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USA Today reports that the NSA electronic eavesdropping program is big. NSA seems to be cross-checking every phone bill in the country. 

Russ Feingold wants Bush impeached because of the program. 

Bush's popularity dropped below 30% on Friday.  Unfortunately for Feingold, the one thing the public likes about the president is the domestic spy program.  A Washington Post poll found 63% in favor.

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The president of Iran sent Bush a chatty letter. He invited the leader of the free world to convert to Islam.

The soon to be annihilated Zionist entity, the Jerusalem Post, quotes  the Iranian's rant:

"Liberalism and Western-style democracy have not
been able to help realize the ideals of humanity. Today these two
concepts have failed. Those with insight can already hear the sounds of
the shattering and fall of the ideology and thoughts of the liberal
democratic systems.

"After declaring the death of the ideals on which the United
States is founded, Ahmadinejad explained that "people around the world
are flocking towards a main focal point - that is Almighty God." He
then challenged Bush, "Do you not want to join them?"

I've been reading up on this stuff. According to Dr. Andrew Bostom, in The Legacy of Jihad: Islamic Holy War and the Fate of Non-Muslims, an offer to convert is made before an attack. 

… it
is forbidden to begin an attack before explaining the invitation to
Islam to them, informing them of the miracles of the Prophet and making
plain the proofs so as to encourage acceptance on their part; if they
still refuse to accept after this, war is waged against them and they
are treated as those whom the call has reached.

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Leaving court for his new home, Zacarious Moussaoui said, "America, you lost!"  "I won."

Home will be the Supermax prison in Colorado where Shoe Bomber, Richard Reid, will be a neighbor.

It doesn't sound like Zac and the smoking shoe boy will do much coffee klatching.  He will spend 23 hours a day in a cell cast out of
concrete, measuring some 7ft by 11ft. It has a concrete bed, an
immovable concrete stool and desk, fitted with a small black and white
TV that carries a few selected channels and closed-circuit classes and
religious services.

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The CIA has difficulty with change.  The spooks traded in the enemy they know, the KGB, for the one they hate, GWB. 

Bush countered by trying to penetrate the agency, making Porter Goss Director. The mission failed and Bush had to eliminate his asset.

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Patrick Kennedy used a Capitol Police officer as his designated driver after wrecking his car at 3:00 am Thursday morning. My Friday cartoon topic was obvious.

This sketch was my first idea.  Not only was it insensitive, bordering on cruel, it was obvious. I liked it but the "obvious" part bothered me.

Ted Kennedy's Chappaquiddick moment became a cartoon standard long ago.  The idea that his passengers need life belts more than seat belts is an old joke.  This cartoon didn't seem shocking to me because it didn't seem very original, not good.  As the day went on I followed the story on the Internet.  Patrick denied drinking, didn't remember the event, was spotted in a bar, and at 3:00pm announced his immediate departure for the Mayo Clinic.  Checking into a detox facility is like waving a white flag. It wouldn't be sporting to shoot the surrendered. 

I tried to refocus on the bad behavior of Congress-persons in general.  After all Cynthia McKinney (D-Georgia) had recently punched out a Capitol Cop for not recognizing her African American femaleness.  This is the cartoon I drew:

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I finished right on deadline and realized I had a new problem. The cartoon wasn't obvious enough.  Cynthia McKinney's 15 minutes of fame had expired. Most people wouldn't recognize her.  (Fortunately she can't punch them all out.)  Worse than insensitive and cruel, the cartoon would look stupid and pointless.

Besides Kennedy was no longer the big news.  Porter Goss was.  He resigned as CIA chief.

It was too late for a new idea.  I had been sitting on a local cartoon about the Akron School Levy.  I dashed it off in 15 minutes.

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Akron voters turned down a levy to fund the public schools on the May 2 ballot.  The Ohio Supreme Court has ordered the legislature to come up with a funding method for schools other than property taxes.  The legislature and the court have agreed to ignore and be ignored respectively.

Ohio government makes FEMA look nimble.

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Ken Blackwell is the Republican nominee for Governor in Ohio.

The Ohio economy ranks 47th in the U.S. in job creation.
Government spending in Ohio has risen 20% faster than personal income over the last 10 years. Taxes are high, third highest in the country according to the Tax Foundation. And the city schools stink.

Republicans run the state and besides doing it poorly, they seem to do it illegally.  Workers Comp invested $50 million in a rare coin scheme through a Republican coin dealer who has since been indicted on 53 felony counts.

The rap on Blackwell is that he's different.  The fact that powerbrokers here consider that to be a problem may be Ohio's problem.

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Moussaoui's new home sounds like a life worse than death.  23 hours a day alone in his cell.  One hour of excercise, alone. 

How long before he demands a transfer to Gitmo?

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Ohio Secretary of State, Ken Blackwell, beat Attorney General, Jim Petro, in a nasty Republican Primary for Governor.

Each candidate featured a TV ad calling the other a hypocrite.

Blackwell has always appealed to Christian voters.  Petro, who says he's "not one to campaign in a way that puts my faith on my sleeve", put his faith on his sleeve.  In an effort to save either his campaign or his soul, his TV ads featured a bible and a baptismal certificate.

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The Star Spangled Banner was a poem written by Francis Scott Key during the bombardment of Fort McHenry during the War of 1812.  The hit poem was later set to the tune of a popular drinking song and soon replaced 99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall as our national anthem.

After the U.S. surrender to Mexico in 2006 the anthem was changed to Spanish. The actual meaning of the lyrics were also altered.  Roughly translated from the Spanish, the anthem now says, "although your water is safer, our cerveza is better".