You seem rather gleeful, TB. No doubt the press relese from the Iraq Ministry of Truth warmed your cockles. It looks like the Bush Regime's pupils in Baghdad have learned their lessons well and hate a free press as much as Bush does.

The Bushies must be green with envy that, so far, they can't get away with heavy-handed intimidation of the free press. The MOT's warning was clear: "We have this little monitoring room, and we'll be watching you. Go beyond blindly printing our press releases, and we won't be so merciful as to just have you taken out and shot. Oh no, we'll sic the lawyers on you! Nyah ha ha!"

That's vicious. Lawyers toy with their prey like cats, to prolong the agony as long as possible. Better a clean bullet through the head than a subpoena through the mailslot. Polonium 210's a more merciful way to go.

You know the one about not messing with somebody who buys newsprint by the trainload? I think it's safe to bet that heavy-handed authoritarian attempts to suppress the free press are only going to make them mad. You ain't seen nothing yet. Bring it on!