politics – News Stories About politics - Page 23

Playwright Finds Times Arrogant on Al Gore

Mar 26, 2007 10:18 AM CDT

Playwright Finds Times Arrogant on Al Gore

Do we have to read about the VP's weight in every dispatch?

(Newser) - Al Gore is having an astonishing political second act, leading the charge to save the planet, but the supercilious writers at the New York Times can't resist condescending to him, observes playwright Jon Robin Baitz, doing a little reverse reviewing in his blog. TheTimes, he argues, displays its "...

Blast From Obama's Past

Mar 23, 2007 3:13 PM CDT

Blast From Obama's Past

High school chum, now homeless, hopes for handout

(Newser) - Barack Obama was surprised last week when a buddy from back in the days when he was called Barry got in touch. Keith Kakugawa, recently released from prison for his third drug conviction and living in a car, called the senator's cell phone to ask for help.

Gates Pushed
to Close Guantanamo

Mar 23, 2007 8:58 AM CDT

Gates Pushed to Close Guantanamo

New defense secretary butted heads with Cheney, Gonzales

(Newser) - Newly appointed Defense Secretary Robert Gates pushed hard for shutting down the controversial detention center at Guantanamo Bay, but was blocked by Cheney and Gonzales, until Bush pulled the plug on the argument. Gates at least succeeded in halting a $100 million expansion of the prison he felt had...

Musharraf Should Step Down

Mar 22, 2007 12:34 PM CDT

Musharraf Should Step Down

Pakistani president is a lame duck who can't control Islamic factions

(Newser) - Pakistani president Musharraf should finally do what he vowed back in 1999, says Ahmed Rashid: return the government to democracy. H e's too weak to salvage his credibility after recent public protests , and if he can't maintain power, Islamic extremists will seize the opportunity instead. He should disavow his own...

Lithwick: Nutty Legal Logic Used to Fire Attorneys

Mar 22, 2007 11:30 AM CDT

Lithwick: Nutty Legal Logic Used to Fire Attorneys

(Newser) - The same legal argument marshaled to justify mistreating prisoners is behind the Bush administration’s contention that the President can fire U.S. attorneys for any reason or no reason, according to Slate’s Dahlia Lithwick. It’s the theory that a greater power—like killing people in war—embodies...

YouTube Trickster Comes Clean

Mar 22, 2007 8:17 AM CDT

YouTube Trickster Comes Clean

(Newser) - An employe of the tech company that handles Barack Obama’s website admits making the notorious “Vote Different” YouTube video portraying Hillary Clinton as Big Brother – now one of the most watched videos on the web. Phil de Vellis writes on The Huffington Post that he created the ...

THAT OLD BLACK MAGIC

Mar 20, 2007 10:21 AM CDT

THAT OLD BLACK MAGIC

Does Barack Obama make white people feel safe?

(Newser) - As if Barack Obama did not face enough obstacles, the junior senator from Illinois with Oval Office aspirations is likened to a "magic negro" by David Ehrenstein. The "magic negro" is a cultural and cinematic racial stereotype exemplified by some of the characters played by Sidney Poitier, Scatman...

Chalabi Rides Surge Back
Into Office

Mar 6, 2007 11:04 AM CST

Chalabi Rides Surge Back Into Office

The divisive Iraqi politician will build public backing for security push

(Newser) - Ahmed Chalabi, the former U.S. darling and deputy prime minister spurned by Iraqi voters in the 2005 elections, is back in office. He won a post created as a buffer between residents and the troops pouring into Baghdad for the new security push. Chalabi's new role involves organizing reimbursement...