Writers continue to marvel that the administration would choose to repeatedly circumvent a process as compliant as FISA.

Two possible reasons, both violations of the spirit or letter of the constitution, come to mind:

Either Bush and company are intentionally expanding the authority of the Executive Branch beyond that intended by the framers, or they're using the NSA in ways they know that no court would approve: for monitoring domestic political opposition.

On the issue of whether an impeachment movement would have a snowball's chance: pragmatic considerations are immaterial. We are obligated by duty to our children to oppose this assault on the rule of law and the ominous precedent it establishes.

Rebecca Traister;

The writing is extremely crisp, clever and organized. Your systematic dismantling of the underlying assumptions that revealed Stepp's conservative prejudices and your exposure of the unsupported conclusions in the Post article were done with humor which in no way distracted from the directness of your attack on the fuzzy anti-logic that Stepp used to subliminally voice her prejudices against gender equality and human progress.

I can't launch them on either my office or home computer. Other videos on other sites launch just fine.

Can anyone help?

for the "hard wiring" for religion in the human brain has been ignored in the article.

Newberg's statement that the term "hard wiring" implies that someone did the wiring ignores the obvious: that "someone" clearly is evolution.

During the eons of the modern brain's development, the only explanations for the world were supernatural. For virtually all of the developmental time of the brain, superstition/religion provided the only explanations for famine, disease and knowledge of one's own mortality. Religious belief accompanied and influenced the brain's development at every incremental step from the get-go. It's no wonder that we are so receptive to religion: our genes are comfortable with it, and our brains reward it with pleasurable sensations.

The suggestions that proof of God may be revealed through neurological study, in fact, reveal the power of the ingrained human predisposition toward supernatural belief when they are preferred over more obvious rational explanations.

Observers often marvel that politicians never seem to learn the lesson that trying to cover up a scandal can be more damaging than the initial infraction. Elected officials continue to seize immediately on lies and stonewalling, never apparently learning the lessons of history.

When, pundits ask, will they finally learn that early and full disclosure is always the best course?

The answer is clear: never.

Republicans once again chose cover-up mode because it works. The lesson of history, contrary to conventional wisdom, is not that coverups don't work, because they do.

Take, for instance, the issue of the president’s National Guard service. Public perception today is that he was exonerated by CBS’ failures to properly vet their tipster. Lies and skullduggery worked perfectly well for the White House, and even paid a bonus when Dan Rather took the fall.

Or, the wireless communication device worn by Bush during at least one debate in the ’02 election. Even though expert analysis clearly proves that he was wired, public perception landed in Bush’s favor when he initally blamed a poorly fitted suitcoat (which his tailor refutes) and later said it was a badly pressed shirt.

Quite simply, dishonesty often (usually?) works. That’s why they use it.

Who knows what scandals have been lied out of existence by the coverup strategy?

Chuck Schumer, when asked Monday to comment on the rumor that Michael Chertoff would be nominated for AG, said something like "Well, he'll get a fair hearing and we'll see."

What he should have said: "Democrats will not confirm another political hack loyal to the White House."

His actual comment is predictive. We're going to get another idealogue with more allegiance to the party than to the country.

There's a clear reason for the declining safety of toys in this country: the neocons and their corporate supporters are in charge of the government, and they hate government regulation.

The safety of miners is in the hands of the Mine Health and Safety Administration whose effectiveness the pro-business Bush administration has hobbled since it is staffed with industry insiders who had spent careers at mining companies opposing regulation by MHSA. And this is the case in multiple other agencies now staffed with herds of zealots with career backgrounds opposing the very regulations they're now charged with enforcing.

From top to bottom, agencies charged with the sacred duty of defending public interests in the environment, endangered species, transportation, public health, product safety, drug safety, telecommunications, worker safety, highways/bridges, and justice (to name a few), are now populated with thousands of idealogues who believe fervently the clearly false mantra that responsible industry captains and free market forces will protect the public interest without "interference" from government.

Along with industry insiders, graduates from religious and ideology-based universities and think tanks have streamed to federal agencies(and red-state agencies)over the past six years, securing career civil service jobs where they attend weekly prayer breakfasts and watch for opportunities to undermine the very aims of their organizations along with protections for our society.

Don't let anyone tell you that there's no difference between Democratic and Republican politicians.