Odds and Ends

Here's another collection of stories slipping through the cracks...

More bad news for a secrecy-obsessed White House: "A federal judge has ordered the Bush administration to release information about who visited Vice President Dick Cheney's office and personal residence, an order that could spark a late election season debate over lobbyists' White House access." Stonewall time for Mr. Cheney.

It's election season, so time for the requisite bogus terror threat, this one focusing on "dirty bomb" attacks on NFL stadiums. The 'threat' was originally posted on a humor website. Lame. I miss Tom Ridge and his duct tape.

Speaking of requisite election-timed things, when's the new Osama video being released?

Nearly five years after branding them part of the 'axis of evil' and insisting they would never allow them to develop nukes, the Bush administration has a new approach to the North Korea situation... "offering 'a pretty good deal' of economic and diplomatic benefits for giving up nuclear weapons". Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

Meanwhile, in Afghanistan... "Taliban militants are increasingly targeting top government officials in Afghanistan, which has seen a spike in assassinations and attempted killings the last six weeks." Methinks some reporters should ask the President how his 'stay the course' philosophy translates to that situation.

In news that should be obvious to anyone who understands psychology... Karl Rove was a loser in high school.

Evangelical Christians don't all focus their faith on gay-hating and other faux-moral issues; some see a higher moral calling. "Evangelical Christian leaders are tackling a growing list of domestic and international issues, such as genocide in Darfur and global warming," the Washington Post reports. Good for them. However, "These initiatives do not sit well with some grass-roots religious conservatives, who prefer to keep the focus on a tighter range of issues, principally opposition to abortion and same-sex unions." Of course.

Thomas Frank may soon have to add a postscript to "What's the Matter With Kansas"... there is a Democratic comeback occurring in that state, with many moderates and former Republican switching party affiliations. More, please.

The complete evolutionary works of Charles Darwin are now available online.

Democratic activists to Sen. Kerry and others: You've got $$$. Your party needs it. Cough it up.

The Foleygate noose continues to tighten around Speaker Hastert, but he stands firm.

Finally, Russian President Vladimir Putin said to Israeli politicians after he assumed his mic was off, "Say hello to your president for me! Turns out he’s quite a powerful guy! Ten women he raped! I never expected that from him! He surprised all of us! We all envy him!" Just so you know that other countries have shameful leaders as well.