There is good news and bad news. The bad news first: on September 11, 2003 Bush called for expansion of the “Patriot” act. Lawrence O’Rourke reports that Bush’s justification was that “current law ties the hand of law enforcement….” The current version of the “Patriot” act “doesn’t go far enough.” Bush wants the government to be able to issue subpoenas without grand jury approval, hold suspects without bail, pursue the death penalty in more cases, revoke citizenship of suspects, forbid release of any information about them (they disappear), and collect a DNA database. According to O’Rourke, “With Attorney General John Ashcroft seated nearby, Bush acknowledged he was calling for ‘extraordinary measures’ in expanding police powers….” At least we got a smidgen of honesty from him on Wednesday (mark it on your calendar.)

The White House persists in its strange logic. On the one hand it argues in its “progress report” on the war on terror that we are not sufficiently knowledgeable of terrorist networks and need these tools to get that information, it proceeds to crow that “two-thirds” of al-Qaida’s leaders have been killed or captured. To quantify the take, one must know the total from which the subtraction was made. If we don’t know who is involved in al-Qaida, how can we know 2/3 have been captured?

The good news is on a different front: the 3rd circuit court has stayed the Michael Powell’s media ownership expansion cabal. What’s more Sens. Dorgan (ND) and Lott (Miss) (can you believe it?!) are initiating legislation to set it aside in a “congressional veto” of the commission’s ruling. At least someone was listening to the public’s outcry regarding media concentration and its potential domination of information systems and potential for manipulation of the public beyond its present power. Trent Lott…I’m still stunned.