The framing in this CNN article Congress gives Bush administration more eavesdropping leeway is really pro-unitary-executive.  It seems to be coming from the perspective that the legislative branch exists merely to act as a rubber stamp on whatever the President wants done.  I feel sorry for all of those people out there who only use CNN as a source of news and end up with a warped perception of how our government is actually supposed to work.  Here's the lead-in to the article, with my emphasis in bold:

Gay marriage as a political issue has been incredible huge in the news these past few days.  Bush just gave a speech (which is rare for him) on the issue.  They're debating it in the Senate.  It's front page news on pretty much every American news site, as well as headline news on every news channel.  Yet, by and large, the denizens of DailyKOS seem to be ignoring this critical issue.  Why?  Granted, this gay marriage ban amendment has little chance of passing, but that's not why the Republicans are pushing it.  They're pushing it to get their far-right base into a frenzy in time for the November elections.  And we need to pay attention.

Yesterday Santorum flip-flopped on the intelligent design issue, now saying that he doesn't believe it belongs in science classrooms.  This is in stark contrast to just a few weeks ago, when he called intelligent design "a legitimate scientific theory that should be taught in the classroom."  But Santorum went on to back-pedal on his newfound love of science, saying intelligent design is still "a legitimate issue."  Right, he still thinks it's legitimate, but he doesn't want it taught in schools because that might cost him votes.  Santorum's new change of mind is probably directly attributed to his sagging poll numbers and the recent utter defeat of intelligent design proponents on the Dover Area School Board.  In short, Santorum sees that the poll numbers are against him, so he changes his public views to try to gain more acceptance, while still disclaiming which views he has in private.  See below the fold for more information on evolution and creationism.

While most of you were probably paying attention to the gubernatorial races in New Jersey and Virginia, and also to Kansas' backwards slide on evolution, another exciting race was playing out behind the scenes.  Eight seats on the Dover, Pennsylvania School Board were up for re-election today and all eight were won by "Dover CARES" candidates.  "Dover CARES" is a coalition put together to oppose adding religion to the science class curriculum.  In short, if the School Board decided to vote on adding intelligent design to the curriculum again, the result would be a resounding "no".  More below the fold.

This is a milestone I'm very sad to see reached, but here it is.  From CNN:

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- The war in Iraq saw two milestones Tuesday that reflect the country's path to democracy and its human toll as officials said the referendum on a draft constitution passed and the U.S. military's death toll reached 2,000.

I'm with Cindy Sheehan on this one - how many more need to die before we can finally declare "mission accomplished", if ever?

The Dover Area School District of Pennsylvania is currently involved in a historic courtroom battle in federal court.  The plaintiffs, eleven parents of Dover area children, are suing the School Board for modifying the curriculum last year to de-emphasize evolution and add something called "intelligent design".  The ACLU is providing free representation for the plaintiffs while the Dover School Board is being defended free of charge by a Christian right-wing think tank.  The plaintiffs argue that their First Amendment rights are being violated by the inclusion of what they consider religion into the biology curriculum.  More below the fold.

Scientists have recently found the remains of several more Homo floresiensis hominids on the Flores Island in Indonesia.  This puts to rest most of the speculation that the original skeleton of the hobbit was simply a diseased normal human individual and not a member of a newfound species.

All I keep hearing about in mainstream news (as well as Hamas' propaganda) is that Palestine has struck a great victory against Israel by forcing the Israel settlers out of Gaza.  I've also heard that by leaving, the Israelis are giving in to Islamist terrorism, making it seem as if it's a valid tactic.

Ariel Sharon himself is the military general most credited with establishing the settlements in Gaza in the first place.  This pullout is viewed as a cowardly reversal on his part and a loss for the Israelis.  Read on for why this isn't so.

So I was turned on to an editorial on RedState from DKos which called Cindy Sheehan a media whore.  So I registered an account and tried to defend her, saying that she has lost a son fighting for our country, and if nothing else, it is extremely disrespectful to personally attack her after her sacrifice.  I did not bring any sort of red/blue partisan politics into it; I simply argued for decency and civility between people.  What happened?  My account's posting privileges were banned.  Apparently if you don't toe the party line on RedState.org, right down to the sickening talking points on calling Cindy Sheehan a traitor to her son and to her nation, you aren't welcome to speak at all.  More below the fold.