MATT BLUNT NAYSAYS PROPOSED BUSH MEDICAID CUTS

The cuts that he and Republican lawmakers made in Missouri in 2005? The ones that brought hardship and misery to tens of thousands of Missourians? Apparently, those were fine with the governor. But when President Bush proposes cuts in Medicaid payments to hospital and nursing homes ... well, that's a no-go with Blunt.

Bush wants to push through the rule changes by the end of the year. Sunday's New York Times reports:

The White House says the changes are needed to ensure the "fiscal integrity" of Medicaid and to curb "excessive payments" to health care providers.

But the plan faces growing opposition. The National Governors Association said it "would impose a huge financial burden on states," already struggling with explosive growth in health costs. ...

In Missouri, Gov. Matt Blunt, a Republican, said the change "could mean a loss of more than $84.9 million" for his state. That, he said, would "jeopardize the continuity of care for Medicaid recipients" and set back efforts to improve care in nursing homes.

Blunt and his bloc of Republican lawmakers would like voters to forget the 2005 Medicaid cuts; this move against Bush is a convenient way for Missouri's GOP to look like they're on the side of people on Medicaid. Will it work?

CYCLOPS BABY CAUSED BY ANTI-CANCER DRUG?

Wired magazine has the speculation, based on an internal hospital report. The baby's mother may have been taking an experimental drug for cancer patients. The drug's name? Cyclopamine:

The report states the child's parents turned to an unnamed fertility clinic after failing to have a child after six years of marriage. The treatment the mother received is unknown, but it appeared to work as she soon became pregnant. Then, late in her third trimester, she had her first ultrasound and it showed the child had serious problems. Too late to abort, she was rushed to the hospital for an induced labor.

The child was diagnosed with a rare chromosomal disorder, known as cyclopia. She was born with a single eye in the center of her forehead, no nose and her brain fused into a single hemisphere. With such severe deformities, it was a miracle that the girl survived even a few minutes after delivery. Yet now, 11 days later, she has lived significantly longer than other cyclopean cases. ...

Cyclopia affects about one child in a million. It can occur when a mother suffers from extremely low cholesterol or diabetes, or a foreign agent is introduced during pregnancy.

The active ingredient in Cyclopamine was discovered in 1957 when a batch of sheep in Idaho who had been grazing on wild corn lily gave birth to multiple one-eyed kids. Medical experts at the U.S. Department of Agriculture discovered that toxins in the corn lily are powerful teratogens that alter fetal development. The scientists named the toxin Cyclopamine after the one-eyed sheep.

Photos of the baby may be found by clicking here.

NO WHIZZING ALLOWED

Michael Ray Hunter and James Alan Richardson: This is why they call it dope. From The Associated Press:

Sometimes when nature calls, there's no time to delay, but a Kentucky man sure picked the wrong spot for a pit stop.

Michael Ray Hunter, 37, found out Wednesday night that the parking lot of the West Virginia State Police headquarters in South Charleston isn't the right spot.

Trooper J.S. Crane just happened to be walking nearby as Hunter was relieving himself.

As Crane approached, he smelled alcohol. That discovery led Crane to the truck where Hunter's friend, James Alan Richardson, 40, was checking phone messages.

During a search of the pickup, Crane and another trooper found a marijuana pipe and pills for which Richardson had no prescription.

Both men were arrested for public intoxication. Hunter also is charged with indecent exposure and Richardson is charged with possessing controlled substances.

Both also face lifetimes of ridicule.

BUS DRIVER ACCUSED OF RAPING STUDENT

The kid is 13. The driver is 23. Her name is Mary Palma. Cops say it happened in Kansas City. KMBC-TV reports:

Palma, 23, was charged with the statutory rape of a family friend's son.

Police said the alleged rapes occurred at the boy's home where Palma was staying and on Palma's school bus.

Palma was arrested after the boy's mother reported the relationship.

You can find Palma's mugshot here.

MIKE DOUGLAS, 81

Friday was his 81st birthday. He marked it by dying. From The Associated Press:

The afternoon talk show, which aired from 1961 to 1982, featured Douglas' ballad and big-band singing style, other musicians, comedians, political personalities and sports figures. His interviews included seven men who were then, had been or would become president.

We grew up watching Douglas after school. Odd little factoid: Roger Ailes was Douglas' producer. He's gone on to bigger things.

MESSENGER: REFORM MEDICAID

But not in the way Missouri Republicans did in 2005, when they slashed coverage for tens of thousands of Missourians and got hit between the eyes with widespread criticism for being cruel.

Tony Messenger, editorial-page editor of the News-Leader, gets it. In a Friday editorial he writes:

A legislative committee was in Springfield on Wednesday looking for fraud in Medicaid.

Perhaps there is some to be found, but we suggest lawmakers are once again focusing on the wrong priorities when they talk about Medicaid. What they ought to be doing is figuring how they're going to remake the system. When the legislature slashed Medicaid two years ago to balance the state budget, they passed a bill that wipes out the current state system of state-funded indigent care by 2008. The plan, Gov. Matt Blunt and Republican legislators said, was to remake the system from scratch.

So what are they doing? They're still talking about fraud and abuse, which was their rallying cry when they made the cuts in the first place. In the meantime, real people are suffering. Children have lost their insurance. Disabled adults have quit their jobs to keep their Medicaid. We're about two years away from the system going away and we're nowhere closer to figuring out the plan to develop a sustainable Medicaid program.

The good news is that Blunt seems to understand the key issue. In an interview with the News-Leader editorial board recently, he decried the liberal myth that too many people in our system today don't have access to health care.

"Everybody has access," Blunt says. "It's the emergency room. We need to change that."

The irony, of course, is that was the Democratic criticism two years ago when he slashed the Medicaid rolls and forced too many folks to use the emergency room as their sole source of health care. That Blunt today understands that reality of our system speaks well for the potential reform of the Medicaid system, if only the governor and lawmakers can get past political hurdles and focus on the real issues.

The laughable part, of course, is that Blunt and his fellow Republicans now sound shocked -- shocked! -- by the very cuts in Medicaid that they rammed through the legislature. Today they claim they're the only ones who can fix the problem. If a burglar broke into your home and stole your things, would you let him come back in to fix the locks he busted?

EARTHQUAKE IN MEXICO

A large temblor, with buildings swaying in Mexico City. Check here for details as they come in.

FRIDAY'S NEWS ON THURSDAY

Friday's local news will include talk about gangs and violence. How do we know? Springfield police and the Greene County prosecutor have a 10 a.m. news conference -- in an alleyway, of all places -- to "make an announcement regarding the Grand Jury’s first indictment. Chief [Lynn] Rowe will address the rise of criminal activity, acts of violence in the Springfield Community, and discuss the newly formed Gang Task Force."

The news conference will be held in the alley behind 409 N. Boonville Ave. Ambience, you know.

ABU GHRAIB TIPSTER FEARED PAYBACK

Joe Darby, a military policeman, was given a CD with photos of humiliated Iraqi prisoners in 2004. Disturbed by what he saw, he turned in the images to the Army's Criminal Investigation Division. That act led to disclosure of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal.

This week, The Associated Press interviewed Darby about the event. Topping the disclosures: Darby says he was afraid fellow soldiers would kill him once they learned he was the tipster.

From the story:

"I had the choice between what I knew was morally right and my loyalty to other soldiers. I couldn't have it both ways," the 27-year-old military policeman said in the just-released September issue of Gentleman's Quarterly.

In an interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday, Darby said that if presented with the same circumstances at Abu Ghraib today, he would do the same thing. "It was a hard decision to make when I made it, but it had to be done," he said. ...

His worst moment, he said, came on May 7, 2004, during lunch with 10 fellow MPs in a mess hall filled with 400 troops.

"It was like something out of a movie," he recalled. [Secretary of Defense Donald] Rumsfeld appeared on television, dropped Darby's name, "and the guys at the table just stopped eating and looked at me. I got up and got the hell out of there."

Only later did he learn he had been named in a New Yorker magazine article a few days earlier, he told AP in the telephone interview.

In response to queries from AP, Bryan Whitman, a Pentagon spokesman, said he recalled no effort to protect Darby's identity. It was known "very early and quickly became common knowledge," and people were "talking about his courage in coming forward," he said.

Darby is scheduled to leave the Army and the Reserves, after eight years of duty, on Aug. 31. He no longer lives in his hometown of Cumberland, Md., where "a lot of people up there view me as a traitor. Even some of my family members think I'm a traitor."

He said he has returned home only twice, for a wedding and his mother's funeral.

"I'm not welcome there. People there don't look at the fact that I knew right from wrong," he said. "They look at the fact that I put an Iraqi before an American."

Some flag-waving conservatives -- you know, the ones who always claim they stand up for our soldiers -- are making clear how they feel about Darby. Check this thread from Free Republic to see how some alleged patriots are showing their true colors. Best jaw-dropping quote of the thread:

Traitor? Not really. Slimey weasel SOB might work better. Hey, what did they do with guys like this in Nam?

Nice talk.

THE MEN WHO CRIED WOLF

Thursday's newscasts are full of terror talk. Scotland Yard busted up an alleged plot to blow up planes flying into the United States from the United Kingdom. The Department of Homeland Security has officially gone nutballs, banning "any liquids" from all planes operating in the U.S.

Here's the statement from Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff:

The Department of Homeland Security is taking immediate steps to increase security measures in the aviation sector in coordination with heightened security precautions in the United Kingdom. Over the last few hours, British authorities have arrested a significant number of extremists engaged in a substantial plot to destroy multiple passenger aircraft flying from the United Kingdom to the United States.

Currently, there is no indication, however, of plotting within the United States. We believe that these arrests have significantly disrupted the threat, but we cannot be sure that the threat has been entirely eliminated or the plot completely thwarted.

For that reason, the United States government has raised the nation's threat level to Severe, or Red, for commercial flights originating in the United Kingdom bound for the United States. This adjustment reflects the Critical, or highest, alert level that has been implemented in the United Kingdom.

To defend further against any remaining threat from this plot, we will also raise the threat level to High, or Orange, for all commercial aviation operating in or destined for the United States. Consistent with these higher threat levels, the Transportation Security Administration is coordinating with federal partners, airport authorities and commercial airlines on expanding the intensity of existing security requirements.

Due to the nature of the threat revealed by this investigation, we are prohibiting any liquids, including beverages, hair gels, and lotions from being carried on the airplane. This determination will be constantly evaluated and updated when circumstances warrant. These changes will take effect at 4 a.m. local time across the country. Travelers should also anticipate additional security measures within the airport and at screening checkpoints.

These measures will continue to assure that our aviation system remains safe and secure. Travelers should go about their plans confidently, while maintaining vigilance in their surroundings and exercising patience with screening and security officials.

The United States and the United Kingdom are fully united and resolute in this effort and in our ongoing efforts to secure our respective homelands.

DANGER! DANGER! Not in the U.S., but to be safe, NO LIQUIDS ON THE PLANE! Go about your business, nothing here to see, but BE VIGILANT!

The conditioning has worked. Ivan Pavlov would be proud.

ANOTHER KATRINA CASUALTY

John McCusker, a photographer for the Times-Picayune newspaper in New Orleans, apparently snapped on Tuesday. He reportedly begged police to shoot him dead. They arrested him instead.

Reason for McCusker's break: He learned there wasn't enough insurance money to rebuild his storm-damaged home.

Editor & Publisher reports:

He had been one of the paper's key photographers in the immediate aftermath of Katrina. "Katrina didn't flood New Orleans - government failure did," he told visiting students from Brown University recently. ...

Police said they noticed McCusker driving erratically in the city on Tuesday evening, then hit several parked cars when they pulled him over. McCusker rolled the window down and said several times, "Just kill me, get it over with, kill me."

When that didn't happen, he put the car in reverse and pinned one of the officers between the rear bumper of his car and the officer's cruiser, police said, and he suffered minor injuries. McCusker drove away, to fabled St. Charles Avenue, "going out of his way to knock down any signs advertising construction," police told the newspaper.

When he finally stopped, police had to taser him -- as he again begged them to kill him.

The police official said, according to newspapers, that this was only one of many examples of the mental damage that Katrina has caused, "and he sees it all the time now."

"People are hoping John gets well," said a managing editor at the paper.

VOTERS TAKE A PASS

About 83 percent of Greene County voters decided not to go to the polls on Tuesday.

Those who did turn out did nothing unexpected -- unless you were among the anti-parks forces who really thought talk radio naysaying would do the trick. Greene County's parks tax passed, 58-42 (we thought it would be closer, 53-47).

Comparing other pre-election predictions in contested races to the real thing:

•We thought Rep. Jim Viebrock would be in trouble in the 134th. He won with 43 percent of the vote in a three-way race. Trouble. Just not enough to stop him.

•Rep. Charlie Denison beats David Dunn, but the challenger did make the incumbent sweat, 55-45.

•Rep. B.J. Marsh glided to victory in District 136 over Bob Vanaman.

•Dan Scott walked all over Ronald Day to get the GOP nomination in the 137th District. Charlie Norr defeated Rob Brantley and Richard Naperalski in the Democratic primary. No surprises. The district should be a solid for Dems come November, if Norr runs a sharp campaign.

•Steve Helms beats Michael Goodart. That means Helms faces defeat in November when he takes on Rep. Sara Lampe, who ran unopposed in the primary in the 138th.

•We thought Karen Roark might slide past Shane Schoeller in the 139th. Wasn't to be. Schoeller wins, 48-37, with Joe Pyles earning 15 percent of the vote. Several readers thought Pyles should have been the guy who won this race, given his moderate views. We concur. Schoeller will face Jamie Schoolcraft, who defeated Arthur Hodge, Sr., in the Democratic primary.

Rep. Roy Blunt won his primary race with close to 80 percent of the vote (that's with more than two-thirds of precincts reporting across the 7th Congressional District). Midge Potts, God bless her, garnered around 7 percent of the vote -- still good enough to bear Bernard Kennetz, Jr. It looks like Jack Truman will be the sacrificial lamb for Democrats in November; he defeated Ron Lapham and Charles Christrup.

Best local bit o' color: Christopher Davis and Jesse Tate tie -- 43-43 -- for Republican Committeeman of the 20th Ward. What is the procedure for breaking a tie?

Statewide, a couple of noteworthy items:

•Ken Hulshof is the current congressman in the 9th District, and word is he'd like to go bigger -- much bigger -- in Republican circles. Maybe governor, maybe U.S. senator, maybe even the White House. He was unopposed in the primary and got 27,558 votes. But his Democratic opponent, Duane Burghard, got 27,534 votes in his primary. This race will be a smoker.

•Missouri voters gave a big OK to a continuing tax that generates about $82 million annually "for soil and water conservation efforts and operation of the state park system." Will that progressive tax stance translate to a "yes" vote in November on a minimum-wage measure? Somehow, we doubt it.

•Mark Wright, the Springfield state representative who decided to run for auditor (after flirting with the idea of a primary challenge against Norma Champion for state senate) was buried Tuesday. He had about 14 percent of the vote in a five-way primary race. That was good enough for 4th place, ahead of oddity Al Hanson but behind everyone else. It also came after Wright was declared persona non grata in GOP circles for sharply criticizing Gov. Matt Blunt.

He thought it would prove he was an independent voice. Mark Wright was wrong.

ONE IN FIVE

Twenty percent. Or think of your hand, minus four digits. Sure, if you kept the middle finger you could still flip off the world (or order one beer), but your saxophone playing would greatly suffer.

That's the state of voting today in southwest Missouri. Greene County Clerk Richard Struckhoff predicts a 20-percent turnout among registered voters in Tuesday's primary election.

One person in five will decide the fate of a sales tax extension for parks in Greene County. One person in five will have a voice in selecting state representatives for everyone. On Wednesday, many non-voters will cluck and pule over the results.

Shameful doesn't even begin to describe the situation.

What will it take to get more people to vote? Serious question in search of serious answers.

NEW RADIO RATINGS OUT; KTTS WINS AGAIN

The latest Arbitron ratings for the Springfield, Mo., radio market were released Monday. Springfield is market #145; ratings are taken every spring and fall. The Monday numbers are from Spring 2006, and show:

•KTTS-FM is once again No. 1 overall (all listeners, 12+), with a 13.6 slice of the market.
•KGBX is No. 2 (again), with a 7.4 rating.
•KOMG, the Midwest Family station that used to be pop before it went '80s country, increased to a 7.1 from a 5.1 last fall.

Other winners:

•Midwest's KQRA (Q 102.1) jumped from a 2.7 to a 6 share.
•KKLH, another Midwest property at 104.7 FM, had toileted to a 1.7 last fall. The station's Spring 2006 number? An impressive 6.0 -- more than double the previous audience.
•KZRQ (106.7) regained a Fall '05 fall; the Journal-owned active rocker had a 3.4 rating in Spring '05 but then lost more than half its audience. Now they're back. The station posted 3.6 in the new book.

Losers:

•KSPW, the CHR station at 96.5 FM, continues to decline -- down more than two points to a 7.2.
•KWTO-FM, a sports-talk station, went from a 3.9 to a 2.4 rating.
•KADI, a religious pop station, saw its audience nearly vanish. The station boasted a 2.7 rating in Fall 2005; that declined to a 0.7 rating for Spring 2006.

WHAT A FRIEND WE HAVE IN CHEESES

About 100 workers at a cheese factory in Saint Cloud, Wis., are rich. Or richer than they were before, at least.

The Associated Press reports that the workers won a $208 million Powerball jackpot:

A large contingent of employees from Sargento Cheese say they have the winning ticket locked in a safe.

Eric Heimermann is one member of the celebrating group. He told the Fond du Lac Reporter that the mostly second shift workers had chipped in $1 apiece to a pool to purchase lottery tickets.

Heimermann, 24, of St. Cloud, spoke with the newspaper in a telephone interview from Fat Boys Tavern in St. Cloud. The newspaper said many of the winners went to the tavern Sunday night to celebrate.

"I think everybody pretty much decided we're going to pay our bills and we're going to take it from there," he told the newspaper. "We're all going to work tomorrow. We still have a job to do."

The lump-sum payout is $95.8 million -- nearly a mill, before taxes, for each worker.

PRIMARY PREDICTIONS

Tuesday is election day in Missouri. If you're registered, go vote. If you're not, get registered so you can vote in November.

The Tuesday trend to watch: Democrats crossing over to vote in GOP primaries. That could spell trouble for people like Charlie Denison in the 135th; Dems would rather face a newbie than an incumbent in November.

Here's our take on some of the contested primary races:

State Auditor
Rep. Mark Wright of Springfield, Rep. Jack Jackson of Wildwood, Platte County Auditor Sandra Thomas, Sen. John Loudon of Chesterfield and Al Hanson, gadfly: All want to be the Republican nominee.

Jackson's campaign is mostly funded by a half-million bucks he dumped into it. He's spent the most on TV ads, and hey, he calls himself "Col. Jack Jackson." The likely winner. As for local boy Mark Wright: Beyond toast and now firmly in powdered toast land.

The Democratic primary has Buchanan County Auditor Susan Montee (St. Joseph) facing accountant Darrell Wattenbarger of Columbia. Montee will win. Libertarian Charles Baum is unopposed.

State Representative, District 134
The only race is on the Republican side, with three men -- Bob Bilyeu, Jim Viebrock and Jim Collins -- running to face Democrat Christopher Brown and Libertarian Keith L. Rodgers in November. The KY3 Political Notebook has been on this race like nobody's business. The consensus: Viebrock is in trouble.

State Representative, District 135
Republican challenger David Dunn has been hammering incumbent Rep. Charles Denison. It probably won't be enough, but Denison may sweat before Tuesday night is over. The winner takes on Democrat Nancy Hagan in November. Note to Dunn: You ran a good race, but your signs are terrible.

State Representative, District 136
Republican incumbent Rep. B. J. Marsh hasn't done much campaigning, despite a challenge from Bob Vanaman. Marsh will win, setting up an interesting general race with Democrat James Owen.

State Representative, District 137
We wish we lived in this district. Dan Scott will defeat Ronald D. Day in the Republican primary. Across the aisle, Charlie Norr is supposed to win his primary over Robert Brantley and Richard Napieralski. Norr has the fiscal backing of several Dem groups. But nobody outhustles Brantley; he's got extensive roots in the district. An interesting primary night awaits.

State Representative, District 138
Steve Helms vs. Michael Goodart for the pleasure of losing to Rep. Sara Lampe in the general election. Helms will probably win the primary.

State Representative, District 139
Republicans Shane Schoeller, Joe Pyles and Karen Roark in the primary. She's Mom to Brad Roark, the bachelor incumbent who decided he would instead run for presiding commissioner of Greene County. Best oddball quote from this campaign is on the KY3 blog site, where longtime GOP boss Thelma Neff says this about Roark: "A lot of people call and ask me why is Brad's wife running for his seat. I say, it's not his wife. He doesn't have one of those."

We want Pyles and his handmade signs to win, but realism insists that Roark will probably squeak past Schoeller. Jamie Schoolcraft will beat Arthur Hodge Sr. in the Democratic primary. Libertarian Thomas Martz is unopposed.

Good luck.

KATHERINE HARRIS' POLITICAL OBITUARY

The former Florida secretary of state, now a congresswoman, is so far behind in her race for U.S. Senate that it's almost impossible for her to win.

The Palm Beach Post publishes a detailed account of Harris' doomed campaign. A couple of eye-popping disclosures:

She chastised speechwriters, press secretaries, fund-raisers, even travel aides who drove her from one event to another.

For those travel aides, a top priority was to get her Starbucks coffee, no matter where she was campaigning, "and God help him if it wasn't hot," an aide said

Several aides said Harris was so obsessed with Starbucks coffee she insisted that Starbucks locations be mapped out when she was traveling from one campaign stop to another. ...

Standing outside a Starbucks in Sarasota, Harris was berating a campaign aide as customers at outdoor tables sat watching.

Two days earlier, she had left some books in the aide's car as he drove her to campaign events in Florida. That night, when she returned to Washington, she called the aide and told him to send the books to her right away. He sent them the next morning by FedEx, but Harris returned to Sarasota that day before the books arrived.

"She kept saying 'I need those books. Why didn't you get them to me?' She wouldn't let it die," said the aide, one of more than a dozen key staffers who have quit Harris' campaign for the U.S. Senate this year. ...

In interviews with The Palm Beach Post during the past three weeks, six of those former aides, three of whom did not want to be identified, have described Harris as a temperamental boss who routinely yelled at staffers, belittled their intelligence, criticized their efforts, micromanaged every aspect of her campaign, and was ungrateful to those working for her.

"We used to call her 'The Hurricane' because she would spin completely out of control over the smallest things," said Jim Dornan, Harris' first campaign manager, who quit last fall.

Blown away.

HOLLYWOOD DEMS ENDORSE ARNOLD

The actor-turned-governor needs Democrats to win a full term as leader of California. Big-name entertainment types are obliging, according to the Los Angeles Times:

Some of Hollywood's most reliable and generous donors to the Democratic Party — Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and media mogul Haim Saban — are endorsing Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's bid for reelection.

Their support is partly a matter of friendship over partisanship. But it could deal a blow to the governor's main opponent, state Treasurer Phil Angelides, by signaling to other Democrats that it's acceptable to embrace a Republican.

The two men also like Schwarzenegger's plans to tackle global warming and fund schools. But further, Spahn said, "they are receptive to the governor's taking a less partisan approach to the job and a more inclusive approach to government."

Perhaps the deepest pockets among those embracing Schwarzenegger belong to the Egyptian-born Saban, who produced the "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers" and eventually created a media empire.

Saban, who is trying to acquire the Spanish-language network Univision with other investors, is a former trustee of the Democratic National Committee and one of its biggest donors. He spent $200,000 fighting the 2003 recall election that brought Schwarzenegger to power.

ET and the Power Rangers back Schwarzenegger. Hard to beat.

44 YEARS AGO

Aug. 5, 1962: Marilyn Monroe is found dead in her bed. She was 36 years old.

She would be 80 now. Impossible to think of her as old. She will always be this woman, the redhead before the ruin.

MARK WRIGHT SLEEPS WITH THE FISHES

Dave Catanese at KY3's Political Notebook delivers juicy scoop, culled from a Missouri Republican Party newsletter, dated Friday. The newsletter urges the faithful to shun Mark Wright, a candidate for auditor. Catanese elaborates:

The newsletter, put out late Friday afternoon by G.O.P. chair Jared Craighead, is a clear indication of the party leadership's anger with Wright over his recent comments about Governor Blunt. The move is also stunning, because party figures rarely get involved in inner-party primary races so publicly. ...

"This is a political fragging," says one Greene County Republican who considers Wright a friend. It's also a huge sign of the divisions in the Republican party right now."

"Why would the Republican party feel the need to do this unless they felt Wright was a threat? He is either gaining some traction and striking a chord among party people or he is out there alone in the political wilderness," says the Republican.

Beyond the Siberian fringes, we suspect. Mark Wright has become Luca Brasi to the Missouri GOP.

ARTHUR LEE, 61

He played in the 1960s band Love. Died in Memphis "following a battle with acute myeloid leukaemia," according to the BBC. Granny Geek gets the point.

APPEALS COURT: DELAY MUST STAY

Tom DeLay's name must stay on the November ballot, even though he's not actively running for reelection to Congress, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday. The Austin American-Statesman -- such a great name for a paper -- reports:

The appeals court upheld a ruling by U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks that the Republicans couldn't replace Delay.

DeLay, who retired from Congress and moved to Virginia, can stay on the ballot and return to Texas and campaign to regain his old seat -— or withdraw and leave U.S. House District 22 without a Republican candidate. It was not immediately clear if his lawyers would appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
DeLay won a March primary before resigning from Congress on June 9. He is awaiting trial in Texas state court on money laundering and conspiracy charges alleging that illegal corporate cash helped pay for legislative campaigns in 2002.

After he moved to Virginia, state Republicans said he was ineligible to run in Texas and sought to replace him on the ballot.

Texas Republican Party Chairwoman Tina Benkiser said she declared DeLay ineligible to be the GOP nominee because of his Virginia driver's license, state tax withholding documents and voter registration. Texas Democrats sued to keep DeLay on the ballot so they can continue to use him as a poster boy for bad behavior.

Sparks, however, cited evidence that DeLay has maintained his homestead exemption in Sugar Land, that his wife continues to live there and that he was found in Texas -— not Virginia —- when Democrats subpoenaed him to court.

Former Democratic Congressman Nick Lampson is running for the seat.

Such a peculiar hell for DeLay. If he decides to campaign, he might win, but he'll bring down his party in the process.

DOG DESTROYS ELVIS' TEDDY BEAR

Perhaps the Doberman smelled a hound dog. The Associated Press has the story:

A guard dog has ripped apart a collection of rare teddy bears, including one once owned by Elvis Presley, during a rampage at a children's museum.

"He just went berserk," said Daniel Medley, general manager of the Wookey Hole Caves near Wells, England, where hundreds of bears were chewed up Tuesday night by the 6-year-old Doberman pinscher named Barney.

Barney ripped the head off a brown stuffed bear once owned by the young Presley during the attack, leaving fluffy stuffing and bits of bears' limbs and heads on the museum floor. The bear, named Mabel, was made in 1909 by the German manufacturer Steiff.

The collection, valued at more than $900,000, included a red bear made by Farnell in 1910 and a Bobby Bruin made by Merrythought in 1936.

The bear with Elvis connections was owned by English aristocrat Benjamin Slade, who bought it at an Elvis memorabilia auction in Memphis, Tenn., and had loaned it to the museum.

"I've spoken to the bear's owner and he is not very pleased at all," Medley said.

A security guard at the museum, Greg West, said he spent several minutes chasing Barney before wrestling the dog to the ground.

The bear once owned by Presley is valued at $75,000. It would have been in a glass case, but it had been "left on the work surface while it was being prepared to go on display." Oops. A pic of the bad dog -- bad dog! -- can be found here.

DARYN KAGAN LEAVES CNN

Media Bistro has the scoop:

Longtime CNN anchor Daryn Kagan is departing the network this fall. In an internal announcement this morning, Kagan said she has been "grateful for the experience." She will stay in her regular anchor slot until September 1, an insider says.

Kagan is launching an "online venture" at DarynKagan.com on November 13. The site says: "One woman. One radical idea: The world is a good place. Stop in for daily inspiration to improve your world. Launching in 15 weeks! November 13, 2006."

Kagan has been at CNN for 12 years. "The conventional wisdom here is that Heidi Collins will replace her," the insider suggests.

Collins for Kagan. Good call.