That is not, repeat not, a joke.

Bonus points for the kewpie doll/Victoria Jackson voice.

Now, I wouldn’t want to have a beer with her because the skills that make her a great Speaker make her a pretty miserable social “normal” human (see also: Madonna and M.D.s) but I wanted to note for the record how much I appreciate her and admire the job she has done.

Note: this is in response to James Brooks’ saying on PBS “She is not a great speaker — I mean a spokesperson, a communicator. I personally don’t think she’s great on policy. But she has the skills to know how to control this body, which is a fractious body, even when you have a majority. And, so, those skills are maybe in her blood from her father and her brother, but also skills that she really possesses. And there’s no denying she is a very effective legislator.”

What an asshole. Brooks, that is.

Barney makes my real world job more difficult, but I can’t help but love the guy. Finally, a dem stands up to the astroturfed ragemonkeys. Reminds me of the Army-McCarthy hearings…

The first minute is an all-time classic. Loooove it.

The joke is: if you’re going to be tea bagging the country, you’re going to need a Dick Armey

There’s an easy way to not pay the bonuses, there is good legal footing to deny them. What is lacking is political will. Let’s help those spineless twerps in DC out.

I should note that there are rumors that if the bonuses aren’t paid, the managers (or the French, it’s unclear) will declare a default event and trigger hundreds of billions of dollars more to come due. To which I say to the AIG management: bullshit. Go ahead and try it and take your economic terrorism elsewhere. Go Galt on us, please, you worthless shitbags.

Team Obama needs to get out in front of this. It’s a position so easy to spot that even Bill Kristol can see it, and if Obama doesn’t deny the bonuses, then they just gave the GOP a 300 pound birthday cake. With balloons.

Instead of getting rolled and creating a “bipartisan” bill that the GOP is going to vote against anyway, why not, you know, be proactive and aggressive? The GOP will not support this bill because if it works, it’s Obama’s bill, and if it fails (which is what they are hoping for – who cares what happens to the country, their only path back to power is if we’re in the shitter in 2010 and 2012) they don’t want to have voted for it.

So here’s my proposal:

Obama to GOP: OK, the bill is too expensive? We’ll eliminate all the tax cuts. Now you’re down to a $500B stimulus package.

GOP to Obama: *head explodes*

The Democrats and Obama on this issue have been an embarrassment. Going from record high approvals, a clear mandate, and a tide of victory to getting their asses handed to them in parliamentary games and disappearing from the media during this entire debate is fucking ridiculous. The GOP is entirely controlling the narrative of this bill now – they own the media and are just slaughtering what we here still like to refer to as “reality” and “reason.” It’s like the past 8 years never happened.

The Dems are an absurd party fully of namby pambies with no spine. It’s infuriating. But at least they’re not Republicans.

In sum: tell the GOP to stuff it and do what’s right. It’s the best way forward.

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson on Sunday announced that he was withdrawing his nomination to be President-elect Barack Obama’s commerce secretary amid a grand jury investigation into how some of his political donors won a lucrative state contract.

I’ll bet you the beard restart is in full swing, though.

Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) easily won a vote to remain chairman of a key committee today and will stay in the Democratic caucus despite his high-profile criticism of President-elect Barack Obama and his support of Sen. John McCain during the presidential campaign.

To recap: Lieberman actively campaigns against the Democratic president, up to and including implications that he may be a terrorist, undermines the last Democratic president at every turn, is defeated in the Democratic primary and runs on an “independent” ticket, and is the #1 supporter of Bush on the “Democratic” side. Lieberman is also the head of one of the most important Senate committees around (Homeland Security), where he has yet to conduct a single investigation or question the administration.

Democrats win both houses of Congress and the Presidency in a landslide and do not need Lieberman’s vote.

Do the Democrats kick him from the Committee chair? Do they refuse to let him caucus with them?

No.

Lieberman retains everything.

Jesus fuck, Dems, can you possibly be any more of a collection of wimps? He actively attempted to destroy your party.

Lesson to be learned: senators hate the Left and outsiders far more than they hate being stabbed in the back.

Oh, what I wouldn’t give for an actual party with some balls and the ability to enact progressive legislation.

Just fucking shameful.

VARGAS: But the point being that you haven’t been so bruised by some of the double standard, the sexism on the campaign trail, to say, “I’ve had it. I’m going back to Alaska.”

PALIN: Absolutely not. I think that, if I were to give up and wave a white flag of surrender against some of the political shots that we’ve taken, that … that would … bring this whole … I’m not doin’ this for naught.

As a side note, the entire circular firing squad in the GOP rat’s nest going on right now is a thing of beauty. This massive implosion, embarrassment, and extreme displays of cowardice couldn’t happen to a nicer bunch of choda scrubbers. That Palin has gone rogue and is using McCain’s carcass for a national run and that McCain obviously blames her for everything up to and including the soon-to-be loss (except, of course, for his pick of her in the first place) is just icing on the cake.

Stay classy, GOP.

A phony State Board of Elections flier advising Republicans to vote on Nov. 4 and Democrats on Nov. 5 is being circulated in several Hampton Roads localities, according to state elections officials.

This happens every cycle – some flier comes out in minority/black/poor neighborhoods either giving a wrong location, date, or threats of arrest/seizure/investigation should the darkies show up.

and remember, change means …. BLACK!!!!!

1) Who do you think is going to win the election?

A) John McCain: 53% (39)
B) Barack Obama: 47% (34)

2) Do you think Sarah Palin has been a plus or a minus to the ticket?

A) Minus: 9% (7)
B) Plus: 91% (68)

3) How do you feel about Sarah Palin as a candidate?

A) I really like her!: 80% (61)
B) She’s so-so.: 12% (9)
C) I’m not a big fan!: 8% (6)

4) The Republican Party did poorly in the 2006 election and even if McCain wins is on track to do poorly again in this year’s Congressional races. If you had to choose between these two options, do you think that’s because they were…

A) Too conservative: 9% (7)
B) Not conservative enough: 91% (67)

5) Do you believe the mainstream media’s coverage has been…

A) Relatively fair and even handed.: 0% (0)
B) Slightly biased in favor of Barack Obama.: 4% (3)
C) Slightly biased in favor of John McCain.: 0% (0)
D) Heavily biased in favor of Barack Obama.: 96% (72)
E) Heavily biased in favor of John McCain.: 0% (0)

6) Do you think Barack Obama is…

A) Honest (Yes or no?)

Yes: 11% (8)
No: 89% (66)

B) Patriotic (Yes or no?)

Yes: 24% (18)
No: 76% (57)

C) Qualified to be President (Yes or no?)

Yes: 12% (9)
No: 88% (66)

Guaranteed permanent Democrat majority!

U.S. Senator Ted Stevens was convicted of all seven felony charges of failing to report gifts from a company in his home state of Alaska, a possibly fatal blow to the career of the Senate’s longest-serving Republican.

Unless you’re having an affair on your yacht with a model (and given that flag-draped picture and Palin’s known indiscretions, she might have been), there’s no way that look plays in the Halls of Power.

In all fairness, her outfits are totally appropriate for Alaska. That pink thing is probably Eskimo-wear, and the rest all look like typical mom/cold/outdoorsy stuff and completely unobjectionable.

But I thought that focusing on Satan’s outerwear would make for a nice change of pace.

She also thanked her supporters — including Dobson, who said he and his wife were asking “for God’s intervention” on election day — for their prayers of support.

“It is that intercession that is so needed,” she said. “And so greatly appreciated. And I can feel it too, Dr. Dobson. I can feel the power of prayer, and that strength that is provided through our prayer warriors across this nation. And I so appreciate it.”

So… I’m guessing Sarracuda isn’t one of those Jesus-the-lamb types. We probably already knew that.

Given this and her $150,000 on campaign clothes, she’s a perfect fit for a televangelist. I see her taking over the 700 club and taking the place, not of Tammy Faye, but of Robertson. There’s another glass ceiling to shatter!

Note also:

In an interview posted online Wednesday, Sarah Palin told Dr. James Dobson of “Focus on the Family” that she is confident God will do “the right thing for America” on Nov. 4.

I’m looking forward to Palin and the Dobson brigade’s admission on Nov 5th, after Barack Obama has been elected, that God did “the right thing for America.”

The Star of David on the head is a nice touch.

To put them in perspective, I think of being on an airplane. The flight attendant comes down the aisle with her food cart and, eventually, parks it beside my seat. “Can I interest you in the chicken?” she asks. “Or would you prefer the platter of shit with bits of broken glass in it?”

To be undecided in this election is to pause for a moment and then ask how the chicken is cooked.

I’ve long thought that anyone undecided at this stage, particularly in this or the previous two elections, should lose their suffrage. They’ve abandoned their basic duties as citizens and/or are simply too stupid to breathe. That description is, of course, identical to that of your average GOP voter, only without all of the book burning. The focus on undecideds is silly – it’s a panderfest for people who eat paste.

I hope you didn’t have “Joe the Plumber” in the pool for your drinking game, my friends.