Actually important, and scary, news of the day.

1. Bush Administration Media Collusion Memos Surface:

• Late Friday a series of memos between senior Bush Administration officials and management at Viacom, Inc. were leaked calling for the media giant to focus on stories and programming choices that "reinforce the Administration's positions" and to "ignore and/or discredit points of view in opposition to the Bush Administration's foreign policy objectives for the purposes of National Security."
• Democrats and key civil rights figures were quick to comment on this latest chapter of alleged government malfeasance. Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer issued a statement calling for a congressional inquiry. "This is it. This is a smoking gun. For years we've been saying that liberal and moderate points of view aren't being accurately reflected in the media and this proves our point. The Bush Administration is clearly out of touch with the American people, and Viacom should be ashamed."
• Media companies have come under increasing fire as of late for their portrayal of minorities and for inaccuracies in reporting stories of interest to activist communities: 1. Debra L. Lee, president and CEO of Viacom's Black Entertainment Television, agrees. "Even though our moniker is BET, our allegiance lies with our government and its directives, not the African-American community. Anyone who believes that we will endorse messages in contrast to our government's wishes, or that express dissent, is sorely mistaken." 2. One longtime employee of Interscope Records, a leading record label and home to rap superstars 50 Cent and Eminem, stated recently under the condition of anonymity that the company "has a unique relationship with Viacom" and that it "deliberately focuses on marketing campaigns that depict black people in the worst possible light."
• Not all agree, however. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist took a more defensive stance. "Of course it raises some concerns, but we can't let this issue be blown out of proportion. Of course there have to be media guidelines. Hell, if we want to plant I.D. chips in people and torture their loved ones until they break, we will. I know the idea of governmental control over what the media can or cannot say during wartime may be an uncomfortable topic for some to digest, but it is a necessary fact of life when our enemies are trying to kill us."

2. Bush administration takes steps to cancel US election

• The request by Bush administration officials for a detailed analysis of the legal steps that would be necessary to postpone the 2004 election represents an implicit threat to abrogate the US Constitution, dispense with democratic rights, and establish a dictatorship based on the military and police. This is the desperate action of a deeply discredited and unpopular regime that fears, not merely electoral defeat, but an explosion of social and political unrest in the United States.
• The request was made public Sunday by Newsweek magazine, which reported that three federal agencies are already involved: the newly established Election Assistance Commission, which first suggested the possibility, the Department of Homeland Security, which has been issuing repeated but entirely unsubstantiated warnings about election-related terrorist threats, and the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, which is now studying the legal and constitutional issues at the request of Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge.
• The chairman of the Election Assistance Commission, DeForest Soaries, sent a letter to the Republican and Democratic leaders of both houses of Congress Monday, pointing to the absence of any legal or constitutional provision for postponing a national election. “There does not appear to be a clear process in place to suspend or reschedule voting during an election if there is a major terrorist attack,” he wrote.