MC Hawking finally gets his wish

Jesse Helms represented the ugliest parts of my adopted home state’s history. The only thing sad about his death is that it did not occur several decades earlier.
(Thanks to LGM for the links to Mother Jones and Salon.)

Profiles in Fecklessness, part, ummm, I’ve lost count

Congressional Democrats once again do what they do best: fold like a cheap suit.
After months of wrangling, Democratic and Republican leaders in Congress struck a deal on Thursday to overhaul the rules on the government’s wiretapping powers and provide what amounts to legal immunity to the phone companies that took part in President Bush’s program [...]

Why I voted for Barack Obama

I voted for Barack Obama in the North Carolina primary today. Not because I have been swept away by Obamania. To the contrary, I’m not at all convinced of Obama’s virtues.
I am, however, absolutely convinced of Hillary Clinton’s vices.
Barack Obama is not the progressive that some of his supporters naively imagine, let alone the leftist [...]

This just in: John Ashcroft is a repulsive, abusive, dissembling asshole

Sure, you already knew that. But some things bear repeating, like this exchange between Ashcroft and a Knox College student:
ME: First off, Mr. Ashcroft, I’d like to apologize for the rudeness of some of my fellow students. It was uncalled for–we can disagree civilly, we don’t need that. (round of applause from the audience, [...]

Elaine Chao: Bad for Workers, Bad for DOL

Unlike so many other Bush administration officials who have rightfully come in for public criticism, Labor Secretary Elaine Chao — Bush’s longest-serving cabinet member — has somehow managed to fly beneath the radar. American Rights at Work are seeking to rectify that oversight, shining a spotlight on Chao’s dismal record as head of the agency [...]

Lessig ‘08

Stanford University law professor and geek hero Larry Lessig is considering a run for the House seat left open by the recent death of Tom Lantos. This video (which illustrates how Lessig is the only person in the world to make effective use of PowerPoint) outlines his agenda for a “Change Congress” movement. I just [...]

Trick question

Commenting on the potential significance of “Superdelegates” in this year’s presidential nomination sweepstakes, Robert Justin Lipkin (Widener Law School) asks, “Which word in “Democratic Party” does the Democratic Party not understand?” The correct answer, of course, is “both”.

I’m shocked, SHOCKED, to find that gaming is going on here!

When Michigan and Florida attempted to challenge Iowa and New Hampshire for the mantle of first-out-of-the-box in the Presidential nomination sweepstakes, the Democratic Party ruled that delegates from those states would not be seated at the convention. Now, having won Michigan (as the only major candidate on the ballot) and appearing poised to win Florida [...]

Toot-toot Rudy, goodbye!

Writing about polls showing Rudy Giuliani a weak third in the upcoming GOP Florida primary, Josh Marshall comments wryly on Giuliani’s stupid campaign slogan, “Tested. Ready. Now.” A more accurate slogan would have been “Stark. Raving. Lunatic.” I may not be much of a believer in electoral “lesser-evilism”, but I can still recognize a [...]

35 Years of Reproductive Freedom

To mark the anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision, NARAL Pro-Choice America is promoting “Blog for Choice Day“. This year’s theme is “why it’s important to vote pro-choice”.
Bean, at Lawyers, Guns & Money, provides a more thorough and thoughtful commentary than I can muster with my current sinus headache. Suffice it to [...]