"This was the voice of moderation until 13 Sept, 2025"
by publius Work deadlines have prevented me from watching literally a minute of the Kennedy coverage. I've also read very little, other than Tweets. So I'm sure everything's been said, but I still wanted to add my two cents. I was a late convert to Ted. As many of you know, I was a Republican … Read more
by von Michael Gerson has a sensible take on current Democratic efforts to reform health care — by which I mean, of course, that Gerson has written something that I largely agree with. President Obama's health care reform is not dying because of persistent nonsense regarding death panels. Death panels are a favorite bete noir of some Democratic supporters, but, in … Read more
by Eric Martin Just as the death of Edward Kennedy marks the passing of one of the most prominent politicians in the American political firmament, today the Iraqi political scene lost one of its key figures as well. Abd al-Aziz al-Hakim, the leader of one of Iraq's main Shiite political parties, the Islamic Supreme Council of … Read more
by publius Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Too sad to write anything else at the moment.
by publius I've been wanting to do this somewhat more regularly, so here you go: Steven Pearlstein … driven to shrill. Texas may soon be forced to acknowledge that it executed an innocent man. (h/t Balko Twitter feed). Montana Maven notes that Baucus's re-embrace of the public option may have something to do with local … Read more
by publius Conservative man in rural southwest Georgia who listens to Rush and Fox News opposes health coverage reform, Kevin Sack of the NYT reports on A1. (h/t Joe Sudbay)
–by Sebastian I'm interested in doing a series of posts on what I think of as things that all men and women of good conscience should agree on. The idea is to focus on institutional situations in the US which many or most people would reflexively think are wrong, but which are actively encouraged by … Read more
By Lindsay Beyerstein Alex Koppelman reacts to the CIA Inspector General's report like it's a disappointing summer blockbuster: The report itself, though, didn't really live up to the hype. That's not to say it didn't contain disturbing details, like mock executions and an interrogator's threat to rape the mother of one detainee, or some bits … Read more
by publius It's hard to know what exactly to say about the IG Report (pdf). It's hard to imagine anything that so completely contradicts the ideals this country is supposed to stand for. Glenn's post pretty much covers the main points (and don't forget to check out Marcy and Spencer's posts too). But here are … Read more
by publius Not sure what to make of this (via the Benen): Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) confirmed this past week that he personally supports a public option for insurance coverage[.] I supposed I should be heartened. But I'm not. Instead, I'm frustrated because it reminds me of how differently history might be … Read more