States seeking to track cell phones for traffic conditions

quote[Driving to work with your cell phone on, you notice the traffic beginning to slow down. Instantly and unbeknown to you, the government senses your delay and flashes a traffic congestion update over Web sites and electronic road signs.

Other motorists take heed, diverting to alternative routes or allowing more time for their trips.

Futuristic as it may seem, the scenario actually is pretty close to becoming reality.]

How long before they see the "benefits" of not keeping the data anonomous?

You might want to turn off the phone while driving through MO.

Unmasked: the 'real Shakespeare'

quote[EXTRAORDINARY historical evidence suggests Shakespeare's plays were not written by the bard, but by a Tudor politician descended from King Edward III.

British Shakespeare scholar and former university lecturer Brenda James and university historian William Rubinstein propose that the real Shakespeare was Sir Henry Neville, an English courtier and diplomat.]

This is very, very interesting.

Bush's First Veto

quote[he Bush administration pledged yesterday to veto legislation banning the torture of prisoners by US troops after an overwhelming and almost unprecedented revolt by loyalist congressmen.

The mutiny was the latest setback for an administration facing an increasingly independent and bloody-minded legislature. But it also marked a key moment in Congress's campaign to curtail the huge powers it has granted the White House since 2001 in its war against terrorism.

The late-night Senate vote saw the measure forbidding torture passed by 90 to nine, with most Republicans backing the measure. Most senators said the Abu Ghraib abuse scandal and similar allegations at the Guantanamo Bay prison rendered the result a foregone conclusion.]

Kind of says a lot about the intentions of this administration, doesn't it?

If Bloomberg really thought there was a chance for bombing would he be riding the subway?

quote[OLBERMANN: Thank you.

Remarkably enough, Karl Rove's possible legal problems were bookended by two pieces of terror news. Before, came a presidential speech on the war on terror. After, came a supposed terrorist threat to New York's subway system.

Stop what you're thinking. It is just an amazing coincidence. The terrorists just happened to wait to make these threats until there's bad news about the administration that it needs to preempt. Just a coincidence.

The threat in a moment...

...CRAIG CRAWFORD, MSNBC ANALYST: Hi, there. You're sounding a bit skeptical tonight.

OLBERMANN: Well, I'm—yes, and I'm going to raise this question as

skeptically and bluntly as I can. It's not a question that doubts the

existence of terror, nor the threat of terrorism. But we've cobbled

together in the last couple of hours a list of at least 13 occasions that -

· on which—whenever there has been news that significantly impacted the White House negatively, there has been some sudden credible terror threat somewhere in this country. How could the coincidence be so consistent?

CRAWFORD: It's, it is a pattern. One of the most memorable was just after the Democratic Convention in the 2004 election, when they talked about the threat to New York and even the World Trade—World Bank, and it turned out that was based on intelligence that was three years old, (INAUDIBLE) even before 9/11.

There is a pattern here. And I think it's difficult sometimes to take it at face value. But in these moments, when it looks like a crisis, it's (INAUDIBLE), those of us who bring it up get accused of treason. That's what Howard Dean was accused of when he raised that after the Democratic Convention scare alert.]

Quoted text and link are from the transcripts of Countdown With Keith Olbermann.

Interesting, eh?

Study: Euthanizing Right-wing Pundits would Solve Global Warming

quote[he scientific community was stunned today when famed French geophysicist Jacques Revanche published a study that concludes euthanizing right-wing talk show hosts would solve the global warming problem.

The report sparked a firestorm of controversy across the nation’s airwaves, even as Revanche sought to downplay its findings. “It’s true that if you wanted to stop global warming, you could, if that were your sole purpose, you could euthanize every right-wing talk show host in this country, and the global temperature would go down. That would be an impossible, ridiculous, and morally reprehensible thing to do, but your temperature would go down.”

To gather data for the study, Revanche sneaked into talk show studios variously disguised as a plumber, hair stylist and, in the case of Bill O’Reilly, a falafel delivery boy. He then captured air samples in the vicinity of the hosts and subjected them to rigorous testing.

The results varied widely. For example, Rush Limbaugh’s breath was found to be the pollution equivalent of an 18-ton garbage truck while Michael Savage’s sample scored just below a battery-powered dildo.

The project was not without its setbacks, the data had to be reworked when it was discovered that Fox anchor John Gibson has no cellular activity and was reclassified as “undead.”

Upon learning of the study, conservative talking heads went into apoplexy. Sean Hannity became so enraged when co-host Alan Colmes suggested that right-wing punditry was responsible for Hurricane Katrina, he lifted him by the throat and gave him a category five wedgie.

But not everyone dismissed the idea. Senator Hillary Clinton suggested that the conservative broadcasters volunteer to be “put down.” In a speech on the Senate floor, Clinton asked, “how much do they love their country? This is an opportunity for a vast right wing conspiracy to save America and the planet. We should reach out to them with our thoughts, prayers and a loaded revolver.”

Meanwhile, the Christian evangelical community, which was conspicuously silent after Republican lackey turned talk show host Bill Bennett made similar remarks regarding aborting all black babies, went into full howl in defense of the right-wing pundits. CBN President Pat Robertson went the farthest saying he would get the CIA to “take Revanche out.”]

LOL!!!

Take that, Bill Bennett!

Is This A Joke?? A Soda Can???

For a second, I thought I had accidentally loaded the onion.

Also, anyone else notice that these terra' stories seem to always come out when Bush's numbers are tanking or another crony is about to be indicted?

Breaking: Rove Said to Testify in CIA Leak Case

quote[Federal prosecutors have accepted an offer from presidential adviser Karl Rove to give 11th-hour testimony in the case of a
CIA officer's leaked identity but have warned they cannot guarantee he won't be indicted, according to people directly familiar with the investigation.
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The persons, who spoke only on condition of anonymity because of grand jury secrecy, said Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald has not made any decision yet on whether to file criminal charges against the longtime confidant of
President Bush or others.]

Is a plea bargain in the making?

Rove missing from White House events; Word on Hill is that he has been told he's target of probe

quote[The buzz on Capitol Hill is that Rove has received what sources called a "target letter," or a letter from the prosecutor investigating the outing of CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson telling him that he is now a target in the investigation. To date, no reporters have been able to confirm this account. One lawyer says that at this point in the investigation it would be more likely any letters would normally be notifications of an indictment.]

It's coming soon, my friends.

Karl Rove's Latest Trick: Getting Bush To Hit The Bottle

quote[Mr President, you've got to start drinking seriously again.

What? Karl, are you out of your mind?

No, sir, it could really work to get your numbers back up.

What do you mean? Have you started drinking yourself?

No, sir, hear me out.

This had better be good. You've already embarrassed me mightily with that Valerie Plame shit.

Well, sir, what we do is, we first have rumors.

Rumors?

Yes, that you've started drinking again.

Uh-uh.

We feed them. We say you fell off your chair watching TV because you were unsteady on your feet.

Isn't that going too far?

Well, sir, you've done it before.

Uh-uh.

Then we have you come out at a press conference saying that, for Laura's sake, and the sake of the nation, you're going into rehab.

What!?]

This was very funny. Click the link to read the rest.

Earle says he has new evidence on DeLay

quote[New evidence obtained during the weekend prompted the money laundering charges that were brought against U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay this week, Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle said Tuesday.

Earle said the grand jury that indicted DeLay last week on the last day of its term "declined to indict" on charges other than conspiracy to violate the election code.

Earle said in a statement that "additional information" that he would not detail came to him during the weekend, leading him to present the money laundering charges to a new grand jury Monday.]

He is so going down...I hope.