Michael Chertoff was confirmed 96-0 by the Senate today to serve as homeland security chief.

The ACLU response is here.

Law prof Glenn Reynolds makes a good point.

But, see, I'm a libertarian -- I've got no problem with gay male prostitutes. Or even gay female prostitutes (they have those, right?). Heck, I'd legalize prostitution -- gay and straight -- if it was up to me....What I don't quite get is when the Left became such a bunch of obsessively puritanical, curtain-peering Gladys Kravitz types. Lighten up, guys! It's only sex...

I've beem pretty astounded at all the people calling for Jeff Gannon's head because he may have been a prostitute. Go after him because he is a faux-journalist. Investigate whether he had inappropriate access to the White House or to leaked documents. Take him down if he did--and those that assisted him, whether they be gay or straight. But because he may have been a hooker? Sorry, you lose me there. I could care less.

Glenn's a libertarian. I'm a defense lawyer. Enforcing laws against prostitution and recreational drug use are a waste of time. And, I might point out, supported by the Bush administration. Why line up with them just to get Gannon?

by TChris

Conservative commentator Alan Keyes is teaching a lesson in family values.

Maya Keyes -- liberal, lesbian and a little lost -- finds herself out on her own. She says her parents -- conservative commentator and perennial candidate Alan Keyes and his wife, Jocelyn -- threw her out of their house, refused to pay her college tuition and stopped speaking to her. Maya, 19, says her parents cut her off because of who she is -- "a liberal queer."

The Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, having just gone through a major scandal over sexual assaults, is about to face another crisis --over ethics:

Prohibited conduct — academic cheating, intoxication on and off academy grounds, leaving the academy without permission and sex in dormitories — occurs "with enough frequency and impunity to indicate a serious likelihood that future incidents will subject the (academy) to public embarrassment and criticism," said the report by the Los Angeles-based Josephson Institute of Ethics.

Who's in charge? Doesn't the responsibility for choosing the head of a military Academy fall to the Defense Department? Maybe Rumsfeld needs to pay more attention to what's happening under his nose than on the other side of the world.

It's official, Howard Dean is the new Chair of the DNC.

The former Vermont governor and presidential candidate had promised to rebuild the state parties, take the offensive against Republicans, and better explain party positions on issues....House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, not always a Dean supporter, said Friday, "He has used the power of technology, the force of his personality and the depth of his ideals to bring new people into the party."

Congratulations, Dr. Dean. Let's give him the ammunition he needs to successfully reform our party. Here's a blogosphere-wide contribution page. Show some heart, give some applause.

Thanks to Daily Kos for setting it up and Atrios for spreading the word.

[Comments now closed, thread hijacked, it's about Howard Dean.]

Bush has promoted Karl Rove to deputy Chief of Staff.

Blogpac had an hour long conference call with Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) today. I only made the last half hour, so hopefully Markos, Jerome or Chris, Matt, John or Bob will be writing about it and can fill you in on the rest.

My first question to him had to do with crime legislation. It went something like this:

You introduce a lot of bills that you must realize don't have a chance of passing anytime soon - like the bill for a moratorium on the federal death penalty. Which ones do you think can succeed this year, and which will you work hardest for?

His answer went something like this.

I'll be participating in a blogger telephone conference call late today with Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI). I will be able to ask a question or two....If you have one you think would be worthwhile asking, feel free to leave it in the comments. [Note to right wingers here: Don't bother.]

Via Cursor:

"The Republican Party spin machine was bouncing around the like an overloaded washing machine on Sunday," writes Juan Cole, "attempting to obscure from the American public that they had by their actions managed to install a Shiite religious ruling class in Iraq."

Plus: Cole vs. Jonah Goldberg, rounds one and two.

E.J. Dionne writes today of how Bush and Republicans have played the race card both with respect to Alberto Gonzales and social security privatization. They want it both ways: No affirmative action, but every minority Republican nominee should get confirmed because otherwise it would be an insult to minorities everywhere.

Whenever a liberal raises concerns over whether a conservative initiative might damage the rights or interests of, say, African Americans or Latinos, that liberal is accused of being "politically correct" and playing the race card -- usually, just to make the sin sound really awful, off "the bottom of the deck." But increasingly, it is conservatives who are using political correctness to sidestep hard issues.

Recent example: Utah's Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch told Senators that "Every Hispanic in America is watching." Example two: Bush on social security:

A Senate committee approved Michael Chertoff today as Homeland Security Chief. The ACLU says:

The Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee today approved, by voice vote, the nomination of Michael Chertoff -- the force behind the detention of hundreds of Arab, South Asian and Muslim men after 9/11 -- to serve as the secretary of Homeland Security. The full Senate is expected to vote on his nomination later this week.

"Chertoff's record does not match his rhetoric," said Christopher E. Anders, an ACLU Legislative Counsel. "Saying you're committed to upholding the Bill of Rights is one thing. Actually doing it is another. His actions show that in his zealousness to provide security, fundamental freedoms too often became an obstacle to overcome rather than a guidepost to follow."

Here are the numbers from Bush's proposed Justice Department Budget:

Spending: $20.3 billion.
Percentage change from 2005: 1 percent.
Mandatory Outlays: $2.2 billion
Total Spending: $22.5 billion

Some Highlights:

• The FBI budget would increase by 11 percent, to $5.7 billion, including an increase of $294 million for counterterrorism and counterintelligence activities and $117 million for the intelligence program. Much of the proposed spending increase reflects the agency's top two priorities of combatting terrorism and foreign espionage.