Insult Canada & throw bloggers in jail...

From American Progress:

Think Fast

96: the total number of troops who have died so far this month in Iraq, the bloodiest since October 2005. Five American troops were killed during fighting in Anbar Province yesterday.

According to Matt Drudge, both NBC and The CW television networks have refused to air ads for the new Dixie Chicks documentary "Shut Up and Sing." NBC reportedly claims the network "cannot accept these spots as they are disparaging to President Bush."

Scott Howell, a close associate of Karl Rove, helped produce the racist ad targeting Harold Ford in Tennessee. A second producer of the ad, Terry Nelson, is a consultant to Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and Wal-Mart. Huff Post reports Nelson will be fired by Wal-Mart.

Responding to accusations made by Rush Limbaugh, Michael J. Fox said he was neither acting nor off his medication for Parkinson's disease. "The irony of it is that I was too medicated," Fox told CBS's Katie Couric, adding that his jumpy condition as he spoke to her reflected "a dearth of medication -- not by design. I just take it, and it kicks in when it kicks in."

President Bush, "who has not been talking about gay marriage" in recent weeks, "took pains to insert a reference" to gay marriage during an appearance yesterday in an effort to use "to rally dispirited conservatives to the polls."

A stark warning was delivered to Tony Blair and his cabinet yesterday by Sir Nicholas Stern, a former World Bank economist, about the potential economic effect of global warming. Stern argued "global warming could cost the world's economies up to 20 per cent of their gross domestic product (GDP) if urgent action is not taken to stop floods, storms and natural catastrophes."

Meanwhile, "the drive to tackle climate change gathered pace on Thursday as Morgan Stanley, the investment bank, announced a $3 billion plan to invest in the carbon trading market amid mounting evidence that some US states are growing more sympathetic to international action."

Amnesty International is asking bloggers to show their support for the plight of fellow bloggers jailed for what they wrote in their online journals. The organization says freedom of expression and privacy "are under threat from governments that want to control what their citizens say, and what information they can access."

Eighty-two percent of Americans believe Congress will set timetable for Iraq redeployment, and 63 percent believe Congress should set a timetable, according to a new USA Today/Gallup poll.

And finally: Blame Corker! Canada is upset over a campaign ad backing Tennessee Senate candidate Bob Corker which quotes a "man on the street" saying "Canada can take care of North Korea. They're not busy." The line is being perceived "in Canada as a suggestion that the country is a free rider when it comes to global security."

Wrap...