As a police photographer snapped his mug shot back in 2005, former House Majority Leader Tom Delay prayed, "Let people see Christ through me." Now, five years after he was indicted for money laundering, Delay's trial has finally begun in Austin, Texas. And while he may not walk on water, Tom Delay may yet walk […]

The more things change, the more they stay the same. On the eve of midterms elections that could make him House Speaker, John Boehner announced, "This is not a time for compromise." His lieutenant Mike Pence (R-IN) echoed that line, declaring that with a new Republican majority "there will be no compromise" with President Obama […]

Over this pre-election weekend, CNN will air a special called, "Boiling Point: Inside the Tea Party." Whether or not its right-wing fury brings a conservative wave to Washington, the network insists, "the Tea Party has earned a place in history." But even more than its decibel level, none-too-thinly veiled race-baiting, casual incitements to violence and […]

Last week, Americans learned that the nation's biggest charities suffered a staggering 11% drop in donations last year. That decline in contributions to the 400 largest charitable organizations was the worst in two decades. More than anything else, American charities hoping to refill their coffers need a return to robust economic growth. That, and one […]

On Tuesday, the residents of New Jersey saw the future - in China. On the same day that Governor Chris Christie killed funding for the badly needed second Hudson River rail tunnel, Beijing rolled out its fastest bullet train yet. As it turns out, Christie's budget ax is just the latest symptom of a growing […]

By now, Americans have grown accustomed to Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio saying (and doing) what most hard-line conservatives are only thinking. So when Sheriff Joe tweeted that he gave Sarah Palin a pair of pink underwear, right-wing eyebrows weren't the only things being raised. Of course, this episode is just the latest to highlight the […]

This weekend, the New York Times and Washington Post offered almost identical assessments of the 2010 Congressional elections. While the Times announced "GOP poised to seize House, if not Senate," the Post predicted 'historic" losses with "more than 90 Democratic House seats are potentially in play." But lost in the conventional wisdom that Barack Obama […]

During the 2008, the campaign of multimillionaire and multiple home owner John McCain tried and failed to paint Barack Obama as "elitist" and "out of touch." But now that moribund Democrats are showing some signs of life as Election Day nears, the right-wing Obama as Snob meme is back with a vengeance. Over just the […]

When it comes to cutting the federal budget, talk is cheap. But as the New York Times is just the latest to report, across the country Republican candidates are talking tough about spending cuts they can't - or won't - explain. Yet even as they promise another $700 billion Treasury-draining windfall for the wealthy, the […]

On Monday, the New York Times asked, "What if a president cut Americans' income taxes by $116 billion and nobody noticed?" As it turns out, that question neatly sums up the sad dynamic at play in the 2010 midterm elections. On the one hand, President Obama and his Democratic allies have utterly failed to tout […]