Your links for the past week or so...

First, the Ted Kennedy stuff: The play-by-play, Obama's eulogy, Ted, Jr.'s eulogy, the Big Picture, and Eugene Robinson's "A Prince's Fate" (and one more: What Teddy would do).

Then there's health care (the Huckabee plan is already in place!):

Where's the efficiency in this system?!?

And the rest...

Oh, the fakery. The faces of coal are fake. The anti-marriage Mainers are fake. Which is all very sad and pathetic. But this fake Ronald McDonald is pretty much hilarious.

Big Egg.

The Man Who Walked Around the World.

Ta-Da! The gays save marriage!!!

And finally, this is a jam-packed "New Rules" from Bill Maher, including these choice tidbits:

But, what did Obama actually say to make Karl Rove's head explode and the popcorn fly out? Well, cover your children's ears. When he was asked if he believed in American exceptionalism, he said he did the same way the Brits believe in British exceptionalism and the Greeks in Greek exceptionalism. Yes, "President John F. Kenya" actually said that people in other countries might like their countries better.

Well, I was so shocked, I nearly dropped the Bible I was using to help me masturbate into my gun.

Sarah Palin, in her farewell speech kept telling us how she's wired. You know, I'm not a doctor--or an electrician--but, I suspect this is faulty wiring, this world view that, in her words, we should never apologize for our country. Really? Never? Not for slavery? Or Japanese internment camps? Or if we tortured the wrong guy at Guantanamo Bay? The Indians?! Nothin', Sarah? "The Real Housewives of Atlanta," maybe?

I mean, shouldn't John McCain apologize for…you?

Mitt Romney's new book is called No Apology: The Case for American Greatness. You can find it at Borders in the "Suck Up" section. It's such a perfect title for today's conservative, combining paranoia with arrogance. "No one has yet asked me to apologize, but if someone ever does, f*ck them."

Good Reading

A lot of people think the internet is shortening our attention spans to the point where we won't read anything that takes more than two minutes of our time. If that applies to you, then you might want to just move along. But if you can still focus on something for more time than it takes to watch a YouTube video, here's some interesting stuff:

Requiem for a Maverick -- a post-mortem on the McCain campaign.

Our Mutual Joy -- Opponents of gay marriage often cite Scripture. But what the Bible teaches about love argues for the other side.

And one more -- which technically isn't long-format, but since it's a month's worth of blog posts, it might as well be -- One Dollar Diet Project (here's the premise and scroll down here for Day One).

Enjoy!

Yikes!

This is a pretty damning commentary -- and it's brought to us by Fox"News" (and more specifically, Papa Bear Bill)!!!

Greatest (?) Campaign Moments

But that's the URL!

(Sorry about the language.) This. Fucking. Election.

Dear John,

And so it begins...

The polls just opened in Dixville Notch, New Hampshire!
UPDATE: ... and it was a HUGE upset! Obama 15 - McCain 6 (these are not, historically, Democratic voters -- the last Democratic win there was in 1968)!

The Final Push

This is it. Finally. Today is the last day of the campaign. After tomorrow, you won't have to listen to any more speeches! Yippee! I'll be working to Get Out the Vote here in Chattanooga for 12 hours on election day, and I may not get to post have some scheduled posts in the queue set to publish while we're waiting for returns start coming in tomorrow night. And here's a post chock full of all sorts of last minute information to keep you busy, enfranchised and entertained through Election Day...

To my friends up in New York's 26th Congressional District: your race is a toss-up! Get thee to the polls, and don't let any long lines scare you away!

Election Survival Guides: from newscoma, Tennessee Ticket and Pam's House Blend!

All sorts of people are using all manner of approaches to convince you to get to the polls and stick it out, no matter what you encounter there. If the lines are long, stay in line for as long as it takes. If someone tells you you can't vote, get a fail-safe ballot. Know your rights!

Don't let anyone or any thing take this opportunity away from you. It's too important. Or to put it in any number of different ways:

Be Still My Heart!

I had MSNBC tuned in while I was fixing some dinner a little while ago and all of a sudden, I heard Paul Simon's voice singing. I spun around and there on the TV was a shot of some dude tying his shoe while Paul was singing American Tune -- one of my favorite Simon songs. I have to admit that one of my first thoughts was "oh nooooos! Please, it can't be true! I don't want to live in a world where Paul Freakin' Simon is a sell-out! Nooooo!" But then, as I watched, it quickly dawned on me that this wasn't a commercial -- it was a political ad. As I watched, the hair on my neck started to stand up, and there at the end with the lyric, "I wonder what's gone wrong," I saw a picture of Bush and McCain.

Just beautiful.

And because it's such lovely, gentle song that is a joy to behold, here's the whole thing:

Finally putting the concerns of women where they belong...

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Exclusive - Behind the Segments - Samantha Bee
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog The Daily Show on Facebook

Elitism

This is making the rounds lately via email and it's not a minor point. Not if you're one of those people who wants your surgeon to be a med school graduate and -- beyond any of the anti-intellectual BS that tends to follow this issue around -- there's a good reason for wanting your surgeon to be a med school graduate.

Barack Obama: Columbia University - B.A. Political Science with a Specialization in International Relations. Harvard - Juris Doctor (J.D.) Magna Cum Laude	John McCain: United States Naval Academy - Class rank: 894 of 899
Joseph Biden: University of Delaware - B.A. in History and B.A. in Political Science. Syracuse University College of Law - Juris Doctor (J.D.)	Sarah Palin: Hawaii Pacific University - 1 semester North Idaho College - 2 semesters - general study University of Idaho - 2 semesters - journalism Matanuska-Susitna College - 1 semester University of Idaho - 3 semesters - B.A. in Journalism

Anchorage Daily News

In today's edition of the paper, they endorse Barack Obama:

Gov. Palin's nomination clearly alters the landscape for Alaskans as we survey this race for the presidency -- but it does not overwhelm all other judgment. The election, after all is said and done, is not about Sarah Palin, and our sober view is that her running mate, Sen. John McCain, is the wrong choice for president at this critical time for our nation.
...

Sen. Barack Obama, the Democratic nominee, brings far more promise to the office. In a time of grave economic crisis, he displays thoughtful analysis, enlists wise counsel and operates with a cool, steady hand.
...

On the most important issue of the day, Sen. Obama is a clear choice.
...

The unqualified endorsement of Sen. Obama by a seasoned, respected soldier and diplomat like Gen. Colin Powell, a Republican icon, should reassure all Americans that the Democratic candidate will pass muster as commander in chief.

Oh, yeah, and there's that little matter of the home team governor...

Gov. Palin has shown the country why she has been so successful in her young political career. Passionate, charismatic and indefatigable, she draws huge crowds and sows excitement in her wake. She has made it clear she's a force to be reckoned with, and you can be sure politicians and political professionals across the country have taken note. Her future, in Alaska and on the national stage, seems certain to be played out in the limelight.

Yet despite her formidable gifts, few who have worked closely with the governor would argue she is truly ready to assume command of the most important, powerful nation on earth. To step in and juggle the demands of an economic meltdown, two deadly wars and a deteriorating climate crisis would stretch the governor beyond her range. Like picking Sen. McCain for president, putting her one 72-year-old heartbeat from the leadership of the free world is just too risky at this time.

Spotted in Tennessee...

A friend of mine is doing visibility up in State Senate District 22 (that's up around Clarksville -- Cheatham, Houston, and Montgomery Counties) today and spotted this guy. I don't know if you can make it out all that clearly from the photo, but the guy is wearing a mask. Even though he is unwilling to show his face while holding those signs, he surely is comforted to know that John McCain is proud of him, as he is proud of all the ignorantsia who turn out to show their support.

Oh, SNAP!

Best Endorsement Ever!

I'm not going to miss George W. Bush when he's (finally!) gone, but I will miss Will Ferrell's brilliant impressions.

Things to ponder

As this election finally starts circling the drain, here are some things to consider:

Your personal finances and what the two candidates are threatening to do to them. You can check your tax situation using the widget at right, but don't forget to consider what will happen to your insurance as well.

Thoughts on undecided voters from David Sedaris and Mark Morford.

Some thoughts from one of the most irrelevant, least important voters in this election, an un-American, and a failed American.

Dog Whistles.

This is a pretty cool toy: google in quotes helps you figure out what the candidates have said on the issues.

Get your Jon Stewart fix: WTP?

And finally:

I choose to blame Ellen for this...

John McCain, Socialist

OMG! I'm so not making this up! It's like we're in an alternate reality...

More from the frenzied McCain/Palin masses...

Now they're slashing tires and heckling early voters.

UPDATE: they're also trashing cars and -- I'm not making this up -- killing bears!

Hey, John! Still proud? Really!?!?!

Pat Buchanan goes tribal

Pat Buchanan spent a little time grasping at other straws before finally going there, and feeling how silly they all were, he finally settled on "it must be because he's black." Yeah, he actually went there. Sigh.

Someone tell me again how the Republicans are a 21st Century party? That they're not interested in fostering discord just for the sake of political gains? That McCain/Palin somehow represents something different from the Republican party we've been dealing with for the past 8 or 25 years? That these people could possibly bring us a positive change of pace?

Hey, Pat! Do you want something to distract everyone from the totally awesome Powell endorsement? How about questions about McCain's health on the front page of the The New York Times on Monday?

UPDATE: go here (and then there's Joe).