Ok a bunch of things to mention tonight.

One:

White House, McCain in deal on torture measure

"Bowing to bipartisan pressure after months of resistance, President George W. Bush agreed on Thursday to back legislation proposed by Sen. John McCain to ban inhumane treatment of prisoners in U.S. custody."

The fact that this administration fought the banning of torture tooth and nail makes me feel sick inside, and dirty. But alas lets look positively on the developments. The administration has finally agreed to support this crucial bill which is a question of morality, morality of this country. But I can't help but believe that this move was not a move having anything to do with shrub or seeing his moral imperative to not become what we are fighting, but of more a political move. He desperately needed some positive news and this and the next item demonstrates this fact. One final thought on this development.

"Rep. Jane Harman (news, bio, voting record) of California, top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, issued a statement saying: 'Today's agreement by the White House and congressional leaders means that interrogators will be given clear, unambiguous rules to follow. ... The fog of law is lifting. America's black eye is finally healing.'"

I truly hope so. Time will tell.

Two:

US to spend $3 bln on New Orleans levees

"The White House said on Thursday it had agreed to spend about $3.1 billion to strengthen the New Orleans levee system, a critical move in reviving the city devastated by Hurricane Katrina in August."

Excellent, my next question is, will this prevent another tragedy like what happened in August from happening again? And how will the citizens of New Orleans respond? Will they rebuild smarter? Will the local government come up with better plans for emergency situations? Will the federal government reform enough to adequately support the aftermath of the next catastrophe? Let's hope so.

Three:

Report: Bush Permitted NSA to Spy in U.S.

"President Bush authorized the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on Americans and others inside the United States - without getting search warrants - following the Sept. 11 attacks, The New York Times reports.

The presidential order, which Bush signed in 2002, has allowed the agency to monitor the international phone calls and international e-mails of hundreds, and perhaps thousands, of people inside the United States, according to a story posted Thursday on the Times' Web site."

Well this is just great, really. Will someone please stand up and tell these power hungry bastards that we are a free country and we will not stand for having our liberties, our right to privacy chipped away at? Seriously these people will keep doing this. Its wrong, it fundamentally opposed to everything this country was founded on, and if we just keep ignoring it and let them do as they will one day we will turn around and we will have no freedom left. This is the aim, I believe, of these people. Watch out America!

And finally four:

Feingold Now Has Numbers on His Side

"In Congress, where numbers are everything, the math on the Patriot Act suddenly seems to be moving in favor of Sen. Russell Feingold.

He was a minority of one four years ago, when the Wisconsin Democrat cast the lone Senate vote against the USA Patriot Act in the traumatic weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks. The law, he said then, gave government too much power to investigate its citizens. Ninety-nine senators disagreed.

Now add more than two dozen senators to Feingold's side, including the leaders of his party and some of the chamber's most conservative Republicans, and the balance of power shifts."

Also now Senator Chuck Hagel, a senior republican senator has joined the ranks of people speaking up for our rights. Thank you Chuck Hagel for having the moral imperative to stand up against this wrong headedness of the administration. The Patriot Act, CAN be a good thing to protect us, but not before some MAJOR changes are made to it first. The answer is not to blindly approve it like we did in those dark days immediately after September 11th. This time we would be voting to make these laws permanent, and that is not something to rush into.