The Recent Outrage

We all know that Republicans believe that “that government is best which governs least” (attributed variously to Thomas Paine, Thomas Jefferson, or neither). But they seem to be taking that a bit too seriously these days.

This Friday, clean energy legislation goes to the floor of the House--and it may not pass without a grassroots push over the next 36 hours.

From the New York Times: In a series of high-level meetings in 2002, without a single dissent from cabinet members or lawmakers, the United States for the first time officially embraced the brutal methods of interrogation it had always condemned.

So what's America's greatest threat? The weakest economy in 80 years? Widespread layoffs, bank collapses, meltdown in the auto industry and a housing crisis?

Those Republicans sure know how to demonstrate the bipartisan spirit President Obama is calling for. For nearly three full weeks, they've blocked Obama's nominee, Hilda Solis, for Labor Secretary.

Among those labeled as terrorists: two Catholic nuns, a former Democratic congressional candidate, a lifelong pacifist and a registered lobbyist. One suspect's file warned that she was "involved in puppet making and allows anarchists to utilize her property for meetings."

Apparently, $700 billion just isn't enough. Some of the banks who are buying up failing banks are also getting big tax breaks. How big? The tax break that Wells Fargo will get as a result of its acquistion of Wachovia Corp. is $20 billion. That's $5.2 billion more than the $14.8 billion it cost Wells Fargo to make the acquisition.

Reading McCain's Ayers slime from a script into the phone was too much for one young woman,reports West Virginia's Charleston Gazette.

It's getting right crazy down here in Dixie. When we're not talking to ourselves, we're talking to everybody else -- whether they want to listen or not. Yada-yada-Muslim, yada-yada-antichrist, yada-yada-doesn't-want-America-to-win, yada-yada-he-s-a-commie-socialist! Yada-yada-God-hates-him. And more.

Read the full All Things Considered story and then sign Progress Florida's petition to Gov. Crist telling him that Floridians deserve an election free from underhanded tactics and dirty tricks.

There are lots of reasons to be concerned about the bailout: it's expensive, it probably won't help homeowners, it doesn't include adequate oversight provisions, and it might not even work. Could it get any scarier? Yes. According to this piece by Andrew Sorkin, it will also consolidate more power over the financial life of our nation into the hands of one person than ever before in our history.

Michigan Republicans plan to foreclose on African American voters.

Ohio election officials are sending out a mass mailer stamped "do not forward" to all registered voters today (Sept. 5) with an absentee ballot application and other important notices for Nov. 4. Unbeknownst to the would-be recipients, the same mailer - just 60 days before the election - has the potential to determine their eligibility to vote, challenged not by election officials but by partisan opposition.

Soldier suicides this year could surpass the record rate of last year, Army officials said Thursday, urging military leaders at all levels to redouble prevention efforts for a force strained by two wars.

There was a lot about the RNC that I found offensive tonight. But as a pastor, a resident of a small town, and a Christian who is a passionate progressive (because of issues of social justice) I was most deeply offended by the routine mocking of "community organizing."

It seems KBR is at it again, and just when you thought they couldn't get worse, they did.

Who has the Bush administration hired to make sure our voting rights aren't violated on Election Day? Meet Hans Von Spakovsky, a key player in the right-wing vote-suppression agenda.

When 80% of Americans would rather see our government invest in renewable energy than drill for more oil, you have to ask yourself...Why are we still having this argument?

The other day, U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann told us that we don't need Nancy Pelosi to save the planet. Jesus has it covered.

This weekend, the American Psychological Association will be holding their annual conference, but it won't be as harmonious as you would think: a group of psychologists are organizing to change the association's position on the presence of psychologists during interrogations of Guantanamo detainees.

Even though state representative Myra Crownover is a Republican and an oil-drilling company owner, we still thought she had to be playing a joke on us when she posted an op-ed in the New York Sun, proclaiming oil drilling as the new 'clean' energy.

The Department of Homeland Security recently gave Customs and Border Patrol the right to search laptops without probable cause at airports along the borders.

H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center, in Tampa, Florida, has hired lobbyists to advocate for the institution in Florida's capitol, and seven of those lobbyists are also tobacco lobbyists.

Lucas Senecall, a Navy veteran, took his life just two hours after he was released from the VA medical center in Spokane, WA on July 7th . Yet despite Lucas' state of agitation and weeping, despite his history of bipolar disorder, substance abuse and multiple suicide attempts, despite his having been diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder, and despite reports quoting Lucas as saying “I don't want to exist right now,” and “My heart just wants to leave my body,” Lucas was assessed by the VA as a non-suicide risk and was released from VA suicide watch.

It's time for a new direction for America — one where hateful people like the man who sponsored this billboard are no longer in power — and one where we're focused on bringing the troops home from Iraq, ensuring health care for all Americans, improving our education system and taking action to tackle global warming.

Maybe President Bush is smarter than he appears. After all, it takes an aspect of cunning to introduce a proposal that would require federally funded medical institutions to hire health care providers who don't believe in abortion or birth control, and present it as an “anti-discrimination rule.” I imagine even Houdini could not achieve such an act of illusion.

This week, Reuters reported that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki requested that the U.S. provide a timeline for troop withdrawal. In response, the White House released a statement on Maliki's reported request, questioning whether the media made a transcription error.