Why not? They're bustin' their ass for Obama; shouldn't Obama put them on the payroll?

Connecticut lawmaker Frank Nicastro sees saving the local newspaper as his duty. But others think he and his colleagues are setting a worrisome precedent for government involvement in the U.S. press.

Nicastro represents Connecticut's 79th assembly district, which includes Bristol, a city of about 61,000 people outside Hartford, the state capital. Its paper, The Bristol Press, may fold within days, along with The Herald in nearby New Britain.

That is because publisher Journal Register, in danger of being crushed under hundreds of millions of dollars of debt, says it cannot afford to keep them open anymore.

Nicastro and fellow legislators want the papers to survive, and petitioned the state government to do something about it. "The media is a vitally important part of America," he said, particularly local papers that cover news ignored by big papers and television and radio stations.

To some experts, that sounds like a bailout, a word that resurfaced this year after the U.S. government agreed to give hundreds of billions of dollars to the automobile and financial sectors.

This has to be fought tooth and nail. This madness has to stop, now.

Jammie Wearing Fool notes the article refuses to mention the lawmaker calling for an unpopular bailout of an unpopular industry is a Democrat.

Funny how that works.

Think they'd mention this were Republicans calling for a bailout of the oil industry?

Thanks to CJ.

Posted by: Ace at 07:09 PM | Comments (187)
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Unless something extraordinary happens, I'm in for the night, for the second new year's running.

So... who else is feeling lame or prudent or a mixture of both to be inside tonight?

Pic: Thanks to Jeff U. Megyn Kelly will rocccckk in the New Year on Fox. Hopefully she'll interview Andy Dick and then angrily cross-examine him about why he's such an obnoxious douche. And why he hasn't been funny since 2002.*

* Three years before I stopped being funny myself.

Posted by: Ace at 04:53 PM | Comments (340)
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Selling out.

Doesn't it make more sense to keep the valuable real estate and profitable shares in sports franchises and sell the thing that's actually losing money, i.e., the frickin' newspaper itself?

But that would mean that "Pinch" would have to seek a job from employers who are not blood relatives. And I think we know how that would go.

Posted by: Ace at 01:13 PM | Comments (60)
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Eh. I think it's that his case is shaky, no matter what he says about new witnesses coming forward. It's tough to prove a bribery case.

Bobby Rush, of course, continues his race-baiting tour.

Posted by: Ace at 10:44 AM | Comments (55)
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The city? San Francisco.

As more and more black renters began moving into this mostly white San Francisco Bay Area suburb a few years ago, neighbors started complaining about loud parties, mean pit bulls, blaring car radios, prostitution, drug dealing and muggings of schoolchildren.

In 2006, as the influx reached its peak, the police department formed a special crime-fighting unit to deal with the complaints, and authorities began cracking down on tenants in federally subsidized housing.

Now that police unit is the focus of lawsuits by black families who allege the city of 100,000 is orchestrating a campaign to drive them out.

"A lot of people are moving out here looking for a better place to live," said Karen Coleman, a mother of three who came here five years ago from a blighted neighborhood in nearby Pittsburg. "We are trying to raise our kids like everyone else. But they don't want us here."

Update: San Francisco proper has succeeded in driving out half its black population already, so that explains the influx to the suburbs. And yet those tolerant Bay Area liberals seem to have the "Keep moving" signs out.

Thanks to someone2.

Provisional Semi-Correction: Iceman claims that Antioch is not really a true suburb of SF -- too far away to be a real suburb -- and also says it's not really "lefty."

I dunno.

I do know, as that other link notes, that half of the black population has been driven from SF proper via gentrification and soaring rents and anti-business statutes that make it hard for people to earn a living.

Posted by: Ace at 10:11 AM | Comments (133)
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I can't vouch for them but it's something to consider as you plan your Amateur Night New Year's Eve celebrations.

A sample of one doctor's advice.

(True or False) Taking pain relievers like aspirin after drinking will prevent a hangover.

False. Not only doesn't this work, it can be dangerous. Even a dose or two of aspirin can erode the stomach, causing gastritis, which would only be compounded by the stomach irritant effects of alcohol. Mixing acetominophen and alcohol can lead to acute liver inflammation.

...(True or False) Eating a big meal before going to sleep lessens the effects of a hangover.

False. A big meal, especially a fat-filled one, such as eggs and bacon, will stay in your stomach and interfere with sleep and possibly cause reflux. So, you'll wake up feeling even worse.

...(True or False)Eating a big meal before drinking can help prevent a hangover.

True. Eat that hearty fat-filled meal before drinking. It will fill you up and decrease your alcohol absorption.

Please feel free to share your hangover tips (perhaps even in Haiku form) in the comments.

I'll leave you with the only thing of importance that I learned in college...Liquor before beer, have no fear. Beer before liquor, never sicker.

Yes, my parents are very proud.

Happy New Year you morons.

Posted by: DrewM at 08:22 AM | Comments (220)
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Another one bites the dust.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 05:01 AM | Comments (80)
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Sorry guys, this one isn't like the one that Ace found. But it is one of the funnier, but also the more disturbing things I've seen today.

Go here. It's safe for work. Go on watch, I'll wait.

Philips has to find a market for the product and grow a market for the product. I'd say mission accomplished. I expect ads for that thing will be in all the lady mags soon too, so they'll want to buy it for their husbands and boyfriends. That's right, all you fellers are going to be trimming under your bitchtits by this time next year.

Thanks to Jahiliyya.

Update: I have been informed that this is OLD. So old, in fact, that commenter Shawn has been trimming his manboobs for over a year. So congratulations (?) to him. Pardon me while I go beat up Jahi.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 04:56 PM | Comments (244)
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There have been a couple of late developments to catch up on.

Obama took time from his vacation to speak about the man who may replace him. HeÂ’s not happy but heÂ’s being very careful about it.

"Roland Burris is a good man and a fine public servant, but the Senate Democrats made it clear weeks ago that they cannot accept an appointment made by a governor who is accused of selling this very Senate seat. I agree with their decision, and it is extremely disappointing that Governor Blagojevich has chosen to ignore it. I believe the best resolution would be for the Governor to resign his office and allow a lawful and appropriate process of succession to take place. While Governor Blagojevich is entitled to his day in court, the people of Illinois are entitled to a functioning government and major decisions free of taint and controversy," said President-elect Obama.

Next, the Illinois Secretary of State admits thereÂ’s really nothing he can do about the appointment.

"We've been doing a little research on this, and its a little nebulus," White's Press Secretary David Druker told First Read. "We do think the governor can still bring it to the U.S. Senate" without White's signature.

He added, "I guess you could say it was a moral stand."

A ‘moral stand’ in Chicago politics? Sure, okay.

And finallyÂ…can Harry Reid actually follow through and refuse to seat Burris based on Article I, Section 5 of the Constitution? One of NROÂ’s legal guys says probably not.

Blagojevich has thumbed his nose at the entire Democratic establishment in Chicago and DC, while one of ChicagoÂ’s leading black figures makes seating Burris sound even more important than ObamaÂ’s election to the presidency, all while helping Blago with a key constituent group. ThatÂ’s not a bad day for a guy facing federal criminal charges and a pending impeachment proceeding.

You've got give it to BlagoÂ…when he moves, he slices like a fuckinÂ’ hammer.

Posted by: DrewM at 04:49 PM | Comments (90)
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Taliban Burning, Beheading Its Way Through Pakistani Valley.

The law of unintended consequences is a stone cold bitch.

Posted by: Purple Avenger at 02:31 PM | Comments (82)
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