Here's another political gem from the Andy Griffith files.

In January of 2007, a YouTube clip from "The Andy Griffith Show" made its way around the blogosphere. It showed a handful of scenes from a 1967 episode about Opie's tape recorder.

In the scenes, Opie tries to convince his father to listen to a tape he secretly made of a prisoner confessing, but Sheriff Taylor refuses, saying even a guilty man has rights.

"The law can't use that kind of help," he tells Opie.

The clips were meant to contrast Andy Griffith with then Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, who was testifying about warrantless wiretapping before Congress at the time.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation called it a "civics lesson" that Gonzales should study. BoingBoing jokingly called Andy Griffith a "terrorist sympathizer."

The video was taken down after CBS claimed it was a copyright violation, though dozens of other clips from the show remain on YouTube.

U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge, a Lillington Democrat, wrote a letter to new Attorney General Michael Mukasey today asking him to continue recent progress on a federal law offering benefits to some deceased emergency response workers.

Etheridge is the lead sponsor of the Hometown Heroes act, which gives financial benefits to survivors of firefighters, law enforcement agents and emergency responders who die of heart attack or stroke related to their service, reports Barb Barrett.

Although the law passed with overwhelming support from Congress and President Bush, it has taken years for the Department of Justice to write regulations and begin implementing the benefits.

Etheridge wrote that former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales made progress in the past two months, and that Etheridge hopes Mukasey will make Hometown Heroes a priority.

John Edwards has sent out another Hallmark card.

After certain news events, such as the resignation of Karl Rove, the former North Carolina senator releases a statement so short it could fit on the front of a greeting card.

So it was today, when the White House announced the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

His statement: "Better late than never."

Edwards first called for Gonzales' resignation on March 13. 

John Edwards wants Alberto Gonzales out.

The former North Carolina senator is asking his supporters to sign a petition calling on the attorney general to step down because of his controversial testimony about President Bush's domestic wiretapping program.

Edwards' presidential campaign will send a copy of the U.S. Constitution to Gonzales for every signature on the petition, and pledges to send a "giant copy" if more than 25,000 sign.

"Alberto Gonzales must resign as Attorney General," Edwards said in a statement. "The Department of Justice cannot function effectively with the possibility of a perjury investigation hanging over the head of its chief officer."

Supporters must give their name, e-mail and ZIP code to sign.

The text of the petition, after the jump.

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John Edwards has his own music video.

During the presidential debate last night, the former North Carolina senator unveiled his YouTube-style response to the ubiquitous complaints about his expensive haircut.

The 32-second video begins with a close-up of Edwards' do, then goes through a number of other shots of different haircuts, set to the theme from 1960s musical "Hair," before zooming out to show that one belongs to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

It then cuts through images of President Bush, Iraq, Hurricane Katrina and striking workers, before asking at the end: "What really matters?"

After the jump, the video.

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U.S. Sen. Richard Burr voted against Democrats' attempts to hold a no-confidence vote on Attorney General Albertzo Gonzales, Barb Barrett reports.

"I do not believe that a non-binding, political resolution like this is the best use of the Senate's time when America is facing important issues like rising health costs, high energy prices and a broken immigration system," the Winston-Salem Republican said.

As reported earlier, Sen. Elizabeth Dole also voted against the motion.

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole, a Salisbury Republican, will vote against Democrats’ attempt to hold a no-confidence vote this afternoon on beleagured Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, said her spokeswoman, Katie Hallaway.

"She would not vote in favor of a no-confidence vote on Gonzales,” Hallaway said. “She thinks it’s a political stunt, and it has no consequence."

Senate leaders first hope to invoke cloture in a vote this afternoon, a procedural move that would allow debate on a Senate resolution to proceed, Barb Barrett reports.

The resolution expresses a lack of confidence from the Senate in Gonzales in the wake of congressional and Justice Department inquiries involving the firings last year of several U.S. attorneys around the nation.

If Senate leaders cannot get 60 votes on cloture, the resolution cannot be brought to a full vote on the Senate floor.

A spokesman for Sen. Richard Burr, a Winston-Salem Republican, could not be reached earlier today about his position on the vote.

Update: A quote from Dole after the jump.

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John Edwards says President Bush should fire his political guru, Karl Rove. He also repeated his call for Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to resign.

"They have turned the Department of Justice into the Department of Political Payback," Edwards said today in a statement. "In doing so, they deny every American the legitimate expectation that justice will be administered without reference to partisan considerations."