Blog: TAPPED

KERRY, UNPLUGGED. Like Al Gore before him, John Kerry has finally set his presidential hopes aside. And, like Gore before him, he’s using the occasion of their demise as a chance to boldly undertake more clearly liberal actions than he might otherwise have done. Political Insider reports: word on Capitol Hill is that Sen. John […]

JUST POSTED ON TAP ONLINE: EVASIVE MANEUVERS. Barbara Dreyfuss explains how the Justice Department is teaching various federal agencies to thwart congressional investigations. —The Editors

RUDY THE GREAT. Yeah, it’s worth taking seriously the giant autocratic streak in Giuliani. I remember, back in the heady days of 2003, that many of my Pandagon commenters used to laugh at my suggestion that there’d be an election in 2004. Bush, they said, would just declare martial law and make himself an effective […]

COMING SOON TO THE SMALL SCREEN. Since everyone else is so into it, I suppose we’d be remiss in our cultural coverage if we didn’t note the strange passing of tragic mess Anna Nicole Smith. Any bets on how long it takes her story to become a Law & Order episode? –Garance Franke-Ruta

FREE TRADE FOR THEE, NOT FOR ME. TAP’s resident economist Dean Baker likes to blast free traders for their tendency to only want free trade in low skill jobs and low income labor. You never see trade deals meant to open up competition in lawyers, or doctors, or CEOs. Nevertheless, free traders assure us that […]

THERE, THERE, DON’T WORRY YOUR PRETTY LITTLE HEAD ABOUT YOUR REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM. Sara Anderson brings our attention to another innovation in the irrational abortion regulation obstacle course, this one from the Idaho legislature: A North Idaho lawmaker wants to make it a crime to attempt to coerce a woman or girl into having an abortion, […]

NOT-SO-SILLY! Kevin Drum rounds up all the recent right-wing-fuelled ” dimwit stories” and faux scandals concerning the Democratic presidential contenders, the Nancy Pelosi jet flap included among them. Matt argues that we need to take this crap seriously and not dismiss it as the unavoidable muck of the political “silly season.” But when it comes […]

LARRY SUMMERS, AGENT OF PROGRESS. This would never have happened if not for him. –Garance Franke-Ruta

ALL’S NOT FAIR IN LOVE OF WAR. This took courage. If only there were more Americans like Eric Fair. I hope his nightmares from Iraq, and ours, end soon. —Tom Schaller

LAST BLOGGERS POST. They were fired, and then rehired. Salon has the tick tock. Meanwhile, the new progressive infrastructure giddily declares war on the Catholic League. –Garance Franke-Ruta