|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 . '/' . substr('9781844674510',-6,3) . '/' . '9781844674510' . '.jpg'; ?>)
By Nick Turse (Editor)
By E.J. Dionne
$18.95
$35
|
|
|
|
msnbc.com
|
A parade of experts before the Senate Judiciary Committee confirmed the power of Congress to “validly limit the presidential use of force.” Tuesday’s hearing came as legislators prepared to square off against Bush’s war escalation and amid the concern, shared by Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., that a constitutional battle is “imminent.”
|
|
The business community is divided over minimum-wage legislation making its way through the Senate. While small businesses are celebrating the tax incentives included in the bill, major corporations are frustrated by the Democrats’ requirement that every new tax break be matched by either a tax increase or a closed loophole.
|
globalsecurity.org
|
Although the United States and Iran have a testy relationship at best, weaknesses in security protocol currently allow buyers for Tehran to procure valuable aircraft parts from the U.S. military. At least two Democrats in the Senate want to cut off the supply, which would make the Iranian air force effectively irreparable.
|
|
Chuck Hagel has been on a tear lately, but it’s hard to beat this stirring indictment of the war and its enablers: “These young men and women that we put in Anbar province, in Iraq, in Baghdad are not beans. They’re real lives. And we better be damn sure we know what we’re doing, all of us, before we put 22,000 more Americans into that grinder. We better be as sure as you can be.”
|
|
The first minimum-wage increase in 10 years took a hit in the Senate Wednesday, failing to get the 60 votes necessary to end debate. Republicans have been fighting to include tax cuts for businesses, and will probably succeed unless the Dems can get six more defections.
|
news.bbc.co.uk
|
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has passed a nonbinding resolution condemning the escalation of the war. While Vice President Dick Cheney is absolutely right when he says “It won’t stop us,” the measure will at least force lawmakers to take a stand on the issue until tougher legislation can be passed.
|
|
By Marie Cocco — Senate Democrats and Republicans have shamelessly joined in a bipartisan effort to pad the well-off at the expense of the working poor.
|
|
Daily Kos has an excellent rundown of the 11 antiwar bills bursting forth from both houses of Congress. Some legislation is tougher than the rest, but the sheer number of proposals seems to indicate that the legislative branch is bending to the will of the people. It’s a good day for democracy.
|
|
The McLaughlin Group chews over Barbara Boxer’s mythical “attack” on Condoleezza Rice in this clip. The right has tried to paint the senator’s comments as an ad hominem diatribe, but here’s what she actually said… (h/t: BradBlog)
|
boston.com
|
In honor of Sen. Ted Kennedy’s passing, we’re re-posting one of his classic moral stands. This 2007 speech against the escalation of the Iraq war was so good we had to give him the Truthdigger of the Week award back then.
|
nytimes.com
|
House and Senate Democrats are planning a symbolic vote on Bush’s escalation of the Iraq war, partially to force Republicans to take a stand on the issue. While they haven’t ruled out more aggressive—and meaningful—measures, the Dems agreed that demonstrating their opposition was the least they could do.
|
|
House Democrats are on a legislative roll, but the security bill they just passed by a wide margin is expected to meet with tougher opposition in the Senate. The legislation would implement recommendations made by the 9/11 Commission, including beefing up port security.
|
news.bbc.co.uk
|
Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., whose sudden illness last month briefly threatened the Democrats’ control of the Senate, has been given a medical status upgrade from critical to fair. We wish him well.
|
nytimes.com
|
Democrats are set to blitz Congress with a legislative agenda that tackles stem cell research, the minimum wage, ethics, 9/11 commission recommendations, oil subsidies, education and prescription drugs—all before President Bush arrives at the capital for the State of the Union address Jan. 23.
|
|
According to one of his doctors, Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., is “recovering as expected from brain surgery and his brain pressures continue to be in the normal range,” though he remains in critical condition. Johnson’s sudden illness last week raised the possibility of a Republican takeover of the Senate.
|
cnn.com
|
GOP senators may take a page from the Democrats’ playbook and filibuster the normally routine procedural vote that determines committee chairmanships. The tactic is meant to protect against the possibility, as it did for the Dems after the 2000 election, that Republicans might regain a majority in the Senate.
|
gwb.nwblog.com
|
Sen. John McCain has launched an assault against the independent blogosphere by introducing legislation that would, among other things, make bloggers responsible for comments and copyrighted material posted on their sites, with fines of up to $300,000.
|
state.sd.us
|
Sen. Tim Johnson (D-S.D.) appears to have suffered a stroke and remains under evaluation at George Washington University Hospital. Should Johnson have to resign because of illness, the governor of South Dakota, a Republican, could appoint a replacement from his own party, taking away the Democrats’ majority in the Senate and giving Vice President Dick Cheney the tie-breaking vote.
|
|
Jon Stewart says farewell to the 109th Congress, which used its final session to “pass last-minute tax cuts, expand oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, clear GOP leadership of wrongdoing in the Mark Foley scandal, and pardon Hitler… .”
|
|
Sen. Gordon Smith (R-Ore.) on “This Week” elaborated on remarks he made earlier on the Senate floor, where he called the Iraq war “absurd” and possibly even “criminal.” Asked what had brought about his change of heart, Smith replied: “Waking up the other morning and turning on the news and hearing that yet another 10 of our soldiers died the same way that several thousand have ... and I went from steamed to boiled.” Watch it
|
|
Robert Gates has been confirmed by the Senate with enormous support. While much has been made of Gates’ “fresh perspective” on the war, Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) pointed out that it is the president who structures policy. And this president is notorious for selectively listening to advice.
|
newyorktimes.com
|
We can’t say we’re surprised that Joe Lieberman has chosen as his spokesman an ideological acrobat—the only Jew ever to serve as chief lobbyist for the Christian Coalition. The New York Times describes Marshall Wittmann as “a Trotskyite turned Zionist turned Reaganite turned bipartisan irritant turned pretty much everything in between….”
|
|
Gen. John Abizaid told the Senate Armed Services Committee that troop levels should not be changed in Iraq, but that Iraqis themselves ought to bear responsibility for the nation’s security. Sen. Hillary Clinton responded with a smackdown: “Hope is not a strategy. ... I have heard over and over again the Iraqi government must do this, the Iraqi army must do that. Nobody disagrees with that. The brutal fact is, it is not happening.”
|
wndu.com
|
On Sunday’s “Meet the Press,” Joe Lieberman acknowledged that he might switch parties if the going gets tough with the Democrats. While characterizing the election as a win for moderates, Lieberman also thanked the 70 percent of Republicans who voted for him for their support.
|
russfeingold.org
|
While some of us are still recovering from our post-midterm hangovers, politicians already have their sights set on the 2008 presidential election. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) countered expectations today by announcing he would not seek his party’s nomination for president, choosing instead to focus on his work in the Senate.
|
usatoday.com
|
A spokesman for Joe Lieberman says the senator intends to serve in the next Congress as a full-blown Democrat, not an independent who merely caucuses with Democrats.
|
projo.com
|
Rhode Island’s Sen. Lincoln Chafee says he may leave the Republican Party after losing in Tuesday’s election despite voting against the war in Iraq.
|
New York Times
|
George Allen, the man who some say could’ve been president, has finally conceded to challenger Jim Webb, at long last putting an end to speculation and granting the Democrats total control of both houses of Congress.
|
AP / Evan Vucci
|
The Associated Press and MSNBC have both called the Va. Senate race for Jim Webb, which would give Democrats control of the House and Senate for the first time since 1994.
A source in the George Allen camp said the senator was “disinclined” to ask for a formal recount, but would probably not concede any earlier than Thursday.
|
AP / J. Scott Applewhite
|
Democrats won control of the House last night, but the Senate is hanging on the outcome of two races:
Virginia, where the Democrat Webb leads the GOP incumbent Allen 1,170,564 to 1,162,717 (50% to 49%), with 99% of precincts reporting.
Montana, where the Democrat Tester leads the GOP incumbent Burns 174,045 to 172,302 (49% to 48%), with 91% of precincts reporting.
(All numbers current as of 7:20 a.m. EST Nov. 8.)
|
From sbctc.org
|
By Robert Scheer — Truthdig Editor Robert Scheer does a career-spanning interview with the “blue-collar liberal” who helped rule California politics as both a congressman and leader of the state legislature over the last 30 years.
|
mit.edu
|
When Harry Reid said it would take a miracle for Democrats to regain control of the Senate, party operatives focused their hopes on the House. But recent events have Democratic challengers surging in polls.
|
|
By Jabari Asim — “Whether or not one uses the N-word isn’t one of those ‘distraction’ issues like flag burning; it’s a character issue.”
|
|
As expected, the Senate sent the despicable detainee interrogation bill to the president’s desk last night. See its horrifying provisions here.
As long as this law stands, we too shall stand in forfeit of the moral high ground in this struggle. It’s a sad day for our once-proud republic.
|
|
A provision that would grant President Bush the discretion of deciding what is and isn’t torture is likely to land on his desk by the weekend unless there’s a legislative miracle.
We can only hope that the Supreme Court will toss out this travesty.
|
|
By Molly Ivins — With a smug stroke of his pen, President Bush is set to wipe out a safeguard against illegal imprisonment that has endured as a cornerstone of legal justice since the Magna Carta.
|
|
By Marie Cocco — The unraveling of Virginia Sen. George Allen’s reelection campaign may have begun with a single offensive remark caught on tape, but his competitor’s Lamont-style netroots insurgency is just as responsible for making the race tight.
|
|
At a Democratic Senate forum Monday, several former U.S. generals and colonels called the secretary of defense incompetent and negligent in his prosecution of the Iraq war. Above, Gen. John Batiste, a “lifelong Republican” who retired from the service “on principle,” accuses Rumsfeld of lying to the American people in order to bolster support for the war.
(Let the Swift-Boating begin!)
|
|
Phew! President Bush’s attempt to provide legal support for his warrantless wiretapping program appears dead—for now—in the Senate. Quote of the day (from Sen. Russ Feingold): “The president has basically said: I’ll agree to let a court decide if I’m breaking the law if you pass a law first that says I’m not breaking the law.”
|
|
A Senate report on prewar intelligence has concluded that there was no evidence Saddam had ties with Al Qaeda. This is yet another confirmation of what we all, sadly, already know—not only about the realities of Mideast tyrants, but about the realities of liars in the Bush administration. Also, there are new tidbits inside.
|
Illustration by Peter Scheer
|
A bipartisan Senate bill that would have created a public database of all government contracts has been blocked by an unknown senator. The bill, which passed its committee unanimously, can now move forward only if the mysterious senator who placed it on “secret hold” removes the constraint. (h/t: Crooks and Liars)
|
palmbeachpost.com
|
The Katherine Harris campaign tried on Saturday to clarify the candidate’s latest ride on the crazy train, when she said that separation of church and state is “a lie we have been told” and that “God is the one who chooses our rulers.” It’s an interesting idea coming from Harris, who worked so hard in the 2000 election to disenfranchise voters on Bush’s behalf. (h/t: Americablog)
|
From the BBC
|
Katherine Harris, villain of the 2004 Florida recount saga and a congresswoman running for U.S. Senate, recently dismissed to an interviewer the idea that religion should stay out of politics, saying, “God is the one who chooses our rulers.”
So was it God or was it Katherine Harris who fraudulently threw all those eligible black citizens off the voting rolls in 2004? Hey, if she wants to run with the “omnipotent God” logic, she can’t have it both ways….
|
|
Maybe not. Although Jonathan Tasini would like to be the next maverick primary candidate to beat an entrenched pro-war Democrat?Hillary Clinton, in this case?he’s failed to garner anything near the support Ned Lamont managed against Joe Lieberman.
|
From Salon.com and Youtube.com
|
Virginia Sen. (and presidential hopeful) George Allen referred to a young volunteer of Indian descent as “macaque,” which is tantamount to “monkey” or the “N word” among African immigrants. (Much more after the jump… but for quick hits: story / video / word origins)
|
|
The “Daily Show” opened Wednesday with coverage of Ned Lamonts victory over the man Jon Stewart referred to as Joe Loserman. After playing a clip of Liebermans concession speech where the senator said the game was only half over, and the Lamont team was just ahead, Stewart shot back, Perhaps I could, uh, offer my own, uh, sports comparison, if you will. There was a game, and you lost.
|
|
With mere hours to go before the Connecticut primary vote, Sen. Joe Lieberman said a victory for challenger Ned Lamont would send a message to the country: ?In the Democratic Party, there?s no room for strong-on-security Dems.?
Actually, a victory for Lamont would send a message that there’s no room in the party for Dems who coddle President Bush as he exploits the so-called war on terror to launch imperialist misadventures.
|
AP /Bob Child
|
Down in the polls against challenger Ned Lamont, and with under 24 hours to go before the U.S. Senate primary in Connecticut, Sen. Joe Lieberman tried to distance himself from Bush. You’ll love how he tried to spin his infamous career-killing line, “In matters of war, we undermine presidential credibility at our nation’s peril.”
Check out Truthdig’s interview with Lamont
|
|
The ex-Senate candidate and Iraq War vet Paul Hackett asked Stephen Colbert, “Do you really think we’re going to spread democracy with the business end of an M-16?” Colbert’s response was classic. Check it out.
|
View the most popular tags overall?
|
|
Immigration: Time to Choose Sides
Newsletter 
Like Us
Follow Us
Get Our Feed
