One of These Is Not Like the Other

Timothy Sandefur is embarrassed: So I was watching this insane video of Christopher Hitchens and Salman Rushdie discussing the War on Terrorism with Mos Def. And it’s amusing to laugh at the utterly hapless ignorance of "Mr. Def," as he is repeatedly called—until you stop and wonder. Why is the black community not outraged by this? Bill Maher hosts a talk ...

Tony Snow Dies of Cancer

Tony Snow has died. He was only 53. CNN Breaking: Former White House press secretary Tony Snow has died at the age of 53 after a second battle with cancer. Snow, who had been undergoing chemotherapy treatments for a recurrence of the disease, left his White House job September. 14, 2007, and joined CNN as a conservative commentator. More from ...

Why Campaign Bloggers are Boring

Jeff Commorato reacts to feedback on his post charging that Official Bloggers hired by presidential campaigns are boring and uninspired. Bloggers working for a campaign are digital press secretaries. The current White House Press Secretary Tony Snow was a conservative radio host and FOX News contributor. In those roles he could and sometimes did challenge the administration and their positions even ...

Collapsed I-35 Bridge Rated Deficient Years Ago, Mirrors National Problem

The span of I-35 bridge that collapsed in Minneapolis last night was rated structurally deficient two years ago, Dan Browning reports in the Star Tribune. The highway bridge that collapsed into the Mississippi River on Wednesday was rated as "structurally deficient" two years ago and possibly in need of replacement. That rating was contained in the U.S. Department of Transportation's National ...

Whither the War Czar?

Steve Benen notes that LTG Douglas Lute was officially confirmed as our "war czar" a month ago and has all but disappeared from sight. On July 8, Lute was mentioned in passing in a Bob Novak column. Two days later, a report in Congressional Quarterly noted that Lute called some senators about Bush’s policy during the recent debate, but ...

Bush Calls Immigration Bill ‘Amnesty’

President Bush, in a "slip of the tongue," termed the controversial immigration bill up before the Senate today an "amnesty" bill. ABC's Rick Klein reports: President Bush has spent a whole lot of time in recent months claiming that the immigration bill isn't "amnesty." But in describing the measure Tuesday morning, an apparent slip of the tongue suggested ...

Pentagon Hires ABC Geoff Morrell as Spokesman

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates is bringing ABC News White House correspondent Geoff Morrell on board as the new Pentagon press secretary, responsible for on-air briefings, Mike Allen reports, "in an effort to improve press relations at a time when the administration is under pressure to show progress in Iraq." Frankly, I'm not sure hiring Walter Cronkite could accomplish that at ...

Fort Dix Terrorist Plot

A terrorist plot on Fort Dix has been thwarted, AP reports. Six men were planning to attack the Fort Dix Army base and "kill as many soldiers as possible," federal authorities said Tuesday. The men, Yugoslav nationals, were arrested early Tuesday, said Michael Drewniak, a spokesman for the United States Attorney's Office in New Jersey. Like Steven Taylor, my initial take is that ...

Tony Snow Has Liver Cancer

Tony Snow has been diagnosed with liver cancer. Presidential spokesman Tony Snow's surgery to remove a small growth showed that his cancer has returned, the White House said Tuesday. Snow, 51, had his colon removed in 2005 and underwent six months of chemotherapy after being diagnosed with colon cancer. A small growth was discovered last year in his lower right pelvic area, ...

Death of News Reporting?

Sasha Abramsky sees the eminent demise of journalism as we know it, as major papers eliminate their foreign news bureaus and online delivery makes news content "just another commodity." Too many people are now ditching their newspaper subscriptions, relying more heavily on internet publications and online clipping services. If these organisations were recreating their own news-gathering infrastructures, that wouldn't necessarily be ...

JCS Chairman Pace Cautious on Iranian Goverment Links

Much is being made in some quarters about the apparent contradiction between the statements of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of staff and various administration officials on the Iranian-made weapons flowing into Iraq. This MSNBC report is an excellent example: U.S. general: No evidence Iran is arming Iraqis A top U.S. general said Tuesday there was no evidence the Iranian government ...

Pentagon Rebuffs Pelosi Plane Upgrade Request

The Defense Department has denied Speaker Pelosi's request to have a C-32 at her disposal and laid down some stringent guidelines for the use of a smaller plane, ABC's Jake Tapper reports. The source said that Pentagon officials and the Bush administration have instead offered Pelosi use of the same plane made available to former Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill.: a C-20, ...

Bush Reverses Course, Puts NSA Wiretaps Under FISA

After spending more than a year arguing that it had the legal authority to bypass the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to authorize NSA surveillance of suspected terrorists--and that doing so was crucial to our national security--the Bush administration announced yesterday that it has reversed course. AP's Lara Jakes Jordan: Attorney General Alberto Gonzales told senators in a letter Wednesday that "any ...

Tony Snow – Blogger Teleconference

White House Press Secretary Tony Snow and Brett McGurk, Director for Iraq, National Security Council held a teleconference with invited bloggers this afternoon on the topic President Bush's speech tonight on the way forward in Iraq. Following is a summary, not a transcription, of major points unless indicated by use of quotation marks. Snow provided a "cook's tour" of the ...

Laura Bush Skin Cancer Flap

The White House's decision not to disclose until now that First Lady Laura Bush had skin cancer removed from her leg last month is causing a mini controversy among the press corps. The White House on Tuesday defended Laura Bush's decision not to disclose she had a skin cancer tumor removed from her right shin in early November. Unlike her ...