I thought it would be appropriate to write a little diary on the use and misuse of fear by this Misadministration. But a cursory search of the Internets reveals that much better minds than mine have already diaried this topic.

There is nothing so ingenious as fear; it is even more ingenious than hatred, especially when its concern is with the preservation of money.
     - Bayle Saint John

Money? what does that have to do with Operation Iraqi Liberation?

Researchers in Japan have made significant advance in stem cell research. In a nutshell, what they have been able to do is discover a verifiable, repeatable process for inducing pluripotency in ordinary somatic cells in mice.  Pluripotency is the highly desirable characteristic possessed by embryonic stem cells that enables the to diversify into nearly any type of tissue. However, the amazing thing about this new process is that it does not require harvesting cells from embryos.

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(This is really bumblebums' diary, tech difficulties prevented her from posting it. Some of you may have seen a stripped-down version here - which is where any mojo should be sprinkled, if you're of a mind. - Turbonerd)
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Short action diary here.

Governor Butch Otter has blood lust. He's targeted the grey wolf in his state of Idaho for mass slaughter because he's convinced they've decimated the elk population, and we mustn't inflict suffering upon Idaho's profitable hunting industry.

(more below the fold)

Nyceve reminded me of a conversation on this topic that I had years ago about this in her excellent diary, which you should check out and add to and recommend, because it's really good (even by her standards). Go ahead, I'll wait.

The fucking anchorclown here in Cleveland had the fucking GALL to turn the anniversary of the Katrina disaster into a fucking feel-good story about one woman who volunteered with the Red Cross down there.

MADE UP a fucking story about a fucking volunteer for the fucking RED CROSS. The same "relief" organization that fucking TURNED AWAY people who showed up to help because they weren't fucking "trained." And supplies because... well, who the fuck knows why they were turned away.

Completely fucking IGNORING the many many many fucking OBVIOUS hooks to REAL news about the REAL needs of REAL people trying to put their lives back together, an entire year later, either in NOLA or fucking scattered across 44 fucking states. And the inadequate response by FEMA, the Guitar-Player-in-Chief, and any number of government agencies that ostensibly exist to ameliorate disasters JUST LIKE THIS ONE. And oh yeah - the fucking do-nothing Red fucking Cross.

(More rage, ranting, and rumination below the fold.)

Just because the VRWC is taking potshots at Gore doesn't mean his goose is cooked. Far from it.

As a gnostic points out in his excellent diary Gore: Bush admin 'renegade band of rightwing extremists' the Democrats tried-and-true strategy of "getting along" (which usually precedes getting stomped) has not had nearly the resonance that coming out swinging against the Republican approach to the issues of the day has. The winger response to Al Gore is Exhibit A.

If I was Al Gore, and even the teensiest part of my brain was still held the notion that I might run, I'd actually be encouraged by all the noise the wingers are making. If Gore was truly irrelevant, they wouldn't be wasting their time sliming him.

More on the flip.

As Georgia10's excellent post points out, the Bush Administration is relying heavily on a "state and military secrets" strategy to prevent any challenge to its wiretapping and datamining scheme.

Now, since this is the Internets, I am required to say: IANAL. But, I do have a pretty good education for an ol' public-schooled Buckeye, and I seem to recall that there was some document somewhere that said something about the ability to petition the Government for the redress of grievances. Oh wait - here it is - right on the government's own website:

Amendment I

(More on the flip.)