Sigh
This is just silly. Even if it does predict a landslide victory for Al Gore.

Today's Winners and Losers
Who's making gains, and who's losing traction:

Winners
--The Dixie Chicks
--Al Gore
--South Dakotans (only a preliminary victory)

Losers
--Rick Santorum
--James Taranto
--Religious conservatives with half a spine.

Marsha, Marsha, Marsha.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, right? A-19's very own US Rep. Marsha Blackburn was voted the hottest woman in US politics in politics1.com's recent poll (found via Wonkette).

I'd like to look as hot as she does, so I'm hoping someone can tell me what skin care products, services and procedures she purchases with her Abramoff dollars.

FYI, hottest guy voting begins later this week; I don't think Tennessee will sweep, but I'd put some money on my Senator Obama being in the running.

MEDIA TUESDAY (It's virtually Monday, right?)
What have you been reading, watching, listening to?

Last night I watched "Two Days in October" on PBS' American Experience. Apparently it was originally broadcast last fall, but I hadn't seen it before.

It was about 1967 or now, Vietnam or Iraq, Westy or Rummy. The one thing that's strikingly and disappointingly different is how thousands of Americans took their opposition to the war into the streets in 1967.

Mr. Robinson
Congratulations?

Hurricane Seasons Starts June 1
Chris Rose of the Times-Picayune is afraid. And it looks like for good reason.

Depressing
On a weekend getaway with a few friends to New Orleans (you know, just to help out the economy)...the good news is the hotel has wireless Internet access! But the last few miles of the drive in was bleak, bleak, bleak. A ghost town in spots.

A Winning Ticket
For 2008.

Screen Saver Fun
When he gets stuck, just drag him out into the open. Enjoy. (via TalkLeft)

Bastard
News conference yesterday with Blair

QUESTION: Mr. President, you spoke about missteps and mistakes in Iraq.

Could I ask both of you which missteps and mistakes of your own you most regret?

BUSH: Sounds like kind of a familiar refrain here.

Saying, "Bring it on"; kind of tough talk, you know, that sent the wrong signal to people. I learned some lessons about expressing myself maybe in a little more sophisticated manner, you know. "Wanted, dead or alive"; that kind of talk. I think in certain parts of the world it was misinterpreted. And so I learned from that.

"certain parts of the world"....."misinterpreted."

Echoes of The Sopranos?
Come on...who shoots a rapper in the "upper right arm"? I'm suspicious.

Nice Work, Democrats
Circular Firing Squad in full effect.

The man is on tape. Time to cut him loose. If prosecutors can't put him away with their evidence, then we'll all give him a big wet apology and name him ambassador to someplace nice. In the mean time, don't let the door hit you on the way out.

Could it really all be unraveling for the GOP?
Holy Cow. Maybe this is why Hasert doesn't want law enforcement snooping around congressional offices. Convenient timing of this leak, eh? Maybe the FBI got tired of hearing his sanctimonious crap.

Haha
Tom Delay has finally found a conservative that's willing to offer strong support, so he's featured this new ally's "hard-hitting" interview with filmmaker Robert Greenwald on the front of his "Defend Delay" website. The staunch, America-loving conservative at his side? Stephen Colbert...

CNN = Crappy News Network?

CNN.com recently updated their home page's format to make room for their Pipeline live video thing, and their new layout now maintains a list of 12-13 "latest news" headlines adjacent to the lead story photo. Since that change, there are consistently 5-6 useless topic headlines in that chunk of prime real estate, usually including Paris Hilton, Brittney Spears, American Idol, crazy animal stories, and things you used to see as "news of the weird" or on a Fox TV video "caught on tape" show.

As we speak:
Dashcam shows SUV flipping, rolling off road
Lawyer: 3 kids tossed in bay as sacrifice
Tape shows wife on fire, husband pouring gas
Atheist sues Catholic Church for proof of Jesus
SI.com: Jeb Bush for NFL commissioner?
Prankster finds giant hamster wheel in his room

There was one yesterday about a dog too fat to walk from being fed donuts and beer. Ha ha, cruelty is so funny that I don't care anymore about Iraq, NSA spying, fencing the border, or melting glaciers.

I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired.

Al and Katie
Atrios has video of Gore on the Today Show.

OK This Could Be Bad, Right? [UPDATED]
Longtime readers will remember that the bird flu scares the crap out of me. This seems to me especially bad news.

All seven people infected with bird flu in a cluster of Indonesian cases can be linked to other patients, according to disease trackers investigating possible human-to-human transmission of the H5N1 virus.

A team of international experts has been unable to find animals that might have infected the people, the World Health Organization said in a statement today. In one case, a 10-year- old boy who caught the virus from his aunt may have passed it to his father, the first time officials have seen evidence of a three-person chain of infection, an agency spokeswoman said. Six of the seven people have died.

A highly contagious human-to-human strain of H5N1 is a nightmare scenario. Sooo...everyone have a good day!

[UPDATE: Reuters reports 3 factors in this case that hopefully point this development away from the realm of global pandemic. One, there is no evidence of significant mutation in the strain found on the family (though they will only know of its contagion when it happens). Two, the family apparently had killed animals recently for a feast of some sort and this region has been notoriously uncooperative in animal testing. So, they may have all been infected through animal contact. Three, there is evidence of a genetic predisposition that could make some more likely to be infected, which again could explain why the family all was highly contagious, without necessitating that the virus easily spreads among all humans, which would be the worst possible explanation.]

Renege
At least he didn't say "read my lips." If you're worried that your teen might be on the verge of becoming a Republican, you can tell them this story, of one of the ways the Bush Administration is trying to help pay for tax cuts to the richest Americans and corporations. From David Cay Johnston, author of "Perfectly Legal", in Sunday's NYTimes:

The $69 billion tax cut bill that President Bush signed this week tripled tax rates for teenagers with college savings funds, despite Mr. Bush's 1999 pledge to veto any tax increase.

Under the new law, teenagers age 14 to 17 with investment income will now be taxed at the same rate as their parents, not at their own rates. Long-term capital gains and dividends that had been taxed at 5 percent will now be taxed at 15 percent. Interest that had been taxed at 10 percent will now be taxed at as much as 35 percent.

We wouldn't want to accidentally offer any encouragement for kids to save for college now would we?

Why Bother?
Come on, Chris. You're a good Senator and leader. But, can we not waste time on this?

On the Gore Bandwagon
Shorter Bill Clinton: "Me Too!"

I'm sure the coming wave of attention Al Gore may receive will be hard on Bill Clinton's ego, and I'm sure his desire to see Hillary President will have him eager to see Al trip up. But Slick better not do something to sabotage an Al Gore resurgence that might propel him into the Presidential race.