Katherine Kersten's Korner

Katherine Kersten needs to Get. A. Life. Seriously. Today's kolumn is about a play that is being put on at the U that some Catholics find offensive. So what does she do? She does exactly what conservatives have long pilloried liberals for doing: crying foul and essentially saying that such a play is terribly politically incorrect. The U is horrible for allowing it to go forward.

Wingnuttia level: 10 (She's gonna blow!)

I am frankly surprised by all of the conservatives these days that scream bloody murder in the same way that they say P.C. thugs used to do. When liberals would have a problem with a movie, TV show, act, or whatever, conservatives would tell them to get a sense of humor and get over it. Now, conservatives are doing the exact same thing. Who cares if this play paints the Catholic Church in a bad light? Don't see it. I'm no fan of religion and I'm not seeing about it. I'm not even thinking about its existence. I don't care. If I don't like something, I won't see it. Period.

According to her, "Archdiocese spokesman Dennis McGrath has assured the U that the archdiocese has no plans to organize protests or call Catholics into action against it." So why can't she leave well enough alone? Because it would take away the chance for her to throw one of her patented hissy fits. Sad.

Budget forecast

So the word is that Minnesota has about $1 billion left over from this budget, and will have an additional surplus of about $1 billion for the next two years. If you ignore inflation in the spending side, though; if you pay attention to it, the surplus drops significantly.

Which is reason enough for people to keep their expectations realistic, as everybody is cautioning. Doing away with "some inheritance taxes"? Please. Rewarding state workers? Well, that depends on what the rest of the economy is doing. Raising some revenue, like closing loopholes, is just fundamentally right and should be done regardless of the budget situation.

No going crazy, though.

More bigotry

I have heard that a bunch of mouth-breathers are upset that Keith Ellison will be sworn in with his hand on a Qur'an. Seeing as how he is Muslim and all, I guess he thought it would make sense to take an (unfortunately) religious oath using a holy book he believes in. Right-wingers are trashing this, saying it is an affront to 9/11 victims, blah blah blah.

It's time to admit that in this country, there are a lot of people with a psychopathic hatred of Muslims. They don't just hate extremists. They don't just hate the fanatics who have hijacked Islam to justify their murder. No, they also hate liberal Muslims like Keith Ellison. There is nothing that any Muslim can do to placate these people, short of renouncing their faith. To borrow a phrase used to describe another minority, the only good Muslim is a dead Muslim.

So once again bin Laden is laughing. It does the U.S. no good to argue that we are not in a religious war against Islam when prominent conservatives say that we are. These aren't fringe characters. These aren't people sitting around in wife-beaters in the trailer park, ranting at the TV. These are people with TV shows, newspaper columns, radio programs. And they unabashedly hate Islam and want to see it obliterated from the face of the Earth, by force if necessary.

I'm sick of these wankers wanting to destroy more than 200 years of religious freedom in this country. I don't believe in Hell, but if I did, I think Lucifer would set aside a special part of it for these cowards.

Afterthought: I won't provide a link to the Townhall.com column about this because it so monumentally disgusting, but it starts off like this:

"Keith Ellison, D-Minn., the first Muslim elected to the United States Congress, has announced that he will not take his oath of office on the Bible, but on the bible of Islam, the Koran.

He should not be allowed to do so -- not because of any American hostility to the Koran, but because the act undermines American civilization."

And it only gets stupider from there, not to mention factually inaccurate...

Books

I'm looking for some conservative books to read. Not anything by Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, or moralistic hypocrites like Bill Bennett. No, I'm looking for an intelligent critique of liberalism AND conservatism from a right point of view. A book I read long ago, Dead Right by David Frum, fit the bill. But it's an old book. Is there anything new out there? I'd appreciate some suggestions.

Budget forecast

The November budget forecast is coming out tomorrow, and all indications are that it will show a surplus, perhaps as much as $1 billion.
Which means that the DFL-controlled legislature is going to have some money to work with to implement its policy goals.

What will they start with? Probably with what they promised on the campaign trail: property tax relief, health care, and education investments. Since Governor Pawlenty now supports covering all kids with health care, perhaps that will be the first big issue tackled. I do agree, though, that any decisions need to be sustainable. No giant laser space frisbees.

Katherine Kersten's Korner

Today's kolumn is about people doing nice things for foreign visitors on Thanksgiving. Bravo.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving! Have a safe trip if you are traveling.

No fear

Read this for why it is important not to act like morons when it comes to threats of terrorism. The goal of terrorism is not to blow things up or kill people. Those are means. The goal is to get people afraid and to get them to act like idiots. Well, mission accomplished here. Advantage: bin Laden.

Oh no! Brown people praying!

It happened in Minnesota, and it's political, so what's wrong with commenting on the injustice of six Muslims being kicked off of a plane for, um, looking Muslim and praying as far as I can tell.

Every time something like this happens, Muslims around the world like the U.S. a little bit less and Osama bin Laden gets a smile on his face.

I wonder: if I had been on that plane and yelled, "All of you ignorant racist hicks who are scared of brown people on the same plane as you can go to hell" once all of this crap started, would I have been arrested too?

Katherine Kersten's Korner

She already did today's kolumn before, and I'm not biting again.

And fish are trees!

MCCL has put up a lot of very stupid billboards throughout the years, but the dumbest one I have ever seen has to be a new one that says "Embryos are Babies!"

Are they ignorant of biology, or just hoping that the rest of the world is?

I'd like to mention that I am George Clooney. Just sayin'.

$*@&% You, Glenn Beck

Seriously, just @*#! you. You are a pathetic human being.

Katherine Kersten's Korner

If you need any more proof that Governor Pawlenty's dreams of holding higher office as a Republicans are doomed, look no further than today's kolumn. In it, she joins the growing chorus of conservatives who are up in arms about Pawlenty's proposal to give all kids health care coverage.

Wingnuttia Level: 10 (She's gonna blow!)

Of course, whatever Kersten finds fault with I tend to like...except maybe in this situation. But regardless, Kersten thinks like most hard-line Republicans (shudder) so her opinion on this matter is illuminating. Like many others, she thinks Pawlenty has totally sold out with this proposal.

She thinks that government health care plans tend to "cost more than expected, result in rationing, and be hobbled by assembly-line care?" Yeah, right. Take Medicare, for example. Low administrative costs, no rationing, best customer satisfaction of any health care plan...how terrible! The absurd prescription drug benefit plan is a boondoggle, but that's because the Republicans wrote the legislation and protected their friends in the pharmaceutical industry, not because there are fundamental flaws.

Then, she trots out the same old crap about how if only "market forces" were brought into play in health care, then everything would be better. See, if you had a heart attack, you would open up the latest issue of Consumer Reports, find the hospitals nearest to you that provide the best value, call them up for some quotes on emergency angioplasty and similar procedures, and then finally go to the hospital that gives you the best bang for the buck. Simple. It's like finding a restaurant or a home.

The more conservatives blubber, the less they can explain how the U.S. spends more money than any other industrialized country on our health care with dismal results. But people like Kersten are so wedded to the religion of the Free Market (praise Ford!) that even with reality smacks them in the face, they refuse to believe it. The commissars in the Soviet Union would be proud. Now that Pawlenty is seeing the light at least a little bit, he has become apostate, and therefore must be punished.

Minnesota's Governor: Tim "Howard Dean" Pawlenty

Does anybody else find it a bit ironic that all of a sudden, Governor Pawlenty has come out for a program to provide universal health care coverage to all Minnesota children, a program that was a centerpiece of former governor Howard Dean's political career? Can a leopard change his spots that quickly?

Make no mistake: I think any program that provides health insurance to more people is a good one (pending details). Universal coverage of children is a step on the way to universal coverage for everybody, something that I think is long overdue.

But can we please stop with all of the talk about Pawlenty having a shot at higher office? You don't get the Republican nomination by taking after the much-vilified (on the right) chair of the DNC. Pawlenty has as much chance for higher office on the Republican ticket as pro-gun control, pro-gay, pro-choice Rudy Giuliani. Which is zero, for those wondering.

Republicans in jail

Crazy right-wing Republican legislator Mark Olson has been arrested and charged with fifth degree domestic assault for allegedly slapping around his wife. Yet another "family values" Republican.

Are there any pro-"family values" politicians that aren't horrible people? Or is that a stupid question?

The myth of the sensible center

Atrios talks about this a lot: this myth held by mainly middle-class educated white men in Washington that there is a "silent majority" of "sensible centrists" in this country who are socially permissive and fiscally conservative. These pundits think that if you just listen to the sensible center, everything will be okay and there will be no strife in U.S. politics.

Of course, such a center only exists in the minds of the pundits that are clapping each other on the back and congratulating themselves for realizing such a deep notion. What makes it especially ironic is that I would fall into that category. However, I am under no illusion as to believing that I represent the majority of people in this country. I know that I am on the fringe for the most part. I haven't drunk the Kool-Aid that Washington experts have.

Like many of these pundits, I am an educated middle-class white guy. I believe in free trade, balanced budgets, minimal spending, the abolition of corporate and agricultural subsidies (things like this and stadium subsidies really make me mad), and in general a hands-off approach to the market when interference isn't necessary. I also believe that the government should get out of the marriage business and allow two adults to enter into civil unions, that most drugs should be legalized, that prostitution should be legalized, that gambling should be legalized or completely banned (no state lottery exemption), and that people should generally live and let live.

What I don't get is how anybody who believes in these things can believe that this is a majority position in this country. The Pew Research Center has this handy graph that shows that Libertarians (socially liberal, fiscally conservative) make up 9% of the country, while Populists (socially conservative, fiscally liberal) make up 16% of the country, or almost twice as many people. There are more social conservatives than social liberals, which is obvious to anybody that has noticed that all but one anti-gay marriage amendments proposed around the country have passed.

So what does this mean? Well, as far as the Independence Party is concerned, it means that if the party really does encompass a fiscally conservative, socially liberal ideology, it is going to be a minority party. If not, well, then what the heck does the Independence Party stand for? In the broader scheme of things, it means that the educated elite may find it easier and more natural than others to move towards Libertarian beliefs, but that doesn't make it a prevailing ideology.

Katherine Kersten's Korner

Today's kolumn is about an utterly pointless issue: what the mascot of UND is. It's not like there is anything else important going on in this world.

The uselessness of the Independence Party

Does this election mark the end of the Independence Party? Peter Hutchinson got fewer votes than Tim Penny, who got fewer votes than Jesse Ventura. The only other race of note, that in the Fifth District, was more of an anti-Keith Ellison vote than a vote for Tammy Lee. Had anybody else been the DFL candidate, Lee would not have been a factor at all. So why should the Independence Party stick around?

The issue is not really that of the party not standing for anything, although that is true. It is simply a matter of the voting system we have: a first-past-the-post electoral system will not have third parties. Read about it.

If people want there to be viable alternatives to Democrats and Republicans, voting for losing third parties isn't the answer. The answer is changing the voting system. Proportional representation or instant run-off would lead to other parties sprouting up. It's not impossible to change voting systems; Minneapolis just did it. The supporters of IRV in Minneapolis have the right idea: get elected officials to support the change regardless of their party orientation. Then, after the change, you can start supporting candidates from other parties.

Until that happens, though, the Independence Party isn't going to accomplish anything. It's time to put it out of its misery.

Hatch loss

Over at the Minneapolis Issues Discussion list, some other people are arguing that Hatch lost because he didn't get enough DFL support, not because of the "Republican whore" thing. They have looked at the numbers, and they found something that I suspected (without any proof, of course): that Hatch polled behind other Democrats in the core cities.

It's an interesting discussion, which can be found here.

Katherine Kersten's Korner

Today's kolumn is a big, sloppy kiss to Michelle Bachmann. Since Kersten is a woman, I think Bachmann would have a big problem with that.

Wingnuttia Level: Hot woman-on-woman action...

I don't think Bachmann would like anybody to give her big, sloppy kisses except for Jesus. Seriously, when I saw her at her victory party on Tuesday night, I fully expected her to say at some point, "And I'd like to give a big shout-out to Jesus. We finally made it, baby!" Or to maybe vacuum in her high heels again.

Getting back to the kolumn...well, there's nothing there. Really. I do like the fact that Bachmann once again plays the victim and pretends that the media and other people are out to get her because of her Christianity. You know what, Michelle? I'm out to get you not because you're a Christian, but because you are a bigot. Those two things don't have to go together, no matter what you learned in your twisted Sunday School along with lessons about how the Antichrist wears a funny hat and drives around in a golf cart.

Fortunately, since so few Republicans won on Tuesday, Kersten won't be able to embarrass herself with many other winners. Although she will probably blow a few more gaskets over Keith Ellison's victory. Can't wait for that.

Interesting...

Fresh off of their expanded majority, Senate DFLers got together today and selected as their majority leader...Larry Pogemiller?? What?

I thought the whole plan given the DFL-dominated legislature was to demonstrate that when Democrats are in control, things will work better, not worse. Pogey in charge is not a good way to make that happen.

Yes, it would be very hard to find somebody as classy as Dean Johnson to take over (whatever you think of his politics, he is probably one of the highest-quality legislators in recent memory). But come on, people. Try a little!

Maybe I will be completely wrong about this, and Larry and Timmy will sit down and work everything out and there won't be any brinkmanship or last-minute deals or special sessions. Is anybody willing to make that bet?

The aftermath

I think I did pretty well with my predictions. I was a bit conservative and underestimated the Democratic wave. I definitely underestimated how that wave would trickle down to local races.

Klobuchar won, but by much more than the high single digits. Republicans knew that they were going to lose this, but they hoped to keep it relatively close to prevent a catastrophe for their other candidates. They did not keep it close, and the catastrophe came.

Hatch did lose by less than a couple. A lot of people are going to say that it was his "Republican whore" comment that did him in. My gut says that's not true; I think he pissed off too many Democrats by how he acted earlier this year. But there is no way to test this theory now, and the popular explanation that it was his "meltdown" will carry the day.

Incumbents did win, with the exception of Gutknecht. That was the only race where I saw a possibility of flipping, and I was right. Rowley was a terrible, terrible candidate. Wetterling was not as bad as Rowley but was not good enough to win. No other incumbents were in trouble.

Democrats ran the table with the other statewide offices. Part of the Democratic wave.

For the Minnesota House and Senate, I did not see the huge DFL rout (but I don't think anybody else did either). The Democrats in the Senate added a net of six, more than the "one or two" I predicted. Instead of the low 70s, the Democrats in the House are now at 85. All DFL incumbents in the House won; the Senate lost Dallas Sams and Dean Johnson.

I do feel bad for Johnson. By keeping gay marriage off the ballot, he helped engineer the big DFL gains. But more than that, he did the right thing. And he paid for it. As a preacher, I'm sure he's well versed in this kind of situation.

Nationally, I predicted low 20s for the House, and the Democrats are in the upper 20s now with several races left. The Senate will be controlled by the Democrats as well, with a net gain of six seats. I honestly didn't think the Democrats would be able to win Virginia, Montana, and Missouri, but they did.

There was other good news nationally too. Arizona rejected a gay marriage ban. South Dakota rejected a ban on abortions, proving once again that even in a conservative state, the majority of people want to keep abortion legal in at least some circumstances.

An aside on the abortion debate...I am sick and tired of hearing from people that "If the Democrats want to win they should become pro-life" and "Democrats don't respect their pro-life members." First of all, there are a lot more pro-life Democrats than pro-choice Republicans. If you take a look at the Minnesota House, for example, there are plenty of pro-life Democrats and no more than one pro-choice Republican. But more than that, I fail to see why both major parties should be pro-life if the majority of people in this country are pro-choice. Where are the majority of pro-choicers supposed to go with two pro-life politcal parties? Democrats just proved that they can win by respecting abortion rights (like in Kansas where a Democrat knocked off the abortion-obsessed pervert of a Republican Attorney General). So give it up. I don't want to hear anymore about your grandparents in Podunk, Nebraska who voted Democrat their entire life until they started voting for Republicans based on that one issue.

The new Democratic majorities are not more liberal, nor are they more conservative. They are diverse. I certainly hope they start out by pursuing the agenda they laid out for people and that the voters agreed with: raising the minimum wage, implementing the recommendations of the 9/11 commission, and investigating the malfeasance of the Bush administration. People want answers, they want accountability, and they want results. The Democrats are poised to deliver what the people want.

An incredible night

What a night.

Nationally, Republicans were beaten senseless.

Locally, with the exception of the governor's race, Republicans were beaten senseless.

One of the most amazing election nights in recent history.

Ellison wins

Keith Ellison won in the 5th. No surprise.

I'm wondering why MPR has a net gain of 3 seats in the Minnesota House for DFLers already.

Nationally, Democrats seem to be stomping Republicans. It's early, but it looks like a very, very long night for the GOP.

No more blogging tonight probably; I'll be heading out to try and get a handle on things. Staying in and watching the results is no fun.

Klobuchar wins

The polls closed 15 minutes ago, and the media is calling it for Klobuchar.

I guess Kennedy can go back to being the nerdy C.P.A. I'm shedding a tear, I really am.

The word

So far, the elections here look smooth. Problems are evident in other states, but for the most part Minnesota is okay. Still almost three hours left to vote, so get out there if you haven't already.

Katherine Kersten's Korner

In today's kolumn she gives a little history lesson on how a politically split country is typical. The fact that she can do this sounding like an impartial observer instead of sounding like the cog in the Republican noise machine that she is, is pretty incredible.

Wingnuttia Level: 7 (My head hurts...)

And what is Kersten's party currently doing? Why, they are trying to keep people from voting or otherwise engage in dirty tricks. Proud about the Republican role in polarization, Kersten?

Then there is the issue of relevance. Recently, a former Bush speechwriter wrote an editorial about all the liberals he hates. What struck me most about the article was the fact that he pointed to virtual nobodies: does anybody know who Nicholas De Genova and Kevin Barrett are? The people I recognized from the list, like Ward Churchill (favorite whipping boy of the right) and Harry Belafonte (seriously?) aren't running for office, aren't Democratic leaders, and really have no constituency at all. Ted Turner? Give me a break. These people aren't responsible for discourse in this country. They do not sway opinions.

So when Kersten says that "Republican visions of Democratic control hint at cultural free fall, tax rates hovering around 95 percent, and Fidel Castro as the next U.S. Supreme Court justice", does this reflect reality at all? Is there a single Democrat who has come out for 95% tax rates? Or support for Fidel Castro? These positions do not exist, yet she believes that this stereotype is somehow valid.

Contrast that with the vision that Democrats have, "images of America as a totalitarian theocracy, where the Rove-Cheney politburo dictates secret orders through coded messages to millions of mindless evangelicals." Well, to tell you the truth, there are plenty of Republicans who are in favor of basing our government on Christianity, Mary Kiffmeyer and Michelle Bachmann among them. There are no secret order; this is all done in the open. Democrats really aren't hallucinating things here. The most extreme Republicans do believe in a quasi-theocracy and torture for just about anybody who could be a terrorist; the same can't be said about the most extreme Democrats.

So yes, Kersten, polarization is nothing new. But to pretend that you have nothing to do with it is ridiculous.

Where do I vote?

Don't know where to vote? Go here.

Predictions

Oh well, I'll do them now.

Senate: Klobuchar no problem. Maybe high single digits for the spread.

Minnesota's Congressional representation: All incumbents win, with the outside chance that Walz beats Gutknecht. Ellison wins. Bachmann wins and humiliates herself immediately nationally. Sixth district voters still care too much about teh gay and will believe the "scary liberal tax" issue just enough to beat Wetterling.

Governor: I truly do not know. I think that in order for Hatch to win, he needs to be up by several points in the last polls to overcome the incumbency issue (not because of the whole E-85 gaffe or anything like that). Is he up by that much? Hard to tell. Either he wins in a squeaker or he loses by less than two. Probably loses.

Attorney General: Lori Swanson no problem.

Secretary of State: Not enough information. Mark Ritchie has ads and is a better candidate; Kiffmeyer believes that the separation of church and state is evil and anybody who believes this needs to be removed from office (or forcibly converted to another religion). But I don't know what will happen, same for...

State Auditor: Pat Anderson [Awada] seems to have a pretty anti-government and anti-public school streak. I would like to see her go. But I don't know what will happen.

Minnesota House: I think the Democrats will retake this, and will have in the low 70s for total members (currently, it is 68-66 Republican).

Minnesota Senate: Not much change here, maybe a net of one or two seats either way, most likely down for Democrats. Democrats retain control (currently, 38-29 Democrat).

Nationally? Well, I think...

House of Representatives: Democrats will pick up a net of 20-25 seats, taking control.

Senate: I think there is a 50% chance they will get four seats, and a 50% chance they will get five. Five would tie it up in favor of Republicans.

Fake meltdowns

The Hatch campaign in a "meltdown"? Come on. It's nice to see that media outlets are spreading the official Republican spin on things, but it's a bit ridiculous.

The issue here is that the candidates are suffering from a condition that seems to hit DFLers running in Minnesota: acting like it is the first time they have run for office.

Dutcher has held office before, so she should know better. She could have handled things far better than she did during that interview. Ignorance is hardly a barrier to winning office; if it were, the leader of our country would be President Gore. All you have to do is admit ignorance, say you will study it, apologize for not knowing, and move on. Maybe throw in a self-effacing comment, a joke, or use some jujitsu and turn it around to the opponent. Had she done this, the story would have died in a day.

Of course, Hatch compounded the problem by getting mad. There are simple rules for when to get mad. When it is your fault, do not get mad. Laugh it off. If you make a mistake, and then you get mad at those around you, it certainly doesn't look good. If you dropped a glass jar at the grocery store, would you yell at the cashier? Only if you want to look like a jerk.

On the other hand, when somebody unfairly attacks you (Swiftboating, calling you a terrorist, etc.) then you get mad at whoever is doing it. If you don't respond and let people walk all over you, then you look weak. Anger in these situations is appropriate. If somebody throws a glass bottle at you in a grocery store, saying "Thank you sir may I have another" or ignoring it makes you look a bit daft.

These are simple rules. They should be familiar to people who have run for office before. Amnesia in the last days of a campaign doesn't seem to be all that unusual, though. Maybe flash cards would help?

DFLers bad for business? Nonsense!

So the anti-Hatch group that has come together in recent days is funded by businesspeople who are afraid that one-party control will be bad for business. DFLers bad for business? What a load of crap.

Let's ignore all of the historical data showing that Democrats are better for the economy. Let's forget all of the recent evidence, those comparisons between Bush and Clinton (like how Clinton created something like 20+ million jobs, and Bush has created maybe a third of that). Let's look at what Democrats could do from now on. If I were in charge, this would be my agenda:

1) Income tax simplification for businesses and individuals. Get rid of the majority of arcane deductions and exemptions.

2) Leveling of the income tax playing field. Elimination of the subsidies that huge corporations can take advantage of, but small businesses can't (like setting up foreign shell organizations to avoid paying income taxes).

3) Universal health care to take that cost off of the books of businesses (and their pension plans).

4) Where possible, reducing the regulations that are a barrier to small business creation.

Looking over that list, I do notice one thing: that many of those changes would be most beneficial to small businesses. Which is no accident. I think that the Democratic party can easily be the party of small businesses if they get smart about it. They don't have to change their ideology, because it naturally coincides with the desires of entrepreneurs. It just requires refocusing.

So, does anybody have any issue with this agenda, or any comments about how this would not be beneficial for small businesses?

The guv race

A group of Republicans have gotten together and set up an anti-Hatch campaign. But unfortunately, the way things worked out, campaign donors can't be revealed. How conveeeeeeeenient.

I can't say that Hatch and Dutcher have handled the whole E-85 issue well, however. How hard is it to find candidates that can think on their feet? Why couldn't Dutcher have jokingly said, "Well, I'm looking forward to a lot of on-the-job training!" instead of drawing this out forever? Sheesh.

This race certainly is wacky (and not just because of the kitten-eating ad). I will be making my predictions on Monday, including this race.

Wait for it....

Tomorrow is the Friday before the election. Do you know what that means? Something is up. Will the CIA "uncover" a video from bin Laden? Will we catch al Qaeda's latest number three man? Will Bush admit he has been wrong on Iraq from the start (err, scratch that last one).

If we make it through tomorrow without some kind of insane news break, I will be amazed.

Katherine Kersten's Korner

Today's kolumn is about military recruiting, peppered with insults. I especially like how Kersten, a member of the "mainstream media", bashes said media for go[ing] out of their way to make sure you know every scrap of negative news about our military." I guess we need more stories about all the schools that are being painted, and not, you know, stories about the reality of our soldiers getting killed in a civil war.

The rest of the kolumn is not terribly interesting, unless you have never talked to a military recruiter.

Our liberal media

Rush Limbaugh mocks, literally physically mocks, a guy with Parkinson's, and aside from some tut-tutting, the story goes away and Bush does an interview with him.

George Bush says that voting for Democrats means you support the terrorists. Yawn.

Republican House Majority Leader John Boehner just said that the problems in Iraq are the fault of the troops on the ground. Nothing.

John Kerry botches a joke that anybody with an IQ above room temperature understands. CNN runs wall-to-wall coverage on it. It has been the top news story on Excite.com all day. The Star Tribune has it prominently displayed on their home page.

First up against the wall, I tell ya.