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WASHINGTON - Will Judge Samuel Alito’s nomination to the Supreme Court suffer “collateral damage” from the controversy over Bush administration eavesdropping on al-Qaida contacts inside United States? The surveillance conducted by the National Security Agency has sparked a loud debate in Washington over how much power the president should be permitted in wartime. That will be a dominant question in next week’s confirmation hearings for Alito, according to Sen. Russ Feingold of Wisconsin, a Democratic member of the Judiciary Committee who will be one of those grilling Alito. “With these (NSA surveillance) revelations, I’d be surprised if it wasn’t one...

Hundreds of new memos and legal briefs written by Supreme Court nominee Samuel A. Alito Jr. were released yesterday by the National Archives, with Democrats immediately pointing to documents they say show that he supports domestic spying on American citizens. Sen. Patrick J. Leahy, Vermont Democrat and his party's ranking member on the Judiciary Committee, called the nominee an "activist" judge who, if confirmed, would chip away at civil liberties of Americans. "These new documents ... deepen the impression of activism that colors Judge Alito's career," Mr. Leahy said. They "raise further questions about Judge Alito's views on, and commitment...

(As Prepared for Delivery) Americans deserve laws that protect both their security and their civil liberties, and this conference report does not. After years of doubt about the PATRIOT Act -- this morning, Americans are waking up to more startling reports. For the past three years, the Administration has been eavesdropping on hundreds of calls without warrants or oversight. Well, the Administration isn't responding to the article -- but they tell us -- "trust us, we follow the law." Give me a break. Across the country -- and across the political spectrum -- no one is buying it anymore. This...

In the United States, roughly 10 per cent of all cancers, more than 100,000 cases a year, could be avoided if overweight and obesity did not exist, updated statistics on the proportion of cancer due to obesity say. The new projections stem from a review of published studies, updates to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) report from 2002, and data from the Nurses' Health Study II, which includes 116,686 women, Dr Graham Colditz said at a press briefing at the American Association for Cancer Research's international conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research. By applying the current...

The Supreme Court of the United States is the ultimate arbiter of our Constitution and, as such, it is the final protector of individual rights and liberties in this great nation. So when we vote to confirm a justice for a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court, we have an awesome responsibility to get it right. And when we vote to confirm the Chief Justice of the United States, we have an even greater responsibility, because the stakes are even higher. The Chief Justice sets the tone for the Court and, through leadership, influences Court decisions in ways both subtle...

On the flight home this morning, I was unfortunate enough to have a bleeder sit next to me. By bleeder, I mean he was invading my space because he was large and his body was spilling over into my seat. I've seen worse cases than what I had today but let's hear your experiences.

Comedy heavyweight Kirstie Alley is capitalizing on her super-sized self -- and the sensitive subject of obesity -- in her new sitcom, "Fat Actress." The Early Show correspondent Kelly Cobiella says it's an-over-the-top show in which Alley plays herself, a woman at war with food, her weight, and Hollywood. With self-deprecating humor, she makes jokes about being fat and unemployable in show business. "She's the fat girl on the outside trying to get back in," notes TV Guide critic Rochelle Thomas, "and that's why people will watch. People identify with her, at least, I identified with her (struggles)." But, observes...

On the lookout for election problems and controversy in Florida, and instead finding smooth sailing at the polls, Michael Moore packed up and left. NO PROPAGANDA FODDER FOR YOU! GO HOME!

GOOD MORNING: Michael Moore met with Harvey Weinstein and Moore says they plan to start working -- now -- on "Fahrenheit 9/11½." "We want to get cameras rolling now and have it ready in two-three years," Moore says. "We want to document and commercialize it. Fifty-one percent of the American people lacked information (in this election) and we want to educate and enlighten them. They weren't told the truth. We're communicators and it's up to us to start doing it now. The official mourning period is over today and there is a silver lining -- George W. Bush is prohibited...

someone i know is at a trade show today and mr. M is there..... sounds like lardo is doing a documentary about how pharmaceutical companies waste so much money. Pfizer. being the main focus....... http://www.dogsonacid.com/showthread.php?s=f1bb151acd26d75cfe6a7085b8e42e39&threadid=251614&cache=24 funny discussion.

Most of us have heard or seen this map. I'm guessing that Mikey and the elite intelegensia, re gramsci marxists, consider this a slur. I find it to be a compliment. However, I'm wondering how our Canadian friends feel about Mikey's Map. Are youse guys, Canadians, proud to be associated with the FatBarstard and the Looser states or would you prefer that the Looser states form their own socialist nation state and go it on their own?

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Welcome to the Fahreneheit 9/11 TEACHER'S GUIDE. The lessons and activities in this GUIDE are designed to help students develop a critical analytical ability, historical perspective, and applied math skills that will open their minds beyond the current issues covered in Fahrenheit 9/11. The individual units may easily be adapted to many levels and taught across the curriculum - Social Science, [History, Civics, Psychology, Sociology, Political Science, Economics] Language Arts, Humanities, Drama/Theatre, Film, ESL, Media/Journalism, Speech/Communications, Mathematics... You can review the guide page by page on the website, download a PDF of each section or the whole guide. So, go...

Here are some post-election comments from Michael F. Moore: THEY say that in life you get what you deserve. Well, today America has deservedly got a lawless cowboy to lead them further into carnage and isolation and the unreserved contempt of most of the rest of the world. This once-great country has pulled up its drawbridge for another four years and stuck a finger up to the billions of us forced to share the same air. And in doing so, it has shown itself to be a fearful, backward-looking and very small nation. This should have been the day when...

While the heavily scrutinized touch-screen voting machines seemed to produce results in which the registered Democrat/Republican ratios matched the Kerry/Bush vote, and so did the optically-scanned paper ballots in the larger counties, in Florida's smaller counties the results from the optically scanned paper ballots - fed into a central tabulator PC and thus vulnerable to hacking - seem to have been reversed. In Baker County, for example, with 12,887 registered voters, 69.3% of them Democrats and 24.3% of them Republicans, the vote was only 2,180 for Kerry and 7,738 for Bush, the opposite of what is seen everywhere else in...

11/5/04 Dear Friends, Ok, it sucks. Really sucks. But before you go and cash it all in, let's, in the words of Monty Python, 'always look on the bright side of life!' There IS some good news from Tuesday's election. Here are 17 reasons not to slit your wrists: 1. It is against the law for George W. Bush to run for president again. 2. Bush's victory was the NARROWEST win for a sitting president since Woodrow Wilson in 1916. 3. The only age group in which the majority voted for Kerry was young adults (Kerry: 54%, Bush: 44%), proving...

John McCain called Michael Moore a "disingenuous filmmaker" at the Republican National Covention. He did not know that Lard*ss was in the house. So, Lard*ss smiled, stood up, and gave the "L" for Loser sign. Today, the disingenuous filmmaker is in hiding. Have fun mocking him. He is one of the most disgusting human beings to ever be involved in the political process. Thanks to flashbunny for adding the appropriate word to the photo.

The wife of Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards said Monday that Republican criticism of Sen. John Kerry for mentioning Mary Cheney's sexual orientation was a distraction from more pressing issues. Campaigning in Denver, Elizabeth Edwards also argued that President Bush has tried to politicize the issue of gay rights in pressing for a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage. ``I believe the president has tried to use the constitutional amendment as a wedge issue, instead of addressing things like health care or real reform and attention to our veterans' issues,'' Edwards said. Mrs. Edwards also said she was upset...

Enough of the handwringing! Enough of the doomsaying! Do I have to come there and personally calm you down? Stop with all the defeatism, OK?

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Just in case anti-Bush documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11" needed any more controversy to fuel its hot box office, a new war of words broke out on Friday over whether the U.S. Army is stonewalling efforts to book the film at military bases. But the organization that orders films for the 160 base theaters countered that it was the distributors -- Fellowship Adventure Group, IFC Films and Lions Gate Films -- that had the problem and noted they plan to stock base stores with the film's DVDs when they are released. The movie, made by Oscar-winning director Michael...