Are You Ready for Occupy Wall Street: The Book?

Should be a very short story. The "movement" will surely be consigned to the dustbin of history by the time they plan to have this published.

Progressive publishing house OR Books will release a 200-page first draft of a history entitled Occupying Wall Street: The Inside Story of an Action That Changed America as soon as December 17, using volunteers from the movement's Education and Empowerment Committee, and including work by both "sympathetic writers and people who are active in the occupation," OR co-founder Colin Robinson told New York. The book's release date will mark the protest's three-month anniversary — assuming it survives the onset of winter. By then, the demonstrations will have already have been the subject of an MTV special and plenty of news coverage, but Robinson hopes his "interventionist book" will provide the most extensive chronicling so far. "Although you can't deliver definitive opinions at the moment or set out a course of action, you can record the details of what has happened so far in Zuccotti Park," he said.

I suspect the raging anti-Semitism and defecating won't be mentioned.

I like that part about the action that changed America. Feeling gradiose, aren't we?

Robinson sees the movement as "creating an alternative society in the middle of the financial center of the world," and wants to mirror that "openness and horizontal democracy" in the book's creation, but admits that's impossible to achieve completely. "I don't think you can write a book like that," he said, bristling at the possibility of calling the book an "authorized" account. "At a certain point people have to go away and write it," he said. "You can't approve every sentence. But we'll try to be as open about the process as we can." The idea for the book has not been presented at the movement's nightly general assembly meetings, but Robinson said there has been "a fair amount of support for the idea" among organizers.

I'm thinking this will be bogged down in committee.

While the book will touch on the most newsworthy moments, including the pepper-spray incidents, Brooklyn Bridge arrests, and city cleanup face-off, Robinson is also hoping to capture "quotidian detail," including "how the general assembly works, how the kitchen works, how security works," and so on.

Riveting stuff.

Woman Sues Police for Making Her Listen to Rush Limbaugh

You'll be shocked to discover she a big fan of Chris Matthews and Rachel Maddow. She should have used this opportunity to learn something.

A Texas woman is suing her local police department after she says she was arrested for no reason – and forced to listen to Rush Limbaugh.

In a lawsuit filed last week over the Oct. 4, 2010 incident, Bridgett Nickerson Boyd said her trouble began when she noticed her engine steaming and pulled over to the side of the highway, the Houston Chronicle reported. As she was pulling over, sheriff's deputy Mark Goad pulled behind her – and then arrested her for driving on the shoulder.

To make a bad day even worse, her heart began racing dangerously fast and she had to go to the hospital, according to the report. Goad followed her there – and then rearrested her once she was treated.

The final straw came when he then put her in the back of his car and cranked up the conservative talk show host – who was making "derogatory comments about black people" all the way to jail, Boyd charged.

Really? I suspect she can't cite any examples.

Says Limbaugh:

"This woman doesn't know how lucky she is. What a great opportunity she had, forced to listen. Derogatory comments about black people? We don't make derogatory comments about black people. We make derogatory comments about liberals," he said, chuckling. "According to her Facebook page, Bridgett Nickerson Boyd's favorite TV shows are Chris Matthews and Rachel Maddow. No surprise there. I don't know about Jerry Springer. He's not mentioned. Wouldn't doubt it, though."

Carville: Tea Party a 'Dangerous Political Force That Threatens the Very Future of Our Country'

Yesterday the Fundraiser-in-Chief claimed the GOP would cripple the country while he was busy raising money from millionaires and billionaires. Today we get our daily does of Democrat hysteria in an email via the absurd James Carville.

There’s something in their tea.

That’s the only explanation I can think of to explain the bizarre babblings of Tea Party Republicans.

And the rants of these global-warming-denying, Social-Security-cutting, clean-air-hating, job-cutting, Wall-Street-protecting tea party types would be funny if it weren’t for one thing:

Money. Lots of it.

Backed by millions of dollars raised by Karl Rove and the Koch brothers, what would pass for a cheap side show at a flea-bitten circus has become a dangerous political force that threatens the very future of our country.

That’s why I’m asking you to drop whatever you’re doing right now and support Democrats’ $1 Million Rapid Response Action Fund before the big FEC deadline hits.

Contribute $3 or more before Friday's critical FEC fundraising deadline hits and help Democrats stand up to the Tea Party Republicans and take back the House Majority in 2012. House Democrats will triple match your gift!

This FEC deadline is a huge milestone in the House Democrats' 2012 campaign plan. Hitting this $1 million goal is absolutely critical to their plans to take the fight to Tea Party Republicans and counter the massive funding provided by Rove and his billionaire buddies.

The amount of money Democrats raise will also be interpreted by the Washington media as an indication of the strength of grassroots Democrats and whether we can mount a serious campaign against Tea Party Republicans. We’ve got to have a strong showing.

Contribute $3 or more before Friday's critical FEC fundraising deadline and help Democrats stand up to the Tea Party Republicans and take back the House Majority in 2012.

Don’t leave this email without joining House Democrats in this fight.

Every dollar you give goes right back out the door to help take the fight right to Tea Party Republicans on their home turf with targeted advertising, grassroots organizing, and rapid response research.

These were the same hysterical emails we saw repeatedly leading up to the humiliating defeat in NY-9 a couple of weeks ago.

Funny, but I thought the Tea Party was dead as a political movement? The media tells us that all the time. So why are hysterical emails coming out from the DCCC every day still demonizing them in an effort to raise money?

Carville: Hey, Help Us Fight Those Crazy, Paranoid, Extreme, Wingnut, Fear-Mongering, Job-Destroying, Union-Busting Lunatics

I'm starting this think this whole New Age of Civility is over. We've been getting emails from the Democrat heavy hitters recently as they're trying to raise money off just about any cause under the sun. Of course instead of offering any meaningful platform of their own, it's the typical shrieking about how evil the Republicans are and how they're going to take away grandma's Social Security. But for sheer amusement, today they break out James Carville with this gem, which must set some sort of record for juvenile name-calling.

Jammie --

Back home, folks always say “the proof is in the pudding.”

And if you ever needed proof of just how crazy, paranoid and extreme the Republican Party has become, all you need to do is look at this past month.

Speaker Boehner says “so be it” to devastating job losses and Sarah Palin is on her Facebook hollering about school teachers in Wisconsin being “thugs.” But there’s one way we can stop their right-wing hollering in its tracks.

We’re just 2 days out from the first FEC quarterly deadline of the year, and you know the world will be watching to see which side is stronger and more united. We have got to show these Republican wingnuts that we won’t be bullied and won’t go down without a fight.

Jammie, help show our Democratic grassroots strength by chipping in before the critical FEC deadline. Give $3 or more today and your gift will be matched 2-to-1 by a group of generous Democrats.

The right-wing mob hopes to sneak through an extremist agenda to cut 700,000 American jobs, destroy unions, dismantle environmental protections, privatize Social Security and dismantle Medicare before voters even realize what’s happened. They’re so shameless that they’ve even proposed cutting assistance for homeless veterans.

If grassroots Democrats like you stay on the sidelines, they’re gonna say the fear-mongering, job-destroying, union-busting Republicans are winning this fight.

Help show our Democratic grassroots strength by chipping in before the critical FEC deadline. Give $3 or more today and your gift will be matched 2-to-1 by a group of House Democrats.

If we meet our goal, the nation will know we stand behind Democrats. If we fail to meet our goal, we will be accused of abandoning Democrats when they need us most. Time’s running out: Contribute right now >>

Many thanks,

James Carville

P.S. We must keep Speaker Boehner, Sarah Palin, Governor Walker and their lunatic followers from out-hustling us, but time is running out. Contribute Now.

They must not be receiving much since I've been getting emails like this almost daily. They really need to update their playbook. Carville's been babbling this same nonsense for 20 years now.

Finally: Eco-Friendly Toys for Earth Day

Want to get a head start on indoctrinating your little skull full of mush? What better way than by having Junior learn to recreate the water cycle?

Part of The Young Scientists Club Magic School Bus Series, Going Green is an award-winning kit including components, plus exciting experiments and activities designed to teach kids about living green. Accompanied by the famous Ms. Frizzle, early learners discover how to recreate the water cycle, build a compost tube, shrink plastic, magically make packing peanuts disappear, decompose food with fungus, form pulp to create new paper, design recycled paper shapes, learn about the 3 R’s and more.

Ah, what fond memories I have of decomposing food with fungus back when I was a wee lad.

Tim Blair snarks:

One of those “3 R’s” ends in “etarded”. It’s a word you’ll learn when you take your handmade compost tube to school.

Red Eye Skewers Media Matters Bedwetters

Now that they've completed Media Matters Boot Camp, liberal babbleheads can enjoy this parody of their idiocy. Appropriately enough, the lovely Brooke Alvarez from The Onion adds commentary.

Get the Floodlights Ready: Earth Hour is Upon Us

As moonbats around the globe prepare to plunge themselves into darkness, we instead urge everyone to celebrate technological innovation, as well as electricity, by turning on all their lights tomorrow night to counteract the idiocy known as Earth Hour.

One of the great intellectual conflicts of the early part of the 21st century concerns the role of man here on planet Earth. Some, like the followers of Stanford University biologist Paul Ehrlich--author of The Population Bomb--hold that mankind’s role boils down to that of exploiter of the Earth’s resources and despoiler of its natural beauty.

This view, widely accepted in western political, cultural, and academic circles, is most commonly expressed by the so-called environmental movement in proposals that are antitechnology, antiprogress and, if fully implemented, will lead to a reduced standard of living in the developed world.

It is an antihuman, antihumanist view, one that decries human achievement rather than celebrating it. And those who believe this way are once again calling on people to turn off their lights in observance of “Earth Hour” on March 26.

It’s a once a year event, one the so-called environmental community regards as a symbolic act urging businesses, individuals and lawmakers to take action in support of efforts to combat global warming, err, climate change.

The proponents of “Earth Hour,” the Competitive Enterprise Institute says, want “laws and sanctions to prevent individuals from freely using earth’s resources.” But, because the folks at CEI believe human progress and technological innovation have made life better, they are encouraging everyone to mark March 26 as “Human Achievement Hour.”

“The result of the environmental movement is a limitation on our ability to create the future wave of technologies and a hindrance on our ability to produce the current products that benefit or everyday lives.”

“You can sit in the dark and join them or you can join people around the world who plan to leave their lights on, affirming their appreciation for human inventions like electricity, indoor plumbing, mass food production, heat, transportation, and computers,” CEI says, asking people to--through their actions--cast a vote “against environmental alarmism” and in favor of “human achievement.”

Meanwhile, Fergie, Britney Spears and Lady Gaga all promise to go dark for an hour. We suggest they go dark permanently. Would anyone really miss them?

In the UK, they're celebrating a return to the Stone Age, calling it “an inspiring display of international commitment”. Maybe they should turn off the alarms to Buckingham Palace while they're at it, just so they don't offend any potential thieves.

Over on Twitter they're suggesting everyone go dark, but to keep tweeting, which seems to defeat the purpose.

"Support Earth Hour. It's not for the record, but an action to show that we still care and love our vulnerable planet," "Reminder: Tomorrow - Saturday 26 March - is Earth Hour. It starts at 8.30pm," "Apparently during Earth Hour Amish people celebrate by turning all the lights on..." So do climate change skeptics!" and "I will not celebrate Earth Hour.... Its just for those who need to be reminded that we need to take care of our mother nature..." tweet people using the "Earth Hour" trend.

I think I'll double up on my tweets during this time, just to annoy people.

In case you weren't aware, MySpace is still around, and over there smoking hot5 Victoria's Secret babe and part-time Miranda Kerr is reminding us to save the planet or something. As Laura Ingraham might say, just shut up and show us the lingerie.

Even the diminutive celebrities are getting in on the act.

“Earth Hour brings attention to the need for environmental action. I believe that each one of us has the power to do more, especially in areas such as the conservation of our planet’s finite resources. I will go beyond the hour this year by replacing all the light bulbs in my home with energy efficient lighting. Make your footprint on this planet as small as mine,” Troyer said.

Troyer joins present and previous ambassadors for Earth Hour including: The Most Reverend Archbishop Desmond Tutu, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon, actress Cate Blanchett, Brazilian supermodel Giselle Bundchen, singer Tom Jones, Coldplay’s Chris Martin, Chinese Actress Li Bingbing, model Miranda Kerr, Pakistan’s cricket legend Wasim Akram, actor Edward Norton, DJ Ferry Corsten, and international footballer Franceso Totti.

I hope Giselle Bundchen and her boytoy have enough staff ready to power down their mega-mansion.

March Madness: Now Congressional Democrats Getting Involved

The embarrassing spectacle of the president making picks on ESPN during the calamity in Japan and his ongoing humiliation dealing with (rather, not dealing with) Libya isn't enough. Now we have a Democrat from Connnecticut writing letters to CBS executives demanding greater access to UConn's game against Bucknell tomorrow night.

Seriously.

Since when has it become an all-consuming obsession of Democats to ignore their jobs in lieu of basketball? Do they have the slightest clue how the optics look here?

Dear Dr. Emmert and Mr. Moonves,

It has come to my attention that as many as 150,000 households in Connecticut will not be able to watch Thursday's first round NCAA Tournament game between the University of Connecticut and Bucknell University. This news is extremely disappointing, and I ask for your assistance in remedying this situation.

The 7:20 p.m. game is currently scheduled to air on TNT, which is available only to cable and satellite subscribers. WFSB, the local CBS affiliate in Connecticut, is scheduled to air the Wofford vs. Brigham Young game instead, leaving many Husky fans in the dark. To this end, I ask that WFSB be given the license rights to carry the Connecticut game in place of the currently scheduled game.

NCAA's new contract with four television channels is a significant departure from previous years. As multiple games have been televised simultaneously in the past, the NCAA and CBS has respectfully adjusted their coverage by region to ensure local fans had the opportunity to watch the hometown team. I hope that the NCAA and CBS can continue that commitment.

The NCAA Men's and Women's Basketball Championship is one of the strongest uniting threads in Connecticut. Husky basketball is a source of pride for just about everyone you will meet, and interest in the NCAA championship tournament can be found in every corner of the state. It is my hope you will make every effort to continue that relationship with the people of Connecticut, and permit not only Thursday night's game but all the games played by Connecticut in the tournament to be broadcasted by the local CBS affiliate.

Thank you for your consideration of this request. I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

JOE COURTNEY
Member of Congress

The obvious solution here: Free cable and free access to every channel for everybody!

Latest Scandal in Madison: Republicans are Bolting Windows in Capitol Building or Something

Do these paranoid lunatics have the slightest notion how idiotic they sound? Perhaps the sound of banging drums and nonstop temper tantrums have left them delusional.

The wooden windows were secured about 10 years ago to prevent anyone from coming into the Capitol through entrances other than doors. Wooden blocks were screwed into the window jams "to prevent the windows from being raised more than a few inches," Donovan said.

In the past week or so, officials realized some of the window blocks had been removed or otherwise damaged.

"Those found missing were replaced with tamper-proof bolts," Donovan said.

Specifically, Capitol facilities workers drove No. 8 wood bolts into the inside of the window frames, and then cut of the heads of the bolts so they could not be easily removed, Donovan said. As the pictures show, it’s not a fancy replacement.

"This is a temporary, quick repair," Donovan said.

He was unable to say exactly how many windows were done or when the work took place. It only takes a few seconds to drive a bolt into the woodwork and snap off the head.

Donovan said most of the window-securing was done in the rest rooms on the ground and first floor. It’s impossible to determine how and when those windows became unsecured, he said.

One of the windows secured was in a first floor office of a legislator, Donovan said. In that case, he said, the lawmakers’ staff filed a work order requesting that the windows be secured.

The state Democrats were not the only ones to notice the window projects.

A Feb. 28, 2011 blog item by AFL-CIO political communications director Eddie Vale carried this headline: "Walker Welding Capitol Windows NOW to Keep Workers from Passing Food to Those Inside."

His item read: "As we speak, Gov. Scott Walker & Senate R's are literally having the windows of the capital welded shut to keep people from passing food into the building to the people inside.

"Our attorneys are collecting affidavits from the people who witnessed this, along with people who have been illegally denied access to a public, government, building."

We asked Donovan about the welding charge.

His answer was simple: "We find that wood doesn’t weld well. It burns."

And that brings us back to the Democratic Party’s claim.

The party said Republicans have "bolted shut" windows at the state Capitol as part of the "ugly games" being used in response to protests. To be sure, tensions are running high in Madison. But the idea that windows are being bolted shut to somehow curtail protesters is off the mark.

It makes sense that windows would be secured so that people couldn’t open them from the outside. You would, no doubt, find similar safety devices on the lower level windows of many apartments in the campus area. It also makes sense that as Capitol Police and facilities staff took stock of the building after weeks of protests they found some windows unsecured.

I wonder if these idiots leave the ground-floor windows in their homes unlocked?

Laugh of the Day: Obama to Press Centrist Agenda in His Address

Apparently the idiots at the New York Times are living under some strange delusion that Barack Obama is a centrist. Do they really believe this? Of course not. But they figure enough stupid people are still buying their nonsense.

President Obama will outline an agenda for “winning the future” in his State of the Union address on Tuesday night, striking a theme of national unity and renewal as he stresses the need for government spending in key areas and an attack on the budget deficit.

Mr. Obama previewed the themes in a video e-mailed Saturday evening to supporters who had helped in his election campaign. But the video made plain that his speech would be geared more broadly toward the political center, to independent voters and business owners and executives alienated by the expansion of government and the partisan legislative fights of the past two years.

“My No. 1 focus,” he said, “is going to be making sure that we are competitive, and we are creating jobs not just now but well into the future.”

“These are big challenges that are in front of us,” Mr. Obama also said in the video, sent to members of Organizing for America, his network of supporters from the 2008 campaign. “But we’re up to it, as long as we come together as a people — Republicans, Democrats, independents — as long as we focus on what binds us together as a people, as long as we’re willing to find common ground even as we’re having some very vigorous debates.”

The annual address on Tuesday, with much of the nation watching, will pull together themes suggested by Mr. Obama over the past two months as he has moved rapidly since the midterm elections to retool his presidency.

In his speeches, policy choices and personnel appointments, Mr. Obama has signaled that after two years in which his response to the economic crisis and his push for passage of the health care bill defined him to many voters as a big-government liberal, he is seeking to recast himself as a more business-friendly, pragmatic progressive.

Memo to the Times: So-called "progressives" aren't centrists. They're leftwingers. But you already know that.

Sane folks aren't buying this claptrap.

How can a president subtly distance himself from the macabre and revolting behavior of his left-wing base while simultaneously editorializing on unhinged invective in general (e.g., without an embarrassing extreme, there is no occasion to call for moderation from others)?

Why did five days of presidential silence follow the shootings (so unlike instant editorializing about the Mutallab and Hasan incidents), when the likes of Paul Krugman, Frank Rich, Andrew Sullivan, Sheriff Dupnik, and the New York Times rushed in to scavenge political capital amid the carnage? All that might have been bridled with a brief word or two from the White House, a brief Sister Souljah moment admonition to the New York Times to cool it for a while. We know that would have worked, because the Times within hours after the successful Obama speech was calling to cool what it had helped arouse, apparently realizing that its demonization and its refutation of demonization hand-in-glove were politically useful.

And why not some therapeutic confessional of past (and in many cases quite recent) presidential culpability (e.g., the president’s own metaphorical use of knives, guns, enemies, punishing, kicking ass, relegation to backseat, get angry, getting in their face, hostage takers, trigger fingers, tearing up)?

QUAINT: "Mother's Name" and "Father's Name" on Passport Applications. HIP: "Parent One" and "Parent Two"

Unfortunately, if you were raised by a pack of coyotes, 'circus folk', or a tribe of Tasmanian Aborigines, you're still gonna have to clarify that yourself on the application.

Maybe they should add a third line: "Please Elaborate."

The words “mother” and “father” will be removed from U.S. passport applications and replaced with gender neutral terminology, the State Department says.

“The words in the old form were ‘mother’ and ‘father,’” said Brenda Sprague, deputy assistant Secretary of State for Passport Services. "They are now ‘parent one’ and ‘parent two.’"

A statement on the State Department website noted: “These improvements are being made to provide a gender neutral description of a child’s parents and in recognition of different types of families.” The statement didn't note if it was for child applications only.

The State Department said the new passport applications, not yet available to the public, will be available online soon.

Sprague said the decision to remove the traditional parenting names was not an act of political correctness.

“We find that with changes in medical science and reproductive technology that we are confronting situations now that we would not have anticipated 10 or 15 years ago,” she said.

Gay rights groups are applauding the decision.

“Changing the term mother and father to the more global term of parent allows many different types of families to be able to go and apply for a passport for their child without feeling like the government doesn’t recognize their family,” said Jennifer Chrisler, executive director of Family Equality Council.

Via Fox News. Cross-posted.

High School Athlete Draws Penalty for Pointing Up to God After Scoring a Touchdown

This seems capricious and arbitrary, until you consider the fact that it happened in Tacoma, Washington - a city that likes to flaunt its liberal bona fides at every opportunity.

Then it makes perfect sense.

Sports and religion clashed at the State High School Football playoffs in Tacoma Monday night. During the 2A semifinal game between East Valley and Tumwater one of the stars of the game got flagged for doing something millions of Americans do every day.

Like he's done so many times this season, Tumwater star running back Ronnie Hastie powered his way into the end zone then dropped to a knee and pointed to the sky.

"It's just something I do every time I get in the end zone to honor my Lord cause I play for him, I give him the glory cause he's the one that gives me the strength," said Hastie.

Except this time, the referee flagged Hastie for unsportsmanlike conduct, a 15 yard penalty and the fans were peeved.

"I think it was a pretty lousy call I think it's just a game, even if it is a prayer it should go on."

According to the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association's rules players cannot draw attention to themselves. So, when Hastie scored and raised his hand to heaven the refs said he was doing just that.

Hastie was humble about the call, "I was just confused cause I've done it every game and then I got flagged for it, I learned now so."

Even Tumwater's Head Coach Sid Otton believes the refs probably got the call right.

"If it's a rule and they made it then I agree with it because it's in there. I admire the young man. He's a great player, great person off the field too," said Otton.

The 15 yard penalty did not affect the outcome of the game, Tumwater still won big time, but one Tumwater fan told us it's legal to pray in his city in the end zone, but apparently not in Tacoma.

"Well, I thought it was pretty crummy that kids can't give thanks in public."

h/t: Brittney Linville.

Cross-posted.

TSA Airport Screener Hand-Searches a 3-Year-Old

This is unreal.

Remember that scene from Airplane!, where the little old lady sets off the metal detector and gets a heavy pat-down from security - while two berets armed to the teeth march through right behind her without drawing any attention?

We're almost there.



h/t: Bluegrass Pundit. Cross-posted here.

Silly or Offensive? Vanity Fair's GOP 'Beefcake' Issue

Sorry, but I just can't muster any outrage over this. In fact, I find most of the images hysterical.

In December 2008, a widely disseminated photograph of President-Elect Barack Obama emerging from the Hawaii surf in a bathing suit aroused convulsions of enthusiasm across the land. Even the New York Post joined in, catcalling, “Fit for Office … Buff Bam Is Hawaii Hunk!” But a mere two years later—two economically desolate, war-torn, jobless years later—the national sentiment toward Obama has wilted, with open-mouthed adoration giving way to libido-crushing frustration. Far, far sexier than the president and his drooping poll numbers are the crusading challengers of the Republican Party, whose tea-swilling followers are fogging up the windows of the 2010 midterm elections.

Several of the images are a bit on the disturbing side, to put it mildly, but I can't help but laugh.

Some folks really need to lighten up and have a good chuckle.

Not even remotely funny, says the Media & Culture Institute, adding it's “disgusted” by Vanity Fair’s latest compilation, which it describes as “soft-core.”

"This is just one more disgusting Vanity Fair attack on conservatives," said Dan Gainor, the Institute’s vice president for business and culture. "What kind of coward would make fun of a war hero like Sen. John McCain this way? Imagine how angry liberals would be if conservatives attacked prominent minorities with a similar calendar.

“I think many of VF’s advertisers might be surprised to know they are underwriting such vile hatred," Gainor continued. "Conservatives should make sure advertisers hear about this. The worst part of this assault is that Vanity Fair knows how these images will be used by the left. These disgusting Photoshop attacks will follow these conservatives around forever – linked to in blogs and highlighted at times even in the old media. Yet somehow this is a publication that claims it is credible. News flash: It’s not."

Memo to Dan: Take a pill and relax. Blogs have been doing this stuff for years, in much cruder form. Who can forget the absurd image of a bikini-clad, gun-toting "Sarah Palin" the kook fringe put out there a couple of years ago? At least the Photoshop skills of the folks at Vanity Fair are a bit better.

Besides, we could always do a cheesecake spread of Democrat women, if only we could find some attractive ones. Surely Barbara Mikulski or Nancy Pelosi posing provocatively would really get the blood flowing. Er, never mind.

'One of the Finest Speakers in the United States of America'

Poor Obama. I think he's starting to hallucinate.

President Obama said Saturday that Democrats have more work to do to help get the struggling economy back on track.

Speaking at a fundraiser with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) in Minneapolis, Obama said in his almost two years in the White House, Democrats have helped steady the economy but more still needs to be done.

"The good news is we've been able to stabilize the economy," Obama said, according to the press pool's report. "The bad news is we're nowhere near done. We've got a lot of work to do."

So trillions in debt and 10% unemployment is stabilizing the economy? Naturally he blames the man who averaged 5% unemployment over eight years. Is anyone buying this nonsense?

The president blamed the prior administration for the economic struggles the country is now experiencing. He called the September 2008 financial sector meltdown "really the culmination of what some would call the lost decade."

"We had left too many challenges untended to," Obama said.

He praised Pelosi, saying she "will go down in history as one of the finest speakers in the United States of America."

She'll be going down alright, right into minority status in nine days.

Van Hollen: Democrats Running From Radioactive Obama and Pelosi Proves We're a Big Tent Party or Something

Look at it this way: The only reason Democrats aren't running away from Chris Van Hollen is nobody knows who he is. If he were the House Speaker of the most unpopular Congress ever, he can be sure endangered Democrats wouldn't want to know who he is either. Van Hollen will have some name recognition in 23 days. He'll be the guy from the Democrat Congressional Campaign Committee who just saw his efforts result in the loss of dozens of seats.

The chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee brushed off various members' ads touting opposition to President Obama and Speakers Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), saying that it simply shows the party is a big tent unlike the right.

On CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday, Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) was asked about a variety of the ads, including one from Rep. Bobby Bright (D-Ala.) boasting that he voted with Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) 80 percent of the time.

"We're very proud of the fact that we have an ideologically diverse caucus," Van Hollen said. "As opposed to on the other side where you have this ideological purity test," he added, saying the Republican Party litmus test had been moved even further to the right by the Tea Party movement.

Ideologically diverse? Huh? Uh, Chris, having a party consist of the left, far left, hard left, leftover left and outright socialists isn't a big tent. It's a sinking ship, with you at the helm.

"We have a big tent, and we're problem solvers," he said. "And that is, I think, what voters are looking for."

Is Van Hollen even aware independents have abandoned the Democrats? Does he consider all of them as being far right>

Stupid: Colbert and Stewart Plan 'Rally to Restore Sanity'

This big event will occur the weekend before the Democrats get their asses kicked on November 2. We'll be the ones laughing at these clowns come election night.

Comedians Jon Stewart and Steven Colbert plan a pair of rallies in the National Mall shortly before Election Day.

Stewart said he was organizing a "Rally to Restore Sanity" in Washington on Oct. 30, billed as a "million moderate march" against ideological extremists in both parties.

Colbert, who plays a hyperbolic conservative personality on his show, announced a "March to Keep Fear Alive" in response to Stewart.

Both events ostensibly have the purpose of mocking some of the more strident rhetoric members of both parties have employed in political debates over the past decade.

Stewart's event, in particular, seems to be more of a direct response to the Fox News host Glenn Beck, who held a "Restoring Honor" rally on the mall in August. That event drew a hoard of conservative supporters (crowd estimates ranged around several hundred thousand participants), and focused on largely religious themes. Top GOP personalities like former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) did participate.

A hoard of conservative supporters? Uh, it's horde, and it was several hundred thousand people, at least.

You Can Relax Now: Global Warming 'Tipping Point' Postponed Until 2200

So many tipping points, so little time. Well, actually, we've all got plenty of time and I now plan on increasing my carbon footprint to absurd levels.

Well, at least these self-proclaimed experts can now rest in eternal peace knowing none of them will still be around when they're all proven wrong.

The 14 scientists, all experts in their fields of climate research, were asked about the probability of a tipping point being reached some time before 2200 if global warming continued on the course of the worst-case scenarios predicted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

Nine of the fourteen scientists said that the chances of a tipping point for the high scenario were greater than 90 per cent, with only one saying that the chances were less than 50:50. At current rates of CO2 emissions, the world is on course for following the higher trajectory on global warming suggested by the IPCC.

Via this hot tip.

Chicago Strip Club Cashes In On Palin

Well, she was in Chicago last night, and so were a bunch of lookalikes. Frankly I'm surprised it took this long.

This was, if nothing else, free-market capitalism at work.

On the same night that Sarah Palin spoke before thousands in Rosemont, a Chicago gentlemen's club held a Sarah Palin look-alike contest.

Price of a Palin ticket: $54 to $297. Price of a faux-Palin ticket: $10 to $25.

We don't know how much the real Sarah Palin made from her event. But the look-alike contest winner, a Brazilian stripper who gave her name as Eloah Rocha, earned what the club said was a $2,500 first prize.

For recognizing the allure of mixing Palin and sex, the strip joint, Lawrence Avenue's Admiral Theatre, got to pack the place on a Wednesday night and, probably most important, won media attention as far away as Seattle, club officials said.

As for the contest, it was essentially seven professional dancers with ties to the Admiral taking turns doffing their obligatory glasses and most of the rest of their vaguely Palinesque get-ups.

One was "oil-drilling Palin" (she struck baby oil), another was "Bible Palin" (though not a stickler about it), still another "hunting Palin." By the end of their dances, though, all had on eerily similar costumes. It was quite a coincidence.

The one potential contestant in Palin attire who seemed to be from outside the Admiral said thanks, but no thanks, to competing. Before things started, she said she didn't want her name used or photo taken and soon scurried out of the theater as she realized press would be sticking around.

The winner was presented with an oversized novelty check.

MoDo's Got a New Crush

Considering this is Maureen Dowd, it's hard to tell whether this is sarcasm or true love. Frankly, this sounds like something more made for Tiger Beat than the New York Times. Then again, Tiger Beat does have higher journalistic standards.

He’s The One, all right.

The handsome, athletic pol with the comely wife and two lovely daughters who precipitously rose from the State Legislature to pull us all together.

The fresh face and disarming underdog America’s been waiting for, someone who suffered through his parents’ divorce, watched his mom go on welfare and survived some wayward youthful behavior to become disciplined and successful — a lawyer, a lawmaker and a devoted family guy who does dog duty.

Someone who’s always game for a game of pickup basketball, loves talking sports and even boasts beefcake photos. A pro-choice phenom propelled into higher office by conservatives, independents and Democrats, a surprise winner with a magical aura.

The New One is the shimmering vessel that we are pouring all our hopes and dreams into after the grave disappointment of the Last One, Barack Obama.

The only question left is: Why isn’t Scott Brown delivering the State of the Union? He’s the Epic One we want to hear from. All that inexperience can really be put to good use here.

Obama’s Oneness has been one-upped. Why settle for a faux populist when we can have a real one? Why settle for gloomy populism when we can have sunny populism? Why settle for Ivy League cool when we can have Cosmo hot? Why settle for a professor who favors banks, pharmaceutical companies and profligate Democrats when we can have an Everyman who favors banks, pharmaceutical companies and profligate Republicans? Why settle for a 48-year-old, 6-foot-1, organic arugula when we can have a 50-year-old, 6-foot-2, double waffle with bacon?

Get a hold of yourself, woman. Sounds like you want to hump his leg.