Slate sums it up:

As part of the new security measures, Qanbar also said the government reserves the right to listen in on phone calls, open mail, and break into homes and cars.

Insert “American-style democracy” joke here.

I’ve talked about this before, but one of the things that surprised me the most about Washington, once I started to get to know it beyond monuments and museums, was how Congressmen are just like us. Which is to say, kinda stupid, if not actual idiots. One can chose to be amused by their antics (“I was on my way to a vote, officer!” and …

I think I’m going to suggest that the High Sheriffs here at TIME quit sending political reporters to these presidential announcements. Our theater critics could probably do a better job, considering that these events tend to be long on symbolism and showmanship, and virtually empty of substance or political import. You can always spot …

I guess not.

UPDATE UPDATE: Here’s the statement. Thanks, James.

A colleague observing the Libby trial writes:

Is it just me, or does this excerpt make it sound as though Bob Woodward conducts his interviews while plainly drunk?

Woodward is heard asking about Wilson and how he happened to make the trip. Armitage tells him: “his wife works at the agency” and says that she specializes in weapons of

…

Reporters’ comments on the bitter cold in Springfield during Obama’s announcement Saturday mostly amounted to color: The temperature gave another dimension to descriptions of the event and gave journalists a way to contextualize the enthusiasm his candidacy currently draws. The media’s complaints, though I’m sure quite genuine, seemed …

Commenter Terrapin has suggested:

I really do want to have a civil discussion about the way in which the GOP Smear Against the Majority Leader was handled by the press (meaning: you). This is purely for informational purposes only and not to cast any aspersions. … We want to how you heard about this, what calls you made to check up on

…

Trifecta, a frequent and critical (but we love him anyway) commenter here at Swampland, has in his own blog Newpairodimes directed our attention to yet another remarkably strange allocation of money at Homeland Security. The Boston Globe has a version of the story that is almost as much fun to read, but they make you register.

On CNN’s Late Edition today, Lt. Gen. Karl Eikenberry, the former commander of U.S. Forces in Afghanistan, told Wolf Blitzer:

The intelligence has gone cold on Osama bin Laden.

Commenters to this blog never tire of complaining that the much-reviled MSM does not point out the inconsistencies between John McCain’s reformer image and his current campaign tactics. To me, that suggests they are not reading the MSM. In fact, a major storyline of this campaign is the fight between McCain and, well, McCain. I wrote …