Our own Mr. San Diego on assignment on the mall...

"Order some golf shoes," I whispered. "Otherwise, we'll never got out of this place alive..."

The rumors of my demise has been hastily reported by those who have no reason the be throwing stones in glass houses. Especially since I now live in Texas, and am likely armed...to the teeth. See kick the dirt towards the rattlesnake, wake it from its slumber, and enjoy having some stranger in a smock suck the poison out.

Yes, Houston has been fine, for the most part. I still know very few people and those I do know are either future lawyers taking the bar with CityCat, my neighbors at Astros games, and our actual neighbors. Save for that I haven't met much in this town. Of course the wide expanse and lack of public transportation has killed any real chance of kickball being played. They have all attempted and have died trying, and I am far too old to be trying to create something for a bunch of blood crazed twenty year olds who in their spare time like to drink Bud Light Lime out of the cavernous skull cups of their enemies.

I assume that I should find something out about the possible job here this week or the next. Of course this job will severely limit my ability to any mock drafts as I would think they probably frown on me given any kind of look that I have inside information. If I don't get the job, who knows what I'll do. Oddly enough it is the only place where I submitted an application that I received a call back from. It appears to me that Southeast Texas concerns itself more with where you have gone to school then your actual experience and capabilities. Then again I don't really want any other job then the one I'm trying to get at this time so here's to hoping that works out.

My life is nothing but TV Shows DVDs, 360 and writing. I have completed Battlestar Galactica, or at least what is out on DVD. I bought the wife and I the complete series of X-Files and that's a blast. I also now own the complete series of the original Star Trek and have just begun that as well. 360 wise is slow, but that's just till Tuesday, then NCAA Football 09 comes out and I'll disappear again for another year. Of course the Dark Knight comes out next week...I can't think about it too much, I don't need another...episode.

I have attempted to write much more, but the current national scene is depressing, we're talking watching a dog that just got hit by a tractor trailer try to walk off the road depressing. John McCain has become some Dickens caricature mixture of Scrooge and Fagin with a lil bit of Grandpa Simpson thrown in there for good measure. Obama appears to now be playing politics, forgetting the lesson of George McGovern in 1972 of don't change what brought you to the dance in the first place.

McCain lies constantly, and the media fails to point it out. Obama indicates he has learned something and everything in the world has changed. It makes this writer sick, and that's not even bringing up the FISA mess that more or less re-writes history and law while wiping their collective asses with the Fourth Amendment. The only good that has happened in recent memory is Jim Webb paying for my college degree, thank you Jim Webb.

This country is starting to look more and more like 1972, but then again this country hates to learn from history and we continue to make the same mistakes we made thirty years ago. The people clamor for change, a new direction, then go and vote for the same assholes in every election. It's nice to want change, but if you're not willing to actually help the process along you deserve what you get. The rest of us might not, but we're stuck with you old fucks until you whither away and we can throw your collective asses in the furnace.

Finally, for all who care, the Gonzo documentary is simply phe-nominal. They did a great job covering the 60s and 70s part of his life. They got everyone, even Pat Buchanan, to come on and say a few words. I recommend it to all HST fans and those who are just yearning to seek knowledge.

It ain't over....

Screw it, it's over HRC...

I'm not impressed with your winning Puerto Rico, I'm not impressed with your dogged persistence at seeing this "thing" all the way to the end...

That being said, I am only grudgingly supporting Obama at this point purely for Mr. Edwards support, but even that is tenuous at best.

Does anyone not believe at this point that this entire campaign of Mrs. Rodham isn't just for her "triumphant return" to politics to "save" us all from the 4 years of McCain that is undoubtedly in our future given the continued ineptitude of the Democratic party to unite their yuppie elitist base, academic douchebag section, or the lower middle class minorities to pick one candidate and stick with it...

Can anyone else tell I'm tired of this party and the continued talking heads it runs out there every 4 years?

Work on the "Jeffersonian Party" has begun in earnest though, so we here at LSWTF will be sharing the details of that platform once it has been fleshed out a bit more.

Dews early mornin Friday!

Ahh, its good to have everyone back again...

I didn't have as good an excuse as Mr. Jack Gonzo, but I have been orchestrating a massive office move for the firm I work for (I am in charge of everything with a button, ie IT, so anything that entails me needing to be on top of...), so I feel like I have at least a decent excuse for ignoring my duties as one of the top writers...

All excuses aside though...

Gonzo's wedding was flat-out amazing...

Keep in mind I have been to some swanky, high priced, politico, house near Annapolis on the Chesapeake (yea, think "Wedding Crashers") type weddings. I can easily say that Gonzo and CityCat's wedding was EASILY the most fun I've ever had at a wedding ever, without any contest...

Thank you both again so much for including me (still love my outfit :) )!

Moving on to the important business at hand though, I must cover what it is I have the most experience with... The total incompetency/lack of "Balls" within the Democratic party!

I must admit, that this primary season had seemed like it would decide itself almost any week, but consistently Hillary (or HRC as she's more colorfully known) has continued to maintain her strong position with the party faithful, while running a consistently aggressive/negative and (quite honestly) similar type campaign to that of her good buddy Karl Rove (from me, that is a compliment).

Thus calling upon the wrath of the diminutive New Yorker that once fancied himself a Vermonter. Albeit he had some sort of transformation between being the Governor of a "Gun toting", conservatively socialist state and becoming the head of the DNC...

An increasingly firm Howard Dean told CNN again Thursday that he needs superdelegates to say who they’re for – and “I need them to say who they’re for starting now.”

(Before you ask, yes Dean was the governor of my home state of Vermont, but I think my Grandfather (who has always been deeply involved in VT politics and news), summed it up perfectly when a local reporter asked how he felt about Dean retiring from local office:

"Well, I'm just glad that now Vermont has a chance at getting a Democrat in the Governor's office".

The person running the DNC currently is NOT the Howard Dean that was our Governor...

That being said though, this is a primary which requires a united (Ball-less) Democratic Party in order to consolidate power and act upon the "threat" posed to them by someone that (bless his heart, I know he tries, but still...) quite honestly looks like he could be dead before November anyway.

Most importantly, the Dems need to step up and make sure they can balance out the courts before we have an even more serious issue on our hands... (Hint: McCain's record on anything non-abstinence, non-choice, and non-"common sense sex-ed" is worse then our current President).

In closing, I just want to remind everyone how much I do NOT want a little Dews running around in this world just yet (and if you knew what I was capable of as a child in my bad-ass big-wheels "General Lee", you would agree), so a McCain Presidency at this point, runs counter to what I feel this country needs at the moment...

That's all I have to offer on my soap box for the evening/morning, so "that is all"! :)

Dews Tuesday Rundown...

Ok, just came across this from a LSWTF.com fan and had to share:

http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.wordpress.com

I can't tell you how much this screams Bethesda/Potomac/Kensington Maryland to me, but to those of you that have not been to our richest, most elite suburb of Washington DC, I can imagine you at least have an idea of the type of money and influence the area has...

Can't tell you how many cocktail/bbq parties I have attended there where someone gave me a drink order... But thats a whole 'nother story.

I'd like to add to the list something like "Fascination with small supposedly liberal states" too. We have tons of these damn suburbanites coming up north to go to UVM and smoke themselves stupid all the time.

I think Dewey said it best to me via chat "Judging by this blog, I'm not very white". Neither am I Dewey, neither am I!

Anyway... On to the other news of the day...
>>>>

Things are getting ugly for the election, as well as the party's loyal followers:

According to cops, Ortiz, 28, stabbed Sean Shurelds last Thursday night in the kitchen of an Upper Providence Township home. According to a criminal complaint, a copy of which you'll find here, the 41-year-old Shurelds, an Obama supporter, told Ortiz that the Illinois senator was "trashing" Clinton (apparently in regard to recent primary and caucus results). Ortiz, a Clinton supporter, replied that "Obama was not a realist." While not exactly fighting words, the verbal political tiff led to some mutual choking and punching. And, allegedly, a stabbing in the abdomen.

Hey, at least they're getting into this election... Haven't seen this kind of "Election Fever" in a while!
>>>>

Huckabee is quoted as saying the McCain story is "best thing that could happen" for McCain as a candidate.

He's no fool though, the Huckster is totally right on this. By finally running this story, the New York Times has given people like Rush Limbaugh an easy out on their stance against McCain for being "too liberal", since its a paper like the New York Times running it (aka Liberal War Machine to the Right Wing).

Not like it wasn't going to happen anyway, but this speeds up McCain's nomination and the Hucksters dropping out I'm guessing.

>>>>

And finally to finish off, a new study on the effectiveness of anti-depressants was released pointing to little or no noticeable difference between clinical improvement over non-chemical options.

In a related story, pets are now being prescribed Anti-depressants...

No, this is strictly a coincidence I'm sure. Nothing at all to do with profit margins...

Time to hang 'em up

In every man's life, there comes a time when he must realize that he's more or less outlived his practical, day-to-day usefulness, that's he's grown past his youth and prime, and that it's time to transition gracefully from middle age to elder status. And there's nothing wrong or bad about being older. In an ideal society, these men become senior partners in law firms, sage judges, and simply wise old men. They have a wealth of information, experience, and advice, and should be listened to.

But not every man can make that transitition gracefully. I think of Scotty from the TNG episode "Relics." In short, the story picks up with the new Enterprise crew answering a distress call. They find an old transport ship stuck on a giant sphere. Ol' Scotty somehow saved himself using a transporter, but he's out of place in the future. He can't adjust to the fact that he doesn't have practical skills to save the day anymore. Luckily, after a good, soul-searching drunk, he finds a way to save the new Enterprise, and everyone goes home happy (which is the eternal downfall of the Star Trek series).

Our modern day example is Mr. Ralph Nader. Mr. Nader has announced he's running for President again. Like Scotty, Mr. Nader can't accept that he's no longer relevant or useful. Yes, as a consumer advocate he's done a lot of good, and he has (a couple, maybe) valid points to make about corporate influence, our lack of care for the environment, and the course our democracy has taken. But, really, Mr. Nader, you're far, far past your time. You, as much as anyone, are responsible for the 7+ years of misery we've lived through under this President. Your place in history is a footnote: the guy who took votes away from Al Gore, the guy who screwed this country just as hard as our Supreme Court back in 2000. And the crazy thing is that Mr. Nader is unapologetic. His role in history is plain as day, but he can't or won't acknowledge it. Instead, he's back to trying to play savior in a world that's moved past him.

Just like our old Mr. Scott.

Our New Candidate

One of a group of genetically engineered "supermen", Khan already has experience in governing a people as he has already ruled a third of the world, mostly in Western Asia. True, most of the supermen attempted to control the world and the merefolk overthrew them that led to a period of absolute darkness for Earth, but that's what you get when you make a man super, he has super ambitions.

The superior intellect alone gets my vote, especially after eight years under the reign of Elmer Fudd and Darth Cheney. Khan can be cruel, but also has the capacity to love and to survive even the most dangerous of situations say like the nearby planet blowing up. To date there is only one man who has been able to defeat Khan, and he's currently retired in Boston working as an attorney.

For these reasons and so many more I suggest we throw all of our support behind Khan Noonian Singh for President of these United States of America...after all, he was a prince once with POWER over MILLIONS!

Fred Thompson Drops out

Former Senator Fred Thompson has decided today to stop his half-hearted attempts at the Presidency.

"Today, I have withdrawn my candidacy for president of the United States. I hope
that my country and my party have benefited from our having made this effort,"
Thompson said in a statement.

Pretty sure this would tend to benefit McCain most, as Huckabee looks to be just about dead as a candidate, Giuliani still seems content placing all his eggs into the Florida basket, and Romney is still a robot, but stranger things have happened in this election cycle so far.

This is still a new story, so more info to follow as it comes in...

The Only Respectable Candidate

As many have noticed over the holiday weekend, Obama and Shrillary got into a catfight during the South Carolina Democratic debate. I won't bring up the fact that Stephen Colbert was held out of those debates and that Dennis Kucinich is suing over that fact, no the fact I want to bring up is the differences between the two major candidates of the Democratic Party, and the only acceptable choice right now for the party, John Edwards.

While Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton spar each other over their past, who has the charisma, who has the experience (allegedly) and who did or did not lawyer for a sleazy slum lord who was an executive at WalMart, John Edwards has been out there giving his message to those who will listen. His message is one we all can get behind, and with yesterday being MLK day, one that is supported by someone very close to the fallen Reverend.

…I appreciate that on the major issues of health care, the environment, and the economy, you have framed the issues for what they are - a struggle for justice. And, you have almost single-handedly made poverty an issue in this election.

You know as well as anyone that the 37 million people living in poverty have no voice in our system. They don’t have lobbyists in Washington and they don’t get to go to lunch with members of Congress. Speaking up for them is not politically convenient. But, it is the right thing to do.

I am disturbed by how little attention the topic of economic justice has received during this campaign. I want to challenge all candidates to follow your lead, and speak up loudly and forcefully on the issue of economic justice in America...

I believe that now, more than ever, we need a leader who wakes up every morning with the knowledge of that injustice in the forefront of their minds, and who knows that when we commit ourselves to a cause as a nation, we can make major strides in our own lifetimes. My father was not driven by an illusory vision of a perfect society. He was driven by the certain knowledge that when people of good faith and strong principles commit to making things better, we can change hearts, we can change minds, and we can change lives.

So, I urge you: keep going. Ignore the pundits, who think this is a horserace, not a fight for justice. My dad was a fighter. As a friend and a believer in my father’s words that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, I say to you: keep going. Keep fighting. My father would be proud.

The mainstream media would have you believe that John Edwards isn't in this race, but he sure as hell is. I hope to wake up tomorrow morning and have the world rocked that John Edwards has won South Carolina. To have a world who must now actually talk about him in the same sentence. Then I want the young people of America, every single beer pong playing, Oprah watching, crazy game of poker listening, football swearing, cocaine snorting, co-ed sexual escapade having, D&D nut and rainbow warrior alike out there who gives a shit about their country to go out during this primary season and put your vote down for John Edwards.

The time for the media has to end. We have to stop being the lemmings who are so easily led to water by these pundits, who have the vested interest of their corporate slave master, and have them once again decide the election. Other then the folks on Air America (for the most part), bloggers, and Keith Olbermann, no one in the media will give John Edwards the time of day. The time has come for another revolution, much like there was in the sixties. This time though we cannot go quietly into the night, we cannot just accept the way things are. We are more informed now as a s society then ever before, and we mainly have the internet to thank for that.

We cannot have John Edwards win the Presidency if he does not win the Primary. It is time to take out The Family and the man who would be Reagan and insert the South Carolina Gentleman into the conversation. We must insert him into the delegate race. If we truly want this country to change, if we truly want this country to finally shift for the first time in forty years and go back in the direction that great men like JFK, MLK and RFK laid down for us we must elect John Edwards. John Edwards, I feel, is the only candidate out there (save for Ron Paul but that's a frightening change) who will toss aside all those corporations, lobbyists and other type of special interests and get back to saving this great nation from itself. We are getting closer to the edge, that land of oblivion where big brother is constantly watching and you have no more rights, we need John Edwards to steer us away from the abyss.

The Constitution only guarantees the American people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself.
-Benjamin Franklin

Why Reagan?

First of all, I'd like to admit that I have a man crush on Paul Krugman. It's great to read a liberal economist debunk conservative economic theories every week in the New York Times. Cheers to you, Krugman.

Yesterday, Krugman took up the Ronald Reagan myth. You know it. Ronald Reagan has been transformed from a bumbling, race-baiting, Alzheimer's patient into the standard-bearer of the conservative ethos. It's a very odd and striking transformation from a social and cultural standpoint because at the time, and you just have to watch comedians from the 1980s to appreciate this, he and his policies weren't taken all that seriously. In a sense, the Reagan ethos is entirely manufactured. He's become an icon for the extreme free market, anti-government, no taxes on the rich crew, and Krugman rightly wonders why Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has accepted the premise that Reagan was a great man. These same folks have demonized FDR, the president who defeated the Nazis and led us out of the Depression. Go figure.

Obama wanted to latch onto a notion of Reagan as a dynamic leader, one who changed the tone of an era. He dropped the ball on that one. Reagan was a charismatic man, true. But he was deeply entrenched in a philosophy - hatred of government to the point of no governance, the economics of privilege - that has proven (twice as Krugman points out) counterproductive. Charisma and personality can lift a nation up, just as JFK's did, but it can also lead us to ruin. Obama needed to point that out. He should've pointed out that entrenchment and hoggishness are our true enemies, and that no amount of likeability can overcome those personality flaws.

Instead, we're left with a nation clamoring for a person, not an idea. Our paychecks are about to get smaller, maybe even dry up altogether. A lot of people are going to be desparate. We need some ideas, Mr. Obama, not more Reagans.

King of Vermont has weighed in

Breaking news indicates that Senator Patrick Leahy D-VT (King of Vermont) has decided to endorse Barack Obama for President...

I'm sure there will be some press conference at some point, so details will be updated as they come.

UPDATE: (From Politico)

If Leahy endorses as expected, it would be the latest(sic) in a string of Senate validations for Obama, and to the extent that endorsements play a role in voters' decisions, Leahy's -- along with those of Senator John Kerry and others -- could counterbalance charges that the Illinois senator lacks readiness or establishment credibility. Like Kerry, he's also a liberal stalwart and a veteran of battles with the Bush Administration.

People that know me, know I'm a huge fan of Senator Leahy for many reasons, so I can't really weigh in on this from a "Fair and Balanced" angle, but I will say that I am surprised in the timing of this announcement given that Vermont has really nothing to do with the process at the moment. Leahy's influence of course goes far FAR beyond the state he represents though, as he is a very powerful figure within the Senate as well as the party itself.

UPDATE:
"We need a president who can reintroduce America to the world – and actually
reintroduce America to ourselves," Leahy said in the conference call, saying
Obama carried the "hope" to end the war in Iraq and to bring "healthcare for
all."

He also compared the decision to support Obama to supporting John F. Kennedy for president.

Update: The Dude abides...

Dews don't know Politics...

Ok... So I was a little off on the Ron Paul prediction, as well as the Obama one.

Basically my assumptions where that A) New Hampshire is the Libertarian headquarters (if there is such a thing) and thusly would vote Ron Paul in as spoiler, and B) Obama would ride a wave of support and fund raising craziness into New Hampshire that would equal a definite win and possible withdrawal of Clinton...

Obviously that didn't happen! :)

I can blame the Wilder (or Bradley) effect for this and make excuses, but it was obviously a bit off.

Also for you Huckabee Fans out there, I think his 3rd place finish still gives him the lead by a considerable margin, just as long as he can continue to figure out the fundraising operations.

Anyway, busy day in Politics though as various talking heads have come forward to bitch and moan about their own reasons for being so off on the polls. My personal favorite talking head is Donna Brazile as she is legendary for losing just about every campaign she was involved in, but still somehow qualifies as a "pundit". I really need that gig...

She apparently is offended by how former President Bill Clinton has been attacking Obama:

For him to go after Obama, using a fairy tale, calling him as he did last
week. It's an insult. And I will tell you, as an African-American, I find his
tone and his words to be very depressing.

She goes on to say that Bill Clinton's involvement in Hillary's campaign is a mistake, which really just puts the cherry on top for me. She obviously didn't learn from Al Gore's mistake in not including ol Bubba in on the fun last time around.

Lets face it, the American people associate Bill with great economic times and it certainly shows that he's rubbed some of that good mojo onto Hillary's camp (whether through his own campaigning for her, or just our association with the name). Judging from the NH polls, the people that cared the most about the Economy and which candidate would be better suited to manage it (though none of them have really dealt with a budget outside of Gov Richardson), it was overwhelmingly in favor of Clinton...

Donna Brazile is a freakin idiot is basically what I'm getting at here... Hillary needs Bill just as much as Al did, but chose not to. I feel better having been so far off on Ron Paul when so-called "professionals" still can't make sense of how valuable Billy boy still is to becoming president.

Today in Iowa

I found this picture over at White Noise Insanity and it pretty much sums up the events in Iowa today.

Happy New Year!

The firm of Dewey, Cheatem, & Howe would like to wish you all a Happy New Year. We hope that now that you've sobered up, you'll have a spectacular New Year. Alright, I will now stop pretending that I'm more than one person. It's hard to write that way.

In honor of all the Top-whatever lists of 2007 going around, here's the one I like the most: Dahlia Lithwick's Top Ten Stupidest Legal Arguments of 2007. My favorites: that Dick Cheney is not part of the executive branch, the section entitled "Alberto Gonzales," and the waterboarding is not torture argument. I also got fired up by the Scooter Libby-30 Months is too much argument. Reading this list makes me yearn for more ethical Republicans whose lies could at least pass the straight face test, like Richard Nixon's.

I think that the most fun part of beginning a New Year is making predictions. What does 2008 have for us? It's going to be a very interesting year to say the least, so without further ado, here are ten of my predictions for 2008.

8. LSWTF.com gets national attention after several of its writers create an international incident while celebrating Battle of Bennington Day in Vermont along the Canadian border.

7. Mike Huckabee wins the Republican nomination for President after combining social conservativism with some populist politics. This prompts Mike Bloomberg and John McCain to make a center-right bid for the executive offices, fracturing the Republican Party.

6. On the Democratic side, Barack Obama doesn't so much win the Democratic nomination so much as Hillary Clinton creeps everyone out. Joe "The Most Qualified Candidate" Biden shakes his head in frustration. John Edwards explodes a la Howard Dean.

5. Recession: sorry folks, it's coming. The bastard child of the Bush tax cuts comes back to get us as huge government deficits raise the cost of lending, stifiling job creation and growth. This leads Democratic nominee Obama to a near electoral sweep in November. Dems strengthen their majorities in the House and Senate at the same time, as Americans turn to more common-sense, non-ideological solutions to their economic problems.

4. After Obama's win, Associate Justice John Paul Stevens announces his retirement.

3. Your 2008 Best Picture? Cloverfield. That looks freaking awesome. Your 2008 Ripping-off-a-great-idea-from-Heroes movie of the year? Jumper. What the freakin hell? Other movies I want to see: the new Star Trek movie, Choke, The Dark Knight, The Incredible Hulk, James Bond 22, and Zack and Miri Make a Porno.

2. Your year in baseball: I'm not going out on a limb here when I say that the Red Sox will repeat. Jacoby Ellsbury will be the AL ROY. Terry Francona has the best job in sports. Surprise of the year: Devil Rays make a early bid for the wild card, a prelude to 2009.

1. Somewhere in early September: the DC & H show hits the road and checks into D.C. for a couple years, be it at a firm or with the feds. I simply cannot stand Vermont women any longer, and I need to get out. On a side note, I'm taking girlfriend applications. You may send them to me by way of Dews, who I am appointing (for better or worse) as my liason.

And now, your 2008 predictions?

Huckabee unstoppable?

Granted I started writing about Huckabee as the interesting former Governor that was speaking his mind about several topics that I quite honestly was shocked to hear any politician say in public, but it seems that every time I look at the news now he's gained so much traction in his campaign that he has "pulled to within a single percentage point of Hillary Clinton in a general election match-up."!!!

Today, in the first full round of national polling completed since last week’s “debate” among Republican Presidential hopefuls, Huckabee has pulled to within three points of the frontrunning Rudy Giuliani. Heading into the debate, Giuliani led Huckabee by twelve.

Really is shaping up to be a fascinating primary on the GOP side between the Cyborg Romney, Cross-dresser Rudy and now the seemingly unstoppable Huckabee. Should at the very least provide us political geeks some much needed entertainment after watching the Hillary/Obama "He's looking at me, ya but he's on my side of the seat!" childish crap.

Ideally I'd love to watch an Edwards vs Huckabee election though, given the wild-card nature of both those candidates, but I guess beggars can't be choosers :).

Finally, a candidate we can all get behind.

I've chosen who I'll be supporting in 2008: this guy.

He's a hero, he's tough, and he has the best angry scream this side of Howard Dean. How can you oppose him?

Rumors of my death were greatly exaggerated...

Ahh, finally have access to a machine with internet access!

My journey through DC has been fraught with many perils, but I have survived "The Hill" complete with savage Whale monsters and am currently avoiding catastrophe amongst the Mole People of Crystal City...

Anyway, I have been away from news of most any sort (except political, you cannot escape it on the Hill), so I shall have to do a quick rundown of the events most troubling to me.

Quite honestly one of the funnier moments to me was sitting in a Bank of America watching our president say how he is going to fix delays at airports... If you haven't heard of of this, here's a snippet:

Declaring that "business as usual is not good enough for American
travelers," Bush announced at the White House a series of detailed technical
steps to reduce air traffic congestion and long delays that have left passengers
stranded and turned holiday travel into "a season of dread for too many
Americans."

Honestly I'm glad he has so much free time to think this stuff up. We have apparently hit the pinnacle of efficiency in every other aspect of our lives and how we go about business (especially foreign policy and military management). All Hail that who has allowed us to reach the zenith of our potential, President George Dubya Bush.

In more important news, the woman that was told by Southwest that she needed to change, has of course been punished in the most American way possible. She was asked to pose for Playboy for an undisclosed sum. Poor girl...

Thankfully things are getting a bit dirtier on the GOP side though to take some attention off of Option 1 Clinton and Option 2 Obama. There are targeted campaigns of phone banks telling people throughout New Hampshire and Iowa all kinds of wonderful anti-mormon things and of COURSE all camps are denying any involvement here.

Residents in New Hampshire and Iowa have received phone calls raising questions about Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, his Mormon faith and the Vietnam War-era military deferments he received while serving as a missionary in France.

(Always nice to see the "Good ole boys" play nice nice)

Oh yea, and in minor news, a whole buncha people died overseas from some weather thingie...

Bob Jones Endorses Romney, or, How to Prove You're Jerk

So, it turns out that not only has Bob Jones III endorsed Mitt Romney, but Romney embraces the endorsement.

Read the article, let that sink in a minute.

Bob Jones and Bob Jones University teach that Mormonism, along with Catholicism, are cults. Mitt Romney is a Mormon. And Mitt Romney embraces this endorsement?

The word cult is ill-defined. It's hard to say what's a cult and what's a burgeoning religious movement. Every major religion started out as a small group of people with radical ideas, something we'd probably call a cult. But still, we all know what a cult is. It's the Branch Davidians. It's the Heaven's Gate folk. It's Jonestown. It's the religious equivalent of a racial slur.

So Romney, a supposed man of faith, has accepted this endorsement? What kind of man, and what kind of President, would accept the endorsement of man who openly spouts religious hatred? Not a good man, in my opinion. How would we all think of Bill Richardson if he accepted the endorsement of, say, the Aryan Nation if the Aryan Nation thought that Bill was tough on illegal immigration? You might say that the white supremacists would never endorse a latino candidate, but until recently, I never thought an ultra-conservative evangelical Protestant would endorse a Mormon, but that's happened.

This is the opposite of integrity. In 2000, when President Bush went to Bob Jones, he wound up apologizing to Catholics for causing needless offense. What does Romney do now? If I were a Mormon, I'd throw my chair into my computer after reading this. As it is, I'm a Catholic and I was so steamed I had to go outside for a cigarette. Romney turned his back on his own folk for cheap political gain.

And you Republicans want him to be your President?