Vacationing Through the Good Stuff

Well, I'm off on what promises to be a spectacular trip through Europe, and I'm taking it during a shocking deluge of "fun" news stories that I'm going to miss*. Fun for us Democrats, that is:

• We've got the Prosecutor Purge - the Gonzales Eight that were fired for not prosecuting enough Democrats "before November" to blunt the Republican Culture of Corruption. Please note that the DOJ had already focused 87% of its investigations on Democrats, but that just wasn't enough for this hyperpartisan White House. You can get all your coverage on the Purge from Josh Marshall at TalkingPointsMemo and TPMMuckraker.
  

• We've got the new disclosure of the abuse of one of the most controversial provisions in the Patriot Act, the National Security Letters that the FBI can issue secretly, and without judicial oversight, to spy on Americans. Given that the signing statements Bush uses to defend this law breaking are a direct consequence of this Administration's theory of the Unitary Executive, my old compatriot Glenn Greenwald will be your go-to source. I've written about the consequences of this theory again and again.
  

• We've got the breakdown of VA care that the Democrats have been making noises about since I first started paying attention to politics. Have the heads stopped rolling? At least, in this Post-Rumsfeld era, people are being held accountable. You can thank the Democrats for that too.

• We've got the ongoing response to Ann Coulter's almost unbelievable slur against John Edwards. So far we've knocked the harridan off of seven of her distributor's newspapers and forced many of her advertisers off her site. Small victories on this one are all we should expect - she exemplifies the new Republican Party and they're going to keep her.
  

• Scooter Libby was just convicted, and the fallout continues - despite what Fox News says to the contrary. With Jurors publicly emphasizing Libby as the "fall guy," wondering aloud "where Rove" and "these other guys" are, and the "cloud over the Vice Presidency," could Libby flip? Given that guidelines say the applicant should have been convicted at least 5 years before the pardon, the pressure may be on. Could we have our sights on Big Time?
  

Were these stories occurring at any time during the last six years before the Democrats took power of both houses of Congress, they would no doubt languish - swept under the rug for Republican partisan considerations that seem to outweigh all responsibilities for good government. Now that we've got a Congress interested in fulfilling their duty of oversight, I wonder what will be different when I start absorbing news again in two weeks. Here's hoping it's a whole new world (but one where I can still be comfy).

I know it's going to be hard coping without my saber-like mind picking out (and apart) the gems for you during these two weeks, just as I know that the hundreds of thousands of other blogs out there could never fill that void. What can I say? You'll just have to deal - but stay away from the Oxycontin.

*It's an easy trade. :)