The author writes "Schwarzenegger staked ... his political capital on ... initiatives to fix some of California's worst problems". The truth is, NONE of the initiatives Schwarzenegger floated addressed our state's worst problems. None.

Some were nonproblems and others were designed to give Republicans an electoral edge in the future by crippling opponents' fund raising and redrawing district lines favorable to Republicans. An anti-abortion law was added to draw the ultra religious "knuckle draggers" the article's author describes as antithetical to the "Schwarzenegger wing" of the GOP.

I am too lazy to look it up but I KNOW the Washington Post published the astonishing statistic that just prior to the invasion, about 68% of Americans believed bin Laden and Hussein were the same person.

That kind of misperception doesn't just happen by accident.

There are two explanations I can think of for Bush's end-run around the courts.

One is to establish a precedent. The imperial Presidency has long been the aim of the hard right and this act obliterates checks and balances and place itself above the law. Also I've long suspected the "war on terror" is as much or more about transforming American civil society as it is about security. The upper tier is probably more terrified of "the unwashed American public" than it is Al Qaeda.

The other possible reason for the violation is that the spying is so widespread that not even the latitude of getting court orders after the fact is practical. The technology exists to randomly data-mine millions of emails, millions of cell phone calls, and I would be very surprised if they have not decided to use it.

Has the illegal spying "proven valuable"? Define valuable and ask yourself how we can trust their claims without Congressional or Judicial oversight.

I agree term limits are one of those things I'd like to see left behind, or at least extended to three or four terms. Presidents (usually) mature and develop and it takes a few years to get really good at it, and then ... poof. It's over.

Time will tell, of course. I believe Karl Rove has had a lot of success attacking an opponents' strength but the fact that there isn't a consensus in the Democratic leadership on this troubles me. It makes Democrats look like they don't have their act together. Frankly, calling for censure, even with ample grounds, when there is no way in hell there will be enough votes is a head-scratcher.

"Why should I run for office?" Gore said. "I have no interest in running for office. I HAVE RUN FOR OFFICE. I HAVE RUN FOUR NATIONAL CAMPAIGNS. I have found other ways to serve my country, and I'm enjoying them."

------------

Dear Mr. Gore:

As if we needed any reminding. Four national campaigns, and you won, Baby, every single time. Campaigning is a horrible, horrible ordeal and it would be a terrible sacrifice to demand a fifth of you. But you're a proven quantity. We trust you. If you did nothing more for the rest of your life you've served your country.

We know all that, but we still want you. Get Gen. Zinni for your running mate, and this time, we've got your back. Promise.

DRAFT GORE DRAFT GORE DRAFT GORE DRAFT GORE DRAFT GORE DRAFT GORE DRAFT GORE DRAFT GORE DRAFT GORE DRAFT GORE DRAFT GORE DRAFT GORE DRAFT GORE DRAFT GORE DRAFT GORE DRAFT GORE DRAFT GORE DRAFT GORE DRAFT GORE DRAFT GORE DRAFT GORE DRAFT GORE DRAFT GORE DRAFT GORE DRAFT GORE DRAFT GORE DRAFT GORE DRAFT GORE DRAFT GORE DRAFT GORE DRAFT GORE DRAFT GORE DRAFT GORE DRAFT GORE DRAFT GORE DRAFT GORE DRAFT GORE DRAFT GORE DRAFT GORE DRAFT GORE

If Lady had tossed her ring out with the potato peelings, that would be one thing. She didn't. It was not her carelessness that caused the ring to be lost.

She doesn't deserve this grief and if her fiance isn't doing his best to make the sorry incident go away and be as if it never happened, then she should look at that. Closely. His family don't seem very good quality, either.

Sheesh - talk about trying to find a pony in the manure pile.

Why would advocating murdering Jack Murth be the end for Ann Coulter? Why? She's advocated murdering liberals before and nobody's shunned her so far as I know. I recall when she suggested poisoning Justice Stevens.

Be it developing protective coloration to mimicking a toxic species to creating the appearance of health through deceptive plumage, 'most all animals evolved to manipulate and deceive.

The appeal, I think, of the NYT article is that it reminds us that we too, are animals and that sometimes the swiftest and most painless route to reaching an objective is not always via verbally communicating with your mate's cerebral cortex.

And do we not already employ many of these techniques anyway? People always respond to behaviors, whether it's a smile or some other cue, so why not use all the tools at our disposal to effect the harmony and functionality in our relationships?

I got a kick out of the Ed Helms piece on the Castro district when I saw it on TV last night but thought a little further about it after seeing the ugly and intolerant Salon caption introducing the video:"we don't know how "The Daily Show" finds these people, but we're damn glad they do, so we can loathe them with impunity".

Why "loathe"? The complaining father was not objecting to homosexuality - just to a store with hardcore store window displays. True, this man "moved to the nuisance", but if uniform zoning laws are being violated, or ought to be amended, that's worth evaluating. It would, or should, be no different than if he had moved his family to a "straight" community where porn shops with graphic displays had proliferated. As homosexuality becomes more accepted, "gay ghettos" will begin to disappear and as they do, adjustments will have to be made on the part of all parties.