Via Talking Points Memo, CNN and Bill Clinton transcript.

CNN: Do you have a comment on Senator Lott?

Clinton: No, other than....I think that -- obviously -- I don't agree with him.

But I think there is something a bit hypocritical about the way Republicans are jumping all over him. I think what they really are upset about is he made public their strategy.

The whole Republican apparatus supported campaigns in Georgia and South Carolina on the Confederate flag. There is no action coming out of the Justice Department against all those people, Republicans, who suppressed black voters in the South, in Arkansas and Louisiana, and lots of other places. Telephone operations telling people in Florida they didn't have to vote on Election Day, that they could vote on Saturday but not if they had parking tickets. I mean, this is their policy.

So I think the way that the Republicans treated Senator Lott is a pretty hypocritical since right now, their policy is in my view inimical to everything this country stands for. They tried to suppress black voting, they ran on the Conferederate flag in Georgia and South Carolina and from top to bottom Republicans supported them. So I don't see what they're jumping on Trent Lott about.

I think the Democrats can say we disagree with what he said and we don't think its right but that's the Republican policy. How do you think they got a majority in the South anyway?

CNN: So he should step down as majority leader?

Clinton: I think that's up to them. But I think that they can't say it with a straight face. How can they jump all over him when they're out there repressing and trying to run black voters away from polls and to run on the Confederate flag in Georgia and South Carolina. Look at their whole record. The others, how can they attack him? He just embarrassed them by saying in Washington what they do on the back roads every day.

Clinton is great. I hope Al Gore and him keep the pressure on the GOP for the next two years.

I wonder how many searches on Dictionary.com for "inimical?"

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Three Romanian gymnasts, all former Olympic medal winners, have been banned by the Romanian Gymnastics Federation for appearing nude in a Japanese adult show.

I certainly hope safe sex and birth control was used if anything sexual happened. However, I can't think of much to say other than "where can I get a copy of the tape?"

Independent Online reports:

The trio had "tarnished the image of gymnastics" with their naked performance on apparatus such as the balance beam in a DVD filmed in Chiba prefecture outside Tokyo...

Another story here.

The gymnasts, including Sydney Gold Medalist Claudia Presecan, Double Olympic gold medalist Lavinia Milosovici and Corina Ungureanu, have not denied appearing nude, but did say the images have been doctored.

Lavinia Milosovici on the floor exercise.

I can see google getting busy when this story breaks.

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Windows RG Edition released.

This works great! I am glad they cleared up some of the problems.

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CalPundit: Why I could not be a Republican.

The real reason - the one that just makes me shake with rage - is their disgusting and unrelenting bigotry toward gays. And there are no code words here, either, just a blind, unreasoning hatred that actually seems to grow with time.

More intolerence from the GOP? NO!!!

A good short read.

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Chairman of Georgia Republican Party claims GOP is the party of civil rights.

Ralphie wants you to believe that the GOP of today is the same GOP of Lincoln's presidency. If you are buying this, I have $18 million in a bank account in Nigeria, and if you can give me the money to pay the fees on it, you can have 20%. I only need $25,000 up front to get the money released.

Republican welfare reform policies have helped 4.7 million Americans move from welfare to work, and the African-American child poverty rate has fallen to its lowest level in U.S. history.

This last statement I really want to see the data on. I really, really want to see this data.

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Cippollini's and Pantani's merger of teams is now off again.

The idea of these two Italian superstars on the same cycling team has been floated around for a few months. The Italian people would love it! The top Italian climber and the best sprinter in the world, who happens to be Italian, on the same team! The negotiations have completely bogged down. Pantani has refused to allow his image to be marketed by the team. The deal looks dead. Cipollini's new team will be known as Domina Vacanze-Elitron-RDZ. Pantani, who has not won a race in many years, has an uncertain future.

In other cycling news 1997 Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich is still entertaining offers from some teams. It is uncertain where the young troubled star will end up.

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