Last week anti-war protestors heckled Hillary Clinton as she spoke at Brown University. After one man shouted, “Is it leadership to support the war?” other protestors joined in until they were escorted from the auditorium by police. Mrs. Clinton continued her speech.

Not to worry, though. The junior Senator has won over a bevy of new conservative admirers. This week William F. Buckley Jr., the ancient, lock-jawed, right-wing pontificator, called her a "contender."

Mrs. Clinton is "a very consequential woman with an extraordinary background," [Buckley] said in an interview with Bloomberg Television that was broadcast on Monday. "Her thought is kind of woozy left, not in my judgment threatening."

Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse, today we learn via Sy Hersh's latest article in The New Yorker that the Bush administration is quietly briefing selected members of the House and Senate on its plans for Iran. Those plans are said to include the possiblity of employing tactical nuclear weapons against Iranian targets. The planners are quoted as saying "It’s a tough decision. But we made it in Japan.”

The administration has clearly lost its last shred of sanity. As if the folly of the Iraq war weren't enough, they're now set on compounding the error. According to Hersh:

After the WMD rationale fell apart, George Bush declared that the real reason for invading Iraq was to "spread freedom" and democratize the region. While the Bush administration is big on rhetoric they consistently fall short on action. Today we learn in the Washington Post that the Bush administration is "scaling back funding for the main organizations trying to carry out his vision by building democratic institutions such as political parties and civil society groups."

By cutting funding to these organizations the administration reneges on its obligation to building democratic institutions at a crucial moment in Iraq's history. As Senator Kennedy said yesterday, ""The solution to Iraq lies in the political process, and it's reckless for the White House to cut funds to strengthen democracy in Iraq at this time."

Hello to all! I'm Stef and I've just joined the Tasini team as volunteer coordinator. I hope to meet many of you in the weeks to come as we gear up for the petition drive in early June. Please sign up to volunteer and help us put a progressive, anti-war Democrat on the primary ballot in September.

Why is this campaign so important? As Jonathan writes in his most recent blog entry at Huffington Post, in describing the new (very graphic) flash animation created for us by Eric Blumrich: