I was thinking about calling my computer the Hindenburg, but I thought this might be more fitting.

Still, the world continues on with its insanity and inanity, so I guess I'll just have to make do.

First, there are a couple of very important pieces that got buried in the newspaper that I feel need to be highlighted:

1. The Senate Armed Services Committee has voted to end its ban on nuclear weapons research, opening a huge can of worms even if it doesn't get any further than this.
I was particularly struck by this quote:
Low-yield nuclear weapons have warheads of less than five kilotons, or about a third of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima in World War II. Combined with precision missiles, low-yield weapons could be used to hit a target without causing as much damage to surrounding areas as other nuclear weapons would.
Can you say dirty bomb? And green light to international nuclear research and proliferation? Are we even listening to the rhetoric that is supposed to be winning over the Middle East? Not to mention Russia, France, and the rest of the sane world.
(The agreement would also force the Pentagon to "create ethics standards" after Richard Perle, as Chairman of the Defense Policy Board, reportedly counseled investors on how to profit from US military action on Iraq and North Korea. Oh, and it would also exempt the DOD from key provisions of the Endangered Species Act.)

2. The state legislatures of Texas and Colorado are rocking the Constitution at its foundations and trying to redraw (after two years) their Congressional Districts to (surprise!) favor Republicans in the next election. According to the Constitution, The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct. (Article I, Section 2, Clause 3) While it doesn't speak specifically to the rearranging of a constant number of Representatives, Judicial precedent is pretty clear that reapportionment and redistricting go hand-in-hand. This brings the whole interpretation of the Constitution into question-- at the very least, this is a thorny case for the Supreme Court.

Oh no, they said-- A Bush/Republican administration wouldn't be so bad....