from the letter: In 1937, the playwright Maxwell Anderson wrote of President George Washington: There are some men who lift the age they inhabit, til all men walk on higher ground in their lifetime. Mr. President, you [...]

Monday’s Economy Lessons

Let’s see now…Wall Street nosedived.   Again. Oil and gas prices are still unbelievably high. So, it should come as absolutely no surprise that Americansd think the economy is in trouble.  That, my friends, is the understatement of the day.

Americans Worry About the Economy

If next year’s election is “about the economy, stupid,” then a new Gallup Poll has very bad news for incumbents. “An extraordinary 78% of Americans now say the economy is getting worse, while a scant 13% say it is getting better. Gallup has been asking this question since 1991, and these are the most negative responses Gallup has ever recorded.” “Back in January 1992 — [...]

A Close Eye on Iran

Once again, the war talk is boiling up and it’s focused on Iran.  Happy holidays…

Rumors of (More) War: Iran Attack Gains Credence

As someone who has been writing about this crazed administration’s plans to launch an attack on Iran now for over a year, I have always noted that the real sign that it might happen would be when oil industry analysts started to worry about it. That’s because the oil industry is probably more plugged into the inner sanctum of the Bush administration than any other entity. If the analysts, who have their fingers on the pulse of the oil industry, start [...]

Something Is Wrong With The World

How upside down can life be?

Atlanta police charge boys, 8 and 9, with rape.

Three boys ages 8 and 9 were being held Monday in a detention center on charges of kidnapping and raping an 11-year-old girl in the woods near a suburban apartment complex, officials said. The alleged attack happened [...]

Judging Character

We’re still helping the big guy in Pakistan. Some of it’s out in the open, but some seems to be “under the table” kinda stuff.  That makes the whole thing more frightening.

Not exactly a great judge of character

There are all kinds of important news items about Pakistan in the dailies this morning, including revelations about a heretofore secret U.S. program to secure the country’s nuclear weapons, a renewed interest in adding some oversight to the billions of dollars the Bush administration gives Pervez Musharraf for counter-terrorism efforts (which may not actually exist), [...]

Doing Wrong

By trying to do right.  The latest “gotcha”..

Recycling computer, cell phones and TVs is causing an environmental disaster

You know, I’ve always wondered about “recycling” since the time I stayed late at work back in the 90s and watched the late-night cleaning staff first empty my regular garbage can, and then empty my second cardboard-box-y “recyclable” garbage can… into the same bin, then smile and wish me a buenas noches. Seriously, [...]

Iraqi Crystal Ball

via Kevin Drum, a stark assessment of the future of American forces in Iraq.  From an observer with experience.

100,000 Troops for 30 Years

…..Marc Lynch says of surge supporter Stephen Biddle, “he’s a serious guy so I take him seriously.” Here’s his precis of a talk Biddle gave on Friday:Without getting in to his arguments or my reservations, I [...]

Politics 2007

In particular, let’s look at the mainstream media coverage of the campaign.  It’s a sorry sight, I’m afraid. Nobody seems willing to really do the heavy lifting, to really dig into the facts.  Instead, it’s far too easy to simply pander to the talking points.

No room for facts; there’s a horserace to cover

It’s surprisingly easy to turn on the TV and find countless examples of why most coverage of the presidential campaign is utterly useless, but Greg Sargent found a particularly egregious example yesterday on Meet the Press. Yesterday’s show consisted of six media personalities discussing the presidential race. It was hardly gripping television — we, the humble [...]

Whistleblower Extraordinaire

This SHOULD be a story.  A really BIG story.  Why isn’t it?  Feel free to guess along with the rest of us.  That’s what the comments are for.

EXCLUSIVE: Daniel Ellsberg Says Sibel Edmonds Case ‘Far More Explosive Than Pentagon Papers’

– Brad Friedman, The BRAD BLOG “I’d say what she has is far more explosive than the Pentagon Papers,” Daniel Ellsberg told us in regard to former FBI translator turned whistleblower Sibel Edmonds. “From what I understand, from what she has to tell, it has a major difference from the Pentagon Papers [...]

The Week of Thanksgiving

This is Thanksgiving week here in the U.S. We have guests coming from out of town, so life is busy at the house, trying to get everything in order!  Bottom line, you’ll probably be seeing the ebb and flow of posting this week.  It’s really hard to believe that Thanksgiving is upon us, already. Then we jump immediately into the hectic few weeks leading up to Christmas, with a college graduation ceremony dropped right into the middle of it.  Our second child graduates in December.  The final tuition bill has been paid. It’s a truly momentous occasion! However, I’m concerned about what it will cost for both our kids to put THEIR kids through college.  We saw tuition increase at a double-digit rate during the last four years.  Horrendous costs today could be unbearable for the next generation.

Here’s one quick request.  For those of you eyeing a big Thanksgiving feast, please keep in mind that others are not so lucky.  Far from it…

Bangladesh death toll could exceed 10,000

Reports continue to vary as low as 2,000 and the Telegragh is reporting up to 15,000 dead. Either way these are stunning numbers for an already troubled country. For the living, [...]

Some People Don’t Count

You can be forgiven if you missed the story of a major humanitarian crisis unfolding in Asia. After all, our news media has been focused on really important stories over the past few days. Like Barry Bonds’ indictment — that’s pretty important. There was the 749th Democratic Presidential Debate last Thursday, and that required a lot of time for the pundits to decide if they liked Hillary Clinton that day or not. (They did.) And did you know that a lot of people are going to be traveling over the Thanksgiving holiday? Well, probably, since they always do, but still, they are, and it’s important you know it. Certainly more important than that you hear about what’s happening in Bangladesh.  What’s happening in Bangladesh? Glad you asked. More than 3,000 people are dead, and [...]