A surprising number of Americans seem to think impeachment is a good idea. From the very conservative magazine, Human Events:

Few serious observers think things will ever get to actual impeachment. And yet the American public seems more open to the concept than many imagine, according to a new national poll. The implications of this public sentiment could be huge for the 2008 presidential elections.

Our InsiderAdvantage/Majority Opinion poll asked this: “Would you favor or oppose the impeachment by Congress of President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney?”

Favor: 39%
Oppose: 55 %
Undecided/Don’t Know: 6%

I should note that InsiderAdvantage/Majority Opinion is not a liberal polling firm — it’s led by Matt Towery, a former Republican state lawmaker who ran Newt Gingrich’s political operation for several years.

For a fringe idea, four-in-10 Americans is quite a few.

There is a whole world that a certain segment of conservatives live in that actually does not touch on reality at all. A world where museums can be built to show dinosaurs roaming the earth with humans. Where online encyclopedia entries must reflect a conservative world view. Where presidential candidates still have a shot after denying evolution.

This conservative world's newest target is YouTube. That's right. Apparently, cats playing the piano and homemade videos of soap stars and Harry Potter characters to the soundtrack of the latest pop love song are too...shall we say...liberally biased:

The popular video-sharing Web site first debuted "Hillary 1984," which compared Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y. to a Orwellian dictator, then-Sen. George Allen's career-altering "macaca" moment and the "I Feel Pretty" video that chided former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards' good looks.

But YouTube, which is owned by Google, has also been a favorite target of conservatives, who accuse the site of a liberal bias.

Railing against YouTube, two Republican White House veterans have launched QubeTV as a conservative alternative.

"The 2008 campaign will be dominated by video and in particular by user-generated video," says QubeTV founder Charlie Gerow, a former aide in the Ronald Reagan White House.

"There are a vast array of young conservative activists and operatives out there armed with cell phones or hand-helds that are going to capture the next 'macaca' moment or John Kerry bad joke and put them on Qube TV," says Gerow, whose Pennsylvania strategic media firm, Quantum Communications, created the Web site.

Gerow insists YouTube banned a video by conservative blogger Michelle Malkin about radical Islamists.

Responding to that incident, a statement on the Web site reads: "We fly the conservative flag here at QubeTV, and we will not be about banning or deleting conservatives."

For what it's worth, Michelle Malkin personally has 25 of her videos on YouTube and a site search yields 251 results, so she's hardly underrepresented. But that's just that pesky reality again. It's much more fun to embrace victimhood, even if it's a ridiculous lie.

Fables of the reconstruction: Over 20% of Gitmo inmates free to go but not allowed to leave

BeggarsCanBeChoosers: Count on the GOP to dust off the Lee Atwater playbook if Obama gets the 2008 nomination

PEEK: Federal contractors owe billions in unpaid taxes...hope you enjoyed paying yours

Martini Republic: Another feckless, war-pimp pundit feigns amnesia

Mercury Rising: The hackery never ends...your American media at work

democracy arsenal: Gross Incompetence...no, it's not George Bush

The 2008 Election, as explained by Yogi Berra

In an unrelated note, RIP to David Halberstam

Minnesota Monitor:

In an supplemental budget request, Ramsey County Sheriff Bill Fletcher is expected to ask for considerable funding to pay for security during the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul.

Fletcher, who narrowly won re-election in 2006, expects to arrest between three and five thousand protesters during the GOP's presidential nominating convention in September 2008. According to a source close to the policy-making process in St. Paul, the unconfirmed amount of $4,432,804 includes more than $80,000 for chain link fence to build outdoor holding areas for protesters. According Dave Verhasselt, spokesman for Ramsey County Manager David Twa, the Saint Paul Police generally have jurisdiction over arrests, and the Sheriff over jailing once arrests are made.

Verhasselt (who could not cite specific numbers but indicated a request "between three and four million" dollars) also said that discussion of arrest numbers at this point is purely speculative.

Protesters are a part of every large political convention, and the scope of Fletcher's projection seems to split the difference between recent examples. In 2004, six protesters were arrested at the Democratic National Convention in Boston, while approximately 10,000 were arrested during the RNC in New York City. According to sources close to the budget process, however, the St. Paul Police Department has already begun working with groups interested in expressing peaceful opposition to the RNC, and Fletcher's request appears, on its surface, to conflict with that process.

Senate 2008 Guru: The National Republican Senatorial Committee is 0-for-13 thus far in recruitment for 2008 Senate races that are Democratic-incumbent-held or open seats...and Cliff Schecter holds his nose and surveys the GOP presidential candidates

Prairie Weather: In case there's anyone left with the slightest doubt, the US Attorney dismissals were notably political

State of the Day: Bush and Nixon. Even governments of freely elected officials often become unaccountable and, as we have seen recently, autocratic.

The Agonist: General Petraeus should be immediately relieved of his command...and the loathesome Republican caucus is betting lives on assurances they don't believe

Informed Comment: A 15 percent increase in Iraqi deaths despite the 'surge'

NO QUARTER: This will put to bed, once and for all, the canard that Victoria Toensing, Novak or any other BUSHCO shill is a qualified expert on the Intelligence Identities Protection Act. Bullocks.

NYTimes:

Fox News Channel is announcing today that it has cut a deal with the Congressional Black Caucus Institute to sponsor two debates, one with Democrats and another with Republicans in the 2008 presidential race.

As many of you might remember, Nevada Democrats and Majority Senate Leader Harry Reid were slammed by liberal blogs for agreeing to a Democratic debate with Fox News a few weeks ago, and backed out of the deal under pressure. Liberal activists complained that Fox News was slanted toward Republicans, would distort the debate, and should be shunned. The breakpoint occurred when Roger Ailes, head of Fox News, in a joke at an an awards dinner, poked fun at President Bush for confusing Senator Barack Obama with Osama bin Laden. (Mr. Obama later said he didn't take offense, but many in the blogosphere did.)

According to Fox:

The first of the two debates will be among Democratic candidates and will be held on September 23rd at the Fox Theater in Detroit. The second debate will be among Republican candidates and will take place in the fall of 2007 at a location to be determined. Both debates will serve as a forum for the candidates to make their platforms known.

In a statement accompanying the Fox announcement, chairman of the C.B.C., Representative Bennie Thompson, Democrat of Mississippi, said this:

"As a leading organization dedicated to educating the public on issues of national policy, the CBC Institute is committed to presenting the presidential candidates to the broadest audience possible."

"Our goal with each debate is to provide a platform that will allow voters to hear the positions of candidates from both political parties. Collaborating with FOX News provides an opportunity to take this presidential election to millions of households."

ColorofChange.org has released a statement asking CBCI to reconsider:

"The CBC Institute's decision is shamefully out of step with most Black voters, and we will continue to push on the CBC Institute to drop this deal." Rucker goes on to say, "Every presidential candidate now must decide whether to legitimize Fox - a network that calls Black churches a cult, implies that Senator Barack Obama is a terrorist, and uses the solemn occasion of Coretta Scott King's funeral to call Black leaders ‘racist.' We will be launching a petition at www.ColorofChange.org asking presidential candidates to attend the CBC Institute's CNN debate and reject the Fox debate."

Sacramento Bee (reg. req'd.): (h/t Nathan)

Seeking to address concerns over the integrity of elections, a House panel is weighing controversial legislation requiring states to bring back the paper ballot as the official record .

Many, if not most, states are expressing concerns that Congress is moving too fast with pending legislation that would take effect in time for the 2008 national presidential elections, with primary balloting beginning in January.

Only 17 states have voter systems that would be in compliance with the proposed law.

The legislation has divided advocacy groups. State elections officials are opposed to it. County officials don't like it.

Even among those who support the idea, including California Secretary of State Debra Bowen, the consensus is it will cost a lot more money than cash-strapped Congress may be prepared to spend.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Washington Babylon: This Week In Babylon

Sensen No Sen: The serial abuse of the American military

Shakespeare's Sister: What passes for "accountability" in the Bush administration

Truly Equal: WTF?? John McCain is completely clueless about AIDS. The ignorance needs to read to be believed

Connecting.the.Dots: This blogger missed his chance to prevent the Watergate debacle...

OFF THE BEATEN PATH: Senate 2008 Guru...Negrophile...Circle Jerk at the Square Dance...News Corpse...

It hasn't been a very good week for Fox News. After the Nevada Democratic Party backed out of having them sponsor the Democratic debate, the Congressional Black Caucus has now decided to reject Fox's offer and partner with rival CNN for the South Carolina Democratic debates. From the press release:

"CNN is pleased to join with the CBC Institute in spotlighting this important primary race," said Jon Klein, president of CNN/U.S. "This debate provides a meaningful addition to our comprehensive coverage of the 2008 presidential election, particularly as it gives us an opportunity to explore more closely a range of issues that will impact the pivotal African-American vote."

Online activists ColorOfChange.com and Afro-Netizens were very vocal about the CBC not partnering with Fox, especially in light of the continuing smears of Barack Obama on Fox:

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