On the run...

Once again, I'm on the run most of the day, devoting my time to an essential, smart, Progressive magazine whose name rhymes with "representation." In the meantime, be sure and check out these few arresting items:

A fiery speech by a man who looks more and more like a President all the time. Where was this Al Gore back in 2000? And for a good sigh and wag of the head, check out the typically disingenuous and "selectively" factual RNC response.

At HuffPo, Arianna Huffington wonders when Mr. Bush will say something about the reprehensible swift-boating of Congressman John Murtha. Why is it you can never find a leader when you really need one?!

Writer Star A. Decise of The Enigmatic Paradox praises Michelle Bachelet, the newly elected President of Chile, pointing out that "[h]er victory is a triumph of the human spirit, a story of forgiveness and redemption that provides a lesson for all of us..."

The Independent takes an unflattering look at the rapidly deteriorating state of affairs, including (not so unexpectedly) the re-emergence of the Taliban, in embattled Afghanistan. Yes that Afghanistan, Mr. Bush's first "victory" in his gilded campaign to rid the world of al Qaeda. Seems like that claim wasn't exactly accurate either.

Aaahh, the benefits of domestic surveillance! The New York Times reports that the F.B.I. said "the torrent of tips (from NSA fishing expeditions) led them to few potential terrorists inside the country they did not know of from other sources and diverted agents from counterterrorism work they viewed as more productive."

Keep reading, stay vigilant, get involved. Write a note to your Senator, or the White House. Add your voice to the call for some accountability in Washington. More later.