Bill Clinton owes his political life to the liberal Democrats who supported him through scandal after scandal. So why would he risk alienating them by his relentless attacks on Barack Obama?

To preserve his place in history.

At the moment, Clinton is -- per Toni Morrison -- America's first black...

I watch plenty of television, and the other day I finally asked myself why. I mean, I don't know about you, but the truth is TV rarely makes me laugh, makes me cry, or makes me think. Yet there I sit. So, why? Why is there such a thing as...

With all the hoopla about Intelligent Design, here’s a hypothetical. Suppose the Old Testament read slightly differently. Suppose Genesis said that on the third day God caused lightning to flash and create the smallest living things, and some of those became plants. And on the fifth day some of the...

Said Ibrahim, one of the men being sought in Britain in connection with the most recent subway attacks in London, reportedly told a neighbor he “was going to get 80 virgins when he got to heaven.”

This is shocking. The 9/11 hijackers expected only 72 virgins. Virgin inflation of...

Most wars are between two states (or groups of states), and hostilities end only when one surrenders to the other. But in the war on terror our opponent is not a state, and this has raised a huge problem for those of us who want to end the war –...

Just a note that contrary to the cop in Jillian Crane's story, it is not illegal to drive barefoot in California.

While the headline of this article is "Robot hand performs remote breast checks" and the first line reads "Life-saving breast examinations could soon be performed by a robotic hand that combines ultrasound with an artificial sense of touch," I suspect we will look back on today as holding out...

A while back Joshua Zeitz said that Democrats could gain ground on Republicans by “emphasiz[ing] the gathering conservative assault on the commerce clause.” I guess it depends which party is counting on the votes of medical marijuana users.

That’s because the Supreme Court today decided a medical marijuana...

I join with Chris Meserole in saluting Jay Winsten for his proposal to fight malaria in Africa by raising money for insecticide-treated bed nets. Malaria was endemic in Europe and North America until we eliminated it using bed nets.

Oh, wait. We used DDT.

And that’s the real...

Maybe we can all just get along.

North Korea announced today that it might be willing to resume six-party nuclear arms talks, something it has refused to do for a year. Why?

Because President Bush referred to Kim Jong Il in a press conference as "Mr. Kim...

Is it just me, or does everyone hate the new nickel and think Thomas Jefferson looks kinda like Bob Hope?

Here's a proposal I think liberals and conservatives can agree on: let's stop spending money on actually making...

Reacting to reports that in 14 states Medicaid has been paying for Viagra for convicted sex offenders, a police spokesman said that dealing with these offenders is difficult enough without the states adopting policies that only make things harder.

French citizens voted yesterday not to approve the European Union’s...

On this Memorial Day, let's remember those who served our country -- especially those who made the ultimate sacrifice -- but also those who survived, like my dad, a veteran of WWII and Korea, and my mom, an Army nurse in WWII.

But let's also recognize, as the LA...

I agree with Bill Diamond that Green Acres was a good show, but I'd go even further -- Green Acres was sometimes brilliant. I was reminded of it this week even before Eddie Albert's passing when I read an article about pig racing in Russia: it reminded me...

Rick Jacobs warns that Governor Schwarzenegger is trying to "defund the Democratic Party" with a "cynical, union-stripping initiative." As a union member myself, I can tell him not to worry. If there's one thing we workers will fight to the death for it's the power of our unions to...

Last night Carrie Underwood defeated Bo Bice to become our American Idol. I find the result extremely suspicious, and I hope Jim Lampley gets on the case immediately.

Lawrence O’Donnell’s point about bravery in service of stupidity is well taken, although I would have cited the Jim Rose Circus Sideshow.

Lawrence O’Donnell says that John McCain’s wrangling on the cloture deal is “easily the bravest political act of this century.” Of course, we’re only five years in, so I suppose he may be right. But a verdict of bravery usually requires that the act be worthwhile as well as...

Hilary Rosen yesterday included Priscilla Owen in her pronouncement that the three nominees getting cloture are "some of the most homophobic jurists ever nominated." Since Owen will reportedly be voted on today, I was looking into her more extensively than I had. I found, for example, a

A couple of stories today confirming natural selection. In one, a man jumped out the window of a speeding car to catch the cigarette that blew out of his mouth. In another, two geniuses made imitation Star Wars light sabers by filling glass tubes with gasoline and lighting...