This from Reuters:
While there was no immediate word on the condition of the 59-year-old senator, the source, who is familiar with Johnson’s situation, said surgeons sought to remedy an unspecified medical problem.
Just hours after Johnson was admitted to George Washington University Hospital, a spokeswoman for him said the senator had not suffered a stroke. She [...]

Sorry readers, I jumped the gun. My apologies for that. And it looks as if he’s doing better.
From the AP:
Johnson, who turns 60 on Dec. 28, was admitted to George Washington University Hospital with an undiagnosed illness, said a spokeswoman, Julianne Fisher.
She said, however, the senator did not suffer a stroke or heart attack. His [...]

First, my thoughts and prayers are with Senator Johnson and his family. Let’s hope this is not a life-threatenting event.
Second, a statement from his office…
“Senator Tim Johnson was taken to George Washington University Hospital this afternoon suffering from a possible stroke. As this stage, he is undergoing a comprehensive evaluation by the stroke team. [...]

Not Michael Steele, as previously rumored. But Florida Sen. Mel Martinez.
This seems like an odd pick. Martinez will remain in the Senate, limiting how active he can be with the RNC. And he’s not exactly someone who captures the imagination and energizes the party. In fact, he barely squeaked into office on Bush’s coattails in [...]

I just heard NPR refer to an AP report that Donald Rumsfeld is stepping down. A White House announcement is expected later today.
More as it develops.
Update: The AP story.
Asked whether his announcement signaled a new direction in the war that has claimed the lives of more than 2,800 U.S. troops, Bush said, “Well, there’s certainly [...]

Financial, not moral.
Think Progress reported it a month ago, but nothing came of it. But they clearly were on to something. Air America said it only recently decided to file after negotiations with a key financial backer fell through, but it’s been obvious they were having money troubles for a long time.
They’re going to stay [...]

Yeah, right.
Either that’s standard chintzy cover for an under-the-table deal with Hillary (a deal cozy?), or it’s true and therefore he’s the man we would have wanted for president: the man sane enough not to want to run for president. The Great American Catch-22.
I have never shared other centrists’ enthusiasm for Warner. [...]

We may have a prospective new Democratic candidate for my Hall of Shame.
Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid collected a $1.1 million windfall on a Las Vegas land sale even though he hadn’t personally owned the property for three years, property deeds show.
In the process, Reid did not disclose to Congress an earlier sale in which [...]

Apparently it was the plane of Yankee’s pitcher, Corey Lidle.
From NY Times:
Corey Lidle, a pitcher for the New York Yankees, was killed today when his small private plane crashed into a residential high-rise building on New York City’s Upper East Side, igniting several apartments before pieces of the aircraft crashed to the ground, a high [...]

Ooooh, Mr. Bush calls the North Korean nuclear test “unacceptable.” Which is just what he called it before they carried out the test.
Unacceptable. What is that, the magic word, Mr. President? Unacceptable?
It’s a pity the Japanese didn’t think of this in 1945. If only they had announced that nuclear weapons were “unacceptable.”
And now we’re [...]

This post might make you feel better. And I stress might.
However, first I acknowledge that I’ve been posting a lot about this story, and that’s because there’s a LOT to post about. Just today, Tom Reynolds’ Chief of Staff resigned. Big story that points toward a coverup? Quite possibly.
Also, this story isn’t even a week [...]

I’ve got my own takes on the detainee bill and the warrantless wiretapping bill. But Matthew Yglesias at the American Prospect asks an interesting question: Has the U.S. become a rogue state?
Agree or not, it’s a thought-provoking read.

The Bush administration has declassified and released (pdf) the summary of the National Intelligence Estimate that was partially leaked last week.
I’m not sure why Bush thinks this validates his strategy, or demonstrates that the leak was misleadingly narrow.
Here’s my summary of the summary.

A friend of mine got some Iranian news sources which reveal a lot of strange theological powers being given to Ahmedinejad, including the fact that he saw a halo around himself and that he might be the next Muslim Prophet. I have a full list here.

The latest USA TODAY/Gallup Poll indicates that the recent string of speeches by the President have improved both his approval ratings and the prospects of the Republican Party to hold control of the House and the Senate. The data adds substantiation to other recent polling that seems to be trending in favor of the GOP. [...]

I wake up to this heads-up from The Walrus Said:
Bigger than 9/11
This is the kind of attack Al-Qaeda is threatening against the US, warning all American Muslims to flee New York and Washington.
From an interview with Abu Dawood, the newly appointed commander of the al Qaeda forces in Afghanistan, by journalist Hamid Mir.
It is headlined:
Exclusive [...]

After months of denial, Rep. Robert Ney has pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy and making false statements in the Jack Abramoff scandal.
This isn’t a wrist slap, either.
The maximum sentence for the two counts is 10 years, but the Justice Department and Ney’s lawyers agreed on a sentencing recommendation of 27 months in prison, [...]

…Richard Armitage.
Former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage was the source who revealed the identity of CIA officer Valerie Plame to syndicated columnist Robert Novak in 2003, touching off a federal investigation, two sources familiar with Armitage’s role tell CNN.
The sources said Armitage revealed Plame’s role at the CIA almost inadvertently in a casual conversation [...]

There are more signs that the wheels may be about to fall off the economy and the Federal Reserve seems a bit nervous about how to best insure that doesn’t happen. The prevailing question at the moment centers on whether to continue the long string of rate hikes in order to keep inflation in check [...]

You know, it’s bad enough that my birthday falls the day after Sept. 11; talk about a buzzkiller.
Now there’s this:
Yisrayl Hawkins, well known Bible scholar and author, reports that the Bible predicts the exact date and the location that nuclear war will begin. Hawkins states that the current crisis in the Middle East will go [...]