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NY Dem: Put 'Bullet Between Bush's Eyes'

In an outrageous remark that has at least one Republican calling for his resignation, New York State Comptroller Alan Hevesi said Thursday that a fellow New York Democrat would "put a bullet between the president's eyes if he could get away with it."

Introducing Sen. Charles Schumer at commencement exercises at New York City's Queens College, Hevesi began:

"The man who, how do I phrase this diplomatically, who will put a bullet between the president's eyes if he could get away with it. The toughest senator, the best representative. A great, great member of the Congress of the United States."

Hours later, Hevesi was forced to issue an apology.

"I apologize to the president of the United States" and to the fellow state politician, Sen. Charles Schumer, he said, in quotes picked up by the Associated Press.

"I am not a person of violence. I am apologizing as abjectly as I can. There is no excuse for it. It was beyond dumb."

"I do speak extemporaneously," Hevesi tried to explain. "And I've never said anything like this."

Though Schumer spokeswoman Risa Heller said the senator was satisfied with Hevesi's apology, there's no indication that he objected to the remarks at the time.

The incident prompted at least one Republican to call on Hevesi to resign his office.

"Threats against the president are no joke, and this incident raises real concerns about Alan Hevesi's fitness to hold public office," GOP Comptroller nominee J. Christopher Callaghan complained.

Tracking Chip Implants Proposed for Legal Immigrants

A Florida company wants to implant its Radio Frequency Identification tags in immigrants and guest workers so they can be identified at the workplace.

Scott Silverman, chairman of the Delray Beach-based VeriChip Corporation, said in a "Fox & Friends” TV interview that its RFID implant could be used to register workers at the border, and then verify their identities on the job.

Illegal immigrants could then be readily distinguished from those who registered.

Silverman said: "We have talked to many people in Washington about using it.”

The VeriChip RFID tag is about the size of a large grain of rice and can be injected directly into the body. An antenna in the chip sends data, according to the Web site Technovelgy.com.

The chip doesn’t require a battery and has a virtually unlimited lifespan.
RFID tags have been used to identify livestock, laboratory animals and pets, but privacy advocates have expressed concerns about the technology being used in human beings.

VeriChips are legal for implantation in people in the U.S., although a bill now under consideration in the Wisconsin legislature would ban mandatory implantation of the chips.

Ted Kennedy: Build 'Wind Farm' Elsewhere

Sen. Ted Kennedy has strongly opposed an environmentally friendly "wind farm” off the coast from the Kennedy compound in Hyannis. Now he supports building another wind farm – in somebody else’s "backyard.”

A Boston contractor has submitted plans to construct a $750 million offshore complex of 90 to 120 wind turbine towers near Naushon Island and the towns of Dartmouth and Fairhaven to supply electricity to about 240,000 homes.

While the Cape Wind project Kennedy opposed would have been "in view of some of the wealthiest communities in Massachusetts’ Cape Cod,” the new proposal is for a "project in view of more working-class areas,” according to CNN and Reuters.

Kennedy and Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who also opposes the Cape Wind project, "have voiced tentative support for the latest proposal,” Reuters reports.

Paul Andonian, a resident of New Bedford – one of the towns that would benefit from the new project – said he thought it stood a better chance of being built than the Cape Wind project because it appears to face less "political opposition.”

Kennedy had lobbied for a provision giving Gov. Romney veto power over the Cape Wind project.

In his book "Do As I Say (Not As I Do): Profiles in Liberal Hypocrisy," author Peter Schweizer disclosed that Kennedy opposed the Cape Wind project because "the wind turbines would be built in Nantucket Sound, about six miles off the coast from the Kennedy compound in Hyannis.

"The problem was not aesthetic; the Kennedys wouldn’t be able to actually see the turbines from their home. Instead Robert Kennedy Jr., who had been beating the drum for alternative sources of energy for more than a decade, complained that the project would be built in one of the family’s favorite sailing and yachting areas.”

"Immigration" Bill Is an Attempt to Expand
the Federal Government and Kill Conservatism Part I

RUSH: Now, folks, as I say, I've got all this figured out, and when I told you this wasn't about immigration, I was right; and when I told you that what this is really all about is the Democrats wanting and needing some new victims, I was right; and when I said this was all about politicians, particularly Democrats wanting new voters, I was right. But I was not a hundred percent right. I was close.

To sum this up -- very simply -- what this bill is, this is not an immigration bill. What is being done here is being done under the guise of immigration reform. What this is, is a huge attempt by certain politicians, mostly moderate and liberal Democrats and moderate Republicans, to expand the federal government, to increase the numbers of people in poverty in this country by importing them via this immigration bill, which will set up the need to expand the "social safety" net in this country, which will then empower those who believe in big government.

This bill is absolutely worthless. The reason everybody is going nuts here is because there's no common sense in this bill when you look at it within the framework of immigration reform, and I'll tell you what else is going on. You guys in the House -- Listen to Dingy Harry. This will set up what I'm going to warn you people in the House about.

REID: Dark clouds are forming on the horizon. Influential members of the House of Representatives and the Republican leadership are still pushing for the bill that they passed, a bill that makes felons out of millions of [illegal] immigrants and those who assist them, like a member of the clergy, a healthcare worker, social worker.

RUSH: All right. Now, let me translate this for you. What's happening here, the Senate's passed their bill. Dingy Harry is warning members of the House there are dark clouds forming over the beautiful Senate amnesty horizon, and these evil House Republicans could ruin everyone's day, and if the House doesn't go along with this, and if the House doesn't accept this abomination of a piece of legislation called an immigration reform act, then what's going to happen is that conservatives, the moderates in the Republican Party and the liberals in the Democratic Party will blame conservatives for standing in the way and blocking immigration reform.

If they can't come to an agreement in the conference with the Senate, moderates are going to blame House conservatives for this failure. I think what's happening here, in addition to all that I've said, is that moderate Republicans are trying to destroy conservatives and conservatism. By moderate Republicans, let me give you some names: John McCain, Arlen Specter. We'd have to throw Senator Lindsey Graham in there now, and some of the Republicans in the administration, some of the Republicans in the White House.

I think they have been steaming over the conservative wing taking over the Republican Party. The elites in the Republican Party we've heard from on this debate, and they are trashing all of you as a bunch of unsophisticated boobs.

I think there's a battle for the heart and soul of the Republican Party going on right now, and the conservatives who are largely the majority membership of that party are under assault. I think that it is perfectly clear, at least to me, that that's what's happening. You can look at this this way. Let me make it easy.

We're back to 1976. This is Ronald Reagan versus Gerald Ford. This is Barry Goldwater versus Nelson Rockefeller. This is the compassionate conservative Republicans -- i.e., the moderates -- versus the conservatives. That's all tied into this. There's so many things being done here at once, and this whole immigration bill is simply a rubric to disguise the true intent.

See Part II

"Immigration" Bill Is an Attempt to Expand
the Federal Government and Kill Conservatism Part II

If Republicans lose in November, it's going to be because of the moderates in the Senate and elsewhere in the House, and because of missteps taken by the administration, not because you stand up for your conservative principles.

RUSH: If you stand up for your conservative principles, that will not be why you lose. You are going to have to trust me on this. This is a huge gambit that's being tried here, and you guys, the conservatives in the House, are the targets. I'll tell you, I don't think that I can say this enough, folks. I don't think I can drill this into people's heads enough, because, you know, Lindsey Graham and McCain and so forth are actually spinning it this way.

RUSH: You Republicans in the House have to understand what's going on here. You are being targeted for destruction, and you are being targeted as the bad guys if you don't go along with what the Senate has done in this so-called immigration bill. There was a press conference yesterday that nobody covered... It was a love fest... Senators McCain, Hagel, Graham, Martinez and Specter, were backslapping and thanking Senators Kennedy, Reid, and Durbin, congratulating each other over what a great thing they'd done with this immigration bill, and McCain said this.

McCain: "The most important message, probably, is to those 11 million people who are out there living in the shadows without the protection of any of the laws of our society, millions of whom are being mistreated and not given, not receiving their God-given rights. To them we will provide a path to citizenship so you can come out of the shadows and educate yourselves and feed your families and become very profitable and very important members of our society."

RUSH: That is just patently absurd, folks. This bill -- I'm going to tell you, if you Republicans, if you lose in November, it's not going to be because of you, if you stand strong here.

This bill, this immigration bill was written by the open borders lobby, the La Raza-type groups. You can't read this and escape that conclusion. I mean, this bill includes all kinds of traps against enforcement. It confers all kinds of rights on illegal aliens. It's going to make it very, very hard to enforce any of this.

It was written by lawyers. I'm convinced this legislation has been written by lawyers who do this work day in and day out, who litigate on behalf of illegals and seek to change even the most arcane rules to their advantage. Let me cut through all of the noise here, folks, and just hit you right between the eyes.

These senators do not want to control immigration. They want to expand it. They don't care whether it's illegal or legal immigration. What they did was vote in favor of changing our society so as to massively empower the federal government. The federal government will have far more control over wages than before. Entitlement programs are going to have to expand in order to accommodate all these new arrivals and their children. Taxes are going to have to go up in order to pay for all this.

Wealth will be redistributed from the middle class to a new class of poor that we are welcoming in here as Senator McCain has so excitedly said in his press conference yesterday.

Compassionate conservatism versus conservatism. Ford versus Reagan, Goldwater versus Rockefeller. I mean, this is where we are. I make no bones about it. The blue-blood country clubbers are trying to take back control of the party.

RUSH: It is farcical. This whole thing is a farce, folks. In fact I'm even a little embarrassed that I got caught up debating it on the merits. I saw it. My instincts were right on the money and I was making jokes about it, and it turns out my jokes were true when I said the Democratic Party is running out of victims, they need more victims.

It's true! We're just importing victims here. We're importing victims that are going to be in poverty, and listen to McCain, listen to these people speak. These illegal aliens are being characterized as super citizens, folks. They do work that you won't do, you elitist, spoiled-rotten American legal.

You want to tell me this is an immigration bill? Don't insult my intelligence. It's nothing of the sort. You go out and steal somebody's identity. Steal somebody's credit card and find out what happens to you. You go say, hey, you know what? These illegals only have to pay back taxes for three of the five years!

Can I not pay my taxes for like five years and only have to pay back three of them? You ask that for yourself, if you can do this. This is just farce. It is -- and, by the way, three of the four Democrats who voted against the bill up for reelection. The Republicans up for reelection voted against the bill. That will tell you what's really going on. They know where the American people are on this.

Floridians Favor Offshore Oil Drilling

Floridians support lifting a ban on oil drilling 100 miles or more from the state's Gulf Coast beaches by a 51 to 42 percent majority, and many say rising gasoline prices have influenced their approval, according to a recent poll.

Such support stunned environmentalists, who have counted on opposition from Florida and other coastal states to deflect growing sentiment for offshore drilling among inland and oil state politicians. The U.S. House just last week rejected proposals to open more offshore areas to drilling, but those efforts are expected to continue.

"The poll itself explains there is a panic among some consumers," said Frank Jackalone, senior regional representative for the Sierra Club. "This is exactly what the oil industry intended."

Most Floridians, however, still oppose drilling closer to shore. They disapprove of a congressional proposal to allow natural gas drilling as close as nine miles from shore by a 55 to 36 percent margin.

"I do believe there is what I consider a seismic shift in opinion among Floridians," said Dave Mica, executive director of the pro-drilling Florida Petroleum Council. "They're not fully there yet, but there have been a lot of gains."

The poll by the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute was taken May 15-22 among 1,086 registered voters and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percent.

It showed Floridians almost equally divided on another energy matter, favoring construction of a new nuclear power plant by 48 to 45 percent, which is within the margin of error. But they were opposed, 60 to 36 percent, to building such a plant in their hometown.

Rising fuel prices left 39 percent of Floridians more likely to support lifting the ban on drilling more than 100 miles from shore with 16 percent less likely. Forty-three percent said rising prices did not affect their decision.

"The rising price of energy has changed the attitudes of many Florida voters," said Peter Brown, the institute's assistant director.

Eighty-eight percent of Floridians, however, also put some or great deal of the blame for those price increases on oil companies, while 65 percent say normal supply and demand is another element. They say others also share the blame, such as oil producing countries (80 percent), President Bush (62 percent) and drivers of gas-guzzling vehicles (54 percent).

Mica said more people have contacted his organization to offer support for drilling. Associated Industries of Florida, an influential business trade group, also has endorsed it but only if kept at least 100 miles offshore.

"This is an instance where the people of Florida are ahead of their elected officials except for Gov. (Jeb) Bush," said AIF President Barney Bishop.

Bush last year sought a compromise that would have allowed drilling no closer than 125 miles from shore but it failed.

Most members of Congress from Florida, with the notable exception of Mica's brother, Rep. John Mica, R-Winter Park, have opposed lifting bans on drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico and elsewhere along the Outer Continental Shelf. Some, however, did join Bush in seeking a compromise.

Florida and California lawmakers last week led the effort against more drilling in the House. The chamber first voted 279-141 against lifting the long-standing moratorium on oil drilling. It then voted 217-203 to return the ban on natural gas drilling to an Interior Department spending bill after a committee had removed it.

The poll results give added impetus to plans for a door-to-door campaign by the Florida Public Interest Research Group to "debunk the myths that the oil companies have spread" about offshore drilling, said FPIRG director Mark Ferrulo.

He argued drilling would do nothing to lower fuel prices.

"We wouldn't even see that energy for between five and eight years and it would be a drop in the bucket," Ferrulo said.

His group and environmentalists are pushing for conservation and alternative energy, such as solar and wind power, instead of more drilling and nuclear power.

"People have been buying the fear factor of gas prices rising," said Ginger Perlman, offshore issue chairwoman for the Sierra Club's Florida Chapter. "We need to be more active in getting our message out."

Democrats View Gore as 'The Anti-Hillary'

NewsMax - Al Gore is back in the limelight with the release of his global-warming documentary "An Inconvenient Truth.” Now comes a feature article in New York magazine titled "The Comeback Kid.”

And one theme that comes across loud and clear in the piece is the widespread feeling among Democrats that the former vice president is the "anti-Hillary” – the one potential candidate who could torpedo Hillary Clinton’s campaign for her party’s presidential nomination in 2008.

After Gore’s narrow defeat by George Bush in 2000, the "Washington Establishment viewed him with a mix of scorn and pity,” John Heilemann writes in New York. But now, "many Democrats are wondering if he will run again in 2008 – and reaching the improbable, nay astonishing, conclusion that it might be a good idea.”

Enthusiasm for a Gore campaign can be traced in part to his vociferous criticism of the Bush administration after 9/11.

"But the Gore boomlet is also being driven by another force: the creeping sense of foreboding about the prospect of Hillary Clinton’s march to her party’s nomination,” Heilemann notes.

He quotes a senior party player as saying: "Every conversation in Democratic politics right now has the same three sentences. One: ‘She is the presumptive front-runner.’ Two: ‘I don’t much like her, but I don’t want to cross her, for God’s sake!’ And three: ‘If she’s our nominee, we’re going to get killed.’”
And Gore’s former vice-presidential chief of staff Ron Klain told Heilemann: "If [Gore] runs, he’s certainly the front-runner or the co-front-runner with Mrs. Clinton. And, in the end, he would probably win the nomination.”

When asked by Heilemann what he thinks of Hillary as a politician, Gore says blandly: "Well, I think that she’s doing a very effective job for her state. I think she’s going to be re-elected overwhelmingly. I think she has impressed her colleagues in the Senate and demonstrated an ability to work in a bipartisan way with Republican senators you might have not believed she could form alliances with.”

But a former Gore aide told Heilemann that in fact, Gore "intensely dislikes her. It all goes back to 1993 and 1994, when there were two vice-presidents: Al Gore and Hillary Clinton. They fought for turf, for resources, for projects. It was almost like a sibling rivalry over who was the second-most-important person in the White House.”

If Gore does square off against Hillary, his history as a moderate on many issues would sit well with centrist Democrats "who fear that Clinton is a once-and-future lefty,” writes Heilemann. "Thus does the Gore 2008 bandwagon gather steam from coast to coast.”

Pundit Dick Morris agrees that Gore has the best chance – among both Democrats and Republicans – of keeping Hillary out of the White House.

As he recently wrote for NewsMax: "Gore has several key advantages over Hillary. He has always strongly opposed the war, while she . . . voted for it. His historic warnings about the dangers of climate change seem to be coming true all around us. The major national issue – energy prices – is right up his alley. Gore has been advocating alternative fuels and major conservation for decades.

"Gore would exploit a soft-core negative against Hillary that is sweeping the ranks of Democrats. Hungry for victory and suspicious of Hillary's ability to win, they whisper to one another: ‘I like her but isn't she too divisive to win?’”

Heilemann isn’t sure how the new, repackaged Gore would fare in 2008, however: "What’s clear is that Gore would love to be president, but the thought of the whole awful business of getting there makes him nearly nauseous. Gore’s awareness of this conundrum is keen and wrenching. How he resolves it will determine not just the shape of the 2008 campaign but whether the New Gore is the real deal or the Old Gore in disguise.”

Hillary Clinton Proposes Funding for Illegal Immigrants

2008 presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton has proposed amending the Senate's immigration reform legislation to provide federal funding for the education and health care of illegal immigrants.

Arguing that the federal government should pick up the tab for social services provided to illegals, Mrs. Clinton told the Senate:

"My amendment addresses one of the clearest examples of this neglect because our failed national immigration policy has left our state and local governments to bear the brunt of the costs of immigration. Our schools, our hospitals, our other state and local services are being strained."

The former first lady said her plan would direct funds to state criminal alien assistance programs to offset the costs of illegal aliens who continue to break the law after they enter the U.S. - and establish a program that provides financial assistance to state and local governments for the cost of health and educational services related to immigration.

The top Democrat promised that her program would "not appropriate any new funds or impose any new fees on [illegal] immigrants."

Instead, she explained, the Clinton amendment would tap into an already proposed $500 fee for illegal immigrants who participate in a guest worker program, should one be passed by Congress.

"My amendment directs this $500 fee into the State Impact Assistance Account," she said.

"The costs of [illegal] immigration have steadily increased and the federal government's neglect has strained local and state government budgets," Mrs. Clinton told the Senate. "I just think that if we pass any kind of immigration reform and we don't take into account the strains on the budgets of state and local governments, we will not have done our job."

Late Nite Jokes

Leno

How is this for amazing? A seven year old boy named Braxton Bilbrey has become the youngest person ever to swim from Alcatraz Island to San Francisco. He broke the old record set by Elian Gonzalez.

Louisiana Congressman, William Jefferson…wasn’t he married to Wheezy? Is that the same guy? He was videotaped accepting a 100,000 dollar bribe, said he will not resign even though FBI agents found 90,000 of it in his freezer. In Washington, that’s known as a "bribe-sicle”.

This has really unified both parties, House Speaker Dennis Hastert has attacked the FBI for raiding the congressman’s office saying it was an abuse of power. Imagine the nerve of the FBI-treating members of congress like they were regular Americans.

Today the Republicans say the raid may have violated protections for congressmen that are spelled out in the constitution. All of sudden they've found a copy! Where was this when they were spying on our phone calls?

Vice President Dick Cheney is in California to try and boost the campaigns of several Republican candidates out here. Wow - how low are you in the polls that you have to turn to Dick Cheney to bring your numbers up?

Cheney says he loves California - out here the rich and famous can shoot people and get away with it.

Here’s a shocking statistic, 1 in 136 Americans are currently behind bars. A more shocking statistic, 1 in 3 Kennedy’s are currently in a bar.

Catholics still continuing to protest over the movie "The Da Vinci Code.” In fact, some priests are so angry they are refusing to take their alter boys to see it.

'Able Danger' Data-Mining Documents Emerge

The Defense Department’s Inspector General’s office and the joint Special Operations Command apparently have collected some 9,500 pages of documents on the controversial data-mining program known as "Able Danger.”

Senior DoD members and 9/11 Commission officials have implied that these documents were destroyed or can no longer be located, according to a report posted to NavySeals.com.

Scott Malone of NavySeals.com, the author of the report, and Christopher Law of PublicEdCenter.org have long been following the Able Danger story. Back in November, Law submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for all documents and e-mails that could be located related to Able Danger.

Last week, Law’s request was finally denied. DOD refused to turn over a single document - but admitted there were at least 9,500 pages of data responsive to his request.

"The Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence, has determined that approximately 9,500 pages of these collected documents are potentially responsive to your FOIA request,” cited the denial letter.

Able Danger was a classified military intelligence program created as a result of a directive from the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1999 to develop an Information Operations Campaign Plan against transnational terrorism, specifically al-Qaida.

According to statements by Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer and confirmed by four others, Able Danger had identified the September 11, 2001 attack leader Mohammed Atta, and three of the 9/11 plot's 19 hijackers, as possible members of an al-Qaida cell.

However, no electronic or paper documents have shown that any connection was made to Atta before 9/11. No e-mails to and from the Able Danger team make any references to Atta, nor do any paper documents between the team and any other DoD teams or offices.

The early identification of the four hijackers by Able Danger would contradict the official conclusion of the 9/11 Commission, that American intelligence agencies had not identified Atta as a terrorist prior to the attack.

Quoted in the NavySeals.com article, Law remarked, "It wasn’t exactly what I asked for.” He had requested only the September, 2005 "Defense Department’s Intelligence Oversight Report” on Able Danger, and any backup documents.

"I certainly didn’t expect them to have 9,500 pages of files which they had stated officially had been destroyed,” Law said.

In a possibly related development, the Web site reported that the attorneys for the secret team members, who disclosed the existence of Able Danger, have argued in a new court filing that they be "cleared” to review such files.

Lt. Col. Shaffer, one of those secret team members, said he had no comment on either the newly disclosed existence of the 9,500 pages of Able Danger documents - or even on his attorneys’ court filings, without clearance from his superiors at the Defense Intelligence Agency.

Meanwhile, Rep. Curt Weldon, R-a., the salient investigator of the Able Danger case, has announced that he plans to continue his investigation regarding official claims that the top-secret spying unit’s data was destroyed.

Late Nite Jokes

Leno

Church was so empty yesterday. I think everybody went to see "The Da Vinci Code”.

"The Da Vinci Code” grossed more than $224 million world wide this past weekend. In fact, today relatives of Michelangelo called and said, "Hey, we’ve got a code too. You might want to check it out.” I couldn’t believe

How many have seen "The Da Vinci Code”? Or as the atheist call it "Roots.”

The Catholic Church is still very angry about "The Da Vinci Code” - they don’t like anything that makes more money in a weekend than they do.

The CIA has a new lead on the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden. They think he may be hiding out in an empty theater showing the movie, "Poseidon”.

President Bush has proposed sweeping immigration changes; which is pretty amazing when you consider that before he became president, Bush thought immigration was the sincerest form of flattery.

As you know, President Bush signed a huge tax cut. He’s hoping that these tax cuts for the rich will attract a wealthier more affluent group of illegal immigrants.

Former President Bill Clinton has just signed another book deal. We have an advanced copy. Hand me that will you? (drop-in screen: book title, "The Five People You Meet Under My Desk”)

Congratulations to Barry Bonds who got his 714th asterisk yesterday.

Letterman

"The Da Vinci Code” made $74 million over the weekend. It came in just behind a gas station out in Queens.

Scientists say they can know teach birds grammar. And if this works they’re going to next do the same thing with President Bush.

Hillary Clinton says that in her spare time she likes to download iTunes. We all know that in his spare time Bill likes to download interns.

Reporters May Be Prosecuted, Gonzales Says

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said Sunday he believes journalists can be prosecuted for publishing classified information, citing an obligation to national security.

The nation's top law enforcer also said the government will not hesitate to track telephone calls made by reporters as part of a criminal leak investigation, but officials would not do so routinely and randomly.

"There are some statutes on the book which, if you read the language carefully, would seem to indicate that that is a possibility," Gonzales said, referring to prosecutions. "We have an obligation to enforce those laws. We have an obligation to ensure that our national security is protected."

In recent months, journalists have been called into court to testify as part of investigations into leaks, including the unauthorized disclosure of a CIA operative's name as well as the National Security Agency's warrantless eavesdropping program.

Gonzales said he would not comment specifically on whether The New York Times should be prosecuted for disclosing the NSA program last year based on classified information.

He also denied that authorities would randomly check journalists' records on domestic-to-domestic phone calls in an effort to find journalists' confidential sources.

"We don't engage in domestic-to-domestic surveillance without a court order," Gonzales said, under a "probable cause" legal standard.

But he added that the First Amendment right of a free press should not be absolute when it comes to national security. If the government's probe into the NSA leak turns up criminal activity, prosecutors have an "obligation to enforce the law."

"It can't be the case that that right trumps over the right that Americans would like to see, the ability of the federal government to go after criminal activity," Gonzales told ABC's "This Week."

Al Gore Hints at Presidential Run

For the first time since he retired from politics four years ago, former Vice President Al Gore is hinting that he may be ready to get back into the ring with a presidential run.

Following a presentation of his new global warming movie, "An Inconvenient Truth," in Atlanta earlier this week, Gore was pressed on whether he'd consider running for president.

"I’m a recovering politician," he told Atlanta's Progressive News. "But you always have to worry about a relapse.”

The ex-veep's eye-opening comments come on the heels of his appearance last week on "Saturday Night Live," where he delivered a mock presidential address from the Oval Office boasting about what would have been his accomplishments had he won the White House.

Last week the Wall Street Journal quoted an unnamed former Clinton-Gore insider who said: "I do know that he's thinking about (a presidential run.) "I know for a fact. He's talked to people about the pros and cons."

John Kerry Supports, Opposes Border Fence

Sen. John Kerry joined most of his Democratic colleagues last week in voting to build a wall along 370 miles of the U.S.-Mexican border.

But he now says that after the wall is built it should be taken down as soon as possible.

"I voted for it," Kerry acknowledged Friday while speaking to the New England Council breakfast.

But in quotes picked up by the Boston Herald, the Massachusetts Democrat added: "If I were making the long-term decision, I’d announce, you know, hopefully it’s a temporary measure, and we can take it down as soon as we have enough people" to guard the border.

Kerry said beefing up the number of border patrol agents "should be America’s goal, absolutely and positively." He noted that he'd introduced an amendment to the Senate border bill that would add 3,000 new officers.

"But in the temporary," he said, "we’ve got to have a comprehensive approach everywhere," adding that, "in the short term, I think [the wall] can serve us well."

Late Nite Jokes

Leno

I had a strange thing happened yesterday. My cat got out and started digging in the backyard. Found Jimmy Hoffa.

The FBI is searching on a farm in Michigan for the body of Jimmy Hoffa. They want to find Hoffa before Anna Nicole Smith does.

The Pentagon announced today that Iraq’s border is now 90% under control. Which is pretty impressive when you realize that San Diego’s border is only 20% under control.

Immigration continues to be the big story. President Bush is insisting it would be cruel to take a hardworking person reaching for the American dream and just send them home. Hey "American Idol” does it every week.

President Bush went to the border yesterday in Arizona. White House Spokesman Tony Snow said it was not a photo opportunity. Apparently Bush was just looking for some guys to do some landscaping around the White House.

The president is serious about border enforcement. In fact before leaving the border Bush left a scarecrow of Dick Cheney with a shotgun.

President Bush said today that he has nothing but respect for Mexico and it’s people and he will always speak the truth to them. Here’s my question, when can we get that deal? That sounds pretty good.

The Senate has voted to make English the national language. More bad news for President Bush. Now he’s got to learn that.

The Senate voted 63-34 to make English the official language of the United States. They say it's a largely symbolic amendment with no real effect. You know like the congressional ethics bill.

A realtor in Ogden, Utah inspecting a townhouse found 70,000 empty beer cans left behind by the former tenant. I didn’t know the Kennedy’s had a place in Utah.

Bill Clinton: Global Warming Bigger Threat Than Terrorism

Ex-president Bill Clinton said Saturday that global warming is a bigger threat to the future of America than terrorism.

Speaking to the graduating class at University of Texas' Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, Clinton insisted:

"Climate change is more remote than terror but a more profound threat to the future of the children and the grandchildren and the great-grandchildren I hope all of you have."

Clinton explained: "It's the only thing we face today that has the power to remove the preconditions of civilized society."

The theme is not a new one for the former president. Last September, he predicted that New York City would eventually be devastated if the U.S. didn't start taking global warming seriously.

"We know if something doesn't happen to slow this warming down, whole island nations in the Pacific will be flooded," he told CNN's Larry King. "We'll lose 50 feet of Manhattan Island in New York within the next 50 years if we don't do something to turn this around."

Still, Clinton said Saturday that he was optimistic that the global warming crisis can be solved, "assuming we get off our butts and do something about climate change in a timely fashion."

"I think we should be in the Kyoto climate change system," Clinton said, without noting that while president, he declined to sign the Kyoto Protocols.

Late Nite Jokes

Leno

I’m very proud to say that everyone in our audience is a member of the United States military. What they didn’t tell you is you’re are going right from here to guarding the border.

Welcome to NBC. The only place in the world with more bombs than Iraq.

Thanks to you men and women, the world is a safer place. Unless, of course, you’re an old guy hunting with Dick Cheney. Then it gets a little tricky.

We have the Marines, the Air Force, the Coastguard, the Army, the Navy…the only ones not here are members of the elite Delta Force, they are in Malibu rescuing Britney Spears’ baby from the front seat of his mom’s car. The baby is locked in backwards.

Where are the Air Force guys? That’s something you rarely see in civilian life. Sober pilots!

Here’s a question I have: if you have blonde hair and are a marine, does that make you an empty jarhead?

President Bush met with the Prime Minister of Australia at the White House the other day. The Australian Prime Minister asked Bush, "When was the last time you were down under?” And Bush said, "You must be thinking of the other president…Clinton.”

According to a "Washington Post”- ABC News poll, Americans say they now trust Democrats more than Republicans to deal with Iraq, the economy, immigration and other issues. In fact if the election were held today…John Kerry would still lose.

Pat "Leaky" Leahy Aided NSA Phone Taps

In 1994 Sen. Pat "Leaky" Leahy co-wrote a law that forced telecommunications carriers to build convenient wiretap features into their networks enabling the kind of telephone records collection now at the heart of the controversy over the National Security Agency's terrorist surveillance operation.

In recent days Leahy has called the NSA's actions troubling and potentially illegal - saying they show that the Bush administration is treating Americans like terrorists.

"'The secret collection of phone call records of tens of millions of Americans?" he exclaimed after USA Today blew the lid off the program last week. "Are you telling me that tens of millions of Americans are involved with al-Qaeda?"

But according to the Rutland Herald, Leahy was singing a different tune 12 years ago, when he was pushing the Senate to pass his bill, the Communication Assistance for Law Enforcement Act [CALEA].

"I suggest to senators if anybody does want to hold [CALEA] up, I hope that at this time next year, neither they nor their constituents, nor anybody they know, is a kidnap victim or victim of a terrorist, and have somebody ask why nothing can be done, and be told because a law that had probably 99 percent support in the House and the Senate did not pass."

Contacted by the Herald earlier this week, Leahy said there was an important difference between what his law authorized and the actions taken by the Bush administration.

"That law talks of the technology of the interception and what technology can be used to intercept and it assumes very clearly that it can only be done with a warrant," the Vermont Democrat insisted.

Some legal experts say, however, said that assumption is not as clear as Leahy claims. Analyzing CALEA in 2003, the Rutgers Computer & Technology Law Journal explained:

"CALEA requires a telecommunications provider to make 'its equipment, facilities, or services ... capable of ... enabling the government ... [without a warrant] to intercept ... all wire and electronic communications carried by the carrier.'"

Civil libertarians are also troubled by Leahy's law.

"The secret search and wiretap provisions could lead to an age of Big Brother-like surveillance," the American Civil Liberties Union complained in the same Law Journal report. "Americans who oppose U.S. policies and who are believed to have ties to foreign powers could find their homes broken into and their telephones tapped."

Late Nite Jokes

Leno

For our folks at home, in the audience tonight, we have over 400 people. Or as Bush calls them, our temporary audience worker program.

In his speech the other night President Bush called for the National Guard to patrol the U.S.-Mexican border. The guard will track down and find illegals. I don’t know, that’s not really what the guard’s job is. They’re trained to fight, not track and find people. Lets be honest, the guard couldn’t track and find President Bush when he was in the National Guard.

President Bush said that 6000 National Guard troops will be on the border for one year. Preferably, an election year.

Conservative Republicans are worried there’s no way to keep track of all the illegal immigrants - unless of course, they start making phone calls. Then we’ll know. Other than that we are screwed.

"Forbes” magazine has come out with their list of the richest people in the world. Eighty-year-old Fidel Castro, Mr. Communism, is near the top of the list - they say he’s worth over $900-million. And today, when she heard this, Anna Nicole Smith hopped in an inner tube and started paddling to Cuba.

Texas is considering raising the speed limit to 80 miles an hour in Texas. This way, drivers can try and get to a gas station before the prices go up again.

Letterman

The Tony nominations are out. The Oprah thing, "The Color Purple” has been nominated for 12 Tony’s. I’m thrilled, it’s nice to see something finally going Oprah’s way.

Speaking of Tony’s a new musical is opening up about Vice President Cheney. It’s called "Cheney Get Your Gun”.

Conan

Barry Bonds is still in the news, chasing Babe Ruth’s home run record. Yesterday he was hit in the arm by a pitch. He was furious saying, "That’s the arm I inject myself with!”

President Bush was in Florida recently and he said that he thought his brother Jeb would make a great president. He then went on to ask, "Could you possibly start next week?”

The State of Texas is considering raising speed limits on some roads to 80 miles per hour. This is so illegals can get to work faster.

Border Patrol: Fence Stops 95% of Illegals

The plan passed by the Senate yesterday to build a fence along the U.S.-Mexican border is far and away the most effective means to halt illegal immigration, according to the federal agents who have been struggling with the problem for decades.

More than a ten years ago, the federal government built a fence along the San Diego sector in California. Ed Henry, assistant chief of the Border Patrol for that region, says that the impact was immediate.

"Apprehensions here are down a staggering 95 percent, from 100,000 a year to 5,000," he told National Public Radio last month.

Henry described a triple-layered fence that sounds similar to the one proposed in the Senate plan.

"The first fence, ten feet high is made of welded metal panels," reported NPR. "The second fence is 15 feet high, steel mesh with the top angled inward to make climbing even tougher. Finally, in high traffic areas, there's also a smaller chain linked fence.

"In between the two main fences," said Henry, "is a one-hundred-fifty foot no man's land, where the Border Patrol has lights, trucks, and soon, video cameras."

"Here in San Diego, we have proven that the border infrastructure system does, indeed, work," the San Diego border agent said. "It is highly effective."

Under the plan passed by the Senate yesterday, most of Arizona would be fenced off, including high traffic areas around Yuma, Nogales and Douglas. Less populated areas to the east would be protected by 500 miles of vehicles barriers and virtual fencing.

Late Nite Jokes

Leno

What a crowd. You sound like a bunch of National Guard troops who just found out they are going to San Diego instead of Baghdad.

As you know, President Bush announced a big change in our immigration policy. He's going to get one.

President Bush is proposing sending six thousands National Guard troops to bolster patrols along the U.S.-Mexican border. Or as his calling it, "No Juan Left Behind."

President Bush said, "You can't take millions of people with deep roots in the country and send them across the border.” Really? Mexico did it.

President Bush said that these troops will be at the border temporarily. You know, just until Mexico is ready to govern itself. Sound familiar?

A British scientist has built a car he claims can get 8,000 miles on a gallon of gas. And today, Dick Cheney invited this guy to go hunting with him.

Letterman

We here at the "Late Show” have been nominated for a Tony Award. It’s the same thing we always get nominated for – biggest waste of a Broadway theater

Talk about an ordeal. Yesterday Senator Ted Kennedy was on an aircraft up here in the northeast and it was hit by lightning. They landed, luckily no one was hurt. But then he had to ride home from the airport with his son Patrick.

Did you know O.J. Simpson now has his own show? It’s a prank type show like "Punk’d” where he plays pranks on people. Because when you think of hilarious pranks you think O.J.!

Conan

Barry Bonds says that he is haunted by the ghost of Babe Ruth. Then someone let him know that the "boos” he is hearing are not from a ghost.

Sen. Kyl 'Delighted' by Bush Border Plan

Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl said he was "delighted" with President Bush's plan to send the National Guard to the U.S. border with Mexico, saying that added troops will help free up the Border Patrol to do their work more effectively.

But as Bush pitched the idea Monday and planned a visit later this week to Yuma, Ariz., other members of the state's congressional delegation were skeptical that increasing the military presence at the border would help solve the problems that lead to illegal immigration.

About 400 National Guard troops already assist with border security along the 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border.

Rep. Raul Grijalva, a Democrat who represents Yuma and much of southern Arizona, called adding more Guard members "a move that will cement the full militarization of the U.S. and Mexican border.

"The Bush strategy will have no effect on security," Grijalva added. "It will only deepen the divisions in our nation and among other nations, both in the short term and long term."

Bush's proposal came as senators began another round of debate over how to overhaul the nation's immigration policy.

The House in December passed a border security bill, which also increased penalties for illegal immigrants and the employers who hire them.

Bush has insisted the nation needs a revised guest-worker program and a path to citizenship for many of the 11-12 million illegal immigrants now in the country. Many senators agree, but they failed to pass guest worker legislation earlier this spring. Last week, they agreed to revive the debate and pass a bill by Memorial Day.

Bush's call for troops at the border is designed to appeal to conservatives, such as GOP Rep. J.D. Hayworth, who have criticized Congress for being soft on immigration.

Hayworth will tour the border with Bush on Thursday. He pledged to use the time to "persuade the president to adopt an enforcement-first approach to deal with the problem."

A vocal supporter of strengthening the border, Hayworth said he encouraged temporarily sending troops to help the Border Patrol.

"If we can call out the National Guard to deal with a hurricane, then it surely makes sense to call out the Guard to deal with a situation that has far greater national security implications," he said.

Kyl, who has argued illegal immigrants should have to return home before being considered for a temporary worker permit, agreed. "Until the federal government can convince the American people that it is serious about securing our borders, it will be hard to consider other factors of immigration reform," he said.

But others encouraged Bush to use his position to win consensus in Congress on a guest worker plan.

Arizona GOP Sen. John McCain, who sponsored a guest-worker bill with Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., which outlines a path for immigrants to gain citizenship, is encouraged by Bush's involvement this week, his spokeswoman Eileen McMenamin said.

Republican U.S. Reps. Jeff Flake and Jim Kolbe, both of Arizona, have proposed a House bill similar to McCain's. Flake praised Bush's efforts.

"Obviously, simply addressing the enforcement side of the issue might be more politically expedient," Flake said. "But you have to salute President Bush for recognizing that we can't solve the problem without a temporary worker program and insisting that Congress include one as we debate an immigration reform bill."

Late Nite Jokes

Leno

President Bush talked to the nation in a prime time address tonight. Which was a refreshing change. Americans listening to the president. Instead of the president listening to Americans.

In the speech he outlined a plan to start patrolling the U.S.-Mexican border using members of the National Guard. He said this will give us the most secure border in the world one weekend a month and two full weeks each summer.

This replaces the old method of border security. The honor system. That didn't seem to be working.

According to a new Harris poll, President Bush's approval rating is now at 29%. In fact it is so bad, yesterday on Mother's Day Barbara Bush refused to take his call. "Let the machine pick up."

Here’s the part that I don't understand. The day before it was at 31%. Now it's 29%. What happened overnight? People didn't like the way he slept?

Boy, it (gas) just keeps going up doesn't it? In fact, the price of gas is so high now that today Congressman Patrick Kennedy walked into concrete barriers.

The British Dental Association has reported there is a dentist shortage in England. Which is not surprising. I'm surprised there's British Dental Association.

NBC aired their last episode of "The West Wing". It ended last night. We're not worried about losing west wing. We have another show that's much closer to the real president. It's "My Name is Earl."

Kenny Rogers was on Martha Stewart the other day. She was showing Kenny how just using some string, Vaseline and duct tape, you can make your own facelift.

America's Top Ten Driving Pet Peeves

With gas prices at an all-time high – and more Americans on the road than ever – drivers are bound to be more irritated as they get behind the wheel for a warm-weather road trip or just the daily commute to work.

The Hagerty Collector Network – the country’s leading insurance company for collector vehicles and boats – surveyed thousands of members nationwide to find out their top complaints about other drivers. Here are their "Top 10 Driving Peeves.”

1. Distracted drivers talking on cell phones (Motor Mouths)

2. Slow drivers in the fast lane (Turtle Racers)

3. Pushy drivers who tailgate (Piggybackers)

4. Drivers who weave through traffic to gain one or two car lengths (Wacky Weavers)

5. Obnoxious drivers who speed up to keep you from changing lanes (Gap Snatchers)

6. Hasty drivers who change lanes without signaling (Space Invaders)

7. Road Rage (Road Ragers)

8. Motorcyclists who race down the middle of a lane, between cars (Speed Racers)

9. Women applying makeup and men shaving (Driving Divas)

10. Drivers who leave their turn signal on for miles (Morse Coders).

Bush Approval Rating Jumps Six Points

President Bush's job approval rating has jumped six points in the wake of a media barrage of criticism over his administration's telephone records collection program.

A Harris Interactive poll published in The Wall Street Journal Online on Friday had Bush’s approval rating at an all time low - with just 29 percent of Americans saying they liked the way he was handling his job.

The Harris survey polled 1,003 adults on May 5-8 - before USA Today frontpaged their report on the National Security Agency's telephone records collection program.

A Gallup survey released Friday yielded a similar result, with just 31 percent giving Bush a positive job approval rating.

A Newsweek survey released on Sunday, however, found that the president's approval numbers had improved markedly, with 35 percent saying he was doing a good job.

Newsweek polled 1,007 adults on May 11 and 12 and asked specifically about the NSA's phone record collection program, which USA Today's first reported on Thursday, May 11.

An ABC/Washington Post poll taken in the immediate aftermath of the USA Today report found overwhelming support for the anti-terror program, with 63 percent of those surveyed saying they supported the records gathering operation. 44 percent said they "strongly" endorsed it, while just 35 percent were opposed to the operation.

65 percent of those surveyed told ABC/Post pollsters that it was more important to investigate potential terrorist threats "even if it intrudes on privacy."

The Newsweek survey, however, turned up a different results, with a slim majority of those surveyed - 53 percent - telling the magazine that the NSA’s surveillance program "goes too far in invading people’s privacy."

Wide Support for National Guard Border Plan

A Time magazine poll taken last month shows that Americans overwhelmingly favor deploying the National Guard to the U.S.-Mexican border - an idea that is expected to be the centerpiece of President Bush speech to the nation on immigration reform Monday night.

62 percent of those surveyed told Time that they would back a plan to militarize the border. Just 35 percent opposed.

56 percent told Time that they would favor building a wall across the entire U.S.-Mexican border - not the just 700 miles of fencing proposed in a plan passed by the House in December. Only 40 percent opposed.

Asked if President Bush should take "whatever steps [are] necessary to guard the border," 71 percent of Republicans said yes, along with 54 percent of Democrats.

It's not clear, however, whether the Bush speech will touch on building a border fence, although the Real ID Act - which the White House supported - funded the completion of a border fence in California.

A full 75 percent told Time that illegals should be denied government supplied health care and food stamps, with only 21 percent saying they should get those benefits. More than two thirds, 69 percent, say illegals shouldn't be allowed to get U.S. drivers licenses.

58 percent of Republicans favored "deporting all illegal immigrants," Time said, with 45 percent of Democrats agreeing.

Support for tough border enforcement may be even higher than the Time poll indicated, since their survey sample was comprised of 32 percent Democrats, 25 percent Independents and just 28 percent Republicans.

Late Nite Jokes

Leno

I signed up for a great new calling plan today - that NSA Friends and family plan. For $100 a month, they listen to all my friends and all my family.

Have you heard about this? According to "USA Today” the National Security Agency has been collecting phone records on millions and millions of ordinary Americans. So this Sunday when you call mom to wish her a Happy Mother's day, don't forget to take a moment to say hello to President Bush. He's probably listening.

President Bush denying all of this. He says this secret plan is strictly targeting terrorist. Forgot terrorist, how about targeting telemarketers? Then we would go along with it.

A new poll shows that Americans believe that Bill Clinton is more honest than President Bush. Well, when Clinton screwed the nation, he did it one person at a time.

President Bush is going to address the nation Monday night on the immigration issue. Bush said he would have given the address tonight but, he couldn't get that mission accomplished sign in Spanish made fast enough.

President Bush is asking the networks to make room in prime time Monday night for his speech. That should be no problem for NBC. The whole week is pretty much open.

Barry Bonds is only one homerun away from tying Babe Ruth...Oh sure, but could he do it like the Dabe did?... Fat and drunk? That's the question?

Letterman

(Opening applause) Settle down. You all sound like Exxon shareholders.

If I seem a little rattled, a little shaken tonight it’s because I caught a ride with Patrick Kennedy to work today.

John Conyers Defies Nancy Pelosi on Impeachment

Speaker of the House wannabe Nancy Pelosi is desperately trying to reassure the public that Democrats won't launch an impeachment jihad against President Bush if they win back the House in November.

In fact, lead House Bush-basher John Conyers has canceled his plans for impeachment hearings, she insists.

However, Mr. Conyers - who will chair the committee where impeachment would begin if his party regains control - seems to be disregarding the message.

Pelosi spokesman Brendan Daly insisted to the Washington Post on Friday that his boss had "told her caucus members during their weekly closed meeting Wednesday that impeachment is off the table; she is not interested in pursuing it."

Daly also claimed that Conyers "agrees with Pelosi's thinking" that Democrats would be better off pursuing other issues and forgetting about impeachment.

But that's not what Conyers is saying on his recently redesigned official web site.

"Stand with Congressman Conyers," the Michigan Democrat implores.

"Demand an Investigation of Administration Abuses of Power and Make Recommendations Regarding Grounds for Possible Impeachment if Warranted . . . .

"Join me to demand the creation of a Special Committee to investigate administration abuses of power and make recommendations regarding grounds for possible impeachment if warranted."

Nancy Pelosi - call your office.

Late Nite Jokes

Leno

Well folks, just 72 hours until Mother's Day. Are you ready? I tell you this Mother's Day is a real dilemma for a lot of people. I mean do you spend the $100 to get mom the dozen roses or use the $100 to fill up the gas to drive over and see mom?

You know mother's day also the busiest long distance phone calling day of the year? Over 300 million long distance calls. And those are just the ones being monitored by the White House.

In an interview on Florida television President Bush said he would like to see his brother Jeb become president. Hey, great campaign slogan, "Jeb Bush - couldn't do any worse."

President Bush’s approval rating is at an all time low of 31%. To give you an idea how bad it is. If Bush could run again in the next presidential election he would lose to the bird flu.

The president of Iran wrote a letter to President Bush. Did you know about this? And its seemed that's caused some problems. Turns out, it's a chain letter. Now Bush now has to send to ten other world leaders. Or there's some kind of curse. We got suckered into that one.

FEMA has closed their office in New Orleans. I guess they wanna get out of there before hurricane season hits.

According to a new study released this week, in the last 10 years, oral sex among teenagers has doubled. So who says there's no Clinton legacy?

Letterman

Summer is just around the corner. Dick Cheney accidentally hurt a guy in a fishing accident.

The House of Representatives just passed a bill, a $70 billion tax cut on capital gains. This is called the "no millionaire left behind act”.

Conan

United Airlines might be leaving the city of Chicago. The good news is that they will be leaving from O’Hare so they will not depart for another six years.

Strong Support for NSA Phone Surveillance

Despite a day of media hyperventilation over the National Security Agency's program to collect information on domestic phone calls, a new poll finds the American people back the operation by overwhelming numbers.

In a survey taken yesterday after USA Today blew the cover on the program, 63 percent of those surveyed said they supported the records gathering operation, with 44 percent saying they "strongly" endorsed it.

Just 35 percent said they were opposed to the collection of phone records by the government, with a mere 24 percent saying they "strongly" objected to it.

65 percent of those surveyed told ABC/Post pollsters that it was more important to investigate potential terrorist threats "even if it intrudes on privacy."

A slight majority - 51 percent - said President Bush had done a good job surveilling terrorists without abusing the privacy rights of Americans.

502 randomly selected adults were interviewed by the Post and ABC News Thursday night, giving the survey a margin of error of +/- 5 points.

Late Nite Jokes

Leno

With these gas prices I got smart. I'm driving the new Patrick Kennedy hybrid car. Have you seen this thing? It runs on sleeping pills and when you get on the highway it runs on alcohol.

A lot of people are very upset that Congressman Patrick Kennedy was not given a blood alcohol test after his car accident last week. I can understand why they didn't do it. I mean that makes sense. It's kind of like giving President Bush the S.A.T. test. What's the point? You know what the answer is going to be.

As you may have heard, the president of Iran has written a letter to President Bush. I tell you this Iranian president is smart. To make sure Bush reads the letter, it was written on Exxon stationary.

Russia is still very upset over Vice President Dick Cheney's recent comments about that country. I'm sure the vice president has thought his words out carefully. He's not the kind of guy who just shoots from the hip.

In an interview this week Senator Hillary Clinton said that on a personal level she finds president bush has charm and charisma and she enjoys his company. Which is pretty amazing considering she's never said that about bill.

There's talk in Hollywood of making a movie based on the old TV show "Knight Rider." Remember the show "Knight Rider", starred David Hasselhoff and a talking car? You know where they got the idea of a talking car? The producers saw David act and said, "Why don't we give the car a few lines?"

Letterman

This is one of the worst allergy seasons on record. It’s so bad that Rush Limbaugh says he’s addicted to Claritin.

Britney Spears was here last night. While she was here her baby was outside driving around looking for a parking spot.

I came into work today feeling good and then I found an 18 page letter on my desk from the president of Iran.

Did you know he dots his i’s with mushroom clouds?

The president of Iran sent President Bush and 18 page letter. Yeah, right, like he’s going to read that!

Barry Bonds is now one home run away from passing Babe Ruth. 714 home runs. Imagine what he could have done on steroids!

John Conyers: U.S. Owes Slavery Reparations

The left wing Democrat who will become chairman of the House Judiciary Committee if his party wins back Congress in November wants to hold full blown congressional hearings on whether the government should pay African Americans reparations for slavery.

Michigan Rep. John Conyers has attracted attention in recent months for his House resolution calling for an impeachment investigation against President Bush.

But another Conyers cause-celeb is reparations, which he's been advocating since 1989, when he first introduced legislation to establish what he calls, "The Commission to Study Reparations Proposals for African American Act." ( H.R. 40)

In a press release posted to his official congressional web site, Conyers explains how he intends to handle the hot-button issue.

"My bill does four things:

. It acknowledges the fundamental injustice and inhumanity of slavery.

• It establishes a commission to study slavery, its subsequent racial and economic discrimination against freed slaves.

• It studies the impact of those forces on today's living African Americans.

• The commission would then make recommendations to Congress on appropriate remedies to redress the harm inflicted on living African Americans."

Conyers says:

"I chose the number of the bill, 40, as a symbol of the forty acres and a mule that the United States initially promised freed slaves. This unfulfilled promise and the serious devastation that slavery had on African-American lives has never been officially recognized by the United States Government . . . "
He goes on:

"Just as we've discussed the Holocaust, and Japanese interment camps, and to some extent the devastation that the colonists inflicted upon the Indians, we must talk about slavery and its continued effects."

Though Conyers reintroduces his reparations resolution every year, would-be House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has never indicated whether she'd back the controversial proposal.

Late Nite Jokes

Leno

I saw something very disturbing coming into work this morning on the freeway. A van coming from Mexico, 45 people crammed inside it. They weren't illegals, its just gas is so expensive they were carpooling.

The good news, OPEC lowered its price to just under $70 a barrel. The bad news, that's just for the barrel.

The price of gas is getting so high, this morning I saw Patrick Kennedy and Rush Limbaugh carpooling to rehab together. You never see that.

More problems for Congressman Patrick Kennedy after his car accident. According to the police reports he acted disoriented and his speech was slurred. Today he was charged for impersonating Paula Abdul.

In recent memory, only four presidents have had lower approval ratings. The president of Exxon. The president of Chevron. The president of Texaco.

The President of Iran has written a letter to President Bush. Among other things, the Iranian president attacked Bush's policies, said democracy was a failure, and claimed America is hated all over the world. Ended the letter by calling America the "Great Satan”, but other than that it was a nice letter...at least they're talking and I think that's important.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice dismissed the letter right off. Donald Rumsfeld said he's investigating the letter and the CIA said, "We got a letter from Iran? When?"

Conan

The San Francisco Giants Barry Bonds is just one home run away from a tie with Babe Ruth’s home run record. Babe once called his shot into the right field stands. Barry today called his shot into his right butt cheek.

Duke Accuser First Claimed 20 Attackers

The 27-year-old stripper whose claim that she was raped by three members of the Duke University lacrosse team has became a national controversy, first told police that more than 20 members of the team participated in the sexual assault.

According to a report released Monday by university officials, police informed the school that the accuser "kept changing her story and was not credible."

The woman initially told police she was raped and sexually assaulted by about 20 white members of a Duke team, the school's report says, according to he Knight Ridder news service.

"[The discrepancy was] the main fact that explains why we dealt with this as we did," Duke University President Richard Brodhead told reporters on Monday. "All of us wish we had gotten onto the story earlier."

Only later did the Duke accuser revise her account, saying she was attacked by just three lacrosse players in the bathroom of a house rented by the team.
Kerry Sutton, an attorney for a player who has not been charged in the incident, seized on the accuser's 20-attacker claim, telling Knight Ridder that her shifting story shows that "these players didn't do anything and the woman is not credible."

Two team members have been indicted on first degree rape charges, with Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong reportedly eyeing a third for possible prosecution.

Late Nite Jokes

Leno

Finally a beautiful day. It was so hot today I was sweating like a Kennedy trying to get car insurance.

In fact, today Geico said to Kennedy, "We can't save you any money."

Hey Kev, how do you stop a Kennedy from driving? Concrete barrier.

As I’m sure you know by know, Patrick Kennedy blamed this whole incident on a sleep medication he was taking. That's what he said, he said he couldn't remember getting out of bed in the middle of the night and leaving his home. And today Bill Clinton said, "Good answer, good answer."

Kennedy has checked himself into a drug rehab clinic. He gets that 25% Kennedy family discount. Just mention "Ted" at the door and your right in.

In a commencement speech at University of Oklahoma on Saturday President Bush told the graduates that the job market is the best it's been in years. Well sure, look at all the openings just in his cabinet. Come on down. We're hiring!

CIA Director Porter Goss resigned. He said he wants to spend more time spying on his family.

Sad news, the last American survivor of the Titanic disaster, has died at the age of 99. The sad part. She was this close to shore.

Sen. Kerry: Bush 'Intolerant' of Dissent

Sen. John Kerry accused the Bush administration on Saturday of stirring up a "spirit of intolerance" to suppress dissent over the war in Iraq.

Kerry said the Bush administration is targeting opponents of the Iraq war in much the same way he was attacked for protesting failed policies in Vietnam in the 1970s.

"Dismissing dissent is not only wrong but dangerous when America's leadership is unwilling to admit mistakes, unwilling to engage in honest discussion and unwilling to hold itself accountable for the consequences of decisions made without genuine disclosure or genuine debate," said Kerry, D-Mass.

"Although no one is being jailed today for speaking out against the war in Iraq, the spirit of intolerance for dissent has risen steadily, and the habit of labeling dissenters as unpatriotic has become the common currency of the politicians currently running our country," he said.

Kerry, the Democratic nominee for president in 2004, spoke at Grinnell College. During his visit to Iowa he repeated his call for a deadline for American troops to be pulled out of Iraq by the end of the year.

"The Iraqis have shown they only respond to deadlines," he said in an interview with The Associated Press. "I think you've got to be tough here."

Kerry first drew public attention 35 years ago when, as a decorated Navy veteran, he testified to Congress in opposition to the Vietnam war. Some fellow veterans criticized him then, and his opposition to the war has been a point of controversy throughout his political career.

"Once again, we are imprisoned in a failed policy," he said. "And once again we are being told that admitting mistakes, not the mistakes themselves, will provide our enemies with an intolerable propaganda victory."

Danny Diaz of the Republican National Committee fired back that: "John Kerry's distortions and political attacks are no more credible today than they were on Election Day 2004."

Fox Most Trusted News Source in U.S.

The Fox News Channel is the most trusted news source in America, according to a new poll released by the BBC and Reuters that surveyed 10,000 news consumers around the world.

Asked which news source they most trusted, 11 percent of Americans named Fox News - more than any other news source in the U.S.

Fox News led the broadcast networks by substantial margins, with ABC coming in at 4 percent, NBC - 4 percent and CBS - 3 percent.

In less crowded news markets, percentages were higher. 32 percent of Britons, for instance, named the the BBC, while 59 percent of Egyptians named Al Jazeera.

The most trusted news networks on a global basis were the BBC, and CNN, the Reuters/BBC poll found.

"National TV is still the most trusted news source by a wide margin, although the Internet is gaining ground among the young," said Doug Miller, president of London-based research firm GlobeScan, which conducted the polling.

More than 1,000 people were surveyed in March and April in each of the United Kingdom, United States, Brazil, Egypt, Germany, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Russia and South Korea.

Conservatives Upset With Bush

Angry conservatives are driving the approval ratings of President Bush and the GOP-led Congress to dismal new lows, according to an AP-Ipsos poll that underscores why Republicans fear an Election Day massacre.

Six months out, the intensity of opposition to Bush and Congress has risen sharply, along with the percentage of Americans who believe the nation is on the wrong track.

The AP-Ipsos poll also suggests that Democratic voters are far more motivated than Republicans. Elections in the middle of a president's term traditionally favor the party whose core supporters are the most energized.

This week's survey of 1,000 adults, including 865 registered voters, found:

Just 33 percent of the public approves of Bush's job performance, the lowest of his presidency. That compares with 36 percent approval in early April. Forty-five percent of self-described conservatives now disapprove of the president.

Just one-fourth of the public approves of the job Congress is doing, a new low in AP-Ipsos polling and down 5 percentage points since last month. A whopping 65 percent of conservatives disapprove of Congress.

A majority of Americans say they want Democrats rather than Republicans to control Congress (51 percent to 34 percent). That's the largest gap recorded by AP-Ipsos since Bush took office. Even 31 percent of conservatives want Republicans out of power.

The souring of the nation's mood has accelerated the past three months, with the percentage of people describing the nation on the wrong track rising 12 points to a new high of 73 percent. Six of 10 conservatives say America is headed in the wrong direction.

Republican strategists said the party stands to lose control of Congress unless the environment changes unexpectedly.

"It's going to take some events of significance to turn this around," GOP pollster Whit Ayres said. "I don't think at this point you can talk your way back from those sorts of ratings."

He said the party needs concrete progress in Iraq and action in Congress on immigration, lobbying reform and tax cuts.

"Those things would give the country a sense that Washington has heard the people and is responding in a way that will give conservatives a sense that their concerns are being addressed," Ayres said.

Conservative voters blame the White House and Congress for runaway government spending, illegal immigration and lack of action on social issues such as a constitutional amendment outlawing gay marriage. Those concerns come on top of public worries about Iraq, the economy and gasoline prices.

Candice Strong, a conservative from Cincinnati, said she backed Bush in 2004, "but I don't agree with the way he's handling the war and the way he's handling the economy. I think he should have pulled our troops out of Iraq."

Hardline conservatives are not likely to vote Democratic in the fall, but it would be just as devastating to the Republicans if conservatives lose their enthusiasm and stay home on Election Day.

AP-Ipsos polling suggests that Democrats may be winning the motivation game. Fewer voters today than in 2004 call themselves Republicans or Republican-leaning. In addition, 27 percent of registered voters were strong Republicans just before the 2004 election, while only 15 percent fit that description today.

Democratic numbers are the same or better since 2004.

"This tells us we've got our work cut out for us," said Sen. Sam Brownback, a conservative Republican from Kansas who may run for president in 2008. "The key for us is to show restraint on spending and on dealing with immigration."

Bush's strong suit continues to be his handling of foreign policy and terrorism, an area in which he modestly improved his ratings since April. Still, a majority of Americans disapprove of his performance on both fronts.

It gets worse. Only 23 percent of the public approve of the way the president is handling gasoline prices, the lowest in AP-Ipsos polling. Those who strongly disapprove outnumber those who strongly approve by an extraordinary 55 percent to 8 percent.

As for his overall job performance, history suggests that Bush's paltry 33 percent spells trouble for Republicans in the fall.

In the past six decades, only one president had a lower job approval rating six months before a midterm election _ Richard Nixon in May 1974, the year in which Watergate-scarred Republicans lost 48 seats in the House and four in the Senate.

By November, Nixon was out of a job too, having resigned the presidency in August.

Nearly half of the public strongly disapproves of Bush, a huge jump from his 5 percent strong disapproval rating in 2002. The poll has a margin of error of 3 percentage points.

Of all Republicans, nearly 30 percent disapprove of the job Bush is doing, including 13 percent who feel strongly about it.

"Hopefully this is a wakeup call for my party to get out of its bunker and hunker mentality," said Republican strategist Greg Mueller, whose firm specializes in conservative politics.

He urged his party to start criticizing Democratic positions on the Iraq war, immigration and the economy.

"We've been like a punching bag," Mueller said.

Democrats need to gain 15 seats in the House and six in the Senate for control of Congress, no easy task in an era that favors incumbents.

"What we have to do is earn the public approval of our right to govern again," said Democratic Party chairman Howard Dean.

The Democratic strategy is to nationalize the elections around a throw-the-bums-out theme.

Republicans counter that they will do better than polls suggest when voters are forced on Election Day to choose between candidates in their particular House and Senate races.

"But," Ayres said, "we better get in gear."

Late Nite Jokes

Leno

Well happy Cinco de Mayo everybody. This is a holiday celebrated by over 80 million Mexicans. And those are just the ones here in L.A.

Please don't confuse this holiday with NBC were it's Cinco de Ratings. That's totally different.

Congressman Patrick Kennedy celebrated Cinco de Mayo a little bit differently. He used his car as a pinata.

Did you hear his excuse for hitting the barrier? He said he had to swerve to avoid hitting Ted Kennedy who was crawling home. I don't know what was going on there.

I guess apple doesn't stagger far from the tree, does it?

Today Kennedy blamed his seemingly intoxicated state after the car crash on a sleeping medication... I believe it's called Jaggermeister.

You know what we should do, the next time a Kennedy gets in a car late at night, wake up Dick Cheney and have him shoot out the tires.

According to a new geographic literacy study 4 out of 10 American students couldn't find Iraq on a map. However 10 out of 10 Mexicans could find the U.S. without a map.

Bob Dylan's new radio show begins on XM Radio this week. I understand it's also being simulcast in English.

Just 24 hours after golfer John Daly said he had a gambling problem, Charles Barkley revealed he lost $10 million in Las Vegas. And that was just at the buffet table.

Patrick Kennedy Crash Second in Three Weeks

Patrick Kennedy's Capitol Hill car crash in the early hours of Thursday morning was the second vehicular mishap suffered by the Rhode Island Democrat in three weeks.

Appearing on ABC Radio's Mark Levin Show last night, WRKO Boston radio host Howie Carr detailed the earlier accident, which went unnoted outside of the local press in Providence, Rhode Island.

"The accident wasn't reported in the newspapers until almost a week after it happened," Carr complained in his own Boston Herald column last week.

"The story ended up in the D section of the Providence Journal, under the East Bay Sports Bulletin Board and a big story headlined, 'Two arrested after Newport tagging spree,'" he said.

On April 15 Kennedy was on his way to the drug store, driving a Ford Crown Victoria on Turnpike Avenue in Portsmouth, R.I., when he made an abrupt left turn into the path of an oncoming Nissan.

"By Kennedy standards, it was a fender-bender," Carr noted.

According to the police report, there was no indication that Kennedy was driving under the influence, with his physical condition described as "appearing normal."

Kennedy's handwriting after the accident, however, didn't appear normal, Carr told Levin, explaining that in Rhode Island police require drivers to write their own accident statement.

"It looks like it was written by a chimpanzee, or a 2-year-old," Carr said, speculating that it could been caused by "medications" Kennedy was taking.

After the second crash, Kennedy relased a statement saying he was taking Ambien, a drug linked to disoriented behavior in press reports.

Late Nite Jokes

Leno

Once again there was 100,000 people in the streets today. Not immigrants, but SUV owners walking to work.

Some are calling Monday’s march a national coming out day for Latinos. They’re equating being Latino to being gay. Hey, I think it’s a bit easier to tell your parents you’re Latino!

Hillary Clinton said that when she was younger she wanted to be an astronaut. Could you imagine if Hillary had become an astronaut? What would Bill be saying? Mr. Clinton are you married? "Yes, but my wife is no longer on this earth.”

Anna Nicole Smith has won her Supreme Court case. I think this is the first time a bunch of old guys gave her what she wanted and lived to tell about it.

The heaviest man in the world lives in Mexico, he weighs over 1200 pounds! In fact he tried to cross the border once and was caught by officials in California, Arizona and New Mexico.

Letterman

It’s spring time. Allergy season. Allergies are terrible here in New York City. You know why? It’s due to the rat dander.

Conan

Barry Bonds has hit his 712 home run and is now only 2 home runs away from passing Babe Ruth. Not only that, he’s also now only two injections away from passing Jose Canseco.

U.S. 'Disrupted' al-Qaida From Getting WMD

U.S. and international efforts to defeat al-Qaida have hampered the terrorist group's ability to obtain weapons of mass destruction, a top American intelligence official said.

Air Force Gen. Michael V. Hayden, principal deputy director of national intelligence, declared in a speech this week that while al-Qaida remains dangerous, the global war against terrorists in the past 4 1/2 years has "disrupted [al-Qaida´s] efforts to acquire weapons of mass destruction."

Gen. Hayden and other intelligence officials declined to provide specifics of the disruption. [Editor's Note: Can the U.S. Avoid a Nuclear D-Day? Go Here Now!]

But one administration official said the killing of al-Qaida explosives specialist Abu Marwan in Pakistan last month was one of the successes. Marwan was thought to be linked to al-Qaida's attempts to build nuclear and other unconventional explosives, The Washington Times reports.

U.S. and allied intelligence agencies have increasingly focused on monitoring the sale and movement of goods that could be used to produce WMD, including high explosives, officials told The Washington Times.

Gen. Hayden said key successes in the war on terror include denying al-Qaida safe haven in Afghanistan, killing or capturing large numbers of its leaders, cutting funding sources and forcing terrorists to spend more time eluding capture.

"Most fundamentally, we have prevented any further attacks against the homeland," he said. But administration officials said operations in Afghanistan and other recent incidents indicate that al-Qaida continues to seek nuclear, chemical, biological and radiological weapons.

Gen. Hayden warned: "The global jihadist movement is evolving in many ways. The movement is spreading and adjusting to our counterterrorism efforts, and it is also exploiting the communications revolution, the Internet and media sensationalism."

A State Department report on terrorism made public last week said the spread of information about nuclear arms development, including data on the Internet, poses an increased risk that "a terrorist organization with the right material could develop its own nuclear weapon."

Mexico to Legalize All Drugs

MEXICO CITY - Mexican President Vicente Fox will sign into law a measure that decriminalizes the possession of small amounts of marijuana, cocaine, heroin and other drugs for personal use, his spokesman said Tuesday.

Spokesman Ruben Aguilar defended the law, which was approved Friday by Mexico's Senate, despite criticism in the United States.

"The president is going to sign this law," said Aguilar, who called the legislation "a better tool ... that allows better action and better coordination in the fight against drug dealing."

"The government believes that this law represents progress because it established the minimum quantities that a citizen can carry for personal use," Aguilar said.

Under current Mexican law, judges can drop charges against people caught with drugs if they can prove they are addicts and if an expert certifies they were caught with "the quantity necessary for personal use."

The new bill makes the decriminalization automatic and drops the addict requirement — automatically letting "consumers" have drugs.

Though police will still be able to detain people for public consumption or possession of drugs, it appears those caught could only be referred to a treatment program or have their names added to a registry.

On Friday, San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders said he was appalled by the bill.

"I certainly think we are going to see more drugs available in the United States," Sanders said. "We need to register every protest the American government can muster."

Under the new law, consumers may possess up to 25 milligrams of heroin, 5 grams of marijuana (about one-fifth of an ounce, or about four joints), or 0.5 grams of cocaine — the equivalent of about four "lines," or half the standard street-sale quantity.

The law also establishes allowable quantities for other drugs, including LSD, ecstasy and amphetamines.

The bill maintains criminal penalties for drug sales.

Late Nite Jokes

Leno

Hillary spoke today about her childhood. She said as a child her dream was to be an Olympic athlete but she wasn’t athletic. Then she wanted to be an astronaut but NASA didn’t accept women. Then she wanted to be in medicine but hospitals make her woozy. Do you realize she’s pretty much saying she wants to be president because she can’t do anything else?

The bird flu has been discovered in New Jersey. Don’t worry if any of the birds get out New Jersey’s natural toxic waste will kill them off.

Letterman

It was a beautiful day here in New York City. It was so nice that all the immigrants took another day off.

Did you know that there are people in New York City that live in the Empire State Building? They tested the water there because it was cloudy. Something wrong with the water at the Empire State Building. They got fined. The water was cloudier than a Rush Limbaugh drug test.

Radicals Running Immigrant Movement

A leftist anti-war group has seized control of the immigrant movement that staged mass protests across the U.S. on Monday, says CNN's Lou Dobbs.

Praising the Washington Post for being the only newspaper that has reported that the radical leftist group ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) was an active promoter of Monday's national boycott, Dobbs noted that the movement chose May 1, the traditional International Worker's day sanctified by the Soviet Union and Marxist movements throughout the year to stage their protest.

Speaking on his CNN show Monday, Dobbs said that "Some illegal immigration and open borders activists in the Hispanic community are deeply concerned about the involvement of the left-wing radical group [ANSWER]. But others, like Juan Jose Gutierrez, whom I've interviewed a number of times over the past several months, manages to be both director of Latino Movement USA and a representative of ANSWER.

"As Gutierrez told us on my show, 'The time has come ... where we need to stand up and make a statement. We need to do what the American people did when they pulled away from the British crown. And I am sure that back in those days many people were concerned that was radical action.'

"Just how significant is the impact of leftists within the illegal immigration movement?" Dobbs asked, explaining that "It is no accident that they chose May 1 as their day of demonstration and boycott. It is the worldwide day of commemorative demonstrations by various socialist, communist and even anarchic organizations."

Radicalism, Dobbs continued "is not confined to Gutierrez and Latino Movement USA, explaining that Ernesto Nevarez of the L.A. Port Collective is promising to shut down the Port of Los Angeles today: '[Transportation and commerce] will come to a grinding halt. ...They are going to put a wall along the border with Mexico. We're going to put a wall between us and the ocean. And those containers ain't going to move.'"

Dobbs is not alone in citing ANSWER's involvement in today's protest. On their web site, the Los Angeles ANSWER group spelled out their backing, proclaiming "On May 1, stand up for immigrant rights. Join immigrants and supporters to make May 1 a national 'day without an immigrant.' We will settle for nothing less than full amnesty and legalization for the millions of undocumented workers presently in the United States. Let’s show the government, corporations and politicians that a powerful, united peoples’ movement has the power to win Civil Rights, workers’ rights and make history. No Work! No School! No Business as usual!

"The ANSWER Coalition, along with other pro-immigrant organizations, has been working hard to build May 1 and the overall immigrant right struggle. We've passed out over 150,000 flyers for May 1, gathered thousands of petition signatures demanding amnesty for all immigrants and held public street meetings all over Los Angeles to promote the movement. Join the struggle for full equality and justice today!"

Said Dobbs: "No matter which flag demonstrators and protesters carry today, their leadership is showing its true colors to all who will see."

Late Nite Jokes

Leno

Today of course was the "Day Without Immigrants” as they called it. Or as the Native Americans call it "the good old days”.

A day without immigrants. Did Schwarzenegger work today?

Lots of businesses were closed, streets were closed – everything was closed but that big hole down on the border.

There’s a lot of debate on what we call these people. Some say "illegals" is too harsh. Then there’s undocumented worker. What is that? I left my wallet in Mexico.

The demographics of Mexico are changing they say. For example in 1978 a typical Mexican mother had seven children. Now she has two children in Mexico and the other five are born in the United States.

There’s been quite the outrage over the Spanish version of the "Star Spangled Banner” that was released. One good thing though is that now at all the Major League Baseball parks all the players can now understand the words.

California now has the most expensive gas prices. Gas is so expensive now that drivers are shooting themselves instead of each other.

It’s affecting a lot of people. You just wait for the Indy 200 at the end of the month.

President Bush was in New Orleans. He said that, "We all pray for no hurricanes this year.” This is all part of the Faith Based Disaster Management plan.

Letterman

It was a beautiful day here in New York. It was unbelievable. It was so great I pretended I was an immigrant and took the day off.

Gas here is so expensive that the rats are now carpooling in from New Jersey.

Condoleezza Rice is seen as the most popular person in the Bush administration. That’s like being MVP of the Knicks!

Today is the 75th anniversary of the Empire State Building. This is a great historic fact. The Empire State building is the only American landmark to have ever had a giant ape on top of it. Unless you count Maria Shriver as a landmark.