“Hey, remember when abortion was legal in all 50 states?”

In the meantime, help fight the future.

Turns out the State of the Union was leaked ahead of time.

(via Metafilter)

ps. It’s a darned good impression.

War is Peace
Freedom is Slavery
Ignorance is Strength

Spying without a warrant is to “to protect civil liberties”

That’s what he says.

Bush: “I am not a crook.”

I’m paraphrasing slightly.

Quite funny.

Strong words – and well-founded ones – from Vice President Gore on how the Bush administration’s wiretapping and other grabs for imperial power threaten the fabric of the Constitution:

On more than a few occasions, the dynamic interaction among all three branches has resulted in collisions and temporary impasses that create what are invariably labeled “constitutional crises.” These crises have often been dangerous and uncertain times for our Republic. But in each such case so far, we have found a resolution of the crisis by renewing our common agreement to live under the rule of law.

The principle alternative to democracy throughout history has been the consolidation of virtually all state power in the hands of a single strongman or small group who together exercise that power without the informed consent of the governed.

It was in revolt against just such a regime, after all, that America was founded.

See the video or read the transcript at Crooks & Liars.

Wal-Mart just looooooves it the unions. (Did you know it shut down a store in Quebec rather than let the store’s workers unionize?) These guys made a cute (and funny) Flash animation about the subject.

Embattled Rep. Tom DeLay on Saturday abandoned his bid to remain as House majority leader, clearing the way for leadership elections among Republicans eager to shed the taint of scandal.

Read more.

On April 20, 2004, President Bush said, “Now, by the way, any time you hear the United States government talking about wiretap, it requires — a wiretap requires a court order. Nothing has changed, by the way. When we’re talking about chasing down terrorists, we’re talking about getting a court order before we do so. It’s important for our fellow citizens to understand, when you think Patriot Act, constitutional guarantees are in place when it comes to doing what is necessary to protect our homeland, because we value the Constitution.”

See this clip – and others about how the government will always get a court order because they value the Constitution – in this video.

Do not miss this video of the otherwise apolitical David Letterman tearing Bill O’Reilly a new one. (Salon Premium has a highlight reel.)

“I have the feeling about 60% of what you say is crap.”

“Why are we there [in Iraq] in the first place? The President himself less than a month ago said that we are there because of a mistake made in intelligence. Well, whose intelligence? Somebody got off a bus and handed it to him? The intelligence gathered by his administration.”

“This ‘fair and balanced’. I’m not sure that it’s… I don’t think that you represent an objective viewpoint.”