"conceal" "hiding" "evacuated" "noncompliance" "mobile biological weapons labs" "nerve agents" "some followers of a senior associate of Osama bin Laden are currently in the Iraqi capital, with the approval of Saddam" To paraphrase Secretary Powell, not once has Hussein proven that any WMD he is known to possess has been destroyed. For the hard-of-understanding among you (read: "liberals"), just because a known liar says he has destroyed a weapon of mass destruction, and you find no evidence of said weapon of mass destruction, doesn't mean said liar has destroyed said weapon of mass destruction. It just means it isn't where it used to be.

I have pondered authoring an essay on how it is the Democrats, in fact, who have long favored racial discrimination, and not Republicans, but why go through all the trouble when someone has already done it for me?

We've been getting calls pretty steady all morning from friends and family, making sure we're ok since all the reports have the Columbia breaking up over north Texas. The shuttle broke up south of the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex, and local stations are using weather radar to track the debris field, which is now south and east of the D/FW metroplex, beginning around Nagodoches and moving slightly south and east through Rusk, TX, into western Louisiana. I had heard on the news last night that the shuttle would be visible this morning, but forgot to mention it to my wife so we could set the alarms earlier than normal. A friend in Boston woke us up with a phone call to make sure we were ok, and that was the first we heard of it. I recall a science demonstration at our high school in the mid-to-late 1980s where a guy had a blowtorch going on a space shuttle tile throughout his entire program. At the end, he had a student come up, removed the blowtorch, and dared the student to touch the tile. Trent (I remember his name!) was a little hesitant, but did touch it, and he reported it was completely cool. Major Texas connections on this Columbia flight: Commander Rick Husband was from Amarillo, Pilot William McCool was from Lubbock, and mission specialist Kalpana Chawla was the 2d graduate of the University of Texas-Arlington to go into space. Like many, I have now witnessed Columbia's first flight into space, and it's last return. Certainly, this is not the type of return anyone would have wanted. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the seven souls lost on the Columbia. UPDATE (12:15pm CST): Lee has more thoughts and info.

The volunteer researchers at The Federalist simply rock. Let's follow along as they break down the Democrat response to President Bush's State of the Union address, delivered by Gary Locke, Governor of Washington State: "Osama bin-Laden is still at large. As we rise to the many challenges around the globe, let us never lose sight of who attacked our people here at home."

• And what does this really mean? In other words, Demos deny the President's claim of a connection between Islamic terrorists and Saddam Hussein's Iraqi regime.

"Today, the economy is limping along. Some say it's a recovery, but there's no recovery in our states and cities. There's no recovery in our rural communities. There's no recovery for working Americans and for those searching for jobs to feed and clothe their families. ... President Bush has a very different [economic recovery] plan. We think it's upside down economics: it does too little to stimulate the economy now and does too much to weaken our economic future. It will create huge, permanent deficits that will raise interest rates, stifle growth, hinder homeownership and cut off the avenues of opportunity that have let so many work themselves up from poverty."

• And what does the President's tax cut plan actually do? "This tax relief is for everyone who pays income taxes--and it will help our economy immediately. Ninety-two million Americans will keep--this year--an average of almost $1,100 more of their own money. A family of four with an income of $40,000 would see their federal income taxes fall from $1,178 to $45 per year. And our plan will improve the bottom line for more than 23 million small businesses."

"Last year Congress authorized $2.5 billion in vital new resources to protect our citizens--for equipment for firefighters and police, to protect ports, to guard against bioterrorism, to secure nuclear power plants, and more. It's hard to believe, but President Bush actually refused to release the money."

• And why did the President refuse to release the money? Because Democrats tacked on billions in spending unrelated to homeland security, and at the same time refused to give the President the authority he needs to combat terrorism by insisting on excessive union prerogatives for homeland security employees--union prerogatives that could potentially undermine national security.

"Our parents shouldn't be forced to give up their doctor or join an HMO to get the medicine they need. ... And it would put too many seniors at too much risk--just when they need the security of Medicare."

• And what did the President actually say? "These problems will not be solved with a nationalized health care system that dictates coverage and rations care. Instead, we must work toward a system in which all Americans have a good insurance policy...choose their own doctors...and seniors and low-income Americans receive the help they need. Instead of bureaucrats, and trial lawyers, and HMOs, we must put doctors, and nurses, and patients back in charge of American medicine. Health care reform must begin with Medicare, because Medicare is the binding commitment of a caring society. We must renew that commitment by giving seniors access to the preventive medicine and new drugs that are transforming health care in America. Seniors happy with the current Medicare system should be able to keep their coverage just the way it is."

So there you have it. The Demos still have nothing of substance to offer the American people, and all they can do is attack those who do.

MRC's latest Notable Quotables is available. They pick out the best biased lines from the news talkingheads to show you how skewed broadcast news coverage really is. You can also download a PDF.