Relevant and even prescient commentary on news, politics and the economy.

Good News, Everyone!

The good news for me is that I’m going on vacation. The good news for you, the reader, is that in addition to the regular flow of excellent content from Kash and PGL, The Chef from Ragout has graciously agreed to fill in for me. If you’re not familiar with his work, you’ll get a […]

Not So Swift

In today’s Washington Post: Newly obtained military records of one of Sen. John F. Kerry’s most vocal critics, who has accused the Democratic presidential candidate of lying about his wartime record to win medals, contradict his own version of events. In newspaper interviews and a best-selling book, Larry Thurlow, who commanded a Navy Swift boat […]

Kerry should echo Bereuter: Iraq was a mistake

IMHO, this is obviously true and quite easy to say: WASHINGTON (CNN) — Breaking ranks with his party and reversing his earlier stance, a senior retiring Republican lawmaker said Wednesday the military strike against Iraq was “a mistake,” and he blasted a “massive failure” of intelligence before the war. The unexpected four-page statement came from […]

More on Cheney

An email from The Progress Report provides some nice context for Sen. Harkin’s characterization of Cheney (“When I hear this coming from Dick Cheney, who was a coward, who would not serve during the Vietnam War, it makes my blood boil. He’ll be tough, but he’ll be tough with someone else’s kid’s blood”): Cheney’s admiration […]

Exactly WHO is Living in the Past???

While campaigning in Pennsylvania yesterday, Bush brought up something that I haven’t heard about in a while: ballistic missile defense. From a Washington Post article: President Bush reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to building an antimissile system, accusing opponents of the program of “living in the past.” Although Bush did not mention his Democratic rival by […]

Halliburton: Just Another Company

Of course Halliburton is treated just like any other company by the Pentagon. They get no special privileges. Right? WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Army reversed a decision late Tuesday to withhold payment on 15 percent of future invoices of Halliburton Co.’s logistics deal in Iraq and gave the company more time to resolve a […]

Good News

This is some good news, so I’ll have to give kudos to US and British intelligence: British police today charged eight men with conspiracy to murder and violations of the Terrorism Act after finding that they possessed surveillance information on the same financial centers in Washington, New York and New Jersey that were the focus […]

Sen. Harking Not Mincing Words

… Here’s Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) on Cheney’s attacks on Kerry for using the word “sensitive“: “It just outrages me that someone who got five deferments during Vietnam and said he had ‘other priorities’ at that time would say that. …[President Bush and Cheney are] running scared because John Kerry has a war record and […]

Another One for the Supreme Court?

This November, voters in Colorado are going to decide on a referendum item that has just been certified for the ballot: should the state constitution be changed to allot its representatives in the Electoral College proportionally, rather than winner-take-all? If the measure passes, this means that Bush will probably get only 5 EC votes instead […]