To our readers: Happy, healthy new year!

By GottaLaff

I can't believe it. In only a few hours, it will be an election year. Hang onto your hats!

Meanwhile, I took a shine to this sparkly, clocky, balloony New Years gif:

(via)

Paddy and I wish you the best, happiest, healthiest, most prosperous New Year ever.

Thank you for sharing all the good news with us, and enduring all the bad. Thank you for coming up with amazing, pithy (yes, I just wanted to say "pithy"), hilarious, sweet, thoughtful, insightful comments.

We appreciate you more than you know, and can't wait to make a difference with you in 2010.

PhotOh! Obama the Palin Shoeshiner via, yes, another nasty e-mail

By GottaLaff

Gryphen has the whole story behind this appalling photo. Please go read, and bring your Pepto with you:

Gryphen:

And just to give the people who support this kind of thing a little reality check. Barack Obama is our president, while Sarah Palin is a woman who quit her job, wrote a book full of lies, and is so terrified of me that she had me banned from a public event.

These disgusting, doctored photos never fail to turn my stomach and make me wonder how the cretins who find them so amusing became so pathetically racist. Why were they taught to be that way? Why couldn't they evolve... just a little?

Yeah, yeah, I know.

PhotOh! What a Shmuckola Looks Like

By GottaLaff

This is what a schmuckola looks like:

Follow the link to The Mudflats for details:

Eddie Burke, the local radio hatemonger on KBYR 700-am and Sarah Palin’s golden boy had his show chopped by an hour, and his time slot moved.

A whole hour? Pity.

No it's not. I lied.

And what is it with Barbie McLipSchmutz groupies who can't spell? I mean really... "rascist"?

VIDEO: CNN's Rick Sanchez ambushes Ensign on sex scandal

By GottaLaff

Gotcha:



Aww, someone had to answer actual questions from an actual Tee Vee Machine questioner with actual Tee Vee Machine questions? Unheard of!

Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) does his first CNN interview expecting to discuss terrorism but gets grilled on his sex scandal instead. It's must-watch video.

"Sir, that's an illegality." Why, it most certainly is.

Wait. What? Confrontation? Attempts to get the truth? On a "news" program? Other than on The Rachel Maddow Show?

Of course, that doesn't mean Sanchez got answers... but kudos!

Breaking: N. Korea wants to end hostile relations with U.S.

By GottaLaff

Via a Yahoo e-mail alert:

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) North Korea calls for an end of hostile relations with the U.S. in New Year's message.\

I hope 2010 is better than 2009 in many ways. In some ways, it was wonderful, but this news is more than welcome.

Judge dismisses all charges against Blackwater guards in deadly Baghdad shooting.

By GottaLaff

This turns my stomach. I can't see how the Blackwater thugs can skate on this. Via an e-mail alert:

WASHINGTON (AP) Judge dismisses all charges against Blackwater guards in deadly Baghdad shooting.

More when I get it. Meantime, Cable Guy is here, and I'll be offline for a few, so this is all I can post on this for now.

UPDATE, via an L.A. Times alert:

A federal judge has dismissed all charges against five Blackwater Worldwide security guards charged in a deadly Baghdad shooting in 2007.

U.S. District Judge Ricardo Urbina said today the Justice Department overstepped its bounds and wrongly used evidence it was not allowed to see. He said the government's explanations have been contradictory, unbelievable and not credible.

Blackwater contractors were hired to guard State Department diplomats in Iraq. Prosecutors say the guards fired on unarmed civilians in a busy intersection, killing innocent people.

More soon at: http://www.latimes.com/

UPDATE: Here is the document dismissing Blackwater. This should go over well with already-angry-at-America types.

AP sources: Suicide bomber was invited on base

By GottaLaff

(GoogleEarth)

FOB Chapman is also home to Khost's Provincial Reconstruction Team

What a horror story:

The Associated Press has learned that the suicide bomber who killed seven CIA employees at a remote outpost in southeastern Afghanistan had been invited onto the base and was not searched.

A former senior intelligence official says the man was being courted as an informant and that it was the first time he had been brought inside the camp.

New Years resolutions for Obama - from Karl Rove

By GottaLaff

Good god. Look which recently divorced lying sonofabitch is giving President Obama and his cabinet advice.

On second thought, I won't dignify this with a post. If you're interested and have a strong stomach, go here.

President Obama's Letter to CIA Employees

By GottaLaff

Via MSNBC: Leon Panetta said that news was slow to come out about the CIA workers who were killed, because they wanted to personally notify each family before releasing news about them:

To the men and women of the CIA:

I write to mark a sad occasion in the history of the CIA and our country. Yesterday, seven Americans in Afghanistan gave their lives in service to their country. Michelle and I have their families, friends and colleagues in our thoughts and prayers.

These brave Americans were part of a long line of patriots who have made great sacrifices for their fellow citizens, and for our way of life. The United States would not be able to maintain the freedom and security that we cherish without decades of service from the dedicated men and women of the CIA. You have helped us understand the world as it is, and taken great risks to protect our country. You have served in the shadows, and your sacrifices have sometimes been unknown to your fellow citizens, your friends, and even your families.

In recent years, the CIA has been tested as never before. Since our country was attacked on September 11, 2001, you have served on the frontlines in directly confronting the dangers of the 21st century. Because of your service, plots have been disrupted, American lives have been saved, and our Allies and partners have been more secure. Your triumphs and even your names may be unknown to your fellow Americans, but your service is deeply appreciated. Indeed, I know firsthand the excellent quality of your work because I rely on it every day.

The men and women who gave their lives in Afghanistan did their duty with courage, honor and excellence, and we must draw strength from the example of their sacrifice. They will take their place on the Memorial Wall at Langley alongside so many other heroes who gave their lives on behalf of their country. And they will live on in the hearts of those who loved them, and in the freedom that they gave their lives to defend.

May God bless the memory of those we lost, and may God bless the United States of America.

President Barack Obama

Pray For Rush Limbaugh!

By GottaLaff



Oh how I love it when Babzter fowards me these e-mails. They bring a smile to my face, warmth to my heart, and evil laughter from deep within:

A message to all members of Team Sarah

Team,

I come to you this evening with serious news about a great American who needs our prayers.

Rush Limbaigh, champion of values such as life, liberty, and the free market, was rushed to the hospital in Hawaii this evening and, according to reports, may be in "serious" condition.

Appranetly, pramedics were called when Rush complained of chest pains and he has been taken to an area hospital.

Members of Team Sarah in the Rush Limbaugh Fans for Sarah Group are following this and you can visit their group to learn more or to offer your own thoughts.

May God be with Ruish Limbaugh and his friends and family, and at this critical hour when voices such as his are refreshing and badly needed, may God be with his fans and the nation.

May Rush recover quickly,

Bill Collier
Team sarah Governace

PS we will be monitering this story and will, hopefully, be sending you and update when we learn that Rush is recovering.

Thank the lordy that Bill is "monitering" this story! For a minute there, I thought nobody cared.

Oh wait. Nobody does.

By the way.. what do "appranetly", "pramedics", and "Governace" mean? Who is this "Ruish" they speak of? And why doesn't "sarah" deserve to get her very own capital S? Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

Now back to watching Rachel Maddow, who IMHO, is so much more "refreshing" than Ruish.

H/t: Babzter

Unpatriotic: Special Comment by my 72-year-old friend

By GottaLaff

(via)

My very caring, impassioned 72-year-old Twitter pal, who goes by the name 42bkdodgr, would like to share his feelings about the inappropriate false GOP patriotism and incessant fear/smear mongering as an unwelcome revival of the BushCo "War on Terrorism" theme rears its ugly head. I am more than happy to oblige.

But first, a personal note from 42bkdodgr:

Many of you may wonder why I chose to use the “ 72 year old friend” as the introduction to my Special Comments. I selected the moniker so readers could see that from my age and life experiences I give a different perspective to the issues of today.

Now for his Special Comment:

Unpatriotic

Time and time again the Republicans have proven they care more about party ideology than working with President Obama and the Democrats for what's best for the American people.

We have seen this behavior in their delaying for almost a month, the extension of unemployment insurance, dearly needed by many Americans, before they all voted in favor; and we also saw it during the debate on health care reform in both houses of Congress.

Now we are seeing it again with Republicans trying to make political hay out of the attempted Christmas Day bombing of a U.S. airliner. Instead of working with and standing by the President, they are sniping at him.

One can only imagine how the Republicans would have acted on September 11, 2001 if any Democrat had acted like Rep. Peter Hoekstra did in using the incident of Christmas day as the basis for sending out a fund raising letter. They would have been called unpatriotic.

Then there is Senator DeMint who is holding up Senate approval of Erroll Southers to head the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Agency. The reason given by DeMint is that Mr. Southers might unionize the TSA agents.

So for DeMint, it seems unions are a greater terrorist threat than Al-Qaeda terrorists. One can only shake ones head at this logic. What is even scarier, Senator DeMint is still saying he is doing the right thing, but now he is saying the Democrats are trying to rush the nominee vote; even though its been over 3 months since Obama nominated Southers for the position.

Republicans and Dick Cheney keep saying that Obama is not aggressively fighting terrorists to protect the country. I guess they don’t consider U.S. aided attacks in Yemen, on December 24th and another one the previous week, against Al-Qaeda and possibly killing two of its leaders, as not being aggressive enough.

Dick Cheney and the Republicans seem to forget President Bush let bin Laden escape from Afghanistan while his administration prepared for an unnecessary war with Iraq, based on lies and misinformation.

Not only was the war unnecessary but it help recruit more terrorists for Al-Qaeda around the world.

From the Republican outcry, I can only assume they prefer a President who uses color coded alerts before holidays and elections, that scare and frighten the American public, for political advantage in order to make it appear his administration is on top of terrorists' activities.

I certainly don’t want a president to act in such a manner; but if President Obama had used such tactics, I can assure you that Republicans would have found fault with him anyway. What we don’t need at this time are fear tactics, but some sane reasoning to resolve the difficult problem of travel security for American citizens and how to protect this country against future terrorist attacks.

Its time for the Republican Party to act as true patriots, that they always claim to be, and work with President Obama to ensure our country and all Americans around the world are safe from terrorist attacks.

Many thanks again for another interesting, relevant piece, 42bkdodgr. You never fail to say what so many of us are thinking and feeling, and we thank you for your unique perspective.

'I'm Alive,' Says Yemen Radical Anwar Awlaki Despite U.S. Attack

By GottaLaff

This SITE Intelligence Group handout photo obtained November 10, 2009 shows Anwar al-Awlaki, a former US resident living in Yemen and accused al-Qaeda supporter, who commented on his website on November 9, 2009, that the attack at Fort Hood perpetrated by the alleged gunman, Major Nidal Hasan, is a "heroic act."

(AFP, via newscom.com)

I have a feeling this guy is another one of those who will be pronounced dead about five more times before he actually pops off for real:

A week after U.S. and Yemeni officials said the radical Yemen cleric Anwar Awlaki may have been killed in a U.S.-backed Christmas eve air strike, a Yemeni journalist says Awlaki has surfaced to proclaim, "I'm alive."

We need better aim.

Pastor Rick Warren's church reports shortfall

By GottaLaff

Aww, $784892379237 isn't enough to keep the big guy afloat?

Evangelical pastor Rick Warren appealed to parishioners at his Orange County megachurch Wednesday to help fill a $900,000 deficit by the first of the year.

[...] "Dear Saddleback Family, THIS IS AN URGENT LETTER."

"With 10 percent of our church family out of work due to the recession, our expenses in caring for our community in 2009 rose dramatically while our income stagnated," the letter reads.

"Stagnation". What a perfect word to associate with Rev Ricky.

"On the last weekend of 2009, our total offerings were less than half of what we normally receive - leaving us $900,000 in the red for the year," the letter reads.

I guess the invisible man upstairs didn't feel someone who doesn't love some of his fellow men as much as others was worth it.

Shallow Thoughts: Best and Worst Lists edition

By GottaLaff

Today's Shallow Thought:

I was going to make a list of Best and Worst Lists of the Decade's Top 10 Lists, but thought the better of it.

That was today's Shallow Thought. Thank you for wading in.

MId Day Distraction

Raw Video: Australia Welcomes in 2010

The top 10 weirdest moments of 2009

Via Politico, but this list seems pretty comprehensive.

Obama gets sworn in — twice

Sarah Palin resigns

Sheila Jackson-Lee addresses Michael Jackson's funeral

Patti Blagojevich teams up with Heidi and Spencer on reality TV

The White House beer summit

Sanford confesses — and confesses, and confesses

Tom DeLay goes on "Dancing With the Stars"

Bloomberg, Gingrich and Sharpton team up

Who's the leader of the GOP?

Doug Hoffman says ACORN stole his election

Video- Matthews and Walsh Slam Ron Christie for Cheney's Hackery

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Christie is like a robot in his defense, but Joan and Tweety are in good form.

Video- Must see moments of 2009

Via Politico.

Jobless claims drop two weeks in a row

Bit by bit the sun is peeking thru, great way to head into 2010.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- First-time claims for U.S. unemployment insurance benefits dropped by 22,000 in the week ending Dec. 26, the U.S. Department of Labor said Thursday.

It was the second consecutive week of declines. A week ago, 28,000 fewer first-time claims were filed compared to the previous week.

In the latest report, the 432,000 initial claims contributed to a four-week rolling average of 460,250, which was a decrease of 5,500 from the previous week's average.

Cartoon of the Day

Via.

Thursday Links

Am I the only person who will be firmly planted in my couch tonight or are you young'uns gonna be out partying like dogs?

The Year in Animals- The Best of Two Thousand and Swine

Rumors abound that new Leonardo da Vinci painting has been found in Boston

Artist buys £3,000 home slipping into the sea ... to paint it being washed away

Tweets, sexting "unfriended" in U.S. banned word list

Washington Post: White House visitors log reflects Obama agenda
Tens of thousands of people poured through the White House in September, including many who visited as part of organized outreach by the Obama administration to particularly important constituencies, according to visitor logs that were released Wednesday.

Mailman to deliver aid in case of anthrax attack

'Vaginal corona' makes Swedish 2009 word list

The dumb and the pants-less: 2009's dimmest criminals

Russia considering sending spacecraft to knock asteroid off path and prevent Earth collision

Washington Post: Democrats may take power from superdelegates
Eighteen months removed from a protracted presidential primary fight, a group of Democrats gathered by President Obama has recommended that the party effectively eliminate the influence of so-called superdelegates by redefining their voting power.

Video- Limbaugh Resting Comfortably After Taken to Hospital

Must take high road...

Overnight Thread

Kingsford Goes to the Beach - For more funny movies, click here Via.

Neat listing of all the different New Year's Eve countdown and marathon shows here.

3 of 4 Americans Agree: 2010 Offers Hope

We may be willfully ignorant, but we're optimistic about it!!!

(AP) For all their differences, Americans largely agree on two things: 2009 was a lousy year for the nation, and 2010 is likely to be better.

Nearly three-fourths of Americans think 2009 was a bad year for the country, which was rocked by job losses, home foreclosures and economic sickness. Forty-two percent rated it "very bad," according to the latest AP-GfK poll.

(snip)

Fewer than half as many people, 16 percent, said their family had a "very good year" in 2009 as said that in 2006.

Behind the gloominess, however, are more hopeful views that seem to reflect Americans' traditional optimism or, perhaps, wishful thinking.

Even though most said it was a bad year for the country, three in five Americans said their own family had a good year in 2009, while about two in five called it a bad year.

Some 72 percent of Americans said they're optimistic about what 2010 will bring for the country. Even more, four in five, are optimistic about what the year will bring for their families.

The White House responds to Cheney

Go read the whole thing here, but this is the money quote-

There are numerous other such public statements that explicitly state we are at war. The difference is this: President Obama doesn’t need to beat his chest to prove it, and – unlike the last Administration – we are not at war with a tactic (“terrorism”), we at war with something that is tangible: al Qaeda and its violent extremist allies. And we will prosecute that war as long as the American people are endangered.

Video- Rep Eric Massa smacks back at Dick Cheney

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Very pretty.

Pulsing It

They're such hipsters, those Obama kids!! Via Taegan-

Lynn Sweet notes the new language used by a senior White House official in a background briefing -- "pulsing it" and "pulsing the system" -- refers to how the administration is scrambling to find out about the recent intelligence failures that led to an attempted airplane bombing.

She suggests it's "a new term that may catch on and be part of the political or government lexicon."

Video- New tagline claims Fox is a real news channel: “Hard News. Real Reporting.”

Via Jed.

Decade's Top 10 most overhyped stories

Some of my most overhyped stories are also from yesterday's most memorable lines- The Dean Scream and the Kerry Flip Flop, both just beat into the ground over nothing. And just let me say that there were days that Giuliani and Thompson were the only fun to be had in the primaries, and I missed them both when they dropped out. Via First Read.

1. WMD/Iraq as an imminent threat

2. Joe the Plumber

3. Rudy Giuliani/Fred Thompson (tie)

4. The public option

5. Color-coded DHS terror-threat alerts

6. The Obama-Clinton battle over mandates

7. Those PUMAs

8. Bill Ayers

9. Al Gore endorsing Howard Dean

10. The West Virginia Primary

Afternoon Distraction

Made my day.

Video- Worst Portrait of President Obama Ever

Portrait at about :20 in. "I am like a blind painter who gropes in the dark". Yeah huh you are.

Top 25 Cable News Programs of 2009 (By Viewers)

We're a willfully ignorant country. Via TVNewser.

1. The O'Reilly Factor - 3.34M
2. Hannity - 2.51M
3. Glenn Beck - 2.32M
4. Special Report - 2.04M
5. On The Record - 1.97M
6. The Fox Report - 1.88M
7. O'Reilly Factor (11pm Rpt) - 1.51M
8. Your World - 1.48M
9. Americas Newsroom - 1.43M
10. Studio B - 1.21M
11. Countdown - 1.16M
12. Happening Now - 1.15M
13. The Live Desk - 1.10M

14. Larry King Live - 1.10M
15. Fox & Friends - 1.03M
16. Rachel Maddow - 1.02M
17. AC360 - 978k
18. Nancy Grace - 943k
19. Campbell Brown - 831k
20. Situation Room - 831k
21. Lou Dobbs Tonight - 759k
22. Countdown (10pm Rpt) - 695k
23. Anderson Cooper 360 - 656k
24. CNN Newsroom - 646k
25. Hardball - 633k

Video- Kevin Madden says vacationing in Hawaii is worse for a president than vacationing in Texas

"With surfers behind them"? Ding Dong, people surf in Texas, Florida and pretty much (I think) any damn state with a coastline. Maybe to keep the hicks in Indiana happy the reporters should stand in front of a sewage facility? I really can't believe they think this line of attack will work after the utter fail they had with it during the election.

Mid Day Distraction

Glen Hansard (Swell Season), Bono, Damien Rice, and Mundy teamed for a busking session on Dublin’s Grafton Street (the same street where Hansard’s character performs in the film Once.) They played for about an hour and raised money for homeless charity Simon Community.

There really truly is nothing going on, so expect light posting today.

Video- CNN has Larry Johnson on as terrorism expert

Larry "Whitey Tape" Johnson? Note the "Obama bin Laden" tic. h/t John.

Video- DeMint: I'm Not Trying to Block TSA Nominee -- And Obama Cares More About Unions than Security

Dance Jimmy, Dance!!

Americans Most Admire Obama, Clinton and Palin

I really wish I could figure out what people admire in Palin. That she hunts? Has kids? Good taste in shoes? Just don't get it. Via Taegan-

President Obama is the man Americans admired most in 2009, a USA Today/Gallup Poll finds, while Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin are virtually tied as the most-admired woman.

"The close finish by Clinton, named by 16% in the open-ended survey, and Palin, named by 15%, reflects the nation's partisan divide. Clinton was cited by nearly 3 in 10 Democrats but only 6% of Republicans, Palin by a third of Republicans but less than 1% of Democrats."

Cartoon of the Day

Click to enlarge, via.

Wednesday Links

It's amazing how similar the past few days have been.

Here comes Jaws: The 'real time' tracking system that texts lifeguards if killer sharks are near beach

U.S. police deaths down to 1959 levels

Glow in the dark paper that could replace conventional light bulbs within a decade

New York Times: Obama Curbs Secrecy of Classified Documents
President Obama declared on Tuesday that “no information may remain classified indefinitely” as part of a sweeping overhaul of the executive branch’s system for protecting classified national security information.

Famous San Francisco sea lions leave in droves

Women Gaining On Men In Drunken Driving Arrests

Simples! Meerkat catchphrase leads tweetups, jeggings and staycations as word of 2009

Wall Street Journal: Rich Cling to Life to Beat Tax Man
Nothing's certain except death and taxes - but a temporary lapse in the estate tax is causing a few wealthy Americans to try to bend those rules.

Video- President Obama speaks to the Press in Hawaii

Overnight and Astronomy Thread

The Cat's Eye Nebula
Credit: J. P. Harrington (U. Maryland) & K. J. Borkowski (NCSU) HST, NASA

Explanation: Three thousand light-years away, a dying star throws off shells of glowing gas. This image from the Hubble Space Telescope reveals the Cat's Eye Nebula to be one of the most complex planetary nebulae known. In fact, the features seen in the Cat's Eye are so complex that astronomers suspect the bright central object may actually be a binary star system. (DAMN, this one is total cool.)

You can always make a donation through the PayPal button to the right to help us out, and if you are thinking of buying anything from Amazon, if you use the links over to the right, just using one of those links to buy anything gets us a couple pennies a transaction.

Richard Engel: Rehab of Afghan forces will take much longer than a year.

By GottaLaff

Richard Engel on The Rachel Maddow Show right now is reporting what nobody else is... yet:

Priority of training Afghans is in trouble.

In a briefing for top commanders, Petraeus and McChrystal, a new study is calling into question, well, everything, saying that "the Afghan national army is 'not at war'".

Engel: "It's more than sobering." Rehabilitating the Afghan forces will take way longer than one year, more like four years. Getting them up and running and in place is impossible. The number of Afghan army/police has been inflated.

The training "cannot take a year to fix this problem." "Personal gain is placed above survival."

The report is not complete yet. More to come.

U.S. Had Information Before Christmas of a Terror Plot

By GottaLaff

Via an e-mail alert from the New York Times:

Two officials said the United States government had intelligence from Yemen before Christmas that leaders of a branch of Al Qaeda there were talking about "a Nigerian" being prepared for a terrorist attack.

Pay(lin) to Play

By GottaLaff

In this economy, Barbie McLipSchmutz expects to rake in nearly $350 a head to endure her verbal runoff? Who knew unemployed Facebook bloggers could get away with charging more than the price of an iPhone? At $.00000349, she still wouldn't be giving them their money's worth.

Yes, EveryAmerican U.S.A. has to cough up that much cash for a glimpse of Stupidity Walking. Nice. Way to be inclusive, Barbie:

It will cost you $349 to hear Sarah Palin give the keynote address at the National Tea Party Convention in February.

I guess this is the new face of American wealth:

Iowa Lawmaker Predicts Palin Bid

Go baby go!!

Rep. Steve King (R-IA) predicted that Sarah Palin "will seek the Republican presidential nomination and has a good chance of winning Iowa's leadoff caucuses," the AP reports.

Said King: "I think we'll see her in Iowa. There are a good number of people who could win the Iowa caucuses and I would put her in the top five or so who would be in a good position to do so."

"King represents an overwhelmingly Republican district in western Iowa that is key to any GOP candidate's bid in the caucuses. Although he initially thought Palin had ended her political career when she resigned as governor last summer, King said she's recovered and is in a stronger position than before."

Kennedy Center Honors Tonight

Tonight at 9p EST on CBS.

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts today announced the selection of the individuals who will receive the Kennedy Center Honors of 2009. Recipients to be honored at the 32nd annual national celebration of the arts are: writer, composer, actor, director, and producer Mel Brooks; pianist and composer Dave Brubeck; opera singer Grace Bumbry; actor, director, and producer Robert De Niro; and singer and songwriter Bruce Springsteen.

True sign of the end of the world

'Mall Cop' top DVD rental of 2009

Hell, I'm not sure I want to wait until 2012.

Afternoon Distraction

I'm burnt, so enjoy this for a while til I get my brain back in one piece. From EW's 10 Best Viral Videos of 2009.

Obamas in, reality stars out in desirable neighbors poll

OMG, what has this country come to? We'd rather live next door to a FascistMooslimSocialist family and a couple of those there gay gals (and Sar) than quality "family values" folks?

LOS ANGELES (Reuters Life!) - Americans would most like to live next door to the Obama family. But a reality star like California's "Octomom", or Jon and Kate Gosselin and their brood of eight would be a big turn off, according to a poll released on Tuesday.

President Barack Obama, his wife Michelle and daughters Malia and Sasha, came top of a poll that asked Americans who would be their most desirable celebrity neighbor.

The U.S. first family were followed by TV chat show host Ellen DeGeneres and her partner Portia de Rossi, who tied with Republican Sarah Palin, in the poll by online real estate marketplace Zillow.com.

(snip)

Nadya Suleman, the California single mom who this year added octuplets to her existing brood of six children, topped the worst celebrity neighbor poll with 17 percent of votes.

Suleman, dubbed "Octomom" by the U.S. media, was followed by recently divorced reality TV stars Jon and Kate Gosselin and their eight kids.

In a reflection of her tendency to polarize Americans, Sarah Palin, the former Republican vice-presidential contender who has five children, also came third in the worst neighbors list with 11 percent of votes.

Decade's Top 10 political lines

Via the guys at First Read. Any they missed? I think I would have included the "I'm the decider" just because I found it so damn irritating.

1. “I actually voted for the $87 billion before I voted against it.”

2. "The fundamentals of our economy are strong."

3. Bush's "Bring 'em on" and "Dead or alive" (tie).

4. "I can see Russia from my house."

5. "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job."

6. "Go F%&@ yourself."

7. "So it's not surprising then that they get bitter; they cling to guns or religion..."

8. Rumsfeld's "no unknowns" and "Army you have" (tie).

9. "You lie!"

10. "Rudy Giuliani, there are only three things he mentions in a sentence -- a noun, verb, and 9/11."

Video- Karl Rove can't tell the difference between real life terrorism investigation and a movie

Via Newshounds.

Karl Rove granted divorce in Texas

We can only hope she writes a book.

Karl Rove, former senior adviser to President George W. Bush, has been granted a divorce in Texas after 24 years of marriage, family spokeswoman Dana Perino said.


“Karl Rove and his wife, Darby, were granted a divorce last week," said Perino. "The couple came to the decision mutually and amicably, and they maintain a close relationship and a strong friendship. There will be no further comment, and the family requests that its privacy be respected.”

Mid Day Distraction

Video- King: Obama Should Have Put Flight 253 Suspect In Military Tribunal

Richard Reid, "The Shoe Bomber"-

In January 2003, he pleaded guilty to terrorism charges at a federal court in Boston, Massachusetts. During the sentencing hearing he stated that he was an Islamic fundamentalist and declared himself an enemy of the United States and in league with Al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden.

He was sentenced by Judge Young to life imprisonment on each of the three charges, 20 years imprisonment on four other charges, and 30 years on four other counts, to be served consecutively, followed by five years of supervised release. Eight fines of $250,000, restitution of $298.17, and $5,784,800 special assessment were imposed. There is no parole in the federal prison system. He is serving his sentences in the ADX Florence, a Supermax prison in Florence, Colorado.

Will anybody EVER call them on their bullshit?

Consumer Confidence Hits 3 Month High

Plus home prices remained unchanged, holding onto five months of gains. Looking up.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. consumer confidence improved more than expected in December, hitting a three-month high as job market pessimism eased and consumers' expectations reached a two-year high, according to a private report released on Tuesday. The Conference Board, an industry group, said its index of consumer attitudes rose to 52.9 in December from a revised 50.6 in November.

Employers see uptick in hiring in 2010

Video- Congressman Hoekstra Using Christmas Bomb Plot In Fundraising

What a scumbag. Vid via CSpanJunkie.

Remember Bush's response to 2001 Shoe Bomber Attack?

There wasn't any, but don't tell Ed Henry.

But on other hand, I think Peter King raises a fair point about the fact that in a crisis, and here we had a situation where over 200 people could have been and came close to being killed on Christmas Day, that is normally something where you expect the president of the United States to step forward and reassure the public.

I know from covering George W. Bush, he certainly would have been out there. This White House pushes back on that pretty hard, saying, they have a much different style from the past administration. That was certainly fought out in the campaign. It is a different approach.

Via the hard work and googling of jethropalerobber and other DKos netizens, we find the first and looks like only reference by GWB on Reid.-

Bush did in fact reference the shoe bomber incident during the course of a press Q&A outside a diner in Crawford on December 31. Famed soft profiler Elisabeth Bumiller records Bush's comment in paragraph 7 of this piece:

Mr. Bush, in his last question-and-answer session with reporters in 2001, also said that the main task of the F.B.I. was now to protect Americans from further attacks.

''The whole culture of the F.B.I. has changed for the better,'' Mr. Bush said. He added that the country as a whole was ''on alert'' and praised the flight attendant on an American Airlines flight on Dec. 22 who noticed the man whom Mr. Bush called ''the shoe bomber,'' Richard C. Reid, trying to light a fuse in his sneaker.

NYT 01/01/2002

There's a couple phrases that come to mind- willful ignorance and double standard.

Palins lose bid to avoid "media circus" in custody case

Really, we should all thank our lucky stars for this f'd up family. Never a dull moment.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Sarah Palin's oldest daughter appears to have lost her bid to keep a bitter legal dispute with her 1-year-old son's father confidential.

An Alaska judge last week denied Bristol Palin's request to keep the legal proceedings of her custody dispute with Levi Johnston closed.

Palin, 18, filed a petition in early November seeking sole custody of her son, Tripp, and child support payments. She had argued that the scrutiny the case could attract would turn it into a "media circus" that potentially could cause her son embarrassment as he grows older.

(snip)

Levi Johnston, who is seeking joint custody, has pushed for open court proceedings, saying he "just wants a simple case on the merits."

"I do not feel protected against Sarah Palin in a closed proceeding," Johnston said in an affidavit. "I hope that if it is open she will stay out of it. Bristol's attorney is her attorney."

Cartoon of the Day

Click to enlarge, via.

Tuesday Links

Still slow, still cold.

China introduces women-only car park... with extra wide spaces to cater for their 'special needs'

Latin America sees its first same-sex marriage

For sale on eBay: 'Eight unopened Christmas presents from my cheating boyfriend'

Chicago Sun-Times: GOP opponent claims front-runner Mark Kirk is gay in attack ad U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk, the front-runner in the Republican primary election for U.S. Senate, finds himself the object of an unusual attack ad from one of his lesser-known opponents.

California Science Center is sued for canceling a film promoting intelligent design

Most cocaine diluted with unsafe livestock drug

U.S. laser weapons closer to deployment

Los Angeles Times: A White House intervention for bickering leaders of U.S. intelligence The White House this month issued a classified order to resolve mounting frictions between the nation's intelligence director and the CIA over issues including how the agency conducts covert operations, U.S. officials said. The intervention reflects simmering tension between the two most powerful players in the U.S. intelligence community: Director of National Intelligence Dennis C. Blair and CIA Director Leon E. Panetta.

Video- FDL's Spencer Ackerman Discusses the Failed Terror Attack

Wow, how glaring of a difference can there be? Buchanan want torture!!! Glad FDL got this up since I missed it earlier.

Overnight and Astronomy Thread

M51 Hubble Remix
S. Beckwith (STScI), Hubble Heritage Team, (STScI/AURA), ESA, NASA
Additional Processing: Robert Gendler

Explanation: The 51st entry in Charles Messier's famous catalog is perhaps the original spiral nebula - a large galaxy with a well defined spiral structure also cataloged as NGC 5194. Over 60,000 light-years across, M51's spiral arms and dust lanes clearly sweep in front of its companion galaxy (right), NGC 5195. Image data from the Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys has been reprocessed to produce this alternative portrait of the well-known interacting galaxy pair.

You can always make a donation through the PayPal button to the right to help us out, and if you are thinking of buying anything from Amazon, if you use the links over to the right, just using one of those links to buy anything gets us a couple pennies a transaction.

Photos of the Northwest Airlines Bomb

Ahem. I've know a couple "explosive packets" in my day, and they looked nothing like this. Whew, I know this is serious business, but I just can't stop laughing. Via.

Bush Terrorized Us and Al Qaeda Won

By GottaLaff



I have a quick break between San Francisco vacation activities, and ran across this, your Daily Dose of BuzzFlash via my pal Mark Karlin:

When you look back over the 9/11 act of terror that Bush could have likely prevented, but was too lazy to try and prevent after being warned, Al Qaeda beat the Neo-Cons from that point on. [...]

It appears Obama is taking a different path, and that his concern about the nukes in Pakistan falling into terrorist hands is far more on target in regards to our safety, and is a strategic approach to terrorism rather than an end run for oil fields. It's important to also note that by destabilizing Iraq, Bush and Cheney only made the theological extremists in Iran all the stronger.

Let's hope that our primal fear of falling from the sky doesn't overcome our ability to outmaneuver the terrorists.

Becoming terrorized only accomplishes their goals.

Please read the whole thing here. I only gave you a sample.

Evening Distraction

Video- Rove: Obama Admin. Handling Flight 253 Suspect in 'Troubling Way'

And no one is defending from our side. Should have been out in front of this.

Friend of Obama hurt in Hawaii

Just now on MSNBC they said that POTUS cut his golfing short to go back to the compound due to a friend being injured. They said it is not a family member and that there are police and an ambulance at the home they are staying at. I'll follow up when I get more.

ADDED-

HONOLULU, Hawaii (CNN) - A friend of President Barack Obama's family received minor injuries during the first family's Christmas vacation in Hawaii on Monday, White House aides said.

Aides said no one from the first family was hurt in the incident, details of which were not immediately available. But the incident created a stir when several police vehicles and an ambulance were called to the rental home on the island of Oahu, where the president and his family are staying.

Video- President Obama's Remarks on Failed Terror Attack and Protests in Iran

Via FDL.