From The Washington Post: Republicans in Congress revolt against the King. Now every man, woman, child, sperm and egg are in debt up to their eyeballs. Republicans whine about an abusive White House yet still don't have the balls to make the President obey the law. Ann Coulter cries about a bit of pie in her face then condones killing Supreme Court Justices. Do you think the lunatics who worship this witch were listening to her?

From The New York Times: Republicans see the light, yet still don't have the backbone to say no to the King. They figure if they can trust Chalabi, they can trust Iran because the commanders on the ground don't have a clue. Lawyer in Moussaoui trial messes up a gimme?

More fun below the fold

I get emails from The Fitzsimmon File regularly, and today's is depressing as hell. Not coincidentally, it's about the sad state of mental health in North Carolina.

It's my spring break, and I'm disinclined to blog on weighty matters. Which is why it's good that there are stories like this one about a cat from North Carolina who got lost in Phoenix. The cat is fine, though its encounter with a fan belt left it with some injuries. The family can't believe that it happend to Ashley (the cat), and not Bubbles (the other, more adventurous cat). Ashley is flying in on Friday, in case you want to go be a part of the reunion in Raleigh.

North Carolina has been executing prisoners so quickly this year that I cannot keep up with them. It looks like there will be one more tonight. Dent has a good roundup of the goings on here.

I think that I have said all I could against executions before, so I will not repeat it here. But every time I go to sleep on an execution night, something in my just shudders at the thought that our society cannot move past this method of punishment.

NC Policy Watch has an excellent summary of North Carolina's sad lottery saga. I've excerpted some of the best commentary, but please go read the whole thing.

If all goes according to plan, retailers in North Carolina will begin selling scratch off lottery tickets in two weeks. If that happens, it will be the first thing about this lottery that has worked the way it was promised.

Even lottery supporters have to admit that this game has been flawed from the beginning. It was passed by the General Assembly unethically, if not illegally. A pending lawsuit will settle that question.

From The Washington Post: Republicans want to curb 527 donations but huge soft money corporate donations to their massive leadership PACS are OK. Once again proving it is all about the money. President Bush is redefining his Preemptive Strike campaign so he can include any country capable of actually pronouncing the word n-u-c-l-e-a-r properly as being a viable target. Howie Kurtz pulls his head out of his arse just long enough to convince us he really doesn't get it. Nooooo! Put it baaack, Howie. President Bush won't admit he doesn't understand how to sign people up for his new Medicare plan, so he shuffles the responsibility to their children.

Much more below the fold...

Sometimes being a liberal means rising up in a beaten down world; sometimes it means having a beer. There are ups and downs. If you live near Chapel Hill, the very special opportunity presented to you tomorrow evening (Thursday, 3/16) is to midwife a brand stinking new chapter of Drinking Liberally.

WHAT: "An informal, inclusive progressive drinking club. Raise your spirits while you raise your glass, and share ideas while you share a pitcher. Drinking Liberally gives like-minded, left-leaning individuals a place to talk politics. You don't need to be a policy expert and this isn't a book club - just come and learn from peers, trade jokes, vent frustration and hang out in an environment where it's not taboo to talk politics.

Bars are democratic spaces - you talk to strangers, you share booths, you feel the bond of common ground. Bring democratic discourse to your local democratic space - build democracy one drink at a time."

Today we have two things we need to do. First we need to keep the debate over censure for the President going. If you've been following through on the plan we have called, emailed and mailed our Senators. Now it's time to send letters to the editors of your local newspaper.

LTEs are best if they are short - one or two sentences and quickly make your point. (This goes without saying if you've kept it to two sentences.) It could be something as simple as....

Many pundits and members of Congress say it is a bad time to censure the President for breaking the law.

I say it's never a good time for the President to break the law.

Master Puppet John Hood of the John Locke Fornication is in rare form today, writing about the favorite subject of wingers: Other People's Money.

Iterations of the OPM myth pervade state political debates. For example, there is a major move afoot in Raleigh right now to convince state lawmakers to put some costly bond issues on the November ballot. Water and sewer needs will cost North Carolina localities $7 billion in just the next half-decade, the argument goes, and “they” can’t afford it all. “State government” should pick up at least $1 billion of the cost in a new statewide bond.

From The Washington Post: Finally! A Democratic Senator with a spine. Don't miss this online Tourney Tracker bracket generator. Three months ago it was "Cut and Run" and now it's doable. (Pssst! It's election time.)
From Newsweek: Hypocrisy from the Bush administration...no, really. Is abortion the new third rail for the GOP? There's fallout from the Dubai ports deal.
From The New York Times: The trial lawyer who screwed up the Moussaoui case had almost no criminal trial experience....and she's working on one of the single most important criminal cases of our time. Wow. Senate Republicans reject Pay-go budget strategy, yet again. Utility companies bilking us LEGALLY.

More news below the fold...