Chickenshit Smithsonian Censors Exhibit In Response To Catholic Fringe Group Intolerance, Republican Threats

Unbelievable: earlier today, the assholes at the Catholic League and CNS News, a hardcore right-wing Catholic "news" site, complained about the National Portrait Gallery's excellent Hide/Seek exhibition. They were particularly offended by David Wojnarowicz' "A Fire in My Belly" video, which includes a crucifix crawling with ants. Soon enough, John Boehner, Eric Cantor and Jack Kingston (R-GA) threatened the museum's funding and *poof* the video was removed. Just like that. Please consider this quote:

Spokeswoman Linda St. Thomas told the New York Post that it does not comment “on people’s opinions on art.”

Oh really? Because it seems to me that removing the video as quickly as possible is certainly a comment "on people's opinions on art."

Let me tell you that it is unheard of for a major art museum to alter an exhibition in response to criticism like this (the Corcoran's Mapplethorpe fiasco aside), particularly from such dependably, perpetually offended fringe groups like CNS News. And do they really think this will mollify them, when they made it clear that they hated the entire exhibition?

What a bunch of spineless cowards. As an employee of a museum which –thank goodness– is not part of the Smithsonian, I am beyond appalled.

Image: Wojnarowicz'  incredibly appropriate self portrait, via Wikipedia.

UPDATE – I just realized that tomorrow is World AIDS Day. What a great time for the Smithsonian to censor an allegorical video about the suffering caused by AIDS. Well done.

EDIT: Eric Cantor has demanded that the entire exhibition be pulled, so this isn't over yet. It's obvious that the Smithsonian yanked the video because that's what CNS complained about the most, and they hope that removing the video will pacify them. It won't; it will empower them.

UPDATE: Blake Gopnik, the Washington Post's art critic and a writer who I generally dislike, has an outstanding condemnation of the NPG's cowardly act of self censorship here. Please also see artist/writer Dale Hoyt's excellent comment on this post in which he further elucidates the horrible irony of the connection attacks against art by "conservatives" have to World AIDS Day.

Condi Was In Korea Today, But Not For Any Useful Purpose

Former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, third from left, speaks during the session “Tough Leadership Decisions in Tough Times” at the Global Women’s Leadership Conference at the Shilla Hotel, in Seoul, Tuesday. Other panelists include, from left, Korea Foundation President Kim Byung-kook, leadership consultant Kate Sweetman, Rice, business journalist William Holstein, former New Zealand Prime Minister Jenny Shipley and former Asiaweek editor Ann Morrison. / Korea Times photo by Koh Young-kwon

So, um, yeah, there's Dr. Ferragamo at some utterly pointless conference in Korea. What I love, love, love about this shot is all the pink! Will you just look at all the pink, even, apparently, special pink lights shining out of the seats of their chairs, which HAS to be a metaphor for something. And here is what Condi said:

"I know personally how difficult it is to be a woman in a male dominated field... But we should not fall prey to that argument that we should see a woman like you in a field in order to succeed in it. But if there are no women role models, then find another role model anyway," Rice said, during the panel discussion.

Rice, who as a young girl wanted to become a concert pianist, advised women to "to find something you love to do if you’re going to be good at it." For Rice, it was international politics, and she encouraged women to work hard and find good mentors that will help them advance.

And then there was a brief QandA session with the audience, and that was pretty much that. I'm assuming Condi was paid, like, eleventy gazillion dollars for this strenuous appearance. Here's my favorite part:

Cho Eun-hee, the vice mayor who was formerly in charge of the "Women-Friendly Seoul" project, said the city is trying to reflect females' viewpoint and experiences in every single policy.

She showed a photo of a woman's high heel stuck in a gap of a sidewalk, eliciting laughter from the audience. "The project started with applying women's experiences of not wanting their high heels stuck in cracks of pavements, to the city’s policies," Cho said.

So it's good to know that when it comes to chicks, it's still all about the shoes. But you already knew that.

And finally, notice how all (EDIT: all but one) of the women on stage are all "formerly" this and that? Couldn't they find any women currently in positions of power?

IMPORTANT UPDATE On Frederica Wilson's Hat Wearing Prospects

Rep.-elect Frederica Wilson, D-Fla., walks through the Capitol Visitor's Center on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, Nov. 15, 2010, as Congressional freshmen orientation began. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Ohhhh... this doesn't look good for Sparklefave Frederica! The Miami Herald did some very important fact checking to find out, like, totally whether John Boehner can just say "bring on the hats" or not, the most urgent congressional matter we as a nation face. It turns out that even Bella Abzug was expected to remain hatless in the House! And if Bella wasn't allowed, well, Frederica doesn't stand much of a chance. It turns out that she'll have to get everyone to vote on it, and while this matter is clearly shaping up to be a major crisis, I have a sneaking suspicion that this will be yet another Democratic initiative which will be met by strong GOP resistance, because Republicans hate beauty and all that is gorgeous and sequin-encrusted and/or bedazzled (Bristol Palin excepted). I think I'm about to cry.

But you have to read the article, because it features an entertaining history of this contentious issue as well as these wonderful sentences:

Wilson said she brought six hats to Washington and has been researching the rules about hat wearing and still hopes to speak to Boehner about the ban. Wilson said she would get back to us regarding her research on the hat ban and who she believes can waive it, but we did not hear back.

Excuse me, Miami Herald, but back off! The lady has urgent research to pursue!

Believe it or not, however, Goddess Frederica has found herself a hat buddy, a Republican hat buddy! And they have formed a hat caucus! Meet Billy Long, freshman from Missouri:

"I wear hats every day, I have for 20 years," said Wilson, whose campaign logo included a cowboy hat*. "He saw me when we were sitting down to breakfast and he said he wears hats, too."

Congressional meet-cute! OK then, I take back everything I said about bipartisanship being dead. I smell a Lifetime movie in all this.

*See previous post.

Condibook Not Notable

This is sad: Condi's autohagiography is not included in the NY Times' "100 Notable Books of 2010" thingy. So hurtful! The list contains books about Willie Mays and Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron and Micky Mantle, Barack Obama, Teddy Roosevelt... even Franklin Roosevelt (two books)! What do they have that Condi doesn't have?

Of course, they also left George Bush's book off the list. And Sarah Palin's. And... wait, did Dick Cheney write a book? Haw, just kidding.

My point is that it's listicle time again. Sigh.

Frederica Wilson Just Wants To Wear Her Hats, OK?

(Photos: various sources)

Frederica Wilson just may be your next big PSP starlet. She's that rarest of creatures: a Democrat elected to Congress, and she is VERY concerned about bringing her hat collection to Washington:

Wilson is hoping to have a conversation with the likely new Speaker, John Boehner. At issue: whether or not the longtime lawmaker can wear her signature hats on the House floor. The House bars members from wearing hats while the body is in session, but Wilson said she believes the speaker can waive the rule -- which dates to the 1800s.

"It's sexist," Wilson said. "It dates back to when men wore hats and we know that men don't wear hats indoors, but women wear hats indoors. Hats are what I wear. People get excited when they see the hats. Once you get accustomed to it, it's just me. Some people wear wigs, or high heel shoes or big earrings or pins. This is just me."

Is that too much to ask? See, it's sexist that women aren't allowed to wear hats indoors while men... also aren't allowed to wear hats indoors. So totally sexist that men and women are treated equally in this regard!

She's right, though, that "people get excited when they see the hats." I'm pretty excited right now, aren't you? Don't deny it.

Mediasnack seems to think that Ms. Wilson is being silly about her beloved hats, but I think they're just being mean. Others will say that Frederica is a blatantly ridiculous creature, but those who do aren't sensitive to the needs of satirical blogs, and that's just more discrimination. The hats are obviously her source of power, like Samson's hair. How is she to function without them?

This is clearly an outrage.

The obvious solution: Wilson should get a special dispensation by declaring her hats to be helper animals. Problem solved.

Richard Cohen Is A Winner!

Hurray! I've been enjoying Salon's beauty pageant for awful pundits, "The Hack Thirty," as compiled by Alex Pareene, who was the editor during my first guest stint at Wonkette. The profiles are great, just brutal. All through it, though, I was on pins and needles wondering if Sparklefave Richard Cohen was going to make the cut. After all, in April, 2009, I declared that Cohen had officially attained the distinction of being the worst writer on the planet for penning the phrase the street of broken dreams, Pennsylvania Avenue (a mere two months after coming up with the previous title holder for worst sentence ever constructed).  Earlier that year, I even had a letter to the editor published in The Post in which I offered the opinion that he was "ridiculous" and had achieved a "new low" for the paper. I worried, though: would Pareene disqualify Richard for being just totally irrelevant anymore? Would he not make the cut because he's never on TV these days?

Oh, I shouldn't have fretted, because when all was said and done, my heart leaped with joy as Alex crowned Richard as the #1 worst hack in political punditry! He won! I couldn't put this better myself:

There's no subject on which Richard Cohen is not completely inessential. The looming debt crisis? Caused by kids today and their tattoos and hippety-hop music! The financial collapse? Did you know that Richard Cohen went to high school with Ruth Madoff? 'Cause that's all he's got.

Richard Cohen is the worst hack in the country.

You may wish to celebrate this fab achievement by taking a walk down memory lane in the PSP Richard Cohen archives.

Congratulations, Richard! You deserve it!

UPDATE: I've been looking and looking, and NOBODY is coming to Richard Cohen's defense. Humorous!

Yes, Please!

Oh yes, I believe I would very much like to see Christine O'Donnell enter the light-filled arenas of America's "Reality Programming, Competition-Based" category of entertainment. So on this one subject, I agree with Sarah Palin, who was apparently pitching nutty ol' Christine to the Dancing with the Stars producers. Sounds great! Personally, though, I'd rather see O'Donnell on something a little edgier, like Fear Factor or Survivor or something else which generally includes eating insects as a matter of routine.

Better yet, wouldn't it be a great time to revive Circus of the Stars? Because I would SO tune in to see Christine O'Donnell: Lion Tamer! or, I don't know, little Piper Palin shot out of a cannon or something. 

Gross-Out

Former President George W. Bush, right, kisses former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during the ground breaking ceremony for the President George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas, Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2010. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Last week I showed a picture (with no comment; I knew all of you would fill the gap) of cadaverous, horrifying Dick Cheney at the ground breaking ceremony for the George W. Bush Propaganda Presidential Center at SMU. It was frightening! This past weekend, however, I received a gentle tap on the shoulder from our most distinguished Pony Pal™, Georgetown University's John Brown, who basically said, "Aren't you ignoring some other terrible sights from this horror show?" And as you can see above, John's hideously correct. How could I have missed this rapturous, awful kiss? And of course Condi was there. She was one of the shovel wielders! Let's have a more focused look at this superb gross-out:

Ugh. My God. It looks like Bush is about to French Condi's nose. Barf. Here's something else: Condi and Crazy Eyes Laura were dressed nearly identically in their little red suits. What does it all mean?

As an aside, it seems like Condi's book basically sank without a trace. Oh, sure, it sold a ton of copies, as I predicted, but it never made the NY Times Bestsellers List and appears to have left no lasting marks upon the world. In this way, the book nicely symbolizes Condi's career: it made a good first impression, but accomplished nothing.

Speaking of good first impressions, here's my favorite photo from the ground breaking ceremony, also from the Associated Press. I can't for the life of me figure out why they released this wonderful photo, but I'm glad they did:

John Scott cleans the podium on the stage in preparation for the groundbreaking ceremony for the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas, Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2010. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Well done, Mr. Scott. I hope Cheney didn't get too much drool all over it.

Oh, By The Way, Charles Krauthammer Doesn't Want You To Touch His Junk. Romance Is Officially Dead.

I meant to write about this this morning, but... well, honestly, I was a little grossed out by the whole thing. Charles Krauthammer simply no longer wants his junk to be touched. Not by you, not by anybody. And all this time I thought I really had a chance! Dang. Sayeth beer can butt:

Not quite the 18th-century elegance of "Don't Tread on Me," but the age of Twitter has a different cadence from the age of the musket. What the modern battle cry lacks in archaic charm, it makes up for in full-body syllabic punch.

Uh oh, here we go:

Don't touch my junk is the anthem of the modern man, the Tea Party patriot, the late-life libertarian, the midterm election voter. Don't touch my junk, Obamacare - get out of my doctor's examining room, I'm wearing a paper-thin gown slit down the back. Don't touch my junk, Google - Street View is cool, but get off my street. Don't touch my junk, you airport security goon - my package belongs to no one but me, and do you really think I'm a Nigerian nut job preparing for my 72-virgin orgy by blowing my johnson to kingdom come?

OK, OK! Enough! I, for one, plan to respect Mr. Krauthammer's wishes. Just one more hope of a lifetime dashed, I suppose.

Endless, Endless, Endless Flame Wars As Far As The Eye Can See Regarding Bristol Palin On TV

Online flame wars over stupid things can be pretty entertaining once in a while, especially when the subject matter, in this case Bristol Palin's appearance on Dancing with the Stars, is particularly inane.

So anyway, if you want to spend a few minutes laughing at people having arguments about Sarah Palin's daughter, go here to the message board at ABC's website, or here at IMDB where there are literally too many Bristol flame wars to count, much hand wringing, pledges to "never watch the show again," etc. It's funny.

UPDATE – Uh oh, this won't end well: The National Enquirer has totally turned on Sarah. Stay tuned for fireworks.

Finally, A Politician Explains Tax Issues In A Language I Can Understand

Today's must see is Alan Grayson's explanation of tax cuts for the rich using Hermès Birkins*, Mercedes Benzes, and, wittily, Grey Poupon Mustard. So instructive! We'll miss you, Alan.

I love this trick, and did something similar on Wonkette a few years ago, where I revealed that the tobacco industry, upon the overturning of a $145 billion settlement against them, could buy Pucci turtlenecks for every man, woman and child in the European Union, or stage a demolition derby with five million Hummer H3s. Math is fun!

*I'm not sure why Grayson felt the need to exaggerate the cost of a Birkin so much. 64 grand? Sure, Birkins run well into the five figures, depending on the materials, but it would have to be, like, a 24k gold-frosted albino crocodile Birkin at that price. Here's a handy point of reference from the Daily Mail (UK): In 2009, Victoria Beckham had 100 Birkins worth £1.5 million. That makes the average price of a Birkin £15,000, or about $24,000. Wasn't that high enough for Grayson?

Withering Away

Former Vice President Dick Cheney waves during the groundbreaking ceremony for the President George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas, Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2010. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Quickie: George Soros Is The New George Soros

Last year I made an offhand remark that ACORN had become "the new George Soros," meaning that they had become the preferred all-purpose boogeyman for the Right Wing. When ACORN finally dissolved, I thought, "Oh, they're going to have to go back to Soros bashing."

and... voilà!

Ugly Tour Bus Photoblogging: Blue On Blue

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UPDATE: Republicans Are Going To Kill Themselves Everybody At The State Level

You may recall that I wrote a thing on Monday about how the GOP's gains in Washington are bad, but their gains in the statehouses and governors' mansions nationwide are worse. The post got a lot of attention and a hearty response (thank you). I have to admit that when I write "seriously" about such things, it makes me a little self-conscious, because there are so many aspects of politics and economics I don't really understand. Am I naïve? Am I missing something? Misinterpreting the tea leaves? What? So I was relieved, if you can call it that, this morning to see an editorial in the New York Times which says exactly, exactly what I said on Monday, but in a smarter, better informed way. It doesn't really make me feel any better. OMG, so many people are so screwed.

Photoblogging: Best Product Name Ever?

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They're repaving Madison Drive on The Mall right now, and I noticed that they're using these great rolls of heavy felt to block the gutters while they do so. And since everything must be branded these days, these big rolls of felt are called "Gutter Buddies." What a fantastic product name! And it's such a great name, it's not the only product to have it! Won't you be my Gutter Buddy? C'mon, everybody sing:

Gutter Buddy, Gutter Buddy
Wherever I go he goes
Gutter Buddy, Gutter Buddy
I'll teach him everything that I know
Gutter Buddy and me* like to wallow in pee
Gutter Buddy and me, we're the best friends that could be!
Gutter Buddy, Gutter Buddy
Gutter Buddy and me!

*Hey, don't blame me for the grammatical error.

Republicans Are Going To Kill Themselves At The State Level

(Photo via the Friends of the Agua Fria National Monument Flickr)

It's been depressing since the elections, hasn't it? It seems hopeless: Republicans in Congress are going to continue to do nothing, and then they'll try to blame it all on Obama.

But wait! Are you forgetting the other election results? The GOP has made huge gains in state government nationwide, and it is here that they are really in a pickle, and they won't be able to hide it. This column by Laurie Roberts in the Arizona Republic should be a real eye opener into the problems faced/caused by Republicans at the state level. See, "cut taxes, cut taxes, cut taxes" may make a certain amount of political sense at the federal level, but when you add to that an even more maniacal extreme of tax cutting within the states, you end up with big, harsh trouble. Leave it to Arizona, natch, to lead the way.

Arizona is going to become, basically, a nightmare as they are forced to cut absolutely everything, and they're not going to be able to blame Democrats, because they've more or less gotten rid of all of them. Not only are they going to cut the head off all social services, in doing so they're going to spite their faces by simultaneously losing shitloads of federal assistance ($7 billion in Arizona!) as a result. Education and health care will especially suffer, and incoming funds will continue to sink as giddy, unchallenged Republicans continue to cut revenue after revenue. It's not sustainable. The terrible results will be right in front of everybody and everybody will know who is to blame.

That's my theory, at least, and I'm sticking to it. It's hardly a silver lining.

Culture Corner: "House"

House is a Japanese comedy/horror film originally released in 1977. It has been an obscurity for decades, only occasionally surfacing on worn bootleg videotapes in little-traveled pockets of esoteric Japanese fandom. Despite the movie being a smash hit in its original Japanese release, the Western World has only recently become ready for it: Janus Films has been shuttling beautiful new prints of House around the art house circuit, and now Criterion Collection has released it on DVD. It's difficult for me to put into words how spectacular and wonderful this bizarre, maddening film is. Criterion calls it "[like] an episode of Scooby Doo directed by Mario Bava," and many other stunned reviewers have gotten into the comparative game: Village Voice namechecks the Kuchar Brothers and Teletubbies; the New York Times suggests "Looney Tunes cartoons, schlock Italian horror and martial arts movies." To me, it was like an episode of "PufnStuff" helmed by Dawn of the Dead-era George Romero, or Herschell Gordon Lewis' version of the Hello Kitty universe.

House begins as a more-or-less traditional, hacky teen comedy melodrama, with its seven adorable, giggly schoolgirl characters and their petty woes. When the plucky youngsters go off to visit an elderly aunt in her creepy house, the movie gets stranger, but still resembles a conventional ghost story. Soon, however, the whole mess goes spectacularly off the rails, and before your know it you've got dismembered body parts flying around, homicidal furniture, rooms filling up with blood, surprising nudity, bears selling noodles in a stall (?) and a guy turning into a pile of bananas, all accompanied by manic animation effects, garish video tricks, and insane music. This is one of the craziest movies I've ever seen, and I've seen a lot of crazy movies.

One thing important to know about House is that it's not inadvertently campy or "so bad it's good." Director Nobuhiko Obayashi set out to intentionally make a "ludicrous" film, in his own words, and it is, in fact, an avant-garde, experimental movie through and through, despite its trappings of aggressively dumb wackiness . What's more, Obayashi knows his cinema history, as these two stills from early in the film, in sequences which obviously pay homage to Kurosawa and Ozu, demonstrate:

(Shot through a beveled-glass screen)

(A classic Ozu shot)

The rest of the movie, though, can almost be seen as an extended act of violence against cinematic conventions and good taste. Obayashi not only uses, but recklessly abuses every trick in the book: there are haphazard iris-ins, baffling still-shots, double-exposures, wipes, atrocious pans, you name it. "We wanted the special effects to look fake... like something a child would do," the director deadpans in the accompanying documentary, and it's obviously not "I meant to do that" excuse-making.

I'm almost angry that this magnificent Dada masterpiece (and that really is what it is) has been kept from me for so long! House is a wild ride, as audacious and iconoclastic in its own goofball way as Eraserhead, El Topo, Pink Flamingos or Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, and every bit as subversive. If you enjoy difficult foreign films, Pee Wee's Playhouse, peculiar Japanese what-the-fuckedness, or if you're just a jaded gorehound, don't miss House.

Sketchbook: Boring Teleconference Doodle

Fashion Victim: Nice Swastika Shawl, Ma'am

Spotted on the escalator in front of me as I was exiting the Metro this morning. At first I thought it was a pseudo-Fendi knockoff, but suddenly I realized it was much more interesting. The label: Made in China, natch.

The Time Has Come For Christine O'Donnell To Go Back Into The Hole From Which She Crawled

Richard Cohen Would Like Some Attention Some Sarah Palin Feuding Action, Too, Please. Please?

It's been a while since I've written about Richard Cohen. The Worst Writer On The Planet™ makes my head hurt, so usually I don't even bother forcing myself to read him anymore. Today, however, the headline for his op-ed, Sarah Palin is fueled by fierce stupidity, was such a bald cry for attention that I had to indulge. The piece is by-the-book Palin baiting: Sarah is dumb, she is vindictive, she starts huge feuds at the drop of a hat, etc., etc. Oh, sure, it's all true, but it's also super obvious that Cohen would love to get in on some of that hot public feuding action, because Sarah's sparring partners get so, so much attention, something nobody has paid the increasingly irrelevant Cohen in some time. He's going to be crossing his fingers all day, feverishly refreshing Palin's Twitters and Facebooks, hoping, hoping, hoping that she rises to the bait. "Maybe today it will be me," he mutters, crossing his fingers, "and I'll get to go on TV!" Good luck, Richard!

(Image: Hulton Archive/Getty Images. Not Photoshopped!)

By The Time The Republican Primaries For 2012 Begin, Sarah Palin Will Be In A Feud With Absolutely Everybody With The Possible Exception Of Ted Nugent

Rocker Ted Nugent and Sarah Palin laugh before a rally for Republican senate candidate John Raese at Haddad Riverfront Park in Charleston, W.Va., on Saturday, Oct. 30, 2010. (AP Photo/Jon C. Hancock)

Isn't she something? In just the past few days, Sarah Palin has launched frenzied feuds with CBS for saying mean things about Joe Miller, with NPR for firing whats-his-name, with some other radio station for some other reason (sorry, it's hard to keep up), and now with Politico with saying mean things about her. Doesn't the lamestream media know that to be truly unbiased, they must always say nice things about Sarah Palin and her friends? It's in the Constitution!

Lashing out at Politico, however, is truly odd. Yes, they wrote two unflattering long things about Palin over the past week (This one is about her being impossible to deal with, while this one is about all the old school Republicans hating her), but Sarah! Sarah, Sarah, Sarah! Politico is SO your friend! Basically, if you clean your glasses, Politico "reports" on it. Sarah, to paraphrase somebody you've never heard of, the only thing worse than  Politico saying mean things about you is Politico saying nothing about you at all. You don't want them to stop breathlessly, exhaustively "reporting" your each and every Twitter twat and Facebook tantrum, do you? Haven't you heard Media Matters describe them as "basically a GOP bulletin board"?***

At the rate Sarah's going, she isn't going to have a friend left by the time she gets around to running for president. It's only a matter of time before she starts getting in fights with the National Review, Rush Limbaugh,  the Beck guy, etc., etc., and then what? She thinks she's getting negative press now?

Girl, to paraphrase somebody you actually have heard of, but only vaguely, sometimes you just have to turn the other cheek.

***Whoa, off-topic grammar note! This is such a good example of when it's not only OK, but actually more correct to put the punctuation mark outside the quotation marks, something still controversial among elderly grammarians (like ending sentences with propositions, which I did, totally, like ten times in this post). The point is that Media Matters didn't describe Politico as "basically a GOP bulletin board?" but as "basically a GOP bulletin board." See how that works? Sometimes I think about these things!

UPDATE – Uh, oh, she had to bring puppies into it, via the Daily Tucker:

“I suppose I could play their immature, unprofessional, waste-of-time game, too, by claiming these reporters and politicos are homophobe, child molesting, tax evading, anti-dentite, puppy-kicking, chain smoking porn producers…really, they are… I’ve seen it myself…but I’ll only give you the information off-the-record, on deep, deep background; attribute these ‘facts’ to an ‘anonymous source’ and I’ll give you more.”

Oh no, it sounds like a high school student is very angry! But Sarah! Don't use puppies! Puppies are political poison!

Sanity Restored?

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I took the photo above on Friday, but then totally forgot to post it. Whoops! I didn't attend the rally on Saturday because I'm on The Mall Monday through Friday, so why would I want to do that?

I kinda liked this guy's clown car, partly because it's just funny, but also because, you know, mixed message city! What are we to learn from this display (the sign says "Restore Sanity? We're Dummies!")? Well, that Joe Biden masks are apparently unavailable, for one. I love that McCain is wearing a totally gay sweater!

Fisting 4 Brewer

Supporters of Gov. Jan Brewer, from left, Kelli Freeman, Jessica Smith and Mary Murphy pose as World War II icon "Rosie the Riveter" during a rally for Republican Congressional candidate Ben Quayle, at Quayle's campaign headquarters Saturday, Oct. 30, 2010, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Paul Connors)

Oh, I just thought I'd start your Monday off with this terrifying image of triplet Rosies pumping their biceps (?) for Jan Brewer. And Jan will certainly be elected (technically not "re-elected") tomorrow, much to Sparklemom's and Sparkledad's dismay. Here's Jan cruelly mocking John McCain by doing something he can't do, waving her arms in the air like she just doesn't care (also AP Photo, 10/30):

What's funny (besides an old lady waiving her arms in the air) is that all of the above took place at a Ben Quayle event, because Jan's got her election so locked up that she doesn't even have to campaign for herself. Must be nice! And look at John! Is he shimmying? How adorable. What set this off?

Speaking of Dan, I mean Ben Quayle, there's this looooonnnnng thing in the Washington Post this morning about his campaign, because they just finally noticed it, and it's five pages long (web pages, but still), and it contains absolutely no content whatsoever.  It's basically a rehash of the whole "Dirty Scottsdale" website scandelette, but contains zero analysis and no conclusions, leading one to wonder why they bothered. The article is so "He Said/She Said" that they even title one of the sections just that, in case you hadn't already noticed. Well done, Post!