Leading candidates to succeed Mr. Ashcroft include Alberto R. Gonzales, the White House counsel, and Mark Racicot, the chairman of Mr. Bush's re-election campaign.

Ashcroft Quits Top Justice Post

This is the CacheLogic study referred to in the Reuters story.

Peer-to-Peer [is] a huge problem for last mile providers, where it makes up 80% or more of the traffic on the network.

CacheLogic - P2P Traffic Analysis

According to British web analysis firm CacheLogic, BitTorrent accounts for an astounding 35 percent of all the traffic on the Internet -- more than all other peer-to-peer programs combined -- and dwarfs mainstream traffic like web pages.

"I don't think Hollywood is willing to let it slide, but whether they're able to (stop it) is another matter," Bram Cohen, the programmer who created BitTorrent, told Reuters.

!!!

File-Sharing Thrives Under Radar

It begins tonight. And with it, the countdown to Pakistan, as well.

US Forces Begin Moving Into Falluja

Decius wrote:
] Seeing as the number of people who voted this year was so much
] higher than last, if the percentage is the same, then they did
] mobilize a large number of people.

That argument doesn't make any sense to me. It suggests the Democrats were out there trying to get out the vote among those who say they don't go to church regularly.

I think more is being made of this issue than is valid. These comparisons seem to neglect the most obvious factor: the passage of time. I offer a few simple data points:

In 2000, approximately 105 million total votes were cast.
In 2004, approximately 116 million total votes were cast.

That's an increase of 11 million votes, or 8.6 percent.

According to the US Census Bureau, the US population has grown by more than 12 million people between 2000 and November 2004. The voting-age population increased by 8 million between July 2000 and July 2003, and the overall population has grown by nearly 4 million since July 2003. In 2003, the voting-age population was 80 percent of the total population.

By those numbers, population growth may account for 87% of the increase in voter turnout for 2004.

While this population growth does not account for all of the increase in votes, it is a significant contributing factor.

] California is a blue state.

Los Angeles and San Francisco are blue cities. California has a Republican governor. It's more complicated than that.

In California, Bush won 36 counties. Kerry won only 20, and his margin of victory was less than 10 percent in 5 of those 20.

San Bernardino county voters chose Bush (56%) over Kerry (43%). Yet they also voted in favor of Proposition 71 (52%). In San Diego, 52% voted for Bush and 58% supported Prop 71.

You'll find the same trend for Orange, Ventura, Riverside, San Joaquin, San Luis Obispo, Butte, Inyo, Tuolumne, and Nevada counties.

RE: The Values-Vote Myth

A BILL

To define and protect the institution of baptism.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the "Defense of Baptism Act".

SEC. 2. POWERS RESERVED TO THE STATES.

(a) IN GENERAL. -- Chapter 115 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding after section 1738B the following:

Section 1738C. Certain acts, records, and proceedings and the effect thereof

"No State, territory, or possession of the United States, or Indian tribe, shall be required to give effect to any public act, record, or judicial proceeding of any other State, territory, possession, or tribe respecting a washing away of original sin from persons of child or adult age that is treated as a baptism under the laws of such other State, territory, possession, or tribe, or a right or claim arising from such washing."

(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT. -- The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 115 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 1738B the following new item: "1738C. Certain acts, records, and proceedings and the effect thereof."

SEC. 3. DEFINITION OF BAPTISM.

(a) IN GENERAL. -- Chapter 1 of title 1, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

"Section 7. Definition of 'baptism' and 'water'

"In determining the meaning of any Act of Congress, or of any ruling, regulation, or interpretation of the various administrative bureaus and agencies of the United States, the word 'baptism' means only a full water immersion of the body of a child or adult during which the name of Jesus is spoken, and the word 'water' refers only to the liquid form of the substance formed by the molecular bonding of two hydrogen atoms to one oxygen atom."

(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT. -- The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 1 of title 1, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 6 the following new item:

"7. Definition of 'baptism' and 'water'."

He noted that the percentages of voters who said they attended church once a week or opposed abortion were no greater than four years ago.

This is the point that David Brooks was making.

In addition, a surprising 60 percent of voters said they favored some kind of legal recognition for same-sex couples.

Mr. Kerry won both Michigan and Oregon, two swing states where gay marriage propositions were on the ballot.

"After reading the newspapers this morning, we're getting a little carried away with the cultural and religious interpretation of this election," Mr. Kohut said.

Bush Benefits From Efforts to Build a Coalition of the Faithful

Disconsolate New Yorkers describe the rest of us as "obtuse," "shortsighted" and "redneck." Now that's what I call "honoring diversity and having compassion for people with different lifestyles"!

New York: Some Feel Your Pain

I have read "Two Nations Under God." I wish to write you as a representative of the "other nation."

That Two-Nation Feeling

David Brooks takes a crack at debunking the Dems. This is one of a host of op-eds on this topic in the Saturday NYT.

Here are the facts.

There was no disproportionate surge in the evangelical vote this year. Evangelicals made up the same share of the electorate this year as they did in 2000.

There was no increase in the percentage of voters who are pro-life.

There was no increase in the percentage of voters who say they pray daily.

If you ask an inept question, you get a misleading result.

Bush did better this year than he did in 2000 in 45 out of the 50 states.

The red and blue maps that have been popping up in the papers again this week are certainly striking, but they conceal as much as they reveal.

The same insularity that caused many liberals to lose touch with the rest of the country now causes them to simplify, misunderstand and condescend to the people who voted for Bush.

The rage of the drowning man.

The Values-Vote Myth