Joe Manchin, the Governor of West Virginia and candidate for US Senate is a right wing conservative whack job, right? Oh, he's a Democrat? Well, that's awkward.

How badly does Manchin want you to think he's not an Obama liberal? Unlike Dale Peterson, Manchin actually fires a shot in his ad...right at the heart of a cherished piece of liberal legislation. I eagerly await the usual denunciations from liberal interest groups about how dangerous this kind of imagery is.

As Baseball Crank says, this is the sincerest form of flattery. It's also the sweet, sweet smell of desperation.

Meanwhile a real conservative, Republican John Raese, is tooling along with a 4.5% lead according to the RCP average.

The West Virginia race is an important one because the winner will sit in the lame duck session. If you're in West Virgina or a nearby state, check out Raese's website for Get Out the Vote opportunities.

One more note about Manchin's makeover from Democrat into West Virginia's Mr. Republican. He wanted the NY Times to know who his favorite most recent President is.

Gov. Joe Manchin III, the Democratic candidate for the Senate here, could barely contain his frustration during an interview at the Capitol.

He complained that his Republican opponent was unjustly calling him a tool of President Obama, and he jumped up to show a visitor a photograph of himself taken with President George W. Bush in the Oval Office.

In November of 2008 the story was that Republicans may never win another election above the dog catcher level. Now Democrats are running on their affinity for George W. Bush, Wisconsin may boot Russ Feingold and the House is a lost cause for Democrats.

Obama maybe the best thing to happen to conservatism and the GOP in generations. If only he weren't so damn bad for America.

Posted by: DrewM at 08:15 AM | Comments (118)
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Welcome to Monday.

Here. Have a disturbing image to go with your coffee and donut.

Hey, don't blame me, blame Slublog. I just post the stuff.

What's the matter? You don't feel like finishing your donut? Well, then I kinda did you a favor just now, didn't I?

You're welcome.

Posted by: Dave in Texas at 04:25 AM | Comments (298)
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Not as dramatic as the pudding-splashing one yesterday, but pretty damning nevertheless: more...

Posted by: CAC at 06:39 PM | Comments (136)
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End of the weekend for some, just another day for others, but all are welcome at the ONT party.

Proof That 7×13=28

We don't normally do math here on the ONT but tonight we'll make an exception for some classic Abbott and Costello.

Posted by: Maetenloch at 05:28 PM | Comments (482)
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This will be their attempt at an October Surprise, pushing the scary scary conservatives idea, and how we want to kill people, apparently by throwing soft-cover books at them.

So yeah, someone threw a book at Obama.

I'm not celebrating that-- that's disrepectful and also assault. (Yep, even if it misses.)

Notice how this scary conservative manages to not treat it as if its the greatest thing ever, like 90% of all liberals did when that Iraqi threw a shoe at Bush.

Because, see, it's different or something. See, this is a book, and it's racist.

Thanks to ManuelR.

Posted by: Ace at 05:20 PM | Comments (218)
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It was his idea, and he pushed it.

Now Ehlinger's over there, ready to shoot. Thanks to Andy, The Hostages, and all those who contributed.*

Be the wave.

* But not alas thanks to me. For some reason I kept putting off linking this. I always feel bad about grubbing money and when Andy pushed the idea I felt like I had just hit readers with enough requests to donate to candidates and wanted to wait. But, anyway, even so, he and everyone else who contributed got it done.

Oh BTW: Andy took part in the actual pudding dip on Scott Brown's victory nigh. He actually brought the pudding, too.

I think Stace McCain did it, I did it, Andy did it, DrewM chicked out ("I didn't know you were serious...") and Dan at POWIP did it, who kept wondering where his link was. Sorry!

Meep at POWIP just signed up for the phone 40 voters initiative and says it's up and running!

Be the wave.

There linked is Nice Deb's warning: either be the wave or have a wave of fraudulent votes steal victory away.

Ed Rendell, by the way, shows signs of desperation telling his fellow socialists: "Vote like your life depends on it."

Good advice for us, too.

Posted by: Ace at 04:34 PM | Comments (69)
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HereÂ’s a nifty site for all you haters and warmongers: It's the Congressional Medal of Honor Society.

Lotsa' good reading there if you have some spare time on your hands. The site includes an entry for each recipient of the medal along with an account of their actions leading to the awarding of the medal. Some pretty hairy stuff given that they don't hand these things out like candy.

According to the site's stats, there have been 3,448 total recipients but only 87 are currently still living. Also (and I found this really interesting) there have been 19 double recipients of the medal. You've gotta have an extra pair to accomplish that feat I'd think. The site also has updates on those recipients who have recently passed and randomly features one of the recipients on the front page. With 3,448 of them though you'll have plenty of reading to do.

(This has probably been posted here before. If not as an independent post then folded into another one. Apologies if thatÂ’s the case, but I donÂ’t recall seeing it which means others probably havenÂ’t either, so itÂ’s new to them. Or IÂ’m just that singularly clueless. Which is always a good bet)

Also, I noticed a link in the Top Headlines (aka: "rdbrewer's playground") by dri about the U.S.S. Independence, so I thought I'd move it over here where it'll get the love it deserves. But like he says, it's the most awesome ship in the US Navy. From the Wiki entry:

"USS Independence (LCS-2), the class prototype for the Independence-class littoral combat ship, will be the sixth ship of the United States Navy to be named for the concept of independence. It is the design produced by the General Dynamics consortium for the Navy's littoral combat ship program, and competes with the Lockheed Martin-designed USS Freedom."

"It is intended as a small assault transport that can take on various capabilities with the installation of mission modules. The ship is a trimaran design that can make more than 40 knots (74 km/h; 46 mph), and was delivered to the Navy at the end of 2009."

I did a post about this piece of badassery a couple of years ago when it was still under construction (They built the freakin' thing in a hangar, not a drydock. Well, a hanger drydock I suppose), so it's good to see that it's now in active service. Here's the link dri provided with pics of it actually floating and stuff. Below the fold is a pic of it while under construction and in its hangar. At the time I thought it looked like something out of science fiction which should be roaming around in outer space, wiping out Romulans and other unsavory characters. Still looks that way, even when wet.
more...

Posted by: Genghis at 04:30 PM | Comments (23)
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Heart attacks suck.


I may have a more detailed post later on what happens when you have a heart attack and what you should do. But I'm all feeble and stuff. Need more braaaaain.

Oh Crap. Brains are FULL of cholesterol. Gonna have to cut back on those. My cholesterol is so high now I can pour my blood on a wick and make a candle.


Here's the short version.

Aug 2001. Had a massive heart attack. "massive" means your heart actually stops. That's the kind of attack where you see a guy drop dead. But I was in the ER and the paddle machine was waiting.

Tues, Oct 5. Around 2 am I had mild chest pains and extreme right arm pain. I said "bullshit, this isn't a heart attack". Kept having more symptoms and finally called 911 at 4am. Guess what? It was a heart attack.

A very mild one. Got to the ER in time so that there appears to be no permanent heart damage.

(a non-massive heart attack means you had enough coronary artery blockage to damage your heart. enough damage... MASSIVE heart attack.)

They unplugged the artery (the SAME damn traitorous artery as 2001!) and stented it around 6pm that night and since then they've been observing me. I was released around 3pm today.


I'm exhausted. I'll resume pissing down the neck holes of decapitated Dems posting side news headlines and the occasional main blog post later this week.


BTW, a benefit of zombiehood is that I can vote more than once!

Posted by: Open Blogger at 03:25 PM | Comments (115)
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In AZ-7.

Her opponent? Just as cute, really.

He kind of looks like his parents were a tarantula and a deflated basketball. Bonus Knock: Napoleon B. offers, "Dude looks like Aaron Neville's meth addiction."

I don't want to say you should vote for a female candidate just because she's cute and gives you that "ooooohhh" warmth in your heart but I don't have to, because it turns out she's a damned good candidate.

Here name is Ruth McClung, and she's only got $16,000 cash on hand, because her opponent Raul Grijalva is completely unbeatable because all he did was call for an economic boycott of his own state over the very popular Arizona immigration bill. So, like, obviously Jabba's less socially-graceful cousin must be a lock, huh?

Not so much, not so much.

There was a chance for an against-the-odds upset but, honestly, I never expected to see a poll three weeks before Election Day showing a dead heat in AZ-7. Look at the data: Grijalva’s negatives are 47% against a positive of 39%, while Grijalva’s “deserves re-election” number is a mere 36% against 50% for “give new person a chance.” This is an incumbent in serious trouble.

To have these kind of results, when McClung reported a mere $16,000 cash on hand in early August — incredible!

Go give Ruth McClung $20 — do it now — but then come back while I tell you what this one poll, in one deep-blue district, means for the larger picture Nov. 2.

And that's not just Stace McCain saying that; Politico reports Democrats are worried about this seat:

Add Rep. Raul Grijalva to the growing list of Democratic worries this election season.

Party operatives say there’s increasing concern that the Arizona Democrat’s reelection bid could turn into a “sleeper” race for Republicans after Grijalva — responding to enactment of a tough new immigration law — called for an economic boycott of his own state amid a housing crisis and record unemployment.

Four Democratic sources from different parts of the country said that there is new attention to a race that was long considered in the bag.

Oh, and like when I said she was a rocket scientist? I wasn't being sarcastic.

Ruth McClung, a physicist who is currently working as a rocket scientist at a local engineering company, wants to use her knowledge to help the people of Southern Arizona, and the United States by serving in the U.S. Congress.

Oh here's a cute thing: On her list of endorsements, her number one, first-position endorser? "The grassroots, of course!"

Elect Ruth McClung

Because I'm actually not gay and if I have to look at nothing but John Boehner and Eric Cantor for the next two years I swear to God I'm going to kill myself and I'm taking some of you selfish pricks with me.

Posted by: Ace at 02:55 PM | Comments (163)
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Pretty short for a concession speech, really.

Well at least we'll have a test-case for how unapologetic red-meat social conservatism plays in the blue states.

This is a guy, meanwhile, who had a child out of wedlock while married to his wife, so you would expect him to have more of a hate-the-sin-love-the-sinner approach to deviations from the sexual ideal. But, again, it's easiest to knock those sins you yourself are incapable of.

Bad Timing, Too: NYC arraigns 8 gang-bangers (in the Latin King Goonies -- yeah, the Goonies) in anti-gay torture case.

Posted by: Ace at 01:56 PM | Comments (175)
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