The Truffle

Via Skippy , I found out that Molly Ivins lost her battle with cancer. Classic Ivins: The trouble with blaming powerless people is that although it's not nearly as scary as blaming the powerful, it does miss the point. Poor people do not shut down factories,... Poor people didn't decide to use "contract employees" because they cost less and don't get any benefits. Amen, Molly. Rest in peace.

Yup, it's this guy. More opportunities to say, "Senator Biden--SHUT UP ALREADY!" Update: Yes, Senator Smarm just had his very first foot-in-mouth moment as a presidential hopeful. One that had him trying to play kiss-and-make-up with another 2008 presidential hopeful. Dig that Observer piece where he attacks the other 2008 candidates for their Iraq war positions: To hear him tell it, Hillary Clinton’s position is calibrated, confusing and “a very bad idea.” John Edwards doesn’t know what he’s talking about and is pushing a recipe for Armageddon in the Middle East. Barack Obama is offering charming but insubstantial fluff. And all of them are playing politics. “Let me put it this way,” Mr. Biden said. “You didn’t hear any one of them get in this debate at all until they announced for President.” How do you explain Feingold and his drive to cut off war funds, Senator? To be fair, Biden admits to being a windbag. This makes his treatment of Kerry and Obama somewhat i...

Le Sweetie has discovered yet more proof that fundies and popular culture mix like hot dogs and marshmallow fluff. Of course, the site itself could be a parody. In the meantime, I am confused as to how Ghostface Killah got on the list. Update: Scott EVill provides very, very strong evidence that the site is indeed satire.

In 1989, I paid a visit to a place familiar to anyone who ever watched "In Search Of." I am, of course, talking about Stonehenge , that circle of really big rocks that a bunch of ancient Brits stuck in the ground for reasons nobody has figured out for certain. There weren't any druids dancing around the rocks on the day that I visited. There were, however, a lot of tourists. For a bunch of rocks stuck in the ground, it is certainly a major tourist attraction. Photos of Stonehenge are often taken at twilight, showing the big rocks silhouetted against a darkening sky. Or they're taken from a distance, so we can see the rocks in their element, surrounded by an expanse of emerald grass. Or sometimes, we'll see a photo of Stonehenge up close, as the photographer crouches behind one of the rocks to photograph some of the other rocks, to emphasize he mysteriousness of this ancient, pre-historic whatchamacallit. But here's what you won't see: You won't ...

Via Skippy , it turns out that the party-pooping meanies at Google have disabled the "Miserable Failure" Google bomb. Sigh. I suppose it was fun while it lasted.

And for once, he tells it like it is. It's not the American people or the U.S. Congress who are emboldening the enemy. It's the failed policy of this president — going to war without a strategy, going to war prematurely. From here. I was wondering when some major political figure would point out this blatantly obvious fact.

I believe in Occam's razor. Put in plain English, Occam's razor is the theory that the simplest solution or explanation is the correct one. Nothing is a better example of Occam's razor in action than the discussion of the Iraq war, and the efforts to discredit or silence its critics. Waaaaaaay back in 2003, there were some disparate, brave souls who dared to question the wisdom behind a pre-emptive war, ranging from Jeremy Glick , whose father died on 9/11 to Brent Scowcroft , Poppy's former national security advisor. There was ample evidence given by Joseph Wilson and Karen Kwiatkowski that the case for the war was full of holes and that the administration was manipulating intelligence. General Eric Shinseki, meanwhile, was pooh-poohed for daring to suggest that a pre-emptive war would require a larger number of troops than Shrub and company were willing to commit. Clearly, the war critics were not a random sampling of moonbats, leftover hippies, and Saddam apolo...

Namely, Senator James Webb's response. You compare Webb to an empty suit like Dubya and you feel some embarassment. Can't our country have a smart president? Please? Finally, someone talks sense tonight. He's saying what needs to be said about the economy. And about Situation FUBAR. Oh yeah, and he brings out a photo of his dad in uniform. And he talks about his own military career and his son, who's now serving in you-know-where. Take that, chickenhawks.

And it's a case of "same old shit, different day." So much for "Mission Accomplished." I knew Dubya didn't have a fucking clue. Oh, but he wants to establish a bipartisan advisory committe for the war on "terra". And he's calling for an increase in troops and a civilian reserve corps. Why do I not trust this idea of a civilian reserve corps? Why do I have a feeling the Republicans aren't going to get behind a civilian reserve corps? And it'll go the way of Dubya's Social Security "reform"?

Isn't it interesting that Dubya hasn't brought up the "I" word yet? He talks about going on the offense, but not the "I" word. He talks about the war on "terra," but not the "I" word. He talks about his allies, but not the "I" word. He talks about alleged accomplishments in the war on "terra," but not the "I" word. He talks about September 11, but not the "I" word. He talks about al Qaeda, but not the "I" word. Man, he's making it too easy for Webb.

"For too long our nation has been dependent on foreign oil." Dubya, your Saudi buddies are NOT gonna like that! Da-na! Da-na-na! Dude sounds like a Democrat! No wonder Cheney's squirming and scowling and looking all unenthusiastic.

He's talking about saving Social Security! Omigod! And public education! Double omigod! Of course, he wants Congress to re-authorize No Child Left Behind. Congress is unimpressed. Oh, and Dubya? The other part is the DEMOCRATIC Party. Not the DEMOCRAT Party. Democratic is an adjective. Democrat is a noun. Dig?

...and I'm aware that there are SOTU drinking games floating around the blogosphere. I'm glad I don't have any alcohol lying around, or else I'd be drunk in 5 minutes. Elayne Riggs directs us to this drinking game and this one as well. Boy, does Darth Cheney look glum standing next to Madame Speaker. Actually, the worse "Madame Speaker" got a bigger round of applause than Chimpy did. This many not be a good thing. Of course, considering Madame Speaker's predecessor. Awwwwww. Dubya congratulated the Dem majority and McCain looks unhappy. Cheney looks like either a. he's mulling over his newly uncovered role in Plamegate or b. he's trying to muffle a fart. Gee, it's so nice that Dubya's sounding all bipartisan, isn't it? Man, his speechwriters are pretty good, but looking in his eyes, you can tell he really doesn't mean them. Like the part about deficit reduction and balancing the budget. ("Balanced budgets? We don...

La Hill is being interviewed by Olbermann and she's good! She says all the right things and she's smart as hell. There's the teeny-tiny part of me that hopes that a President La Hill would be the kind of pragmatic problem-solver this country needs. The only down side of La Hill as president would be if the Bush family tries to find another family member to run. Maybe Jeb Bush with his imaginary friend Chang as his running mate?

Le Sweetie says he's going to be sure he's doing something else with his time when Chimpy gives the SOTU. Me, I marked my calendar for it. I'm the only person I know who's waiting with bated breath to listen to this speech. It probably won't be very inspiring, but I'm sure there will be some stray nuggests of comedy gold. And, of course, there's James Webb's Democratic response to look forward to. I'm waiting as MSNBC counts down to the speech. I'm out of my mind to be looking forward to this thing.

In homage to Atrios , this week's prog blog features Yes performing "Yours Is No Disgrace" circa 1971 on "Beat Club."

Am I the only one trying to catch up with Battlestar Galactica instead of watching the Super Bowl? And now I'm going to check out the premiere of The Dresden Files. It's another SciFi channel series and looks interesting. A crimefighting wizard sounds like a neat premise.

Here are some pictures from the Knitting Factory's Winter Jazzfest. The guys here are Gary Lucas (ex-Captain Beefheart) and his band. All were taken with my cellphone. At some point, I'm going to need to splurge on a digital camera, aren't I?

La Hill has announced she's running for president. C'mon, who didn't see that one coming? She might as well have worn a "Hillary in 2008 2006" campaign T-shirt. Christopher Dodd has announced, too. I know what you're thinking: Who? WHO?!?!? He's the senator from Connecticut who isn't Joe Lieberman. Barack, of course, has announced, and the wingnutocracy is already making a big deal out of the fact that his surname reminds people of that evil guy who's behind 9/11. Oh yeah, and Barack's middle name is Hussein. The wingnutocracy is all over that like flies on manure. Note to wingnutocracy: is this the best you ass-clowns can do? Joe Biden hasn't formally announced yet (I don't think). And hopefully he won't. Joe, don't do it. And while you're at it...SHUT UP! John McCain is no doubt arranging a hugfest with Dobson and Falwell even as I type this. The Straight Talk Express has been permanently derailed, folks. Sam ...

I guess today's bone-chilling cold and wince-inducing wind are prime examples of "be careful what you wish for." December felt weirdly like March or April. Two weeks ago, temps hit 70 degrees. Yup, you read that correctly. 70 degrees. In January. Now, it is appropriately freezing cold. Le Sweetie and I are going to the Knitting Factory and invited some buds to go along. The buds decided that the freezing weather was too much to bear and decided to make it a "Turner Classic Movies" afternoon. Winter has arrived. A few weeks late, but it's arrived.