Apparently His ascension election is just a mere formality, a distraction if you will, so Team Messiah has started working on the important stuff.

"Barack is well aware of the complexity and the organizational challenge involved in the transition process and he has tasked s small group to begin thinking through the process,” a senior campaign adviser said. “Barack has made his expectations clear about what he wants from such a process, how he wants it to move forward, and the establishment and execution of his timeline is proceeding apace.”

Last month, the PostÂ’s Chris Cillizza reported that campaign advisers were sounding out John Podesta, a former White House chief of staff to President Bill Clinton and currently the president of the Center for American Progress, for his advice.

An aide confirms that Podesta will probably be asked to head the transition team, which would take over from the campaign if Obama wins in November, and would be tasked with ensuring a smooth handover of power.

It's arrogant enough that He's doing this in such a public way but the fact that his aides are willing to talk about their plans, even anonymously, is pretty amazing.

Remember that Seinfeld episode where Kramer just showed up and started working for a company, even though they never actually hired him? I think between his own presidential seal, his foreign tour where he's pretending to be President and now this, Obama's plan is to just show up on January 20th and start acting like the President.

After all, elections are for mortals.

Posted by: DrewM at 07:33 AM | Comments (56)
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Ouch. They're both in the "elite" top 5 of no-show senators. Or maybe not ouch -- its probably safe to say this mail it in behavior would continue after the election and neither of them would be inclined to go on an actual tear about anything.

Posted by: Purple Avenger at 04:32 AM | Comments (32)
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Fark had the story and the headline.

Here's the actual report.

It does make sense, though, I have to admit. They're writing for a smaller and smaller -- err, "more selective" -- audience every day, and that small audience tends to be upscale liberals who don't mind high newspaper prices, just as they don't mind spending $6.00 on a cup of fucking coffee at Starbucks. The Times, like Starbucks, is for them a tribal signifier, and the fact that it's overpriced is, if anything, a feature, not a bug.

Keeps the riff-raff out, you know.

Still, I'd like to see them go all the way up to $4.00 a copy -- perhaps they'd be profitable at that price point -- so that we can say "Welcome to New York, where ten dollars still gets you a newspaper and a cup of coffee."

Posted by: Ace at 04:59 PM | Comments (62)
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The Nutroots: Full of piss and vinegar, but mostly piss.

Thanks to CJ.

Posted by: Ace at 04:41 PM | Comments (50)
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Along with 10,000 American troops.

They're rolling in August 1st, which is also the date of the planned McCain "money bomb."

I question scheduled the timing.

If successful the operation will add to an impressive run of victories for the security strategy of the prime minister Nouri al-Maliki.

...

A succession of disruption campaigns have already been waged in Diyala. American forces encountered major resistance last year in Operation Arrowhead Ripper, which was supposed to clear the city of Baquba, once declared the capital of al-Qaeda's putative Islamic State of Iraq.

Diyala is often described as a microcosm of Iraq with significant tensions between settled ethnic and sectarian populations. In addition its terrain ranges from mountains to densely vegetated river valleys criss-crossed with rat-runs for terrorist groups. It is also a major conduit for Iranian arms and supplies to Shia militias.

"Diyala remains the most dangerous province in Iraq," said Colonel Ali al-Karkhi, an Iraqi officer in the province.

"But understand that it is a mini-Iraq. There are Sunnis, Shiites, Kurds, Christians. The other provinces are far less mixed which is why it is so difficult to restore peace here. It is also the reason why people are so extremist."

In his hidden lair in Iran, Moqtada al-Sadr suppressed a dark chuckle as he analyzed the Coalition's woefully inadequate battle plans. "Fools," he hissed, and then drank a glass of exquisite 1948 port, the drink staining his satisfied smile the color of rubies, and blood.

He turned back to his piano to give another try to the Bach sonata that had so far eluded him. His nimble fingers only struck three gorgeously dark chords before the image of his chief lieutenant, Dr. Otto Sinister, appeared in his holophone. "All Sections report Green for Go," Sinister said in his clipped Germanic accent.

"Excellent," al-Sadr purred.

Sinister clicked his heels sharply and gave a triumphant salute, his hand above his black eyepatch. Then the holophone image flickered out again, like a match snuffed out after lighting a post-coital cigarette.

Al-Sadr could scarcely contain his excitement. His cybernetic hand clenched involuntarily, each digit flexing with steely anticipation.

The trap was lethal, cunning, and well-baited.

And now it was set.

-- Excerpt from Blood-Splattered Dawn (A Moqtada al-Sadr Action Thriller), by Moqtada al-Sadr, edited by everyone in the MSM. Copyright 2008. All Rights Reserved.

Posted by: Ace at 04:09 PM | Comments (17)
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From actor Gary Oldman:

"There was one actor I worked with who used to burn his leg with cigarettes. I canÂ’t name names. Well, letÂ’s just call him Sean Penn."

Thanks to MattM.

Since I'm in the mood for wildly inappropriate recut trailers, why not this one again? more...

Posted by: Ace at 03:26 PM | Comments (40)
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Kind of proof people are getting their news from alternate media, because certainly the MSM isn't reporting this.

Posted by: Ace at 03:22 PM | Comments (24)
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This is a Reason article, so the typical libertarian impulses inform the list.

Still, it's good reading.

Most paternalistic/socialist/fascist-dogooder city culture in America?

Chicago.

Wonderful.

Oh, Snap! "Cerebral Paul Z." writes:

If Reason still had the typical libertarian impulses, it would have been a better article. See if you can guess which category they left out.

Well-played, sir. Indeed, their criteria for freedom do not include anything at all about taxes, property rights, or freedom to practice a trade or run a business.

Which is a pretty deadly point about a magazine supposedly dedicated to "freedom." They're into the hot aspects of freedom, yes. The shit that fourteen-year-old boys think about. And that's about it.

I'm surprised they didn't include how young you can be before you get your learner's permit as a key consideration.

El Ricko puts it more directly:

Ah, Las Vegas. Of course the "Pot and sex! Gee, am I cool yet?" folks at Reason put Vegas, baby, Vegas at the top of the list.

Posted by: Ace at 01:47 PM | Comments (73)
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Dude hasn't even been in the Senate for 4 years, it can't be that hard to keep track of his assignments.

Now, in terms of knowing my commitments, you don't have to just look at my words, you can look at my deeds. Just this past week, we passed out of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee, which is my committee, a bill to call for divestment from Iran, as a way of ratcheting up the pressure to ensure that they don't obtain a nuclear weapon.

Except he's not actually on the Senate's Banking, Housing and Urban Development committee. Apparently when you are the Obamessiah you are an ex-officio member of whatever you want to be.

He's also denying he's changed what he said about Jerusalem being the undivided capital of Israel, even though you know, he has.

Is this guy a pathological liar or is he just goofing on the press trying to see how far he can push them before they stop covering for him?

Posted by: DrewM at 01:36 PM | Comments (44)
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He came thisclose to actually having a blood alcohol content of... HALF.

Well, half of one percent, at least. He hit a .489.

No fucking about with .08 or even .13. Fuck decimals, baby. He "went fractional," as all the kids are saying these days.

Corrected, Yet Again! Not "half" as in half of his blood, but half as in half of one percent of his blood.

Damnit. Ruins the joke, and also makes me look like a bigger moron than usual. I'm more bothered by the former.

Posted by: Ace at 12:58 PM | Comments (42)
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