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Kristol isn't happy. I'M DISAPPOINTED, depressed and demoralized. I'm disappointed because I expected President Bush to nominate someone with a visible and distinguished constitutionalist track record--someone like Maura Corrigan, Alice Batchelder, Edith Jones, Priscilla Owen, or Janice Rogers Brown--to say...

For no particular reason, and in no particular order, here are some snippets of my own private dementia. I really dislike years that end in odd numbers. Writing an odd number on the end always bugs me. This year, 2005,...

Signs point to deadly gas

This is a really strange event. The unmentioned 500 lb. gorilla in the corner here is if this does turn out to be phosgene, how did it get to Salem, SD?

A deadly chemical once used in World War I might have led to the death of one woman and sickness of three others inside a Salem apartment complex, a prosecutor said Monday. Roger Gerlach, McCook County state's attorney, said in one report that early indicators are the substance detected inside the building might be phosgene. Phosgene can kill by attacking the lungs, causing them to swell. Vomiting is one of the symptoms. The chemical also is used to make plastics and pesticides, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

The initial incident report here, and this article raise more questions than they answer. Where would phosgene come from to get it into Salem, SD? A test by someone off nearby I-90? If so, a test for WHAT? This is definitely something to raise some red flags.

Name Of Chemical Released In Salem Investigation

At least the chemical poisoning incident was not caused by Phosgene, a military toxic gas. This was reported in the Argus as being the probable agent, but a different, but superficially related material was finally positively identified:

McCook County Emergency Management thinks it has identified the mysterious substance found in the four-plex last Friday. Test results from the South Dakota and Minnesota State Labs point to aluminum phosphide, a toxic chemical often used by farmers. The report also lists traces of the gas version of the chemical, called phosphine, which can be used as a fumigant.

This still leaves question as to the origin of the chemicals in an apartment building:

Authorities say aluminum phosphide is not a chemical that would normally be found inside of a home. But they also won't comment on if the chemical was put in the building to hurt those inside. "We're attempting to get results back on many many things until we get all that back we can't really say one way or the other," Gerlach said.

Remember this: anyone who tells you that free speech is alive and well on college campuses is a flat out liar. The First Amendment? Hell, they won't even let anyone tell the truth....

Here are two pieces on the Bill Bennett incident. Dennis Prager defends Bennett and Eugene Robinson attacks him. For those not in the loop, Bennett, former Secretary of Education in the Reagan administration and a commentator on morality policy, now...

Howard Fineman:With George W. Bush?s presidency mired in the muck of hurricanes and doubts about the war, you?d think Democrats would be bursting with energy, eagerly expecting to regain power. But, in a roomful of well-connected Democrats the other night,...

Rolling Stone is wondering if the anti-war movement is too fractured to be effective. Excerpt:But rather than centering the rally around vets like Gordon and family members like Palmatier and Frederick, organizers seemed intent on alienating them. Demonstrators carried papier-mache...

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