Here's an interesting tidbit from the National Journal.

Mark McKinnon, McCain's chief media strategist won't run negative ads against Obama if he is the Democratic nominee. In an interview with Linda Douglass, McKinnon had some interesting responses.

Why? What's fascinating is that his attitudes toward Obama are unusual response from a Republican strategist--particularly one so high up in the campaign.

Obama made his widely anticipated visit to Greensboro yesterday to deliver a speech in the Collosieum--the appropriate venue for rock stars who come to town.

Tickets went on sale two days before the event and were gone in three hours. People stood in line for hours to get in, to buy t-shirts, to try to find an extra ticket floating around, to hold signs, or just to get a glimpse of the man.

Full story of local coverage.

more on the flip

Well, this should blow the Christian Right's mind: Mary Cheney is pregnant:

Mary Cheney, 37, and her partner of 15 years, Heather Poe, 45, are "ecstatic" about the baby, due in late spring, The Washington Post reported last night, quoting a source close to the couple.

Though the details will remain private, one has to wonder what all those who oppose gay marriage will have to say about gay parenthood.

You have to wonder what Dubya will have to say as well--or perhaps he's too preoccupied with figuring out a way to save face on the Iraq debacle.

Some of us may be taking a little time off here for the holidays, but that doesn't mean we aren't thinking of all the issues currently being digested over the Congressional recess.

Without further delay, then, for your reading pleasure:

'Twas the night before a holiday, when all through the House
Not a creature was stirring, not even a louse;
Moral values were hung by the chimney with care,
To defend the Patiot Act, lest obstructionists be there;

The bloggers were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of indictments danced in their heads;
And the Senate minority, finally at rest,
Had just settled down for delayed winter's recess.

Here's the latest link up at AP; the CNN "Situation Room" is covering it now.

Here's the opening lede:

House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner threatened Thursday to block passage of six-month extension of the Patriot Act, Republicans officials said, leaving open the possibility that the anti-terror legislation enacted after the attacks of 2001 might expire at year's end.

A spokesman for the Wisconsin Republican declined comment.

Don't know if this will be more high drama or more hi-jinks

Since there are many here interested in this issue, including a recommended diary on this subject, I wanted to share the link, as well as this recent diary here on actions you can take.

Russ just finished his speech on the floor, and then got into a discussion with Arlen Specter.  If you've got questions, now's the time to ask.

The Republican message machine is broken--but it's still blaring louder than ever.  In the Situation Room on Monday afternoon, Nicolle Wallace (aka Nicolle Devinish, married during Katrina) attempted to respond to Wolf Blitzer's question about the "horrible" poll numbers the President is racking up week after week.  Sixty-eight percent of Americans believe the country is headed in the wrong direction.  What was Nicole's response?

"The American people know that this Administration is focused on their priorities, you know, securing our borders, and reining in spending." (CNN's most recent poll indicates 65% disapprove of Bush on immigration; only 37% approve of his job performance.)

This brings me to a subject near and dear to my heart, as well as to my profession:  the political abuse of language and truth.

We will not walk in fear, one of another. We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason, if we dig deep in our history and our doctrine; and remember that we are not descended from fearful men. Not from men who feared to write, to speak, to associate, and to defend causes that were for the moment unpopular... We can deny our heritage and our history, but we cannot escape responsibility for the result. - Edward R. Morrow.

The Gang of 14* (listed below) struck a deal not to use the "nuclear option" to blow up the Senate and to filibuster judicial nominees only under extraordinary circumstances.  The nomination of Samuel Alito to SCOTUS now requiresus all to revisit that dubious agreement.  Since this bi-partisan coalition did not specify what "extraordinary circumstances" might entail, let's review some potential, qualifying indicators. So far, at least, the Gang seems to be intact, but still unenlightened about what may constitute the extraordinaire.

Word is that Fitz will ask for an extension, and that Rove is still under investigation.

Here's the linkto the story and a small snippet:

Karl Rove, President Bush's senior adviser and deputy chief of staff, will not be charged on Friday, but will remain under investigation, people briefed officially about the case said. As a result, they said, the special counsel in the case, Patrick J. Fitzgerald, was likely to extend the term of the federal grand jury beyond its scheduled expiration on Friday.

Rockefeller Plaza has been turned into Humanity Plaza for five days, the week of September 26th.

Artists from Warner Music Group's Atlantic and Warner Bros. Records are partnering with NBC and Habitat for Humanity International to build frames for houses for families affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Check the above link for the details.

Kudos for all those in the area or on the way to help work for re-building the Gulf Coast, one "frame" at a time.

While preparing to receive 500 of Katrina's victims and assist them in rebuilding their lives, we've endured our own windy visitor pounding our outer banks for 8 days.  Ophelia was a destructive nuisance rather than a killer, but she exacted her own peculiar and cruel damage by taking out the Crab Shack, the best restaurant on Salter Path, as well as the fish markets supplying it on Atlantic Beach and numerous other businesses, homes, and marinas.  

But with Bush safely secured in his fiscal bubble and surrounded by his handlers, Karl Rove had his priorities in order.  Having prepped Bush for his Cabildo moment in NOLA, Rove headed here, of all places.  To shore up our battered residents who've withstood Ophelia's winds for the last 8 days?  Nah.   He had a more pressing challenge:  raising money for the RNC.

But when a government is crippled by impotence, it must be exposed publicly because its citizens pay a deadly price.  What Katrina's wrath has wrought goes far beyond the physical, emotional, environmental, and political damage to the Gulf Coast, its victims, and its survivors. As the world has witnessed over the last week, this represents a massive failure.  More than any event since 9/11, she has focused a laser beam on our federal government's inability to serve a nation's citizens, save lives, offer relief to survivors, or fulfill the primary function of government.

That's what he said. Apparently Bush is ending his vacation early and heading back to Washington tomorrow, to "monitor the federal, state, and local" efforts underway in Katrina's aftermath.

Perhaps Bush is getting the message that he still needs to pay attention to his citizens' needs, even though he's not up for re-election.

I can't help being reminded of his running off to Florida handing out bottles of water last fall.

The illusion of concern is kicking in, I guess.

Now watch for the disaster spin.

Even so, I hope it helps. Those people will need lots of support, aid, rescue efforts, funds, food, clothing, supplies, AND attention.

[editor's note, by btyarbro]: Retitled, by kismet (see comments below)

With Katrina barreling up through the Mississippi Delta, there's another "big blow" taking shape on radar screens focused toward Capital Hill. And yet another example of governance by stealth: when you can't win, steal what you really want and proclaim it a victory.

Perhaps you thought Congressional leaders were too preoccupied with the various Republican scandals, or with protests to ignore, or with evangelical leaders running for cover. Maybe you thought Republicans were safely off at various August fundraisers, vacation spots, and other insulated bubble stops along the perpetual campaign trail, right?

Never underestimate the power of stealth governance. Remember the "night of the long gavels" to pass the Medicare prescription bill?

Follow along . . .

[Updated]: I should have noted that you can scroll down to the headline for the voting link on the page. This assumes you'd like to read the article!

Evidently Bush felt compelled to talk about Cindy Sheehan while at a resort in Idaho, but not to speak TO her while she was in Crawford, a mile from his doorstep.

I'll post the opening graf on the flip:

The Grand One-note Party is up in arms over Chuck Hagel's latest comments on the Sunday funnies.

Seems Chuck has blown any chance he might have had to challenge the current resident of Casa Blanca because of his criticisms of Bush's handling of Iraq.

Here's the first snip that has them all upset:

We should start figuring out how we get out of there," Hagel said on "This Week" on ABC. "But with this understanding, we cannot leave a vacuum that further destabilizes the Middle East. I think our involvement there has destabilized the Middle East. And the longer we stay there, I think the further destabilization will occur.

But it's his specific comparisons between Iraq and Vietnam that really rattle the neocon cages:

More on the flip.

As the sweltering summer continues, and residents of the Hill and 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue prepare to escape from the political cesspool for their traditional August recess, many citizens probably look forward to fewer distractions of the Republican scandals emerging since Bush II began.

With such a large cast, it is difficult to keep track, much less agree on a nomenclature that applies to each case. The most recent shift in slogans has garnered much deserved ridicule. By tweaking the language just a little, the Global War On Terror has been magically transformed to sound less threatening: "a global struggle against violent extremism." Whew, that certainly changes things.