This calls for more tax cuts -- and a trip to Mars!

The Unlocked Box - How Bush is plundering Social Security to close the deficit.

WMDs found -- in Texas!

Case Yields Chilling Signs of Domestic Terror Plot

Andrea's back

She made it safely home and after a 30-minute nap, went straight to work. Her mom seems to be doing fine after the operation, and further tests will determine the severity of follow-up treatment.

But so far, so good.

While we're ont he topic...

This Modern World: Dean Can't Win

The Dean Dilemma

Expect this to be a big theme of the campaign -- indeed, the Republicans are already starting to harp on it. Personally, I think his "anger" is a plus. Bush effectively neutered Gore in 2000 by forcing him to play on Bush's playing field -- remember that second debate? Super-nice, noncontroversial and completely lacking in any substance. The GOP is trying to force Dean to ignore his strengths -- his ability to get people riled up about what Dubya is doing to this country -- and play to his weaknesses. I like the angry Dean, and I think he should stay that way.

The other big theme, of course, will be Dean's supposed lefty tendancies, something being played up in his fight with the Clinton "New Democrat" wing of the party. But it's just not that simple. With the right VP candidate, Dean could beat Bush. And that, my friends, is why the GOP is bending over backwards to pretend it's delighted to see Dean as the nominee. (To their credit, another National Review columnist, and other conservative thinkers, aren't counting Dean out.) The Bushies are worried. And with a record like his, they should be.

Yahoo! News - Texas Rep. Ralph Hall Switches to GOP

Yahoo! News - Texas Rep. Ralph Hall Switches to GOP:

He told The Associated Press that he's always said that if being a Democrat hurt his district, he would switch or resign. He said GOP leaders had recently refused to place money for his district in a spending bill and 'the only reason I was given was I was a Democrat.'
(Emphasis mine)

He also said he did not agree with 'all these guys running against the president.'

House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, said Democrats are 'reaping what they've sown.'

'Their leaders have lined up behind Howard Dean (news - web sites)'s brand of angry, intolerant politics. They've made their message clear: 'moderates need not apply' and that's a sad trend for a once-great party,' DeLay said.

Apparently, DeLay didn't know about the the facts outlined three paragraphs before his quote. Which party is the angry, intolerant party?

That Parent-Child Conversation Is Becoming Instant, and Online

And I thought my family was geeky.

Bush opposed mad-cow rules just a few weeks ago

New meat rules reverse industry efforts: "The Agriculture Department's announcement yesterday of a ban on the sale of meat from ailing 'downer' cattle marked a policy turnabout for the Bush administration, coming only a few weeks after the department and allies in the powerful meat lobby blocked an identical measure in Congress."

Why does Goerge Bush hate America?

CNN.com - Wary U.S. turns spotlight on international flights - Jan. 2, 2004

CNN.com - Wary U.S. turns spotlight on international flights - Jan. 2, 2004

British Airways canceled Flight 223 from London to Washington today, the third time in three days the flight was disrupted because of security concerns, the airline said. Today's cancellation came a week and a half after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security raised the terror alert to orange, its second-highest level.

I've got an idea: why don't they load the plane up as planned, only put guards on it, check every piece of luggage and instead of flying, get the plane away from the airport and round up the suspects? By cancelling the flights, it looks like they're just telling the terrorists to reschedule.

Hey, just like the Bush administration!

Thousands Rally in Hong Kong to Demand Free Elections: "Many business tycoons oppose further democracy, contending that the public does not understand the importance and complexity of creating an environment conducive to investment."

Yeah, murdering millions of innocent people / making foreign travelers get fingerprinted -- pretty much the same thing,

Brazil to fingerprint US citizens: "'I consider the act absolutely brutal, threatening human rights, violating human dignity, xenophobic and worthy of the worst horrors committed by the Nazis,' Federal Judge Julier Sebastiao da Silva said in the court order."

Another example of being a little too loose with the Holocaust comparison.

We Didn't Smacko Jacko, Say Calif. Cops

I must admit, Fox News wrote a great headline.

Cyber blackmail targets office workers

MSNBC - Cyber blackmail targets office workers

Something tells me this story is bogus. First, the primary source is an unnamed "British detective." Two, the story doesn't cite a single instance in which the ploy actually worked. No victims or perpetrators are quoted, and the only victim cited is an unnamed "Scandinavian university." And third, it just sounds farfetched. How are these perpetrators getting merchant credit card accounts, which would be necessary to accept the credit card ransom, as outlined in the story? Wouldn't nine out of 10 recipients report the e-mail to authorities, who'd then track the merchant accounts? Bogus.

Remember those Bush officials who said the nation's meat supply is safe? They were lying.

As Probe of Infected Cow Spreads, So Does Worry:

"Already, consumers who ate meat that might have come from the sick Holstein are concerned. Grocery stores were shipped ground beef and beef patties from meat that included the infected cow 11 days before a test for mad cow disease came back positive and the meat was recalled -- it is not yet known how much of the meat was pulled off grocery shelves or has been consumed. "

Because Ashcroft is too busy reviewing you library records!

Now It's a Scandal - New evidence that a House GOP leader offered a bribe.

From Slate's Timothy Noah:

What does a guy have to do to get a congressional bribe investigated? Even making allowances for slow readers, John Ashcroft's Justice Department is taking an awfully long time to decide whether to do anything about the (unsuccessful) attempt to bribe Rep. Smith.

Yes, I felt it, and yes, I'm OK.

Three Killed in Strong California Coast Earthquake

I've been in several minor earthquakes now, and this one -- a long side-to-side motion -- was the most unnerving.

Depends on what the definition of "is" is

Depends on what the definition of "is" is

Powered flight a hoax!

CNN.com - Bush honors anniversary of first flight - Dec. 17, 2003: "One hundred years after the brothers' first flight, a meticulous reproduction of the 1903 Wright Flyer made a valiant attempt to take to the air on Wednesday.
Much like many of the brothers' early efforts, the plane could not get airborne. It struggled down a narrow track and unceremoniously came to a halt in a mud puddle. "

Republican family values

Thurmond Kin Acknowledge Black Daughter: "Rather than wait for the request, the family issued a statement which, in effect, supports her contention that she was born to Mr. Thurmond, then 22, and Carrie Butler, who was 16 and employed by Mr. Thurmond's parents as a housekeeper in Edgefield, S.C."

Bush wins re-election

U.S. forces capture Saddam near hometown

Sigh.