Atrios Gets Interviewed He didn't give up his real name. Glenn Reynolds is the most popular, but there's no doubt in my mind Atrios is the most powerful political blogger on the internet. He started the Trent Lott frenzy and helped get Ben Chandler elected. He also had his readers vote in a poll on Senator Bill frist's site and that ended up getting talked about on the Senate floor. Name another political blogger that can stir up the Senate? He's also snarky as hell. One thing that bugs me about him and Reynolds is that they are always bitching about media bias. I heard Al Franken (of all people) says that, overall, that it's silly to talk about media bias. I agree. Fox News is to the right. NPR is to the left. In the end it all evens out. The problem with America media is that it doesn't dig.

Where Senators Stand On Gay Marriage Amendment Oxblog posted where the Senators stand. A few are trying to duck the issue. The list is incomplete at this point, but it gives a good idea of where this thing will go. Personally, I don't see it going anywhere. Did you people know that this is the fifth amendment that Bush has backed. The man has never seen an amendment he doesn't like. more inside

9/11 Commission This is unsurprising.

But Hastert cast serious doubt on its prospects for passage in the Republican-controlled House. "He thinks the (commission's) report is overdue and we need to get the recommendations as soon as possible. He is also concerned it will become a political football if this thing is extended and it is released in the middle of the presidential campaign," Feehery said.

I agree with Kevin Drum, Dennis Hastert is not even pretending that the decision is not politically motivated. Notice the "political football if this thing is extended and it is released in the middle of the presidential campaign" comment made by Hastert's spokesman John Feehery.

Bush Shootout Brave this brave ex-National Guardsman defend the White House from evildoers.

Constitution Restoration Act of 2004 This is a bill that religious conservatives are trying to pass. Read it and weep. `Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the Supreme Court shall not have jurisdiction to review, by appeal, writ of certiorari, or otherwise, any matter to the extent that relief is sought against an element of Federal, State, or local government, or against an officer of Federal, State, or local government (whether or not acting in official personal capacity), by reason of that element's or officer's acknowledgement of God as the sovereign source of law, liberty, or government.'. Who needs the Supreme Court anyway?

Don't Spit, Swallow

Bin Laden 'surrounded' I remember talk like this during the Afghanistan war from Pentagon and White House officials who were confident that they had him. We'll so. I sure as hell hope so. This guy doesn't deserve to be free one more day. Note: Sorry for sounding like James Lileks there.

Ralph Nader Set to Announce His Candidacy For President Ralph Nader is set to announce that he will run as an independant for the office of President of the United States. I have been reading that the Green Party will not support him this time out. Democrat bloggers are angry that he is set to run again and Republican bloggers are overjoyed. Nader says people who urge (not force) him to not run are against the first amendment rights. That's interesting for a man who goes out of his way to not have workers unionize. more inside

Peggy Noonan's Latest Masterpiece I'm am not a left-winger that gets all worked up by Peggy Noonan. The reason is I find her hysterical. I don't think that's the intention of her op-eds, but good entertainment is hard to find. more inside

Larry Flynt On Porn Interview The Flyntster talks about the internet, free speech and his time in prison.

Phone Sex

Donald Rumsfeld Fighting Technique I didn't know Rummy was a martial arts master.

4,450 Priests Accused of Sex Abuse According to this report, "Children accused more than 4,000 priests of sexual abuse between 1950 and 2002, according to a draft survey for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops."

Dean Won't Dropout This is getting too painful to watch and that's coming from someone who never supported Dean. He also lost another campaign manager (Steve Groosman.) What's worse is that Grossman jumped ship and said he will drop his support of Dean if he looses Wisconsin. more inside

Serial Killer Art

Ben Chandler Raises $45,000 Off Blogads In less than two weeks, Democratic candidate Ben Chandler has raised $45 thousand off of internet blogads. He bought two thousand dollars worth of ads on the blogs of such people as Atrios, Josh Marshall, and Daily Kos.

Bush Administration Censoring Hearing-Impaired The Bush administraion has decided to not pay for "200 television programs inappropriate for closed-captioning and denying federal grant requests to make them accessible to the hearing-impaired." more inside

Orca Slap New Pingu and Yeti game.

I Told You So: Bush Washington Times Letter Bogus The Washington Times letter was brought up in a previous post. This is a form letter. It was also sent to "The Observer." There are serious errors in this letter. Second, there was no such thing as a "disciplinary unit" to which Bush would have been ordered. They just don't exist. Any discipline, if required, is handled within the squadron or group, administratively or judicially. There would be a record and a reflection in Lt. Bush's performance review, and none such exist, as was confirmed in a (unfriendly) Washington Post article in 2000. more inside

Human Clone Produces Stem Cells This is sure to create a shitstorm. Korean researchers have created a human clone and derived the first cloned stem cells from it -- a significant advance toward using the cells to replace those damaged by diseases like diabetes and Alzheimer's. A Korean woman now has a set of cells that could one day replace any damaged or diseased cell in her body with little worry of rejection, if researchers can get stem cells to work therapeutically. *** While researchers have cloned animals like sheep, cats and cows before this study, researchers had been unable to make the jump to monkeys or humans and believed cloning primates posed a unique obstacle. Now, the Korean researchers show they have perfected a cloning technique, also known as somatic cell nuclear transfer, that works in humans and potentially other primates..