the Matrix is all around you…

• Masking New Orleans

  On the first post-Katrina Mardi Gras, the festivities just disguise the fact that New Orleans is a hollower, whiter, and richer place than it was a year ago.

• The Unsolved Mystery of the Oklahoma City Bombing

  Thanks to the efforts of a handful of dogged investigators, the FBI’s own paperwork is beginning to seriously contradict the official version of the attack. And more is being revealed all the time.

• 1,300 Iraqis killed since bombing of Shiite Muslim Shrine

  Grisly attacks and other sectarian violence unleashed by last week’s bombing of a Shiite Muslim shrine have killed more than 1,300 Iraqis, making the past few days the deadliest of the war outside of major U.S. offensives, according to Baghdad’s main morgue. The toll was more than three times higher than the figure previously reported by the U.S. military and the news media.

• Ohio State Senator says Republicans unfit to adopt

  If Ohio State Sen. Robert Hagan’s proposal becomes law, Republicans would be barred from adopting. Wednesday night, Hagan wrote a mock proposal to counter one introduced by State Rep. Ron Hood (R-Ashville) aimed at banning gay adoption.

• Bush poll ratings hit new low of 34%

  The latest CBS News poll finds President Bush’s approval rating has fallen to an all-time low of 34 percent, while pessimism about the Iraq war has risen to a new high.

• Incomes Fall, Hunger Worsens as Bush Says ‘We’re Doing Fine’

  The average American family has taken a financial tumble and millions in the country go hungry despite President George W. Bush’s sunny assessment of the U.S. economy, say federal data and economists.

Thanks to Gryphen @ The Immoral Minority for 4 of these headlines.