Absolutes...

Funniest thing I've heard in a long time...

George Stephanopoulous was replaying a speech by Dick Cheney last week where Cheney was blasting the "Dean Democrats" for not supporting Joe Lieberman in the Connecticut primary, thereby proving that Democrats want to give up on Iraq. Yeah, yeah, yeah...whatever.

But here's the leap of logic I found truly staggering, yet completely within the profile of this administration. Cheney: "Never mind that Iraq is a fellow democracy."

A fellow democracy? Are you kidding me here? To use an analogy befitting the administration's red state roots, calling the current state of Iraq a "fellow democracy" is like putting lipstick on a pig and expecting not to want to take a shower after you take it out on a date.

How much more out of touch with the real state of the world can these folks be?

You can bet her phones are tapped now...

I'm a little surprised the news of the liquid explosive "plot" didn't come down today, as opposed to a week ago.

Why? Because U.S. District court judge Anna Diggs Taylor today struck down the NSA's warrently wiretapping program, calling it a violation of not only the FISA court, but also the First and Fourth Amendments, that's why

In the 44-page ruling, she notes that the program "violates the separation of powers doctrine, the Administrative Procedures Act, the First and Fourth amendments to the United States Constitution, the FISA and Title III."

Of course, AG Gonzales has said the program will pretty much go on while under appeal...which reads to me that they're going to ignore this ruling, much like they've ignored many, many laws in the course of the War on Terror.

"I'm waiting for him to say something that isn't true."

Yeah, I'm an Aaron Sorkin fanatic. Yeah, I'm anxiously awaiting the debut of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (thanks, NBC and Netflix for letting me see the pilot a month in advance). And yeah, I pretty much agree with everything this clip says. And this is before the credits roll! I can't friggin' wait...

Coincidence? Don't think so...

One of the primary lessons I've carried with me from college (specifically from my mentor, Dr. Charles Marler) is the idea of the "assumptive leap." It's a dangerous game those in the journalism business can play (and they tend to play it more and more these days, simply because of the sheer number of outlets), and it goes something along the line of "A plus B does not always equal C, henceforth don't assume that it does."

KO admits that idea could be applied to this update of his ongoing look at "The Nexus of Politics and Terror," but when you line up these 10 instances of the Terrorism Traffic Light (my term) being elevated right around the time it was politically expedient for the current administration, it's hard to believe there's any sort of leaping to conclusions involved.