The Truffle

Once upon a time, I read X-Men comics. Shaddap! It was the 1980s, before they were ever a franchise. There weren't any movies, cartoons, action figures, or slash fanfics. At least no slash fanfics that I know of. So no, I wasn't geeky. I was cool , mmmmmm-kay? Anyway, as I grew up and became more (AHEM!) sophisticated, I started reading stuff like Sandman and lost interest in following the ever-expanding X-Universe. This is probably a good thing, because just as I was getting into Sandman , Rob Liefeld was becoming le hot artist des comics and Marvel was starting to suck ass. In retrospect, this was a good thing. For those unfamiliar with Liefeld: Ever wondered what would happen if a comics fanboy, addicted Punisher, Nick Fury, and other gun-totin' comic-book manly men, somehow landed an artist's gig without formal training or even a basic grasp of human anatomy? Well, you'd have Rob Liefeld. His artwork usually has lots of screaming, scowling, squinti...

...but Tom Tancredo is dropping out of the presidential race.

It's bad enough that their stupid foreign policies don't work. Now Time magazine doesn't want them anymore. Yes, the great Kristolhammer juggernaut is no more. In their place, the magazine has hired some tweek from the National Review who wrote a dumb book called The Party of Death that sold about 50 copies. Says "Jim" in the comments section: This action coming from the pile of crap magazine that named a commie "Person of the Year" as opposed to General Petraeus. I think enough is said about them right there... "Jim" forgets 2004's Simian Man of the Year, George W. Bush. And its 2005 cover girl, Ann Coulter. My, these wingnuts are so sensitive, aren't they?

...along comes James Pinkerton, the dumbest editorial columnist this side of Jonah Goldberg. Pinkerton, it seems, was hired to fill a Kool-Aid drinker quota at Newsday. Before Election Day, he was predicting that La Hill's ambiguous stance on licenses for illegal immigrants could sink her in 2008. Two days later, after the elections, it seemed that illegal immigration really wasn't the hot rod issue Pinkerton's and his GOP buddies thought it would be. Whoops. I mean, this guy is just fucking stupid. Recently, he's been channeling other people. Like German military generals. And now, the mayor of New York City. He really needs to give this up. Could the Democratic nomination really go to Barack Obama - you know, middle name Hussein? And could the Republican nomination really go to Mike Huckleberry? I mean Huck Finn; I mean Huckabee. Whatever. Woo hoo! Awesome parroting of wingnut cliches, dude! Islamophobia and class hatred in one fell swoop! Pinkerton should co...

Amidst the discussion of Geneva Conventions, waterboarding, Gitmo, and whether 'Merica really should be the "good guy" on the world stage, I have questions for the faux patriots and torture defenders: Suppose an innocent person ends up in Gitmo? Suppose this very person is subjected to--what's the right-wing PC term?--"advanced interrogation techniques"? See, there's such a thing as mistaken identity. A perfectly innocent man may have the same name as, say, an al Qaeda operative. Or he may bear a close resemblance to said operative. Obviously, these "advanced interrogation techniques" are woefully ineffective in this case. For one thing, the prisoner, being innocent, would have no information to provide in the war on terror. At what point do the interrogators realize that these techniques aren't working? Or that maybe they've got the wrong guy? Imagine an innocent man being taken from his home country and spirited away to Gitmo. ...

There's a tribute band for every act you can think of. Like Hair Supply , billed as "the greatest heavy metal tribute to Air Supply in the tri-state area!" They even have a MySpace page. And curiously enough, one of the band's Myspace friends is a metal Bee Gees tribute band. Both bands are currently without record deals, alas.

Here's "Save It for Later," a kewl toon.

Am I the only person in this country who really doesn't care that Mitt Romney is a Mormon?

And you thought our legal system was fucked. Tweety may get a chance to take the witness stand and sing like a canary. An Italian court ordered the animated bird, along with Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and his girlfriend Daisy, to testify in a counterfeiting case. In what lawyers believe was a clerical error worthy of a Looney Tunes cartoon, a court in Naples sent a summons to the characters ordering them to appear Friday in a trial in the southern Italian city, officials said. The court summons cites Titti, Paperino, Paperina, Topolino — the Italian names for the characters — as damaged parties in the criminal trial of a Chinese man accused of counterfeiting products of Disney and Warner Bros. Instead of naming only the companies and their legal representatives, clerks also wrote in the witness list the names of the cartoons that decorated the toys and gadgets the man had reproduced, said Fiorenza Sorotto, vice president of Disney Company Italia. "Unfortunately they cannot show up...

No, this post isn't about BushCo. It's about a bunch of cops in Wichita who tasered a hearing-impaired man wearing a towel and nothing else. Badtux has his own theories and wonders if this episode is a porn movie in the making. Really, tasering a guy in a bath towel? Which Mensa candidate thinks this is a good idea?

Something tells me this picture wasn't taken at a kosher deli. (Originally found at Gothamist. )

Rudy Giuliani seems hell-bent on making certain nobody in NYC votes for him. So far, he's succeeding. Now, it turns out he billed NYC taxpayers for his extramarital canoodling. Is Pat Robertson kicking himself yet? Or, you know, wishing he'd endorsed a nice, proper Christian like Huckabee or Thompson? Meanwhile, where's Bloomberg? Wouldn't it be nice if Rudy repaid the city and the money were distributed as tax rebates? Yes, it would be nice, but I'm not holding my breath.

Senator Craig is going to wish he'd simply retired three months ago. For over a year people have been telling me that Dan Popkey of the Idaho Statesman was working on a thorough investigative piece on a secret that had long been out in DC gay circles, that homophobic right-wing Republican Senator Larry Craig was addicted to sex with men. Some of the closeted gay Republicans on Capitol Hill occasionally-- rarely but occasionally-- get a pang of conscience about demonizing other gay people and will refrain from voting to destroy the lives of gay men and women and their families. But not Larry Craig. All the time he was out hunting for anonymous sex in toilets and gay bars he was part of the 100% crowd of hysterical anti-gay extremists. He strongly opposed prohibiting job discrimination against gays and lesbians. He strongly opposed expanding hate crimes legislation to include crimes perpetrated against gays and lesbians. He strongly supported legislation and even a constitutional ame...

This sweetie is a Madame Alexander Russian doll. I got her on eBay.

On this day--World AIDS Day--I've been thinking about my favorite movie of all time, Airplane! I know what you're thinking: "Okay, Truffle. Isn't this kind of a non sequitur?" Let me explain. Sometimes, a film has one actor who steals every scene he's in. In Airplane! that actor was Stephen Stucker, who played Johnny the flight controller. Everyone in that movie had great lines ("I am serious, and don't call me Shirley!"). But Stucker? He had the best ones. "How about Mr. Rogers?" "Johnny, what can you make of this?" "Well, I can make a hat. Or a brooch! Or a pterodactyl.." "The fog's getting thicker!" "And Leon's getting laaaaaaaarrrrrrger!" "The tower? Rapunzel! Rapunzel!" "Oh, it's a big, pretty white plane with red stripes and curtains in the windows and wheels and it looks like a really big Tylenol." Years later, I looked up Stucker's IMDB ent...

Lots of people love to bitch about (liberal) celebrities talking about politics. When are they going say something about Chuck Norris's loopy Huckabee endorsement? I'm curious.

Methinks Ruben Bolling is on to something. Via Jolly Roger.

Okay, this news, if true, is way funny. But still, if I were a gay male escort (which I'm not, being neither gay, nor male, nor an escort), I'd have my standards. And they wouldn't include this guy: Okay, I am really hoping this is not true. Because I hate the thought of anyone being desperate enough to accept him as a client. No. It can't be true. The Trentster is leaving to make money as a lobbyist. Or go on Faux News. Or spend more time with his family. Something innocuous like that. You can't convince me otherwise. Lalalalalalala I can't hear you.

And to prove it, here's the Emotions, singing "Best of My Love." I saw these ladies on a PBS special a few years ago, and yes, they can still hit the high notes! Their Stax material is also great.

Mr. 9/11 and Mr. H-E-Double Hockey Sticks have wiped the brown off their noses long enough to exchange personal attacks. No, they're not accusing each other of being faux conservatives. It's better than that. The bulk of the battle stemmed from Romney's decision on Friday to call for the resignation of Massachusetts Superior Court Judge Kathe Tuttman -- 20 months after he appointed her. Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, learned that Tuttman had released without bail a convicted killer, who has since been charged with killing a married couple in Washington state. Romney defended his decision Saturday, saying that Tuttman had "showed an inexplicable lack of good judgment," and that, despite her "record of being a law and order prosecutor," her poor judgment requires her to step down. Giuliani, who was also in New Hampshire, told The Associated Press on Saturday, "the governor is going to have to explain his appointment and the judge is ...

After work, I go to the local YMCA for the obligatory calorie-burning. This is fun. I have to find a locker first. This is not so fun. Why? Because of people who don't bring locks to the locker room, that's why. The YMCA after work is a madhouse, and nothing invokes the chorus of "They're Coming To Take Away Haa Haaaaa!" quite like opening a locker door and finding someone's stuff in there. Come on, you dimwits. Get. A. Lock. For. Your. Stuff. You are lucky most of your fellow gym goers are nice people who won't steal anything. Seriously, it's a pain in the ass and totally unfair to other people looking for empty lockers. The YMCA people advise everyone to get locks. Locks are your friends. Dig? In other news, the subway had signal problems, so I had to take the bus home and then walk. This is not my lucky day.

What's up with all these recently re-elected Republicans suddenly up and resigning without bothering to finish their terms? Denny Hastert wouldn't deign to simply retire in 2008. That was silly enough. But now Trent Lott, who just won another term last year, is resigning at the end of 2007. There were rumors circa 2005 that he would retire, but he chose to run again. Not that I'm sorry to see yet another GOP slimebag leave Capitol Hill, but it sounds like a huge waste of time and money. Actually, it reminds me of professional loser Tom DeLay, who stayed on the GOP ballot until they couldn't get rid of him. Word has it that Lott wants to make money in the private sector. Could a Singing Senators reunion be in the works? Larry Craig is probably going to have a lot of time on his hands after 2008. In other news, is it just me? Or is Bush holding Middle East peace talks kind of like Nicole Ritchie hosting a cooking show?

Newsday's op-ed section sucks, and a look at their regular op-ed columnists shows why. Mondays, there's faux libertarian Raymond J. Keating. Tuesdays and Thursdays, there's wingnut welfare recipient James Pinkerton, spouting all kinds of tired talking points and wrongheaded silliness. What kind of silliness, you ask? Well, Pinkerton's gone all New Agey on his readership and tried channeling Carl Von Clausewitz , with predictably hilarious results. Ironically, my biggest single point about war was actually a point about peace: winning the peace. As I wrote, "war is a continuation of politics by other means." That is, if Country A can't get Country B to do what it wants through diplomacy, well, then, Country A might have to attack. War may or may not be just or glorious; that's not my concern. I am practical-minded, albeit maybe a little cold-blooded. Unfortunately, Bush has not pursued this policy of "war is a continuation of politics by othe...

The next time the Democrats have a debate, could they stop attacking Hillary and start attacking the Republicans and their crappy policies? Please? Pretty please?

(Via Mockingbird's Medley .)

For starters, Hollywood is not a hotbed of wealthy liberals. But still, look Rudy's new movie-star friends! Robert Duvall? Gary Sinise? Here’s the dirty little secret — Hollywood isn’t really liberal. As a community it has strong and large conservative strains, particularly at the top of the business side where all the strings get pulled (see: Murdoch, Rupert). Not to mention Ben Stein, Dennis Miller, Bruce Willis (who these days denies he's a Republican), and Bo Derek. The reason Hollywood conservatives like to bitch about being persecuted is because victimology is part of the whole right-wing shtick, not because Joel Surnow actually suffers for his political beliefs. I mean, does anyone think that The 1/2 Hour News Hour was anything other than a wingnut welfare operation? I've wondered if Michael Medved was another wingnut welfare recipient myself. Speaking of wingnuts, what'll they say about this? Truthdig tips its hat this week to South African Archbishop Desm...

...for no recess appointments. From Sen. Harry Reid: The Senate will be coming in for pro-forma sessions during the Thanksgiving holiday to prevent recess appointments. My hope is that this will prompt the President to see that it is our mutual interests for the nominations process to get back on track. While an election year looms, significant progress can still be made on nominations. I am committed to making that progress if the President will meet me half way. But that progress can’t be made if the President seeks controversial recess appointments and fails to make Democratic appointments to important commissions. As Democratic leader, I recommend nominees to the President for many important commissions like the Federal Communications Commission, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. These independent agencies are required by law to have Democratic representation. As a result, the President has a statutory obliga...

One of my hobbies is doll collecting. Granted, it's a somewhat sporadic hobby, but I've always had a fondness for dolls. I bought this Japanese doll in San Francisco's Japantown.

Jeopardy question: "Is there any candidate more vacant than Mitt Romney"? (Asked by my brother last night.)

Julie Driscoll fronting Brian Auger and the Trinity, singing Richie Havens' "Indian Rope Man," one of my favorite Driscoll/Auger tunes. Driscoll married pianist Keith Tippett and is now an avant-jazz chanteuse who performs as Julie Tippetts. Here she's rockin' the short cut and singing like a true blue-eyed soul queen, not unlike Annie Lennox about 15 years later. Speaking of blue-eyed soul queens, here's the late, great Dusty Springfield. Recommended to all: Dusty in Memphis. One R&B-loving British gal and a crack R&B session team. Good stuff. Oh, and dig Dusty's sleeves.

Three cheers for Sens. Dodd and Leahy. The forthcoming FISA bill will not, repeat NOT, include retroactive immunity for telecoms. The New York Times has more. Senator Schumer voted to strip telecom immunity out of the bill. It's not enough to make up for his pro-Mukasey vote, but at least this time he voted on the side of the angels.

Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, D-SD, with two South Dakota Sioux. Following my post the other day, I've been thinking more about what centrism is and isn't. And when I do, I find myself thinking about strangely silent GOP centrists, both in and out of office. What do they make of the cesspool their party has become? And then I remember that if they really were concerned, they would've spoken up years ago. So forget them. Instead, let's turn our attention to one of those Bush-enabling Blue Dogs, Congresswoman Stephanie Herseth Sandlin of South Dakota. She supports that stupid Federal Marriage Amendment. She voted to give Bushco more power under FISA, she voted to make the Patriot Act permanent, and she voted for that horrible Military Commissions Act. She's the kind of Democrat that progressives hate, not because she's a moderate, but because she supports laws and policies that are anything but moderate. And, like too many moderates, she involves hersel...

Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, featuring Teddy Pendegrass. The song in question is "Wake Up Everybody." Man, we could use more songs like this.

Dennis Kucinich, fighter though he is, is better off remaining in the House. In fact, I think it would be a good idea to give him a nice, high-profile position in the house. Like maybe majority leader or even House Speaker. It's a long shot, not unlike his campaign. But I can dream, yes?

...and a corrupt Republican gets thrown out on his ass. Kentucky's scandal-plagued governor, Ernie Fletcher, was trounced by Democrat Steve Beshear. Fletcher got 41% of the vote. OUCH! I imagine the folks over at Ditch Mitch are happy as a pig in slop today. They have an interesting finding on the election results: Beshear doing EXTREMELY well so far in western Kentucky, which is arguably the state’s most socially conservative region. Gay-baiting didn’t work here, it appears. Troubling sign for Sen. Mitch McConnell (R) next year?

Why is he playing Olivia Newton-John's "Physical" on his show? I'm confused.

Somewhere a wingnut's head is exploding. Riding a ratings wave from “Countdown With Keith Olbermann,” a program that takes strong issue with the Bush administration, MSNBC is increasingly seeking to showcase its nighttime lineup as a welcome haven for viewers of a similar mind. Lest there be any doubt that the cable channel believes there is ratings gold in shows that criticize the administration with the same vigor with which Fox News’s hosts often champion it, two NBC executives acknowledged yesterday that they were talking to Rosie O’Donnell about a prime-time show on MSNBC. During the nine months she spent on “The View” before departing abruptly last spring, Ms. O’Donnell raised viewership notably. She did so while lamenting the unabated casualties of the Iraq war and advocating the right to gay marriage, among other positions. Note the operative phrase: "Raised viewership notably." Even though Rosie probably hurt Bitsy Hasselback's feelings a few times. Say, if ...

American progressives flinch at the words "centrism" and "centrist." Seriously, who can blame them? Centrism conjures up images of Liberdems displaying their naked butt cheeks to Fox News "analysts," screaming "THANK YOU SIR MAY I HAVE ANOTHER?!?" Centrism is generally agreed to be a lousy strategy, unless you're one of those lame-ass consultants paid according to how many elections you lose for the Democratic party. But is it really? Does "centrist" have to be synonymous with "right-wing Bush brown-noser"? Is centrism really the problem? Or is the definition of centrism the problem? Does "Blue Dog" absolutely have to equal "Bush Dog"? I don't believe so. Over at the Great Orange Inferno , there's mad respect for moderate and even conservative Democrats like Jim Webb and John Murtha. Webb was a fracking Reagan staffer , remember? But progressive activists respect his tough stance aga...

From Kick! comes this Signe Wilkinson cartoon.

In view of his recent blogging about healthcare, I'm dedicating this blog post to Badtux. Here's 1970s cult band National Health on "The Old Grey Whistle Test."

A Kossack reports that the preznit's approval rating has finally dipped below the 50 percent mark in America's last red-state holdout, Utah. Bush Derangement Syndrome in Mormon country! Run for your lives! And dig that shade of dull gray in Cheney's home state, too. Meanwhile, one useless wingnut responded to John Cole's recent party switcheroo by posting Cole's personal information at his blog. Shades of Graeme Frost and family. How long do you suppose it'll be before Stalkin' Malkin schleps off to West Virginia to manufacture controversies about Mr. Cole? "Is that the only trick Rightards know?" asks FDL's TRex. The answer, alas, is yes. Malkin, after all, ran off stomping her feet when the grownups challenged her to a debate and so humiliated herself that she made Newsweek's Conventional Wisdom Watch. Really, the best response to these right-wing assclowns is a simple "Grow the fuck up."

For years, John Cole has been a lone voice in--well, not the wilderness, but rather a messy backyard of broken toys, smeared baby food, and poopy diapers. (That's the best analogy of the wingnutosphere I could come up with.) A Republican who had no use for the movement conservatives or the Coulter Republicans, and whose disgust became more apparent with each post. Then again, he always sounded more like a center-right kinda guy than Kool-Aid-guzzling movement conservative. Not anymore. For one thing, Cole is no longer a Republican. In fact, he's changed his voter registration to Democrat. The wingnutosphere will snarl, but it's clear that Cole didn't leave the GOP. The GOP left him. He joins John Eisenhower and Lincoln Chafee among those ex-Republicans who came to realize that the party had no room for them or anyone else with a grip on the real world. Welcome aboard, dude.

Li'l George Bush is really mad at the mean Democrats in Congress. Especially the ones who don't support the Iraq War and don't like Mukasey's stance on torture. So he stormed off to a wingnut think tank where people will listen to him without laughing in his face. His latest tantrum is all too predictable. Note how he congratulates the think tank's president for his 30-year tenure: "No such thing as term limits here." Gee, ain't that cute? The whole speech is more blah blah blah designed to cheer up a bunch of hysterically clueless think tankers. But really, Li'l George shoots himself in the foot: In the 1920s, the world ignored the words of Hitler, as he explained his intention to build an Aryan super-state in Germany, take revenge on Europe, and eradicate the Jews -- and the world paid a terrible price. His Nazi regime killed millions in the gas chambers, and set the world aflame in war, before it was finally defeated at a terrible cost in...

You know, debate fatigue is setting in--especially on the Democratic side. They're just not as pander-prone as their GOP counterparts. Anyhow, tonight, the Dems are debating at Drexel. Like Ted Koppel, Brian Williams seems unable to change his facial expression as he speaks. Barack is asked about his pledge to be more aggressive against La Hill. It's kinda weird that Barack would accuse her of sounding Republican, given his current chumminess with "ex-gay" Donnie McClurkin. Barack is not sounding too inspiring or eloquent. What are these "sharp contrasts" he speaks of? C'mon, dude, what's going on here? I've liked what he's said in the past--definitely. And he's got points about La Hill. La Hill rebuts: "I don't think the Republicans got the message that I'm voting with them." She noted the last GOP debate, which was all "Hillary Hillary Hillary" instead of "Reagan Reagan Reagan." Truth ...

Courtesy of Ann Telnaes.

Take Li'l Ricky Santorum . A press conference was held at 1:30 this afternoon at the Philadelphia Inquirer to announce that it has added former Sen. Rick Santorum to its stable of columnists.... The story in the paper today includes: "Talking about the threat of Islamic terrorism is now Santorum's main occupation, though the Republican sounds laid-back these days. He is pitching a movie idea to Hollywood and laughed off speculation about a political comeback in Pennsylvania." The article explains that he has talked with "Hollywood producer Steve McEveety, who produced the Mel Gibson megahits 'Braveheart' and 'The Passion of the Christ,' on a movie idea that, naturally, has a terrorism element." Yo. Ricky. If Horrorwitz and Pipes won't speak up about MEK, perhaps you should. Right, Ricky? Erm...Ricky? ***cue sound of chirping crickets*** David Sirota notes the irony of a city paper in a Dem-leaning city hiring a disgraced wingnut as ...

Mr. Horowitz and the rest of the maroons behind Islamofascism Awareness Week should be asking a few questions of their right-wing compadres, Daniel Pipes. Specifically, his defense of MEK, a Marxist-Islamofascist terror group. Alternet has more. Alas, it turns out Pipes isn't the only rightie who's enamored of these goons. Can you say "yet another example of right-wing projection"?

Shit, won't the fundies ever quit whining about evolution? Now, they're making a documentary called Expelled! No Intelligence Allowed and are trying to gather horror stories about mean people who believe in evolution. Sheesh! Note to all religious fundies: There is a place where your children can read about deities shaping the world to their little hearts' content. It's called...get ready for it... Sunday school. I bet there are a lot of very nice church ladies who believe in intelligent design and would love a chance to teach it to America's youth.

There's just no nice way to put it. Steve Bates has this bon mot from Texas GOP congresscritter Joe Barton on SCHIP. You can put lipstick on a pig, but it is still a pig. He's talking about SCHIP. WTF? What is it that makes Texas Republicans act like utter assholes? Something in the water down there? Is there some evil wizard who's got all them under a spell? Not only are GOP congresscritters mean and nasty, but they're utterly clueless as well. That, or they hate their jobs and they want to lose next year so they can go home and make lots of money in the private sector. "Lipstick on a pig." Feh.

Now that Rudy has switched allegiance to the Red Sox, what's next? Will Yosemite Mitt try to one-up "America's Mayor" by showing up at Yankee Stadium for opening day 2008?

From Newsday comes the story of Hafiz Sahin, a Turkish immigrant who chased off a convenience store robber by waving an ax at him. Ms. Safin is petite and slightly built. She wears the traditional Muslim headscarf. In short, she might seem to fit the stereotype of a docile Muslim woman who's seen and not heard. Guess again. Kevin Klein, 49, a family friend who also works at the store, said he was not surprised at Sahin's gumption. "I've seen her roughhouse with a friend," he said. "I knew she was tough." I hate violence, but I gotta love this story. You go, girl!

Have the Senate Dems on the Judiciary Committee come to their senses and realized that, like, torture isn't cool? I know, I know; I've been disappointed before, too. And yes, I call my senators and tell them to vote no on these Bush-kowtowing schmucks. Of course, my senators are Schumer and Clinton, who are pretty liberal. (However, WTF was La Hill thinking when she voted for Kyl-Liberman?) It's those milquetoast Lieberman wannabes who are frustrating. The ones who don't "get" that Bush and company are a. bad people, b. bad for America, and c. NOT friends of the Democrats. The Dianne Feinsteins and Ben Nelsons, in other words. I'm sick of these idiots. Don't get me started on "principled" Republicans who cower at the sight of the Chimp. What part of "country before party" don't these morons understand? As usual, it's up to the Democrats to be big meanies and ask Michael Mukasey the big, big questions about whether he...

Lynne Spears, mother of Britney, is writing a parenting book. Religious publisher Thomas Nelson said it will publish "Pop Culture Mom: A Real Story of Fame and Family in a Tabloid World," by Lynne Spears. Nelson spokesman Curt Harding said the book, to be out next spring, will be about Lynne Spears' raising three children and will have a religious element. There's a religious element to teenage girls dressing in push-up bras for soft-core photos in rock magazines? Who knew? From the comments section (blame the commenter for the caps/typos): PARENTING BOOK?? AND HER OWN CHILD IS BUCK WILD, BABY PLEASE!!! THAT BOOK IS A DAY LATE, IF SHE WAS ANY KIND OF MOTHER BRIT WOUDLNT BE SO OUT OF CONTROL THATS THE BLIND LEADING THE BLIND What kind of dolt thought this was a good idea? Answer: the same kinds of people who think Broadway belters like Ethel Merman were tailor-made for disco.

There I was, trying to get this month's horrible Radar cover out of my mind, when Andrew Sullivan alerted his readership to the latest intersection of hardcore porn and stomach-turning bad taste. Make sure you have an empty stomach when you click this link. Jee-zus. What's next? "Debbie Does Darfur"?

It's Family, fronted by the inimitable Roger Chapman. One of those bands that really shoulda been more famous.

When it seems that life has become like a giant, stinky swamp of depression and bad news, never fear. There's always something to smile about. The Ethel Merman Disco Album is now out on CD.

Well, this is wild. In a rare shift in party affiliation, the entire membership of the all-Republican governing body in Lyndhurst will switch from Republican to Democrat tomorrow. Nearly 60% of Lyndhurst’s Republican County Committee will become Democrats too. The party realignment, first reported in PoliticsNJ.com last summer, is far greater in scope than speculated. It represents, perhaps, the most massive shift in Party affiliation of elected and Party officials in a single community in one day. “It’s safe to say something like this certainly doesn’t happen in politics everyday,” said Lyndhurst Mayor Richard DiLascio. Lyndhurst has long been considered a swing town in general elections over the last twenty years. Not anymore, it isn't.

Below, France's pre-eminent ye-ye girl, and a talented songwriter to boot. Yes, it's Francoise Hardy, singing "Ce Petit Couer."

Sad news from the Nation of Wingnutia. Jonah Goldberg's oft-ridiculed and still-unpublished manifesto on liberal fascism has been pushed back yet again --to January 8, 2008. Notes Roger Ailes : It now comes out on Elvis Presley's birthdate, (and will probably die on the toilet much soon than did the King). Ha! Obviously, Mommy's money is keeping Doughy Pantload afloat financially and he feels no need to rush this thing. Durig the course of the book's publication, he's been especially creative with subtitles, throwing in names like Hegel, Hillary Clinton, Mussolini, and Whole Foods. Wait a sec. WHOLE FOODS?!?!? Anyway, this week the working title for the book is: Liberal Fascism: The Secret History of the American Left, From Mussolini to the Politics of Meaning. Awwwwwwww. Why can't he stick Hillary's name in there, like he did in the first place? Or at least throw in Barack Obama. I mean, Obama's middle name is Hussein, after all. Which mea...

Via The Crone Speaks comes news of the kazillionth retiring Republican. From NYT : Representative David L. Hobson, a nine-term Republican from Ohio, announced Sunday that he plans to retire. He is the 12th member of his party in the House to do so since the beginning of the year. “I wanted to go out on top,” said Mr. Hobson, 71. "Go out on top"? Is this code for "get out of town before another GOP sex scandal hits the papers"? Sorry for making assumptions. I guess I've just got a dirty mind.

Now, it's Larry Craig complaining about Mitt. "He not only threw me under his campaign bus, he backed up and ran over me again," Craig told NBC's Matt Lauer in an interview taped Sunday set to air later this week on the "Today" show. Romney, former governor of Massachusetts, called Craig's behavior "disgraceful" and urged the senator to resign when news of the arrest broke in August. Craig was Romney's Senate liaison before resigning from the campaign. Romney spokesman Kevin Madden defended the presidential candidate's response. "Gov. Romney simply believes that a public office is a public trust," Madden said. "He believes when a public official enters a guilty plea, they have broken that public trust and should step aside for the sake of their constituents." At least Craig didn't resign, change his mind, and storm over to the Romney campaign headquarters demanding his old job back. This has been another install...

And check his facts while he's at it. Pat Buchanan was spitting nails over President Gore's Nobel Peace Prize win. (Per Badtux , that's what I'm going to start calling the guy.) Specifically, he ranted about "Swedish socialists" trying to gain political points. Or something. There's just one problem. The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded in Norway, not Sweden. The committee that awards the prize is appointed by the Norwegian parliament. Oops.

Oh my. "The folks don't have a say-so anymore. They're being force-fed—music, yeah, but every other darn thing too. I supported George W. I'm not exactly a liberal. But I know how that Texas thing works, who those oil folks are and what they wanted in Iraq... I'm a born-again Christian too, but the longer I live, the more afraid I get of some of these religious groups that have so much influence on the Republicans and want to tell us how to live our lives.... "This is America. We're proud. We're not afraid of a bunch of terrorists. But this government is all about terror alerts and scaring us at airports. We're changing the Constitution out of fear. We spend all our time looking up each other's dresses. Fear's the only issue the Republican Party has. Vote for them, or the terrorists will win. That's not what Reagan was about. I hate to think about our soldiers over in Iraq fighting for a country that's slipping away." Via E Plu...

I used to have a really pretty template, until NuBlogger decided that it hated the template and I had to replace it. With this. This dull-as-dishwater template. I've been looking into new templates. Preferably nice, clear, attractive, un-sucky templates. I don't want a template with a picture of a celebrity. I don't want something really overdone. I just want a new pretty template. Anyone know of templates that can be used with NuBlogger? Anyone?

Michelle Malkin has replied to Ezra Klein's debate challenge with squirming and nervous laughter, as the wingnuts' anti-Frost family crusade has been utterly discredited. Ms. Malkin really needs to let go of her obsession. She's hurting her movement by exposing its hypocrisy and general unpleasantness. If this keeps up, they'll start to distance themselves and disavow any association with her. Just like the wingnuts who were shocked--SHOCKED!!!!--that Ann Coulter called John Edwards a faggot. I'm sure that would hurt her feelings and make her cry. But wait. It's gotten worse. Al Gore has won the Nobel Peace Prize. All that's missing is mass suicide in the Fox News building. A sampling of snit fits. Chris Smith of Bexley, Ohio Al Gore? Nobel Peace Prize? Wow, that really degrades my image of that prize. Why not give it to Michael Moore while we're at it? How sad. Mr. Smith is clearly at a loss for words. Isn't he also supposed to mention Cin...

And the answer is a big fat no.

It's 1972, and Purp is somewhere in Asia, performing "Highway Star."

Awwwwww. Poor widdle wingnuts, upset over a 12-year-old kid. There's not a lot that can be said over the Graeme Frost witch hunt that hasn't been said before--and in great detail--by dozens of other bloggers. Like here. And here. And here. And especially here. But it really shows how threatened they are now that they realize how unpopular, ineffective, and simply wrong they and their ideas really are. I mean, really. What a bunch of sad bullies, crying about a tween who dares to talk about how the fact that--gasp!--SCHIP helps people! They don't like that, so the Malkinites and Freepers have gone into total Snidely Whiplash mode on the poor kid and his family. At this point, the Frost family should contact the police about a restraining order against Stalkin' Malkin and the mouth-breather brigade. Anyway, it's a good thing that the liberal end of the blogosphere is saner than these fruitcakes. Otherwise, someone might, say find the personal information...

Is it me, or is Chris Matthews the Mitt Romney of the punditocracy? Since when has Tweety been a gung-ho Bushco critic? I'm curious. Chris Matthews had barely finished praising his colleagues at the 10th anniversary party for his “Hardball” show Thursday night in Washington, D.C. when his remarks turned political and pointed, even suggesting that the Bush administration had "finally been caught in their criminality." In front of an audience that included such notables as Alan Greenspan, Rep. Patrick Kennedy and Sen. Ted Kennedy, Matthews began his remarks by declaring that he wanted to "make some news" and he certainly didn't disappoint. After praising the drafters of the First Amendment for allowing him to make a living, he outlined what he said was the fundamental difference between the Bush and Clinton administrations. The Clinton camp, he said, never put pressure on his bosses to silence him. “Not so this crowd,” he added, explaining that Bush White H...

Ladies and gentlemen... Starbuck's new Britney-themed drink: the Mess-o-cino. Speaking of Britney, it seems her new video for "Gimme More" isn't much better than her VMA performance. From People , one of the few magazines to continuously kiss her butt, comes a collection of negative reviews. Which in turn, leads to this assessment from my favorite entertainment mag, Entertainment Weekly . The moral of the story is, if you're going to build an entire video around a stripper pole, then you better work said pole like a nine-to-five. Drop it like it's hot. Throw a leg up over your head. Hire one of the elegant ladies of HBO's G-String Divas, and have her teach you that daring move where you hang upside down by your legs and spin with reckless abandon. Alas, in the case of "Gimme More," I've seen sexier pole work during an afternoon of fly-fishing.

Well, I finally brought the whole album today. As Temple Stark helpfully notes, I could've bought the thing on iTunes. Someday, when I get off my lazy butt and upgrade to DSL/cable, I will be able to download whole albums relatively quickly. And someday, I'll be able to go without album covers, credits, and neat album packaging. Until then, I still have a soft spot for CDs. Especially considering how many records are really obscure and hard to find and probably nowhere to be found online. That said, I still download MP3 files from iTunes and my personal favorite download site: eMusic. eMusic offers downloads from independent labels only. And, of course, the selection is phenomenal. Classic soul? British folk? Old school punk? New indie bands? They're all on eMusic. Meanwhile the majors continue their descent into obsolescence. Glen Gamboa notes that Feist and Ingrid Michaelson found exposure via TV commercials for iPods and Old Navy, respectively. Twenty ...