The Truffle

I'm going to be in the Poconos with Le Sweetie and friends for a rather long weekend, so blogging will be light and/or nonexistent over the next few days. Needless to say, I am looking forward to this break. Yay, Poconos!

Even the former head of Mossad says an attack on Iran would be a bad idea. Former Mossad Chief Ephraim Halevy told Time magazine in an interview published Thursday that an Israeli attack on Iran "could have an impact on us for the next 100 years" and should only be considered as a last resort. Halevy, who currently heads the Center for Strategic and Policy Studies at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, added that an Iranian attack on Israel would probably have little impact, because Iranian missiles would largely be intercepted by Israel's advanced anti-missile defense system. Another former senior Mossad official, who reportedly served during Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's administration, told the American magazine that "Iran's achievement is creating an image of itself as a scary superpower when it's really a paper tiger." So much for the axis of evil. Via Firedoglake .

David Sirota notes that the World According to Kristol doesn't extend beyond the DC suburbs: I know it's hard for sons of Washington privilege like Kristol to fathom, but there is a whole world outside the Maryland/Virginia I-495 Beltway. Living out here and having just completed the majority of a nationwide book tour, I can report that this world outside of D.C. is actually a pretty interesting place. Maybe people like Kristol should visit more often before putting pen to paper and opining on the mindset of the nation.

Welcome to the town of Disbarred. Population: you. Really, the ABA should step in and take away Goodling's law license. That way, she can't do any more damage and can simply join Wolfowitz et al. on the Island of Misfit Movement Conservative Nutcases. On second that, screw that. She could be guilty of perjury, in which case, she could find herself in an orange jumpsuit very soon. Of course, if it would happens, it would happen after Bush and Mukasey are gone. It can't happen soon enough. Of course, schadenfreude lover that I am, I'd be happy to see Ms. Goodling rendered unemployable and rejected by anyone who even thinks of hiring her. Even if it is a wingnut-welfare think tank. She could join Alberto Gonzales in a pity party.

Note to Andrew Rosenthal: It's nice that your daddy was friends with Bill Kristol's daddy. But dude? You may want to rethink this little op-ed gig you gave him. Especially after his latest embarrassment : Early Friday, I went to the Real Clear Politics Web site, as I do every morning, for my fix of political news and commentary. I perked up when I saw the third entry on the list of that day’s notable articles — “No. 44 Has Spoken.” “Hank Aaron has spoken? Wow,” I thought as I clicked through. Yes, it's Bill Kristol, professional papa's boy and perennial Mr. Wrong, pretending he's a Troo AMERIKAN!11!!1! He likes baseball! He likes Hank Aaron! He's trying for the same right-wing populist shtick that Rush Limbaugh works when he isn't spending his millions on Oxycontin and admitting he's a right-wing water carrier. Said shtick involves Kristol being really disappointed that Der Spiegel was writing about Barack Obama and not Hank Aaron. Actually, I th...

From TPM comes another story of GOP disunity: Republican Senate candidates who are skipping the GOP convention. So who said Republicans put party before country? CongressDaily has more. Among those who will not attend are Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska, who is not close to presumptive presidential nominee Sen. John McCain of Arizona, and Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, who is a McCain loyalist. Stevens and Collins will use the convention week to focus on their campaigns. Since being in the same room with President Bush is going to hurt their campaigns, I don't really blame them. Against my better judgment, I have a soft spot for Susan Collins and her fellow Maine old-school moderate, Olympia Snowe. I just wish "moderate Republican" didn't equal "run-of-the-mill Bush rubber stamper" these days. Also sending regrets is former Rep. Bob Schaffer of Colorado, running for the seat being vacated by retiring GOP Sen. Wayne Allard. Six others -- Sens. Roger Wicker of ...

From TPM comes the story of Alaska Rep. Don Young, who's trying to pass himself as a taxpayer-friendly Republican. We reported earlier that Rep. Don Young (R-AK) falsely claimed that he was named "Hero of the Taxpayer" by the non-partisan reform group, Taxpayers for Commonsense. But Taxpayers for Commonsense denies even having such an award, yet alone awarding it to Young, a long-time target of the political watchdog. To be fair, Taxpayers for Common Sense did give Rep. Young an award: namely, the Golden Fleece Award for wasting taxpayer money on the infamous Bridge to Nowhere. In fact the silly taxpayer's hero award is given out by Americans for Tax Reform, helmed by the GOP's best-known Snidely Whiplash impersonator, Grover Norquist. And now Norquist is dissing Young for voting for--gasp!--a tax hike: "Republicans that vote for tax increases are like rat heads in Coke bottles,"Norquist said. "They ruin the Republican brand for all members. It...

Years ago, during the waning days of syndicated TV (sniff sniff), I watched Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda pretty regularly. Show creator Robert Hewitt Wolfe cut his teeth on my very favorite show of all time, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine . Anyhow, the show had real possibilities, except the idiot production company decided they wanted to attract channel surfers and not build a long-time fan base. I'm not going to vent here, because even after I quit watching regularly, I still took part in Andromeda discussion boards and even wrote a handful of show-related filks. And yup, I met some kewl people online--some of whom were the show's writers and producers. Among the DROM staff was Ethlie Ann Vare , a versatile writer, journalist, and TV producer. AND she's a fellow redhead to boot. After the horror of 9/11, Ms. Vare wrote this essay . It's worth reading, if only to remember that the US government had an opportunity for healing and progress, and they utterly s...

From my friend Lewis N. Clark... Senator Obama made a last minute trip to Moscow to meet the new Russian leadership and then delivered a well-received foreign relations speech to thousands of people in Red Square. Meanwhile, Senator McCain visited a Vodka factory to meet with a dozen workers there, vowing "While Obama is placating the Red Menace, I will never let the Soviet Union invade Czechoslovakia again!" Unfortunately, the plant had been closed for several hours so McCain had to settle for lecturing the night watchman, who later said "I think he's been nipping at our inventory..."

Note to Senator McCain: If you want to win an election, don't ever, EVER say "I would rather lose a political campaign." Specifically, don't say this, especially in relation to Situation FUBAR: This is a clear choice that the American people have. I had the courage and the judgment to say I would rather lose a political campaign than lose a war. It seems to me that Obama would rather lose a war in order to win a political campaign. From Joe Klein , who's joined Tweety in The Land of Finally Getting a Clue: This is the ninth presidential campaign I've covered. I can't remember a more scurrilous statement by a major party candidate. It smacks of desperation. It renews questions about whether McCain has the right temperament for the presidency. How sad.... Smart politicians leave the scurrilous stuff to their aides; in fact, a McCain spokesman expressed these words almost exactly on July 14. There is a reason why politicians who want to be President don'...

From the Department of Frivolous but Funny Lawsuits comes proof that litigation-happy buffoons can be found in every country: A Greek court Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit accusing an LGBT rights group of demeaning the people of the Aegean island of Lesbos by purloining the word Lesbian, a term islanders have used to name themselves for centuries. The lawsuit was brought by three islanders from Lesbos, home of the ancient poet Sappho, who praised love between women. The island is a popular holiday destination for gay women. The suit said hat the name of the LGBT group - Homosexual and Lesbian Community of Greece - “insults the identity” of the people of Lesbos. In dismissing the case, the court said that islanders did not have sole claim to the name. Question: did these guys really never figure out until now where the term "lesbian" comes from? And do they want to risk losing all that tourist money (thus hurting the island's economy) with this dopey lawsuit? This story come...

Swiped this from Dusty, because it's scarily true:

And it's the Prince of Darkness himself, whining about how Team McCain "used" him. How do I put this nicely? No duh, Bob. Strangely, it's never bothered you before.

The often-dormant comic-book geek chick in me is somewhat amused and alarmed over the controversial new "Black Canary" Barbie doll. It's controversial because there are a lot of parents who don't realize that this is a doll modeled after a comic book character. Specifically, a comic book character who wears fishnets and leather. Here is Black Canary in the Birds of Prey comic book: Canary has since left that comic and now stars in her own comic book with Green Arrow. Anyhow, here is the Black Canary Barbie doll: Too many people are jumping to conclusions over this new doll, which won't even be in stores until September. And it won't be marketed to little girls either, so parents can relax. This is a collector's Barbie, and it is not--repeat, NOT--being marketed to little kids. Mattel's official Barbie Collector site specifically says, "For the adult collector, age 14 and over." My guess is it'll probably be sold at comic book ...

Is it just me, or is the Obama/Osama meme getting really boring and overused? I can't even get offended over some mouthbreathing state senator. I just wonder if this is really the best he can do. Via Kiss My Big Blue Butt .

They're Von Iva, an electro-soul band from San Francisco, and I so want to see them live. May they find their way to the East Coast some time soon! Von Iva's homepage is here .

From USA Today: As Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama prepares for a major trip to Europe and the Middle East, a poll released Friday shows his supporters are much more fired up about the election than those of his Republican opponent John McCain. The poll by The Associated Press and Yahoo News showed that 38% of Obama's supporters say the election is exciting compared with 9% of McCain's. The passion and interest shown by blocs of voters are important because they affect who will be motivated to vote. Someone in John McCain's cheerleading squad the allegedly "liberal" media has to figure out a way to spin this ASAP.

Speaking of whiners... "It is clear to me that Democrats want to attack me rather than debate Senator McCain on important economic issues facing the country." That's Phil Gramm, explaining why he resigned from the McCain campaign. A more eloquent way of saying "WAAAAAAAH! I'm sick of them meanies!"

Some photos from my recent visit to Brooklyn Botanic Garden with Le Sweetie:

Where else but on Faux News can you hear a sociopathic winger condemn the idea of public service--and misquote Jefferson in the process? Ladies and gentlemen, meet Jonathan Hoenig, 1980s yuppie holdover, author of (no joke) Greed Is Good , and believer in the I've-got-mine-so-hit-the-road-you-rube approach to life. "It was Thomas Jefferson who once said that public service and private misery are inseparably linked," Hoenig told the hosts of Fox & Friends, referring to a letter in which Jefferson expressed a concern near the end of the Revolutionary War that 13 years of public service had left his private affairs in "great disorder." Yeah, a WAR will do that. I'm sure George Washington, Dwight Eisenhower, and Ulysses S. Grant felt the same way at some point in their lives, but they didn't use it as an excuse to behave like assholes. And they never pooh-poohed the idea of public service. "There is a belief now," Hoenig went on, "that ...

Just a few days after Brent Bozell scoldfest, Amanda Carpenter is complaining about young voters, with their newfangled Facebook groups. It would be hard for anyone her age (she is 25) to sound like a supercilious old biddy, but Ms. Carpenter pulls it off with aplomb. I thought at the age of 18 you became an adult, with the right to vote and sign up for the military, not be pandered to by desperate political candidates. I guess most people in that age bracket are pretty childish, though. Most of them are college students living off of mommy and daddy's dime, who are hand-fed their meals from a dining hall. Which is why most of them lean Democratic--they're dependent and haven't been made to earn their own way yet. Of course, there are lots of other 18-25 year olds outside this category, like single moms and men and women oveseas [sic] in the war, but you never see those people interviewed in those stories about the youth vote. The only youth who typically are engaged in po...

Man, I loved L7. I loved all those 90s alternative grunge acts. Okay, most of them. I never like Bush or Stone Temple Pilots. But L7 will always hold a special place in my heart. Remember the Presidents of the United States of America? The band that did "Lump"? This is not the video for "Lump." This is the video for "Peaches." Belly were another awesome band. They came and went too fast. What's Tanya Donnelly doing these days?

Guess whose pastor is a raving bigot? Hint: It's the GOP presidential candidate. Aren't you relieved that this isn't another post on Jeremiah Wright? Aren't you wondering why the MSM didn't pick up on this story? (Via Politopics .)

And it's not from the Borowitz report, either. WHAT are these people thinking? Church Cancels Teen Gun Giveaway An Oklahoma church canceled a controversial gun giveaway for teenagers at a weekend youth conference. Windsor Hills Baptist had planned to give away a semiautomatic assault rifle until one of the event's organizers was unable to attend. The church’s youth pastor, Bob Ross, said it’s a way of trying to encourage young people to attend the event. The church expected hundreds of teenagers from as far away as Canada. "Say, kids are into that hippity-hop rap stuff, right? The rappers all sing about guns. Like that Will Smith guy. He was real great when he played Ray Charles. I bet we'll even get some kids from the 'hood, hee hee hee!" A video on the church Web site shows the shooting competition from last year’s conference. A gun giveaway was part of the event last year. This year, organizers included it in their marketing. “I don’t want people thi...

Brent Bozell III wags his finger at liberals who are writing and saying mean things about Jesse Helms, "a man credited with impeccable conservative credentials in the U.S. Senate." No, Bozell didn't mention in too much detail the exact reasons people hated Helms. According to him, the nasty liberals just want to go poopy on the grave of a dead conservative. Mean liberals that include...um, er, um...Andrew Sullivan. Gee, one of us liberal has got to say something nice to show that we're not all a bunch of intolerant meanies. So let me say something in Helms' defense. During his political career, you couldn't find a more ardent supporter of America's white, heterosexual Christian population. See, he wasn't a total hater. P.S. Hoooooooo boy .

Sara Robinson at Orcinus has written hands-down one of the best blog posts on race, gender, and the 2008 election to date. Especially this passage: Let's be clear on this: the whole blacks-versus-women frame was a false one from the get go. You could hardly design something more exquisitely calculated to split the party along its most crucial faultline than that breathless "Blacks or Women? Who Gets To Make History?" narrative that dominated the political season for six straight months. It was set up to absolutely guarantee that one of the party's two most important constituencies would inevitably end up with hurt feelings, and might even withhold support as a result. And damned if it didn't work. Ugly things got said all around that left everybody with bad blood --- let's please be grownups and admit that it wasn't just one side, and nobody gets to be the Bigger Victim here -- and played hell with party unity. I'm sure Karl Rove is happier than Chri...

This time, he compares Obama's national service plan to slavery, twisting himself into a pretzel as he whines about government and sings the praises of volunteerism. Volunteerism, by the way, is exactly what Obama is proposing. Check out Obama's Web site and you'll see that he calls for...get ready for this... universal voluntary public service . That's what it's called right there on the Web site. In other words, something other than slavery. Meanwhile, I hope Pantload is simply volunteering as an op-ed writer, because I hate the thought of the LA Times (or any paper) paying him to write this stuff.

As we know, America is divided - that is, anywhere from 68% to 80% of us share one set of views, and the celebrity media and the RNC share another set of views. From Sideshow .

For all of the GOP pundits out there that are continuning to call Obama just another “typical politician”, please continue to do so. As long as you continue to call him “typical” then he can no longer be an elitist, a Muslim, a radical Islamist, and all of the other ridiculous things that you want him to be on any given day of the week. If he is a “typical politician” than he can’t possibly fall into the other 30 characterizations you have placed on him. From Politivine.

I saw "Wall-E" on Saturday with Le Sweetie and some friends. It's a really adorable and emotionally involving film. I swear, Wall-E and EVE now officially replace Rhett and Scarlett as the greatest romantic couple in film history. Okay, I'm kidding. Sort of. I'm kind of tired of seeing humans in romantic leads. Robots are a welcome change. Frank Rich , meanwhile, titles his latest op-ed "Wall-E for President." I can't wait to read what William Kristol thinks of the movie. On second thought, maybe I can.

The election cycle has entered a transition period, from the silly season to the schadenfreude season. Remember 2004's great GOP smearfest here in NYC? Well, 2008 is looking to be somewhat less upbeat. “It’s a very delicate situation,” said Brian Jones, a former communications director for Mr. McCain’s campaign who also was a top communications strategist during Mr. Bush’s 2004 run for re-election. “Even though the president is the president, this is going to be John McCain’s convention, and you want it to be about John McCain and what his presidency would be.” Translation: "We're really, really need to convince American voters that John McCain isn't just Bush 2.0." In St. Paul, Mr. Bush will speak on the convention’s opening night, said Dana Perino, the White House press secretary — a tiny bit of news from an administration that typically keeps a close hold on the president’s schedule. The White House and the McCain campaign said the details were still being w...

Arrest him for exercising his First Amendment right to say disgusting crap. Via Ang comes this news item: 44-year old Andre Moore is being held at the 18th Police District by the very officers he apparently wanted to kill. At least that's the message he allegedy sent out to the world in a disturbing, hate filled rant on YouTube. "When you shoot the cops, you shoot them dead.", Moore is heard saying. Moore allegedly posted this video on the internet demonstrating how to use a Colt .275 to shoot cops. What police also find disturbing is that Moore is employed as a security guard at Einstein Medical Center, the hospital where Officer Chuck Cassidy died of gunshot wounds six months ago. "We lost three police officers to guns on the streets of Philadelphia, and this idiot's out there promoting this message.", said Thomas Burke, of the Pennsylvania Gun Violence Task Force. Moore's anger is directed mostly at the 18th district where he was cited for minor ...

From the "be careful what you wish for" department... The "real 'Merikenz SPEAK TEH ENGLISH!1!!1!" crowd would be in big, BIG trouble if they ever had their way. For one thing, they could find themselves demoted to second-class citizen status. Don't believe me? Some proof... Note to wingtards: Why do you guys have so much trouble with this word, anyway? It's A-M-N-E-S-T-Y. Like in that Bush-hating human rights group, Amnesty International. If you're going to harp about the English language, can't you at least buy a dictionary? Or at least consult one at your library? You DO have libraries where you live, don't you? Not to be outdone, a wingtard mayor has dared to be different: Okay, let's give Mayor Stranczek the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he was talking about excretions instead. Maybe he's convinced illegals are letting their dogs poop on his lawn. Yeah, that's it... (Via Democratic Underground , where at least they ca...

Le Sweetie and I spent the afternoon at Battery Park, where Sonic Youth and the Feelies performed. Gawd, I love my digital camera. First up, the Feelies, who've reunited after a bunch of years. Sonic Youth, meanwhile, played lots and lots of Daydream Nation material. Alas, from where I was standing, I was only able to snap Thurston and, occasionally, Kim.

Right-wingers hate the movie. And, as expected, they invoke the name of the Great Vice-Beelzebub himself, Al Gore, who's become even more beastly than Bill Clinton in the collective subconscious of the wingnutosphere. The National Review even titled one of their blogs "Planet Gore." ("It's his planet. We're just living on it, goddamn it!") Good gravy, didn't these people learn anything from their little "Happy Feet" hissy fit? Okay, in the interest of balance, I'll mention that at least one rightie defends the film as an "indictment of liberalism." Uh-huh. Pixar's a regular propaganda arm of the great lumbering movement-conservative juggernaut, all right. "Hey doods! Ann Coulter's getting predictable. Let's make a cartoon robot our newest mascot!" Michael "Gay Penguins" Medved has yet to register his opinion of the film, but one former colleague predicts he probably won't enjo...

Courtesy of Media Girl , it looks like TEH EVIL Muslim threat is more insidious than previously imagined. Paging Jonah Goldberg/Ben Stein/Michelle Malkin/Insert Your Own Favorite Faux Patriot Here! LOL Cats are the real anti-American fifth column, and not just because Muhummad was a cat person.

And just in time for Fourth of July! Granted, the name "Pure McCain Cola" suggests the contents inside the bottle are rather flat and lacking in fizz...but, well, that's McCain '08 for you. Via Blue Gal .

Okay. This weird. Genesis before they went MOR. Peter Gabriel sans flower outfits and masks. Phil Collins with facial hair. FACIAL HAIR, people. And Tony Banks channeling his inner Keith Emerson. Truly one of life's little "WTF?" moments.

One of life's little "DUH" moments . Jimmy Buffett, deity to Parrotheads everywhere, is against the Iraq war, telling an interviewer, "Anybody who makes policy in this country oughta have to walk by the Vietnam memorial on the way to work." The interviewer asks Buffett, and I quote: "So why not vote for Vietnam vet John McCain?" Because a. McCain supports the war, moron. And b. you don't need to be a war veteran to walk by the Vietnam memorial. Stop me before I make a sarcastic comment about the liberal media. Via Sideshow .