In e-mail exchanges that have been made public since his plea, Abramoff mentioned having an inside track at the department, and his clients donated heavily to the Republican environmental advocacy group Norton helped establish.

Please don't let the cell door hit you in the ass on your way in.

Interior Secretary Gale Norton Resigns

I, said O’ Connor, am against judicial reforms driven by nakedly partisan reasoning. Pointing to the experiences of developing countries and formerly Communist countries, where interference with an independent judiciary has allowed dictatorship to flourish, O’Connor said we must be ever vigilant against those who would strong-arm the judiciary into adopting their preferred policies. It takes a lot of degeneration before a country falls into dictatorship she said, but we should avoid these ends by avoiding these beginnings.

Judicial activism? No, it's called you don't like it and look for a label to use to blame people.

When O'Connor came on the court she was a solid conservative. Not Rhenquist, but firmly on the right. That didn't really change, it was that the entire court shifted to place her in the middle. O'Connor represented the same sort of conservatism that fit with people like Eisenhower, Ford, or maybe Bob Dole. You may not agree with their positions, but they are intelligent, well reasoned, often common sense reactions. Her comments now, coming from someone in her position are something that is more than worth paying attention to, it's an instruction for keeping the country on a solid path.

Sandra Day O'Connor rips into GOP, DeLay, Cornyn, and warns of the

Rumsfeld was pressed to explain the U.S. military's plan to respond in the event that Iraq's sectarian violence grows into a full-fledged civil war.

"The plan is to prevent a civil war, and to the extent one were to occur, to have the — from a security standpoint — have the Iraqi security forces deal with it, to the extent they are able to," Rumsfeld said.

In other words, "Try to stay in the way as long as possible, but hopefully jump out of the way of the speeding train at the last second."

Rumsfeld, Rice Say Iraq Not at Civil War - Yahoo! News

“Before [Abramoff’s] picture appeared on TV and in the newspapers, Newt wouldn’t have known him if he fell across him. He hadn’t seen him in 10 years.” A rankled Abramoff says “I have more pictures of [Newt] than I have of my wife.”

Ouch! I think maybe the original comment needs some updating.

Abramoff Interview: Lobbyist Details Relationship With Bush, DeLay, Burns

The bill's supporters argue that consumers deserve the same warnings on supermarket shelves across the country. The bill would allow a state to seek a nationwide warning from FDA.

"We ought to do it in all 50 states," said Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich. "Chicken grown in Louisiana is going to end up on a plate in Michigan."

Rogers mentioned a warning his own state about allergy-causing sulfites: "If they're bad for Michigan citizens, I think they're bad in all of the other 49 states," he said.

Someone needs to explain how this guy gets to this conclusion... "It's bad for you, and my state has a label that says it's bad for you, but this other state doesn't so I'm voting to block the ability of my state to say it's bad for you???" How the hell does that make any sense at all?

House Moves to Strip Food Warning Labels - Yahoo! News

"Several characteristics correlate with belief in the biblical explanation for the origin of humans. Those with lower levels of education, those who attend church regularly, those who are 65 and older, and those who identify with the Republican Party are more likely to believe that God created humans 'as is,' than are those who do not share these characteristics."

And this would be why they keep cutting education funding. God forbid they should go to school and stop voting Republican...

Gallup: More Than Half of Americans Reject Evolution, Back Bible

"We're eager to work with Congress on legislation that would further codify the president's authority," Ms. Perino said. "We remain committed to our principle, that we will not do anything that undermines the program's capabilities or the president's authority."

I think this is exactly the problem. If anything gets near King George III (how odd that the third George here is just as big a nutcase as the one we started a revolution under...) then they want nothing to do with it, and will actively work to hinder it any way they can. Never mind the fact that there are already guidelines about what is and isn't executive authority, that's just a "goddamn piece of paper."

G.O.P. Senators Say Accord Is Set on Wiretapping - New York Times

While natural gas prices are up about 28 percent this year, usage is down 5 percent. At the same time, supply has remained steady.

"How can you have demand down, and price up and supply level?" said Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller. "It doesn't make sense. To get to these big increases, you have to look at the financial side, at the trading."

Enron redux?

Lax Oversight Blamed for High Gas Prices - Yahoo! News

"To retreat before victory would be an act of recklessness."

--White House spokesman Blair Jones

Actually it would be something I would expect from Ambrose Burnside. We're not doing anything of the sort of course. We're trying to get the hell out of Dodge before the walls of Jericho come tumbling down around our ears (to mix a few references).

Harkin calls for pullout

"We perceive no reason why the legislature would conclude that persons who are convicted of voluntary oral copulation with adolescents 16 to 17 years old...constitute a class of 'particularly incorrigible offenders'... who require lifetime surveillance as sex offenders."

Go California! The state says a blowjob isn't worse than getting laid.

Court says oral sex law violates rights - Yahoo! News