Out But $till Collecting

And now some fresh pickings from the political grapevine:

Campaign Coffers

Though Howard Dean dropped his bid for the White House last week, he is still urging supporters to donate to his presidential campaign fund ... in part to help retire a debt of at least $400,000. In an email to donors, Dean -- whose campaign raised a record-breaking $41 million last year -- says the debt accumulated when -- "we thought we could win early contests and use the momentum to secure more victories in other states. ... Can you help by making a small contribution today?"

Dean says he wants to take care of the debt so he can move on with plans for an organization that will --  "[e]ffect change at all levels of our political process." And in the process, of course, give Howard Dean a voice in democratic politics, even without a presidential campaign.
 
Report Lacks Any Credibility

The U.S. Human Rights Network -- made up of organizations such as the ACLU and Columbia Law School -- says the State Department's latest report on human rights lacks "any credibility" because the report is missing "a very large section on human rights violations ... in the U.S."

The Human Rights Network says that since the war on terror began -- "The U.S. government has lost the moral authority to issue proclamations on human rights problems." It also calls the State Department report "a cynical attempt by the Bush administration to draw attention away from the more than 650 people still languishing" in Guantanamo Bay.

Lavatory Legislation

And finally, the Georgia State House is considering legislation that would require twice as many toilets in women's restrooms as in men's restrooms because, the legislation says, "waiting periods are much longer for women than for men...  due to anatomical differences."

The legislation only applies to new government buildings. State Democratic Congressman Tommy Smith, who authored the bill, calls this a "serious problem" that's "not good for the men...  because we have to wait on [the women] to get out."

— FOX News' Michael Levine contributed to this report