Since Ann can't really compete with Al now that he's a senator, I understand that she's now thinking of running for Senator in Idaho. Because when she says "Idaho", you believe her.

Li'l Bill O'Reilly. Could you tell the difference?

The top twelve insights of conservatives, 2008: My favorite is "Know-nothingness was no longer a stigma, but a badge of honor." Which makes the cries of "No one could have forseen--!" all the more pathetic. I know lots of people who could and did forsee what was going to happen, these are just a few. My question is why people persist in listening to people with lousy track records.

Child maid trafficking into the US: horrifying...

Late at night, the neighbors saw a little girl at the kitchen sink of the house next door. They watched through their window as the child rinsed plates under the open faucet. She wasn't much taller than the counter and the soapy water swallowed her slender arms.

To put the dishes away, she climbed on a chair.

But she was not the daughter of the couple next door doing chores. She was their maid.

...and yet, an improvement from where they came from.

Remembering Mildred Loving. There are days I think that all the people who complain that Barack Obama isn't a US citizen are just the people who remember that when he was born, lots of states wouldn't have allowed his parents to be married. Since they were, he can't possibly be a real American. QED.

To the Editor:

James Gleick compares the book to the hammer, “a tool ideally suited to its task.” Indeed, who can imagine crawling (happily) into bed with digital media, sharing a digital story with a child or giving a digital download as a present? Books are objects — of our love and of our lives.

David Jelinek
Brooklyn, Nov. 30, 2008

I'm reading that letter on this web page in my bed at 4:30 in the morning, with the screen as my own booklight. Happily, except for the fact that I can't sleep.

This proves what I've suspected for a long time: if you're going to do anything big in the world-- rock star, movie mogul, Eisner winner-- you have to stop being an intern at DC.

Half of Doctors Routinely Prescribe Placebos

Half of all American doctors responding to a nationwide survey say they regularly prescribe placebos to patients. The results trouble medical ethicists, who say more research is needed to determine whether doctors must deceive patients in order for placebos to work.

Driftglass:

First Atwater came for Reagan's "welfare queens"
- but I was not a welfare queen so I did not speak out.

Then Gingrich came for the Liberals and the Unions,
- but I was taught to call everyone who disagreed with me a traitor, so I did not speak out.

Then Falwell and Robertson came for the gays,
- but gays are icky, so I did not speak out.

Then Limbaugh came for the Feminazis
- but strong, smart women terrify me, so I did not speak out.

And when they came for me, I had the fucking nerve to pretend to be Shocked!Shocked! that my Party was being run by degenerate lunatics.

Bacon Apple Pie. Hmmmm...

Obama's Branding Genius. And somewhere around here is that Obama/Grateful Dead poster...

What I was thinking of saying at Sheri's funeral: Life's a Very Funny Proposition After All. I'll tell you what I did say in another post.

Why women feel colder than men. Mom, this one's for you.

Second... to the new President-elect of these United States. Here's to you, sir.

Go vote. And if you have the time, volunteer.

Oh, but wait-- I have gotten fundraising letters. Which shows their priorities, I guess.

Now, imagine she gets elected to vice-president.

Is there a single person reading this who doesn't think that Mike Wooten will be audited by the IRS?

What if he's put on the no-fly list? In Alaska, that's crippling-- they fly everywhere in the state, plus to get to the continental 48, unless you want to drive for hours through Canada.

How about if Wooten has his passport file flagged? If that happens and he's on the no-fly list, he's effectively locked in Alaska permanently.

Is it out of the realm of possibility that his phone would be tapped and his email scrutinized?

Does anybody think that Sarah Palin wouldn't use the powers of her office to continue going after Wooten? And if so, why would you let her get even close to that level of power?

And if she did get this power-- what would stop her from using it on you if you crossed her?

The only thing we have to fear is fear itself. Fear and negative equity … The two things we have to fear are fear itself and negative equity, and the depleted capital of financial institutions … Amongst the things we have to fear are fear itself, negative equity, and the depleted capital of financial institutions.

Windows -- Life Without Walls

Think about it. Walls are actually important to windows-- they keep the window in place. If you don't have a wall in the first place, you have one of three things:

1. Windows aren't needed; there's nothing in the way.

2. Windows are so big and oversized that it becomes a wall in and of itself;

3. Windows falls to the ground hard and crashes.

Maybe they should bring back Seinfeld.