From Holden: A down-ballot Ohio Democrat received 257,000 more votes than John Kerry: The Smilin’ Ohioan reports a Democratic candidate “farther down on the ticket” is found to have 257,000 more votes than Sen. Kerry. A developement that dwarves the preliminary gap of 136,000. [snip] In analyzing the still-unofficial results, the totals reveal that C. Ellen Connally, an African-American Democratic candidate from Cleveland for Ohio Chief Justice, received more than 257,000 votes than Kerry. “This looks like a computer glitch or a computer fix,” said Bob Fitrakis, a lawyer, political scientist and Editor of the Columbus Free Press (http://freepress.org) who … Continue reading More Ohio Shenanigans

From Holden: Do it every morning and eventually it will pay off. Reading around the blogs after a holiday break I notice that only Attaturk linked to Steno Sue’s WaPo article published on Friday (note to commentors – no, I did not read each and every blog out there, so if you found others who mentioned this piece, good for you. Buy yourself a cookie or something.) Here’s what little meat one may find in Sue’s article. A federal prosecutor investigating whether administration officials illegally leaked the name of an undercover CIA operative has directed considerable effort at learning how … Continue reading Google ”Plame”

From Holden: Do it every morning and eventually it will pay off. Reading around the blogs after a holiday break I notice that only Attaturk linked to Steno Sue’s WaPo article published on Friday (note to commentors – no, I did not read each and every blog out there, so if you found others who mentioned this piece, good for you. Buy yourself a cookie or something.) Here’s what little meat one may find in Sue’s article. A federal prosecutor investigating whether administration officials illegally leaked the name of an undercover CIA operative has directed considerable effort at learning how … Continue reading Google “Plame”

link here “Ever since 22 percent of the country’s voters said on Nov. 2 that they cared most about “moral values,” opportunistic ayatollahs on the right have been working overtime to inflate this nonmandate into a landslide by ginning up cultural controversies…” [snip] The mainstream press, itself in love with the “moral values” story line and traumatized by the visual exaggerations of the red-blue map, is too cowed to challenge the likes of the American Family Association. So are politicians of both parties. It took a British publication, The Economist, to point out that the percentage of American voters citing … Continue reading The Moral Majority…isn’t.

From Holden: Five days away from the Internets have done me some good. What’s this? The White House posted a gaggle transcript from Nov. 23rd (with Claire “Don’t Call Me Pat” Buchan) while I was out. Let’s see how it starts. MS. BUCHAN: Let me start with a little bit about the President’s day. He had his usual intelligence… Ugh. I think I need five more days away from the Internets. Continue reading Today on Holden’s Obsession with the Gaggle

A. Continue reading Happy Democrat Photo: What’s Still On Athenae’s Fridge Edition

Or, Department of Welcome to the Party: In Iraq, and in Palestine, when Saddam and Yasir Arafat toppled over like walls, their disappearances did not leave behind civil societies yearning to be free, united and democratic. Saddam and Arafat were products of their societies more than we want to admit – not artificial impositions. In the long run their departures are huge opportunities. But in the short run they have left behind two pots that are boiling over – two highly tribalized societies, full of pent-up problems, with few civil society institutions or consensus leaders. They left behind two huge … Continue reading Well, Friedman’s Back To Normal

“When courts make constitutional decisions, we should not enforce them. Federal courts have no army or navy…the court can opine, decide, talk about, sing, whatever it wants to do. We’re not saying they can’t do that. At the end of the day, we’re saying the court can’t enforce its opinions.” U.S. Congressman John Hostettler, R., Indiana, speaking to a Christian Coalition meeting. link here. Continue reading “Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world…”

In all the talk of shopping and turkee, it’s easy for our media to forget there’s a war on: A tribute is planned this weekend for family members of Iowa soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. More than 200 family members are expected to gather to honor their lost loved ones by attending the Iowa State football game against Missouri Saturday. A dinner is planned for tonight. It will feature Gov. Tom Vilsack, Major General Ron Dardis of the Iowa National Guard and opera singer Simon Estes I’ve said before and I’ll say again that one of the things that … Continue reading Into The Jaws of Death, Into The Mouth of Hell

Man Says Fish Stick Bears Face of Jesus. KINGSTON, Ontario – An eastern Ontario man is hoping to make a bit of money by auctioning a fish stick he says looks like Jesus. Fred Whan, who has kept the fish stick in his freezer since burning it at dinner a year ago, decided Tuesday that it was time to thaw it out so he could sell it on eBay. A Florida woman recently sold a decade-old grilled cheese sandwich with the toasty visage of what’s purported to be the Virgin Mary for $28,000, according to the eBay Web site. Via … Continue reading Okay, This Has Just Got To Stop

Fox, throwing down with the street, in his younger days. A. Continue reading Friday Ferretblogging

Who put an extra helping of bitch in his cornflakes? If I can’t be The Man, then I at least want to be the owner of a Hummer – with American flag decals all over the back bumper, because Hummer owners are, on average, a little more patriotic than you and me. Yes, I want to drive the mother of all gas-guzzlers that gets so little mileage you have to drive from gas station to gas station. Yes, I want to drive my Hummer and never have to think that by consuming so much oil, I am making transfer payments … Continue reading Friedman

“A hen sits on a woman opposition supporter’s shoulder during a rally to protest alleged fraud in the presidential elections on the main square of the Ukrainian capital Kiev,Thursday, Nov.25, 2004. The woman hints at a recent incident with Viktor Yanukovych, the Prime Minister who was declared the winner in the presidential election runoff. Last month, Yanukovych was hospitalized after after being hit during a campaign appearance with what police said was a heavy metal object and the opposition said was just an egg. The episode gave grounds for numerous jokes. (AP Photo / Stepan Chuyko)” A. Continue reading There’s Nothing About This Ukraine Story I Don’t Love

link. Hecate, one of the guest bloggers at Eschaton while Atrios enjoys Thanksgiving in Barcelona, has a post with links to several Native American blogs. Thanks, Hecate. Great job. Continue reading More Americans

A. Continue reading Thankfulness: For Democracy

Gobble Gobble. A. Continue reading Thanksgiving Day Open Thread

So here we were at First Draft having a lovely conversation about nonsense masquerading as Christian doctrine in matters of childbearing, when a prime example of how these people get their jollies just falls right into my lap. Or, you know, falls into the lap of the crack den, where I found it. This is a story tailor-made for tort reform arguments. Seriously, this is the sort of lawsuit that is bankrupting school districts throughout the land, leaving them unable to practice their love with America’s children. A. Continue reading This Must Be One of Those Frivolous Lawsuits We Hear So Much About

Courtesy of commenter mmm sultry here’s yet another paternalistic (pardon the pun) and irritating take on why it’s very, very bad for you and your significant other not to have as many kids as possible. Separated entirely from the question of public policy, i.e. whether or not it’s responsible to consider whether or not you can support children before you have them, this is an issue of conformity. It’s an issue of not wanting to be confronted with anyone who’s made different decisions. That way you never question your own. I personally wasn’t struck with any sort of baby desires … Continue reading Like Calls To Like

Go Mom: HARTLAND, Mich. – Yvette Boulton wants her son to get a home-cooked Thanksgiving meal before he’s deployed to Iraq — so she’s trucking the feast 761 miles to Fort Bragg, N.C. Boulton will be on the road 13 hours so she can feed her son, Army Cpl. Jordan Keilman, 22, and 14 of his friends. The soldiers must remain within an hour of base so they could be called to Iraq, where many already have served once. Keilman fought in Iraq from September to February. “I said `I’ll cook, and you boys sit around and watch the football … Continue reading Warm Fuzzy Thanksgiving Story

Something puzzles me. Maybe you all can help me understand just what Mr. Athenae and I should do in this situation: “When you talk about protecting marriage, you need to talk about divorce,” said Bryce Christensen, a Southern Utah University professor who writes frequently about family issues. While Christensen doesn’t oppose the campaign to enact state and federal bans on gay marriage, he worries it’s distracting from immediate threats to marriage’s place in society. “If those initiatives are part of a broader effort to reaffirm lifetime fidelity in marriage, they’re worthwhile,” he said. “If they’re isolated – if we don’t … Continue reading Havin’ My Baby For Jesus

Hey Tweety. Tell me again how liberal elites are out of touch with real Americans, because it seems like you would, well, know. A. Continue reading Department of Sanctimonious Assholitude

From Holden: We’re counting on Iraqi security forces, noted for being the frequent target of suicide bombers and for their penchant for running away from confrontations with insurgents, to protect all 9,000 Iraqi polling places on January 30. Iraqi officials and American commanders plan to rely on Iraqi security forces to protect 9,000 polling places during the coming elections, but there are far fewer trained security officers than Iraqi officials estimate are needed. Moreover, many have performed poorly in the Sunni Arab areas where the worst violence is expected. Iraqi and American officials believe it is important to deploy Iraqi … Continue reading Hope is Still Not a Plan

From Holden: A Buzzflash reader pays a visit to Landstuhl Army Hospital and Ramstein Air Base in Germany. My friend and I then drove to Ramstein Air Base, 15 minutes north of Landstuhl. After going through security, we went upstairs and saw several cargo planes and a commercially leased jetliner on the tarmac. As we were trying to determine which planes were C-5s and which were C-141s, a retired veteran approached us and said, under his breath, that there had been several casualties brought in that day. He complained that the caskets hadn’t even been met by an Honor Guard … Continue reading Stacked on Pallets and Left on the Tarmac

From Holden: About how folks in the Ukraine are staging mass protests over an election they view as stolen. But Attaturk says it all. Continue reading I Was Going to Write A Post…

From Holden: Frist: “I think I would look stunning in that shade of blue.” Santorum: “If I squint my eyes just right she looks like an Airedale. Rowf!” McConnell: “Poor Bob. Jeebus, I need a dose of Viagra just to keep myself from vomitting.” Continue reading Here’s Your Caption Contest

From Holden: Georgie’s body count for the entire adventure rests at 1,227 U.S. soldiers dead, 106 this month alone. That’s 1,227 soldiers who would probably be alive today if Saddam were still in power. Millions of Iraqi children would also be better off under Saddam according to UNICEF. Fighting in Iraq is “wreaking havoc” on the country’s children, nearly doubling malnutrition rates since the start of the war and all but preventing relief groups from working in the country, the U.N. children’s’ agency said Tuesday. [snip] The U.N. children’s agency, UNICEF, said there was little it could do to ease … Continue reading Iraqi Children Better Off Under Saddam

From Holden: Not while your preznit is seeking advice from someone to the right of Ariel Sharon. Those looking for clues about President Bush’s second-term policy for the Middle East might be interested to know that, nine days after his reelection victory, the president summoned to the White House an Israeli politician so hawkish that he has accused Ariel Sharon of being soft on the Palestinians. Bush met for more than an hour on Nov. 11 with Natan Sharansky, the former Soviet dissident now known as a far-right member of the Israeli cabinet. Joined by Chief of Staff Andrew H. … Continue reading No Hope for Peace in the Middle East

From Holden: Any chance your preznit will repeat last year’s surprise Thankgiving visit to Iraq, complete with a falsified flight-plan in violation of international law, lies about a British pilot IDing Air Force One and keeping the flight a secret, cheering throngs of pre-screened soldiers, and a fake plastic turkey? It hardly seems likely that your preznit will fly to Iraq again, as he has no more elections to win. But don’t depair, you can relive the event by purchasing your own George W. Bush Fake Turkey Doll! Talking Presidents’ newest commemorative doll celebrates George W. Bush’s surprise Thanksgiving visit … Continue reading preznit giv no turkee repeet

From Holden: The latest NYTimes poll. Stupid Americans. Country’s direction Right Track 40% Wrong Track 54% Bush’s handling of foreign policy Approve 44% Disapprove 48% Bush’s handling of the economy Approve 42% Disapprove 51% Bush’s handling of Iraq Approve 40% Disapprove 55% Is the economy getting better, worse, or staying the same? Better 26% Worse 29% Same 44% Do you have confidence in George W. Bush’s ability to deal wisely with a difficult international crisis or are you uneasy about his approach? Confident 47% Uneasy 51% Do you have confidence in George W. Bush’s ability to make the right decisions … Continue reading Buyer’s Remorse

A. Continue reading Happy Democrat Photo: Sen. Barack Obama Edition