Bob Herbert has the right prescription for a 2004 Democrat win and ouster of Bush in this column from today's New York Times.

Any Democrat will be a long shot next year. Without an infusion of new voters (young people, white working families, Hispanics and women) and another huge turnout by African-Americans, the Democrats are doomed.

The strongest ticket might be Dean-Clark. But the Democrats need more than a candidate or two. The party needs a plan. It needs a coherent, compelling, convincing narrative that shows how voters and the nation would be better off under Dr. Dean or General Clark or Dick Gephardt — take your pick — than they are now.

To regain control of the White House, the Democrats need to give voters, who are frightened by terrorism and disoriented by the pace of 21st-century events, new reasons to hope. That can only be done by a thoughtful, united, energized and creative party. A party with a plan and a ferocious will to win.

[link via Atrios.]

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) announced today that she and Rep. Rush Holt, (D-NJ) will introduce a bill to require that a receipt for electronic voting be provided at the ballot box. They will try to get the bill passed by the November, 2004 elections.

Boxer's bill would provide emergency funding for counties across the country to accommodate printers, expected to cost at least $500 per machine.

...Voting rights advocates and computer scientists have argued that paperless voting machines such as touchscreen terminals expose elections to hackers, software bugs and mechanical failures. But voting equipment companies and county registrars say requiring paper records would dramatically increase the cost and complexity of voting.

Some voting companies expressed doubt they could comply in time for the November elections. They need to try harder. Work overtime. Whatever it takes.

An 11 year old pleaded guilty today in New Jersey to kidnapping and killing a toddler when he was 10. Aaron Kean was not charged as an adult. The Court sentenced him to 18 years in the custody of the juvenile justice system.

Under terms of the sentence, he will be evaluated periodically and could be released at any time it is determined that he is rehabilitated. If he is released early, he would be subject to six years of supervision.

Kean is expected to be sent out of state to a specialized children's mental health facility. This is how child offenders should be treated--through attempts at rehabilitation. Not like Florida treated Lionel Tate.

After a three hour hearing in the Detroit terror trial case today, Judge Gerald Rosen said the Government should have provided a letter to the defense that might have impeached the credibility of its star witness. Background on the hearing is here and here.

The Judge didn't rule today, saying he needed to hear more evidence. Several prosecutors testified the letter should have been turned over:

Several Justice Department lawyers on Friday conceded the evidence should have been turned over. And assistant U.S. Attorney Alan Gershel said he ordered Keith Corbett, one of the prosecutors at trial, to turn over the letter from gang leader Milton "Butch" Jones.

"Oh, eloquent profanity, it rolls right off my tongue" (Roll Um Easy, Little Feat, Linda Ronstadt)

This is one bill we would love to see live debate on:

HR 3687 IH, 108th CONGRESS, 1st Session

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, December 8, 2003

Mr. OSE (for himself and Mr. SMITH of Texas) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL (Introduced in House)

To amend section 1464 of title 18, United States Code, to provide for the punishment of certain profane broadcasts, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That section 1464 of title 18, United States Code, is amended--

(1) by inserting `(a)' before `Whoever'; and

(2) by adding at the end the following:

`(b) As used in this section, the term `profane', used with respect to language, includes the words `[ enumerates profane words] compound use (including hyphenated compounds) of such words and phrases with each other or with other words or phrases, and other grammatical forms of such words and phrases (including verb, adjective, gerund, participle, and infinitive forms).'.

Hopefully Atrios or someone who doesn't care about censor blocking software will print the actual words. If not, go here and type in "HR 3687.

One lawyer who read the bill speculates that it just a step toward re-instating blasphemy laws. He says "Profane" is a religious term and refers to blasphemy" and "The antonym to "profane" is "sacred."

Update: Atrios has the actual language up here.

Update: From Urban Legends, origin of the F* word

Daily Kos reports on the newest Iowa poll, taken after Al Gore officially endorsed Howard Dean:

Dec. 8 - 10 numbers (November results are in parentheses):

Dean 42 (32)
Gephardt 23 (22)
Kerry 19 (15)
Edwards 10 (11)
Other 7 (10)
Undecided 4 (6)

Civil rights groups held a press conference Thursday to demand that the Justice Dept. drop its civil suit against Greenpeace:

...leaders from national environmental and civil liberties groups called on Attorney General John Ashcroft to drop a criminal case against Greenpeace USA pending in Miami, which could set a dangerous precedent threatening Americans' First Amendment right to peaceful protest.

The criminal prosecution of an advocacy group for the free speech activities of its members – and the chilling effect on its activities – is unprecedented in the U.S. A Greenpeace motion to dismiss will be heard in Miami federal court tomorrow in the case, which charges Greenpeace with criminal conspiracy and unlawful boarding.

For background on the case, go here.

Our thoughts and best wishes are with Time Magazine senior correspondent Michael Weisskoph who lost a hand today in Iraq during a grenade attack on his vehicle. Weisskoph picked up the grenade to throw it out of the Humvee he was riding in when it exploded. He also suffered serious shrapnal wounds to his chest and arms. Time photographer James Nachtwey and two soldiers were also in the vehicle. All received some injuries.

Time would not offer details on the incident. But a memo sent to Weisskopf's former colleagues at The Washington Post said he picked up the grenade and tossed it out of the Humvee. It exploded, blowing off his hand and wounding him in the chest and arms. The memo said Nachtwey received shrapnel wounds that were not as serious.

"According to people he works with at Time, he picked up the grenade and tossed it out, losing his right hand in the process while saving four lives," the memo said.

The memo said Weisskopf's wife, Judith, had spoken with him and he was eager to return home. He was to return to Washington within a few days, the memo said.

Gina Marie Santore beat out 80 contestants to win a date with Presidential hopeful Dennis Kucinich. The contest was sponsored by Politics NH with Kucinich's approval. Details of the date:

The two met Thursday morning in the lobby of a downtown hotel and later discussed health care, medical malpractice and prescription drugs over oatmeal at a restaurant.

[Santore] said she works as a confidential aide to the Camden County sheriff in southern New Jersey and lives with her boyfriend. Kucinich attracted her attention, she said, because she found his views "intoxicating."

Lives with her boyfriend? A breakfast date? Sounds like either the contest sponsors or Kucinich wanted to make sure the date didn't go anywhere.

In what is being called a "bombshell" in Germany, a German judge today freed 9/11 terror suspect Abdelghani Mzoudi who had been jailed since October, 2002 on charges he was an accessory to 3,066 counts of murder in the 9/11 attacks. The ruling could cause the reversal of the conviction of another suspect who was sentenced to 15 years.

Judge Klaus Ruehle expressed doubt today that the defendant had knowledge of the attacks. "There is the serious possibility that Mzoudi, despite his involvement and his visit to Afghanistan, was deliberately excluded from planning for the attacks and did not consciously provide a supportive role," the judge said, according to Reuters.

By implication, the judge's decision also raised questions about the conviction of another man in the case, Mounir el-Motassadeq, who was sentenced this year to 15 years after being convicted of similar charges. After Judge Ruehle's action to free Mr. Mzoudi, Mr. Motassadeq's lawyers immediately filed papers seeking his release and renewed their appeal of his conviction.

George Bush is unelectable. That's our opinion and we're sticking to it. Pass it on. So that when people go to google and search for "unelectable," guess what will come up. It's not there yet, but remember " miserable failure "--it doesn't take long.

Update: check this out.

Who would have thought it? Justice Scalia pulled the stop switch on the texecution of Kevin Lee Zimmerman yesterday due to a pending lawuit over whether the combination of lethal injection drugs used to kill inmates violates the cruel and unusual punishment ban of the 8th Amendment.

This is the second texecution stopped in the past two days over this issue. The drug at issue is pancuronium bromide, and we have written about the controversy several times, including here .

Pancuronium bromide paralyzes the skeletal muscles but does not affect the brain or nerves. A person injected with it remains conscious but cannot move or speak. The drug has been banned in Tennessee--for use by vetinarians performing euthanasia on animals. Yet Tennesse and 30 other states use it to kill inmates.

Scalia's order came with only 20 minutes to spare. Zimmerman was not happy.

"I'm disappointed," Zimmerman told Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokeswoman Michelle Lyons. "I was ready to go. The stay only means 18 more months of this crap."