The Evening Quickie.

White House asks for dismissal of NSA wiretap suit (again), claiming that by being forced to defend the program, they would "risk national security". Gee, the manure sure is thick today, huh?

Breaking news: Judge upholds FBI's search of lawmaker's office.

GOP in-fighting holds up hyped Voting Rights compromise; apparently, two Southern Republicans are holding up the process, trying to get their amendments passed (do I even need to tell you that their amendments would be bad for the voting process in the South?).

Tony Snow blames Helen Thomas for "befuddling and confusing" him with her "great laugh"...yeah.

From the NY Times: Many bloggers think Ken Lay still lives; come on...like you weren't thinking that the coffin should be checked to see if he's in it. Tell the truth. If we were living in the Middle Ages still, we'd even hammer a stake into his heart, just to make sure, you know.

Texas' state elections chief rules out "Grandma" on the ballot, but "Kinky" gets to stay.

PDF of the CRR's (Center for Constitutional Rights) report on Gitmo. (Warning: contains what could be considered offensive writing and pictures, to some people.)

Widow Announces Filing of Lawsuit for Killing of Al-Jazeera Journalist Tareq Ayyoub; DoD, White House Named as Defendants.

The NYC explosion from earlier today could have been the result of a suicide attempt by the building's owner.

Court: Gay Marriage Ban Can Go on Ballot; the same court that allowed gay marriage in Massachusetts is now allowing this on the ballot. Any marriage that has already occurred is safe, but no more marriages would be allowed in the state if this ban passes.

Tags: [Suicide Attempt Probed in NYC Collapse], [Nicholas Bartha], [You will be transformed from gold digger to ash and rubble digger], [Widow Announces Filing of Lawsuit for Killing of Al-Jazeera Journalist Tareq Ayyoub], [widow sues the Department of Defense], [Law Office of Hamdi Rifai], [No 'Grandma' on Texas Ballot, State Rules], [Carole Keeton Strayhorn], [Richard 'Kinky' Friedman], [NYT column: Many bloggers think Ken Lay still lives], [Kenneth L. Lay], [Snow confuses Iran, Iraq, blames spat with Helen Thomas], [GOP in-fighting holds up hyped Voting Rights compromise], [Voting Rights Act], [Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA) and Rep. Charlie Norwood (R-GA)], [weaken federal oversight of changes that states make to their election processes], [Judge upholds FBI's search of lawmaker's office], [U.S. District Court Chief Judge Thomas Hogan], [U.S. Rep. William Jefferson], [White House asks for dismissal of NSA wiretap suit], [defending the four-year-old wiretapping program in open court would risk national security], [U.S. District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor], [American Civil Liberties Union], [Court: Gay Marriage Ban Can Go on Ballot], [same court that made Massachusetts the first state to legalize same-sex marriage ruled Monday that a proposal for a constitutional amendment that could ban future gay marriages can move forward], [not a reversal of its earlier ruling legalizing gay marriage, because it would leave intact the marriages of same-sex couples who already had wed]