James Inhofe (R-OK) appeared briefly today at a climate bill markup in the Senate Environment and Public Works committee, simply to drop off a letter with a series of Republican demands on how to move forward on the bill. The letter basically asks the EPA for a “full assessment” of the Senate bill, including modeling that they are probably not even equipped to do. It’s just a stall tactic, and Democrats treated it as such: “Thanks for stopping by,” Boxer told Inhofe.

Americans should ponder the meaning of this decision, which explicitly places state interests above individual rights, even when such rights include not being sent to a country that will torture that individual. That such torture was done at the behest of the U.S. government, with written questions given to the torturers, only exacerbates the issue.

With their function scheduled for phase out as the military’s role in Iraq comes to an end, top folks at office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction propose an new governmental agency — just in time to save their own, um, jobs.

CQ Politics is reporting that the House of Representatives will vote on Saturday [Update: vote now confirmed for 6pm EST, Saturday, 11/7] on a health care bill which includes new language on abortion services coverage, but which would not go nearly as far as the language sought by Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI), which would have effectively banned all insurance coverage for abortion services in the individual and small group market.

The Democratic Party collapse in the 2009 Virginia statewide elections will come as a surprise only to those loyalists, true believers, and paid consultants and staffers who have chosen to ignore the increasingly dire situation facing working people in Virginia. As a union member who lives here, I’m not surprised one bit. The Democrats luck has run out.

For the last three months, we’ve all had the pleasure of reading posts on the Afghanistan war by Derrick Crowe.

Derrick has been writing regularly on the war, bringing to bear facts, video testimony, statistics, political insight, and thoughtful arguments to drive home the point that escalating the war in Afghanistan is the wrong policy. Derrick has been writing and researching so prolifically because he’s been on a three month fellowship, using funds provided out-of-pocket by the good folks over at Brave New Foundation and the editors here at The Seminal.

Yesterday, Derrick’s three month fellowship came to an end. Now we asking for your help to keep it going.

You’d never know it from reading the RNC talking points at Politico or the Washington Post, but guess what: Houston, Texas — a historically-conservative city in a historically-conservative state — is on the verge of getting its first openly-gay mayor. What’s more is that she was by no means the only progressive or trailblazing major candidate in the race.

Late last night, in the midst of Election Day, the House leadership revealed the “manager’s amendment” that would represent the final changes to their health care bill before a vote. It is likely this vote could come as early as Friday.

Last night, despite the efforts of Sarah Palin, the Club for Growth, Fred Thompson, Dick Armey and various teabaggers, NY-23 went Democratic for the first time since the 19th century. The wingnut reaction to this calamity? We’ve always been at war with Eurasia.

I was on Rachel Maddow last night talking about Harry Reid’s announcement that a health care bill might not pass until next year, and the White House response that they still wanted it in 2009. Why is this happening? Pure guess: White House and Reid argue about who’s going to take the heat for ditching [...]