Today's coverup of surveillance crimes and Barack Obama  —  What we learned in December, 2005 that George Bush and the telecoms were doing — listening in on the private conversations of American citizens without warrants — is a felony under clear U.S. law, punishable by up to 5 years in prison and/or a $10,000 fine for each offense.

One nation, not just speaking English  —  After a substantial speech decrying the current state of bankruptcy law in the United States, Barack Obama took a few questions from the audience in Powder Springs, Georgia on Tuesday morning.  One young woman asked whether there was anything …

He quit rather than lower flag for Helms  —  RALEIGH - L.F. Eason III gave up the only job he'd ever had rather than lower a flag to honor former U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms.  —  Eason, a 29-year veteran of the state Department of Agriculture, instructed his staff at a small Raleigh lab not to fly …

Maliki's Withdrawal Card  —  A year ago, the conventional Beltway wisdom had it that Iraq was a failed state.  Today, the same wisdom holds that it is less chaotic but still fragile, dependent entirely on a U.S. presence to survive.  But judging by recent comments from Nouri al-Maliki, even this view may be out of date.

Jesse Ventura To Run for Senate?  —  In an interview with NPR's David Welna that ran today former Gov. Jesse “The Body” Ventura, Ind-Minn., sounds like he may run for Senate, challenging incumbent Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., whom Ventura defeated for governor in 1998, as well as Democratic nominee …

Pemberton GOP: Airbrushing Racism Since...  So the Pemberton and Burlington County GOP got caught today.  Take a look at a before screen shot of the Pemberton GOP website and see if anything looks out of place...  Ah, what a tasteful municipal party message.

MORE ON OBAMA, ABORTION, AND THE PAY GAP.  —  Just to be clear — I believe pay equality is a very important issue; it's something I've written about frequently.  And I'll all for broadening the boundaries of what are considered key “women's issues,” from family-medical leave …

In theory, economists support McCain  —  The endorsement could hardly have been stronger.  On Monday, John McCain's campaign released a statement signed by 300 economists who “enthusiastically support” his “Jobs for America” economic plan, providing a heavyweight testimonial …

Iran Test-Fires Long-Range Missile  —  Iran said today it had test-fired a long-range missile capable of reaching Israel and U.S. troops in the region, a step promptly condemned by the Bush administration as heightening tensions over the country's suspected nuclear weapons program.

QUITE A STATEMENT  —  People say a lot of things about Social Security — a lot of it nonsense.  But I haven't heard something like this in a long time.  John McCain says that Social Security, as originally conceived more than 70 years ago, is an “absolute disgrace.”

INTELLECTUALS LIE, THE POWERLESS DIE  —  THE greatest lie intellectuals tell us is that “the pen is mightier than the sword.”  That's what cowards claim when they want to preen as heroes.  —  Billions of words have been hurled at Sudan's government.  The misery in Darfur not only continues but deepens.

Dallas County meeting turns racial  —  A special meeting about Dallas County traffic tickets turned tense and bizarre this afternoon.  —  County commissioners were discussing problems with the central collections office that is used to process traffic ticket payments and handle other paperwork normally done by the JP Courts.

Funds Misappropriated at 2 Nonprofit Groups  —  Two prominent national nonprofit groups are reeling from public disclosures that large sums of money were misappropriated in unrelated incidents by an employee and a former employee.  —  The groups, Acorn, one of the country's largest community …

Obama's online muscle flexes against him  —  Fans use his Web site to rip shifts in policy  —  The same Internet-fueled power that led to historic gains in organizing and fundraising for Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign is now providing a platform for fiery dissent in a most unlikely place: his own Web site.