I'm not quite back yet, but I shall be by tomorrow night.

In the meantime, read anything you see on the left.

Things I found in the last few minutes (I need caffeine, otherwise I'd provide inciteful commentary):

--Independents in favor of getting rid of Bush by a margin of 53-40.

--Al Franken to challenge Norm Coleman in Minnesota?

--In our continuing effort to solidfy our goodwill with the rest of the world, the Bush administration wants to exempt the chemical pesticide methyl bromide from the Montreal Protocol for the sake of American farmers, despite the chemical's significant effects on the ozone layer.

--The budgetary crisis in Washington is causing lawmakers to take a second look at prison sentences, including treatment options for drug offenders. Attention Norquistian conservatives: This is the future of Alabama's prison system after your anti-tax jihad there. Ironic, I suppose, that hard-line conservatives may indirectly be behind the shortening of sentences and the availability of drug rehab programs in lieu of hard time. Maybe Limbaugh's involved. Atrios has a little more on this.