Imagine: you are a foot soldier in a paramilitary group whose purpose is to remake America as a Christian theocracy, and establish its worldly vision of the dominion of Christ over all aspects of life. You are issued high-tech military weaponry, and instructed to engage the infidel on the streets of New York City. You are on a mission - both a religious mission and a military mission -- to convert or kill Catholics, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, gays, and anyone who advocates the separation of church and state - especially moderate, mainstream Christians. Your mission is "to conduct physical and spiritual warfare"; all who resist must be taken out with extreme prejudice. Link to buy the game here. Well "pre-order" the game.
[via BoingBoing]

Now, if a video game came out with a message to kill all Christians would anyone be a little upset about that? And besides, haven't the good people of NYC suffered enough as it is? I mean why can't the game be set in Dallas? That's where we know true evil lives.

According to the San Antonio Express News, Madla cried the night he lost the election. We cried too, but we expect they were a different kind of tears.

So happy trails, Senator Madla. The 200,000 children who have been removed from CHIP as a result of your vote salute you.

A former congressional aide and lobbyist described Tuesday how he obtained insider information, advice and assistance from Bush administration procurement chief David Safavian to advance two projects for Republican influence-peddler Jack Abramoff, who then took the official on a lavish golf trip to Scotland.

I'm going to hire my own lobbyist. I'd like to have a lobbyist visit the club before I go out on Saturday night and select a few hotties to offer perks on my behalf in return for hot threesomes and body shots later in the evening. Only losers take cash and golf trips.

(Oh..and hit "Shift, Refresh" for your browsers today.)

We at PinkDome are holding a contest to see who can find the worst possible candidate who is actually (and currently) running for office somewhere in these fine United States of ours. The level of office doesn't matter: be it school board, city council, or Congress, we don't care. We just want the assholes, the loonies, the ones that make you wonder, "Wait, wasn't there someone else in the primary?"

So send us your nominations or post them in the comments. We'll comb through the awesomeness and periodically post 'em for your enjoyment. To provide some incentive, PD told me that we'll be offering a prize to the person who submits the best/worst/best candidate, based on your feedback.

[And I'll be the first to admit that I'm borrowing a tad from ITPT with the whole putting periods after words to create. dramatic. effect. But the title stands.]

Running against twice elected Rep. Brad Miller, Robinson has a mildly combative style of running for office. You know, the type that prompts your opponent to tell delegates at a convention that "[m]y wife was interviewed on three television stations last week about why we had not had children and what was my sexual orientation." That type of combative.

Robinson's ads have already stirred up controversy nationally. For example, his recent radio ad with mariachi music playing in the background, where the announcer states, "if Miller had his way, America would be nothing but one big fiesta for illegal aliens and homosexuals." Classy. Or a television ad that attacks gays, feminists, judges, and blacks - and he's black!

And about that no kids thing:

Soon after winning the GOP primary in the 13th District in May, Robinson mailed literature to more than 400,000 households portraying Miller's voting record and personal life as being out of the mainstream.

Among many other things, the literature calls Miller a "childless, middle-aged personal injury lawyer."

Miller said he was "stunned" by the letter.

"I think that should not be part of what you agree to take on if you want to be involved in politics -- that kind of personal attack without any basis," Miller said.

Miller said his wife of nearly 25 years, Esther Hall, could not bear children because she had endometriosis and then a hysterectomy at age 27 before the couple were married.

Vernon Robinson, folks. Vernon Robinson.

[CNN]

Well, at least 37,846 South Dakotans want to repeal the abortion ban. More than double the number of required signatures were collected by the South Dakota Campaign for Healthy Families to put the ban up for a vote in the fall.

QuorumReport needs to update their Daily Buzz. I feel like I've been the only one in the last few days that has had a daily buzz, and that's feuled less by political gossip and more by dry gin and Xanax.

Texas Insider, aside from being an excellent site for reading regurgitated trite, is apparently trying to increase their traffic from web searches on anything political. Visit their site and the title is:

"Texas Insider : Texas Politics eliections candidates president Republican Party Democrats Republicans campaigns congress governor senate Texas political weekly newsletter State of Texas Texas government politics government Texas Senate Texas House Texas Governor redistricting judicial"

How damn desperate can you be for traffic?

To be fair, they are now the top site returned when you search "eliections" on Google. So yeah, way to go on pulling the eliections traffic, we're content with pulling the Ben Bentzin Douchebag traffic (#3 hit when you Google Ben Bentzin).

I'm putting in a memo to PD to change our title to "Republican Democrat idiots sex gay blog alcohol abusing bad photoshop".

Any other choice words you can think of for describing us?

Highway officials unveiled the new 80 mph speed limits last week along I-10 and I-20. Thanks to Rep. Gallego for realizing that people want to get out of some areas of his district as fast as possible.

Sen. Frist, [far, far] right, unsure whether to use his Super Pandering Powers to battle gays getting married or extinguish a flag on fire.

Quick: what are the two most pressing issues facing the American populace?

Rising energy costs? Threat of terrorism at home and abroad? Rising health care costs? Wrong, wrong, wrong. Apparently y'all don't know anything about securing our American values, which are under attack by liberal, gay, atheist, activist judges with lighters and cans of gasoline.

Dear Leader Sen. Frist's top two priorities are constitutional amendments banning gay marriage and flag burning, both of which he intends to bring to the Senate floor within the next few weeks.

Now, I know what you're thinking: this is nothing more than pandering to the conservative base with a midterm election quickly approaching. And you're right. Look, the Republicans have tried that whole "governing" thing, and it hasn't worked out too well. So they're going back to what they do best: scaring Americans into voting for them.

PDers, get ready for a frightening election season. Before you know it, you'll realize that traditional marriage is under attack, illegal immigrants are here to kill you and your family, your children will soon be studying Gay 101 in public school, and liberal secularists want to burn the Bible.

Update: any suggestions on how we battle the right's politics of fear and hatred?

Looking for a worthwhile cause to which to donate? I think I've got just the thing:

House Speaker Tom Craddick and his wife, Nadine, will soon start raising at least half a million dollars from lobbyists, corporations and other sources for an extensive renovation of their apartment inside the Capitol.

Recenty released documents put the cost around $441,000, but that figure doesn't include the "wish list" of other renovations the Craddicks want to do. According to the article, the "wish list" includes "new countertops, fixtures, appliances, kitchenware, bookcases, china, bathtubs, shower walls and other details." Hmm, that's strange. I don't see anywhere for him to store his disregard for areas of the state not named "Midland."

Craddick's spokeswoman Alexis DeLee said that there's a brochure being created to help target potential donors. If someone comes across it, please send it our way.

Ah, I love lists! Alternet has a list of the top ten signs that America is becoming a police-state. A theme of the list is after all these outrageous claims, no one gives a damn. (shocking, we know) Since I'm lazy how about a top five list of exactly why no one gives a damn.

NOW RECRUITING: Border Patrol is currently seeking men and women to protect America’s southwest borders as Border Patrol Agents. Your job will be to help prevent the entry of terrorists and terrorist weapons into the United States. You will also detect and prevent the smuggling and unlawful entry of undocumented aliens into the United States, and apprehend those who violate our nation’s immigration laws. You will also play a primary role in drug interdiction along the borders.

"Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted."

We want to wish everyone a safe and happy Memorial Day weekend. Enjoy your adult beverages of choice, get laid, and sleep late.

Beyond the fun-party-brou-ha-ha, be sure to remember those who have died in service for our country.

If you meet Representative Mark Strama, chances are you'll give him your business card at some point. I know, because this happened to me. If you're in business giving out business cards is just something you do when you meet someone. Mark, on the other hand, believes they are gold! With the simple gesture of giving him your business card you are now a part of his massive email database. Mark doesn't believe blogging helps candidates, but he believes email does. He doesn't even forward funny joke emails or good porn to you either.

Today he sent me a five page long email spinning the Special Session into a "Good for all Texans" kind of message. (My quote, not his) Actually, it may be his. I didn't read the whole thing. I printed it out and took it to the bathroom with me as my morning coffee kicked in. Thank God I did because there wasn't any toilet paper. So, I guess, in retrospect I am glad Mark has my email. It turned out to really help me in a pinch, so to speak.

Shots were reportedly just fired at the Rayburn House office building, resulting in a lock down.

CNN story

Update: well, that's a relief. It turns out it was just construction noise.

The Statesman puts on its boxing gloves this morning and takes more than a few well-deserved shots at Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. The editorial, titled "A total disappointment," highlights the lowlights of Gonzales' tenure as AG and makes it rather clear that he'll do anything to further the power of the executive branch:

Since taking over the Justice Department, however, Gonzales has acted as if he is still the president's general counsel, not the top law officer in the land.

He has gone to Congress to defend the National Security Agency's warrantless wiretapping of American citizens living in this country. Gonzales has said the war powers act gives the administration the authority to spy on Americans, and that the secret court where domestic surveillance warrants are sought is insufficiently speedy for the war on terror.

His willingness to condone domestic spying has even some members of his own Republican Party squirming.

This week, Gonzales sparked a constitutional crisis by authorizing the FBI to search the congressional offices of U.S. Rep. William Jefferson, D-Louisiana. When an executive branch Cabinet member OKs rummaging through a legislative branch office, separation of powers issues become a political battleground. The GOP leadership in Congress is livid at Gonzales for approving the search.

Gonzales began the week by assaulting the First Amendment and threatening to prosecute journalists under an ancient espionage law. The attorney general objects to journalists revealing classified material - even when that information shouldn't be classified and properly informs the public.

There's also Gitmo, the torture memos, threatening to jail reporters ... oh, Al. You'll do anything for your Bushie.

PinkDome traditionally focuses on Texas and national politics. But occasionally, you come across something so mind-numbingly amazing, so what-the-fuck inducing, that you have to share it with as large an audience as possible, regardless of whether it fits neatly into the topics we cover. This is one of those moments.

I found the clip below from Deadspin, a sports blog. I stole the title of this post directly from them, as you just can't phrase it any better. I'll also steal their intro:

So a local television station in Cleveland decided to put together an "investigative report" on the dangers of allowing your children to go to the public library. What did they do? They put a hidden camera in the computer room and waited for some poor sap to start "having sex with himself."

They found that man, and that man was an Ohio State fan. What happens next will change the way you see humanity. You're going to watch this and think it's some sort of sketch comedy troupe prank. It isn't.

So, you know, enjoy.

Yes. Enjoy. And make sure you watch until the end.

Got mad campaign management skillz? Incumbent state representative needs you, then! Contact information for your stellar resumes in the permalink. Resume deadline is tomorrow, this position needs to be filled immediately.

Looks like the jury has reached a verdict in the Enron trial. It's going to be read at 11 am CST. I'm sure the Houston Chronicle will have an assload of coverage.

Skilling guilty on 20 counts, Lay guilty on 6 counts. [CNN]

We read today in the NYTimes that our state Public Utilities Commission is one of 21 state commissions that the ACLU is complaining to about the whole phone-companies-turning-over-our-phone-records-to-the-NSA thing. You can click the ACLU link above to complain to the FCC, or you can go to the TX PUC complaint page to lodge a complaint there. If I used one of the companies involved, I would so complain. Since I don't, I thought I'd plug it so you could.

ABC News reported last night that Speaker of the House Denny Hastert has been fingered by Abramoff (gross), and as a result, Hastert is now "in the mix" of an expanding Congressional bribery investigation. I suppose that would explain why Hastert was so vocally opposed to the recent FBI raids into Rep. Jefferson's Capitol office.

ABC also reported that Hastert was the number one recipient of political donations from Abramoff and his clients from 1998 to 2004. But I'm sure the two aren't related at all.

Later in the evening, however, the Department of Justice issued a press release simply stating that "Speaker Hastert is not under investigation by the Justice Department." Not to be outdone, ABC responded saying they had "accurately reported that Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert is 'in the mix' in the FBI investigation of corruption in Congress." What the hell does "in the mix" mean, anyway?

I suppose time will tell if Hastert was a bad boy. I guess the photoshop is a tad premature, but there's always wishful thinking.

By the way, am I the only one that thinks that Hastert looks like David Stern's much fatter, angrier twin?

Pat Robertson is at it again. Pat claims to leg press 2,000 pounds all because of his amazing fitness shake! (Available online) There's a problem here, though. The all-time record for leg presses is 665 pounds held by Dan Kendra at Florida State University and apparently his eyes burst or something like that. Plus, they don't make leg press machines that go up to 2,000 pounds.

Nobody can eat 50 eggs, Pat.

Dick Cheney may be called to testify in the case against Scooter Libby. Wouldn't you love to get this man under oath on the witness stand? Oh the questions we could ask! "Mr. Cheney, why are you such a total prick?" Do you think we could get a straight answer on that one? [DMN]

No more school, no more books, no more teacher's dirty looks! Today is the last day of school here in Austin. Let the summer vacations commence! Anybody got an exciting vacation planned? Anybody want to take me to Italy for a week? Remember, I'd probably put out. Just sayin'.

We here at PinkDome are not following the race for the TDP Chairmanship. We'd rather clip our toenails than get involved, to tell you the truth. If you are paying attention, Glen Maxey is having a get together tonight so you can meet and greet. Details in the permalink.

Preach on, Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio).

Apparently, DeLay's legal fund thinks that Stephen Colbert is a conservative. Check the video on their site while it's still up. . . before they realize how many people are laughing at them and not with them.

CNN aired a report on the controversial ex-gay therapies, also called 'reparative therapy' to 'cure' homosexuality. Richard Cohen counsels men to overcome their homosexual feelings by doing things like lying with him on a sofa in a tender embrace. Also effective is beating a pillow with a tennis racket. Additionally, Cohen encourages his clients to seek out fat, lonely women with a lot of cats to marry and ultimately leave them emotionally bankrupt.

You can watch the entire video on The Malcontent at this link. You can also start your own ex-gay movement by encouraging all fat, ugly gay men to beat a pillow with a tennis racket and blame their overbearing mothers. I noticed there wasn't a single hot guy in the entire report. Hmmm. Interesting. But not really.

Insert you own example of retardation and how we can get it aired on CNN in the comments.

You know what really pisses me off about the immigration debate? It's the fact that I don't know what is a good solution so I have to learn about it, think about how what I've learned applies to my world view, and then formulate an opinion based on what I've learned, my world view, my system of beliefs and my politics. So, basically, you know...fuck all that let's just talk about what we think and somehow try to formulate it into fact-based decisions and refuse to listen to opposing viewpoints.

Ok, immigration. Y'all I believe immigration is good for America. I believe illiegally sneaking across our borders in the middle of the night is bad. I understand there are opportunities in America and our streets are paved with gold, however, we must have ways for you to arrive legally and safely to arrive in this land of opportunity. (There's a whole host of things America does for folks, so if you get here illegally you a.) might not get access to those things and b.) might wind up paying for the rest of us to get them through your wages and c.) you might also just be some sort of scum we don't want in the first place. We have enough scum in Washington, D.C. we don't need to import more.)

Next, I believe that Mexico is a pretty neat place. But, somehow it is majorly screwed up. Do they even have a police force or army? It seems so dangerous and scary, no wonder people are fleeing. Also, aren't you concerned Mr. Mexican President that your country is suffering from the biggest workforce drain in your history with all these able-bodied working men (and women) up and getting out just to get a job? Dear Mr. Mexican President, fix your country.

A wall. Ugh, really? It just sounds so China, so Berlin. I don't like it. I also don't like shooting people trying to break free. I don't think 'catch and release' works. It sounds like it makes it into a sport fishing show instead of securing our borders.

Lastly there is the issue of the illegal immigrants that are here now. Some have children born in America. As if it weren't already sticky, now it's a definite WTF? Amnesty? Eh...I dunno.

Ok, so now we have our major themes: Immigration good. Illegal border crossing, bad. Mexico failing in providing law and order and economic opportunity for its citizens. Building walls reminds us of communism/cold war. Amnesty for illegal immigrants, pro or con?

So, in the comments let's disect those major themes. Did I miss any major point to explore? I mean, other than without Mexicans I would never have known the glory that is a bowl of melted cheese with every meal. Mmmmm.

Ok, we're gonna start a Telethon to raise money to buy and send copies of the Constitution to everyone in Washington, D.C. It is apparently the one place where no one knows what the hell it says. Some Congressional leaders are expressing disdain over the FBI raiding the office of the moron congressman from Louisiana.

"I clearly have serious concerns about what happened and whether people at the Justice Department have looked at the Constitution lately," said House Majority Leader John Boehner.

Here's a few things I have serious concerns about when it comes to people knowing the Constitution.
The executive branch re: domestic wiretapping, obtaining phone records
The Pentagon re: Abu Gharib/Gitmo/Secret detention centers
Congress re: Checks and balances...refresh yourselves pussies

Oh fuck it, we say a better telethon is just give me money so I can stay drunk. Maybe a little left over for more hookers to keep me distracted.

Kinky Friedman driving an enormous Cadillac down 6th Street yesterday late afternoon. He had the windows down and was smoking his trademark cigar. Dude totally needs to wash his car, it was nasty.

DailyKos user DaveV has a diary that attempts to chronicle the endless lies we've been subject to during the Bush administration. Feel free to add your own in the comments.

• Stephen Colbert was not funny.
  
• Helen Thomas is old and batty.
• Mexicans are taking our jobs.
• Iraq sent its WMDs to Syria.
• Democrats don't want to wiretap terrorists.
• Joe Wilson admitted that Valerie Plame wasn't covert.
• Karl Rove has a faulty memory.
• Scooter Libby has a faulty memory.
• Tom DeLay is like Jesus Christ.
• No one could have anticipated that the levees would be breached.
• We do not torture.
• There is no global warming.
• There is global warming, but humans didn't cause it.
• Howard Dean can't raise money.
• John F. Kerry is a flip-flopper.
• George W. Bush is a decider.
• John McCain is a straight-shooter.
• Dick Cheney is a sober shooter.
• Nobody at the White House knows Jack Abramoff.
• Democrats do.
• The economy is great.
• Evolution isn't supported by the facts.

Click the permalink to see the extended list. Note that name after the lie is the DailyKos user that contributed it.

Take one Senator Kennedy, add a dash of 'Hate Crimes Legislation', sprinkle in a bit about Kennedy's well-known support of rights for pedophiles and add in a topping of the destruction of free speech in America.

Now, sit back and watch the feeding frenzy. We got word of these through some retard on MySpace (Why aren't you our friend, yet!?). When I phoned Senator Kennedy's office today they said the staffer that handles pedophile rights was out of the office (probably fondling a young boy, no doubt) and they would have to call me back.

Obviously they had no idea what they've done at this hour to piss off the far-right. They should check their calendars more closely. Tuesdays are "Let's destroy free speech in America day!"

Articles/Blog posts of note today:

• Rep. Jim McDermott, the most progressive liberal in Congress, has a formidable enemy in Rep. Boehner. I haven't had time to finish the article yet, but it's an informative read so far.
  
• Studs Terkel, partially responsible for my favorite musical "Working" (yes, I am kidding), is is joining a Chicago suit against AT&T.
  
• I'm not quite sure how this works, but Consumerist thinks you can get $1000 from the government (b/c of the wiretapping thing) if you send in a copy of your bill. They have an instructional slide show and everything.

Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is apparently attempting to attach the dreaded voter ID legislation to the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006! In Texas, Senate Democrats have killed this legislation several times, and House Democrats put up a hell of a unified fight against it.

I seem to remember Mary Denny trying this in Texas. Oh yes, let's take a quick look back in time. The Action Alert from the National Conference of State Legislatures is in the permalink. If I'm not mistaken Senator Van de Putte is the president-elect or president of this group?

Rest in peace, Senator Bentsen.

The Houston Chronicle has an article up.

Someone forwarded me an email claiming that the "atheists" are petitioning the FCC to ban all references to God in any broadcasting, including Sunday services broadcast on TV. I immediately knew it was a hoax, but to confirm all I had to do was go to Snopes.com for a quick verification.

The email and Snopes information can be found if you click on the permalink.

Fact 1.) Madalyn Murray O'Hair never petitioned the FCC to ban religious programming nor was she ever granted a hearing by that regulatory body to discuss the matter. (Plus the bitch is dead, yo)
Fact 2.) The real RM-2493 had nothing to do with Madalyn Murray O'Hair nor did it have anything to do with banning religious broadcasting.
Fact 3.) The FCC denied the petition in 1975.

So, beware the spooky boogie monster of a dead atheist!

A University of Houston professor believes that he has the solution to the energy crisis: harvest solar power from the moon and beam it back 240,000 miles to the earth. Only it wouldn't involve unmanned solar panels on the lunar surface. Nope - he wants "human prospectors" to work 6-month shifts on the moon building and operating the machinery. I know all of you probably want to sign up immediately, but it looks like you're going to have to wait until oil reaches $1,000,000 a barrel - because that's the only time that this concept will ever be considered.

I've got something better: how about we develop an engine that can run on bad ideas? This guy alone has clearly got enough to fuel an H2 doing 80 along I-10 all the way from San Antonio to San Diego.

The NY Times has a long article dissecting Republicans' favorite topic: the Clintons' marriage.

Wow, how times change. Once '07 rolls around and Hillary gears up her presidential run, we will all be lucky enough to hear about how the Clintons don't love one another, Hillary is actually a lesbian, Hillary doesn't trust him, etc. Before you know it, Ken Starr's wife will find him naked and watching Fox News' coverage of Hillary's campaign, nervously covering his lap with a pillow when his wife walks into the room unannounced. And no one wants that.

Atrios has a copy of an article that, strangely enough, won't be running:

Washington, DC, May 23 - Republicans say it is inevitable that some voters would be concerned and even distracted by the numerous personal indiscretions of the various candidates likely to seek the office of president, and express concern about whether they would be likely to repeat such behavior while in the White House.

While former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani's popularity increased after the events of September 11, pushing his personal issues into the background, Republicans worry he would bring to the White House the kind of activities which marred his tenure at Gracie Mansion.

Giuiliani's behavior led to a judge barring the presence of Judith Nathan, with whom he began having an affair during his last term as mayor, from the mayoral home. The judge's order also criticized Giuliani for the emotional harm he inflicted on his children.

Twice-married Virginia Senator George Allen faces questions over claimed sadistic treatment of his siblings and his fondness for confederate memorabilia despite his having grown up in California. While divorce alone may not disqualify him from the ballot in Republican voters' eyes - they overlooked it in 1980 when Ronald Reagan became the first, and only, divorced man to be elected president - it is still expected to impact his standing with conservative religious voters. Senator McCain of Arizona is in a similar position.

Thrice-married former Speaker of the House New Gingrich also concerns Republicans as he gears up for a potential presidential run. Gingrich, currently 62, began dating his geometry teacher, and future wife, while he was still in high school. He later served her divorce papers at her hospital bed where she was receiving treatment for cancer. He divorced his second wife after it was revealed that he had been having a long-running affair with a staffer 23 years younger than him during the Clinton impeachment saga.

The government is handing out $75 million in grants for a 'Healthy Marriage' project.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Family Assistance (OFA), announces the availability of funds for Healthy Marriage Demonstration Grants. These grants will support innovative, projects designed to strengthen existing marriages and to prepare unmarried couples for successful healthy marriages. Under this grant program, ACF will fund healthy marriage education and enrichment activities, public awareness and education campaigns that promote the benefits and elements of healthy marriage, and teen programs that explore positive relationship models and that teach the core skills necessary for healthy marriages. The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (P.L.109-171), amends Title IV, Section 403(a)(2) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 603(a)(2)). This legislation authorizes competitive funding for demonstration projects that implement any of the allowable healthy marriage activities cited in the Act.

Progressive States is hiring. Click the permalink for information. Remember, if you've got any openings email them to us and as always we'll post them. Now that we've got a lot of new graduates looking for work it's a great time to get your job announcements out! (Plus, you never know when PD may reply in-person giving you the opportunity to have my own genius work for you.)

Business Owners aren't the only ones trying to figure out if the new business taxes will be offset by their property tax cuts as a result from the Special. I literally dozed off reading this article in the Startlegram. Talk about B-O-R-I-N-G.

Just in case you had any doubts: Bush Not Likely to See Gore's Film. Duh.

Yet another Special Session has come and gone. The hangover is finally starting to wear off and I've kicked the strangers out of my bed to slowly return life to normal. Well, my version of normal and yours may vary slightly. Now we're ready to settle in for a long, hot summer. Time to look for those summer flings, friends with boats and the best frozen margaritas in town.

Guess we'll read the news and see what dipshits are doing what to whom in a little bit. Let's bask in the afterglow for a little bit, though..shall we?

This should put a crimp in those plans. At the least, it won't be as simple as pointing at Republicans and yelling "Abramoff! Bad!"

According to a search warrant affidavit, Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA) was filmed accepting $100,000 from an FBI informant. A few days later, on August 3, 2005, the FBI searched the home and found $90,000 in his freezer stuffed into frozen food containers. So the man hates banks. It's not like he's the only one to shove $100 bills into the deep freeze. Uhh ... right?

Plus:

In one instance, at an unidentified D.C. restaurant, Jefferson allegedly exchanged cryptic notes with investor Lori Mody and discussed illegal kickbacks for his children in a telecommunications venture in Nigeria in which she had invested.

"All these damn notes we're writing to each other as if we're talking as if the FBI is watching," he told Mody, who was wearing an FBI wire.

Classic.

From the Houston Chronicle (emphasis added):

Q: How has public service changed over the past 30 years?

A: Well, it's become more difficult to serve as an elected official, I'll tell you that. I can't explain exactly why that is. There are just a lot of people out there that are hard to deal with.

Q: People?

A: Constituents.

Q: Are they demanding more of their public officials?

A: I'm finding those that get so entrenched in their ways. They're being led by somebody who is not showing any real common sense on what needs to be done in a community. You know who I'm talking about, the guy that's going to take my place. (Radio talk show host Dan Patrick is the Republican nominee and clear favorite for District 7). They say cut the taxes and don't say what services yo''re going to cut to go with it. You can't have everything. And the thing that bothers me more than anything is that much of the time the system that gets cut is funding for infrastructure --water systems, sewer systems, highways. The infrastructure plus education is what gives us the economy we've got.

Wah Wah Wah, gee these grapes suddenly taste sour. Cry me a river, Senator Lindsay cause I've cried a river over all you bitches.

The politics of religion and the religion of politics are certainly in the news these days. Not only is America in the midst (or tail end?) of another Evangelical cycle, but around the globe movies like The Passion of the Christ and The Da Vinci Code are sparking much discussion on the topic of Christianity.

Here's a quick movie review of The Da Vinci Code. It's crap. An interesting fictional mystery-novel-cum-movie. I won't spoil if for you, but here is why you should go see the movie: It is like taking a European vacation in the movie theatre. I went to see the movie with a friend I went to Paris with last year. We just kept going, "Oh they are in Paris! We were there! It was so lovely. Oh! They're in London. I love it there! Oh, there's where I threw up on that guy's shoes by Notre Dam!"

The movie did not shake my faith, did not throw me into a crisis, did not make me re-think my beliefs or cause me to start believing in conspiracies. That's why it's called "faith" retards. There is a lot of things to shake one's belief in whatever god they worship. If a movie starring Tom Hanks makes you question the existence of God then you're a dumbass.