I'm going to try to start reviewing the comics I get every wednesday, at least a little bit. So here come the mini-reviews!

Flash #220: Flash is, I now realize, my soap Opera. My "stories" if you will. There hasn't been a real spectacular arc since Ignition, but each issue tells a little story and it's always going somewhere and I just really like the characters. Following that pattern, 220 was fun, but nothing to get your panties in a ruff over. The issue does serve to kick off the Rogue War, though, which will be great. Johns has had a real knack for fleshing out the Rogues, especially Captain Cold and Mirror Master (taking the Grant Morrison version from Animal Man and just running with him) , so I'm hyped.

Speaking of hype... Countdown #1: Nobody will ever call it by its full name in conversation, so screw it. My first impression was that it was kind of blah and certainly not a whole story unto itself, but just a setup for the 4 miniseries that spring out of it. The boys over at Fourth Rail certainly don't appreciate it's dark tone, but then I got to thinking about both of those criticisms together. If this is truly heading to another Crisis event and universal reboot (no telling how that affects continuity dependent titles like Birds of Prey or Teen Titans) then it is a brilliant plan. Treat the next year or two as end game. Sort of a "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow" or Marvel's "the End" series for the whole universe. Betrayal, intrigue, no more fun and games. We hit a low point for all the heroes, plotwise and thematically, see where the chips fall, bring what is essentially a 20 year long story of an entire universe to a close, and then there's a crisis and we restart. If that's what is about to happen then I say "holy fucking bravo Mr. Didio." Otherwise maybe it'll justbe a year full of crappy crossovers.

Elk's Run: I picked this up because people were talking about it on the Isotope board, and was very glad I did. I've been dipping my toes in the new wave of horror comics slowly but surely. Still haven't read 30 Days of Night, but I tried Secret Skull, which was cool but not enough to keep me engaged. Elk's Run, though, has me from hello. It's mostly a creepy small town story, but told from the inside, from the perspective of the teens who aren't allowed to leave... ever. Supposedly each issue is from the perspective of a different character and I already can't wait for certain characters to get their moments. Consider me a fan.

Batman #who cares: I didn't buy it, because I don't like Winnick much, but I just had to know if the rumors were true, so I flipped through at Meltdown. Sure enough it looks like the new Red Hood is Jason Todd. Booooo. BOOOOOOO! How lazy can you get? Between this and Hush I will be more than happy for them to erase continuity next year.

So, America is officially the most entertaining country on Earth. Why? Because Jesse Jackson has now entered the fray down in Florida.

"I feel so passionate about this injustice being done, how unnecessary it is to deny her a feeding tube, water, not even ice to be used for her parched lips," he said. "This is a moral issue and it transcends politics and family disputes."

If I see Jesse Jackson hugging and praying with Tom Delay or Jeb Bush in the next few days, my head will explode.

You know, you hear a lot about how he's everyone's President, and how bad it is to say that he isn't YOUR President just because you didn;t vote for him. And yet the GOP-only speaking engagements continue, as some kid gets his ticket torn up because of a ‘Threatening’ T-shirt. I've seen all the presidents of my lifetime in person except for W, and I expect that I will never see him, being as how I'm a Liberal. I won't sign a loyalty oath and I'll wear a Dem t-shirt if I want to. Why the hell should not be allowed to see my President speak? And if he wants to act like a wee mewling baby about this then what exactly is happening that makes me think he is MY President at all?

I guess we were too busy (myself included) fretting over the Michael Jackson trial, Barry Bonds, and a feeding tube in Florida to notice that 1 million Taiwanese gathered to protest China and support democracy and all that good stuff. 'Tis the season for pro-democracy protests, it would seem.

Since I'm increasingly hung up on ending America's oil-based, um, everything, I enjoyed this opinion column in today's LA Times. It profiles a group that has figured out a bunch of cool stats that will result if Americans start buying hybrids en masse.

Set America Free estimates that if we convert entirely to flexible-fuel, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, U.S. gasoline imports in 20 years will drop by two-thirds. As important, because Americans are the world's biggest car buyers, U.S. preferences would reshape the global automotive industry. Carmakers would wind up shipping hybrid electrics to Europe and Asia too. President Bush could hasten the transition through an international agreement to move major economies away from oil dependency. This would not only reduce the Middle East's strategic importance but also help reduce emissions to Kyoto-mandated levels.

The Army's falling behind on the recruiting game, because nobody in their right mind would want to go to Iraq at this late stage in the game and become that "One Solider Killed Today By Roadside Bomb in Mosul" headline.

So, what's the Army going to do? Why emphasize patriotism! I'm sort of in shock that it's taken the Army God-knows-how-many ad campaigns to finally realize that appealing to people's patriotic heartstrings might just be the best way to get people to join a profession that requires them to fight and die for their flag.

Here's Digby, saying what I was trying to articulate the other day, only much better:

"That is not to say that we have no concept of the common good. Americans once came to a consensus that the government was the most democratic means of helping people to mitigate the pitfalls of capitalism and ensuring all of its citizens a fair shake. But we have never seen it as a means to legislate what people do behind closed doors or when making the most personal life decisions about their marriages, families or their own bodies. We believe that the government is far too clumsy a mechanism for such delicate matters. The individual reigns supreme over himself. All we ask is citizens pitch in for the national defense, the running of the government, social services to help the weakest among us and insure themselves against the risks they must take in a dynamic capitalistic system."

(And no, not those pics of Quin and the Ace Man)

I'm talking about Congress inviting Yushchenko to speak.

Reason has an essay up arguing that bad things may soon happen when ideologues seize on the science behind last-month's SCOTUS verdict, which ended the death penalty for people convicted as teens.

Already the immature teen brain argument has been used by legislators to impose various restrictions on teenage drivers, including limits on times they can drive, the number of passengers they can carry, and their use of mobile phones. That may appear reasonable; after all, teenagers do account disproportionately for traffic accidents.

Progressives who applauded the Supreme Court's decision with regard to imposing the death penalty might not be so happy when conservatives turn around and use that decision to justify imposing more parental consent laws on teenage women who are seeking an abortion. And will statutory rape lawsneed to be revised in light of the findings with regard to the immaturity of teenage brains? Furthermore, if teenagers aren't responsible for their actions with regard to violence, driving, or sex, how can they be expected to cast their ballots responsibly in elections? For that matter, how can teenagers responsibly sign up for military service? And surely the immaturity defense can be used by the tens of thousands of juveniles who are arrested each year for drug abuse offenses.

I think this is going to prove a real mess.

Well, at the very end this post turns into a cheap joke about the President totaally bonin' Jeff Gannon, but that aside I think it's safe to say that Bush has some kind of creepy bald fetish. You think Laura wears a wig?

Hey, Asa, I don't think we've ever talked about this, but what is your position on capital punishment?

So, this might break a record for the most out-of-touch Congress has ever been with regard to the American People.

Hey kids, it's the National Tom DeLay Doesn't Get To Choose If I Live Or Die Registry.

I tore an ad for this building out of an issue of Variety. It seems like the most terrifying place you could ever think of living, but it does look really cool. Marvel at it's atrocious fear inducing glory.

Wowsers. The second miniseries start-up in Grant Morrison's recompressed storytelling mega-experiment Seven Soldiers is the reboot of "The Guardian", and it just got double 10s from the guys over at TheFourthRail.com. I don't think I've ever seen that happen before.

I was less than enthralled by Shining Knight, although the art was gorgeous, but this sounded more up my alley anyway and now I'm really excited.

As Schiavo-mania continues to consume Mastodon City in a wave of mass riots, it has had the bonus effect of finally coalescing something I've been thinking about for a while. We hear a lot that the Liberals have no strong moral code (or some equivalent term) and that they are simply following polls or interest groups or some odd lumped together remnant of the New Deal. While I think we've lost sight of how to articulate our guiding principles cleanly I don't think they're gone.

Congressional Republicans want to make this about saving Terry Schiavo's "life" even though there's nothing left of it. And to do that they are dragging private citizens into a huge spectacle they shouldn't have to be part of. Wouldn't you hate to be Michael Schiavo, who now has both houses of Congress telling him from on high what a horrible monster of a wife murdering bastard he is? For someone who has done nothing illegal that has to feel pretty nasty coming from your elected representatives.

Democrats, on the other hand, are certainly not united on the Right To Die question, which is fine because for the most part we haven't had a proper debate about it. Mind you I agre with Alex that they should let her die, but I know a lot of Democrats feel differently, and that's fine. Dems do know an incredible and unjustifiable power grab when they see one though. This is not the proper channel for this case. It has gone through ALL the proper channels and there's no reason it should end up in the halls of congress. Especially when Republicans keep telling us these bills they want to pass only apply to Terry Schiavo. So the only precedent they will be setting will not be one of saving the lives of coma patients (hey, Universal Healthcare would go a long way towards that! Where's your support?) but rather one of the Legislature getting up and overturning any specific Judicial decision they decide they don't like. Specific being the key word there. That's not how it's supposed to work, and they know it.

And I do really think that comparing this sort of thing with actual proposal, debate and passage of bills, or cases which legitimately come before the Supreme Court and are decided on the merits, is intellectually dishonest. It isn't the same thing at all.

It's kind of like the torture debate. Bushies keep saying, effectively, that if you don't support torture then you want terrorists to win, but for a lot of Dems being anti-torture is simply a moral issue. Did you know that the number of captives who have dies in US custody in Iraq and Afghanistan is now quickly approaching, and will certainly surpass, the number of Americans who died in custody of North Vietnam during the entire Vietnam war? (via Roachblog) That, to me, seems like a problematic moral situation. I think a lot of Republicans have bought their own hype about liberals having no strong moral values, but its only because they disagree with them. Those of us who are anti-war spring to mind.

Somehow it never occurs to anyone that pacifism, just as much as being pro-life, or any other major belief, is a strong moral decision one makes. It isn't just because war is icky, or because we're wimps. It's about believing that war is wrong and other solutions can be found. As, with Iraq, they undoubtedly could have. Now as with everything there are gray areas. Even if you outlawed abortions you might want to be reasonable and allow them in the case of rape or danger to the mother's health. Similarly, I think that in extreme cases many pacifists would admit that you simply have to go to war. This doesn't make your morals any weaker.

It is helpful, I find, to think of it as a venn diagram, with libertarians in the center. Economic libertarians and social conservatives form the Republican party on one side (I guess the right) and on the other side you have the social libertarians and the Economic liberals. Yes we believe that government can and should structure society to a degree and provide the basic needs of its citizens, including things like poverty assistance, health care, and the protection of basic rights and equality. But one of those things the government provides is freedom, and so it only gets to go so far. The government should only be getting involved in bedrooms and hospital rooms if it is to enforce safety (in the form of abuse or malpractice). Otherwise they can bug off. Think about it... abortion rights, gay marriage, Terry Schiavo, these are all about defending the personal liberties of consenting adults. It is the GOP who has so magnanimously decided to inject itself into the private decisions of citizens across the land.

Thanks a bunch guys.

Alan just finished Preacher, by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon, and said what we were all thinking... "I wish I could keep reading." Yeah, if only it were a Hellblazer-esque ongoing. I felt the same way about Transmetropolitan, even though that probably has less potential for eternal ongoing-ness.

But yes, Preacher is just so good it hurts. Read it.

I wish I could produce a better review right now, but it's been awhile since I read the whole thing, and I only own the first two (thanks to Alan). But suffice it to say that despite a lull in the middle the story, characters, and art are all pretty incredible. The way the Jesse/Cassidy relationship develops is heartbreaking and infuriating at the same time. And the Jesse/Tulip story is one of the most in the gutters depictions of true, pure, romantic love you can imagine. It's true love, and it's dirty and hard as all hell.

ps- I'm running out of room on my DC shelf. If I buy any more preacher the whole series has to get moved. Especially to make room for my eventual purchase of New Frontiers. Stupid DC, sometimes you really fucking suck.

Jonah Goldberg looks at the Left's strange zig-zags with regard to Federal intervention in health and others matters.

I'm disgusted with the faux moral outrage from liberals who are stunned by the idea that the federal government might get involved in issues like this. This is the party which danced a jig over the Violence Against Women Act and which has defined a vast swath of its political raison d'etre around the idea that the federal government should jealously guard the right to abortion and the right to appeal a death sentence in federal courts. And it is now scandalized that the Republican Party is trying to prevent a state court from killing a woman.

It's okay for Washington to meddle when a husband slaps his wife, but it's outrageous when Washington tries to stop a husband from killing his wife? It's mandatory that a federal judge make sure a minority isn't passed-over for a promotion, but it's a rejection of the rule of law for a federal judge to make sure that a woman isn't wrongfully starved to death? Thanks to the hard work of Democrats states can't set their own drinking age or voting age, but suddenly state judges should be The Word of God when it comes to slowly killing citizens. I don't get it.

I, unfortunately, get it.

I lived in Connecticut till I was 11, WA-State till I was 18 (well, I moved to CA full-time when I was 22).

Anyway, of the five Republicans who voted against the Schiavo Bill, one was from CT and one was from WA.

Here are the five:

Ginny Brown-Waite (Fla.), Mike Castle (Del.), Charles Dent (Penn.), David Reichert (Wash.), and Chris Shays (Conn.)

Reichart is actually a pretty big deal up in WA, as he was a locally famous sheriff who defeated a locally famous radio show host. He represents WA's 8th Congressional District, which extends from the McMansions of Issaqua, to the rural mountain towns of the Cascades.

Via Atrios we learn that in 1999 Bush signed a bill that allows hospitals to remove the feeding tube (or whatever) from terminal patients, even against the family's wishes, if the family cannot pay for care. So Terry Schiavo, who very likely requested to be removed from her machines, simply MUST be kept on them. It's a moral imperative. God, or at least the people who think they speak for him, have said so. It's so important, in fact, that it's worth demolishing a few layers of separation of powers and instituting a pretty extreme level of Federalism.

But if you're in Texas and you're poor, you know, you can go fuck off and die.

Literally.

A-hahahahahah.

Teens who pledge to remain virgins until marriage are more likely to take chances with other kinds of sex that increase the risk of sexually transmitted diseases, a study of 12,000 adolescents suggests ...

Among virgins, boys who have pledged abstinence were four times more likely to have had anal sex, according to the study. Overall, pledgers were six times more likely to have oral sex than teens who have remained abstinent but not as part of a pledge.

The pledging group was also less likely to use condoms during their first sexual experience or get tested for STDs, the researchers found.

I must say, though, that socially-speaking, this news is REALLY bad news for those teen guys high on abstinence. Now they're EVEN more likely to be called fags by their friends.

So, there's this brain dead woman in Florida whose husband has been dying (wink-wink) to pull the plug on. Now, I'm extremely libertarian when it comes to the right to die and abort babies.

But, I have to say, isn't there a more humane way to die than what they plan for this Florida lady?

Right now, her choices are: A. Live as a vegetable and make religious people happy. Or, B. Slowly starve to death after dear hubby pulls the feeding tube.

Keep in mind, that just two weeks ago this country's highest court ruled that the killing of murderers sentenced to die as teenagers *was* inhumane. How can letting a man starve his wife to death be tolerated? I mean, have the court order a lethal injection, a pillow smothering -- anything! But starving? Ugh. So much for "dying with dignity."

Liz wants to know the name of a song they play on 103.1 and has emailed the station to find the answer to her query. We join our players here...

Asa: ClearChannel will solve all of your probleems!
Liz: ClearChannel actually doesn't own the station
Liz: they just sell adverising for it
Asa: really?
Liz: yeah
Asa: thats nice to know
Asa: an urban myth!
Liz: I know
Asa: for the coporo-digital age
Asa: oooh, I like that term
Liz: you should blog about it on your blog
Asa: and then blog about my blog on your metablog?
Liz: ironically, I also hear that ClearChannel may be dropping 103.1

There's so much modernity wrapped up in that exchange that I can barely handle it. So I probably will post about it on the
metablog just to complete the cycle. Oh the hideous cycle.

But yeah, I remember being quite aghast when I "learned" Clear Channel owned "Indy" 103. I mean, how Orwellian do you want to get? Or should I say "Munroe-ian" since Jim Munroe actually wrote a whole book about the MegaComs taking their assimilation of counterculture (see:Punk Rock) a step further by actually starting counter-culture movements themselves, with an entire brand marketing campaign in the wings. Angry Young Spaceman. Even though it turns out ClearChannel DOESN'T own Indy 103.1 it's still worth a look.

On the more important and/or interesting point here, I do think corporo-digital age is a pretty good term, and while maybe a bit long it does sum up the two major factors of the times we live in. Love it or hate it (ie Right or Left) I don't think there's much denying that corporations enjoy the most power they have since before the New Deal, and they're a whole hell of a lot larger nowadays. I think this, and the way it filters into the corporate media (the so-called liberal media), the government, and even the schools, is something that some very good books will be written about one day. I'm sure some good books have already been written, but hindsight is 20/20 and all that.

It's a wild ride. Time to hop on your metablog and wonder if they'll be implanting tracking chips in babies within your lifetime.

Sci-fi reasons.

I want one of these. You know, for terrifying young children and any time traveling caveman who gets in my way.

Hmm...early pics from the set of the new Superman seem to signal that Singer is really taking his "It's in the same continuity of Superman I and II" talk seriously.

So, I was just thinking about this...

There are 50 states in the Union, and in order to pass a constitutional amendment (provided it's made it through Congress), you need 38 states to sign off.

But, if you wish to stop that amendment cold, you need *13* states to veto.

13...

This picture...it's so weird.

You know, on second thought, maybe Disney *shouldn't* re-release Song of the South.

Ron Moore is not only a great sci-fi TV writer, he happens to bring out the funniest in his fans.

"Hello, Ron. I have a question about Baltar you ought to answer. One of the things I liked about the original series was the way Baltar did all his chair-swiveling. Boy, he sure looked evil way the frak up there on that big pedestal. And then Lucifer or some other Cylon would come in, and there would be those big, dramatic polytonal chords, and then Baltar would slowly swivel around in his chair to face whatever had come into his room because before they came into his room, he was facing a wall, or something off screen-- who knows what was there. I'm sure there's been a lot of speculation about it. But you see, when you made the new Baltar the way he is-- that is, a non-- chair-swiveller, I didn't think the show could work at all. You've got to have a chair-swiveller in it, and there hasn't been one-- until now. Just as I'm getting used to Callis NOT being a chair-swiveller, there he is at the end of "Tigh Me Up" SWIVELING IN HIS CHAIR! Well, I must say I was very pleased with that, and so now I must ask: Was James Callis's chair-swiveling scene a tribute to John Colicos's chair-swiveling?"

Chair-swiveling is an old and honorable avocation for any accomplished and self-respecting villainous personage. How could its inclusion be anything but a loving tribute?

The Founding Fathers, and God, sit down to write the constitution. It's a silly little dig on the idea of the USA as a Christian Nation, but more importantly it casts the FFs as Junk Scientists of the highest order.

Courtesy of the Beeb.

What does the pledge mean to Americans? A class of six year-olds tell the Big Question they say it "because it makes god happy", "so America can be good" and "for our soldiers, it helps them fight for our country."

Oh, boy...

A Lesson Is Learned But the Damage is Irreversible is really good this week.

Is that thing weekly? I don't check nearly enough. But trust me, good shit.

Alex and I are featured on this podcast, though sadly not Lincoln/Douglas style. Prepare to be dazzled by our vocal stylings.

And, for what it's worth, I just found this BBC article that totally backs me up.

Isotope - the comic book lounge, the coolest place on earth (James Sime will sell you comins AND givee you booze), now comes complete with blog. I have no idea if they do anything worthwhile with thier new technological marvel, but I never waste a chance to plug that glorious, glorious store (just 5.5 hours north!).

There have been a lot of recent 2008 grumblings about Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana, who showed off his partisan credentials, and kept some good lines of attack open, by voting against Condi's confirmation and the recent Bankruptcy bill. Now that's all well and good (although I have some questions about that bankruptcy thing) but I think the real reason we should consider hima strong contender for the Presidency is that on his website he has a section called War on Terrorism. Not "Terror," but "Terrorism." Bless his heart.

PLAGAL.org

So Craigslist now offers you the option to List in Space! Yes, that's right, the next time you want to sell that futon that the last person left in your apartment for Ramen money you can beam that transmission straight into outer space. Hell, maybe the exchange rates are good. That free futon could be worth millions! As long as they don't shine a blacklight on it.

The runoff already happened, and as of this writing he's behind Hahn for the opportunity to get trounced by Villaraigosa in the election, but it's still worth checking out the commercials that gave Bob Hertzberg the best political nickname of my lifetime: "Bobzilla."

Man I hope he makes the election.

Continued recruiting problems for the Armed Forces, as black recruits drop big-time post Iraq War.

Clearly, black youths view the Iraq War differently than white, Hispanic, or Asian youths. But I don't think the divisiveness of the conflict is solely to blame for the low turnout.

I think it's the Armed Forces own recruitment techniques coming back to bite them in the ass. All throughout the '90s and into the '00s the Armed Forces marketed themselves as careers, camps, schools, clubs -- essentially everything but what they really are -- instruments of war.

"The Army said I'll get to learn how to be a mechanic, and then go to college; now they're saying I'll have to go to war!"

Now, I have nothing against the war part. I embrace it. The Armed Forces' job is to kill our enemies and destroy their capacity to wage war against us.

But I've a feeling that even if the Iraq War were more popular, today's pampered, soft (read: cowardly) youths (and I readily include myself in that category) would still not be all that likely to sign up because we've grown up in a time where the Army has been sooooo mismarketed. Yes, we would go hog wild for the war on a flag-waving level, but we'd still be shocked to learn that it involves icky, sticky, killing.

Such is the drawback of an all-volunteer military. While there are many guys who know exactly what they're getting into, the military must nevertheless, "massage" it's marketing to appeal to all those fencesitters. And now I think it's hurting them.

Jolene Blalock all but confirms those rumors from last week about the last episode's crapulence.

There is an awkward silence when the subject of the final episode is broached. "I don't know where to begin with that one," Blalock finally stammers. "The final episode is ... appalling."

Not a bad time, especially for my first marathon. And I didn't even blow out my knee, which is a big plus, helped along by my taking it a bit easy. Family and friends watched my progress live on the internet thanks to a radio transmitter attached to my shoe, which is a pretty great feature. The future is so cool.

The Marathon is... just amazing. You show up downtown at 8 am and run across the start line with tens of thousands of people, while thousands more stand on the side lines cheering their hearts out. Mayor Hahn stands on an overpass to cheer you on and there's confetti everywhere. It is, above all else, surreal.

And that strange sense carries you all by itself for the first few miles. And then the entertainment starts. Sure there are local bands every mile or so, and a really incredible Hispanic choir with 10 year old female soloist, and cheerleaders from all the local schools. But there are also dudes peeing on the median of Exposition Blvd because the first bathrooms don't show up until mile 7. And me getting passed by a guy in a wheelchair. Another guy "running" the race on crutches.

Then there's the camraderie. All us runners and walkers and whatnot are in it together, but so is a fair portion of the city. All those people standing on the sidelines, cheering you on, reaching out a hand for a fleeting high five, makes all the difference in the world. "You're awesome!" "Don't Give Up!" "You can do it!" And some people even stand on front of their houses pasing out water, orange, bananas or in one case beer. "Last cold beer for the next 5.2 miles!"

And when you finish they put a medal around your neck, and give you a rose, and you feel like a fucking champion, even if you have to make excuses for your 05:27:09.

Wish me luck.

That old right-wing crackpot Alan Greenspan is talking about the benefits of a national sales tax.

For those not hip to this increasingly interesting idea, a national sales tax would place about a 20% tax on all goods and services (except for food and beverages), and eliminate personal and corporate income taxes. This way, you're only taxed for what you consume. Personally, I love this idea, but some contend that it would disproportionately tax those under the Poverty Line considering that their consumption rates can often be as high as the Middle Class.

One of the GOP Congressmen supporting the National Sales Tax is supporting a "pre-bate" system, were the poor are exempt from paying the tax, and would essentially get a check every month for the money they would otherwise be taxed.

This sounds confusing and bureaucratic, but it is nevertheless, a pretty original plan.

Perhaps the unseen advantage of a national sales tax is that with people being taxed on what they consume (in the retail sense), they'll be motivated to buy less and practice better self-control, becoming more responsible consumers.

On the other hand...

Usually when people get more money they spend more money. And really, if everyone became super responsible and started buying less with a national sales tax, well, there wouldn't be enough money going into the government in the first place. We'd then need...another tax!

It's all so complicated.

Here's a headline on the NYT's science page:

"The Claim: Plastic Wrap in a Microwave Can Expose Food to Dioxins"

Oh, my God! We're all screwed!

Wrong.

Here's the article's first sentence:

"Plastic wraps and containers will not expose you to dioxins, and they are safe in the microwave when used properly."

I seriously had to read that headline and first sentence about five times to realize that no, plastic wrap won't kill you. It's just a shitty, misdirecting headline.

Gas prices going through the roof -- and into your heart.

Congress is now officially terrorist-proof.

The House overwhelmingly passed legislation that calls for emergency elections, should 100 representatives suddenly find themselves on the receiving end of a shoe bomb.

Of course, Illinois' own Denny Hastert comes through with the obscure historical reference of the day.

"In the event of the unthinkable, this bill strikes a blow to the heart of the terrorists and allows this body to reconstitute itself as quickly as possible, thereby carrying on the spirit of Mason," Mr. Hastert continued, referring to George Mason, a delegate to the Constitutional Convention who argued for the direct election of representatives to the House.

Oh, Hastert. Somebody's been watching too much History Channel.

Let me just say publicly, on this blog, that the new Cash Milliondollars might just be my favorite yet. Asa's talented, folks.

(He's also a communist, but that's beside the point.)

If nothing else, GYWO is always good for fun new ways to descirbe the political landscape.

Why review Million Dollar Baby when the defective yeti will say exactly what I was thinking, even though I didn't realize it until I read it? When I saw the film I probably liked it the most out of everyone I saw it with. But, like Matthew, I don't really care to see it again, and my impression of it dims over time. I think Eastwood as a director is a master of making incredibly cliched films very very well. Sometimes he can pass it off (Unforgiven) and sometimes not (Mystic River). Unforgiven is still by far his best movie, by the way.

Went with Alan to see The Wimbledons play at the House of Blues last night. Granted we missed the first half of the first song because we drove past the venue in the rain and then the band started 5 minutes early. What kind of rock stars are they, anyway? But it was awesome nonetheless.

The new songs are really good, and the songs off the CD are still great. Not sure how to really talk about concerts in a way anyone would care about, so if you don't already listen to them go find them on the internet and listen. Anywho, you know, Kevin was playing the fucking House of Blues, which is awesome. So it was a thrill a minute is what I'm saying here.

We got to go backstage, usually by vaguely lying so that the security guards, who are probably supposed to let us up but only after making weak protests, could save face. Or something. The whole system seemed like an exercise in bulshittery, with everyone going through the motions of something they know they don't need to.

Then I got really tossed off of free beer from the Wimby's green room. And then free beer from the other band's green room next door. When I went for water they were all out, so more beer.

After all that I went out onto what is, from the layout of the place, the back porch, but which actually faces Sunset. Leaned on the rail and watched the Dashboard fans fold out onto the rainy street. I always say that the Sunset Strip feels like Blade Runner, with it's faux everything architecture and giant video billboards. Actually taking it in at night under the drizzle, though, it felt a lot nicer than the ol' Scott dystopia. Maybe if we give it another 30 years...

Oh, and valet at the House of Blues is $15. Now THAT'S a dystopia for you.

I was struck by the revelation today that before each court session, the baliff of the Supreme Court yells, "God Save the United States!"

I'm a sucker for this form of archaic pagaentry, but man, "God Save the United States" sounds REALLY arachaic and rather British, to boot. Anyway, it turns out that it's *not* that strange a saying, historically speaking, as this 18th century song attests.

The staunch conservatives at RedState.org are asking the USA to negotiate directly with Iran. I agree. Iran requires incredibly original thinking, and I can't imagine anything more original than normalizing relations and negotiating one-on-one with those maniacs. I actively root for the idea of seeing Bush strolling down Tehran's broadways, shaking hands with the Mullahs, and inspecting the Revolutionary Guard. If only because it would be ABSOLUTELY insane. But it would work a far lot better than building a $1 trillion army of a million men and then invading that place.

AintitCool supposedly has spoilers for how Enterprise ends. Do read. It's so laughably terrible.

I saw these picks on Instapundit, and thought they were worth sharing.

Here's what some of the pro-democracy protesters look like.

Here are the guys who gathered to support the pro-Syrian government.

make sure you're under 18.

So, SCOTUS says no more sentencing 16 and 17-year-olds to death.

I agree with this actually. (Although I resent being lumped in with the likes of Iran. We were never stoning 9-year-old girls to death for making fun of Our Fearless Leader). And it got me thinking that maybe death penalty advocates (like me) should steal a page from the Clintonian Triangulation Tradition. That is to say, just as Bill and Hill have long campaigned to make abortion, "safe, legal, and rare," why not work to make the death penalty, "humane, legal, and rare?"

This guy seems to think we're heading in that direction.

"The trend seems to be pushing toward the abolition of capital punishment," said Rory K. Little, a former Justice Department official who is now a professor at Hastings College of Law in San Francisco. "But it would be a mistake to predict that these decisions are leading inexorably to abolition. It could be that they cut out all the edges and leave the core that everyone is comfortable with."

Also, not only Amnesty International and anti-death Lefties are happy today. The National Review's pro-life, anti-capital punishment writer, Jonathan Last, is beaming.

Life, all life, is precious. When there is a workable, practical alternative, the government--meaning we the people--should not be in the business of destroying life.

Every time the government executes a prisoner, it hardens us that much more to the act of abortion, or embryonic stem-cell research, or to the every-day moments where mercy is needed.

Mash-Ups, previously thought to be something only for songs, now proves itself in other mediums. This Place Sucks is a Superfriends/Office Space Mash-Up. Awesome.

You can take that as a request to Oprah, or the entertainment execs in the audience.

I would really like Oprah to stop presenting Their Eyes Were Watching God. She's been presenting it for nearly a month now, and I know it will air this weekend, but I doubt that will stop her.

You can also tell that she is Proud To Present Their Eyes Were Watching God. How can you tell? Because the teleivion ads go something like "Oprah Winfrey presents an Oprah Winfrey Production of Their Eyes Were Watching God. Based on the Oprah's Book Club novel by Zora Neal Hurston, Oprah Winfrey presents Halle Berry starring in Their Eyes Were Watching God. Prsented by Oprah Winfrey."

The billboards feature a gigantic sexily leering Halle Berry face, but her name is nowhere to be found. Oh, but Oprah's is. It's right there. I was sure it couldn't actually be Halle Berry because if it were the billboard would say her name. But no, it's her. Presented by Oprah Winfrey. Maybe they felt that putting Halle's name up there would obscure some of her sexy leer, and I know that's important too.

Now I've never read the book, but I know a bunch of kids who read it in high school, and I can guarantee you that if there had been a lot of sex in that book I would have heard about it. But I just heard about how impossible it was to understand anything anyone was saying. And yet I saw the commercial they aired during the Oscars, and let me tell you that Their Eyes are watching something and it sure as hell isn't God.

Maybe it will be better than the book. Thanks Oprah.

...but the Wall Street Journal has a good article up about female chessmasters (or is that chessmistresses?) and the lack thereof.

It never ceases to amaze me how few people are willing to accept that men and women are different, and that *gasp* they might like different things. I mean, how many world class, male mah-jong players are there?