Let me be the first person to suggest, in the name of protecting our children, that every member of the House Republican caucus be arrested and sent immediately to prison.

I understand that no one has been charged with a crime here. Certainly, no one has been tried and convicted. But here's the really important question. . .

Can we afford to wait while the threat gathers?

RUSSERT: With us this morning is the minority leader of the United States Senate, Harry Reid of Nevada. Welcome, Senator Reid.

REID: Thank you, Tim. It's nice to be here.

RUSSERT: Senator, President Bush launched a bold initiative this week designed to convince the American people that the Earth is flat. Do you agree with him?

REID: No I don't, Tim. The Earth is round.

RUSSERT: Senator, are you calling President Bush a liar?

REID: I don't know if he's lying or delusional, but he's certainly wrong. The Earth is round.

RUSSERT: Senator, are you sure you stand by that?

REID: Absolutely.

RUSSERT: The reason I ask is that just this morning the White House released a transcript of a communication received yesterday from Osama Bin Laden, in which Bin Laden says that he thinks the Earth is round. Are you sharing talking points with terrorists, Senator?

REID: Tim, have you been sniffing glue?

Having read some right-wing blogs, as well as the New York Post and New York Sun, I think I've figured out the Wingnut "logic" regarding the Air America "controversy":

1. Allegations have been made regarding a financial transaction between the Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Club and Progress Media (particularly Evan Cohen).

2. Progress Media once owned Air America Radio.

3. Al Franken has a show on Air America Radio.

Therefore. . .

Al Franken stole money from poor children.

See how easy that is!

Given that George W. Bush was pushing the "Intelligent Design" stuff earlier in the week and James Dobson was comparing stem-cell research to Nazi science experiments, I thought I would work up another GOP science quiz. All real answers are "C". All Republican answers are "D". (And all mistakes are my own)

Here's to keeping schoolkids (especially in Kansas) stupid and totally unprepared for life in the 21st century.

What organization is credited with inventing the microprocessor?

A. IBM
B. General Electric
C. Intel Corporation
D. Swift Boat Veterans for Truth

What event likely caused dinosaurs to become extinct roughly 65 million years ago?

A. Tidal wave
B. Disease
C. A comet impacting the Earth
D. Gay-pride parade

A few quotes from Bush's convention speech in Philadelphia in August of 2000. My favorites are the ones that champion "responsibility."

"A generation shaped by Vietnam must remember the lessons of Vietnam: When America uses force in the world, the cause must be just, the goal must be clear, and the victory must be overwhelming."

"He (Gore) now leads -- he now leads the party of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, but the only thing he has to offer is fear itself."

"Instead, we must usher in an era of responsibility."

How many can you get right? Here's a hint, the answer to every question is "D".

This is my original work, so any mistakes are my own. . .

Where was George W. Bush born?

A. Crawford, Texas
B. Austin, Texas
C. Houston, Texas
D. New Haven, Connecticut

Who won the popular vote in the 2000 Presidential Election?

A. Ralph Nader
B. Bill Bradley
C. George W. Bush
D. Al Gore

My fellow Americans:

I address you tonight at a crucial juncture of my Presidency. The carnage in Iraq continues with no end in sight. The Downing Street Memos have proven that most of my statements before the war started were outright lies. And my approval ratings are in the tank, with even a few Republicans starting to question my sanity.

So tonight, in front of the soldiers I've exploited so many times before, I ask for your help in doing what must be done. My fellow citizens, we must undertake an initiative to blame the entire Iraq fiasco on liberals.

Before I get into the operational aspects of our mission, I thought I'd do my best to answer a few questions that have lingered for some time now -- particularly the question of why we're in Iraq.

Randi Rhodes just played another audio clip from Rove, where he's talking about an ad that MoveOn.org supposedly placed in the New York Times after 9/11 asking for understanding and tolerance of the Taliban.

Dear Senator McCain:

I caught your appearance on "Meet The Press" yesterday.

You indicated that you thought Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) should apologize for recent comments he made regarding prison torture.

To that, I have only this to say:

I wish you were half as interested in George W. Bush's lies as you are in Dick Durbin's truths.

While you're on your "I demand an apology" kick, would you be interested in demanding one from the President of the United States for lying the nation into war?

Where, sir, is your sense of proportion?

Sincerely,

The Reality-Based Community

MATTHEWS: Good evening, I'm Chris Matthews. Tonight on Hardball, we reopen the great scientific debate. . . is the Earth flat or round? Our guests include Dr. Max Cranium, professor of astrophysics at the California Institute of Technology, and Ken Mehlman, chairman of the Republican National Committee.

MEHLMAN: Thanks for having me, Chris.

CRANIUM: Did you say this was a great scientific debate? There's nothing to debate about the shape of the Earth, Chris.

MATTHEWS: Now professor, you know how my show works. Every argument has two sides, and we're obligated to hear them both.

CRANIUM: This isn't a debate. This isn't an argument. The Earth is round.

Am I the only one going crazy watching John Conyers carry the load by himself on this? I know several House Democrats have signed his letters, but the lack of coordination and lack of participation by our Senate "heavy hitters" -- Reid, Kerry, Biden, Bayh, Boxer, Feingold, etc -- is beyond depressing.

Let me start by assuring you that I am a sane, college-educated professional. Let me also say that this proposal - on the surface - sounds cheap and ridiculous.

Since May 1, I have busted tail trying to encourage media coverage of the Downing Street Memo, including writing letters to my local paper (the Indianapolis Star). My brother has made the same effort, writing letters and sending e-mails to a variety of media outlets. I've posted two of his letters as diaries on Daily Kos.

Nearly one month later, the media silence remains deafening. I know all of you share my frustration at the lack of coverage. The world is truly upside down when a finger in a bowl of chili is news, but the President of the United States lying a nation into war isn't.

Eric Alterman asked Democrats last week to try and articulate what we truly believe. I obviously can't speak for everyone, but I still came up with my own list and wanted to share it. With Repugs running everything, we should all have a long time to think about this stuff. . .

I believe the President of the United States should tell our troops - and the nation - the truth about why we do or do not go to war.

I believe it helps to have global allies when fighting a global war on terror.

I believe we should immediately undertake initiatives to secure our ports, railways, chemical plants and nuclear plants.

I believe that vets returning to the United States from wars abroad should have every possible resource available to aid in whatever physical or mental rehabilitation they might need.

Dear Mr. Woodward:

Please allow me to express my sadness and regret that the Washington Post -- the newspaper of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein -- has apparently decided that it's better to stay "on message" on behalf of the Bush administration than it is to dig for the truth about America's run-up to war with Iraq.

In heaven's name, sir, where is your newspaper's coverage of the so-called "Downing Street memo"? So far, there's been but a single news story about this item in the Post -- written by Mr. Pincus, two weeks after the story first broke in Europe, and absolutely buried by Post editors on page A-18. (One blogger noted that "it was right after 'Marmaduke.'")

The Repugnicans are up in arms about this University of Connecticut survey showing that journalists went for John Kerry 68-25 over Bush last November.

Joe Scarborough and the rest of the Kool-Aid Brigade need to know that there's a fairly reasonable explanation for this. . .

Journalists are, for the most part, educated professionals for whom facts actually matter and who call the reality-based world home.

Dear Sir:

This is a godawful headline that doesn't even begin to capture what's truly crucial about this story. And how could the newspaper of Woodward and Bernstein bury it on Page A-18? Instead of tackling what's undeniably the scandal of our time, the Post waited more than two weeks after this story first broke in Europe to report on it thoroughly, and then seemingly tried to hide it. Why?

Good evening.

We begin tonight in the Middle East, where a wave of car bombs killed 44 people -- including six United States military personnel. The first two bombings occurred near security checkpoints in downtown Baghdad, capping off a bloody week of activity that included the beheadings of three international journalists, a late-night RPG attack on a hotel, and multiple oil pipeline explosions that analysts believe could temporarily cripple exports out of the region. The remaining bombings occurred in Tehran, where insurgents have promised escalated violence in anticipation of the tenth anniversary of the initial United States attacks on Iran.

American combat deaths in the region now total nearly 13,000 since the start of Iraq war in March, 2003, with the majority of this year's casualties occuring in Iran and Syria.