Good God almighty, I think we need a music break. Here's one. Brought to our attention by BRAD BLOG reader, badass Nashville blues man, and citizen Election Integrity champion Shannon Williford of Gathering To Save Our Demcoracy. (See a terrific recent MTV "Street Team '08" article on Shannon's EI advocacy here: "Electile Dysfunction – A Case Study in Successful Treatment", and the companion MTV video interview with him and his daughter, Linden here: "Who Did Your Voting Machine Vote For?" I've also posted the video interview below the fold for good measure, cuz the Willifords rock! On behalf of America, thanks guys!)

But anyway...back to the music break...It comes fresh out of the studio from Shannon's buddy Ross Falzone, off his new CD, Life Here On Earth, I'm hoping the title of the cut, "The Truth Has God on Its Side," proves right. Thanks for doing your part to call the liars Bush and Cheney on the carpet in the video, Ross! Some good clips I hadn't seen in a while! Enjoy...

And check out the video interview with Shannon and awesome daughter below!...

[Ed Note 8/3/08: The article from Washington Post, referenced and quoted in the story below, has now been scrubbed by the paper and replaced with a different story, without explanation or notice. Luckily, we have the original version of the article cached here, however. After reading the following, please see this new follow-up report with details on WaPo's scrubbing of the original story.]

Earlier today we singled out the media's failure to note the purported "liberal" leanings of those targeted by the "Anthrax Killer" (such as two leading Senate Democrats) in their coverage of the reported suicide of suspect Bruce E. Ivins.

Those reports noted that Ivins was soon to be indicted in the case. But was he the one who really dunnit?

A BRAD BLOG reader points us to this curious note, near the end of a late-afternoon story from today's Washington Post coverage, noting that Ivins had "no access to dry, powdered anthrax" at the Fort Detrick lab where he worked [emphasis ours]:

I’ve added a new suggestion to this reminder so I am going to send it a second day in a row. [Thank you for the timely suggestion Jody] Voter registrations and voter registration data bases have been a huge problem during the primary elections. There is no reason to believe that they will not be a huge problem in November. One of the only ways to ensure a voter is registered is for that voter to check their registration. We recommend every voter check now and then check again just before the voter’s state registration closes before November. We urge voters who find themselves purged from the registration roles to write a letter of complaint to their local Board of Supervisors, especially their own representative, with a CC to their SoS, the local newspaper Editor, and their congressional members. If those responsible for representing the citizenry start receiving such letters they might act to eliminate the cause. You can find out the date that your state is closing registration and who to check to ensure your registration is still HERE: ...

-- Brad Friedman

With the mainstream corporate media reports today on the apparent suicide of Bruce E. Ivins of the U.S. Government's bio weapons lab at Ft. Detrick, MD, who was reportedly about to be charged with the Anthrax murders of late 2001, it's curious --- if hardly surprising --- that none of the major outlets reporting the news bothered to note that the attacks were all made on perceived "liberals."

Letters, seeming to appear as if they were from Muslim extremists, declaring "Death to America...Death to Israel...Allah is Great," were sent to then-Democratic Majority Leader Sen. Tom Daschle, powerful Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy and then NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw.

Given the recent coverage (or extraordinary lack thereof) of the church shootings earlier this week in Knoxville, TN, carried out by a gunman who was said to have blamed "liberal Democrats" for all of this country's woes... and the coinciding news that the Bush Administration's DoJ illegally screened out applicants for career posts based on perceived beliefs that they might support "liberal Democratic" causes (a convergance that we noted, if few others did)... it's all the more curious --- if still not surprising in the least --- that the supposed "Liberal Media" haven't bothered to highlight who the actual targets of the anthrax attacks were, or the reasons why they appear to have been targeted.

Even the parade of reporters contacting the Ivins family today failed to bring up the topic.

We spoke with Ivins eldest brother Thomas today, to ask if he had any idea of Bruce's political leanings, and he told us "No, I didn't. I didn't know what his affiliations where. And that's a good question."

He was surprised by the question, and although he said he'd been speaking with reporters all day, "one after another," he told The BRAD BLOG none of the other reporters, not one of them, had asked him about his brother's political affiliations, leanings, or beliefs.

Apparently, it remains open hunting season on perceived "liberals." Today's remarkable MSM coverage of Ivins' death continues to underscore that point...

Guest blogged by Jon Ponder, Pensito Review.

George Bush went out of his way not to use the term "mission accomplished" yesterday when he quietly declared the surge in Iraq to be a success. Bush's declaration has been ignored by just about everyone, except for Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), who used it as an opportunity to trot out one of the tired-est of the GOP Big Lies: that Saddam Hussein's government was behind the 9/11 attacks.

First, here's a bit of Bush's non-declaration of success mumbo-jumbo:

A little later, during a press conference held by Lieberman and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) to congratulate Dear Leader on his latest triumph, Lieberman said this: