The Truffle

This morning, I turned on the TV, and both MTV and VH1 were playing the same Nickelback song at the same time. It's that godawful new song about wanting to be a rock star, and it consists of a bunch of random people all mouthing the words to the song (with a few actual rock stars like Kid Rock deigning to appear). This is not the first time both channels have played this video at the same time. The question is: WHY? Can't they play more of that fun Feist video, "1234"? It's a good song and a really colorful yet simple video. It's featured in a bunch of iPod commercials. If iPod starts using Nickelback in its ads, I'm going to take my iPod and throw it out the window, I swear. Anyway, I went to Borders to get the new Feist album and it appears to be sold out. Sigh.

It had to happen. The same week that Larry Craig announces that he is not in fact resigning, a Republican group takes on one of the GOP's most obvious flip-floppers. I'm talking, of course, about Yosemite Mitt. Yes, the party's most unintentionally hilarious candidate is now the subject of a TV ad placed by the GOP's leading masochists gay and lesbian advocacy group, the Log Cabin Republicans. I knew that these guys existed, but wondered where they were hiding during this election cycle. (For the curious: no, Larry Craig is not a member.) Anyway, the ad can be accessed via the NY Times linky and features clips of Mitt talking like a total liberal. Wow. I wondered when the LCR's would finally snap. Especially considering Mitt's, uh, confusing views on gay rights. Basically, he was always a flip-flopper, even when he was governor. He promised the Massachusetts LCR's that he'd uphold the state court's ruling that upheld gay marriage. Then ...

This is the fifth Senate Republican to retire. After seven years of rubber-stamping every crappy decision Bush has ever made, it must be burnout city for Republicans in Congress. 2008 can't come soon enough.

They're now naming asteroids after gay people.

Yes, he's brought Jews and Muslims together. From the Daily News : Jewish groups lined up with Arab and Muslim organizations yesterday to hammer Sen. John McCain for calling the U.S. a "Christian nation" that should have a Christian President. McCain's remarks were "disappointing and disturbing to say the least," said Abraham Foxman, director of the Anti-Defamation League. He called on the Arizona Republican to retract them. "Absolutely nothing in the Constitution establishes that the U.S. is a Christian nation," Foxman said, "nor is it accurate to say that this nation was founded on Christian principles." Naturally, Joe Lieberman defends the guy. And meanwhile, James Zogby (head of the Arab-American Institute) has the best quote about McCain: "Cheney without of the nuance." OUCH!!!

I love it when any band can make major label executives squirm. More here. Radiohead has now officially announced this new self-released album, 'In Rainbows' which will be available on October 10. Initially, the album will only be available as an electronic download through the Web site InRainbows.com. Later, it will be pressed and made available as a massive and expensive (£40, or $81.18) box set that includes three copies of the album: one on vinyl, one on CD and the previously available all-digital version. Believe it or not, Radiohead is asking fans to name their own price for the downloadable version. Pre-order the album for an October 10th download and at checkout you are asked to enter whatever price you feel is appropriate. Seriously. Wanna pay a penny? Then do it. Wanna throw a little more cash at the band? Donate $10 or $20 -- it's up to you. Over at Velvet Rope, plenty of posters are pretty psyched not only about the album but the marketing/distribution aspect....

Seeing the Forest addresses pissed-off Dems(and there are lots of those out there--including yours truly): Lots of people are really upset that the House and Senate voted to censure MoveOn. Me, too. There is a LOT of talk about "quitting the party" to "send a message." There is a problem with that thinking. Ralph Nader ran in 2000 to "send a message" to "the Democrats." It didn't send a message and got maybe half a million Iraqis killed. Maybe more. The reason it did not "send a message" was that the Democratic Party is not a top-down organization. It is a bottom-up organization. IT IS US. You don't "send a message" to yourself, you ACT. The way to act on this is to show up at party meetings, vote, run for office and take over the party. It is also to fund outside organizations like Commonweal Institute so they can reach the public, create popular understanding and appreciation of, and demand for, progressive values a...

2008 is almost upon us, and Republicans are squirming at the slim pickings on their side of the fence. The Dems have a black, a woman, a Latino, and a sensitive Alan Alda-type guy with a southern accent among their candidates. It's like the 1970s all over again in Dem-land. Meanwhile, the GOP is uneasy with their selection of white men. Specifically, a ex-mayor from the Northeast who's too liberal for their tastes. And if this guy gets the nomination, some ultra-right wingers are ready to go with a third-party candidate. Sort of like a reverse Ralph Nader to take votes away from the evil RINO on the ticket. Well, that settles it. I know who I want on the GOP ballot. Ru-dee! Ru-dee! Ru-dee! Digby seems intrigued by all this.

John McCain, newly inducted into the Protestant Denomination of the Month Club, spent some time pandering to fundies talking faith with Beliefnet. McCain on religion and state: I think the number one issue people should make [in the] selection of the President of the United States is, "Will this person carry on in the Judeo Christian principled tradition that has made this nation the greatest experiment in the history of mankind?" McCain on whether Muslims can be president: I just have to say in all candor that since this nation was founded primarily on Christian principles.... personally, I prefer someone who I know who has a solid grounding in my faith. But that doesn't mean that I'm sure that someone who is Muslim would not make a good president. I don't say that we would rule out under any circumstances someone of a different faith. I just would--I just feel that that's an important part of our qualifications to lead. Somewhere, bin Laden is smiling. Tha...

Rush Limbaugh has a new nickname for war vets who become war critics: "Phony soldiers." Oh yeah? Folks, let's not let Mr. Wart-on-Anus live this one down, 'kay?

From lily-white commentator Rory O'Connor : It would obviously surprise, and perhaps even frighten the Man Who Wouldn't Shut Up, to learn that I now live in Harlem -- along with many other white people, not to mention a wide and growing assortment of Asians, Hispanics, Arabs, African Americans and all the rest of what makes Manhattan such a vibrant, interesting and exciting place to live and work. Apparently O'Reilly, trapped back in time as well as in his suburban cocoon and Fox bunker, hasn't noticed any of the ongoing changes in Harlem -- or for that matter the rest of America -- that have taken place since he and I attended the same very Catholic, very strict and very segregated college prep school in lily-white Long Island back in the '60s. BTW, I can't take credit for that new nickname. I heard it on DailyKos. But it fits the guy, doesn't it?

This time, it's Canterbury cult heroes Caravan:

There are times when I'm embarrassed to be white. Like when other white people offer their opinions of black people, culture, or history. Usually, they sound like whiny, naive, defensive little kids: "Hey, how come black kids can say 'nigger' an' white people can't? It's not faaaaaaaaiiiir!" (Why would any white person want to use that word? I'm confused. Especially when you consider how many blacks would love it if the term vanished from the English language.) Anyway, you already know about Bill O'Reilly's educational trips to soul food restaurants. Now comes Z-list celebrity, model, and reality TV star Adrianne Curry saying she's not racist and sounding, well...racist. This is gonna be hard guys. I LOVE the comedians on BET. I also LOVE the fact that they play my favorite show of all time, In Living Color. However, I do not believe in seperating ANY RACE in America. WE ARE AMERICANS! How dare we have Black History Month! In my...

... a Bush official who calls Barack Obama "intellectually lazy." No doubt this person has some first-hand experience with the intellectually lazy, hmmmmmm?

The stupid! It BUUUUURRRRRRNS!!!!! After eating dinner at a famed Harlem restaurant recently, Fox News Channel's Bill O'Reilly told a radio audience he "couldn't get over the fact" that there was no difference between the black-run Sylvia's and other restaurants. "It was like going into an Italian restaurant in an all-white suburb in the sense of people were sitting there, and they were ordering and having fun," he said. "And there wasn't any kind of craziness at all." O'Reilly's been in New York City how long ? And he only just realized that the vast majority of American blacks do not, as he puts it, go into restaurants and yell things like, "'M.F.-er, I want more iced tea"? There's a bright side to this latest foot-in-mouth episode. The New York Times has an article called "Where to Get Soul Food, With or Without Bill O'Reilly." Preferably without. P.S. I love Ridiculopathy.

Good grief. Newt, just fucking announce you're running next year and get it over with. Former Republican Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich hinted Tuesday that he may enter the 2008 presidential race. And how long has the Newtster been "hinting"? Gingrich said on "Good Morning America" that he will take a look at his resources after he completes a series of workshops for his new advocacy group American Solutions. "Next Monday, my good friend and adviser Randy Evans will have a press conference and will outline a process for us to spend the next few weeks finding out whether or not there are enough resources to wage a serious campaign," Gingrich said. What, your ego isn't enough of a reason? It didn't stop Alan Keyes from running for office for the forty-seventh time. Speaking of American Solutions, it seems this is a real organization with its very own Web site These aren't just any old American Solutions. They're "American ...

Besides January 20, 2009, I mean... The season premiere of House is tomorrow. The series premiere of Bionic Woman is Wednesday. Can't wait.

From Deb : It doesn't matter where, what, whom, or how illegal, we traipse through other countries leaving a trail of death and destruction without having to suffer consequences. So far. Iraq isn't going to expel Blackwater. Heck, they can't even get the US to admit that there is a problem. With over a 130,000 American troops in the country, the loss of a mercenary army might leave a "vacuum". Color me not surprised. It isn't like they are a sovereign country, they're more like a Middle Eastern Puerto Rico. Except with a lot more bombs.

In 2004, Markos Moulitsas Zuniga, founder of DailyKos and a military veteran, had this to say about Blackwater and its ilk: I feel nothing over the death of merceneries. [sic] They aren't in Iraq because of orders, or because they are there trying to help the people make Iraq a better place. They are there to wage war for profit. Screw them. And oh, how the wingnuts howled with rage. Now, it turns out there's some truth to Moulitsas Zuniga's words. And the wingnuts are curiously silent as they squirm in their seats.

Remember President Stupid telling the press "strong asset" he'd be to 2008 GOP candidates? Guess again. Republican presidential candidates can't be any more clear: President Bush isn't welcome on the campaign trail. Maybe they'll take Laura or Barney the dog instead? Competing to succeed him, top GOP candidates Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney, Fred Thompson and John McCain barely utter Bush's name. They essentially ignore the lame-duck president, or give him only passing credit, as they rail against the status quo and promise to fix problems he hasn't solved. ``We all know Americans want change,'' said McCain, an Arizona senator, explaining the aversion to aligning with Bush. ``I give him credit for a number of things but I think the fact is Americans are turning the page, including our Republican primary voters.'' WTF? Since 2004, McCain's head has been so far up President Stupid's ass that he could wear the man's intestines f...