You've Got Mail

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has got to be the most wired world leader. You know he has a website, right? You can click on the upper right there and get it in english. The top entry right now is an open letter to the American People, which is quite long. But what you really want to do is just check out some of his more random blog entries, like the one just below about the different kinds of presents he receives.
He doesn't post very often, but I figure he's sort of busy.

Oh My God, You're Here?

Hey folks... we've been sorta busy.
Hope you had a happy Thanksgiving, the bestest holiday of them all. We're still a little bleary from the turkey to be up on posting, and too busy at work to be scouring the internets for nuggest to mine. It's terrible! Why do they make us work?

Anyway, Jim Webb is cracking me up. He met Bush at a reception for new Congresscritters and refused to take a picture with him or shake his hand.
And then Chimpy asked about Webb's son...


I anticipate light posting for the next couple of days, just to warn y'all. Still in kind of a post-election lull. But we're still here, thinking about you all the time.

the Ugly American

God Bush is a tool.
During his stay in Hanoi he went to one non-official event and spent 15 minutes. Seriously. He just has zero interest in the rest of the world. What an asshole. If you want a quote that is a perfect distillation of why the world (rightly) hates us, check this out:

On Saturday, Mr. Bush’s national security adviser, Stephen J. Hadley, conceded that the president had not come into direct contact with ordinary Vietnamese, but said that they connected anyway.
“If you’d been part of the president’s motorcade as we’ve shuttled back and forth,” he said, reporters would have seen that “the president has been doing a lot of waving and getting a lot of waving and smiles.”

From the Department of No Shit (Sherlock)

BBC:
Blair accepts 'disaster' in Iraq: Tony Blair has publicly accepted that the violence in Iraq since the US-led invasion in 2003 has been a disaster.

Actually, I feel bad for old Tony. I think Chimpy must have pictures of him screwing a 13-yr. old and blackmailed him into this whole mess. Or something.

Sego-mania

As predicted, Ségolène Royal won the Socialist Party presidential nomination in France. In the 3-way race she got over 60% of the vote, which we call a thumpin' around here.
In April Ségolène will face a not-yet-determined candidate from the right, most likely Nicolas Sarkozy (boo!).
I think our girl is going to pull this one off and become the first female president of France! Mind you, the French president, unlike in many other parliamentary democracies, wields considerable power. Basically the Prime Minister is more legislative and the President is more executive (which is both oversimplifying and self-evident). Can you imagine? France and Germany both run by women...
The polls right now seem to have Royal and Sarkozy running about even, but I think that will change. I know almost nothing, so you know, don't believe me or anything, but I think (if I may generalize) the French like big ideas and romantic leaders. There has been something of a void since Mitterrand died, and just as there was a Generation Mitterrand, there is a yearning for a Generation Royal - something bold to be a part of, even if the boldness really consists of fairly watered-down socialism.

Today, in Olden Times

Lacking any deep thought, I will start a new semi-regular (or maybe not - we'll see) feature: Today, in Olden Times. A look at what else has happened today, but in olden times.

Today's nugget of fact? In 1558 Elizabeth I ascended the throne of England. She reigned until 1603. Considering most people in olden times lived to be about 40, that's a hell of a long time to reign. Also, the Spanish Armada invaded in 1588 and Elizabeth wore a white dress and rode on a big horse in front of the troops at Tilbury. She made a speech about being only a woman, but having the heart of a king, and a king of England at that. This was very effective, as the English whipped the Spanish. Or so they taught me in school - perhaps the Spanish see it differently?
What I know is that those three dates - 1558, 1603 and 1588, come up far more than you would think. Learn them, use them. When someone learns that you know the dates of ER I, they assume you know a lot of other things. It's great! All hail Queen Bess!

News from the DRC

(That would be the Democratic Republic of Congo)

Joseph Kabila, incumbent and current holder of the 'World's Hottest Leader' crown, was re-elected.

As a brief primer, Kabila is the son of guerilla leader Laurent Kabila, who deposed (with the help of Rwanda and Uganda) Mobutu Sese Seko (Kuku Ngbendu wa za Banga), the last lion of the larger-than-life independence era dictators. Laurent Kabila (did I write about this before? Too lazy to go look) was an old-time marxist who fought with Che during his brief stint in Africa, but once he came into power he was crap. He was eventually assassinated by his own security detail and his son Joseph took over. Joseph has a military background and was raised largely in Tanzania and trained with Museveni in Uganda and Kagame in Rwanda. He also studied at the Military College in Beijing, interestingly.

Joseph Kabila fascinates me, not only because of his hotness, and not only because we are of a similar age and he is a Major-General and President of Congo and I am writing from a cubicle in Midtown. He also inherited the presidency from his father (always a little dicey), managed to keep the country together (extremely dicey), signed some real peace accords, allowed the largest UN peacekeeping force in the world into Congo, and then held actual elections, the first real ones since independence (and therefore the first real ones). So although there are allegations of some voter intimidation, and I don't think there's really such thing as a "good guy" in this area, I'm pretty cool with Kabila.

Unfortunately, his rival Jean-Pierre Bemba (Vice-President and militia leader accused of war crimes and cannibalism) has refused to accept the results. It looks like Kabila won the East and Bemba the West (including Kinshasa). That's interesting because the majority of the continual fighting has taken place in the East along the borders with Rwanda and Burundi (because the current conflict grew out of the genocidaires leaving Rwanda and coming into Congo, and then the Rwandan army coming after them into Congo) and those are the people who went with Kabila. In the rest of the country, where the war has not been as much of a concern, the support was for Bemba. I don't quite know what to make of that.

Anyway, with Bamba rejecting the vote, things might get rough. This would really suck, as the Congo conflict, raging more or less continuously since 1994, has taken more than 4,000,000 lives and is the most lethal war in the world.

So now you know.

Hells Yeah!

The bloodbath continues... (people unrelated to the Bush Administration but I hate anyway edition)
That dumb little pissant twerp at the Times, John Tierney, looks like he done got canned from the Op-Ed page. From today's column:
"This is my last column on the Op-Ed page. I’ve enjoyed the past couple of years in Washington, but one election cycle is enough. I’m returning full time to the subject and the city closest to my heart: science and New York. I’ll be writing a column and a blog for the Science Times section."

Good riddance, misogynist hack. (But Chiniqua, why don't you tell us how you really feel about him?)

I like to shop

Yes my friends, this post is not about politics. After a month-long fever of thinking of little else, the rest of life is beginning to filter back in.

The first non-political thing I would like to share? My new love & religion: Uniqlo.

Uniqlo is a clothing store that is sort of like the Gap of Japan. Really it feels like a cross between H&M and Muji. (My slightly mis-spelled ode to Muji here.) If you don't have any idea what I'm talking about because you live on the West Coast and don't have those (hi Maya & Dave!), I mean well-made, fashionable, affordable clothes from Japan. Maybe a better analogy would be a cross between Target and Agnes B.? They tout that they're all about "basics," which apparently means "things you wear." The prices are about Gap-level, possible slightly cheaper - Jeans are $40, skirts in the $30 - $40 range. The outerwear is more expensive, but I don't think anything in the store is over $200. So that's the cold facts.

The emotion of it is that the stuff is fucking awesome. Most things are black, grey, cream, brown or navy (this is a plus for me). The lines are very simple and the cut is good. The fabrics are quality and the styles are just fashion-y enough, without being Gap-boxy-boring or H&M over-the-top disposable fashion. There's something ineffably cool about it. I just want to buy my whole wardrobe there and live in clean lines and muted colors with adorable, quirky details. I want everything there.

Oh yeah, and they sell good cashmere sweaters in 10 colors for $80 (or $50 on sale this weekend!).

I'm so in love with this place. The NY Flagship is in SoHo on Broadway & Prince. Better yet, if they succeed, they're planning to expand throughout the country! Let the buzz begin.

Schadenfreude, part XVIII

This is too good. Because of Ted Haggart, they're shutting down the "Jesus Camp."

Damn, there go my summer plans!

Schadenfreude, part XVII

If I explained to you what this was, it would ruin the frisson of joy that will tingle down your spine when you read the post yourself. So for a good time, just click here. You're welcome!

From the Department of Tough Shit

According to the Times, they've been planning to fire Rumsfeld since the summer. Only they didn't do it. Because, "Mr. Bush ultimately postponed action until after the election in part because of concern that to remove Mr. Rumsfeld earlier could be interpreted by critics as political opportunism or as ratifying their criticism of the White House war plan in the heart of the campaign."

So they did it the day after they lost, and the Democrats get credit for it. Now a whole bunch of ousted republicans are angry as all get-out and want to know why the fuck didn't Bush dump Rummy before the election? This is best summed up by a wonderful schadenfreud-y quote from Newt Gingrich: "If the president had replaced Rumsfeld two weeks ago, the Republicans would still control the Senate and they would probably have 10 more House members. For the president to have suggested for the last two weeks that there would be no change and then change the day after the election is very disheartening."

So why did they wait? Realistically it makes no sense at all. I can only refer back to my earlier post and say that they had boxed themselves in. They made the decision to live and die by Stay the Course. Looks like they died by it.

Tough shit.

Change is Good

What it means to be in the majority (Senate Chair edition):

Ted "Series of Tubes" Stevens (R-AK) will be out at commerce. Dan Inouye (D-HI), who is an Asian-American (yay!) and supports net neutrality, will be in.

Jim Inhofe (R-OK), who has compared environmentalists to Nazis more than once and who disputes not only that global warming is man-made, but that it even exists at all (he said in 2003 he had, "offered compelling evidence that catastrophic global warming is a hoax. That conclusion is supported by the painstaking work of the nation's top climate scientists.") will be out at Environment. Barbara "needs no introduction" Boxer (D-CA) will be in.

Speaking of Justice

Dick Durban of Illinois, current Minority Whip, on future nominees:

"My message to the president would be: Send us moderate judicial candidates. Don't send us extreme candidates, because I think the president will run into trouble if he does."

Man, that feels good.

Fill it, Buster

I have about a thousand things I want to get to today, so I think I'll be posting short items.

First, the bloodbath continues (who ever thought that would be a good thing?) with the news that Ken Mehlman (RNC chair and always smiling guy) is on his way out. They claim that he's been planning this for months. And John Bolton is not going to be at the UN for very much longer. And seriously, hurrah for that because he is an asshole. Three days and we're already on our way to having the rest of the world hate us a little bit less.

In case it slipped by you, George "Bi-partisanship is my middle name as of November 8th" Bush re-nominated Bolton yesterday. Lincoln Chafee, outgoing R-RI and member of the Senate foreign Relations Committee (which must approve Bolton) was like, not so fast. In a move that precipitates his probable departure from the GOP (and an all-around cool thing to do), he blocked the Bolton nomination and said, "The American people have spoken out against the president's agenda on a number of fronts, and presumably one of those is on foreign policy... And at this late stage in my term, I'm not going to endorse something the American people have spoke out against."

So we'll win that one I think. But it brings up an important point, which is that Bush is going to try to ram down every nasty or controversial piece of legislation he can in this last month and a half before the new congress is seated. Now last week, this would have been terrible news. You will recall that during recent judiciary battles the republican Senate leadership threatened to eliminate the filibuster with the so-called "nuclear option," a tactic that was defused by the infamous Gang of 14. Basically the Dems promised not to filibuster unless it was really important, and the GOP promised not to take it away unless they really wanted to.

Now the tables have turned.

There is no reason I can think of (and if you can think of one, the comment section is open!) why the Democrats shouldn't filibuster every damn thing they want for the rest of the session. What are the Republicans going to do about it? Eliminate the filibuster? Not likely - they're about to be the minority. So get out your phonebooks and start reading!

Karma's a bitch, ain't it?

I CALLED IT

Just in case you didn't notice, check out what I wrote at 1:54 on election night (you can scroll down a few entries too):

"...Rumors on the internets that Rumsfeld may resign tomorrow..."

I am the queen of punditry!

Revenge of the Wimp

Maureen Dowd did a great column today. I totally agree with her take on this. 41 is in effect. It's worth noting that Rummy has offered to resign before and Cheney insisted that he be kept around. So read all you want into the fact that Cheney disappeared to "go hunting" on election day and hasn't resurfaced and Rummy is out. It's trite and already over-used, but I think the Realists are taking out the Neocons. I hate them both, but I'd choose 41 over 43 any day.

So here's MoDo (edited for fair use):

A Come-to-Daddy Moment

Poppy Bush and James Baker gave Sonny the presidency to play with and he broke it. So now they’re taking it back.

They are dragging W. away from those reckless older guys who have been such a bad influence and getting him some new minders who are a lot more practical.

In a scene that might be called “Murder on the Oval Express,” Rummy turned up dead with so many knives in him that it’s impossible to say who actually finished off the man billed as Washington’s most skilled infighter. (Poppy? Scowcroft? Baker? Laura? Condi? The Silver Fox? Retired generals? Serving generals? Future generals? Troops returning to Iraq for the umpteenth time without a decent strategy? Democrats? Republicans? Joe Lieberman?)

The defense chief got hung out to dry before Saddam got hung. The president and Karl Rove, underestimating the public’s hunger for change or overestimating the loyalty of a fed-up base, did not ice Rummy in time to save the Senate from teetering Democratic. But once Sonny managed to heedlessly dynamite the Republican majority — as well as the Middle East, the Atlantic alliance and the U.S. Army — then Bush Inc., the family firm that snatched the presidency for W. in 2000, had to step in. Two trusted members of the Bush 41 war council, Mr. Baker and Robert Gates, have been dispatched to discipline the delinquent juvenile and extricate him from the mother of all messes.

Mr. Gates, already on Mr. Baker’s “How Do We Get Sonny Out of Deep Doo Doo in Iraq?” study group, left his job protecting 41’s papers at Texas A&M to return to Washington and pry the fingers of Poppy’s old nemesis, Rummy, off the Pentagon.

“They had to bring in someone from the old gang,” said someone from the old gang. “That has to make Junior uneasy. With Bob, the door is opened again to 41 and Baker and Brent.” ...

...While Vice went off to a corner to lick his wounds, W. was forced to do his best imitation of his dad yesterday, talking about “bipartisan outreach,” “people have spoken,” blah-blah-blah — after he’d been out on the trail saying that electing Democrats would mean that “the terrorists win and America loses.”

“I share a large part of the responsibility” for the “thumpin’ ” of Republicans, he told reporters. Actually, he gets full responsibility...

...He was asked if his surprise at the election results showed he was out of touch with Americans. “I thought when it was all said and done,” he replied, “the American people would understand the importance of taxes and the importance of security.”

So it was just that the American people were too dumb to understand? W. also managed to bash Vietnam vets, saying that this war isn’t similar because there’s a volunteer army, so “the troops understand the consequences of Iraq in the global war on terror.” Is that why W. stayed out of Vietnam? Because he understood it?

An ashen Rummy was also condescending during his uncomfortable tableau with W. and Bob Gates in the Oval Office, implying that he was dumped because Americans just didn’t “comprehend” what was going on in Iraq. Actually, Rummy, we get it. You don’t get it.

“Baker’s no fool,” a Bush 41 official said. “He wasn’t going to go out there with a plan for Iraq and have Rummy shoot it down. He wanted a receptive audience. Everyone had to be on the same page before the plan is unveiled.”

They don’t call him the Velvet Hammer for nothing. R.I.P., Rummy.

Welcome to the Funhouse

It's hard to tell exactly what's going on at the White House these days. It's hard to know what's going on with Bush. Hell, who the fuck even knows what's going on with the GOP in general. I get the feeling they're a little shocked and confused. They're not used to losing. Or, in the words of one of the defining movies of my generation (alas): reality bites.

I am getting the sense that in certain quarters there is almost relief. The lie that the Administration was selling was untenable. We knew it was a lie, they knew it was a lie. They even knew that their Iraq policy wasn't working, but they got themselves so tangled up in Stay The Course that they couldn't find their way out of it. It's really pretty hilarious (if you don't think of the lives and the money and the goodwill and the environment squandered). The chickens are roosting, the petard has been hoisted, the bed is being slept in. Now that the election is over it's like you can feel the pressure lifting.

Chimpy himself seems almost... happy? The press conference he gave yesterday was remarkable. He was so loose. The old shrivelled bitterness that was making his face shrink and his words tight and his eyes mean were gone. I think he was telling the truth when he said that he didn't think they were going to lose. And losing looks like it was somehow liberating. Like, now it won't all be his fault.

More shocking is Rush Limbaugh. And when I say shocking, I don't mean "Wow, isn't that interesting," shocking. I mean "Holy crap!" shocking. He got on air and actually said that he was sick and tired of carrying water for folks that didn't deserve to have their water carried. That he did and said stuff that he didn't like because he wanted to win the election. Check it out here. And before you go there, I know that what he's saying is that the GOP isn't "conservative" enough and that they aren't real republicans or something, not that he secretly loves Michael Moore, but still. It's like they're all almost happy that they don't have to pretend anymore. It's almost like the whole republican party is coming out of the closet.

You're Not Dreaming

Allen is conceding. Yes Virginia, you are Democratic. The Senate is ours. We've won it all.

Wow.

Which means, by the way, that we've saved the Supreme Court too. Oh yeah, that.

I'd also like to point out the less-mentioned but no less impressive thing about this year. Not only did we pick up 29+ house seats (depending on a couple of recounts still), six senate seats and six governerships, but we didn't lose a single one. Not one.

RUMMY RESIGNS

Ha ha. That was fast.

Bob Gates is being slated as the replacement.

Did I mention that this was the best day ever?

IT'S A BRAND BLUE DAY

We've been waiting two long years to say that. It is nice.

At some point last night (or rather 5:00 this morning - clever chiniqua took today off work) while I was refreshing the vote counts county by county in Montana and making charts plotting the results (oh yes I did) it finally hit me. I mean it really hit me.

WE DID IT.
WE TOOK BOTH HOUSES.
WE CONTROL CONGRESS!!
WE DID IT!

Do you know what this means? It means that we are NOT sliding irrevocably towards fascism. The Permanent Republican Majority lasted about as long as the Thousand Year Reich.

The AP has called Montana for Tester. MSNBC just called for Tester. Webb has a big enough lead to survive a recount. When we lose by 1,000 votes and demand a recount they tell us the People Have Spoken and we're crybabies who should step aside. Time for them to take their own advice. Time for Tester and Webb to declare victory. Allen and Burns are LOSERS and we should call them that. Send lawyers. guns and money. We will not let them steal those two away.

Speaker Pelosi. Leader Reid. Ways and Means Chair Rangel. Justice Chair Conyers. It's morning in America. It's a brand blue motherfucking day.

yes she said yes

One down, two to go... McCaskill wins Missouri... Webb wins the first count in Virginia but a recount is coming... Tester is ahead in Montana...

The Senate is within reach.

The House is Ours!

by quite a few seats... Senate still up for grabs... Rumors on the internets that Rumsfeld may resign tomorrow... single malt scotch... it's a good night.

Happy election day, everyone!

Looking ahead...

Okay, so I'm completely lifting this text wholesale from Kos, but I've been talking to Chiniqua about this a little today (in between gasps and choking fits) and it's something the country--albeit precinct by precinct--will need to address, and the sooner the better:

As already reported voting difficulties continue to frustrate voters in another decisive election, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden renewed his proposal to simplify the way Americans vote. Wyden has introduced legislation to provide funds to help states adopt Vote by Mail election systems, such as Oregon's.

"The great Yogi Berra said it best: 'It's Déjà vu all over again.' Except instead of the boys of October, we're talking about the long lines and broken machines of November." Wyden said. "Allegations of election fraud and voter suppression were once rarities, today they're business as usual for the American voter. It's time to stop throwing taxpayer dollars at a broken system. Oregonians have a solution--Vote by Mail."

For more than a decade Oregonians have been successfully voting by mail. Up to three weeks before Election Day, ballots are sent to all registered voters, giving busy families time to research their votes and carefully mark their ballots, which are then either dropped in the mailbox or delivered to secure drop boxes at libraries, county offices and other convenient locations. Trained election officials then match the signature on each ballot against the signature on each voter's registration card, before processing the vote.

The transparency of Vote by Mail eliminates virtually all fraud, while addressing many traditional voting challenges:

Vote by Mail eliminates poll problems--there are no long lines, polls to open late or even confusion about where to vote.

Vote by Mail eliminates voter roll issues and the need for provisional ballots--ballots are mailed only to registered voters at their official address. Those who do not receive a ballot have ample time to resolve the issue with election officials.

Vote by Mail virtually eliminates voter fraud--no vote is processed or counted until a trained election official is satisfied that the signature on the ballot matches the signature on the voter's registration card.

Vote by Mail reduces the risk of voter intimidation--a 2003 study of Oregon voters showed that groups--like the elderly--who are most vulnerable to coercion prefer Vote by Mail.

Vote by Mail creates a paper trail.

Vote by Mail increases voter turnout--by eliminating the need to stand in line at the polling place, voting becomes convenient for hourly wage employees and other working families. Oregon's consistently ranks among the top five states in voter participation.

Vote by Mail encourages educated voters--receiving ballots weeks in advance, gives voters an opportunity to research issues and deliberate in a way that is not possible in a voting booth.

Vote by Mail saves taxpayer dollars--because there is no longer a need to transport equipment to polling stations and to hire and train poll workers, Oregon has reduced its election-related costs by 30 percent since implementing Vote by Mail.

...

"Vote by Mail works. This legislation gives states funds they can use to make the transition away from traditional voting methods that have led to so many problems, so many concerns and so little confidence in the American election system," Wyden said.

It's obvious the way the sky is blue that there are people out there--known sometimes as "Republicans," others as "closeted-gay gay-hating mess heaps"--who have a very serious interest in NOT increasing voter turnout, particularly among working families and the elderly; in NOT having transparent, paper-based systems in place; and, not least, in NOT saving taxpayer dollars (lest the beast not starve). They're who we'll have to do battle with in order to get this type of sensible solution going on. But I mean..... duh, okay, we knew that.

I'm not even particularly into mail-in voting, partly bc I just love going to the polls (been voting since I was 17!); rather, it's the paper trail that I'm all about. But this lays out a good case for mail-in, and I'd certainly support it anywhere it might be implemented.

On another note: the election two years ago directly precipitated the creation of this blog, which, despite being born of such darkness, has provided us a lot of fun and expression! And we've totally kept it political like 90% of the time! Happy (very slightly early) 2nd Birthday, BBD!

The shape of things to come

OK, here's sort of a rough guideline of how things are going to go down today (all times EST):

5:00 or 5:30: Exit polls are being done, but they will be held back for a while. Expect the first exit polls to start leaking out around now. DO NOT TRUST EXIT POLLS. Remember 2004. Wonkette usually has some exit polls numbers, and I bet Talking Points Memo will too.

6:00 PM: Indiana and Kentucky both end voting, which is totally retarded, but there you are. However, as both states straddle two time zones, that probably means that they won't start giving results until 7:00.

7:00 PM: Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia, New Hampshire & Vermont close their polls. Results should come out quickly after that.

7:30 PM: Ohio, North Carolina and West Virginia close.

After that, it'll all start rushing in fast & furious.

To keep up online, I would check all the usual places, but be aware that the major sites like Daily Kos will most likely be v e r y s l o w.

News-wise, we'll probaby be going with MSNBC, which is doing joint coverage anchored by Tweety (Chris Matthews) & Keith (Olbermann) beginning at 6:00 or 7:00. I think we're going to take a Veronica Mars pause (9:00! The CW!), and then into the special one hour Daily Show/Colbert Report live Midterm Midtacular at 11:00.

At that point, I expect things to degenerate into drunken incoherence.

Vote like it counts

Today's the day. This is it. No more tomorrows.

Vote. Tell your friends to vote. Do last minute GOTV if you can (yay, momiqua!).

Here are some numbers in case of voting problems:
1-866-OUR VOTE (1-866-687-8683)
1-888-DEMVOTE (1-888-336-8683) (DNC hotline)
1-888-SAV-VOTE (1-888-728-8683)(voting machine problems)
Do not let your vote get taken away.

(Oh - and if you're in NY, vote for Hevesi. The Republican running against him is a genuine conservative, who wants to stop investing state pension money in social programs and all sorts of icky fiscal things. If Hevesi gets kicked out of office, let him get replaced with another Dem. Don't vote for a Republican - just don't. Do vote along the Working Families Party line - it's like making your vote count an extra little bit.)

I have no predictions. Others, who are much more informed, are more confident than I am. If pressed, I'd say the best odds are on the Democrats taking the House by a small number but not the Senate. Truly, that would be enough for me. My fears are that we won't get even that. My dreams are too delicious to share. But I'm wearing blue like it's St. Patrick's Day for democrats, ready for the nightmare to be over.

Fear and Loathing

It was only a matter of time, and Rove and his glum little band of pasty tricksters are at it again. If you've been sitting around wondering what your October Surprise was going to be (in November, apparently), wonder no more.

The NRCC (Nat'l Republican Congressional Committee - them that are in charge of coordinating the GOP house strategy) has been using a firm in Virginia to make hundreds of thousands of robo calls in close races. These calls sound like they are from, or supporting, the democratic candidate, at least in the beginning. If you stick around, they'll say something nasty and unsubstantiated about the democrat, and then at the end mention that it was paid for by the republicans. But most people hang up on robo calls. So these machines are set to call back. Over and over. People have been getting 5-10 calls in a row, in many cases between 10pm and 5am. This is happening nation-wide (20+ races!), and is very serious.

It's also totally illegal, but since they're doing it the day before the election, all the restraining orders or injunctions or lawsuits won't matter, they'll be after the election.

And that, my friend, is the definition of fucking gall. They're doing something they know is illegal because they know that by the time they get caught for it, it will be too late.

Check out the diary on Daily Kos that I linked above for more information and links. If you hear anyone complain about these calls, tell them what the real deal is. And if you get any yourself, here's some information about what to do. High on the list is to contact your local media so the story can get out by tomorrow.

I am so fucking nervous.

Might as well try

Probably solely as a palliative to myself, I just sent the following email to the Rochester NBC affiliate....

I am writing to ask whether there will be any coverage on tonight's newscast about the automated calls being placed in the district claiming to be from the Eric Massa campaign but which are in fact from an outside source and designed to annoy and suppress voters. More information is available on www.massaforcongress.com. I care deeply about this district and the people in it, and feel that this situation must be brought to light with all possible expediency before tomorrow's election. Thank you.

god fucking dammit

in case you're wondering, they're doing EXACTLY what we fucking thought they'd be doing:

Harrassing Phone Calls
We're getting reports from all over the district of annoying automatic telephone calls, sometimes 10 or 15 in a row, that claim to be representing the Eric Massa for Congress campaign. These calls are NOT from us. They are probably coming from a company under contract to the Republican Party, and appear designed to annoy potential Massa voters such that they stay home on election day. Reports of calls like this are coming in from a number of tight races across the country.

If you get one, or a series, please try to get a "Caller ID" of the source telephone number, and if you get one on your answering machine, save it. Then, please send an email to mwilliams@massaforcongress with the subject line, "HAMMER CALLS" -- and we'll try to get something done. THANKS!

That's from www.massaforcongress.com, the website of candidate Eric Massa, who we met at YKos, and who is running in the NY 29th, upstate, where my grandma and several aunts, uncles and cousins live.

[Can't formulate next sentence as can't choose from among the pack of curse words which present themselves.]

In which I beg

Just fucking do it. Four days people. This is serious. Please?

Do more than vote. We all sit on our asses all day and bitch about the state of things but don't do a damn thing about it. And believe me, I got nothing against sitting on your ass all day. But just this once, just now, get off the couch and please please do something. They're on the fucking ropes. Don't you get it? A chance like this, a time when they are self-destructing faster then we ever dreamed, it just doesn't happen. They're drowning. Now is the time to throw them a goddamned anvil.

Look. I hate calling people. I barely answer my own phone. In fact, I sort of hate people in general (not really. I just seem to feel better when they're not around). But even I have dragged myself out and made phone calls. It's not scary after the first five minutes, I promise. Check out MoveOn. Call your local campaign HQ. Just convince a friend to vote. Something.

Please. Please. Do something.

I am not making this up

That's right. Another anti-gay evangelical conservative is gay. Male-prostitute-meth-head gay. Oh, and he's a pastor and PRESIDENT of the National Association of Evangelicals.

Allahu akbar.

Brush with fame

Wow. So I don't know if you've heard about this, there was an event for George "Macaca" Allen (VA-Sen). At the end, in the lobby of the hotel, a guy came forward and asked a slightly rude question (I think along the lines of, "Why did you spit on your first wife?" which is apparently something from his sealed divorce records). Allen's people wrestled the guy to the ground in front of some cameras. Nice going!

Now the fun part is I know the guy!

His name is Mike Stark. He specializes in calling right-wing radio shows. He's really good at getting through the screeners and asking great questions and not being pushed around. I met him in Vegas at the Warner party at the Stratosphere (mmmm, chocolate fountains...). Warner had rented out all the rides and I was hot to try some of them (the Strat has all of these rides suspended outside 1,000 feet above the Strip). I'm not afraid of heights and had about five "Kos-mopolitans" (oh yes, they went there) and subsequently didn't think it was as scary as all that but Azulita felt otherwise. So I ran off to ride one of the rides on my own. It was this thing that you belt yourself into and then it extends on this arm out over open space and then spins. I was all alone in a little two-person chair, so a guy came over and said that no one should have to ride these things alone and strapped himself in next to me. That was Mike. I had seen his stuff on DKos before and we got to talking. He was really cool and funny and sweet, and about the farthest thing you could imagine from angry or insane or violent, or however they're going to try to portray him.
UPDATE:
Azulita would like you all to know that she wasn't scared, she just didn't want to rain Kos-mopolitans down on the Strip like anti-peristalsis from God.

So that's my story.

In related news, I saw Keanu Reeves with some blond lady a couple of blocks from my house the other day. It was sublime.
UPDATE:
Looks like a lot of people out there are hot for Keanu sightings. So, if you're looking for a little more description, I'm happy to provide the deets. It was on Broadway on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, somewhat farther uptown than is considered chic. Mr. Reeves was looking somewhat scruffy with the shaggy hair and facial hair thing going on, but he did not look at all homeless or weird. Oh no - he looked beautiful. Scruffy but unmistakable. Taller than I expected. The woman he was with had a lot of what looked like bleached blond hair. She was tall and attractive, but not in a Hollywood way - more alternative looking. I'm not sure if they were holding hands or walking arm & arm, but they were walking quite close to each other. Next time I'll write Gawker Stalker. Except not.