Welcome to The Now

Obviously, losing every early primary early and banking your nominations hopes on Florida was not a good strategy . On the other hand: investing in Yahoo may be a good idea. The Wizards will need some help with Tough Juice out for awhile. With a reporter dressing up as a bride and asking quarterbacks to marry her , the Superbowl has officially become a circus. Ethnic cleansing is taking place in Kenya , according to a US envoy.

But Congress is calling it a " stimulus package " because that sounds more warm and fuzzy: House leaders and the administration reached agreement today on a roughly $145 billion economic stimulus package that would quickly send payments to poor and middle-class workers while offering businesses one-time incentives to invest in new equipment and write off tax losses. In formally announcing the deal this afternoon, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) and Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. hailed it as a bipartisan effort that would help stimulate the economy by spurring consumer demand and creating new jobs. Under the plan, as many as 117 million people would get rebate checks. Individual income tax filers would receive up to $600, working couples would get up to $1,200, and those with children would get an additional $300 per child. But wait, there's more! Under the deal, nearly everyone earning a paycheck would receiv

David Letterman proves that presidential wannabe John Edwards isn't as caught up about his follicles as the media is.

As only Tom Tomorrow can do.

C&L: Michael Savage gets ravaged by sponsors. Oliver Willis: The Anti-Choice crowd is weak . Glenn Greenwald: Democratic Senator Jay Rockefeller is fighting on the wrong side . Jurassicpork: Fall Back, Bill Clinton . More nasty rumors about Barack Obama . Unlike the person who posted this, I won't say that Camp Clinton was behind it. But it stinks just the same. "You're not one of those feminists, are you?" is one of ten things women don't want to hear from men .

Maria Sharapova is still kicking butt . Remember, she's the attractive tennis star that can win matches. Iraq's still a violent, bloody mess , BTW. Meanwhile: Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf is losing his posse . Former President Bill Clinton may be crossing the line in campaigning so heavily for his wife, Sen. Clinton. President Bush's bribe...er, "stimulus package" is making it's way through Congress today .

This is just sad . DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice sought to soothe investor fears about the U.S. economy on Wednesday, saying it was resilient and sound and that Washington remained open to trade and investment. In the keynote address at the World Economic Forum in Davos delivered against a backdrop of financial turmoil, Rice made a rare foray into world economics and urged her audience of business leaders to have confidence in the U.S. economy. "The U.S. economy is resilient, its structure is sound, and its long-term economic fundamentals are healthy. The United States continues to welcome foreign investment and free trade," she said. People in the US can't fill their tank, pay for their medicine or groceries and manage their mortgage and student loans but that doesn't stop Rice from trying to put a pair of rose-colored glasses on a group of people who aren't stupid enough to watch the Fox Business Channel. Seriously, doe

It sounds like eBay's CEO may take a bow .

Tom Brady's not that hurt . The wall came tumbling down at the Gaza Strip. Paris Hilton vouches for Britney Spears' "mommy skills." It took the near-destruction of our economy, but President Bush and Congressional Democrats finally seem to be coming together . A link between weight-loss surgery and Type 2 diabeties has been found. Just how many falsehoods, misleading statements and lies did the Bush Administration tell to get the United States to support an attack on Iraq? About 935 . You know a robbery is going badly when the crooks are throwing the money they stole away .

Story here . I remember when I first saw him in "10 things I Hate About You;" I had a feeling that he wouldn't be a forgotten face in Hollywood. He continued to get roles (some better than others) but he could never be specifically type casted, which was a good thing for an actor. Of course, most people will remember him from his role in "Brokeback Mountain." For others, it's his upcoming turn as The Joker in "The Dark Knight." Regardless, all I can say is I'm surprised he went away so quickly.

And you want to get a sense of how it went down, well...I'll let Superman and Wonder Woman demonstrate. The Man of Steel plays the role of Obama, and the Amazon Princess plays Clinton.

Fred Thompson drops out . You can catch him on reruns of "Law and Order."

This is a straight "quotes" edition: "The Federal Reserve today slashed the short-term interest rate it controls by three-quarters of a percentage point , a surprise move meant to keep plummeting stock markets around the world from threatening the underpinnings of the world economy." "Kuwait's only female politician survived an attempt to oust her Tuesday by conservative lawmakers who accused her of mismanagement and endangering traditional religious values. Hundreds of female supporters applauded and ululated from the galleries as parliament voted 27-19, with two abstentions, against the impeachment of Education Minister Nouria al-Subeih, a pioneer in this small oil-rich Gulf state where women were only allowed to participate in political life in 2005." "The Bush administration will cut counterterrorism money for police, firefighters and rescue departments next year , but not by as much as it originally proposed." "Democratic president

Jon Markman on the upcoming Recession and the government's response to it: That rumbling sound you hear coming from Washington, D.C.? It's Treasury Department helicopters packed with bags full of cash about to be dropped on voters, as the federal government prepares to launch a brazen, desperate election-year effort to rescue the economy. If you thought the government's delayed response to Hurricane Katrina was a study in out-of-control largesse -- replete with no-strings-attached debit cards handed to anyone with a Cajun accent and a damp shirt -- wait until you see what the government has in mind for the rest of us this year. More here .

I heard Air America radio personality Rachel Maddow say this on her on show a few days ago, but I couldn't remember the whole text and didn't want to reprint it or talk about it until I could find it. Lucky for me, she repeated it on MSNBC's Countdown w/Keith Olbermann (thanks to C&L for their video as well ). The topic? The meaning beside all this "change" rhetoric: And I think that Obama and Clinton and Edwards are actually identifying what needs to be changed in three really different ways. I think Hillary Clinton is saying the Republicans and Bush need to be out and Democrats need to be in. I think John Edwards is saying the special interests and the lobbyists need to be out and the people need to be in, in the populist way. And I think that Barack Obama is saying that he needs to be in because he can transcend the differences across the political divide right now. There’s three very different visions of what you would do to the country if you had the rei

Somehow, Jay Leno (who isn't using writers) is still beating David Letterman (who owns his show and made a WGA -approved deal with his writing team). R.I.P., Bobby Fischer . Hopefully people will learn from your chess-playing prowess, and not your anti-Semitic views. Presidential wannabes may find that the Latino vote could be key in Nevada. The United States experiences a baby boomlet . "Suite Life" and "High School Musical" star Ashley Tisdale talks about her nose job . The Cleveland Cavs get revenge on the San Antonio Spurs.

From Huffington Post: Katie Couric mocks her "Today Show" replacement Meredith Vieira. Oliver Willis relishes the irony of the " Al Qaeda Republicans ." (Sadly, the revelation came to late for people like Max Cleland and John Kerry) Gilbert Arenas talks about...well, a whole lot of stuff . Over at Daily Kos: Senator Russ Feingold makes his case regarding the FISA bill. TPMudracker catches Mike Huckabee pollsters telling South Carolina voters that John McCain " voted to allow scientific experiments to be done on unborn children ." Perrspective on what Mitt Romney's win in the Michigan primaries means for the GOP race.

Spider-Man and Mary Jane are no longer a couple . I haven't picked up a Spider-Man comic in years, but I don't think this will drastically alter fans perception of the character. Even though they were "married" in 1987, that's like three, maybe four years in Marvel Time. Besides, the generation who reads the comic now was so used to Peter Parker being married and is probably barely aware of Gwen Stacey (unless they saw the movie, which didn't really due justice to Spidey's relationship with her). Nevertheless, something tells me it will go over better than that stupid Clone Saga.

R.I.P., Richard Knerr . Even though he got his butt kicked by Bruce Lee , Chuck Norris is an asset to presidential wannabe Mike Huckabee, and vice versa. Female celebrities without makeup . The Miami Dolphins get a new coach . Bomb, bomb, bomb...bomb bomb Iraq .

In order to resuscitate the ailing economy, President Bush proposed a stimulus package. But here's the thing. Democrats don't want the Bush tax cuts to be extended as part of the deal : The growing consensus among Democrats, according to Schumer, is a package that includes targeted tax cuts for the middle class and certain spending programs. In the hearing, he cited "broad-based tax rebates, extending unemployment insurance and food stamps, targeted business tax cuts to stimulate job creation, and federal assistance to states." Democrats also appear unified that "the number one obstacle" to quick action would be Republican efforts to extend the president's income tax cuts which expire in 2011. Schumer, the No. 3 Senate Democrat, said renewing those cuts "should be off the table, because they will thwart any chance of passing a stimulus package." Republicans don't want tax increases to be part of the deal : “We sincerely believe that Members

The man who thinks there aren't that many homeless vets in America? It turns out the answer is: " very . "

When I first saw this , I was kinda shocked: Washington [D.C.] officials were worried about terrorism on Tuesday night when someone stole a tanker truck and drove it toward D.C. The truck was stolen from Pennsylvania and ended up in Northeast Washington. However, police said it appeared that the crook wasn't interested in terrorism. The fuel truck that was the subject of a nationwide terrorism alert was found on a residential street in Northeast Washington a few miles from the White House on Tuesday night... ...Investigators called for officers from the bomb squad to make sure that the vehicle was not rigged with any explosives or booby traps. They said they think whoever stole the truck did so not for terrorism, but for profit. "We don't see any nexus to terrorism," said D.C. police Sgt. James Manning. "We believe it was probably stolen for financial gain of some sort." By the time the truck was tracked down via a GPS system, some 3,500 gallons of diesel f

All I can say is: the similarities are striking. But I really doubt Hillary Clinton acted like this when she was a teenager. Nevertheless; striking. And I think that says more about how Clinton has been presented through both her campaign and the media as much how she presents herself to the public.

Mitt Romney wins in Michigan, partially by using John McCain's "Straight Talk" gimmick against him. LeBron James scores half of his mph , beats Memphis. Cool: Christian Bale and Johnny Depp to star in a crime drama. President Bush begs Saudi Arabia to lower oil prices. Eva Longoria (Parker) doesn't think it's Jessica Simpson's fault the Dallas Cowboys caved. House Judiciary Committee Chair John Conyers thinks that a special prosecutor should be looking over that whole "destroyed CIA water boarding tapes" thing.

Arianna Huffington wonders when (or if) Iraq will become an major issue again in the 2008 presidential election. Eugene Robinson on Clinton and Obama, and who currently has the upper hand . Fred Kaplan thinks that President Bush's dismissal of the recent NIE report of Iran hurts America's credibility overseas ...and could also set a bad precedent. (Via C&L) MSNBC wants you to know that John Edwards is the " white guy ."

Eric Boehlert: The media's bias and desire for a story contributed to the massive misread in New Hamsphire.

And boy, does he starts off firing ! Sometimes I'm a little stupid, maybe, a little slow in the head, so I'm wondering if you can help me get something straight. Maybe you can help me understand one fucking thing right now, America, and explain to me what in the Christ is going on here. 'Cause, unless I'm missing something, this country is in the middle of a motherfucking shitstorm, and I have no fucking idea what you're gonna do to get out of it. I mean, are you seriously considering voting for one of these shitbags you got here in '08? Fat fucking chance. And before you freak out, it's not the real Jimmy Carter. This is from the Onion after all.

For the Iowa Caucus, Dennis Kucinich told his supporters that they can choose Barack Obama as their #2 choice. It may have contributed to Obama's win. Considering that Obama (and John Edwards) aren't on the Michigan ballot (the Democrats there were being naughty and lost their delegates) but Hillary Clinton Mike Gravel and Kucinich are, wouldn't it be cool for Obama to return the favor and say, " I'm not there, but if you want to vote for someone, give it to Dennis? " Kucinich and Edwards both need wins, or the media's (up til now) unjustified non-coverage will become...justified. Kucinich winning in Michigan and Edwards winning in South Carolina will force the media to at least acknowledge them, and lead more voters to look at these guys. As for Gravel: when he can get an endorsement or muster at least 1% , we'll talk.

If we're really " succeeding politically " than why does the Iraqi defense minister think that " his nation would not be able to take full responsibility for its internal security until 2012, nor be able on its own to defend Iraq’s borders from external threat until at least 2018 ?" I thought you need a stable government to properly protect your borders. UPDATE : In McCain's defense, things would be easier if the Iraqi government could make up it's mind .

D.C. Mayor Fenty gives six welfare workers the axe for indirectly allowing this to happen. Some online dating myths are debunked. Lakers beat the Sonics , but barely. In Wheaton, MD: the teller may have been behind a bank robbery. Democrats in traditionally Republican states tend to gravitate more towards Obama than Clinton.

Two outta three ain't bad. D.C.'s feeling it , and so is Boston . One thing is certain from this win: Antwan Jamison and Caron Butler are legit and deserve an All-Star appearance.

Wonderful. I can think of at least one blogger who would like this.

SFGate.com has the goods , but this editorial from gulfnews.com (which Rachel Maddow mentioned) takes the cake: Dear Mr. President; Lest you forget. Invasion of Iraq. Thousands of dead. Looting the National Museum. Disbanding the Iraqi army. Donald Rumsfeld. Shock and Awe. Jay Garner. Paul Bremer. Inciting sectarianism. Abu Ghraib. Thousands of detainees without charges. Torture. Oil. Ghost WMDs. The Niger connection. Halliburton. Blackwater. Deadly security contractors. Mercenaries. Fallujah. Haditha massacre. Blind support of Israel. Instigating the suffering of Gaza. Ignoring the expansion of illegal colonies. Defying United Nations resolutions. Securing "a Jewish State". Allowing Israelis to extend the destruction of Lebanon in the 2oo6 war. Providing Israel with new Bunker Buster bombs to attack Lebanese towns. The War on Terror. "TheCrusade". Clash of civilisations. Where is Osama Bin Laden? Afghanistan. Bagram massacre. Bombing media offices. Guantanamo Bay.

Yikes : If the U.S. were to face a new conventional threat, its military could not respond effectively without turning to air power, officials and analysts say. That is the ultimate upshot of the war in Iraq: a response elsewhere would consist largely of U.S. fighters and bombers — even, perhaps, some degree of nuclear strike — because so many ground troops are tied up in Operation Iraqi Freedom... ...The Congressional Budget Office reported in 2006 that Army readiness rates had declined to the lowest levels since the end of the Vietnam War, with roughly half of all Army units, active and reserve, at the lowest readiness ratings for currently available units. Casey told the Senate committee that training and readiness levels for nondeployed units have “actually stayed about the same since last summer — and it’s not good.” The Marine Corps isn’t as heavily committed in Iraq in terms of raw numbers, but leathernecks’ shorter deployments come more frequently. And as the heavy requirements

Gives new meaning to the phrase " driving through the lane ."

So sad that George W. Bush said that if he was running for president now, he'd run on "change." I've always held the belief that despite the (as Al Franken put it) "Fear, Smear and Queers" campaign Bush ran on in 2004, what made that an interesting election was that he was running against 2000 Bush as much as he was running against 2004 John Kerry. In 2004, he barely mentioned his accomplishments (stop laughing) as president. He ended his "Kerry can't be president because he's flip-floppy" speeches with the comment (directed at Kerry) "He can run, but he can't hide!" Does that sound like something an incumbent would say? And remember, even though 9/11 happened on his watch, he managed to campaign as the person best suited to protect us...from another terrorist attack.

Mind your history . Watching the Giants beat the Cowboys is bittersweet , but hell, no Redskin fan wants to see Dallas in the Superbowl. I'd rather endure the Bostocalypse. Seriously. Speaking of the Bostocalypse, how cool was Saturday ? Crooks & Liars catches Karl Rove's "This is How You Attack Barack Obama" message. Yes, the writers are still on strike . Maybe Shaq should retire .

You can feel the anger in Bill Simmons' latest NFL Playoff predictions : According to Rule No. 10 of the manifesto, you can't pick an underdog if you don't think they can win the game. So let's look at the numbers here. Belichick's playoff record in New England: 14-2 Brady's playoff record at home: 6-0 Belichick's record against Jack Del Rio: 3-0 New England's lifetime record against Jacksonville: 7-1 New England's 2007 regular-season record: 16-0 Number of '07 Patriots wins by 14-plus points: 11 Record of '07 Jags after falling behind by more than seven points: 0-4 For anyone playing the "Jacksonville can control the clock and pressure Brady" card, didn't we see the Steelers drop 19 points on the Jags in about five seconds last weekend once they started chucking the ball every down? What about the fact Jacksonville relies on its defensive line for pressure and isn't one of those Philly-type teams that blitzes from all angl

Or maybe "A4C," as for "Agent for Change." Either way, the politician-getting-a-rap-name quips are about to fly now that Barack Obama plans to meet with Hip Hop stars : Senator Barack Obama plans to use Hip Hop artists to educate the American public if he wins the Democratic candidacy and becomes President. Obama, who lost to Hillary Clinton in yesterday's New Hampshire primary, says he has been a Hip Hop fan for years. Although neither Jay-Z nor Kanye West have come out to publicly support Obama's candidacy, Obama has already talked with the two regarding ways in which they can use their music in a positive way, and also how to branch out and fill the gap between older generations who dismiss Hip Hop as a negative, inferior art form. "I've met with Jay-Z; I've met with Kanye. And I've talked to other artists about how potentially to bridge that gap. I think the potential for them to deliver a message of extraordinary power that gets people

Must be a slow news day in the NBA world, with the Bostocalypse rolling along and all. I mean, you do have the intriguing stories of the Heat's utter collapse, the Laker's resurgence and the Piston's "killin' 'em softly" but those stories must be boring. Nah, it's all about the eternal question: is a team without it's best player any better? We go through it every year. This time it's Randy Hill over at Fox Sports : A much larger sample can be found in Washington, where the Wizards have been without Agent Zero (left knee) for their last 23 games. The Wizards (17-16 overall) have won 14 games without Arenas, but only five on the road. "Gil is pretty notorious for dribbling away the shot clock while looking to score," the Eastern Conference advance scout said. "It's not surprising that they've had some success without that because (Wiz coach) Eddie Jordan runs some of that Princeton stuff and it seems to work better when dr

Republican presidential wannabes are banking on South Carolina to propel them to the nomination. Bank of America goes Countrywide; and by "goes" I mean " takes over ." Marion Jones " runs " to New York for sentencing. In Maryland: Montgomery County vs. the National Naval Medical Center .

Think Progress has a post on how the Pentagon is "revising" the story on that speedboat incident. Looks like jurassicpork (and others) were right to be suspicious .

They're calling John Kerry's endorsement of Barack Obama a "snub"; but that's not necessarily true ( if you believe Robert Shrum , that is). But this does invite an interesting question: why hasn't Edwards garnered the big-name endorsements ? I mean, his donors are more well-known. Is it that none of the congressional Democrats think he can beat the star power of Clinton and Obama? Is it that they don't support his populism message? Or did Shrum's story make it's way through the Senate and House, thereby poisoning Edwards' chance of getting too much party support? While having the people support you is admirable, you need at least three things to make a presidential run work: money, primary wins, and major endorsements. Edwards has yet to hit this trifecta.

Oliver Willis says that Republicans are running low on wedge issues. Glenn Greenwald: The media should put their egos aside when covering the presidential candidates (but they won't). jurassicpork goes "CSI" over the "Iran tried to provoke us" incident. PERRspectives: some lessons from the New Hampshire results. Crooks and Liars: what happened to Bill Richardson ? From Think Progress: John McCain is one angry dude .

Jeremy Green is sticking to his guns , predicting that the Jags will stop the NFL Bostocalypse: First of all, it all starts with a little R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Aretha Franklin sang about it and the Jaguars are looking for some of it. The Jaguars went 11-5 in the toughest division in the NFL -- the AFC South -- and would have gone 12-4 had they played their starters in Week 17. The Patriots played in the dismal AFC East. After going 16-0, I will call them the best regular-season team of all time, but six of those wins came against the Bills, Dolphins and Jets, who were a combined 12-36. Still, despite that, the Patriots have eight Pro Bowlers while the Jaguars had zero. OK, Fred Taylor got in this week due to an injury to Willie Parker, but that's not exactly a rousing show of respect. I know Jacksonville coach Jack Del Rio will be reminding his players all week that they had no Pro Bowl players voted in by their peers, opposing coaches or fans. He will be telling his team the Patriots

That would be here .

Chris Matthews has a theory , and it's as sexist as you think it is.

A peak into how things would go should he become president, perhaps? Near the bottom in New Hampshire's primary results and strapped for cash, Republican Fred Thompson's campaign is cutting staff salaries to free up resources for a last-ditch effort to revitalize his White House bid in South Carolina. The decision means Thompson will mostly forgo the next primary, scheduled in Michigan, on which rivals John McCain and Mitt Romney are already setting their sights. "This campaign is going to be a South Carolina campaign," Thompson campaign manager Bill Lacy said in a statement released as New Hampshire primary results showing a McCain victory were being tallied. "Revitalize his White House bid?" The guy only got 1% ! Granted he did better in Iowa , but this time he fell behind "Write-Ins." That can't be too inspiring. As for his "South Carolina Strategy," it doesn't look like he's making any significant headway right now .

When I was gushing about the Wizards I completely forgot the Rockets...and apparently, so did the Wizards . Ecstasy is on the rise . The new G.I. Joe movie signs another actor . President Bush signs a bi-partisan bill that prevents "the severely mentally ill from buying guns." Like Tupac back in the day , Lindsay Lohan gets around .

Really. Story's here . She got a picture with everyone but Mike Gravel and Fred Thompson, which is actually impressive in this day and age.

John Hollinger picks Caron Butler and Antwan Jamison for All-Star Reserves (membership required). On Butler: Butler made the team a year ago, but this is easily the best he's ever played. Averaging career highs of 22.2 points, 4.6 assists, 50.4-percent shooting, and 41.4 percent on 3-pointers, he's kept the Wizards north of .500 despite the absence of high-scoring guard Gilbert Arenas. While he might be over his head at the moment, it's not like it's a close call between him and the next guy on the list. Butler ranks sixth among Eastern Conference players in PER, and is doing it while averaging over 40 minutes a game. He'd have to cool off considerably just to make the comparison between he and the other forwards interesting. On Jamison (after explaining why Jason Kidd and Ray Allen shouldn't get it): So that leaves Jamison, Redd, Carter and Jefferson -- the four remaining Eastern players with a PER in the top 50 who average at least 30 minutes per game. Of the

I think John Edwards has a message that many voters want to hear, but when it comes to comparing himself to his fellow Democratic candidates, he needs better talking points Thom Hartmann had a Congressman who's supporting Edwards on his show today and asked him the difference between Edwards and Dennis Kucinich (who also has a progressive-populist message). The Congressman said (and I'm paraphrasing because this just happened), " You need to look at "presentability," you need to look at the voting record and you need to look at electability. Dennis Kucinich can't get elected. John Edwards can ." Now, if the "I'm more electable" argument is the strongest thing Edwards has, I feel sorry for him. It's almost like saying "I'm more photogenic" or "I'm more well-known." I'm sure there are other differences, and if Edwards is smart he'll rehearse some of them the next time someone asks this question.

With Hillary's campaign not going as expected, two things are apparent with pundits and the media: (1) they don't really feel like covering John Edwards, and (2) they don't know how to handle Barack Obama. Edwards came in second in Iowa, but you wouldn't know it with the lack of coverage. It's hard to say what the root cause of this is. Maybe it's Edwards' populist message, which essentially paints big business (who owns a majority of the news networks) as the bad guy. Maybe it's because he's a rich, white southern lawyer and the press feels that we've " been there done that ." Maybe it's because the media feels that the "two-person race" between Hillary Clinton and Obama is more interesting. Maybe they think Edwards slighted them sometime during the campaign and they want revenge. Whatever. I personally think having a three-person race is better because one of them is bound to bring up a topic or issue that the others eit

Joe Gibbs resigns . Sigh. He plans on staying on as "an advisor," but it won't be the same. Let the housecleaning begin. Comcast plans to magnify its on-demand options. Meet a man who's literally blue . Roger Clemens is playing hardball with his detractors. In light of the Writer's Strike, the Golden Globes undergoes a change . Should old sexy pics matter if the person in question is now a mayor ? I don't think so. Someone call Michael Moore: the US ranks dead last in preventable deaths. Better late than never: how to handle a hangover .

I almost forgot about this ...when I first saw the title, I thought it was a joke. How can a guy who's given trillions to Iraq (and the "reconstruction efforts"), refuses to make corporations pay for outsourcing American jobs (among other things) and didn't veto a single spending bill until the Democrats took Congress ever come up with a way to "boost the economy?" Promise an Playstation 3 to every shopper? Well, here's what he had to say: "In terms of any stimulus package, we're considering all options, and I probably won't make up my mind as to whether or not I lay one out until the State of the Union," Bush told the Reuters news agency in an interview. He added: "We are listening to a lot of good ideas from different people. We've got our people out there carefully, not only monitoring this situation but listening to . . . possible remedies." That doesn't exactly fill me with confidence. The guy's the friggin p

Don't cry, guys...the 'Skins are gone (and in a most brutal fashion, BTW) but the Wizards are still going strong. Keep in mind that their star player is still out ( and may not be back anytime soon ). Nevertheless: Jamison is becoming synonymous with the term "double-double;" Caron Butler is slowly turning into the undisputed leader on this team ; Haywood may just be one of the best ten centers in the East right now; the bench is as solid and energetic as a Wizard's bench has been in years. They're protecting the ball and barely foul . They're cleaning the boards, getting steals and, of course, putting the ball in the bucket . Looking at this month's schedule , there's only three teams that can beat these guy the way they're playing: Cleveland, Dallas and Boston. And when you consider that Cleveland may lose their coach , Dallas is 7-8 on the road and Boston still has a shaky PG and a coach who (up til this season) would be on the short

One might look at John Edwards and ask, "Why bother taking a swipe at Hillary Clinton ? Her star's not on the rise right now." Well, the first thing is is wasn't necessarily Hillary Clinton who started this, it was one of her spokespeople (who she really needs to get a handle on). Second, the spokesperson made a comment directed at Edwards and his populist message. But most importantly: Edwards probably understands that if he attacks Obama, Clinton's the person most likely to pick up the pieces. Obama's message of change is resonating with voters more than Clinton's message of experience, and Edwards' platform matches Obama's more than Clinton's. So attacking Obama is almost like attacking himself. People are going to back Edwards and his message , and others will take his calling Clinton "the status quo" seriously. There are enough facts to back up such an assertion, whether it's her work during her husband's administration,

Michael Moore reminds us what the Iowa results mean in regards to foreign policy: If you're a candidate for President, and you voted for the war, you lose. And if you voted and voted and voted for the war -- and never once showed any remorse -- you really lose. In short, if you had something to do with keeping us in this war for four-plus years, you are not allowed to be the next president of the United States. Over 70% of Iowan Democrats voted for candidates who either never voted for the invasion of Iraq (Obama, Richardson, Kucinich) or who have since admitted their mistake (Edwards, Biden, Dodd). I can't tell you how bad I feel for Senator Clinton tonight. I don't believe she was ever really for this war. But she did -- and continued to do -- what she thought was the politically expedient thing to eventually get elected. And she was wrong. And tonight she must go to sleep wondering what would have happened if she had voted her conscience instead of her calculator. He has

Date the Cheerleader, Save the World : They're uncle and niece on the show, but in reality they may be a couple. Eww Factor: a solid "7." Mitt Romney wins... in Wyoming . If I told you Amy Fisher was back and peddling a sex tape, how surprised would you be? Thought so . President Bush plans to go to the Middle East and beg the people their to help him attack Iran . Not exactly an "all-you-can-eat" buffet, is it? Current Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf blames the assassination of former leader Benazir Bhutto on ...Benazir Bhutto.

What better way to re-enter after my hiatus then with comments on the Iowa presidential wannabe results? First things first: Biden and Dodd are out ; even though they have their own share of pluses and minuses, they ran good campaigns. Sadly, it wasn't enough. Over at Crooks and Liars, they have a pretty good breakdown of each candidate, and whether the fans or critics were right . Unfortunately, the spin has already started, because Mitt Romney is implying that Americans want change in "Washington" (read: Congress) more so than in the White House. Which is just about the dumbest thing I've ever heard. Congress changed in the fall of 2006, when the Republican-lead Congress that couldn't care less about preforming their checks and balances gave way to the Democrats. Of course, the Democrats haven't addressed the biggest concerns of their base, but I don't see how Iowa choosing Obama (or Huckabee, for that matter) translates into frustration with Congress (