The great Katha Pollitt, and other recommended reading

Here is yet another reason why Katha Pollitt is one of my favorite columnists. She's got a list of New Year's resolutions that all liberals would be wise to follow. And yes, if we follow these resolutions, we will find ourselves winning more and more elections. I firmly believe that. Take resolution number 5 as a good example:

5. Avoid weasel words. Like "spirituality." It's "religion." And "faith"--that's "religion" too. And while you're at it, define your terms. What is a "working family"? What is "the middle class"? Do these phrases mean anything more than "virtuous people entitled to make a moral claim on society"--as opposed to those criminals, drug addicts and welfare moms liberals used to care about? And speaking of liberals, whatever happened to them? And to leftists? How come we're all "progressives" now?

Good question. Let's just call ourselves liberals, okay? Liberal values are what made this country great and we should proudly embrace the term "liberal."

Sara Robinson over at Orcinus wonders when the wingnutsosphere is going to wipe the egg off its collective face. Don't hold your breath. They're still getting everything wrong, as da man himself, Dave Neiwert, notes in his takedown of the latest bunch to spout "me-wanna-kill-liberal" nonsense. Yeah, the wingnuts are invoking the "V" word. As in "Vietnam," the Situation FUBAR of the 1960s and 1970s. Come on, nobody but the wingnutosphere believes that the Democrats have ever wanted to lose Iraq or Vietnam. As Neiwert notes:

Actually, if liberals had in fact "desperately wanted to lose" the Iraq war, they'd have proceeded precisely as G.W. Bush has: half-assedly, with no exit strategy, and then incompetently at every turn thereafter.

But for some reason, wingnuts keep pretending that it's the left that wants to lose, when it's quite clear that the problem is that the right has no idea how to win.

Giving new meaning to the term "missionary position": Sex toys: They're not just for godless heathens anymore!

Via Avedon Carol, we find really scary analogies. That conoisseur of silly sites herself, Elayne Riggs, should check this out. Elayne, you there?

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