This is a really stupid song. Topical, though, if you're in Rocky IV.

Bikini calculus. Improving truancy rates the easy way. The No Adolescent Male Left Behind act, coming to a legislature near you.

Band name: The Indestructible Hamlet (of the Comic Book World)

Hmmm....interesting study about voters' fear affecting political choices. Not really all that novel, but interesting nonetheless...and I found this excerpt pretty funny:

No matter what a person's political conviction, thinking about death made them tend to favor Bush, Solomon said. Otherwise, they preferred Kerry.

"I think this should concern anybody," Solomon said. "If I was speaking lightly, I would say that people in their, quote, right minds, unquote, don't care much for President Bush and his policies in Iraq."

Wow, glad to know the already-stretched budget for police is going to such good, un-frivolous uses.

Krugman sometimes bugs me, but he's right on, here, noting that the press hardly ever points out that Bush/Cheney are filthy rich, and that they always seem to tell us what people think of the candidates' policies, but never about the policies.

Dubner has a good point over at Tapped.

Ridge doesn't need to spend more time with his family -- he just needs to spend more money on his family. Even Ridge's salary, which on its own puts his family among the top 5 percent of household incomes, isn't enough to pay for college. So much for the idea that families would "start to see some relief on the tuition front."

Asimov? Could be...

Doesn't it seem ridiculous that politicians refuse to answer hypothetical questions? They reply, "Well that's a hypothetical, and I don't answer hypothetical questions," which is b.s., because you know that they do, all the time.

It'd be a lot better for them to just say "I don't want to answer that hypothetical question." That way, you wouldn't be able to tell that they're complete jack-asses. Well, at least not for giving the stupid unjustified (and, really, unjustifiable) "no-hypothetical-questions" non-answer.

Clearly they are willing to answer this hypothetical: what will you do for us if we elect you?

If they're trying to say there's something wrong with hypothetical questions ipso facto, shouldn't they come out and explain themselves? If the explanation is sufficiently convincing, I'll take it up and spread it through the land. That would differ from the status quo only in that I'd be doing the spreading instead of just them, and it'd be to illuminate to all the dangers of hypotheses, rather than just to fertilize the fields of discourse.

In fact, it'd be kinda cool if we could all dodge hypothetical questions. For instance, in the event I take a test for my driver license, I could skip questions like, "What would you do if you began to skid on ice whilst driving?"

This...is...so wrong. I thought reality TV hit its lowest with The Swan, but the bar of badness has been raised again.

This looks cool- I was never able to use my PDA as a remote, though I tried!

So gay couples in Canada can get married, but not divorced. Way to think ahead, there, Canada.

When Doctors Without Borders leaves, things are not looking up.

Cool rankings.

Do you think we're any safer? Think twice. And then again. Maybe once more. Now vote.

UPDATE: Maybe you won't get to vote, anyway.

So this is quite amusing. Reminds me of the kind of animation used on Saddam in the South Park movie.
Link courtesy of Myles.

Heh heh...some of these are quite amusing (though some are very stupid). Film descriptions in 4 words or less, such as:

Titanic: Icy dead people.
Braveheart: Resistance is feudal.
Back to the Future: A comedy of eras.
Best in Show: 'This is Spaniel Tap.'

Send me, baby, send me.

Big Bill made an amazing speech at the convention. As always he spoke well, but the text really blew me away. No matter who wrote it, I think it's one for the ages.

UPDATE:The text

Unfortunate Fox headline: Rapist Gets Off Easy

Poll: Is it okay to open mail that is not addressed to you? Leave your answer in the comments (keeping in mind that were people to open mail willy-nilly, there would be chaos in the streets).

Spoooooooooooky...

A grand list of geeky bumper stickers.

Somebody posted this in the comments of one of the blogs I frequent, Political Animal. Thought I'd post it...

These are the Things That You Must Believe In Order To Remain A Republican*:

• Saddam was a good guy when Reagan armed him, a bad guy when Bush's daddy made war on him, a good guy when Cheney did business with him and a bad guy when Bush needed a diversion.
• Trade with Cuba is wrong because the country is communist, but trade with China and Vietnam is vital to a spirit of international harmony.
• The United States should get out of the United Nations, and our highest national priority is enforcing UN resolutions against Iraq.
• A woman can't be trusted with decisions about her own body, but multinational corporations can make decisions affecting all mankind without regulation.
• Jesus loves you, and shares your hatred of homosexuals and Hillary Clinton.
• The best way to improve military morale is to praise the troops in speeches while slashing veterans' benefits and combat pay.
• If condoms are kept out of schools, adolescents won't have sex.
• A good way to fight terrorism is to belittle our longtime allies, then demand their cooperation and money.
• Providing health care to all Iraqis is sound policy. Providing health care to all Americans is socialism.
• HMOs and insurance companies have the best interests of the public at heart.
• Global warming and tobacco's link to cancer are junk science, but creationism should be taught in schools.
• A president lying about an extramarital affair is an impeachable offense. A president lying to enlist support for a war in which thousands die is solid defense policy.
• Government should limit itself to the powers named in the Constitution, which include banning gay marriages and censoring the Internet.
• The public has a right to know about Hillary's cattle trades, but George Bush's driving record is none of our business.
• Being a drug addict is a moral failing and a crime, unless you're a conservative radio host. Then it's an illness, and you need our prayers for your recovery.
• You support states' rights, which means Attorney General John Ashcroft can tell states what local voter initiatives they have the right to adopt.
• What Bill Clinton did in the 1960s is of vital national interest, but what Bush did in the '80s is irrelevant.
• Taking a classified document is the end of the world, but outing a CIA agent is good clean fun.

* I don't think this is an accurate depiction; it is hyperbole. But the party leadership makes it easier and easier to believe.

This article forces me to unveil the new version of the Folger's theme song:

The best part of waking' up
Is peeing in your cup!

Heh heh...so on first glance, I thought this headline was referring to the rumor that Michael Jackson has sired quadruplets...

This is pretty funny. Hehe. Unclean! Unclean!

UPDATE: Here's a brilliant post further explicating the hypocrisy.

Wikipedia is great. This is pretty cool. Morbid, but cool.

This is pretty amusing...mostly just silly. Has sound, though.

Wow, does this guy ever suck.

So this op-ed has a lot going for it. Towards the end it peters out a bit, getting into talk about regulating advertising. I've thought about this, and it seems wrongheaded to regulate corporate speech unless it is untrue or otherwise subject to regulation (libelous, fraudulent, whatever). 

Mmmmm.... electors.

More infotainment. From behind the moron curtain...

Ahem. Your infotainment is showing...

A neat resource that I hope we won't be needing much this year: nationwide information about current wildfires.

Eugh! This thing is disgusting!

Some super cool stuff at this site, my officemate's former roommate's.

I'm crossing my fingers, hoping that Tom Delay is screwed.

Witchcraft watch, part N. (Where N is ludicrous):

Primary school in Kiboga district was closed in May after parents reported that their children were being attacked by demons.

The question here is why these beliefs persist... I'd really like to know why the animist/superstitious beliefs have such staying power.

Problem is, bureaucrats aren't really all that well suited to making decisions. Particularly not ones that actually matter, impact safety, or require much in the way of brain activity... read this and shudder a little.

An hilarious list of possible follow-up songs:

How Are We Going to Get These Dogs Back In? 

Bust an Additional Move 

Seriously, Eileen, Come On 

(Won't You Give Me A Ride Home From) Funkytown? 

Remember When You Lit up My Life? That Was Great 

I Will Now Pass the Dutchie Back to You and Thank You for Passing It to Me Originally Because I Really Enjoyed the Dutchie 

The Morning That the Lights Came Back on in Georgia 

Everybody Was Kung Fu Making Up 

Achier Breakier Heart 

Whoomp! There It Continues to Be 

867-5309 extension 2 

We Never Took It and Persist in Our Refusal to Take It 

On the way back from Spidey-2 we passed the Engravable Gift Store. Susan pointed out that pretty much all gifts are engravable.

I think she's right- everything but fruit or pets.

Now, this is funny. I should say in Jeb's defense that I can't remember what the angles of a 3-4-5 triangle are. But I do know that 90+125 > 180.

Warning: rated R by the MPAA for adult language... worth a read, for all that. There's a great line from an Egyptian fruit vendor, and Kingsley Amis. In this article from Slate.

Nice op-ed by Waxman.

Hehe...those silly newscasters and their mixed metaphors. Overheard on Fox News:

"But what Enron did...it was just a house of cards, it-it was just one domino after another."

Giving the visible man a run for his money. That's okay; I never liked the visible man anyway. That damned smug look.

via TomDad

An interview with Joe Biden. He is at once cool, and not cool. Crazy, and not crazy, etc.

There isn't anything good on the internet these days. Post your links and items of extreme interest in the comments, people. This isn't a one-way street! Just kidding. Clearly this is more of a several-way transit station- we just run the trains.