Right Here

Dominating the news was whether Shrub lied about Saddam and the Iraqi storehouse of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons. While the growing evidence seems to indicate a deliberate distortion of the facts by the President and others in his group of advisors, the White House remains steadfast in denying any distortion of the available intelligence.

What does the public know? The polls indicate that 37% to 50% of Americans believe that Shrub "intentionally exaggerated" or "intentionally misled" the public (Gallup.com).

Partisan battles, local: City workers appear overly eager to ticket Democratic campaigns for "raising illegal signs", including stickers posted on lampposts. Citations for Democratic mayoral candidate Andrey Bundley: 79. For Mayor Martin O'Malley: 2. Hmmm...

Unions and O'Malley Voting their conscience against the wishes of their leaders, local Baltimore AFL-CIO members refused to endorse the campaigns of both incumbent Mayor O'Malley and City Council President Shiela Dixon. They cited job privitization and the use of union-busting law firms as their justifications.

At least it cuts down on junk mail: Howard County is introduced to "mailbox baseball"

Song-swapping: the next big threat? The gratuitously evil Recording Industry Association of America has sent over 800 subpeonas to internet service providers in the first stage of bringing lawsuits against individual users for sharing copyrighted files.

No really, we mean it Two Democratic lawmakers introduced legislation last week that would make it easier to charge those who share copyrighted files with a felony which could result in jail time and a hefty fine. Wired News has more in their article Upload a File, Go to Prison.

Not so fast, Clear Channel: Thirty-five Senators have blocked the FCC's new media ownership rules from taking effect. The entire Senate will now have to discuss the matter publically. House members have also succeeded in blocking the FCC (Washington Post)

In case your satellite dish is broken: A brief critical review of the BBC production of "War Spin: Jessica Lynch", a documentary calling the Pentagon to task for fabricating most of the story surrounding Lynch's rescue. Geez, I usually expect more of the Hollywood Reporter.

Partisan battles, national:Although Republican/Democrat differences are often hard to detect, this week the conservatives were able to block Democrats attempting to expand postwar operations in Iraq to include the UN; rejected the establishment of a commission to explore the use of intelligence agencies in the decison to invade Iraq; and rejected a proposal that the White House be required to detail the cost of the military and war in Iraq and Afghanistan.

What are Republican state attorneys general up to these days?  Apparently they've been soliciting corporations for the Republican coffers from corporations involved in law suits and subject to regulations by their state government.  Ka-ching! Ka-ching!

Not the same as low man on the Totem Pole: In a just-released report the US Commission on Civil Rights asserted that the government has failed at providing acceptable care in health, education, and law enforcement for American Indians who rank near the bottom of almost all social pathologies.

Some things we know, we know, some things we don't know, we don't know, and some things... According to CIA Director George J. Tenet, he will take the fall for the questionable 16 word statement in the State of the Union Address. However, he didn't know a thing about it.

This Week in History

First women's rights convention, Seneca Falls, NY (1848); Sacco and Vanzetti convicted (1921); first atomic bomb detonated (1945); Disneyland opened (1955); The Prejudice Institute organized in Baltimore (1993)