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Have you accepted George W Bush as your personal savior?
The ultimate cross of evangelical-speak and politics?The Washington Post found a real gem in the new Department of Justice report saying yes, Bushies done broke the law. Remember Monica Goodling, the softspoken, earnest woman who was vetting DOJ candidates for...Cool cars
Who doesn’t love cool cars? If you’ll pardon my inner 13-year-old, I used to think the coolest car ever devised by man was the hearse-Jaguar coupe from Harold and Maude. And it’s still a major contender.It’s closely followed in my fevered brain...Bush the Decider and now, the Counterfeiter too
Well, if we needed anything else to prove Bush must be impeached for the U.S. to have any self-respect left, this is it. Ron Suskind reported this a few years ago:The [senior White House] aide said that guys like me were "in what we call the reality-based...A Dear Joe letter
It’s not often wise to feed vitriolic feedback, but one receives vitriol, therefore one is. So what the heck. Here’s Joe, commenting on the Ten Gallon Liberal yesterday: Few things here: 1. It appears that you believe ANYTHING you read as long as it...Ten Gallon, straw man edition
Letting your mogwai get wet is not wise, as we all know by now. But I did it, and now I have a nice collection of straw men. When that happens, one must dry off that mogwai durn quick. So here goes the symbolic destruction of the straw man. May he run off to live on...Straw man, hairy man (in the other Georgia)
Today is either the biggest day in Bigfoot history, or the biggest hoax in Bigfoot history. Seems some dudes in Georgia have a body in the freezer, or at least they claim to. They also claim exclusive rights to all images and "commercial opportunities"...PROOF: Bigfeet have advanced dental technology!
Take a look here at our largefoot friend: Pardon me, but, as I told my friend Earl earlier, that fellow has a really good set of choppers. Could he have naturally acquired such teeth? I think not!I am therefore announcing my own major find: Bigfeet not only exist,...Bigfoot still walks among us.
There are plenty of people taking the easy road on this Bigfoot thing. Hoax, rubber foot, blah blah blah. Well, don’t believe them. Oh ye of little faith–why not see the truth that stares you in the face, all beady-eyed?Maybe, just maybe, the true nature...Getting some Zs–two of them, to be precise
Last night three of the fine fellows of the Local Buzz teamed up with some of us Advocate types (Tom Sturm and Kendra Thurlow plus me) to be ZZ Top for Transperformance. I’ve never had so much fun in a fake beard. After spending the last several years playing...So much for the “daddy party”
My big question of the day: Just how uncomfortable is John McCain going to be standing next to a much younger, very non-manly VP candidate? His pick of one-term (well, part of one-term, following a stint as mayor of a small town) Alaska governor Sarah Palin is at once...My (or your!) manly truck
I come back from a week of vacation, and find that it’s the little things that offer the biggest humorous rewards. Witness this comment from my Palin post about her giant lapel pin, in which "Eric" responds to my saying Palin is less qualified than...Wow, am I scared now!
I have to take a break from the current debate with reader Eric long enough to say something about McCain’s latest ad. It uses the utterly silly notion that Obama opposition researchers are wolves, out to get their helpless prey (the woman who describes herself...Seven Years Ago
There is much that is terrible to remember from seven years ago today. But in, as they say, the fullness of time, there are two things that really seem to stick with me. One is the utter quiet of that night, looking up at very bright stars untroubled by airplane...The Doctrine of Pre-emptiness
I’m sure someone will come along shortly to tell us why this moment is evidence of Sarah Palin’s grand expertise. Check it out for yourself, and see what you think of Palin’s knowledge of the "Bush Doctrine" of preventive (not preemptive)...What He Said
My friend Jamie Berger is angry. Angry in a deep-seated way. Angry in a way I understand. First, a reference point: I taught Freshman English for years. This taught me a lot about what I call “belligerent ignorance.” There were, happily, exceptional...A Republican who wants his country back, too
A quick missive from Grand Band Slam land… This is as eloquent a follow-up as I can imagine for my last post (which I would be most grateful if you took the time to read). It’s from a Morrison, Colorado Republican named Greg King, from a blog at the Denver...Another Republican embraces Obama–as the conservative in the race
No less a conservative than former National Review publisher Wick Allison lends credence to something I think is clearly the case: conservativism, a perfectly reasonable political viewpoint I just happen to largely disagree with, is no longer conservatism. Enjoy! A...Whither old-school conservatives?
Some prominent old-school conservatives are noticing that Bushies, including McCain, aren’t really on their team anymore. GOP senator: A ‘stretch’ to say Palin is qualifiedNebraska Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel said his party’s vice presidential...Drunkards and fools
Quiz time: When the drunk who micturated on the rug that tied the room together comes to your door and demands you give him the keg of beer in your garage with no strings attached, what should you say? a) Of course! And be sure to check out the wine cellar before you...Voting–who needs it?
Republicans have focused on "voter fraud," an individual crime which seems to be quite rare. But how about large-scale, systemic prevention of voting? This seems to sometimes be an equal-opportunity vote preventer, and other times to be lopsided against new...Getting deep, post-debate
Deep thought: McCain has dots for eyebrows.Deeper thought: What was "that one" about? McCain seemed nigh unto unhinged in that moment. What is the antecedent of "one" here? I can’t put a finger on it, but that seemed untoward at best.Deepest...Ivy League-itis
Ever met anyone with Ivy League-itis, that malady that leads those who’ve gone to certain institutions of higher learning to see anyone who didn’t share their collegiate advantage as a sort of bluish blur? Not to generalize overmuch, but in my experience,...They really are spying on us, tin foil hats or no.
Deep thought: George Bush has won his game of hide-and-seek. Nobody knows where he has gone. This will shortly end when somebody hears his chortle in a nearby broom closet. Deeper thought: Maybe he’s hiding to listen to innocent Americans having phone sex? This...Beyond the Palin: Apocalypse Never would be just fine
I grew up in the Southern Baptist church. My dad was a minister, in fact. (He still is ordained, but his main gig is seminary prof.) So when I see video of Sarah Palin being blessed by an Assembly of God minister so that she’ll be successful in politics and be...With all-new Grimace Action (TM)!
I want a McCain action figure that does this:Bold and Spicy!
So look–the real deal is my last post, so please feel free to check that out. But I just read some anonymous blog commenter’s contribution to the zeitgeist, and it cracked me up so much I figured some levity was in order. Here, my friends, is the new Spice...John McPenguin, baby!
The Penguin=John McCain? (with massive hat-tip to Ezra Klein)10/15/08Back to 2000! Deep thought: Are you an Arab or a family man? Deeper thought: Why does Sarah Palin hate America? (and yes, wingnuts, that’s sarcastic)Deepest thought: So ACORN registered Mickey...Me and Bible Spice, sittin in a tree
I don’t know if you caught it, cause it was mostly a Sarah-and-me thing, but Governor Hot Stuff winked at me. And I just forgot all about policy and all that crap, and figured, hey, if I elect her, the two of us are going to have a thing. And that’s pretty...With all-new Grimace Action (TM)!
I want a McCain action figure that does this: 10/16/08 The Penguin=John McCain? (with massive hat-tip to Ezra Klein)10/15/08Back to 2000! Deep thought: Are you an Arab or a family man? Deeper thought: Why does Sarah Palin hate America? (and yes, wingnuts, that’s...We Are the World gets out the vote; Live Aid to follow?
We seem to have barnacles again. Very sensitive barnacles. Anyway. Today's big news: Huffington Post has an exclusive about a presidential candidate who, as senator, insisted on meeting with a ruthless dictator, free of preconditions. McCain met with Chile's...GOP county chair: “I see black people voting“
A Halloween triple-header:1) Florida GOP county chair spells out the terrifying threat–all these black people, they just keep voting! And college students! Help! Don't they know Obama is a closet Stalin? He'll take away their freedom of speech! [Does he...Go Vote!
I tend to save my harshest rantings for the forces in our country which are anti-democratic. And that is what the Bush contingent is. They've proven over and over that they see the Constitution as a mere obstacle to doing whatever they want with the overwhelming...More things I won't miss
McCain, once upon a time, seemed a respectable sort. Don't know what convinced him to give in to those who suggested he run the same kind of campaign that brought him down against Bush in 2000. And I sure as shootin' don't know what possessed him to pick...Obama's faith
What is it like to have a president who's extremely intelligent, and whose view of faith is mature, non-fundamentalist, and open? We're about to find out.The fundies are not going to like Obama's simultaneous born-again status and non-dogmatic stance. And...Mormon no more
The Mormons seem to have made a lot of gay people angry with the California Proposition 8 bidness. And, though the "prayer" involved might turn you a particularly lime-y shade of green (absolutely not one for the easily offended), what a riposte: in response...Pick a Savior, any Savior
It can be so hard to choose between cults. So I was quite pleased to find this handy guide to dime-novel saviors. There is a bit of a theme here–mostly, to be a modern Jesus pretender, you have to combine middle age, being male, giving at least strong...Really really secret ballots
Ah… a little sunlight: if you've followed the deeply problematic results of touch-screen voting since 2002, you probably know that Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-Georgia) won a remarkable upset victory in 2002 over Max Cleland. Chambliss was behind in every...A Turkey Round-up
What's there to say, really: Ann Coulter's jaw wired shut?And in other news: last night I was subjected to part of Dancing With the Stars. I can now confidently report what I'm sure many people already knew–wow, does Miley Cyrus blow. She's got...Why we won't stop terrorism until we stop being &^%holes all over the world
Here's a stunner: turns out the "liberal" intelligentsia–i.e., everyone to the left of Dick Cheney–was right about torture all along. An interrogator in Iraq taught his team to win over insurgents instead of torturing dubious info out of...Long live yeast!
Turns out something weird about yeast is also true for humans. There's quite a mechanism at work inside both of us–genes called "sirtuins" handle turning other genes off and on, so that, for instance, the heart genes in a stomach cell stay turned...Mad scientists and moustaches
Not even Brad Pitt can make a justache cool: And in other news–mad scientists, rejoice! (I hope to retire as a mad scientist, for what it's worth.) Turns out virtual bodyswapping works! Gin up the machine with the big spark and phone the morgue, Igor....The Last Liverpudlian
Do you ever have one of those days where you just want to lie shipwrecked and comatose, drinking fresh mango juice?This is one of those days.When I have one of those days, I always go here, at least since about 1989:In other, BREAKING news:Barack Hussein Obama, almost...Where are the documents, Sarah Palin?!?
In light of today's lack of interest by the Supreme Court in the "Obama's a Kenyan-Brit-Indonesian-Muslim-Communist-Socialist-scary-not-white guy" faction's endless string of wingnuttery, I'd like to take this opportunity to start the work...Bush: Hey fundies, I didn't believe all that crap anyway
The "Wonder-Working Power" crowd will swallow its study Bibles in apoplexy when it hears this:Asked whether the Bible was literally true, Bush replied: "Probably not. No, I'm not a literalist, but I think you can learn a lot from it." He also...Worse than we thought (and we thought it was pretty bad)
During Bush's first term, I interviewed one of my heroes, Jim Hightower. (I was born in the same small Texas town as Hightower, which, for the sole benefit of my favorite blog barnacles, is full of… wait for it… Southern Baptist fundamentalists!) At...Extremities–what makes them so extreme?
Don't know about you, but upon seeing the cover of this week's Hartford Advocate, I've decided to spend the rest of the afternoon kicking back with some Pepsi Clear and mini Ritz crackers to watch the X-Games and contemplate the extremes of the extreme...Too Much to Dream Last Night
Back in '91, Win Wenders' Until The End of the World posited a future technology to record dreams. Stunning, but it seems impossible–brain waves seem to indicate things that are way more general than a very specific image. How could the brain possibly...Protect the InterTubes!
Old battle, meet new battle. We've spent eight years having to oppose what should be unthinkable–a president lying us into war, American torture, domestic spying, the unitary executive, Vice President Evil, on and on. So we deserve a respite. But this may...Cheney growls
Never one to miss a party, Dick Cheney proudly proclaims that he aided torture, just after saying "we don't do torture":Did you authorize the tactics that were used against Khalid Sheikh Mohammed? CHENEY: I was aware of the program, certainly, and...The bad apple
From the summary and conclusions of the Senate Armed Services Committee report released last week, in case anybody was wondering if American torture came courtesy of "a few bad apples." What does one do about criminal actions like this? Al Qaeda and Taliban...Mistah Kurtz
T.S. Eliot: Mistah Kurtz—he dead. A penny for the Old Guy IWe are the hollow menWe are the stuffed menLeaning togetherHeadpiece filled with straw. Alas!Our dried voices, whenWe whisper togetherAre quiet and meaninglessAs wind in dry grassOr rats’ feet over...View from the floor: Bush's final Christmas in the mansion
Wow. Just watch it.They did reject one ornament, it turns out, from downer Seattle.Puff
Deep thought (or, at least, as deep as I can manage at present):Why doesn't someone write a lighthearted song called "Saltsman the Testy Chipmunk Cracker"? I just can't let go of this beautiful Christmas video, so please feel free to continue to...Bush in Flatland
Two things to blogulate, now that I'm back in the saddle after one of those hiatuses necessary to the proper functioning of the synapses. First up is the President-elect. What is the intent of the current leaking from Camp Obama about 300 billion in tax cuts? Is...How to create a terrorist
Nutcases beget nutcases. And so we tumble onward, caught in the crossfire of our extremists. If I had to put money on how the world will end, I'd bet fundamentalist absolutism will play the central role. It's the scourge of our primate brains.Nicholas Kristof...Stop, hey, what's that sound?
When the political gets dull and the wars too awful, there's always the inexplicable. Personally, I take great comfort in knowing that the world is far weirder than at first it might appear. There are strange things afoot all the time. And one of the most...Joe, meet Bob
What is it that makes anybody want to send Joe the Plumber to play journalist? His opinions on foreign conflicts, to be fair, are probably more informed than those of Britney Spears. But can even a right wing media organization think promoting ill-informed non-writers...Don't drink Obama's Kool-Aid either
Obama is no saint, no purist. Nor should he be–he's a politician. And Glenn Greenwald nails the dynamic of American democracy in regard to pressuring politicians: speak up or be ignored. (And of course, the more money you have, the more loudly you can...'Cause there's bugger all down here on Earth
So remember, when you're feeling very small and insecure, how amazingly unlikely is your birth, and pray that there's intelligent life somewhere up in space, 'cause there's bugger all down here on Earth.(Monty Python, The Meaning of Life) Methane on...E-Edition
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