Today's headlines

State and Local

Rep. Katherine Harris made extra political efforts for defense contractor Mitchell Wade, the principal owner of MZM who pleaded guilty to bribing Rep. "Duke" Cunningham. Wade also made illegal contributions to Harris's campaign. A Justice Department investigation is ongoing. -LINK-

Let's get this straight: Harris is handed $32,000 in checks by an executive who wants a $10-million defense contract, she dines with him to discuss the request and then she writes a letter specifically for his project after her other appropriations requests were submitted? And she is unclear about the intent? - St. Petersburg Times

Tom Gallagher, candidate for governor and Bush crony, faces questions over money deals. The state's chief financial officer also made questionable stock trades -- while day-trading in his government office ... but, hey, he's a "family man" protecting Florida from the evil homosexuals. -LINK-

Gallagher fast making inroads with the religious right. -LINK-

Man's tongue-wag lands him in jail ... facing 15-year prison sentence. -LINK-

Ex-gay movement focusing bogus therapies on gay youth. -LINK 1- LINK 2-

National

Senate approves renewal of "Scoundrel Act". Give loss of liberty a catchy title -- Patriot Act, terrorist surveillance -- and dare spineless politicians to oppose it. -LINK-

House plans to rewrite FISA spy program, giving Congress "more oversight" -- yet another brass-balled Republican attempt to cover up Bush's illegal deeds, this time by retroactively permitting the lawbreaking. When excuses for arrogance, incompetence and criminality cannot be ignored, legalize it. -LINK-

Senate GOP faces vote to increase Bush's $8.2 TRILLION national debt limit. It's called Republican economics: Reward the rich with huge tax breaks first, and eventually the wealth will trickle down to minimum-wage workers, the old, and those with no health insurance. So... what's your share of the "trickle-down" national debt? -LINK-

Battle brewing over food label warnings... cooking up a recipe to keep consumers as ignorant as Congress. -LINK-

Evangelical broadcasters tune out Pat Robertson. Is it real -- or a change of image? -LINK-

World

Lebanon's leaders try to resolve divisions. -LINK-

Bush faces fallout from nuclear deal with India. Hypocrisy? Naw... he "hearts" India and hates Iran, and he's never wrong. And what do we do in 10 years when India owns our technology -- and asks us to get out of their country (say, like Iran, 1979)? -LINK-

India's nuclear program has previously mixed civilian and military purposes. But the accord announced in New Delhi would place 14 of India's 22 nuclear reactors under civilian inspection regimes by 2014.

The phase-in and the possibility that breeder reactors may never come under such a regime have drawn fire from critics. "This deal not only lets India amass as many nuclear weapons as it wants, it looks like we made no effort to try to curtail them," said George Perkovich, vice-president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. - theage.com.au

Bush not deterred from visit by suicide bombing in Pakistan. Pfft! He's a brave war leader -- and Cheney is hunting dumb birds elsewhere. -LINK-