New Political Participation Plan?

And now the most riveting two minutes in television, the latest from the political grapevine:

New Political Participation Plan?

The Chairman of the NAACP, Julian Bond, is denouncing Republicans for -- "draw[ing] their most rabid supporters from the Taliban wing of American politics." Speaking at a conference in Washington yesterday, Bond specifically accused Republicans of trying to -- "write bigotry back into the Constitution," insisting -- "Their idea of equal rights is the American flag and the Confederate swastika flying side by side. ... They've written a new constitution for Iraq and ignore the constitution here at home." The organization's new political participation plan, by the way, is advertised as -- "non-partisan."

Spokesman on Staffers

A spokesman for Oklahoma Republican Congressman John Sullivan -- up for re-election this year -- is admitting that when the congressman is on the radio in Tulsa, staffers call up with fake names to pitch their boss softball questions. But, the spokesman says, they only do it when there's a -- "lull" in the conversation.

Sullivan, however, insists his spokesman's got it all wrong: Only one staffer called up with a fake name. And that's understandable, Sullivan tells Roll Call newspaper, since -- "[he's] not in the limelight like me, having to take this crap all the time."

Marriage Matters

The latest from the world of American justice is the case of Linda Carter of Houston, Texas, who wants a divorce. Carter was originally James Murphey, until a sex-change operation and a name change made him Linda Carter. Carter then went to Las Vegas and got married, but she didn't marry a man, she married a woman, named Constance Gonzales.

Now Carter wants to end the marriage, and her lawyer is arguing that the marriage should be annuled, because neither Nevada nor Texas allows women to marry each other. Problem is, Carter won't confirm whether she's a man or a woman -- whenever she's asked by the judge, Carter says -- "[I'm] both." The Judge says she's powerless to act.

Gun Concerns

The Rogers Public School District in Arkansas says it is taking very seriously a mother's complaint that a teacher gave her seven-year-old son a gun to bring home for the summer. The child's mother insists the gift violates her strict rules at home, and she wants her children to understand that guns are not toys.

The gift was a toy -- a small, fish-shaped water squirter to be exact. So why was the mother so worried? Well, according to a local TV station, two of her brothers were shot in domestic disputes, and she accidentally shot her ex-boyfriend when a gun she hit him with went off.

— FOX News' Michael Levine contributed to this report