Towleroad has a list of the best quotes of the year compiled by Fred R. Shapiro, an associate librarian and lecturer at the Yale Law School. See the full list by clicking on the permalink.

The list reminded me how much I loved this, such as.

I walked into the UT Club yesterday (Thursday is fried chicken day!) and there was Governor Perry. He was wandering around the lobby reading all about UT's great history and being jealous he didn't get as good of an education...

It made me laugh because he was just standing there reading these history plaque things they have in the lobby and just a talkin' up a storm...to himself. All of his staff were way over by the door. As I got in the elevator I said, "Nobody's listening to you."

A bunch of state offices lost email access for a few hours yesterday. If that happens to me, I just go home for the day. Not that people who work at the Capitol need an excuse to cut out of work early...

What happened to In The Pink Texas. I emailed Pink Lady and if she replies, I'll let you know. In the meantime, enjoy your holiday because I know she is.

Larry Flynt is preparing to drop-kick a Republican Senator into retirement with proof of gayness. Vanity Fair has the exclusive.

It's nearly Christmas, y'all! I looked through YouTube to find a few of my favorite Christmas songs to share with you. I'm trying to force the Christmas Spirit upon myself. Here's a quick list of a few of my favorites. (These videos aren't really to watch...some of them are crap. But I did listen to them.)

Elvis...because every Christmas since he left us has been a blue Christmas.
Last Christmas I gave you my heart, but the very next day you gave it away. Asshole.
Have a Holly Jolly Christmas. Come on...it's Burl Ives!!
My mom's favorite, Christmas in Dixie. She starts playing this on Thanksgiving.
Speaking of Mom, whenever I make my flight arrangements home for Christmas, I call and sing this song to her. She always cries.
As a kid, I admit a fondness for Alvin & The Chipmunks. (Recently ruined by some new movie)
This one almost always makes me tear up a little. I guess as I get older, nostalgia creeps in and Christmas isn't like it used to be. Still, I hope you Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas.
And speaking of songs that get to me, this one by the recently departed Dan Fogelberg is the saddest song ever when you're flying home on Christmas Eve. Just sayin'

Got any favorites?

Than Mitt Romney or John McCain. Both commented on Time Magazine's Person of the Year being that Russian dude with no shirt, Putin. Romney said it was disgusting. Both he and McCain said that it should be General Petraeus because he "has brought success in Iraq."

Yes, things are going swimmingly in Iraq!

And besides that comment, it's just a magazine guys...don't get so worked up about it. *eye roll* Plus, I'm not sure we ought to be running around calling other Presidents, Prime Ministers, Kings, or Czars "disgusting" people. It's not exactly the way to elevate political discourse, is it?

I know, for one, I'm less concerned with some policies than I am concerned that we don't elect a mouth-breathing retard with no experience and tact and true leadership qualities to lead this country.

Real estate agent Joel Burns defeated Fort Worth school trustee Juan Rangel Jr. in a runoff election Tuesday to represent District 9 on the Fort Worth City Council.

Burns will replace Wendy Davis, who resigned to run for the Texas Senate in 2008.

Burns won with 54 percent of the vote. About 14 percent of registered voters cast ballots in the runoff, down from 18 percent in the Nov. 6 election.

(Via)

A new twist on old news

top aide Kyle Sampson resigns for not advising otherdoes not belong to our world, in objects that are an

Are you out of luck?

Only real men have all the luck!
Grow to be a lucky man with a massive phallus in year 2008!

Obtain your dose of VPXL today for the lowest price ever!

officials indicated that progress had been made, withalong with tidal forces from Saturn's gravitationalTime Act 1974.

Here's how Wired explained this prosaic phenomenon

I found this on BoingBoing and loved it! You can now easily call Congress without the hassle of trying to find phone numbers!

Just go to the website, select a committee, enter in your phone number and click "Put me in touch with democracy!" and you'll be called by our system and sequentially patched through to the front office of each member on that committee.

I've paraphrased The Talented Mr. Ripley quote before and I will do it again. "I don't care for bullshit. Don't care to speak it, don't care to hear it." It's sort of my motto. I guess that's why I don't watch the pundits or listen to talk radio. It's why I roll my eyes when I read a press release from a politician's office or some state or federal official. Now, I'm not a conspiracy theorist...I guess after working in politics I just know the spin all to well.

I wish there was a disclaimer. Something like, "This is the bullshit I'm trying to sell to the mouth-breathers. If we can just agree on that and let me get it out, then you and I can have a real conversation later." That would be fine. Quite honestly, I've got my own bullshit I might want to sell, too, if we're playing that game.

This isn't directed at anything in particular, just thought I would remind you. Consider it an early holiday gift.

OH! Speaking of holiday gifts!! I have tickets to the Zachary Scott Christmas Productions. Who wants free tickets? I think they are to Plaid Tidings or SantaLand Diaries. If you can go, I've got a couple of tickets for you. First one that emails me and can pick them up at my office gets 'em.

The number of states refusing federal money for "abstinence-only" sex education programs jumped sharply in the past year as evidence mounted that the approach is ineffective.

At least 14 states have either notified the federal government that they will no longer be requesting the funds or are not expected to apply, forgoing more than $15 million of the $50 million available, officials said.

So, let me get this straight...school officials are not convinced that that abstinence only education doesn't work? Gee...what gave it away? Centuries of people having sex and exploring sexuality as soon as the hormones rage at puberty maybe?

that isn't a clown. I don't know where this came from, but I thank my friend freakgirl for pointing me to it. View image

OMG, did y'all see this? The supermassive black hole at the center of a distant galaxy is blasting a smaller neighbor with a violent energy jet. The jet has probably fried the atmospheres of any planets in the way, researchers added. But the never-before-seen display may also one day lead to a new burst of star and planet formation.

That is amazing. I wonder how many kids in Texas will learn about it, though.

I guess we could just all declare that it was a sign of God's wrath on the nearby galaxy containing Planet Homo and Planet Evolution and then just move on with our Christmas shopping. Are we ok with that?

Ok. Widespread ignorance and panic it is!

Best commentary I read today! Well, it's only 7:50 a.m., but still. I hadn't given much thought to Huckabee's rise and how it is impacting the GOP establishment. I loved the analysis and as a former GOP staffer saw this coming county by county in the 1992 election season.

Republicans have been running on a faux populist/religiously conservative platform ever since Richard Nixon. It was refined and heightened by Lee Atwater and again by Karl Rove. And now that they have a rising candidate who truly represents that platform, the movers and shakers of the party are doing all they can to kneecap him.

This DMN headline was like:

Once campaign killers, traits like infidelity less of an issue among voters today

And then the lead was all:

Traits that a decade or a generation ago would have automatically disqualified a candidate for higher office can be found in many of this year's top presidential candidates: Divorce, infidelity, "wrong" race, "wrong" gender, "wrong" religion, "wrong" age – and none are now considered insurmountable.

And then I said:

The prominence of infidelity in that headline is so off, since infidelity isn't much of a deal-breaker concern in a campaign. And whose transgressions are we notably not concerned about now? I recognize all the other stuff on that list, but infidelity? Now divorce, that's a tough one to overcome. I think only Reagan ever got away with that, and he had what they call other attributes.

My G'ma says that back in the olden days, everyone expected the president to get a little on the side. "But not Truman," she says. "He just didn't look like the type." She was not able to elaborate. "But the rest of them, oy!"

First of all, could I have any more holiday events to attend? UGH! At least my new velvet jacket is getting out of the closet. Holiday events pretty much sums up my weekend. Luckily, I can report, I did not lose my pants nor did I throw up in any bushes anywhere! Ta. Da.

Sunday afternoon I caught up on some reading. Remember when you used to read...actual magazines and books? Oh the glory of having time!

Anyway, this weekend I read the latest issue of Vanity Fair. The article about Pitcairn Island was one of the most fascinating things I have read all year. You should go buy this issue immediately.
This is why:

While the story of the mutineers who scuttled the H.M.S. Bounty off a remote South Pacific isle in 1790 has inspired five blockbusters, the saga of their Pitcairn Island descendants is far less romantic. As a 10-year rape investigation ends, William Prochnau and Laura Parker explore why the shocking sexual practices on this tiny British outpost went ignored for centuries.