Dexter Filkins has an entirely depressing report about the complexities of life in Pashtunistan today. It’s the story of a warlord in Oruzgan province, which is just north of Kandahar, who is being paid by the US to provide security on the highway from Kandahar to Oruzgan. His private army also works in conjunction with [...]
Frank Rich makes an important point near the end of his column today: If Obama is to have a truly transformative presidency, there could be no better catalyst than oil. Standard Oil jump-started Progressive Era trust-busting. Sinclair Oil’s kickback-induced leases of Wyoming’s Teapot Dome oilfields in the 1920s led to the first conviction and imprisonment [...]
Israel apparently has learned its lesson: no more commandos from the sky (one at a time–I mean, how stupid). This time, the aid ship Rachel Corrie was stopped and boarded in traditional fashion from the sea. There was no violence, no injuries. The ship will be taken to Ashkelon, where the humanitarian aid shipped will [...]
Front-runners will always absorb their share of potshots, but rarely do they come in forms like this. Republican gubernatorial candidate Nikki Haley, a Tea Party favorite backed by Sarah Palin, is no stranger to internecine warfare; in recent weeks, she’s twice denied allegations of extramarital affairs. But the most recent attack on Haley is far [...]
Those looking for someone to blame for the Gulf oil spill have zeroed in on BP CEO Tony Hayward. Although Hayward is now starring in a new contrite television commercial aimed at calming his critics, he’s not likely to get the metaphorical target off his back anytime soon. TIME’s Elizabeth Dias filed this report: BP’s [...]
We’ve yet to see how much of the anti-establishment talk is just talk and how much incumbents should be shaking in their power suits. Political report publisher Stu Rothenberg says the doomed-incumbent narrative has been overstated. “There’s evidence of Tea Party activism, of voters being suspicious of anointed candidates. But I wouldn’t say there’s a [...]
The Clinton Library just released online more than 46,000 pages of documents concerning Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan and her work as a White House lawyer in the 1990s. Critics (and supporters) will be combing through these in advance of her upcoming Senate confirmation hearing, but if you want to have a peek on your [...]
Our colleague Michael Grunwald has a story out today on the likely Democratic candidate in the race for Florida’s Senate seat. Yes, a Democrat is running, despite that much of the political oxygen is being sucked up by Republican candidate Marco Rubio and newly minted independent Charlie Crist. That Democrat is Kendrick Meek and although [...]
To the commentariat: I know many of your posts are still getting trapped in moderation purgatory. We haven’t entered the censorship era on Swampland or hatched a plot to silence certain commenters. (Not even Karen, who our comment filter has apparently blacklisted as well.) It’s a technical glitch, and the High Sheriffs are working with [...]
