Sigh. Here we go again.

That was my reaction to reading the AP headline "House Panel Debates Hip-Hop Lyrics." The whole article is depressing to read, especially the following paragraph:

"This hearing is not anti-hip hop. I am a fan of hip hop," said subcommittee chairman Bobbie Rush, D-Ill., who gained national prominence in the 1960s as the founder of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panthers. But he said there was a need "to address the issue of violence, hate and degradation that has reduced too many of our youngsters to automatons."

How the mighty have fallen. An ex-Black Panther has nothing better to do as a member of the House of Representatives than this? Wow.

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Is it time to call on Harry Reid to step down from his position as Senate Majority Leader?

This column poses the question, but admittedly, provides no clear answer. This is because I feel the subject is still one that is legitimately up for debate, but I also feel that the time has come to begin this debate. And let me be clear -- I am not suggesting he resign from the Senate, but rather that he hand the reins of Senate leadership over to a more able Democratic colleague.

I pose the question reluctantly, since infighting is generally counter-productive for a political party that wants to move its agenda forward. And Democrats admittedly have a bigger reputation for such infighting than Republicans. But sometimes a change in direction is the smartest plan of action in the long run.

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Special bonus Sunday posting!

The following are photographs of last week's anti-war rally and march in Washington, D.C. They were sent to me by a reader of the site, and are better than anything I saw in the media coverage about the event, so I asked him if I could post them here. His name is B. Driscoll, and he took all these photos himself.

Of course you're free to make comments (as always), but if you'd like to send email to B. Driscoll directly, you can use the Email Chris page and I will forward them on to him with your email address, so he can respond directly to you if he wishes.

These are covered by the same Reprint Policy which covers cartoons on this site. Basically, any free site can post them as long as they credit "B. Driscoll" for the photos, and provide a link back to this site as the originator of the photos on the web. Pay sites, please read the reprint policy page for more information (substitute "B. Driscoll" for "Charles W. Cunningham" and "photo" for "cartoon").

These are smaller photos than the original (for reasons of space), but if you click on any photo, you will get a window with the full-sized photo, which shows more detail. Some of these original files are rather large, though, so be warned.

I'd like to thank B. Driscoll for publicly making these photos available, and allowing me to post them here. I am always open to consideration for photos of other events which the mainstream media largely ignores as well.

The first photo is of the "die-in" where most of the arrests were made. The black and white photo of a speaker is Eton Thomas from the Washington Wizards basketball team.

Enjoy!

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Why are Democrats so lame on basic PR?

Someone asked me that question on my blog the other day, and I didn't really have an answer. Why are Democrats so incredibly weak on framing their message correctly? Many books have been written exploring this subject and offering sound advice on how to make it better across the board, and yet it still continues.

Some would fault the Congressional leadership. Nancy Pelosi, for the most part, does a pretty good job. She's consistently on-message when interviewed by the press, she knows how to present an issue to the media and the public to Democrats' advantage, and she is well-spoken in general. Harry Reid is inconsistent. He can breathe fire at times, and use his power in the Senate to confound Republicans and allow Democrats to drive on issues; but then sometimes he appears incredibly weak and just lets Republicans walk all over him (see: that anti-MoveOn.org vote). On television, he is equally inconsistent. Sometimes he appears tough and forceful and take-no-guff, other times he comes across as whiny and unprepared for basic questions.

Perhaps what they need is a "war room" of sorts that would focus on nothing but spin. Um, excuse me, I meant to say "PR" or "framing" or... oh, the heck with it -- call it what it is: spin. Hire some spin doctors worth their salt, and stick them in a room somewhere, perhaps in the Democratic National Committee where nobody will notice them, and start cranking out the sprigs of parsley to be served up with the red-meat Democratic issues to make them more appealing.

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It seems to be Constitution Week for this column.

Today I'd like to examine two constitutional questions -- whether Congress can give immunity to a crime already committed, and whether Congress can force states into a primary schedule of their own devising.

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For the past week or so, trying to figure out what Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is going to do next on the Iraq debate has been harder than predicting a hummingbird's flight plan. Today's story is that he has given up on extending a hand across the aisle to Republicans, and will now bring up only bills with hard deadlines. "It's all definite timelines," Reid is quoted as saying. Or maybe it's that he's going to delay the debate until November. Time will tell, I guess. It should properly be seen as all rumor, speculation, and backroom deals -- until we get to an actual floor debate.

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Today's hodgepodge is mostly frivolous stuff that I just couldn't resist. There are one or two non-frivolous stories as well, but there seemed to be an embarrassment of riches in the wacky news today. So without further ado, and with a new box of "Herb Caen brand" three-dots to use up, here we go...

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First, a happy Constitution Day to everyone! Since, as this Huffington Post article points out, this is a rather obscure and wonkish holiday, we begin with a quiz: What do the phrases: "falsely shouting fire in a theater" and "clear and present danger" have to do with each other? Most Americans immediately recognize both phrases, although probably for different reasons. The first is drummed into us in school when learning about the First Amendment, but the recognition factor on the second probably exists because of Tom Clancy's novel (and subsequent movie) of the same name.

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