The Buffalo Beast is out with their list of the 50 Most Loathsome People of 2008. A sample:

47. Michelle Bachmann

Charges: Exemplifies the simmering, all-American fascism lurking behind the forced smiles of uptight church ladies throughout “real America.” Echoing Sarah Palin’s alarming hints about “helping” the media do its job, Bachmann’s casual call for a “penetrating” press investigation into “anti-Americanism” in congress was so fucking dumb it made Chris Matthews seem smart. Once it occurred to the Oral Roberts University graduate that calling for witchhunts against Democrats might be a tad extreme for election season, she decided to just pretend she didn’t say it, and then she blamed Chris Matthews. Then she just blamed words. Then she denied it again. Then she won. Way to go, Minnesota’s 6th.

Exhibit A: BACHMANN: Actually, that’s not what I said at all. COLMES: Well, I’m just — I’m reading your exact quote. BACHMANN: Actually that’s not I said. It’s an urban legend that was created. That isn’t what I said at all. COLMES: We have — it’s on tape.

Sentence: Assigned to conduct her own “expose” on anti-American views, in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.

***

22. PUMAs

Charges: Redefining feminism as “supporting Hillary Clinton, whether she wants you to or not,” and “defending” that feminism by embodying negative stereotypes of women as irrational and scornful, there was no demographic more painfully dumb than aggrieved Hillary backers plotting to defeat Obama. Drunk on a dream of vengeance for their queen, this strange minority picked up every despicable, paranoid, racist talking point they could from the worst of the right wing, even complimenting Sean Hannity on his “fair and balanced” coverage of Obama. Desperately twisting words in a sad attempt to tar Obama as a sexist and willing to subject themselves and their country to a probable assault on reproductive rights in the name of spite, the PUMAs comported themselves with all the dignity and sense of a false rape accusation.

Exhibit A: It’s hard to choose, but nothing was more ridiculous this year than hearing an obscenely rich Hillary fundraiser named “Lady de Rothschild” describe Obama as “an elitist.”

Sentence: President Palin appoints Mullah Omar to Supreme Court.

***

3. Sean Hannity

Charges: This relentlessly repugnant McCarthyite tool really outdid himself this year, in an all-out quest to otherize Obama in any way he could. This paranoid pustule is able to find a liberal conspiracy lurking behind any mundane occurrence, even attributing Obama’s selection as Time’s Person of the Year, an event as predictable as sunrise, to a pay-to-play scheme. Hopelessly outmatched shill Alan Colmes is finally leaving his role as Hannity’s doormat; he will not be replaced.

Exhibit A: “I never questioned anyone’s patriotism.”

Sentence: Wrongfully convicted of murdering Vince Foster, based on evidence falsified by Jerome Corsi.

The whole list is solid.

Joe the Plumber on war: “the media should be abolished.”

When I was in grad school, a friend of mine talked a lot about the William Shattner version of “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds”. After all the discussion, I thought there was no way it could surprise me with its awfulness, given my expectations, but it did. This Joe the Plumber clip is one of those things where, no matter how prepared you think you are for it, you’ll be surprised by the stupidity.

Video. (I haven’t figured out how embed here yet.)

(h/t Paddy)

Update: “I’m sure they’re taking quick showers, I know I would”. Was there a scene on “24” where someone got hit with a bomb while showering?

I keep seeing that IBM “math can make the world better” ad on tv during the football game.  The second guy on the ad says:

Math can help predict financial markets.

You’d think they might have edited that out after all this stuff.

So the Giants just had one of the epic season ending collapses in recent memory, and now on to the Steelers. So far, it has been a good weekend for away teams. We need to stop that trend.

*** Update **

7-7 after the 1st quarter. I hear our offense is going to suit up for the second quarter.

*** Update #2 ***

The way Jackson went all out for that catch was a thing of beauty, but I think it is pretty clearly going to get called back because he trapped it. Still was a marvelous effort.

*** Update #3 ***

14-10. I have been fortified by a root beer and a grilled reuben, and am ready for the second half.

*** Update #4***

I have never seen a team hold the ball the entire quarter, which is essentially what the Steelers just did. At least I don’t remember it ever happening. I do remember some monster eight minute plus drives to start the third quarter in some of our better years, but I don’t remember anything like this, even though it was set up by some pretty atypical stuff- three ten yard plus third down conversions, tipped interception, muffed punt, etc.

Maybe I should eat Reubens at the half more often.

*** Update #5 ***

If we are going to give billions to the car companies to bail them out after they have built gas guzzling cars for too long and then get killed during a gas crisis, is it too much to ask that they not have Howie Long on my tv every five minutes calling everyone who doesn’t own a gas guzzling truck a pussy?

*** Update #6 ***

A solid win. Steelers v. Ravens next week. Should be a good one.

“You will take it like a man and you will like it, or so help me I break out the nipple clips.”

Red State busts out the torture HoYay:

We sleep safe in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm. Those rough men might hesitate knowing their commander-in-chief just might not stand behind them if their actions become known. Their hesitation will lead to American deaths.

I feel gayer having just read that. Not that there is anything wrong with that, you handsome, strong, strapping rough guy, you.

*** Update ***

I think it is time to ask our brave patriots again (Maher clip here):

“Would you have sex with another man to stop a terrorist attack?”

More NFL today, which is a good thing. First up, Eagles/Giants. Last week I would have been rooting for the Eagles, and still am, nominally, but I am firmly on the Cardinals bandwagon.

Then, a replay of the Steelers/Chargers from 15 or so years ago. I think you know who I will be pulling for in that one.

I’ve been a chief critic of folks who want to get their flame on regarding the Obama administration for things he has not done yet, but this sure seems like it is worth some attention:

President-elect Barack Obama said this weekend that he does not expect to close Guantanamo Bay in his first 100 days in office.

“I think it’s going to take some time and our legal teams are working in consultation with our national security apparatus as we speak to help design exactly what we need to do,” Obama said in an exclusive “This Week” interview with George Stephanopoulos, his first since arriving in Washington.

“It is more difficult than I think a lot of people realize,” the president-elect explained. “Part of the challenge that you have is that you have a bunch of folks that have been detained, many of whom may be very dangerous who have not been put on trial or have not gone through some adjudication. And some of the evidence against them may be tainted even though it’s true. And so how to balance creating a process that adheres to rule of law, habeas corpus, basic principles of Anglo-American legal system, by doing it in a way that doesn’t result in releasing people who are intent on blowing us up.”

But Obama said unequivocally that it will close. “I don’t want to be ambiguous about this. We are going to close Guantanamo and we are going to make sure that the procedures we set up are ones that abide by our Constitution. That is not only the right thing to do but it actually has to be part of our broader national security strategy because we will send a message to the world that we are serious about our values.”

I don’t doubt that things are more difficult than expected, because there is no telling what sort of hash the Bush administration has made of things. I am sure there is a a jumble of labyrinthian rules and regulations and conflicting guidances that have been cobbled together over the past few years in order to stay one step ahead of the law. The Bush policy of DWTFWW most likely has mangled things a bit. But that doesn’t excuse breaking a promise as critical and as fundamental as closing Gitmo. Gitmo has been a disaster for us, and it needs to be closed.

In the grand scheme of things it won’t matter to me if that is done in 75 days or 100 or 150 days, so long as it is handled rather quickly, but this does seem to suggest that Team Obama is looking for wiggle room or attempting to lower expectations. As such, I think it would be appropriate for folks to generate the appropriate outrage to force Obama to keep his word on this. We didn’t set the 100 day mark for this- he did. Unlike other situations, this is not based on speculation from an unnamed source in the WSJ- this is straight from the horse’s mouth (and no, McCain campaign, I am not calling Obama a horse), and echoes the rhetoric of the craziest of the crazy at NRO.

Also of note, this:

Q: The most popular question on your own website is related to this. On change.gov it comes from Bob Ferdick of New York City and he asks, ‘Will you appoint a special prosecutor ideally Patrick Fitzgerald to independently investigate the greatest crimes of the Bush administration, including torture and warrantless wiretapping.’

OBAMA:We’re still evaluating how we’re going to approach the whole issue of interrogations, detentions, and so forth. And obviously we’re going to be looking at past practices and I don’t believe that anybody is above the law. On the other hand, I also have a belief that we need to look forward as opposed to looking backwards. … My orientation is going to be moving foward.

Of course I understand the need to be forward looking, but I simply reject this notion that we should no nothing about past abuses and possible crimes because we don’t want our intelligence services looking over their shoulders. Of course we do. We have spent decades with an intelligence and foreign policy establishment that has never been held accountable, never had to look over their shoulders, never been required to pay for their sins and their failings, and what do we have to show for it? With the stories of unaccountable and unnamed intelligence agents at the center of the abuses at Gitmo and Abu Gharaib, is a blanket pardon for their sins and crimes the way forward?

I would suggest not. Common sense would suggest not. If team Obama is intent on restoring us to the status of a nation that does not torture, they are just going to have to suck it up and make sure that those who have tortured and those who have committed crimes are brought to justice. Sometimes there are no bi-partisan solutions to these things, because the other side is JUST PLAIN WRONG. There really is no way around it, and there really is no way to make sure the message is sent loud and clear- we do not torture, and those who do will be prosecuted.

*** Update ***

I should probably point out that Obama can’t really signal right now that there will be a special prosecutor, anyway, and needs to be very cagey with his statements. If he sends the signal that he is going to prosecute, Bush will just emulate Tim F.’s favorite governor, Ernie Fletcher, and start issuing blanket pardons.

*** Update #2 ***

Wait a minute- Did Obama actually ever promise to close Gitmo in the first 100 days? Did I just fall for another one of ABC’s special ginned up stories in which they just flat out make shit up and then flame Obama for not adhering to their fantasy? See also- Jake Tapper and cigarette smoke.

*** Update #3 ***

Looks like once again, I have fallen prey to Tapperesque nonsense from ABC. I have scoured the intertrons and can’t find any promise it would be closed in the first 100 days. Around the 11th and 12th of November, there were a slew of stories about how closing Gitmo was a priority, but there was no fixed time.

This is a cool use of neurobiological common sense. It does, however, run the risk of swamping the VA with veterans suffering a different kind of stubborn memory. There were weeks of my youth when I considered prying the Korobeiniki song out of my head with a sharpened spoon.

If you’re desperate, try the Eurythmics.

Dear readers,

I did not want to do this, but you have left me with little choice in the matter. Here is what I hoped would happen: I ask you guys to vote for Tbogg. Then unlike all the others, including us, Tbogg’s numbers go up. It’s a simple plan.

Judging by the way our numbers have changed, plan A has some holes in it. Let’s put this a different way.

It pushes the button for Tbogg…

...or else it gets the hose again.

Discuss.

No idea what the good folks have on the agenda this morning.

BTW- Tunch is exceptionally ornery today. Woke up with him prodding my head at about 7 am, and since then he has been racing around the house like a crazed man. I walk into the kitchen, he tear asses into the kitchen. I walk into the living room, he comes streaking in like a laser guided missile. As I write this, I can tell I am being actively stalked.

Crazy cat.

The new SNL season started tonight, and other than Darrell Hammond, there is no one on the cast that I find consistently funny. Andy Samberg and Kenan Thompson are mildly amusing from time to time, I guess. And Kristen Wiig occasionally has a decent role. Other than that, there have been some lean years for SNL, but this may be the weakest line-up I can remember.

Side note- Neil Patrick Harris is the host, and I have to say I think he has been particularly savvy with his brand, especially with his roles in the Harold and Kumar franchise. He is sort of the William Shatner of my generation, and I like how he makes fun of himself. And I mean that as a compliment, and we will probably see him have a rather long and lucrative career. If I am remembering correctly, a friend who was there told me that Harris made quite the scene at South by Southwest.

At any rate, weak SNL cast this year. I realized I forgot Jason Sudekis. He is fair to middlin’.

Reacting to the news that Bush blocked the military aid Israel needed to start WWIII with Iran, the Astute Bloggers state the following:

BUSH IS A WIMP. A LIBERAL HAWK, BUT A WIMPY ONE.

HE’S BEEN WAY TOO SOFT ON IRAN, NORTH KOREA, THE MSM, SAUDI ARABIA AND THE DEMOCRATS.

Dude. You totally forgot the UN, the Dixie Chicks, Al Gore, and Jane Fonda. Also, Michael Moore is fat.

Seriously. How do you top that? Game, set, match, Astute Bloggers.

There’s an interesting discussion going on at the FireDogLake book salon about Andrew Gelman’s book Red State, Blue State, Rich State, Poor State:

In fact, for all the talk in recent years about working class conservatives and latte liberals, Gelman shows convincingly that rich people remain loyal Republicans while those further down the economic ladder support the Democrats. What is true is that wealthier states such as Connecticut back the Democrats while poor states such as Mississippi prefer the GOP, with middle income states such as Ohio forming the swing constituency. Still, though Mississippi as a whole is poor and Republican, the base of Republican support in the state is wealthy Mississippians not poor ones. The famous red/blue maps are misleading in this regard, prompting people to use a fallacy of composition and assume that Republican voters have the characteristics (low income) of Republican states.

Nor, Gelman shows, is it true that downscale voters are ruled by their religious or moral sentiments rather than economic self-interest. On the contrary, religiosity and opinions about hot-bottom cultural issues have little impact on the voting behavior of poor Americans. It’s among the wealthy where you see cultural issues making a big difference and religiosity highly correlated with voting behavior.

In particular, in rich states voting patterns show little correlation with income. The poor of Connecticut, in other words, vote pretty similarly to the rich of Connecticut. This isn’t the case in poor states, where poor people are dramatically more likely than rich people to vote Democratic. The difference is that the rich people in the rich states are much more culturally liberal than the rich people in the poor states. The result is the famous “culture war” waged not between yuppies and the working class, but between the wealthy residents of wealthy states and the wealthy residents of poor states.

Much media confusion about American politics then stems from what’s essentially a coincidence—political journalists are heavily concentrated in places like Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Maryland, and California that exhibit the voting behaviors of rich states. It is true in those places that voting behavior features little income polarization and that wealthy people are generally well-disposed toward the Democrats. Political commentary from David Brooks on the right to Tom Frank on the left is often dominated by the assumption that you can extrapolate from political patterns in places like Maryland out to the country as a whole.

The truth hurts.

Some good old-fashioned American style football is on the tv today, not to be confused with that sissified European style stuff that might appeal to bon vivants, raconteurs, and other French sounding furrriner types (or even filthy Surrey schoolboys such as Sullivan). Nope- we are talking real men with leather balls.

At any rate, as a Steelers fan and near professional Ray Lewis hater, I am grudgingly rooting for the Titans over the Ravens, and while I would not be so crass to say so out loud, I might more accurately be described as rooting for injuries.

In the girlie-man NFC, I will clearly be rooting for the Cardinals for the sheer novelty of it.

Also, completely OT, but it occurs to me that we need a correspondent in the field for the inauguration. Preferably someone familiar with all internet traditions and in possession of a digital camera. My first choice just announced that he will be “reporting” from Israel, so any volunteers?

*** Update ***

For all you haters out there who like to give Tunch grief because he is undertall, my friend Tammy has sent along a picture of her 31.5 pound cat (and no, that was not a typo), Tyler. And believe me, this is a slimming picture taken from two to three of his good angles, as he actually looks bigger in real life:

I have no idea what he is doing with his tongue, but there is a solid chance he might be trying to eat himself.

It appears that Balloon-Juice is up for a weblog award again. Some of you may not know why I sat the awards out this year, so let me tell you a story full of sordid maneuvers, backroom deals, tragedy, triumph and innocent victims. You see, at this time last year John had not registered Democratic at that point so a case could be made that Cole, the maverick Republican blogger who left RedState when Republicanism betrayed Barry Goldwater, better represents conservatism than Republican zombies who fill the conservative category every year. It was gratifying when the judges agreed. Completely incidental and not at all on my mind at the time, the bitter tears from rightwingers who take the contest far too seriously, and who certainly would have lost a one to eleven split vote, would have been delicious.

Then something happened that may never be explained. Maybe the bitter tears angle occurred to the judges. Maybe their inbox filled up with youtube vids of Michelle Malkin spelling out threatening messages in her cheerleader outfit. Maybe something even more mind-bogglingly awful happened. Officially the awards gurus mysteriously discovered a bug in the code that ‘forced’ them to bump us and the Jawa Report from the conservative category, but you and I and Gene “Time Cube” Ray know that there is more to the story than that. I can handle what happened to us; a reasonable but mistaken person could see our candidacy as an inspired attempt to raise trouble in blogland right. Seeing the innocent guys at Jawa go down, however, still weighs heavy on my conscience.

The judges bumped us into a harder category, so we won that instead. Here’s how we did it. (1) We put up awful music videos and threatened more if we lost, and (2) we embedded the post on our front page. The difference between pre-embed and post-embed was astronomical. So, here goes. If Tbogg’s total does not go up sharply we can start with Celine Dion.

Don’t split the vote. Tbogg ‘08!