Sleepy Mushrooms

Is there anything Samuel L. Jackson can't make a touch better?

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Good stuff from Conan O'Brien.

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Lots of research going on.

Magic mushroom’s positive effects lasting over a year, say researchers | The Raw Story

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Engorged Expenses

I think if more women got more hardcore about regulating the peen in the manner that old, bad hair white men want to regulate the va-jay-jay, then a lot of this ridiculousness would stop.

Hullabaloo:

"I don't want my tax dollars touching even one milimeter of that overly engorged expense.

I realize that many people disagree with my moral objections to men getting erections which God clearly doesn't want them to get, but my principles on this are more important to me than theirs are to them. So too bad. If you want a boner, pay for it yourself.

And I think those noxious advertisements for the drugs should be banned as well, if only for aesthetic reasons. Having to watch my baby boomer fellows wail 'Viva Viagra' is offensive to anyone who has any taste in music."

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Do these people vett anything at all?

GOP bigwigs’ health insurance covers elective abortions: report

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Good for this kid.

I've always had a weird feeling about the pledge even when I was a wee lad.

Isn't 'pledging your allegiance' to a political state kinda, well, anti-freedom?

10-Year-Old Won't Pledge Allegiance To A Country That Discriminates Against Gays:

"'I've always tried to analyze things because I want to be lawyer,' Will said. 'I really don't feel that there's currently liberty and justice for all.'"

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He's getting some support in his local rag, which is nice.

Hey, kid, you’d better make that pledge�|�Arkansas News:

The Pledge of Allegiance was cooked up by a Baptist fellow in 1892 and subsequently promoted in youth publications for recitation by school children. It is, of course, not anything our founders envisioned and is, in fact, kind of antithetical to our very principle of constitutionally guaranteed liberty.

You cannot force somebody to promise fealty in this gloriously free country.

Having our little kids stand up in public school and salute a piece of cloth to vow faithfulness to their nation is harmless in nearly all cases, like a rhythmic and memorized child’s prayer before meals or at bedtime.

But a mass forced pledging of nationalistic allegiance is, when you really think about it, a perversion of the greater notion that we love and support our country by our own choice and for the very freedoms it grants us, including the freedom not to have to spew officially required words or mantras or chants."

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D.C. should tell 'em to get bent. Government and religion do not mix.

We need to start taxing the shit out of churches.

Catholic Church gives D.C. ultimatum on same-sex marriage issue:

"Peter Rosenstein of the Campaign for All D.C. Families accused the church of trying to 'blackmail the city.'

'The issue here is they are using public funds, and to allow people to discriminate with public money is unacceptable,' Rosenstein said.

Rosenstein and other gay rights activists have strong support on the council. Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), chairman of the judiciary committee, said the council 'will not legislate based on threats.'

'The problem with the individual exemption is anybody could discriminate based on their assertion of religious principle,' Mendelson said. 'There were many people back in the 1950s and '60s, during the civil rights era, that said separation of the races was ordained by God.'"

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Yawn. Another day, another FAUX lie.

Fox News host falsifies footage to make GOP protest look bigger

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Nice little racket they go going there.

US defense contractors pay insurgents millions, report says :

"'In this grotesque carnival, the US military's contractors are forced to pay suspected insurgents to protect American supply routes,' Roston writes. 'It is an accepted fact of the military logistics operation in Afghanistan that the US government funds the very forces American troops are fighting. And it is a deadly irony, because these funds add up to a huge amount of money for the Taliban.

'It's a big part of their income,' a top Afghan government security official purportedly told told The Nation."

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Wow.

Rockslide In Tennessee Caught On Tape (VIDEO)

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This is pretty cool. Never knew about this until this weekend.

Dock Ellis' LSD No-Hitter Retold In New VIDEO

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Yes, you can have fries with that as long as you get in the back of the car, honey.

Woman who mistook cop for Sonic car hop faces DUI

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Better Things to Do

I think maybe for the first time in my life time....

Progressive won a battle?!? Check that. Progressive finally decided to fight a battle?!?

Hopefully this snowballs and they won't crawl back into their shell.

But, kudos, progressives, kudos. More, please. And if you could do it on your own without the progressive blogosphere having to whip the crap out of you every time. My arms are tired.

Durbin: Progressives Forced Our Hand On Public Option:

"Democratic leaders were forced to include a national public health insurance option as part of health care reform by progressive Democratic senators who refused to support anything less, Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said on Monday."

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This is a cluster that best not be repeated with the health bill.

Dems put off the application of the sweeping credit card reform passed earlier this year until the beginning of next year. Plenty of time for CC companies to mightily screw consumers in the mean time.

If reform bills are passed, then they should apply on day one.

Dollars and Sense : Who's the real deadbeat -- you or the credit card company?:

"* Levying extra fees on card holders who pay off their balance every month

Yeah, you read that last one right: next year, Bank of America is going to start charging people who pay off their balance on time. It's no secret that credit card issuers hate people who don't carry a balance -- 'deadbeat' isn't a complimentary term -- but this really adds injury to insult. Given that most Americans can't establish a credit history without credit card activity, it seems like establishing or maintaining a good credit history just got a little more difficult"

Then, you won't have to do this. Glad Dodd is doing it, but this shouldn't even be an issue.

Reform starts on Day One.

Dodd introduces bill meant to freeze credit card interest rates immediately - The Hill's Blog Briefing Room

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A little too late Mr. Freedom Fries.

CongressDaily - Atonement

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President McCain, I'm sure, will be on all of the Sunday blathering head shows to explain why consumer protection is teh suck.

It should be very apparent that with anything the Dems try to attempt, the Repubs will paint it as 'Gov't control'.

It is not like the telecoms don't have a monopoly as is.

McCain introduces bill to block Net neutrality | Raw Story:

"Republican strategy is to paint Net neutrality as government 'control' of Internet

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) introduced a bill in the Senate on Thursday that would effectively allow Internet service providers to slow down or block Internet content or applications of their choosing.

The move came the same day as the federal government decided to move forward on an official Net neutrality policy that would prevent ISPs from making those types of decisions.

The FCC's new rules would prevent ISPs, for example, from blocking or slowing bandwidth-hogging Web traffic such as streaming video or other applications that put a strain on their networks or from charging different rates to users.

McCain's bill, the Internet Freedom Act, would block the Federal Communications Commission from making Net neutrality the law of the land. The rule preventing ISPs from slowing down certain types of content would create 'onerous federal regulation,' McCain argued in a written statement."

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Torture porn loving arseholes.

Though, what a great comeback.

Revealed: Like McCain, Bush is ‘Jack Bauer kind of guy’ | Raw Story:

"The actor [said], 'He grabbed me at a baseball game in the US. A big guy came up to me and said, 'Excuse me, the President would like to speak with you.' I went over, and it was George W. Bush, and he said 'Hey Carlos, when are you coming out of that coma? All I can do is watch that show of yours. Are you coming back?' I was like, 'You don't have anything better to do?'"

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Because Jesus loves mountain top removal, poison water and polluted air.

That's how J-dog rolls. It is true. Corinthians 7-11.

Sen. Graham: ‘We need to use the coal that God has given us’ :

"Senator Lindsay Graham (R-SC) has announced that he is willing to support some form of climate change legislation, but only if the current Kerry-Boxer bill is overhauled to look a lot more like a traditional Republican program of energy independence.

'There will be no climate change bill with my vote unless you have offshore oil drilling,' Graham told Fox News on Thursday. 'I won't vote for any climate change bill that doesn't allow a dramatic increase in nuclear power. I'm not going to vote for any climate change bill that doesn't allow us to use our coal deposits.'"

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Que Jimmy Hendrix guitar solo.

Inside The Tripper's Brain: Scientists Create 3D Maps Of Brains On Drugs (VIDEO)

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Giant Effing Q

Watch the trailer for the DBT: Live from ACL DVD coming out next week!

DBT: Live from ACL Trailer!

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Real or fake, this is a thing of beauty:

Daily Kos: Saturday hate mail-apalooza:

"Not a bad week, but this stuff starts getting repetitive after a while. But there was one piece of hate mail so brilliant, I almost wept at its beauty. So I decided it deserved the day to itself and a poll. Check it out below the fold."

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"Don't let the door hit you...."

Fair enough.

Fireworks over Baghdad as Iraqis take over cities - Yahoo! News

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Not Nyquil! Not the 13th step in a 12 step program!

As Dennis Leary once joked "Are you drunk? No, I have a cold. The same cold I've had for the past 3 months. My teeth are green and I'm high as a kite".

FDA poised to ban sales of Nyquil

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Slow day today. That's all I'z gots.

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Round and Round

I know, I know enough with the Michael Jackson. I couldn't agree more.

Last MJ related anything coming from me.... unless something particularly hilarious pops up.

The inmates in the PI pay a final tribute to their inspiration.

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Because sometimes is gets confusing:

Sex Scandal Flow Chart | TPM News Pages

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Between this and the lie-detecting MRI on 60 minutes last night... we be in for a wild future.

First Image of a Memory Being Made:

"For the first time, an image of a memory being made at the cellular level has been captured by scientists.

The image shows that proteins are created at connections between brain cells when a long-term memory is formed. Neuroscientists had suspected as much, but hadn't been able to see it happening until now.

The experiment also revealed some surprising aspects of memory formation, which remains a somewhat mysterious process."

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Shitty journalism. The U.S.A.'s #1 export.

Jeff Koyen - The Places You’ll Go - Duped newscast airs ‘Lost’ scene as Flight 447’s last moments - True/Slant:

"In their rush to air exclusive photos of Flight 447’s destruction, no one in this newsroom stopped to ask the logical questions, such as: 1) How did the camera survive? and 2) Why are the photos in wide-screen format?"

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Finally we have an answer for crop circles.

Opium-eating wallabies get high, make crop circles:

"SYDNEY (AFP) – Wallabies are getting “as high as a kite” on opium in Australian poppy fields and flattening crops as they hop round in circles, according to a report"

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Shark Speedball

This is what you call getting abused for Tweeting stupid ass shit. Hilarious:

Twitter Users Heckle Hoekstra En Masse | TPMDC

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I so glad this DINO douchebag didn't pay his taxes.

Anyone opposed to the public option is firmly in the pocket of the insurance companies.

Daschle Urges Obama To Drop Public Health Care Plan:

"The man once slated to head Barack Obama's health care system overhaul is now coming out against one of the chief components of that effort.

Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle said on Wednesday that the Obama White House would likely have to scrap a public option for health insurance coverage if it wanted to get the votes needed to pass systematic change.

'We've come too far and gained too much momentum for our efforts to fail over disagreement on one single issue,' the Senator and one-time HHS Secretary nominee said, according to ABC News."

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10 paces would have been more fun, but....

Arizona town decides election with deck of cards - Telegraph:

"Thomas McGuire and Adam Trenk each won 660 votes in an election last month for a seat on the Cave Creek council.

A recount was considered too expensive and insufficiently entertaining.

Instead, town leaders invoked a 1925 local statute that calls for such eventualities to be settled by a game of chance.

Previous deadlocks have been decided by gunfights but the pair opted to draw cards instead."

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Never fuck with a coked up shark. Never.

BBC NEWS | Americas | Mexico cocaine 'hidden in sharks':

"The Mexican Navy says it has seized more than a tonne of cocaine hidden inside the carcasses of frozen sharks."

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Dang ol' internet will bust your nekkid ass everytime.

Woman cancels wedding after finding fiance was porn star - Telegraph:

"Haylie Hocking, 27, only found out that strapping 30-year-old fitness fanatic Jason Brake made adult films just weeks before the big day.

A friend organising her hen night searched online for a male stripper and spotted Jason with a woman in a porn movie."

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Orange Threat of Beer Bongs

There's no argument too asinine that conservative's won't attempt to justify this crap.

If it is 'just like a beer bong at frat parties', then why are we using it against 'terrorist' in order to extract information? Where is the 'fear' element? That I'll pass out and wake up with penises drawn on my forehead?

Douchebag conservatives.

Comparing waterboarding to beer funnels:

"Doug Powers, a columnist for World Net Daily, must have had a really rough college experience.

In his Monday morning weekly update, Powers jumped on the water-board soapbox and leveled an argument in favor of torturing prisoners. Tugging on the coattails of the recent 'Mancow' waterboarding media fiasco, he comes out with this gem:

A video that shows 'Mancow' Muller doing something that, if there were beer instead of water in that pitcher, happens every weekend at frat parties, can be viewed here.

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Speaking of douchebag conservatives.....

King Douche Newt doth protest way too fucking much:

PostPartisan - Gingrich's Deranged Ethics Advice:

"it’s amazing that Gingrich -- the only House speaker in history to be disciplined for ethics violations -- had the gall to make that claim. Does he think no one remembers?

Let’s review. Gingrich was reprimanded by the House and had to pay a $300,000 penalty for improperly using tax-deductible money for partisan political gain and for submitting false information to the ethics subcommittee investigating his conduct. An investigation by the House Ethics Committee concluded that Gingrich’s conduct represented 'intentional or…reckless' disregard of House rules and that there was “reason to believe” that Gingrich knew he was providing false information.

'The violation does not represent only a single instance of reckless conduct,' a report by an investigative subcommittee concluded. 'Rather, over a number of years and in a number of situations, Mr. Gingrich showed a disregard and lack of respect for the standards of conduct that applied to his activities.'

To be clear, the ethics case against Gingrich was no partisan witch hunt. The investigative subcommittee that determined he had violated ethics rules was headed by Florida Republican Porter Goss. The vote to reprimand him and impose the penalty was 395 to 28."

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Uh, yeah, I'd like to see the FCC try to enter my home.

This needs to be fixed.

FCC’s Warrantless Household Searches Alarm Experts | Threat Level | Wired.com

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I can't tell you how many times I've made this argument to my conservative friends who work for corporations that suck billions from the federal teat yet love to bitch about some 'welfare-queen' anecdote a friend of a friend told them.

I'm met with the usually slack-jawed blank stare 99% of the time.

The High Cost of Poverty: Why the Poor Pay More - washingtonpost.com:

"You have to be rich to be poor.

That's what some people who have never lived below the poverty line don't understand.
This Story

Put it another way: The poorer you are, the more things cost. More in money, time, hassle, exhaustion, menace. This is a fact of life that reality television and magazines don't often explain.

So we'll explain it here. Consider this a primer on the economics of poverty."

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The kids are NOT alright. Though maybe not much different that other generations. Just more media savvy.

Top Six Ways To Kill Piper: Middle School Girls Make Instructional Cartoon About How To Kill Classmate (VIDEO):

"A Pierce County mother says she's horrified by a cartoon video - posted online - that showed several ways to kill her sixth grade daughter. The cartoon was made off school grounds by some of her daughter's classmates, girls aged 11 and 12. Titled 'Top Six Ways to Kill Piper,' it includes depictions of girls shooting her, making her commit suicide, poisoning her and even pushing her off a cliff."

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This would explain a lot.

Cocaine test prompts Red Bull removal in Germany

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Dig Deep to Donate

Here's a note from Patterson regarding the Nuci's benefit. The raffle is still going. Even though I'll not be at the show, I'm in for 2 raffle tickets today. Anyone want to match me?

Nuci's Space.

Y'ALL:

HAPPY DAMNED NEW YEAR.

We hope everyone out there has an amazing and prosperous 2009.

Remember we are on the home stretch for time to bid on the set list for our annual Nuci's Space Benefit.

Remember, the highest bidder gets to pick 12 songs for the show on Thursday Jan. 15th at The Fabulous 40 Watt Club.

That auction ends on Jan 4th.

Or if you prefer, you can buy a chance on a raffle, the winner of which gets to pick 8 songs for same show.

The raffle is on Jan. 7th.

As a little added incentive, we've invited our original bass player / vocalist Adam Howell to be at the show, which means thatthe song he and I co-wrote LATE FOR CHURCH is eligible for the set list that evening.

This will be only the second time since 1998 that we have performed that song.

We hope everyone has had a safe and wonderful Holiday Season.

Santa came to see me and brought me a new turntable, a couple of books and DVDs and a copy of the new Deerhunter album (which I have been playing non-stop).

Hope he brought all of you what you wanted also.

Get those bids in and See You at The Rock Show(s)

Bah Humbucker,

Patterson Hood

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Let's get back into the political swing of things, shall we.

I've long hammered the point that why would one ever vote for a party that believes that governing is the problem, not a solution?

Oh, and the race bating is kind of an issue too. Will be interesting to see the Republicans attempt an Extreme Party Makeover. Even more interesting will be those who will buy their tripe.

Lip stick on a pig, indeed.

Op-Ed Columnist - Bigger Than Bush - NYTimes.com:

"The fault, however, lies not in Republicans’ stars but in themselves. Forty years ago the G.O.P. decided, in effect, to make itself the party of racial backlash. And everything that has happened in recent years, from the choice of Mr. Bush as the party’s champion, to the Bush administration’s pervasive incompetence, to the party’s shrinking base, is a consequence of that decision.

If the Bush administration became a byword for policy bungles, for government by the unqualified, well, it was just following the advice of leading conservative think tanks: after the 2000 election the Heritage Foundation specifically urged the new team to “make appointments based on loyalty first and expertise second.”

Contempt for expertise, in turn, rested on contempt for government in general. “Government is not the solution to our problem,” declared Ronald Reagan. “Government is the problem.” So why worry about governing well?"

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I'll go with 'douche-bags'.

Looking for a word - Paul Krugman Blog - NYTimes.com:

"Unusually, I’m having a vocabulary problem. There has to be some word for the kind of person who considers his mild discomfort the equivalent of torture, crippling injury, or death for other people. But I can’t think of it.

What brings this to mind is this from Alberto Gonzales:

"I consider myself a casualty, one of the many casualties of the war on terror".

This reminded me of Laura Bush’s remark on carnage in Iraq:

"And believe me, no one suffers more than their president and I do when we watch this".

Remember this. And remember, too, that for long years these people were considered heroic patriots, defenders of the nation."

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Voluntary. Yeah, we'll see how long that last.

Lipitor stick on a pig.

No More Goodies for Doctors From Drug Makers :

"Starting Jan. 1, the pharmaceutical industry has agreed to a voluntary moratorium on the kind of branded goodies — Viagra pens, Zoloft soap dispensers, Lipitor mugs — that were meant to foster good will and, some would say, encourage doctors to prescribe more of the drugs."

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I don't know anything about this guy, but I'm glad to see a non-career politician jump into the fray.

Often, the best individuals to govern this country never get the opportunity or decide that they don't want to deal with the 'politics' in order to 'govern'. That, or they're simply priced out from ever seeking office.

The Associated Press: Colo. gov names schools chief for Senate vacancy:

"That's what colleagues are saying about the Yale-educated lawyer, a quick study who won't need long to navigate Congress, even though Bennet has never held public office. Bennet was named Saturday by Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter as his choice to fill the remaining two years of the Senate term of Democratic Sen. Ken Salazar, who is awaiting confirmation as interior secretary for President-elect Barack Obama."

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The future governor of Alabama. He's got my vote.

TMZ.com:

"This may be the very best police report of 2008. When Charles Barkley was busted in Arizona early this morning for DUI, he told cops he ran a stop sign because he was in a hurry to get some oral sex.

According to the officer who wrote the report, 'He told me that he ran the stop sign because he was in a hurry to pick up the girl I saw get in the passenger seat.'

The officer continues: 'He asked me to admit that she was 'hot.' He asked me, 'You want the truth?' When I told him I did he said, 'I was gonna drive around the corner and get a b**w job. He then explained that she had given him a 'b**w job' one week earlier and said it was the best one he had ever had in his life.'"

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Perfect Timing?

Conn. man's last lotto ticket wins $10M for widow:

"On the day that Donald Peters died, he unknowingly provided financial security for his wife of 59 years and their family.

Peters bought two Connecticut Lottery tickets at a local 7-Eleven store on Nov. 1 as part of a 20-year tradition he shared with his wife Charlotte. Later that day, the 79-year-old retired hat factory worker suffered a fatal heart attack while working in his yard in Danbury."

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Eye Spy a Godfather

I'm looking to partner with Jones, a true American entrepreneur.

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Eye-yeye-yeye.

Eye Spy: Filmmaker Plans to Install Camera in His Eye Socket:

"Rob Spence looks you straight in the eye when he talks. So it's a little unnerving to imagine that soon one of his hazel-green eyes will have a tiny wireless video camera in it that records your every move."

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Great read on Puzo.

How they shot The Godfather

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Many ways to have a perfect San Francisco day.

More versions of a perfect day in San Francisco:

"Nobody who loves San Francisco defines the city the same way. But all are likely to agree on this: Enjoying the moment is more important than seeing the well-known sights.

That's what comes through in readers' responses to last Sunday's article in which The Chronicle retraced the 1961 steps of guidebook writer Jack Shelton and his 'One Perfect Day in San Francisco.'"

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Hurry up and develop these drugs. I'm in need, indeed.

Experts urge wider use of brain-boosting drugs:

"Brain research is accelerating, and a new era of 'cognitive enhancement' - the use of brain-stimulating drugs and devices by healthy people - is approaching, the authors said.

While thorny ethical and medical questions must be addressed, pharmaceutical enhancement of inborn mental gifts is a trend to be welcomed, the seven co-authors from Harvard, Stanford and other prestigious institutions said."

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Anti-Intellectualism

Stupid is as stupid does.

Read the whole thing. Its good.

Your grades are too high? | TimesDaily.com | Florence, AL:

"When did this petty anti-intellectualism take over the conservative movement? The respectable wisdom of William F. Buckley and George Will has been set aside for the pablum of crowd-pleasing know-nothings like Sarah Palin. Anyone using more than two syllables in a word is suspected of communist leanings; 'articulate' has become a four-letter word. Judging from crowd behavior at GOP rallies, the Republican base seems intent on establishing a flag-waving, cross-bearing idiocracy -- and it isn't just this one letter-writer clamoring for government a la Harrison Bergeron. The trend is general, reflected in the talk of 'Joe Six-Pack' having a shot at the vice presidency. Frankly, that prospect scares the hell out of me. Joe might be a perfectly good plumber, but how will he keep Wall Street MBAs from walking all over the taxpayers?"

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More on Republican anti-intellectualism

Why smart Republicans are PISSED at their party:

"Republicans turned their backs on smart people. Just like that, being smart was less important than being 'real'. Being qualified was about being ordinary. New ideas and thoughtful discourse was something to be ridiculed and not something to be examined. A good education and vocabulary became something to disdain and not something to celebrate. The Republicans stopped being leaders and started becoming drum bangers. Oh, they'd pull out their tanks and missiles like they were penises and pretend that asking questions was akin to treason. Scary.'"

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Kos states what I believe.

Daily Kos: Break their spirits:

"I realize there are people uncomfortable with aggressive language and action. That's the difference between liberal weenies and movement progressives. Liberal weenies sit around thinking that 'the truth' is enough for victory, and that if we simply explain to voters why Democrats are better, why, we can't possibly lose any elections! That's the crowd that wants to keep the 'high ground' and doesn't want to go down in the gutters and fight the GOP where they live, lest we get a little muddied ourselves.

Movement progressives realize that we must do everything necessary allowable under the law to win because elections have consequences. This isn't about who is most pure, but about taking the fight to the enemy and aggressively embracing progressivism, offering clear contrasts between us and them, and fighting fire with fire. There's no ambiguity about where I belong."

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They must of had a Bush in office too.

Stone Age man took drugs, say scientists - Telegraph:

"It has long been suspected that humans have an ancient history of drug use, but there has been a lack of proof to support the theory.

Now, however, researchers have found equipment used to prepare hallucinogenic drugs for sniffing, and dated them back to prehistoric South American tribes."

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I don't think he'll be making an appearance on Top Chef anytime soon.

Chef who stabbed, seasoned victim guilty of murder

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The Birth of Cooley

Happy Birthday, Mike Cooley of the Drive-by Truckers!

Two years ago today was one of the most brutal plane rides I've ever taken.

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Yeah, why the hell wasn't this done a year ago... or 2 years ago... or 6 years ago.....

Bin Laden by Election Day? New push: The Swamp:

"'Both sources say those in the intelligence community and on Capitol Hill are raising questions about the political intent of this new aggressive stance,'' NPR reports. 'The question is,' said one of the sources, 'Why wasn't this done a year ago?'"

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Somebody lied and intimidated for someone hopped up on goofballs.

Let's see.... drugs.... stolen from a charity.... OD cover-up.... intimidation.... lies upon lies....

Party at MCCAIN's house....es:

Whistleblower breaks 15-year silence to allege McCain hid wife's drug abuse:

"Cindy McCain's addiction to prescription painkillers emerged into public view 14 years ago with a well-orchestrated PR campaign designed to preserve her husband's political future.

Aside from a lengthy contemporary investigation from Phoenix's alternative weekly and occasional mentions since then, the addiction back-story -- including ample questions about what John McCain knew, when he knew it and questions over whether he was complicit in the cover-up -- has gone largely untold. Until now.

Tom Gosinski, a former employee of the medical-aid charity Cindy McCain used as personal supplier of Percocet and Vicodin, is speaking out publicly for the first time."

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Propaganda much? Liberal media my ass.

Swing-State newspapers distribute 'terror' videos:

"A 60-minute DVD, titled 'Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West,' is being distributed in millions of newspapers across the country this week primarily in swing states through an advertising purchase by a shadowy group called the Clarion Fund."

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Steal elections much?

Editorial - Mississippi’s Ballot Trick - Editorial - NYTimes.com:

"Mississippi’s governor, Haley Barbour, and its secretary of state have come up with a particularly cynical dirty trick for the November election. Let’s call it: “Where’s the Senate race?”

Defying state law, they have decided to hide a hard-fought race for the United States Senate at the bottom of the ballot, where they clearly are hoping some voters will overlook it. Their proposed design is not only illegal. It shows a deep contempt for Mississippi’s voters.

Republicans have long had a lock on the state’s two Senate seats. But this year, former Gov. Ronnie Musgrove, a Democrat, has been running close to Senator Roger Wicker, a Republican, in the polls. Mr. Wicker was appointed to the seat by Governor Barbour in late December after Trent Lott stepped down."

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Arizona Election Integrity Advocate Arrested While Observing Hand-Count:

"Pima County (Tucson), Arizona Election Integrity advocate and expert John Brakey was arrested last night while performing his job as an election supervisor, on behalf of both the Democratic and Libertarian parties, during a post-election hand-count audit of ballots.

Brakey becomes the latest in a growing string of EI advocates to be arrested and/or barred from observing (Brakey was lucky enough to merit both 'honors' apparently) while attempting to assure accuracy, fairness, and transparency in voting and in the reporting of election results on behalf of citizens.

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Even film critics are getting in on the action.

Roger Ebert on Sarah Palin: The American Idol candidate :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Other Views:

"I think I might be able to explain some of Sarah Palin's appeal. She's the 'American Idol' candidate. Consider. What defines an 'American Idol' finalist? They're good-looking, work well on television, have a sunny personality, are fierce competitors, and so talented, why, they're darned near the real thing. There's a reason 'American Idol' gets such high ratings. People identify with the contestants. They think, Hey, that could be me up there on that show!

My problem is, I don't want to be up there. I don't want a vice president who is darned near good enough. I want a vice president who is better, wiser, well-traveled, has met world leaders, who three months ago had an opinion on Iraq. Someone who doesn't repeat bald- faced lies about earmarks and the Bridge to Nowhere. Someone who doesn't appoint Alaskan politicians to 'study' global warming, because, hello! It has been studied. The returns are convincing enough that John McCain and Barack Obama are darned near in agreement."

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I so love karma...

This is a hell of a fall.

Car-burglary suspect vaults wall, falls to his death on Telegraph Hill:

"(09-11) 12:29 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- A car-burglary suspect fell to his death early today after he climbed over a wall on San Francisco's Telegraph Hill while trying to flee from police, apparently unaware that on the other side of the wall was a 200-foot cliff, authorities said."

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Tattoo You.

Text tattoos gaining popularity

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Hookers and Blow

Oh Sarah, you're making it too easy.

What's the over under before she's replaced? Or, will the Rethugs employ their usual bull-headedness and keep her on the ticket. I hoping for option #2.

Palin On Pledge Of Allegiance: "If It Was Good Enough For The Founding Fathers, It's Good Enough For Me":

"Question: Are you offended by the phrase 'Under God' in the Pledge of Allegiance? Why or why not?

Palin: Not on your life. If it was good enough for the founding fathers, its good enough for me and I'll fight in defense of our Pledge of Allegiance."

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How easy? This easy:

Political Punch:

"For her part, Ms. Clark -- a self-employed gold miner who wants Alaska to become an independent nation -- says that the McCain campaign pushback that Pain was never part of the AIP is 'hooey.'

'This is like a cat covering up crap in its litter box,' she says.

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Even numb-nuts Carville gets in on the act:

Prominent Clinton supporter slams Palin, says she’s not qualified � - Blogs from CNN.com:

"“They tout her experience as mayor of this town in Alaska,” said Carville. “This is the picture of the City Hall. It looks like a bait shop in South Louisiana,” the Baton Rouge native said. “This is executive experience to be Vice President of the United States, to be a heart beat away from the presidency, to have to take over the country when we’re fighting three wars, when we’re having the biggest credit crisis we’ve had in this country?”

When Bachman suggested that Carville’s criticism smacked of sexism, Carville fired back. “Congresswoman, I don’t know how to tell you this, but I supported a woman for President of the United States.”"

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Repubs do know how to throw a party.... during a hurricane.

Hookers and blow, y'all:

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Here's a GMILF that knew how to party like a Republican:

Actress Helen Mirren: I used to 'love' cocaine:

"LONDON - Oscar-winning British actress Helen Mirren said she used to love cocaine, but stopped taking the drug after learning that a Nazi war criminal profited from the trade, according to a magazine."

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RIP Jerry, RIP

Singer-actor Jerry Reed dies at the age of 71:

"NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Jerry Reed, a singer who became a good ol' boy actor in car chase movies like 'Smokey and the Bandit,' has died of complications from emphysema at 71"

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Day O' Labor

Happy Labor Day, y'all. If you're in Canada or Puerto Rico you'll be celebrating Labour Day. Yeah, aren't y'all all cool with your 'u'. That's just too fancy for most Americans. We like to dumb it down, dontcha know.

Folks in NOLA and the Gulf Coast be safe today. Ol' Dirty Gustav seems to have shrunk to a category two which is good.

Stay safe and fill your day with folly.

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What this article doesn't tell you is that the big rig collided with a orange juice truck and a fine time was had by all.

Vodka spill staggers traffic on Highway 101:

"(08-28) 13:05 PDT SUNNYVALE -- Traffic on Highway 101 in Sunnyvale is slow because of an overturned big rig that spilled vodka over the roadway."

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What the hell is wrong Adam's Township. I mean this isn't the dildo ban in Alabama, but come on.... Can't a girl release her inner stripper without fear of arrest?

Town Sued After Nixing Pole-Dancing Studio:

"A woman has sued a town that refused to allow her to open a dance studio that featured pole-dancing exercise classes on the grounds it was a sexually oriented business.

Adams Township officials violated Stephanie Babines' right to free expression by denying her an occupancy permit, the American Civil Liberties Union claims in a federal lawsuit filed Thursday in Pittsburgh."

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Cocaine's a hell of a drug.

Modesto man tries to amputate own arm:

"Police say a man tried to cut off his own arm at a restaurant in Modesto, Calif., because he thought he had injected air into a vein while shooting cocaine and feared he would die unless he took drastic action."

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Douchebag of the decade.... Axl Rose

Bismarck Tribune Online - World and National News:

"LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Federal authorities say they have arrested a blogger suspected of streaming songs from Guns N' Roses unreleased album, 'Chinese Democracy,' on his Web site."

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They Know They're Lying.... Do You?

Republicans are fucking stupid.

Of the many super-awesome statements in the Obama clip below the most special is that he calls them what they are... 'liars'. Praise jeebus, he actually used the word... "lying". Not 'misspoke', not 'misstated', or any other of those bullshit substitutions for 'liar'.

They. Are. Liars.



Political Punch:

"'Now two points, one, they know they're lying about what my energy plan is, but the other thing is they're making fun of a step that every expert says would absolutely reduce our oil consumption by 3 to 4 percent. It’s like these guys take pride in being ignorant.

I'll chip in one more piece of 'straight-talk' from Obama.

More like this and more often. Hit these effers hard.

Obama accuses McCain camp of cynicism, not racism:

"He added of the Republicans' approach: 'They're very good at negative campaigning. They're not so good at governing.'"

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Speaking of Paris... mmmmgag, ew, sorry, a little throw-up in my mouth. Never expected to discuss Paris on AAW.

However, she did something that decreased my hatred for her and her ilk but a noticeable degree.

She took old man McSame to task for using her image in a campaign video bashing Obama.

Oh, and she also clearly states part of Obama's energy plan (though she claims it as her own).

Thank you for contributing something to humanity, Paris.... finally.

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

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So old Johnny McSame offered up his wife to be in a topless beauty pageant at Sturgis.

Yup, that Sturgis.

Imagine, just imagine if Obama did this and the traditional presses' reaction. Just imagine the vapors.

Talking Points Memo | Take My Wife, Please!:

"We're trying to find out a bit more about the Bikini Beauty Pageant at the Buffalo Chip, where John McCain showed up and offered up wife Cindy as a contestant. ESPN says the event is topless and 'occasionally bottomless'. Actually their description is worth quoting in full ..."

Imagine:

Daily Kos: Barack Obama Speaks at Burning Man!

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Love this strategy. Maybe they should work in her pill addiction in which she stole from her very own charitable organization in order to feed said addiction.

Pointing to drug law hypocrisy, pro-pot group labels Cindy McCain 'dealer':

"A group dedicated to legalizing marijuana use is launching a new campaign Tuesday aimed at pointing to hypocrisy in a country that could have as its first lady a woman who made millions selling a substance that's killed tens of thousands of people while purveyors of a relatively harmless herb are imprisoned."

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Losing Your Head

12 hours... 750 miles on some great American roads.... 200 dollars in gas.... a rental Volvo that drove like a champ.... top temperature outside.... 122 degrees.

Still needing a couple of days to recoup.

Easiest road trip I've ever taken, though. Gas prices have cleared the roads out West, no doubt.

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How to make a Republican's head explode.

9/11 canine hero to be cloned: California lab:

"WASHINGTON (AFP) - A dog that sniffed out survivors from under the rubble of New York's World Trade Center after the 2001 terror strikes is to be cloned, the California-based firm conducting the procedure said."

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We're #1! U.S.A! U.S.A.!

How much money do we spend fighting this and how many people do we lock up?

War on drugs is going about as well as the War on Terra.

Americans are world's top drug users: study

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"Hey y'all, watch this"

SC teen struck, killed by Six Flags coaster in Ga:

"AUSTELL, Ga. - A teenager was decapitated by a roller coaster after he hopped a pair of fences and entered a restricted area Saturday at Six Flags Over Georgia, authorities said."

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Brains.

Brain scientists discover why adventure feels good:

"LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists have identified a primitive area of the brain that makes us adventurous -- a finding which may help explain why people routinely fall for 'new' products when shopping."

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Picky-Wiki

Crazy week. Moving shite from one location to another location. Pardon if the next few blog posts are terse.

I prohibit my students from using Wikipedia as a cited work in their academic essays. Still, I'm amazed at how many I have to bust for copying and pasting entire swaths of Wiki entries. You figure they would at least remove all of the Wiki links.

Stupid is as stupid does.

Falling exam passes blamed on Wikipedia 'littered with inaccuracies' - Scotsman.com News

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Teachers can be morons too. Homie needs to go to jail.

Report: Ohio science teacher burned cross on kids' arms:

"An outside investigation has found that an Ohio public school teacher taught creationism in his science class and used a device to burn the image of a cross on students' arms."

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Really? Kind of hard to write something sarcastic when you're purposely trying to.

Thanks for the inspiration, science article. Ah, there we go.

Sarcasm Seen as Evolutionary Survival Skill :

"Neurophysiologist Katherine Rankin at the University of California, San Francisco, has also recently discovered that sarcasm, which is both positively funny and negatively nasty, plays an important part in human social interaction."

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I got 25/30.

I disagree with 'the man's' answer to the question regarding the Pilgrims. But I still got it right.

Reminds of the Simpson's episode when Apu is taking the citizenship ship.

Proctor: All right, here's your last question.  What was the cause of
        the Civil War? 
   Apu: Actually, there were numerous causes.  Aside from the obvious
        schism between the abolitionists and the anti-abolitionists,
        there were economic factors, both domestic and inter--
Proctor: Wait, wait... just say slavery.
   Apu: Slavery it is, sir.

Independence Day Quiz:

"Our quiz is made up of 20 questions found on the actual citizenship test with a few curveballs in the mix. The last ten questions may be a bit harder, but a score of around 24 out of 30 is considered a passing grade."

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No further comment needed.

God accused of selling cocaine near Tampa church

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Cocaine Jeebus

Hopefully this will be the last bit of bagging on the Clintonistas. If she has an ounce of class and dignity she'll drop out by Wed morning.

But his rare footage of Hillary as a young child does not bode well.

Funny because it's true.

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More support for Siegelman:

Ex-attorneys general file brief supporting Siegelman:

"A bipartisan group of 54 former state attorneys general from across the country has filed a federal appeals brief supporting former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman's bid to overturn his criminal conviction."

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Even Obama's body man is cooler than cool. Reggie 'freakin' Love.

On the Court and on the Trail, One Aide Looms Over Obama:

"Mr. Love, 26, is Mr. Obama’s body man, the personal aide who shadows the senator and anticipates everything he needs — and everything he does not need. He is not a bodyguard (security is provided by the Secret Service), but rather the ultimate assistant, rarely more than a body length away from the candidate."

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Smuggling blow in style.

Mexico drug smugglers make Jesus statue of cocaine:

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The Kids are Alright.

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Old Lady is My Running Mate

Vote for DBT's MySpace Songs!

Click Here!

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'Don't hit on Hillary, bring us all back, let her do that stuff. Leave her alone, you don't need to do that, you are higher than that. Bring us up higher than that,' Weiss said with 82 years of experience.'

Wilmington , NC. April 28, 2008"

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No comment necessary. Gnashing of teeth required:

US troop deaths hit 7-month high in Iraq:

"The killings of three U.S. soldiers in separate attacks in Baghdad pushed the American death toll for April up to 47, making it the deadliest month since September."

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I like the style of writing in this personal diary over at DK. Wish I had some of these skills.

Daily Kos: Crazy Sorrow:

"I once started a novel titled Crazy Pussy, but abandoned it later as an exercise in bad judgment. It was based on a woman I once knew. Unspeakable things had been done to her. She was a strange mix of beauty and darkness, tenderness and rage, passion and loathing. She captured me without my having fired a shot in my own defense. Our’s was a raging roller coaster of earthly delights and bone deep horror."

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Thanks for the spiders.... and trippy bands... and glow sticks.

Albert Hofmann, father of drug LSD, dies in Switzerland:

"Albert Hofmann, the father of the mind-altering drug LSD whose medical discovery inspired — and arguably corrupted — millions in the 1960s hippie generation, has died. He was 102."

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The Math Ain't Fuzzy, Baby Blue

Update: A little food for your soul.

Jason Isbell

It's All Over Now, Baby Blue

Add to My Profile | More Videos

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So Hillary was the big winner last night?

Not really. There's no way she can overcome the math. All she can (and probably will) do is scorch the earth on her way out or try to steal the election.

Daily Kos: Delegates

So total for the night, thus far, is Clinton 185 and Obama 184. Not all votes are in, so things will change a bit. But at this point, we have a ridiculously tiny one-delegate lead for Clinton for the night, which could either produce her first delegate victory of the election, or be erased by the rest of the still-not-reported Texas caucuses.

Now according to both the Clinton and Obama campaigns, Obama entered the race with a 159 pledged delegate lead. So with some luck, Clinton ends the night about ... 158 157 delegates behind.

More problematic for Clinton, is that today's 370 delegates were about 38 percent of the just-shy of 1,000 remaining delegates before Tuesday's contests. That means we just had over 1/3rd of the remaining delegates allocated, with only marginal-to-none gains in the count for Clinton.

So Clinton is running out of states, and even her "big" victory Tuesday is proving little more than a pyrrhic victory.

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And she knows how to steal it because Rove et al have perfected this 'strategy':

The changing of the guards: Bay Minette, election night - Baldwin County NOW - A Gulf Coast Information Source for South Alabama:

"What were exactly the chain of events which continues to irk Democrats, Siegelman supporters, election analysts and the national press when the power of the highest office in Alabama shifted in the middle of the night from incumbent Don Siegelman to Bob Riley?

On the eve of the election, the Siegelman camp believed the governor had secured enough votes in Baldwin County to win the election, but evidently a “glitch,” according to probate court officials, caused Siegelman to lose 6,334 votes from his tally.

Riley, due to the “glitch,” barely edged out the Democratic governor, who was considered a threat by Republican officials.

The following morning a recount seemed reasonable and evident to the Siegelman campaign as two men laid claim to the governorship.

But, the recount was denied by then Attorney General William “Bill” Holcombe Pryor, who was appointed Feb. 20, 2004 - during a congressional recess - to the federal-bench, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals by President George W. Bush."

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No shite:

The Raw Story | Moses was high on drugs: Israeli researcher:

"High on Mount Sinai, Moses was on psychedelic drugs when he heard God deliver the Ten Commandments, an Israeli researcher claimed in a study published this week.

Such mind-altering substances formed an integral part of the religious rites of Israelites in biblical times, Benny Shanon, a professor of cognitive psychology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem wrote in the Time and Mind journal of philosophy.

'As far Moses on Mount Sinai is concerned, it was either a supernatural cosmic event, which I don't believe, or a legend, which I don't believe either, or finally, and this is very probable, an event that joined Moses and the people of Israel under the effect of narcotics,' Shanon told Israeli public radio on Tuesday."

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Stupid.

Senator Tom Harkin: Marijuana Makes People Sell Their Children:

"a hilarious reply from Harkin, which noted many of pot's notorious doom scenarios: 'the small child whose parents are so addicted to illegal drugs that they sell everything including perhaps their own children to obtain a fix.' Harkin knows the routine: smoke up, eat gyro, play Legend of Zelda, sell children to pirates for more pot, repeat. The full, horrifying letter, after the jump."

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Totally Screwed and The Best Movie Ever!

Per my Friday post:

If Bettye/DBT win the Grammy then its the greatest award show in the history of the world.

If Bettye/DBT DON'T win the Grammy then that shite is rigged and it sucks arse fiercely.

Just the way things are gonna be.

So.... that shite is rigged and the Grammy's sucks arse fiercely.

Clapton won even though he's been putting out the same freakin' record for 15 years now.

Damn 7th grade popularity contest.

Bettye and DBT y'all are #1 in my and many other eyes.

.... and AND I had to sit through all of the 'Gospel' winners before they even got to the Blues category. Why is it that people think jeebus likes their music better than the 4 other nominees.

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Check out Cooley on SpeedFreaks.TV. He did an interview yesterday from L.A.

Self Destructive Zone, Home Field Advantage and 3 Dimes Down all played as lead ins.

Best quote "I had Styx records too".

Cooley jumps in before the que. Then the cell phone drops out. They eventually get Cooley on back on the phone.

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Daddy needs a joint after all this.

Latest Anti-Pot Quack Science: 'Marijuana Makes Your Teeth Fall Out':

"Recent weeks have seen a rash of new studies of marijuana hitting the mass media, generating scary headlines like 'Smoking Pot Rots Your Gums,' 'Cannabis Bigger Cancer Risk Than Cigarettes' and 'Pot Withdrawal Similar to Quitting Cigarettes. Most of this coverage can be boiled down to a fairly simple equation:

Flawed science uncritical reporting = misinformation."

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Oh yeah, let 'em know.

TSA gets touchy-feely with new blog - Well-Mannered Traveler- msnbc.com:

"Last week the TSA added a blog to its Web site in the hopes that this bit of interactive technology might “facilitate an ongoing dialogue on innovations in security, technology and the checkpoint screening process.” Titled the “Evolution of Security,” the blog invites travelers to post comments, questions, complaints and perhaps even a few compliments about all manner of TSA issues"

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This is already the best movie every made in the history of the Universe. I will see it in the theatre and will own 10 copies when it comes out on DVD.

Seriously, I've had wet dreams about this.

SAPPHIC STEAM:

"Johansson (below) has a steamy lesbian sex scene with Penelope Cruz in Woody Allen's upcoming 'Vicky Cristina Barcelona.' A source tells us: 'It is also extremely erotic. People will be blown away and even shocked. Penelope and Scarlett go at it in a red-tinted photography dark room, and it will leave the audience gasping.' The women later have a threesome with Javier Bardem (below), who plays Cruz's husband"

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Trusting the Grammy's to award the right people is like trusting Charlie to not bite your finger:

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