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March 22, 2005 - "Environmental issues, especially at the state and local levels, are bringing together conservatives and liberals who agree on little else, providing common ground in an increasingly polarized nation." That's the lede in a good Philadelphia Inquirer story today about the bridge-building potential of environmental issues. Citing dozens of examples of eco-success stories in the red states, they note this news from the South:

March 22, 2005 - Our friend, David Sirota, has put up a string of good posts about the core economic issues like trade that have been deeply affecting working class communities -- and on which the Democratic Party has often been on the wrong side:

March 21, 2005 - Today's New York Times looks at the unfolding drama of non-profit organizations being targeted by the IRS and other government agencies for supposed "political" activity. The biggest lightning rod for administration scrutiny is the NAACP, which is refusing to hand over internal documents for a review of their tax-exempt status.

March 18, 2005 - The latest Facing South newsletter is out, on the two-year anniversary of the ignoble Iraq conflict. Here's this edition's Institute Index: Percent of U.S. soldiers that are from Southern states: 42 Percent of soldiers that are based in the South: 56 Number of U.S. soldiers that have died in Iraq: 1,520 Estimated number of soldiers wounded: 17,000 Percent in U.S. who think number of U.S. casualties has been "unacceptable": 70 Estimated number of civilian deaths in Iraq: 100,000 Cost of Iraq war to U.S. taxpayers, in billions: $157.9

March 16, 2005 - Over at Political Animal, substitute blogger Blad Plumer caught some flack yesterday for his hand-wringing about "rogue nations," and the possibility that "they" may get their dangerous hands on the bomb thanks to Bush's attempts to undermine the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

March 16, 2005 - From today's Palm Beach Post:

March 15, 2005 - A quick update on the latest Halliburton scandal that we reported yesterday.As you may recall, news came out that the Houston-based contractor overcharged the Pentagon $108 million for a single task order in their contract to operate Iraq's oil infrastructure.