Sanjay Gupta has reportedly told Obama thanks, but no thanks–he’d prefer to stick with his TV gig for the time being than serve as Surgeon General. I guess it shows how closely I was paying attention that I didn’t realize he hadn’t been officially nominated for the post yet. That must mean one of two things happened: 1) Obama offered …
It didn’t make much news–didn’t even make it to the front page of the Los Angeles Times–but on Tuesday, LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa won a second term. Journalist (and LA resident) T.A. Frank writes up the underwhelming election:
Antonio Villaraigosa has been ambitious in rhetoric but modest in achievements. A pledge to plant a
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I’ve been trying to work up some sort of outrage over some piece of the whole Rush Limbaugh hoo-hah, but there are just some days when I have had it up to here with political squabbles and instead go looking for escapist reading to distract me. If, like me, you’re in need of a few Rush-free moments, here’s what I found in the sports …
Gordon Brown may have had even more reason to be nervous about his first date with Obama today. A month ago, when Tony Blair and Obama co-headlined the National Prayer Breakfast, the British press was all abuzz about whether the appearance amounted to a dis of Brown. He would have preferred, after all, not to be the second U.K. prime …
Ben Smith says GOP Senator Sam Brownback is publicly backing the nomination of fellow Kansan Kathleen Sebelius for the HHS job. So does that mean she’s a “real” Catholic? Was he persuaded by the folks at the recently-launched CatholicsforSebelius.org? And will his show of support quiet her anti-abortion critics at all?
The administration announced late this afternoon that Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius has accepted Obama’s nomination to be HHS Secretary. The finalization of her selection comes just in time for Sebelius to participate in the White House summit on health reform early next week.
It’s hard out there for a Wizards player. The team re-signs Gilbert Arenas to a $111 million contract only to see him sit out the season (again) with a knee injury. With a half-dozen other players injured throughout the season, the Wizards win all of 11 games by the All-Star Break. A true basketball fan gets elected president, but the …
Focus on the Family announced today that founder James Dobson is officially stepping down as chair of the organization. It’s a move that’s long been in the works–six years ago, Dobson resigned his position as president and CEO of Focus, and internally the organization has been paving the way for current CEO Jim Daly to take full
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Just a few weeks back when Obama asked Democratic leaders to remove a family-planning provision from the stimulus bill, some people–I’m looking at you, Cecile Richards–declared the move “a betrayal of millions of low-income women” and despaired of ever expanding access to Medicaid-covered family planning services.
Turn with me to …
There was some action today on two causes that we’ve been hearing about for a while–one that had been called for by the left and the other by the right. On the first, Defense Secretary Gates announced an end to the ban on media coverage of military coffins returning to U.S. soil, a restriction that has been in place since 1991 and …
So at least we have an answer. There are indeed limits to the Slumdog Millionaire touch of gold. Not every tale of a plucky Indian lad can capture the hearts of Americans.
How bad was Bobby Jindal tonight? On “Charlie Rose,” David Brooks called the Louisiana Republican’s remarks the worst response to a speech ever, and added–as if …
When I saw Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) leaning over the aisle as Obama entered the House chamber before the speech, my first thought was, Awkward. But when the President made his way over to Shelby, I’m pretty sure the Republican apologized for the whole we-don’t-know-if-he’s-an-American-and-a-legitimate-president thing. I’m hoping …
Homeless policy usually focuses on those who are already homeless, getting them off the streets or out of shelters into transitional or permanent housing, and providing mental health or substance abuse treatment to the chronically homeless. And that’s what much of the $1.6 billion in grants that HUD announced yesterday for programs that …
