The end of the world

From Fox News: "President Bush will address the nation Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET about the need to prevent an economic crisis and his administration's $700 billion proposed bailout plan, which his spokeswoman says will prevent a 'calamity' on Wall Street."

So what's the plan if he declares this crisis an economic emergency and suspends the Consitution? And/or elections?

I knew I shouldn't have procrastinated about buying that gun and year's worth of freeze-dried food.

Sometimes

Sometimes you get an earworm. Like I couldn't get "Handlebars" out of my head. So Tim thoughtfully sent me this. 

Thanks, Tim. Really.

Handlebars

My new favorite song.

Thanks, Fraly!

Red light, green light

Thanks, Tim!

The ten types of Republicans

Thanks, Fraly!

And hey, while we're doing lists of ten, let's enjoy this one for another couple of months:

Better than do-overs!

I could have been at the beginning of this video when I was twelve, playing Monopoly with my sister (uh, I'd be the guy on the left). I'm just glad to know there's a name for it.

I don't even LIKE musical theater

But I like a good parody as much as the next person. Especially one like this:

Release the hounds!!!

The list of Sarah Palin scandals and potential scandals--oh, and the outright LIES she is telling--is growing each day. And each day, it seems, the polls creep up a little for McCain and down a smidgen for Obama. And I just got up after an hour of lying in bed trying to fall asleep to Mike Malloy on Air America.

Even after a sleeping pill, I lay there getting all wound up listening to Mike, who is smart and mad as hell and all, but whom I wouldn't want to sit next to at a dinner party, because OMG he's so goddammned NEGATIVE. I mean, I agree with his politics, but his delivery makes me want to sidle off unobserved until I can dash out the door and sprint for the nearest bar.

So after an hour of hearing him shout about how Obama has already lost the election through his own refusal to launch a direct and vicious series of attacks--yes, ATTACKS!--upon his opponents, I gave up and got out of bed.

I myself am totally on board with this "Obama must do attack ads, NOW!" thing. Scary backgrounds, scary faces (you can do a lot of subtle Photoshop to make someone look like themselves but more, well, like an actual monster) and scary music. And then you do something like this:

• Sarah says she said no thanks to the bridge to nowhere - LIE
• McCain & Palin say she sold Alaska's private luxury jet for a profit on eBay - LIE
  
• Palin says Obama has authored no significant legislation - LIE
  
• McCain camp says Obama and Biden voted in favor of the bridge to nowhere - LIE
  

Okay, that sucks. But with a little effort, some suggestions from friends, and some money, we oughta be able to come up with something. We need to form a 527 group. I already know a couple who knows filmmaking, a guy who can do voiceover, and a guy who can write some seriously Rovian attacks on the Repubs.

See, there are only 2 months left. Rove is brilliantly stomping all over the Dems, again. I submit to you that the time for taking the high road is over. Obama has taken it up to now, but it's time for him to get spitting (but elegantly) mad, and call out these people for who they are: CORRUPT, CHEATING LIARS. If he keeps playing nice, he isn't going to win anyone new. He's already won the votes of everyone who cares about the issues, who is actively interested and involved. Now he needs to go for the undecideds and the independents and, yes, the uninvolved, the uninformed, and even the uninterested.

If he makes some serious, ruthless attacks on McCain, and actually gets angry and makes his points simple, clear, and lowbrow...well. He won't LOSE any of his followers (we've been begging him to get pissed off and let fly some snark for weeks now), but it's possible he will gain some by attracting the attention of people who get their news in soundbites and don't go out of their way to check facts. (If they fact-checked Obama's ads, it should go without saying, they'd find them accurate. I meant that if they don't bother to check to see if what they're hearing is true, they probably simply haven't heard the other side, and might have an epiphany when they do. Or at least some cognitive dissonance, which could prove useful.)

In the meantime, I recommend reading this look at the current state of the race from Wonkette. It's cheered and calmed me, and now I'm going to sleep.

My heart goes pitty-pat

I admit Joe Biden has made me roll my eyes more than once. He has said dumb stuff off the cuff.

But I have never disagreed with him politically. And now he makes me want to jump up and cheer:



"Give 'em hell, Joe," indeed!

Oh, great. Now I have to feel guilty when I say "Paultard"

Because this is the sort of letter that makes my heart sing.

I don't suppose it would exonerate me if I said I had strong Libertarian leanings when I was in college. Except for the part where they don't think the gummint should help anyone.

Or maybe she was chosen on purpose by the neocons, because McCain is going to die at any moment, and then they will have a perfect, evil puppet to play with. Except she's pretty terrifying all on her own.

But there's no way the Republicans are going to win the White House. Right?

Where do I begin?

I keep meaning to post about Sarah Palin, but the thought of trying to cover everything that is wrong with this woman's veep nomination is just too exhausting.

This is the stupidest choice by a Republican since Harriet Miers.

Or wait. Is it? Maybe it's not stupid at all, and maybe it's the exact same tactic. Compared to Miers, Samuel Alito looked not only okay but brilliant, and was practically handed his position on the Supreme Court by the Democrats.

So I predict Palin will back out within a week to "concentrate on her family" or "focus on her job as governor of Alaska" or what-the-hell-ever, and then everyone will be just THRILLED when McCain chooses Romney or Lieberman or Huckabee to be his REAL running mate.