If the Patriot act meets a real need then why would Sensenbrenner gavel down a legal hearing, where the first televised negative testimony would be heard, after just four witnesses? If a law can’t take light from both sides that proves there’s something the Bush administration wants to hide, and Democrats must not let it [...]

I rarely agree with this administration, but I think they’re right to reduce the recommended fine on tobacco companies. Advertising will never get anyone to quit anymore than it got anyone to smoke. The fine just lets government pay off media. The Surgeon General’s warnings confirmed smoking was addictive and deadly. Anyone who claims to [...]

Like a flicker of sun on a murky day a new Post-ABC poll provides hope. For the first time a majority calls the Iraq war wrong – it didn’t make us safer. America is waking up, beginning to see. Maybe the Republican smog is lifting.

Facts about global warming are swarming, but no one will know because a Bush minion edits the news. “Is� becomes “may be,� “some doubt,� “significant doubt.� The guy’s name is Cooney, and like the Bush policy, he’s loony.

Tony Blair, the President’s friend through difficult times, didn’t get much in return. He has good ideas about Africa and global warming, and thought he’d earned access to an ear. He did, but the British Prime Minister didn’t realize both of Bush’s ears are tin.

The sugar lobby keeps prices “stable,� double what the rest of the world pays, by contributing heavily to both parties, and encouraging import restrictions. This never made them popular with Democrats or unions, but since they all oppose CAFTA, and sugar beets grow in red states, this may be a winning team.

Bush didn’t want a September 11 commission, but he appointed a good one – maybe the best ever. He promised to implement most of their recommendations, but he didn’t, so they raised private funds to hold more hearings. With no authority or subpoena power, they will still get results. These ten citizens have something the [...]

The Bush creed is simply greed. Super rich make up his base, they give cash to fill the need to flood the airwaves with his face. Like a carnival pitchman with stacks of wooden bottles and three baseballs for a dollar, he promises a lower tax if you hit the target and a bottle falls. [...]

Amnesty International says the administration’s criticism of their latest report is “typical of a government on the defensive.” Bush called it “absurd,â€? again and again, but used earlier work by the organization to justify attacking Iraq, and sanctioning Cuba. Some say “Gulagâ€? is inaccurate, but Washington’s anger with the term got headlines, increased public support [...]

Bush rushed to change policemen at the SEC. Donaldson was clearly a good cop, the bad cop must be Cox. Someone is probably preparing another Enron. They have to guard the chicken coop. So of course, they need a fox.

William Donaldson, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, resigned amid Republican rancor. He settled talk of market scandals, so President Bush could be re-elected, but in the process enforced the rules. That made business angry. Then he tried to give stockholders a bigger voice in electing corporate directors, worse, but trying to regulate hedge [...]

The Senate requests information just to stall a Bolton vote, so Bush says “no.� He admits we have a problem with North Korea, so he won’t talk to them. He tells Congress to pass programs the public rejects, but doesn’t say how. He’s pleased with progress in Iraq, says criticism of Guantánamo is “absurd.� If [...]

Arthur Anderson, not guilty after all, but virtually gone. Another case where Bush administration over-reach was wrong. Attorney General Ashcroft achieved less than we had thought. Able to unite a Court Supreme, but lost many, many jobs for naught.