Oh, thank goodness!

Finally, someone is standing up to this wingnut piffle and calling it what it is: vile, contemptible nonsense!

Lots of links you might have missed!

It's been a while and these things do pile up...

• How The Average U.S. Consumer Spends Their Paycheck -- this is an interesting chart. We're by no means average (we've never carried a car loan, for one thing, and we probably spend more on food and alcohol, even though we don't eat out much), but the proportions seem to be generally true.

• Have you tried goofram yet? It's a combination of google and wolfram|alpha.

• Think you're a geek? Have you mastered the essential skills?

• The Young Republicans have elected an Aryan as their leader.

• Barney Frank visited the Daily Show last week.

• Just how rich is Fitzwilliam Darcy? (Here's an interesting bit of trivia: Pride and Prejudice is not only my favorite novel, it's also the first book I ever read aloud to Emmie -- starting when she was about a week old.) And speaking of Jane Austen, today is the anniversary of her death.

• How's your sense of pitch? (I scored a 26 out of 26 -- which, if you've ever heard me sing, you know must mean that I hear pitch perfectly -- I just can't produce it that way.)

• White Men Can't Judge.

• Local coverage of Zach Wamp's psooper psekret christian adultery cult (read about yet another C Street philanderer here -- and here!).

• You Suck at Craig's List is pretty funny (via Joe. My. God.).

• Badass of the Week, featuring Blenda, the Viking Heroine!

• Rick Perry is apparently rethinking that whole Texas-as-a-country thing (seriously -- who voted for this guy?).

• If you want to see the Great Barrier Reef, you better go soon.

• Can someone find Glenn Beck a nice small room with soft walls and a good therapist?

• ... and speaking of health care (that's what set Beck off)... Glenn doesn't have it quite right when it comes to France's system. The current American system is fine until you get sick, but will the next one be any better?

• This can't be said enough times: the only thing abstinence-only "education" produces is unbelievably stupid kids.

• I loves me some Usain Bolt footage. He makes all the other best runners in the world look like my grandma.

• Understanding our economy.

• Drunk people doing yoga.

• And finally, Pat Buchanan: he really stepped in it this week -- even more than usual!

Lil' O'Reilly is back!

In case you missed the first installment of the Lil' O'Reilly Factor, here it is, from a few weeks ago. As gawker points out:

It's no surprise that Fox News shouting head Bill O'Reilly, with his frequent temper tantrums and one-note commentary, can be accurately impersonated by a child. What is startling is that a kid could do it so well. "The Lil O'Reilly Factor" sets itself apart from lesser YouTube parodies by being fast, funny, well-written and executed without any verbal stumbles. Take the audio track down a couple of octaves and, with your eyes closed, you could mistake this video for the real thing.

And just out this week, is the newest installment, based on this encounter between the real Bill O'Reilly and Barney Frank:

Here's the Lil' O'Reilly version:

Take a deep breath!

Apparently Bono spoke too soon...

"It's extraordinary to me that the United States can find $700 billion to save Wall Street and the entire G8 can't find $25 billion dollars to saved 25,000 children who die every day from preventable diseases."

Here are a few links responding to the day's news:

House GOP Defeat of Bailout Over 'Partisan Remarks' Is Worst Fit of Pique Since Gingrich Shut Down Government Over Clinton 'Snub'

Shorter House GOP: We killed the bailout bill because Pelosi hurt our feelings

Who Are America’s Worst Politicians Today? All Of Them!

Krugman: OK, we are a banana republic

Barney Frank responds

CNN's Ed Henry: John McCain failed

McCain has another "McCain Moment"

That’s Rich

Which John McCain?

And here's a quick question from me: Whatever happened to "Country First?" The stock market has set new records in plummeting and the House members have pretty much all split town -- and they won't be back until Thursday?!?!? WTF? What the hell are we supposed to do in the meantime? What do they think the market is going to do for the next few days?!? Did they even bother looking at what this is doing to the world's markets before they hightailed it out of town?

Uh, would I be speaking for most of the country if I suggested that they just not bother coming back?* With wankers like these, who needs Herbert Hoover?

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Oh, and ps! Michael Bérubé is back, and he's ready to place the blame!

Also, have you checked out the Tennessee's Progressive Blog Roundup this week?

*If anyone sees Zach Wamp skulking or slithering about town this week, please smack him upside the head for the rest of us!

Quote du Jour

"I can sum up the Republican agenda in nine words: Burning the flag, spurning the fag and earnings that lag." - Barney Frank, speaking to the Florida GLBT Democratic Caucus.

(via Joe. My. God.) What the hell are the republicans thinking?!? With all that's going on in the world, all they can do is continue their futile effort to amend the constitution to please a small group of deranged theocrats? And what's up with Bush finally breaking out the veto -- not to do anything about his party's out-of-control spending, but to make sure that we can't use fetal cells that would be thrown away anyway for life-saving and suffering-reducing research? Oh, we can't get rid of these losers soon enough. Vote early and vote often! ;-D