Adam Serwer

From Christina Bellantoni comes a classic Michael Steele moment following the 2004 Republican convention, about a month after then-Senator Obama made his national debut at the Democratic convention: Mr. Steele last night said Mr. Obama stole his fire, saying in prepared remarks, “I had planned to give a moving defense of the conservative principles of […]

Greg Sargent has a statement from Arizona Sens. John McCain and Jon Kyl, responding to the news that the Obama administration will sue Arizona over their draconian immigration law, SB 1070: “The American people must wonder whether the Obama Administration is really committed to securing the border when it sues a state that is simply […]

Last week, Uruguay defeated Ghana in the World Cup quarterfinals after striker Luís Suárez deliberately blocked a Ghanian shot on goal with his hand. Suárez was summarily ejected, and Ghana’s Asamoah Gyan subsequently choked on the awarded penalty kick. Uruguay then defeated Ghana 4-2 on penalties. This has led a number of people to argue […]

J. Christian Adams, the conservative activist hired in the Voting Rights Section of the Justice Department during an era of politicization, recently wrote that “The Bush Civil Rights Division was willing to protect all Americans from racial discrimination; during the Obama years, the Holder years, only some Americans will be protected.” By the numbers, we […]

In the past few weeks, the New Black Panther Party case has re-emerged as a point of focus for the conservative media. Last year, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Decision dismissed most charges in a voter-suppression case against a group of New Black Panther Party members, two of whom were caught on tape by Fox […]

Bill Keller‘s response to that study noting that American newspapers described waterboarding as torture when done in other countries but as something else when done by Americans is bizarre: Bill Keller, the executive editor of The Times, said the newspaper had written so much about the issue of waterboarding that “I think this Kennedy School […]

Uruguay blocks a Ghanian goal by cheating, then wins at penalty kicks after Ghana chokes three times. Rand Paul doesn’t support an “underground electric fence” along the border. Your Friendly Low-Income Neighborhood Spider-Man. Where are the hack liberal economists? Liberals hate each other, even when they’re on Journolist. The jury begins to deliberate in the […]

Earlier this week, I argued that The New York Times‘ refusal to refer to waterboarding as torture was the result of longstanding journalistic conventions, and had serious implications not just for torture but for climate change as well. Amanda Hess makes a few other observations: Remember that the next time the media calls intimate partner […]

Rich Lowry, National Review, September 1, 2006: On Iraq, the Democrats are the party of defeat. That’s not a partisan smear, but a fact. The further we slide toward defeat, the higher the Democrats’ political fortunes rise. To the extent they offer any clear policy alternative for Iraq, it is either — depending on your […]

The White House recently held a meeting with a group of LGBT reporters and bloggers in order to reassure them that the administration is prioritizing their concerns. Pam Spaulding was there: An answer that raised eyebrows at the table was why there wasn’t a single, high-level policy point person who has LGBT issues as a […]