Here’s the beginning of Shelby’s statement, with the rest at TPM: Sen. Shelby has placed holds on several pending nominees due to unaddressed national security concerns. … Everything else is just defensive posturing to back up the unprecedented Republican stall by Shelby’s blanket hold, pretty much a Senate first. The move freezes everything in place on Obama’s [...] [...more]
–bumped– via TPM Obama makes a joke at his own expense today at the annual prayer breakfast, but as you can see in the video, his laugh isn’t full, but instead an afterthought, because the President knows all too well the dangers underlying the subtext of his material. Republican Rep. Mark Kirk won the Illinois primary in a [...] [...more]
–updated– This photo came via email. As you all know, I have a different opinion on this one, but thought you’d appreciate it. The floor is open tonight. Favorite of mine today comes from Dana Milbank, surprisingly: Mullen deserves medal for Senate testimony backing open military service by gays. I’ll second that. Mike Mullen’s 42 years in the [...] [...more]
–updated– The video is a demonstration in Sheikh Jarrah, East Jerusalem that ended in arrests and detentions, which caused quite a stir back in January. Discontent in some quarters is rising in Israel over freedom of speech and assembly issues, but also the rights of women, including a dispute about bus segregation that’s turned into quite [...] [...more]
On Thursday, I heard Eugene Robinson on “Hardball” talk about something he’d heard about DADT from a little rat in the White House. It was clear he was very uncomfortable about reporting it. “What I heard this morning from somebody at the White House was probably not this year. But, maybe we would be [...] [...more]
“We face a deficit of trust… close that credibility gap…” with Pres. Obama as ambitious as ever. Climate change? That’s right. But nuclear energy? Yep. Clean coal? An oxymoron if ever there was one, but Pres. Obama talked about it, delivering a conservative speech for a Democrat. It’s a wonder Gov. Bob [...] [...more]
As regulars know, my uncle Dick flew missions in WWII, ending up with what they called “battle fatigue.” A lot has changed since the old days of the mid-20th century military joined the world to fight. Some of it not good. Whether it’s in Iraq or Afghanistan, the multiple deployments that began under Bush-Cheney has stressed [...] [...more]
–video update in comments– There are reports that Mousavi’s nephew, Seyyed Ali Mousavi was shot and killed today. There are even unconfirmed reports pouring in of people heading toward Sina Hospital, where it is assumed Ali Mousavi’s body is. – Iran News Now At the climax of Ashura, violence in Iran explodes. From the BBC: Opposition sources in Iran [...] [...more]
Merry Christmas. It’s been an extra special season for me and Mark, our first in Washington, D.C., with the white Christmas a kid’s continuing dream for me, no matter the years that pass. It’s interesting how neighbors become friends in the middle of a blizzard, when all anyone can do is walk through it, perhaps even discovering [...] [...more]
A Christmas Eve air strike has reportedly killed 30 militants in Yemen. An anonymous official said Al Qaeda were meeting at the house of Anwar al-Awlaki, the preacher who exchanged emails with Fort Hood suspect Maj Nidal Hasan, that was struck. From Reuters: Nasser al-Wahayshi, the Yemeni leader of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), [...] [...more]
If you want to understand Obama’s problems, the latest polling is representative. So is this: “Labor is looking to make the bill better,” American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten said after the meeting. … …Another labor official warned that while labor leaders will very likely grudgingly support the legislation, some may be bitter enough to [...] [...more]
That was our president today and I couldn’t have been prouder. Unflinching, reversing the muddled message of last week, once again regaining the moral authority of why we fight. That there are “just wars,” of which I’ve always believed Afghanistan is one. Today’s speech unraveling last week’s tangled rhetorical mess that had Pres. Obama [...] [...more]
Bombs exploded across Baghdad, taking at least 112 lives, with as many as 425 wounded. Carnage is the word as we get a look at what’s to come as we withdraw, with the latest bloodshed a real hit on the Iraq security forces, not to mention the government. Authorities said at least 112 people were [...] [...more]
The pictures and scene out of Iran today continue to inspire, as Iranians fight for justice by commemorating an historic day, when the Shah of Iran killed three students amidst the beginning Islamist revolution that changed Iran and our relationship with that country since. This plays out in a backdrop that David Ignatius wrote about yesterday, [...] [...more]
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy “Actively countering a clear and present danger,” says Rice, that’s what we’re doing in Afghanistan, regardless of the reality that there are less than 100 al Qaeda in that country, with the Taliban embedded in the consciousness of that country. With Rice claiming there [...] [...more]
