Barbara Boxer Blimp

Demon Sheep Fred Davis has struck again, with an online ad I will post to this blog for the same reason that people slow down to look at car crashes. Almost lost in Davis’ oddly vicious humor is how generic the attack is. Also note the chalkboard scratch at 6:13: Wha? So Boxer is like [...]

Why Does Glenn Beck Hate Jesus?

When Glenn Beck told listeners of his radio show on March 2 that they should “run as fast as you can” from any church that preached “social or economic justice” because those were code words for Communism and Nazism, he probably thought he was tweaking a few crunchy religious liberals who didn’t listen to the [...]

Health Care: The Talking Points

If the House does succeed in passing this health care bill, that’s a big step. But it is just the beginning of the battle for many members. The next thing the Democrats will have to do is convince a very divided and skeptical public that they did the right thing. We were reminded of how [...]

1,000 Words: Casual Friday Edition

From our White House Photo Blog:

Introducing “The Call”

We’ve got a new feature here on Swampland. It’s a weekly podcast where you get to listen in to a few of our reporters talk about the stories they’ve been working on and the highlights of the week. Today’s call features Karen and Kate discussing Arlen Specter’s re-election battle and (of course) everything health care. [...]

Still More on Bending the Rules

The Slaughter Solution? Another name might be the Dreier Doctrine. Don Wolfensberger, director of the Woodrow Wilson Center’s Congress Project (and former staff director of the House Rules Committee), took a look at this whole business of self-executing rules a few years back. He argues that it’s not at all unusual in these partisan times [...]

Re: Bending the Rules

I’m convinced there are no new arguments in Washington; the only thing that changes is the side that is making them. As House Democratic leaders consider their options for passing the health care bill, there is going to be a lot of talk about the use of the “self-executing rule” — or, as Republicans are [...]

Health Care: Lock and Load

After all the missed deadlines, I’m hesitant to say this, but here goes: Next week is the week. The House Democratic leadership now expects to schedule a vote on the Senate health care bill and send it to President Obama’s desk next Friday, March 19, or Saturday, March 20. After that, assuming the bill passes, [...]

10 Questions For Desmond Tutu

One of the perks of my job: I get to interview Desmond Tutu (with your questions). Next up for 10 Questions: Census Bureau Director Robert Groves. If you have a question, submit it here.

1,000 Words: Chopper Edition

From our White House photo blog: I’m sure that, as always, our commenters will have great suggestions for captions. But my own on this one: The Obama girls on their revised Spring Break trip. UPDATE: Commenter grape_crush FTW: “Lilliputian Ambassador’s Helicopter Finds Alternate Landing Pad.”