This is why you cannot trust the Hedgemony with national security:

Michael Isikoff and Mark Hosenball of Newsweek have a web-only backgrounder, Behind the Surveillance Debate which illustrates exactly why they can’t catch real terrorists –

Aug. 1, 2007 – A secret ruling by a federal judge has restricted the U.S. intelligence community’s surveillance of suspected terrorists overseas and prompted the Bush administration’s current push for “emergency” legislation to expand its wiretapping powers, according to a leading congressman and a legal source who has been briefed on the matter.

[Read more →]

So, how come is was alright for Rep. Dan Burton [R-IN5] to investigate the use of White House staff, postage, and stationery to answer mail addressed to Socks, but a terrible thing to investigate Karl Rove?

Show some courage Karl, Socks held a press conference.

If you link to a CNN story their ‘bots will notice and your post will appear in the Blogs section at the end of the article.

I’d rather get a mention from someone who actually read what I wrote, even without a link, than a link from a ‘bot.

Your mileage may vary.

From the Associated Press: Fisher-Price recalling almost a million toys

Chinese vendor used paint with lead on items meant for preschoolers

WASHINGTON – Toy-maker Fisher-Price is recalling 83 types of toys — including the popular Big Bird, Elmo, Dora and Diego characters — because their paint contains excessive amounts of lead.

The worldwide recall being announced Thursday involves 967,000 plastic preschool toys made by a Chinese vendor and sold in the United States between May and August. It is the latest in a wave of recalls that has heightened global concern about the safety of Chinese-made products.

If it’s a plastic toy featuring a character on PBS and is made by Fisher-Price, it is probably part of this recall. This is another part of the price paid for outsourcing. Fisher-Price and Mattel have always been fanatics about quality control and it happened to them. There’s a reason things from China are cheap, and the cost of labor is only part of it.

CNN seems to have the best coverage of the I-35W bridge collapse. It looks like the center section of the 40-year-old bridge over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Minnesota broke away at both ends and dropped into the river.

Rescues are still continuing.

Updated to reflect a closer look at a better map with municipal boundaries after a comment.

Rook’s Rant is a former local and has family in the area.  So far everyone’s fine.