Judge Laurence Silberman of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has two primary claims to fame. First, in July 1990 the Reagan appointee was part of the 2 to 1 majority that overturned Oliver North's Iran-Contra convictions. Then in 2004, he co-chaired the Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the United […]

In the span of just two weeks, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker has catapulted into Republican superstar status. Mitt Romney's premature withdrawal from the 2016 presidential race cracked open the doors for the emergence of a hardline right-wing alternative to the Party establishment's lone remaining consensus candidate, Jeb Bush. And with his surprisingly animated speech at […]

During his address at the National Prayer Breakfast on Thursday, President Obama pointed to the history of the Crusades and American slavery as obvious examples of those who "committed terrible deeds in the name of Christ." These self-evident truths elicited a furious--and sometimes comical--response from the usual suspects on the right. Southern Baptist leader Russell […]

That NBC Evening News anchor Brian Williams falsely tried to appropriate the heroism of America's actual fighting men and women is bad enough. (In that he has plenty of company; Ronald Reagan recalled his role in the liberation of Nazi death camps among "all the bad things that happened in that war" when "I was […]

The year 2010 was huge for Republicans, and not just because of their overwhelming triumph in the midterm elections. Five years ago, the GOP made two very big promises to the American people. On the very day President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act (ACA) into law on March 23, 2010, then-Senate Minority Leader Mitch […]

This week, the Hindu-turned-Catholic Bobby Jindal doubled down on his bogus "no-go zones" claim at the center of his anti-Muslim crusade for the White House. He quickly had company in the form of Iraq war cheerleader and anti-Islamic xenophobe Frank Gaffney, who declared that Dearborn, Michigan is already one of those no-go zones in America. […]

As his close friends and advisers tell it, Mitt Romney will put his LDS Church and his leadership role in it at the center any campaign for the White House in 2016. As hotel magnate and fellow Mormon Richard Marriott put it, "Our church tells us clearly that when we are in the service of […]

When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers his address to Congress, his objectives will be two-fold. While President Obama is trying to avoid a U.S. war with Iran, Bibi wants to start one. (As his Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon put it last year, "The one who should lead the campaign against Iran is the U.S.") […]

This week, the expanded House Republican majority marked the 42nd anniversary of the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade by comically failing to pass a 20 week abortion contained in the so-called "Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act." Still, there's nothing funny about the GOP's anti-abortion crusade at both the federal and state level. While a majority […]

Less than one month ago, Republican Senator and possible 2016 presidential candidate Lindsey Graham (R-SC) traveled to Jerusalem to deliver a simple message to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: "the Congress will follow your lead." Follow Bibi's lead, that is, on policy towards Iran. And now, just as the U.S. and its international partners enter […]