First, happy birthday to TD Mom. And then… it’s his tenth win in a row, but TD college classmate (people, on this blog, it’s always about me) Barack Obama has won his home state of Hawaii’s Democratic caucuses to add to his huge win in the Wisconsin primary making ten in a row. This forces former inevitable dynastic front-runner Hillary Clinton to not only win the Ohio and Texas primaries in two weeks’ time, at a time when Gallup is polling that she is losing support among Latinos and older women, but win them decisively to turn back the avalanche...

Daddy has said that as long as traffic from the bubblegum set keeps showing up here just to look at pictures of their favorite teeny-bopper heroes, I can keep writing this feature on Sundays. (He also says I am obliged to link to his weekly Sunday American Street post, this week’s being “It’s legal because the Spanish Inquisition was worse!“) Enough about Daddy. Now let’s talk about Vanessa. I don’t like her that much. Of course, because of that, I don’t have too much to say about her. I wonder what Zac sees in her. Then again, I don’t care...

The broken record paradigm of the Bush Administration has a number of variations, suich as a record of breaking nearly 800 continuous years of the Magna Carta, or his record budget deficits, or his record numbers of “signing statements” or record attendance at protests against he and his policies or American lawlessness and universal derision… But in this case, it’s that Bush sounds like a broken record, when chiming in that “Congress is endangering America“. Man, how often have we heard that? Ever since 9-11, he has asserted continuously that the Democrats threaten our safety, unless they cave to his...

Given that some point in the next few months, the Supreme Court is extremely likely to hand the Bush Administration its third loss (in a row) with respect to issues associated with its warehousing of overwhelmingly innocent men it is holding at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, one continues to be amazed (disappointed but not surprised, actually) at the Bush Administration’s refusal to back down with respect to its favorite gulag. Now, we learn that the Administration intends to use its time machine to pretend that it never tortured anyone, and, relying on magically “clean evidence” obtained by the FBI years after...

It’s Sunday, and my Daddy is very tired after finishing the “Bronx Half” this morning… so tired, that he once again doesn’t have the energy to prevent me from taking over his blog. [Bwa ha ha.] Now you might be thinking that I’m a little too young to be obsessed with celebrities and their goings on and all (like whether Zach and Vanessa are still going out). Well, I have to tell you… I don’t care at all, but other kids I know do, a great deal (“oh, that old canard” says my Daddy). I say “what’s a canard”? and...

John Byrne Cooke, a graduate of Harvard College and son of legendary journalist Alistair Cooke, is the author of a number of historical novels, articles and other media. His latest book is Reporting the War: Freedom of the Press from the American Revolution to the War on Terrorism. Reporting the War was described by former Cox Newspapers war correspondent Joseph Albright as “a definitive and compelling account of the evolving struggle between a free press and censorious officialdom,” and documents the issue of press freedom and press performance over wars ranging from the American Revolution to the “War on Terror”....

Your talking dog has had a tough week workwise, which has led to reticence here on the blog. But the affairs of state now allow me to resume… regular… blogging. The Grey Lady treats us to this account of Sen. Barack Obama (then known as Barry) and his two years at Occidental College in Los Angeles (1979-1981)… the Grey Lady seems to be implying that Obama may have overstated his youthful drug use! The Times, of course, fails to note your talking dog’s three years at New York’s Columbia College (1980-1983), even though the last two of them were, interestingly,...

Hi everybody! I’m back– and hijacking my Daddy’s blog again! My Daddy says he doesn’t mind too much, as long as I suggest you check out his American Street post this week, “I’m ‘thtill relevant, and thocial programth are thtill dethpicable!“. Also, my Daddy told me that since its “blogroll amnesty day“, you can e-mail him (thetalkingdog@thetalkingdog.com) and he’ll happily trade links with you– btw, Daddy says he always did that, unless you advocated human sacrifice or stuff like that or were selling condominiums or something. Just wanted to say “hi” again, and say I’m really excited because my Mommy...

The groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, predicts six more weeks of winter. Of course, for those of us who don’t believe that the Attorney General of the United States– the highest law enforcement officer in the country– should ever say that the ends justify the means and that somehow torture is permissible if the torturer decides “it will save lives”… there’s around 11 1/2 more months of winter.

Candace again vouchsafes that her client, Abdul al-Ghizzawi, of Libyan nationality, Kabul, Afghanistan domicile and Camp 6, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba apparently permanent residence, has, in addition to contracting tuberculosis, now contracted AIDS there. Chief Justice Roberts, in a surprise to no one, denied Candace’s motion seeking immediate medical treatment for her client, who contracted both TB and AIDS while in American custody. She will now have to seek that relief in other fora. As Candace sometimes lets me review drafts of her court submissions (including her historic original habeas corpus petition now pending in the United States Supreme Court), I...