News round up:
Here are some things going on you may have missed. I probably would have missed them - had I not been looking - because I've been pretty busy these days.

Just as our own Senator John Sununu is getting some faint praise for working out a deal on the PATRIOT Act, another senator comes to his senses: ["Byrd Says He Regrets Voting For Patriot Act"]. FoxNews had this first - probably because they are on the Byrd death watch [they also caught the "white n*gg#r" comment on tape, which Byrd made a couple of years back. Byrd was a former Klansman]. This, of course, is the key point to everything involving this act and other things the government has been doing over the past 10 years, paraphrasing Ben Franklin:

"Ben Franklin, that wise man among the Constitution's framers, perhaps said it most simply," Byrd says now. "'Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.'"

Of course, Byrd has seen better days - and recently incurred the wrath of some Dems for voting to appoint Alito to the Supreme Court. But, it is pretty good having him there because he realizes the big picture.

The Brothers Bulger
Howie Carr has finally released his book about the Bulger crime family, most specifically Whitey, the notorious Southie mobster, and his political thug brother and former Senate President, Billy. Three excerpts were published last week in the Boston Herald, in order to generate some sales interest. Howie has been making the rounds on all of the cable talk shows too. Here are the links:

["Blood Brothers: How Whitey made good his escape"]
["How the state cops let Whitey slip through their hands"]
["Hoodlum wannabe Whitey was Hub hustler"]

I waited to buy "Black Mass" in paperback so I might have to wait for this to come out in paperback too.

Sex Pistols won't play!
For years, I have been bitching about the Sex Pistols not being inducted into the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame even though the band kept saying they wouldn't accept the honor. Well, they were named this year ... and they aren't showing up: ["Sex Pistols spit on Hall of Fame honor"].
The text was posted on "The Filth and the Fury" Web site, the site of a great documentary film on the band and the time period in England ["The Filth and the Fury"].
Thinking about it now, this is probably the correct decision for them, although I wonder. They are making a bold statement about the pomposity of the music business. It is an industry - always has been - even if it didn't start out to be that way. It is always best to at least attempt to stick to your laurels [Plus, who knew it was $25k for a damn table! Warners has made a fortune from them. Pony up already].
And what would the jam session be like? Steve Jones mocks a pretty good Chuck Berry but can you hear Johnny Rotten trying to sing Blondie's "Call Me" or Skynyrd's "Free Bird"? Ugh. Imagine the ever obnoxious Eric Clapton or some other wank-off trying to follow along to the Pistols' anti-abortion opus "Bodies" or "God Save the Queen" [Clapton could pull of the solo in "GSTQ" but it kinda wouldn't be the same now would it?]. Although, they might be able to pull off Iggy's "No Fun" or The Who's brilliant "Substitute" together. Will Mike Love show up drunk and call Paul Cook onto the stage to jam and have Cook kick over the rack bopping the TM specialist on the head with a cymbal? Love might sue! Sid Vicious could come back from the dead as a ghost pissing in the champagne and shooting bullets from his revolver at everyone to the glorious musical back drop of "My Way." Oh, the horrors ... Better yet, they should just show up and not pay the table fee. Or grab the statue, say "Bullocks!" and bolt.

Depleted uranium
This is an interesting article which didn't get much play recently but might be worth a second look: ["UK radiation jump blamed on Iraq shells"] and a more thorough opinion piece here: ["The Queen's Death Star"].
In 1998, when I ran for Congress in Massachusetts' 8th District, I was invited to a lecture about the dangers of DU usage being put on by local Arab-American activists at Somerville High School. I was the only candidate who responded to their invitation or even showed up to other events sponsored by the group.
The lecture was surprisingly covered by NECN because it was right around the same time the President Clinton was bombing aspirin factories and other such nonsense [I got no play in the coverage but that was OK, the event wasn't about me]. Since most of the candidates were Democrats, and wouldn't speak against their president's actions, I was also the only one who talked about the issue. The bombing campaigns were wrong then; the bombing campaigns were wrong in 2003.
To this day, I can still recall the endless array of photos on display at the lecture of some of the Iraqi victims who had been affected by DU shells. The photos, especially of the women and newborns, were some of the most horrific you would ever see in your life. I won't go into the gory details ... but you can just imagine. The pictures will forever be seared in my mind like a bad dream.
I know in my heart that Jesus would never want anyone to be treated that way. And no one who proclaimed to follow the political philosophy of Jesus Christ would ever allow this to another human being, especially over oil reserves or to get a little intern sex scandal off the front page.
Years later, my father and sister came to visit us in Boston and we made the rounds of some of the tourist sites in the middle of a freezing January day. As we were passing by the Park Street Station, some of those same activists were standing outside with signs as we walked by. "Anthony, Anthony," one of them shouted to me, as we waved and walked over for a quick minute. The guy heaped praise on me for forwarding their cause against DU during the campaign, telling my father what a good man I was. It was a little embarrassing but when my dad looked at me and said, "He sure is," and gave me a pat on the back, it was made all the more meaningful.
It is always important to remember that it isn't whether you win or lose the fight, it is all about what you stand for and the issues you forward as a human being.

Radio
The continuing demise of local radio is covered in this recent piece in the Boston Globe: ["Mixed signals"]. The line about the lady coming in just to read the school lunch menu was pretty funny. Now that is local. Do kids even eat school lunches anymore? And how about that price tag: $4.5 million for two 1,000 AM stations granted, on the outskirts of the Metro Boston market [11th in the country]. Wow. In reaction to the sale of WJDA, the fledging and award-winning WADT on the South Shore is making a play for more listeners: ["WATD to broaden its listening base"].

2001
There is an interesting Flash file here of someone's take on Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey": ["Kubrick 2001"]. Interestingly, this got me thinking about Zacharia Sitchin's books and I did a Google and found his site here: ["Zacharia Sitchin"].

The Village Voice and 9-11
The Village Voice, one of the premiere papers in the country for investigative journalism, has been delving into the 9-11 situation a lot lately. Last week, there were a slew of articles on some of the theories and people trying to advance some "conspiratorial" concepts:
["The Seekers"]
["Conspiracy 101"]
["The Usual Suspects"]
["Your Turn: Ground Zero stories"]

'08 is lookin' like a lot of fun ...

While the date of the New Hampshire primary and what the DNC plans on doing with it is on every political junkie's mind up here, things seem to be heating up out in the blogosphere. The hilarious Molly Ivins posted this column earlier this week: ["Not. backing. Hillary."]:

"Enough. Enough triangulation, calculation and equivocation. Enough clever straddling, enough not offending anyone This is not a Dick Morris election. Sen. Clinton is apparently incapable of taking a clear stand on the war in Iraq, and that alone is enough to disqualify her. Her failure to speak out on Terri Schiavo, not to mention that gross pandering on flag-burning, are just contemptible little dodges."

Boy, doesn't that say it all? Over at DailyKos, this column was a hot topic, with a slew of posters agreeing with Ivins, a few stating that Ivins voted for Ralph Nader in 2000 so why should anyone listen to her, and a whole bunch more drinking the "I'll vote for any Democrat" Kool-Aid Jim Jones style. Oh, they'll never learn. While she isn't a very powerful pundit, her column is a good wake up call for the Dems. If the Republicans nominate a moderate in 2008 and the Dems some war-monger pain-in-the-ass like Hillary, it could be 2000 all over again.

Down in Massachusetts, there is a bit of trouble for Gov. Mitt "Guy Smiley" Romney ... he's losing his consultant: ["Romney political strategist quits"]. He's breaking ties with Mike Murphy - the star consultant for Sen. John McCain in 2000 and numerous other campaigns. Murphy claims he is going to stay neutral if both Romney and McCain are in the primary:

"The deal is there's no reelect committee to work for, and I've made it clear all along that if there is a presidential primary campaign Mitt Romney and (Senator) John McCain, I'd have to be neutral in it."

Eh, yeah, right. I'll believe that when I see it. It is difficult for these guys to stay out of the fray when they don't have to. He would just have to pick one or the other. Of course, this is assuming that McCain is running and there is no guarantee of that.
As an aside, Murphy will make an interesting chapter in a book I may eventually finish writing some day. I can talk about how he sneaked into the 2002 Democratic convention on a press pass and how I tipped off a press aide for a treasurer's candidate to his presence. He was quickly booted from the auditorium - but not before I got some good information from him. Sorry Mike. I can also talk about his role in getting Romney to run for governor in 2002 after Guy Smiley promised he wouldn't run for governor. And how the town of Belmont used public funds for a Welcome Home i.e. political, rally. Trust me, it will be worth the read when the book gets done. I'm also waiting on a guy I know to do a document dump on Romney. We'll see if he actually ever gets around to doing it.

Then, there is Al Gore, who has truly become his own man: ["'We the People' Must Save Our Constitution"].

"Don't misunderstand me: the threat of additional terror strikes is all too real and their concerted efforts to acquire weapons of mass destruction does create a real imperative to exercise the powers of the Executive Branch with swiftness and agility. Moreover, there is in fact an inherent power that is conferred by the Constitution to the President to take unilateral action to protect the nation from a sudden and immediate threat, but it is simply not possible to precisely define in legalistic terms exactly when that power is appropriate and when it is not.
But the existence of that inherent power cannot be used to justify a gross and excessive power grab lasting for years that produces a serious imbalance in the relationship between the executive and the other two branches of government."

Americans who were polled after the speech believe Bush should be impeached: ["Americans Support Impeaching Bush for Wiretapping"]. The problem here is that this is the same Al Gore who was a member of the Clinton Adminstration during the passage of the domestic anti-terrorism bill, the precursor to the Patriot Act. This is the same Gore who stood by Bubba when he bombed the Sudan to get Monica and her stained dress off the front page of the papers. The same Gore who didn't speak up when Sandy Berger, Bill Cohen, and Madeline "Not So" Bright were advocating regime change in Iraq on a pathetic college tour where they were summarily blasted and booed by the crowd. Creek, creek, creek ... that was Gore. No outrage at that time - when he was the vice president and had the power to influence policy. Still, I'm intrigued by Gore and what his motives are beyond getting time on C-Span. Maybe he has changed.

Will there be a Nader "factor" in '08? Probably not. Nader was shellacked in 2004 for no other reason than existing. He is aging; half his face is paralyzed; he still owes money from the 2004 race. But Nader may have a last hurrah, especially if this film, "An Unreasonable Man," picks up steam: ["indieWIRE"] and ["Ralph Nader to Attend Sundance Film Festival"]:

"I was so sick of people (mostly whiny Democrats) yelling at me about Ralph without having all the information. When discussing him, I too was conflicted. But most of all I wanted to tell the story of Ralph Nader's entire life and career so at least when people judged him, they would understand more about this American icon."

It is a wonder what would have happened in 2004 had the Democrats spent the millions of dollars they spent keeping Nader off ballots on their own general election campaign. Sure, Kerry probably would have lost anyway because he was - and is - a soulless yuppie. But Kerry didn't lose by that much when you look at the numbers. Sure, he gained New Hampshire; but he lost Iowa and New Mexico, states Gore won. There was also [silly] speculation that Kerry might win Arizona, Nevada, Virginia, and West Virginia, states where he probably was never going to win. But what if Kerry had spent that last $15 million in his bank account in those states? What if the Democrats had spent the $6 million they spent keeping Nader off the ballot in Pennsylvania in neighboring Iowa?

In a sort of political related note, check out this car: ["A 330 mpg car for everyone"]. The only problem with this is that I doubt it will be safe enough to take on the highway. Can you imagine getting front-ended by a Mac truck in that thing? They'll be lucky to find anything left of you!

Thought for the day
You only have the rights you are willing to fight for.

411: An old pal from Winchester forwarded this information to me today:
"Cell phone companies are charging us $1.00 or more for 411 informationcalls when they don't have to. (They are plainly and simply greedy.)Here's how to beat them. If you need to use the 411 information option:Dial 1-800-FREE 411 (1-800-373-3411) without incurring a charge at all, except for whatever minutes are required to make the call.It works on home "land line" phone too.This is information people don't mind receiving. Pass it on."

I will have to check it out and see if it works.

Speaking of phones: Did you know that your phone records were for sale? ["Your phone records are for sale"].

New Orleans, Post Katrina: Well, it looks like the powers that be are finally letting folks know how New Orleans will be rebuilt. And, as many suspected, it looks like a land grab - with the working class folks of New Orleans being left out of the big plans: ["N.O. residents angry about rebuilding ideas"]. So, who is this Joseph Canizaro guy anyway? Well, do a Google: ["Mother Jones 400"]:

In 1997, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development chided Canizaro for heading a local housing authority that ignored lower bids and awarded a contract to a board member of First Bank and Trust, where Canizaro happens to be chairman.

Hmm. OK. What else can we find? A lot of stuff about donations to Bush and then, this: ["The city's future may depend on a mogul with Bush's ear"]. Why is it that these folks are always put in charge of "the rebuilding" or "the rezoning" or "the restructuring." How come it is never any regular folks who just want their homes back. Let's see if the Sean Hannitys of the world expose this fraud like they go after Democratic mayors in small towns who are taking property for small economic revitalization projects. And yeah, don't get me wrong, that's bad too.

Oh Ana Marie: Wonkette! has a book out. And another book coming ... with a six figure advance! I'm in the wrong business. But then again, I don't really like to blog by making sexual references and sodomy jokes all the time. And, I don't live in D.C. ... I live in New Hampshire. But now, she has decided not to blog and, in fact, her blog is getting a sex change: ["Wonkette's Sex Change"].
I think I will wait until it ends up in the cut-out bin.

I think I may try this: ["TerraPass"].