Democrats are stirring it up in the raging family feud of a GOP primary in South Jersey's Third Congressional District.

The state Democratic Committee financed a brochure, which began arriving in Republican households in Burlington County yesterday. It attacks candidate Chris Myers of Medford, sending a signal that Democrats are picking a preferred opponent for the fall - Ocean County Freeholder Jack Kelly.

Rather than sitting back in our foxholes, patiently waiting for the inevitable attacks to be lobbed our way, we're able to take the fight and the PR battle to them.

http://www.vinofossella.com/

http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2008/03/expelled.php

I went to attend a screening of the creationist propaganda movie, Expelled, a few minutes ago. Well, I tried … but I was Expelled! It was kind of weird — I was standing in line, hadn't even gotten to the point where I had to sign in and show ID, and a policeman pulled me out of line and told me I could not go in. I asked why, of course, and he said that a producer of the film had specifically instructed him that I was not to be allowed to attend. The officer also told me that if I tried to go in, I would be arrested.

Isn't it sad how the right wingers have to throw people out of political rallies and even movie screenings to protect their message?  You'd think they'd have the courage of their convictions.

The US intends to supply Mexico with a $1bn aid package to help combat an increasingly costly and violent war against drugs, according to a top Mexican diplomat.

Few comments have mentioned that according to statistics available through icasualty.org casualty rates in Iraq have always dropped in the winter.

I recall this point being made when the idea of a surge was first proposed, and the thought that the surge might have been proposed to take advantage of such a decrease in violence and casualties, both from tactical and public relations stand points.

(h/t to various TPM Muckraker commenters)

The prosecutor purge scandal seems to gravitate around some very interesting machinations involving the candidates for United States Attorney for the District of Utah.

When the position opened up in early 2006, two candidates--one from the executive branch and one from the legislative--surfaced. A former White House staffer and then Chief of Staff for the Attorney General, Kyle Sampson, was favored by White House and Department of Justice officials, while influential Utah Senator and former Senate Judiciary Chair Orrin Hatch preferred former Utah federal prosecutor and Judiciary staffer Brett Tolman.

BusRadio is a new Massachusetts-based company created to force children to listen to commercial radio broadcasts on school buses around the country.

BusRadio boasts that it will “take targeted student marketing to the next level” and provide companies with a “captive audience” who, unlike listeners to commercial radio, are unable to change the station during ads.

When is America going to wake up and start putting things together:  Government cuts funding of schools (to fight wars, fund tax cuts, etc, etc), so the school district doesn't have the money to provide the services one would expect.  So they seek alternative funding: soda machines, radio on buses, naming rights, etc.  

-a gross clinic indeed

So a highly regarding teaching institution is forced to contemplate the sale of a seminal piece of its own history in order to fund its mission of medical education and health care. Thomas Jefferson University Hospital cannot educate the doctors, nurses and other medical professionals of the 21st century without an influx of money to build out its facilities. So an historical piece of artwork - Thomas Eakins' masterpiece The Gross Clinic, irrevocably identified with Philadelphia and the University where it was painted - has been optioned to the National Gallery and an Arkansas museum funded by Wal-Mart heirs. The sale will fetch $68 million if it goes through, although there is a 45 day window to allow the Philadelphia fine arts community to attempt to match the offer.