Think Progress reports that members of the Oklahoma national guard are so desperate for body armor the state is going to produce special license plates to raise funds to buy the equipment for them.

With a $400 billion federal military budget, why do we have to resort to this to provide troops with basic protection?

The right is already slamming the Huffington Report. One incredibly nasty review proclaimed it the equivalent of Gigli and Ishtar after only ten hours.

Please. It got 8 million hits yesterday - 10,000 hits a minute. Those numbers hardly indicate a box-office failure. Do you think the re-launch of the LA Times website today got that many peeps?

How can anyone judge it so soon? The writers are trying. Give them a chance . I just wish I had time to read more of it.

Update: Austin Bay thinks it's a clog, not a blog. He says the layout is confusing and there are too many voices. I really like the layout of the blog page, and find the choice of who to read refreshing. But at least Austin put some thought into his criticism, unlike many who seem to be slamming it just because it's celebrity driven.

There will be a hearing on the Patriot Act tomorrow before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Timothy H. Edgar, ACLU Policy Counsel for National Security will testify. (Received by e-mail.)

Too many of the controversial Patriot Act powers are used in secret," said Timothy H. Edgar, ACLU Policy Counsel for National Security, who will testify before the committee. "Because of the restrictions on disclosure regarding intelligence aspects of the act, this committee is uniquely poised to determine how these provisions are impacting our freedoms. The American people deserve better than a blind acceptance that sacrificing civil liberties is necessary to secure our nation against future terrorist attacks."

Both the House and the Senate have been holding hearings on the reauthorization of the Patriot Act. Several key sections are set to sunset (expire) at the end of the year.

Here's what happened today at the Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing. Here's what happened at the House Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security hearing.

For all of the ACLU's concerns with the Patriot Act, go here.

Grits for Breakfast reports that a bill is advancing through the Texas House that would require law enforcement to obtain a written consent to search during traffic stops.

This should be the law in every state.

by TChris

Maybe Los Angeles Sheriff's deputies had a good reason to fire 120 shots at a car they were chasing in Compton, but since the driver was unarmed, the seemingly reckless use of a massive amount of firepower will be difficult to justify. The driver was wounded, as was an officer, "possibly by friendly fire."

After a 12-minute car chase, officers surrounded the vehicle and opened fire, an event captured on video by by a news photographer alerted to the incident by a police scanner. The sheriff said the vehicle was moving backward toward deputies at one point during the incident.

Innocent bystanders report that their houses were hit by stray bullets. Would the deputies have endangered neighborhood residents with 120 bullets if they had been in Beverly Hills rather than Compton?

The Talking Dog has an interview with Josh Dratel, the New York criminal defense lawyer who is co-counsel for Guantanamo detainee David Hicks of Australia. Josh also is co-author of The Torture Papers. Here's one interesting section of the interview, but go read the whole thing.

Joshua Dratel: Of the people released from Guantanamo so far,
there seems to be something in common: they are let at out at a critical moment when due process from the American government would have to be provided otherwise. This is quite galling, actually. Because as a result of this, we are sending people to their home countries who, if the accusations against them are to be believed, are remarkably "dangerous". We know this because "factual records" for each detainee released have been made public. David, who is not alleged to have shot anyone or committed any kind of a terrorist act, is still detained.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid is again being reasonable and trying to avoid a crisis over the nuclear option. Here is his latest statement, in its entirety (not available online yet):

Two weeks ago, Bill Frist and I exchanged proposals in an attempt to avert a vote on the nuclear option.

One proposal allowed for up or down votes on all but four judges – which many of us on both sides of the aisle considered to be the goal of this hyped battle over judicial nominations.

It also took the “nuclear option” off the table, which even Ken Starr said yesterday was damaging to the Senate as an institution and “amounts to an assault on the judicial branch of government.” This compromise would break the gridlock over these seven judges, and allow us to get back to doing the people’s business.

Senator Frist’s proposal does nothing to end the judicial impasse, as it would wipe away the very checks and balances that have prevented an abuse of power for more than 200 years.

That result is unacceptable.

It's fairly common knowledge that blogs run on bandwith and bandwith gets expensive. In recent months, video bloggers have emerged on the scene, posting segments of news shows, interviews and other events so that bloggers and others can watch online when we want, rather than having to watch on tv at the appointed hour.

It takes a tremendous amount of bandwidth to host videos. Two of them, Ian at Political Teen and Trey Jackson of Jackson's Junction, are asking for your help.

Crooks and Liars also takes donations, and even though they didn't ask today, I hope you send some help their way as well.

Political Teen and Jackson's Junction lean right; Crooks and Liars is firmly left. But all three deserve your support.

Gary Hart, writing for the new Huffington Report, questions whether we have an exit strategy for Iraq or are planning on building an empire there. He posits a simple test to figure it out:

Are we, or are we not, building permanent military bases in Iraq? Yes or no? If we are withdrawing ALL troops, we do not need permanent bases. If we are building military bases, we do not intend to withdraw all our troops. Simple as that..

Several states are contemplating court action to fight implementation of the new drivers' license requirements contained in the Real ID Act.

There is concern among some states that they'll get stuck with a large tab to pay for implementing the new rules and that getting a driver's license will become a bigger headache for law-abiding residents.

"Governors are looking at all their options. If more than half of the governors agree we're not going down without a fight on this, Congress will have to consider changing this unfunded federal mandate," said Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, vice chairman of the National Governors Association. A Huckabee aide said the options include court action.

Bottom line: This is too much work to pass onto states for a program of such dubious value.

The Senate is set to vote on the bill this week. The House has already passed it.

Sen. Bill Frist may have developed a classic case of trigger-finger on the nuclear option. Despite pleas from the radical right evangelical fringe, he hasn't launched the plan. Despite pleas from fellow Senators and Congressmen, he hasn't called it off. What's causing him to stay in status quo mode, despite earlier promises to launch the nuke? Some possibilities:

• He doesn't have the votes necessary to win
• The public opinion polls are against the nuclear option
• His job as Senate leader is to compromise. The nuclear option is anything but, and will throw the Senate into disarray. His leadership ability will be called into question if he takes this risky route.

This is Frist's moment.

Frist's daunting challenge is to somehow keep both factions happy, soothe the nerves of moderate voters - and thereby keep his own presidential hopes alive.

Frist needs to call off the nuclear option. It's his only chance at survival. If he pulls the trigger, he's history.

The Washington Post reports that President Bush is now jumping into the filibuster fray. He previously promised to stay out of it. We know he was fibbing because shortly after, VP Dick Cheney said he'd exercise his vote as the presiding officer of the Senate in favor of the nuclear option in case of a tie.

Monday's developments, according to the Post:

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid extended an "olive branch" of sorts to Republicans by offering to hold a yes or no vote on Thomas Griffith, nominated by Bush for a seat on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. Reid said that although Democrats oppose him, they would agree to a vote on him, and he'd in all likelihood be confirmed. It has been widely reported that Griffith practiced law in Utah without a law license.

That wasn't good enough for Bill Frist and the Republicans. They still are insisting on up/down votes for all nominees.

Later on Monday, Bush demanded a vote on two specific judges, Priscilla Owen and Terrance Boyle.

The Washington Post explains why Bush's actions are wrong: