The Manning Support Network’s focus will now be on ensuring his trial is not secret. They believe the public has a right to decide for themselves based on evidence presented whether he is guilty or not, as the trial unfolds.

Despite all the interest and questions/answers relating to Medicare, there was no one on the show who could enlighten us on what really matters. We had a liar, an uninformed interviewer who may believe the lies, and a compromised Democrat who had to protect Obama’s deals rather than fight not only for the people who actually need Medicare but for a structure that benefits everyone else too.

The cover of Freedom Riders: 1961 and the Struggle for Racial Justice features a dramatic picture of a burning bus and the mug shots of Freedom Riders who’d been jailed in the notorious Parchman Mississippi State Prison. Most of us are familiar with these images. Ray Arsenault’s book provides the stories behind the pictures — and so much more.

I guess some people tied to the anthrax case believe if you keep repeating the story, “Bruce Ivins stalked women, so he must have tried to kill Patrick Leahy” enough times, people will continue to believe it.

The polling on the Republican 2012 field is just as schizo and crazy as the party itself. Huck, Willard, The Reality Show Guy, The Quitter and now Rudy — have all been the front-runner at one time or another. Granted, Rudy’s stay atop the field isn’t going to last very long. At some point, it will occur to the Teabaggers that the thrice-married former Mayor of Jew New York City used to be pro-choice, pro-gay, pro-gun control — and other than 9/11 (which no one thinks is cool anymore) — has no rationale whatsoever for running for president. But Rudy’s renaissance will be even briefer if he keeps saying stuff like this.

Intellectual dishonesty is the hallmark of the conservative majority on the Supreme Court. It poisons the nation.

It’s a shocking historical juxtaposition. The pro-democracy movement known as the Arab Spring is in significant part a consequence of rising literacy and declining birth rates in the Mideast. Meanwhile, in the U.S., the Right is mounting a direct assault on education and a renewed war on contraception. This ought to tell us something.

A week ago, George Will advised Tim Pawlenty that now was the moment for him to make his move. On ABC’s This Week, Pawlenty did so. He got in the “let’s play chicken with the debt limit” car and headed it straight towards the cliff, joining the growing list of Tea-GOP presidential wannabes who should never be given a license to drive.

A tropical storm will rake the east coast of Japan over the next couple of days, bringing heavy rain and strong winds to Fukushima Prefecture. NHK reports, “Japan’s Meteorological Agency says heavy rain is expected in the area around the power plant beginning on Sunday night. In some areas, torrential rain and strong wind are expected from Monday to Tuesday.”

It’s Memorial Day, where I wander around the neighborhood collecting cheezburgers.

Memorial Day’s always been a conflicted holiday for me. A day dedicated to honoring those killed in action defending the country, and yet it’s the first big outdoor bash of the summer season. Growing up, ’twas opening day of the swimming pool, and just about the last day of school – happy excitement. Huge contrast to the death and destruction of wars. TROOPS.HOME.NOW.