"This was the voice of moderation until 13 Sept, 2025"
by hilzoy Obviously, there is still lots of time for me to be disappointed by the Democrats. But an entire day has gone by, and it hasn’t happened yet. From the Washington Post: “In the House, Democrats did not skip a beat between formally taking control and getting to work on what they have called … Read more
by hilzoy Via Atrios, the NY Daily News: “President Bush has quietly claimed sweeping new powers to open Americans’ mail without a judge’s warrant, the Daily News has learned. The President asserted his new authority when he signed a postal reform bill into law on Dec. 20. Bush then issued a “signing statement” that declared … Read more
by hilzoy I was just reading another story about Hillary Clinton’s nascent campaign for President, and I found myself going over a question that has puzzled me for a long time, namely: All sorts of people have been writing as though the 2008 Presidential nomination is hers to lose. They have been writing this for … Read more
by hilzoy Via Kevin Drum, an excellent catch by P. W. Singer at DefenseTech: “Over the last few years, tales of private military contractors run amuck in Iraq — from the CACI interrogators at Abu Ghraib to the Aegis company’s Elvis-themed internet “trophy video” —- have continually popped up in the headlines. Unfortunately, when it … Read more
by hilzoy Via Spencer Ackerman, this from Vanity Fair: “McCain seldom talks about the details of his torture by the North Vietnamese, but he has written about them in clinical depth. Despite the injuries he had already suffered, upon capture he was promptly bayoneted in the ankle and then beaten senseless. The North Vietnamese never … Read more
by hilzoy Good for Keith Ellison: “Rep.-elect Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, found himself under attack last month when he announced he’d take his oath of office on the Koran — especially from Virginia Rep. Virgil Goode, who called it a threat to American values. Yet the holy book at tomorrow’s ceremony … Read more
by hilzoy Via Brad Plumer and Unfogged comes this fascinating story: “In 1997, the state of Pennsylvania began enforcing a weak waste-disposal law, passed at the urging of agribusiness lobbyists several years earlier, which explicitly barred townships from passing any more stringent law. It had the effect of repealing the waste-disposal regulations of more than … Read more
by hilzoy Via TPMMuckraker, this article in The Hill: “House Democrats hurried yesterday to put the finishing touches on ethics reforms that would ban lawmakers and staffers from accepting trips, gifts and meals from lobbyists and prevent the new majority from holding votes open to change the outcome. Democrats will adopt and then amend the … Read more
by hilzoy As far as I can tell, the entire world is doing one of three things: (a) dying (b) attending a funeral (c) waiting for something. I tuned in CNN over the weekend, and felt like a refugee from Sixth Sense: “I see dead people!” All the time, over and over. I flipped to … Read more
–By Sebastian As sometimes happens, a post on one thing changes into a discussion about very different things after a few dozen comments. In this case the discussion turned to what conservatives and liberals offer society and/or politics. Lily suggested that pretty much every good change could be traced to a liberal mindset and that … Read more