"Compromisin', enterprisin', anything but tranquilizin'..."

After turning them down in prior years, Bea Arthur ("Maude," "The Golden Girls") has accepted entry into the TV Academy Hall of Fame.

'atta Girl!

The Vicar of "Spudly"

A long time ago (in a galaxy far, far away) I worked for a small hospital in Illinois, where, one summer night, a local arrived in the E.R. with a Pepsi bottle stuck up his back side. He was in the backyard painting his house, he said, when he fell to the ground, whereupon he landed, with perfect aim, directly onto the Pepsi bottle.

Not a soul believed the guy. But the bottle was removed and he was discharged without incident.

Imagine my fit of laughter this morning when I read this little tidbit from the U.K.:

The clergyman, in his 50s, told nurses at Sheffield's Northern General Hospital he had been hanging curtains when he fell backwards on to his kitchen table and got a potato stuck up his rectum. He happened to be nude at the time of the mishap, said the vicar...[who] had to undergo a delicate operation to extract the vegetable.

According to hospital officials, who apparently decided that this was the perfect time to bring up other such incidents, the E.R. staff at Sheffield General have removed a number of foreign objects from the backsides and genitals of people up and down the U.K. A can of deodorant, a cucumber, a Russian doll, and a carnation are among the items that have been stuck.

A word of warning to those visiting Sheffield: Don't drink the water! (Or, for that matter, eat the potatoes!!)

The Clinton Constitutional Dilemma

The right-wingers are at it again...trying to take the Clintons down the road of yet another "Constitutional crsis."

Apparently there is an obscure clause in Article I, Section 6 of the Constitution that prohibits members of Congress from being named to federal offices (like the President's cabinet) if a pay raise went into effect for the federal job while the congressman was in office.

This past January, President Bush issued an executive order raising the annual salary for Secretary of State from $186,600 to $191,300. When that raise went into effect, Hillary Clinton was a sitting United States Senator. According to the Constitutional verbiage, she is therefore disqualified from heading the State Department.

I'm no scholar on matters of constitutional law, but two things are clear to me:

1. This is an antiquated clause that disqualifies too may competent, qualified candidates, and it should be repealed by amendment. In this day and age it isn't uncommon for federal officers to receive pay raises every year or two. Moreover, many House and Senate members hold their seats for decades. Conceivably, countless pay raises could have taken place when a president taps them for a cabinet or other government job.

2. If the Republicans are going to make this a problem then, upon taking office, President Obama should repeal Mr. Bush's executive order and return the Secretary of State's salary to $186,600.

A rather simple fix, no?

What is obvious to me, a guy who railed against the Bush administration's sullying of the Constitution, is that if the pay for State Secretary can not be reduced to its original level, then, according to Article I, Section 6, Sen. Clinton's nomination needs to be reconsidered.

But I hope this can be fixed, and then the Constitution amended to change this 18th century rule.

End-of-the-Week Levity

The dancing walrus. WAY too freekin' cute.

Popular Vote Update

Not all state numbers have been certified, so there will be some minor changes before the tally is finalized. But Barack Obama's victory over John McCain is more impressive with each passing day:

Obama/Biden
Democratic
68,800,158
53.0%

McCain/Palin
Republican
59,607,254
45.8%

Barr, Nader, Others
Various
1,653,986
1.2%

That's a margin of 9,192,904 votes for the Democratic ticket. Any way you slice it...a superb showing!

Larry's Sore Legs

Larry has started training for AIDS/LifeCycle 8. You can track his progress (as well as his "sore legs & chafed butt") on his blog.

The Case For Banning Homosexuality

Great clip. And it doesn't hurt that this guy is mighty easy on the eyes...

Scaredy Cats

Give me a fuckin' break...


"Lawlessness" and "terrorism?!" "Wildfire of hate!?!" Mr. Schubert, you've already denied us the civil right of marriage, why must you now rip away our constitutional rights to speech and assembly.

You're not a christian, you're a fascist hate-monger. There is nothing christian about what you do.

And mark my words...if there really is a place called hell...you are at the top of the reservation list for a special place in it.

Showtune Queens

Ben sent me the link to this yesterday, but I got bogged down at work and didn't have the time to post it. Since then, the clip has appeared all over the internet. But for those of you haven't seen it, enjoy Jack Black, John C. Reilly, Allison Janney, Margaret Cho, Neil Patrick Harris, and an all-star cast in "Prop 8: The Musical"...

See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die

Chambliss

I had a couple of emails this morning wanting to know why I haven't commented on the Georgia Senate run-off. Basically, I knew Chambliss would win. While Georgia went for McCain by only 5-points (for comparison, Alabama went for the Republican by 21-points), the state is still considered very Republican. In run-off elections, the prominent party's base usually pulls their candidate to victory. In this case, that meant the GOP handed Chambliss a second term.

It's a shame, too. His ad against Max Cleland in 2002 was beyond vile.

Mid-Week Brain Break

12 tunes to help get you over that mid-week hump.



Playlist:

Lose That Girl - Saint Etienne
On A High - Duncan Sheik
1,000 Miles - Blake Lewis
Losing Touch - The Killers
Wave Goodbye - Bottle of Justus
Undeniable - Mat Kearney
It Looks Like Love - Josh Rouse
Beyond My Wildest Dreams - Mark Knopfler / Emmylou Harris
Today - Zero 7
Blue Chair - Morcheeba
Give the Drummer Some - Nickodemus
Transcendence - Thievery Corporation

It's Bill's Fault

Quote of the Day:

You know, I'm the President during this period of time, but I think when the history of this period is written, people will realize a lot of the decisions that were made on Wall Street took place over a decade or so, before I arrived in President, during I arrived in President.

-George W. Bush, in an interview with ABC's Charlie Gibson, yesterday.

Once again this fuck-wad is refusing to take responsibility for any of his actions. He's been in office for eight (very long) years now and has the gall to place blame for his incompetent leadership on the two presidents before him (one of which is his father).

Sorry, sir. While Wall Street policies have a place in the blame game, a large chunk of what we're seeing right now is a by-product of your failed economic leadership these last two terms; failed policies that saw our Treasury Department pillaged and our kids' futures put on the line. YOU are largely to blame for this, sir. And your "Twilight Zone"-eque take on the shit-pile that is your presidency will not change that fact.

Poseidon's Pirate Adventure

This pirate thing is getting way too out of hand:

A US cruise ship carrying more than 1,000 people was targeted at the weekend by pirates off the coast of Somalia, maritime officials say. Two small boats chased and fired shots at the Nautica eight times, but failed to board the vessel. Her captain, Jurica Brajcic, manoeuvred away from the pirates and increased speed to outrun them.

If these idiots aren't stopped, they'll eventually get a hold of a cruise ship. And that will spark an international incident.

Rosie's Show Canned

After only one airing, Rosie O'Donnell's variety show has been cancelled by NBC. That couldn't happen too soon, let me tell ya. I love me some Rosie, but last week's show was absolutely horrid. Amateurish, off center, horribly written, badly performed.

No.

It will be best if Rosie and the gang just forget about the one nasty episode and move on to other things.

In the mean time, those of us who did watch have a lost hour we need to get back.

Oliver Stone's "P"

ROTFLMAO!!

Obama's National Security Team

When you look at the people on that stage you know one thing for sure: Competence has returned to the White House. The adults will be running things once again.

It truly is a stellar team and I am quite impressed with Obama's picks, with the possible exception of Robert Gates' retention as Defense Secretary (I understand what Obama is doing and respect his decision to do it, so I guess I am more on the fence than wholly opposed).

At the top of Obama's national security team is an abundance of star power. The U.S. will need it if we have any hope of repairing our tattered global reputation. The world cheered when we elected Mr. Obama to the presidency. Some world leaders have been known to call Joe Biden (the Senate's foreign policy master) before calling President Bush when international crises have taken place. And we all know that the Clinton name is one of the most respected when it comes to American foreign policy.

President Obama, Vice-President Biden, and Secretary of State Clinton. That is one powerful trifecta! Those three names alone send the message to friend and foe that the grown-ups are back at the helm, and that our ship of state is being steadied once more. There will be vigorous debate and decisions will flow from those discussions. The days of "yes men," no matter the consequences, are gone.

President-elect Obama said it best:

I assembled this team because I'm a strong believer in strong personalities and strong opinions. I think that's how the best decisions are made. One of the dangers in a White House, based on my reading of history, is that you get wrapped up in groupthink and everybody agrees with everything and there's no discussion and there are no dissenting views. So I'm going to be welcoming a vigorous debate inside the White House.

But understand, I will be setting policy as president. I will be responsible for the vision that this team carries out, and I expect them to implement that vision once decisions are made.

So, as Harry Truman said, the buck will stop with me. And nobody who's standing here, I think, would have agreed to join this administration unless they had confidence that in fact that vision was one that would help secure the American people and our interests.

Killing Trees For Jesus

Before driving home on Sunday, we joined Brent's family in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains to find and kill a silver-tip tree for the holi-daze.

This is the tree we killed for Jesus...

After the tree was cut and netted for the drive home, Chloe hopped in the car and let it be known that she was "ret ta go!"

What is normally a two hour drive home wound up taking almost four hours. Traffic was fuckin' nuts.

Sorry

Needed an extra day to decompress following Turkey Day.

Happy Turkey Day

Brent and I are having friends over for the holiday, and then we are off to Placer County tomorrow to spend the rest of the weekend with the in-laws. No blogging until Monday (maybe Sunday). Enjoy the long weekend.

In the mean time, here is a special Thanksgiving mix for ya. It's the perfect soundtrack for your holiday. Enjoy.



Playlist:

Straight Back - Fleetwood Mac
Orange Crush - R.E.M.
Evil Ways - Rusted Root
She's A Lady - Tom Jones
Love Is Just A Game - The Magic Numbers
Ben's Letter - 54 Seconds
I Save the World Today - Eurythmics
Upside Down - Jack Johnson
Inner City Blues - Marvin Gaye
Enjoy the Ride - Morcheeba
Be My Number Two - Joe Jackson
You Know It's For You - Bee Gees

Giving Thanks

I'm not one for the holiday season. Thanksgiving and Christmas have always been way too sanctimonious in my opinion, bringing out the worst in people and showing their penchant for the material in spades.

That said, I can't let the day go by without giving thanks to the late, great Harvey Milk. It was 30 years ago today that the first elected gay official was assassinated, along with San Francisco Mayor George Mascone, at City Hall by Dan White.

Andy Towle:

Harvey Milk was known as the "Mayor of Castro Street", a pioneer and leader in every sense of the word, speaking out for the rights of gay people when it was a far more dangerous and rebellious act than it is today. It was a position that eventually cost him his life...

Were it not for Harvey Milk I am fully convinced the gay rights movement might still be in the dark ages. We certainly wouldn't be on the verge of being able to marry. Long live his memory!

Amen, Brother Andy...Amen!

NBC's coverage of that horrible day, 30 years ago: