Breaking: Press Release from the Legion of Doom

Statement Regarding Eobard Thawne, the Silver Age Reverse Flash:

The Legion of Doom has received many media requests about the Reverse Flash, especially about his status as "Senior Lecturer."

From 1992 until his election to the Secret Society of Super Villains in 2004, the Reverse Flash served as a professor in the Legion of Doom. He was a Lecturer from 1992 to 1996. He was a Senior Lecturer from 1996 to 2004, during which time he taught three courses per year. Senior Lecturers are considered to be members of the Legion of Doom and are regarded as professors, although not full-time or tenure-track. The title of Senior Lecturer is distinct from the title of Lecturer, which signifies adjunct status. Like the Reverse Flash, each of the Legion of Doom's Senior Lecturers has high-demand careers in villainy or menace, which prevent full-time teaching.

Several times during his 12 years as a professor in the Legion of Doom, the Reverse Flash was invited to join the faculty in a full-time tenure-track position, but he declined.

Still no word on the tenure status of Professor X...

Clinton Campaign Returns to the Heady Days of "It Depends on what the Meaning of the Word 'Is' Is."

"Sen. Obama has often referred to himself as 'a constitutional law professor' out on the campaign trail. He never held any such title."
-- Clinton spokesman Phil Singer, March 27, 2008

"The Law School has received many media requests about Barack Obama, especially about his status as "Senior Lecturer." From 1992 until his election to the U.S. Senate in 2004, Barack Obama served as a professor in the Law School. *** Several times during his 12 years as a professor in the Law School, Obama was invited to join the faculty in a full-time tenure-track position, but he declined."
-- University of Chicago Law School, March 28, 2008

Sen. Obama's Pennsylvania Gutter Politics

"I was terrible." -- Sen Barack Obama, March 29, 2008


Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama scored a thirty seven bowling at Pleasant Valley Recreation Center in Altoona, Pa.

Great Krypton!

From The New York Times via Mark Evanier:

LOS ANGELES — Time Warner is no longer the sole proprietor of Superman.

A federal judge here on Thursday ruled that the heirs of Jerome Siegel — who 70 years ago sold the rights to the action hero he created with Joseph Shuster to Detective Comics for $130 — were entitled to reclaim their share of the U. S. copyright to the character. The ruling left intact Time Warner's international rights to the character, which it has long owned through its DC Comics unit.

And it reserved for trial questions about how much the company may owe the Siegel heirs for use of the character since 1999, when their ownership is deemed to have been restored. Also to be resolved is whether the heirs are entitled to payments directly from Time Warner's film unit, Warner Brothers, which took in $200 million at the domestic box office with its Superman Returns in 2006, or only from the DC unit's Superman profits.

Wowie zowie!

so-called "Answer Man": Free Advice That's Worth Every Penny

Dear SCAM,

Now that St. Patrick's Day has passed, I need a new excuse for being falling down drunk by a quarter-after-three in the afternoon.

Do you have any suggestions?

-- Daddy Can't Wait for Sundown

----------------------------------------------------------------

Dear "Daddy Can't Wait",

Personally, I feel that mid-afternoon intoxication never needs an excuse -- but if you wanna be a Puritan about it, may I suggest:

The Waco Brothers
at Schubas Tavern
Saturday, March 29, 2008
3:00 PM All Ages $14.00

An all ages show means you don't even need to find a sitter.

And the 3 pm start time means that even a kid with a learner's permit can be the designated driver.

-- SCAM

Elephants Donkeys Never Forget

"The truth is we've had a great campaign season. Yes, it's tough between these two great candidates, but one is going to end up being president of the United States." -- Howard Dean, Democratic National Committee chairman, March 28, 2008

In 2004, a secretive 527 group called "Jobs for Americans" kneecapped Howard Dean's campaign by running this loathsome ad in Iowa:

Q: Who was the public face and spokesman for "Jobs for Americans"?

A: Robert Gibbs -- the Obama for America communications director.

Does anybody else suspect that the Democratic National Committee chairman might be pushing for the hopeless Clinton campaign to end this destructive race if Mr. Gibbs weren't a key player on the Obama team?

"I think that I shall never see, sniper fire a poem lovely as a tree."

'Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign said she "misspoke" when saying last week she had landed under sniper fire during a trip to Bosnia as first lady in March 1996. She later characterized the episode as a "misstatement" and a "minor blip."' -- Associated Press, March. 25, 2008

Of course, one would have to be deep in the Obama cult to think that Sen. Clinton's confusing "poetry" with "sniper fire" was anything more than a minor "misstatement."

In fact, here are just a few "minor blips" of my own:

• Filled inside of Valentine card with romantic sniper fire.
• The University of Chicago denied me a PhD in History for my doctoral thesis asserting that JFK was brought down by a lone poet.
• As a kid, I aspired to move to San Francisco, buy a beret and a jug of wine, and live my life as a beat sniper.
• Drummed out of military for providing protective sonnets to cover squad movement.
• Spent 12 years in federal prison for attempting to criticize Ronald Reagan's domestic policies via poetry.

Sen. Clinton's mistake, like mine, were innocent and understandable.

Don't Mention It!

Translated from the original German, here is representative sample of Patrick Buchanan's profound thoughts on Barack Obama's speech and race in America:

Barack says we need to have a conversation about race in America.

Fair enough. But this time, it has to be a two-way conversation. White America needs to be heard from, not just lectured to.

This time, the Silent Majority needs to have its convictions, grievances and demands heard. And among them are these:

First, America has been the best country on earth for black folks. It was here that 600,000 black people, brought from Africa in slave ships, grew into a community of 40 million, were introduced to Christian salvation, and reached the greatest levels of freedom and prosperity blacks have ever known.

And now, here is a short video, from Mr. Show with Bob and David, that puts Mr. Bunker's Mr. Buchanan's p.o.v. to music:

Chris Kelly: Nazi Controversy in Bill O'Reilly's Church

From the Huffington Post:

The Huffington Post has learned that Bill O'Reilly -- who claims to love America -- spent Sunday at a "church" run by a former Hitler Youth named Joseph Alois Ratzinger. Ratzinger has gone to elaborate ends to hide this connection, including taking on the absurd pseudonym "Pope Benedict XVI." Which, even if it doesn't prove anything, certainly makes you think.

This shocking revelation comes only a week after Barack Obama admitted he attends a church formerly run by Jeremiah Wright, who talks smack about America, although probably less than Goebbels did.

This would all be holy water under the bridge, except for one disturbing and undeniable fact: Bill O'Reilly is a Roman Catholic, and Benedict "Joey Ratz" XVI worked for Hitler, as did Unity Mitford, whose baby sister was Jessica Mitford, who knew Maya Angelou, who knew Betty Shabazz, who was married to Malcolm X, who knew Louis Farrakhan.

Is there any place in our public discourse for men like Bill O'Reilly, who won't even repudiate their links to Louis Farrakhan? I'll give you the last word, and then cut you off in the middle of it: No there isn't.

And that's before you consider the policies of O'Reilly's church when it comes to child-molesting clergy.

Clinton Drama

From the Washington Post:

Hillary Clinton has been regaling supporters on the campaign trail with hair-raising tales of a trip she made to Bosnia in March 1996. In her retelling, she was sent to places that her husband, President Bill Clinton, could not go because they were "too dangerous." When her account was challenged by one of her traveling companions, the comedian Sinbad, she upped the ante and injected even more drama into the story. In a speech earlier this week, she talked about "landing under sniper fire" and running for safety with "our heads down."

There are numerous problems with Clinton's version of events. ***

According to [The Washington Post's John Pomfret], the Tuzla airport was "one of the safest places in Bosnia" in March 1996 and "firmly under the control" of the 1st Armored Division.

Far from running to an airport building with their heads down, Clinton and her party were greeted on the tarmac by smiling U.S. and Bosnian officials. An 8-year-old Muslim girl, Emina Bicakcic, read a poem in English. An Associated Press photograph of the greeting ceremony [right] shows a smiling Clinton bending down to receive a kiss.

"There is peace now," Emina told Clinton, according to Pomfret's report in The Post the next day, "because Mr. Clinton signed it. All this peace. I love it." ****

Clinton's tale of landing at the Tuzla airport "under sniper fire" and then running for cover is simply not credible. Photographs and video of the arrival ceremony, combined with contemporaneous news reports, tell a very different story.

After eight years of George W. Bush, what this country needs most of all is another president who exaggerates military threats for political advantage.

Neil Steinberg: Correction

Long-time readers of this blog -- and Mr. Steinberg's column -- know that Neil can be an ass.

And while something asinine is bound to appear again in Mr. Steinberg's column -- probably before the week is out! -- we should all take some time to read his gutsy and honest reflection in the Sunday Sun-Times.

And to salute him for publicly manning-up to his mistake:

Last week, marking the fifth anniversary of the war in Iraq, Editor & Publisher looked back at what major American newspapers thought about the war when it began. A third were against it from the start. Two-thirds, however, including this newspaper, supported the war with varying degrees of enthusiasm.

That inspired me to see what I had had written about it five years ago. I knew I had been in favor of toppling Saddam Hussein. Remove a tyrant and an enemy, I thought. Use America's might for good.

But I didn't quite remember my stand-on-a-chair-and-whoop enthusiasm. I began, in January that year, by quoting Edmund Burke about how evil triumphs if good men do nothing, and sneering at peace protesters who, to be honest, didn't help their cause by being so far over the top -- they thought Bush was an idiot and a killer long BEFORE the war.

My initial post-war column went to bat for female soldiers -- the right-wing, anti-feminist crowd at home was questioning whether women should fight in combat. No shame there. Then, on April 11, I let loose a bleat of contentment over the situation that, frankly, has me shaking my head in amazement.

"How could you not be proud and happy?" I babbled, "very, very pleased" that the U.S. not only won but "we did it in high style."

I suppose I could try to mitigate the sin -- I wasn't alone in being gulled by this. And I did have a few doubts about "the moment of apparent victory." In that same column, I noted, "The war could linger on. Islamic fanatics, angered and humiliated to see the mighty Saddam crumple like a toddler hit by a cinderblock, could find new opportunities to inflict terror." But that's no excuse.

I'm a humorist at heart, a silly, inconsequential man who should limit himself to exploring candy factories and pig farms and shouldn't be allowed to comment on weighty public matters. Four thousand Americans soldiers -- and counting -- died because of that exact kind of lazy, smug, complacent, detached, Pollyannaish non-thinking.

The president might not have any regrets, but I do. I regret the error and apologize, for what little it's worth.

If this is what readers can expect when Neil turns his unforgiving eye upon himself, then Drunkard ought to be one hell of a read.

Five Years, Four Grand

MSNBC: Four U.S. soldiers were killed by a bomb blast in southern Baghdad late Sunday, raising the death toll for American forces since start of the war just over five years ago to at least 4,000, according to the Pentagon.

I Hate Violence... But I Love Kickin' Ass!

Click Image to Enlarge

h/t Mr. Sleestak of Lady, That's My Skull

Mark Evanier Throws His Aunt Under the Bus

From Mr. Evanier's blog:

I once had an aunt who was a lovely lady but she was particularly fearful of non-white human beings in groups. She didn't have a dram of prejudice in her towards any one person of color but the minute she saw two or more together, she started worrying about race riots and gangs and people pulling knives. "Pulling knives" was a particular concern.

There's a story about her that I know sounds bogus but knowing her, I tend to believe it. It took place around the pool of the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas in the late sixties.

She and my uncle were hanging out there on vacation when she noticed some black people gathered, talking loudly and acting a bit rowdy. I don't know if she overheard some remarks or just what it was but she was suddenly seized by the fear that even though they were wearing swimsuits, they were about to pull knives and do something ghastly. Nervously, she hurried over to a Security Guard, pointed the black people out and suggested he keep an eye on them.

The Security Guard took a look, then told her, "I'm going to be watching them tonight in the showroom, ma'am. That's The Fifth Dimension."

Someone should have asked Auntie to "Let the Sunshine In."

Clinton and Rev. Wright

From Politico.com:

The recent coverage of Rev. Jeremiah Wright has often cast him as a marginal, almost fringe figure, but Trinity Church is a major Chicago institution, and Wright has long been a prominent pastor on the American scene.

And an anonymous blog set up to defend his church offers some compelling photographic evidence of this: A photograph of Wright and President Clinton, which it says was taken on September 11, 1998 -- the date of a White House gathering for religious leaders. ***

Hillary Clinton, according to her recently-released schedule for the day, was present at the gathering. ***

That's where [Bill] Clinton reportedly told the assembled clerics, at the depth of the Monica Lewinsky scandal, that he had "repented."

Perhaps it's now time for the other Clinton to repent.

Who Inspects the Inspectors General?

From the Washington Post:

[The State Department said] it had fired two contract employees and disciplined a third for accessing Sen. Barack Obama's passport file.

Obama's presidential campaign immediately called for a "complete investigation."

State Department spokesman Tom Casey said the employees had individually looked into Obama's passport file on Jan. 9, Feb. 21 and March 14. To access such a file, the employees must first acknowledge a pledge to keep the information private. ***

"The State Department has strict policies and controls on access to passport records by government and contract employees," Casey said. ***

The employee involved in the March 14 incident has only been disciplined so far, because the probe of that incident is continuing, an official said.

The State Department's Office of Inspector General web site contains a possible explanation as to why this pattern of breaches is only now coming to light and why it wasn't referred to the Department of Justice:

OIG Job Vacancies

Announcement #: OIG-2008-0018
Organization: OIG/INV
Position Title: Criminal Investigator
Series/Grade: GS-1811-14/14
Date Open: March 11, 2008
Date Closed: March 25, 2008

Announcement #: OIG-2008-0033
Organization: OIG/INV
Position Title: Supervisory Criminal Investigator
Series/Grade: GS-1811-15/15
Date Open: March 11, 2008
Date Closed: March 25, 2008

Interested job-seekers should be sure to get their resumes in right away -- but one might expect that more OIG "Criminal Investigator" spots will open up at State in the near future.

Cat and Girl and Obama

click image to enlarge

Dorothy Gambrell's Cat and Girl is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License

Iraq: A Five Year Review

'The disastrous consequences that have been unfolding plainly over the past five years are not "side effects" of this war but rather the direct, head-on results.' -- Fred Kaplan, Slate.

"Balanced" Headlines for Historic Speeches

Obama Condemns Pastor's Remarks, Says He Won't "Disown" Him

King Says Civil Rights Still Just "A Dream"

New President: Country Needs Help

Roosevelt Says Americans Scared of "Fear Itself"

Churchill Warns of "New Dark Age"

Lincoln: "We can not hallow" Gettysburg Battlefield

James Fallows' Instant Reaction to Barack Obama's Speech on Race in America

From The Atlantic:

This was as good a job as anyone could have done in these circumstances, and as impressive and intelligent a speech as I have heard in a very long time. People thought that Mitt Romney's speech would be the counterpart to John Kennedy's famous speech about his faith to the Houston ministers in 1960. No. This was.

A reminder of a non-obvious but crucial principle in speechwriting. Make the language simple, clear, vivid, and comprehensible -- of course. But never, never talk down.

Will this defuse the Rev. Wright issue? Who knows what cable news will make of the speech. But it was a great moment, to which Barack Obama rose. ***

It was a moment that Obama made great through the seriousness, intelligence, eloquence, and courage of what he said. I don't recall another speech about race with as little pandering or posturing or shying from awkward points, and as much honest attempt to explain and connect, as this one.

And I've got nothing to add to that.

"You wanta make real money, you gotta start a religion!" -- L. Ron Hubbard

This Chicago Tribune story about the arrest of some fortune tellers in DuPage County demonstrates how money changes everything -- how our justice system treats penny-ante scammers much differently from scammers who are part of a science fiction hack's multi-national, multi-billion dollar, tax-exempt scheme.
[Note: The hyper-links are mine].

2 Naperville-area tarot card readers accused of 'curse' fraud -- Naperville-area business owners in DuPage jail

Two Naperville-area tarot card readers were being held in lieu of $750,000 bail each Monday on charges they defrauded customers by convincing them they were cursed, then offering expensive "counseling," DuPage County authorities said.

Tracy Tan, 37, and Eric Tan, 34, were arrested Friday after police executed a search warrant for their business, Psychic Tarot Card Reading, at 9S275 Illinois Highway 59, according to the sheriff's office. ***

Police said the couple used the business to prey on the misfortune of people who came to get cards read.

"Tracy Tan would convince the customers that they had a curse on them, and that she was the only one who could fix their problems," police said in a news release.

"During this 'counseling,' she would charge her victims thousands of dollars for her services and products, which provided them with a false sense of hope." ***

Both defendants were being held in the county jail and were scheduled to appear in court April 7.

And I hope that the 18th Judicial Circuit is up to the task of distinguishing "fraudulent" tarot card readers from other tarot card readers.

Clapton is God(-Awful)

Get Your Green On.

"It's been St. Patricks Day for hours -- And I'm still not drunk yet!" -- Homer Simpson

Pseudonymous for Anonymous

A Half-Wit Child Playing War With Real Soldiers

From Fred Kaplan of Slate:

If further proof were needed that President Bush resides in a dream world, he settled the issue on Thursday definitively.

Speaking by videoconference with U.S. military and civilian personnel in Afghanistan about the challenges posed by war, corruption, and the poppy trade, the president unleashed this comment:

I must say, I'm a little envious. If I were slightly younger and not employed here, I think it would be a fantastic experience to be on the front lines of helping this young democracy succeed. It must be exciting for you … in some ways romantic, in some ways, you know, confronting danger. You're really making history, and thanks.

Go ahead, dear reader, pour yourself a stiff one before trudging on.

Trudge on, if you dare...

Oh... Now I get it.

As a public service, Coudal Partners and Schadenfreude have stripped down the messages of the Hillary Clinton campaign into a series of short parables, "just like how the Bible does it."

Experience v. Judgment - A Case Study

Experience:

Eliot Spitzer attended Princeton University and Harvard law school. He joined the law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison.

Two years later, Spitzer joined the Manhattan district attorney's office to pursue organized crime. In 1992, he launched a successful investigation that brought down the Gambino family's control over Manhattan's garment and trucking industry. In the next six years, he worked at the law firms of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and Constantine and Partners. In 1998, he was elected as the New York State Attorney General.

As attorney general, Spitzer took cases relating to corporate white collar crime, securities fraud, internet fraud and environmental protection. He most notably pursued cases against companies involved in computer chip price fixing, investment bank stock price inflation, the 2003 mutual fund scandal. He also sued Richard Grasso, the then-chairman of the New York Stock Exchange, who he claimed had violated his position after receiving an upwards of $140 million as a deferred compensation pay package.

In 2006, Spitzer was elected governor of New York.

Judgement:

On March 10, 2008, The New York Times reported that Eliot Spitzer had patronized the Emperors Club VIP, a "high-classed," high-priced international prostitution ring.

Rematch?

From Radar:

Brace yourselves, Republicans: presidential candidate Alan Keyes may be leaving the GOP.

In a conference call with supporters last night, Keyes is said to have told supporters that staying in the Republican Party would be "an occasion of sin" and is ready to bolt. Keyes, it seems, really dislikes John McCain (and, as we recall from an event in Iowa, everyone else running for president) and reportedly wants no part in selecting the "type of deodorant we need to make a stinking candidate acceptable to conservatives."

A Keyes supporter on the last night's call confirms to Radar that the former Reagan administration official "stated in the conference call that he could no longer remain in the Republican Party."

As for what's next, a third party bid seems like a good bet.

This clown's bizarre relationship with Barack Obama makes Obama Girl's obsession look healthy.

Presidential Scandal Controversy Trivia

Here is the nut of the AP's nutshell version of the relationship of Tony Rezko and Barack Obama:

Q: Why is Rezko on trial?

A: Prosecutors allege he tried to shake down companies seeking contracts from Illinois regulatory boards for campaign contributions and payoffs. They say he used his influence with Gov. Rod Blagojevich to get people appointed to the boards and then threatened to have them block contracts unless the companies paid millions of dollars in kickbacks.

Q: What does that have to do with Obama?

A: Nothing. No one has alleged that Obama has anything to do with the charges against Rezko, nor has Obama been charged with any wrongdoing. Obama has donated to charity the money that Rezko donated to his campaigns, as well as money from other Rezko friends and partners, a total of $150,000. ***

Q: Does Clinton accuse Obama of any specific misconduct?

A: No. Her campaign suggests there must be something improper in Rezko's involvement but doesn't say what. "If the relationship was aboveboard, why won't Sen. Obama address basic inquiries about it? What is it that he is hiding?" said a spokesman.

Q: Has Obama refused to answer "basic inquiries"?

A: No, but he hasn't been completely open either. For instance, he did not disclose until last month that Rezko actually toured the home with him before the purchase. He also has released the e-mail from the home's seller to only one news organization.

Obama hasn't provided details of the fundraisers Rezko held for him, nor has he released documents related to the property, such as the appraisal of the strip of land he bought from Rezko.

I guess they just don't make presidential scandals like they used to.

"Turn It Up! Bring the Noise!"

Great news from Greg Kot of your Chicago Tribune:

Public Enemy will perform its 1988 classic “It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back” as part of the third Pitchfork Music Festival, July 18-20 in Union Park, the Chicago-based Internet music magazine announced Monday.

Yeah, I'm telling you...

"I am depressed." -- Taggart, Blazing Saddles

No Depression, the bimonthly magazine covering a broad range of American roots music since 1995, will bring to an end its print publication with its 75th issue in May-June 2008.

Save Versus Dork... Failed.

On those occasions when I grow afraid that I've become a bit of a geek, I just trot on over to the blog of s.f. author, Charles Stross and see how a capital "G" geek does it.

At his blog, Stross puts on a nerd-fu demonstration worthy of a grand-master by converting John McCain, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama into D&D NPCs.

(Don't laugh too hard. If you know what "D&D NPCs" means, you're a damn nerd too!)

Uber-nerd bonus: Stross isn't even an American.

A Nine Million Dollar Losing Streak

2002 Senate
2004 Senate
2006 Governor
2008 Congress

Foster to Oberweis: "I... Drink... Your... Milkshake!"

"I Drink It Up!"

Sluuuuurp!

Attention Shut-Ins and House-Bound Misanthropes for Foster

As long time readers know, so-called "Austin Mayor" is a purely virtual being who shuns the world of atoms and fleshy human beings. As such, I was intrigued by this post-script to Barack Obama's e-mail on behalf of Bill Foster:

If you can't make it out to volunteer for Bill, you can still make a difference right from your own home with our simple phonebanking tool. You'll get a list of phone numbers and a simple script to use to tell voters about the change Bill will bring to the 14th District.

Click here and start making calls right now:

http://my.barackobama.com/CallforBill

That's right A.I.s, cyber-space cadets and agoraphobes, you can get to work for the Foster campaign without ever having to participate IRL.

W00t!

Sweet: Clinton Writing-Off Taxing Questions

From Lynn Sweet of your Chicago Sun-Times:

In the wake of failing to stop Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) in the Tuesday contests -- and to deflect attention away from former pal Tony Rezko on trial for public corruption -- the campaign of Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) is stepping up calls for Clinton to disclose her income tax returns.

Clinton has been stalling, pleading that she needed time to get her papers together, as if the matter is just the return she will file in 2008 for income from 2007. Obama seized on it as an issue after Clinton's wealth got notice when she loaned $5 million to her campaign.

The Clintons don't have their income tax documents in order?

But I thought Sen. Clinton was going to be "ready on day one."

If need be, I would gladly help speed-up the up by sending the Clinton campaign a copy of TurboTax.

This Saturday! All Day!

If you want to help Sen. Obama bring "the change we need" to Congress by clicking here.



In the alternative, if you want to help the Ice Cream Headache -- the campaign that the Tribune says, "plays fast and loose with the truth" -- you should make your Saturday plans here.

Tribune: "Oberweis has shown in four campaigns that he plays fast and loose with the truth."

"[A]ny similarity between the Oberweis campaign and the truth is pure coincidence."

KLF: Keep Lobbing Fear

This morning the pundits are telling us that the "3 A.M." propaganda piece made all the difference in yesterday's primaries.



I still don't see how this could have knocked Obama down.

Ask Not What Your Party Can Do For You...

Rally

With five strikes on her, a bloop single to keep the game alive.

Save Versus Sadness

Failed.

Free! NIN Ghosts I

Ghosts I
The first 9 tracks from the Ghosts I-IV collection available as high-quality, DRM-free MP3s, including the complete PDF.

No credit card or payment information is required for this download.

Because it's FREE.

UPDATE - From Greg Kot of your Chicago Tribune:

A week after releasing his four-volume instrumental work “Ghosts I-IV” through his Web site, Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor is reporting that he amassed more than $1.6 million in orders and downloads.

Yowza! A fella might be able to make music for a living at $1.6M a pop.

Wellstone Mental Health Fairness Bill

The Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act has been scheduled for a vote in the House on Wednesday, March 5th.

Call today! I'm making my 9th trip out to Washington because millions of American lives, and a critical part of my father's legacy, are at stake. After all the years and all the promises, we need to pass mental health and addiction fairness legislation out of the House.

I know it's been a long campaign, but we need you to call one more time.

Call your Member of Congress TODAY and ask them to vote YES on the Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act (HR 1424).

Capitol switchboard: (202) 224-3121 - ask to be connected to your Representative

Let us know you called by sending us an email at info@wellstone.org

Thank you. I'll be in Washington today and tomorrow having last-minute face-to-face meetings with members of Congress and watching the action on the floor on Wednesday. Your calls will be critical grassroots backup to my visits!

Sincerely,

David Wellstone

John Sidney Bigalow: Presidential Gigolo

"John McCain, a man who has disappointed more human beings than the last three Rob Schneider movies, combined." -- Mark Evanier

A Peanuts Presidential Parable

Click Image to Enlarge.

Blue Monday: Imagine

Clinton over Obama on Blackwater et al.

From Democracy Now!

On Thursday, Jeremy Scahill, Democracy Now! correspondent and author of “Blackwater,” reported that Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama would not “rule out” using private military companies like Blackwater Worldwide in Iraq.

Hours later, rival candidate Hillary Clinton called for a ban on the use of private contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan. In a statement posted on her website, Clinton said she would co-sponsor a measure to ban the use of Blackwater and other private military firms.

Although Sen. Clinton's surprising move is laudable, Scahill is sceptical:

Her timing was interesting, to say the least. Why February 28, in the middle of a tough political campaign? Why not after last September's Nisour Square massacre, when Blackwater operatives killed seventeen Iraqi civilians? Or, better, before it? Regardless, this makes Clinton the most significant US political figure to date to issue such a call. We will be monitoring closely how much of a legislative priority this becomes for Senator Clinton.

In my humble opinion, this is one of those occasions where, as long as the politician actuallyt does the right thing, I really don't care why.

Enter Sandman