Welcome to The Now

Sigh . In describing the reasons he believes the Republicans' presumptive nominee for president would be better prepared than the Democrats' to lead the nation next January, Sen. Joe Lieberman said that history shows the United States would likely face a terrorist attack in 2009. " Our enemies will test the new president early ," Lieberman, I-Conn., told Face The Nation host Bob Schieffer. " Remember that the truck bombing of the World Trade Center happened in the first year of the Clinton administration. 9/11 happened in the first year of the Bush administration ." Lieberman nonetheless distanced himself from remarks by McCain chief strategist Charlie Black, who came under criticism for suggesting in an interview that McCain's election chances would be improved if a terrorist attack occurred before November. "Sometimes even the best of them say things that are not what they intended to say," Lieberman said. "Certainly the implications the...

About freakin' time . The silence between Barack Obama and Bill Clinton has been broken, with the Democratic White House hopeful on Monday asking the former president to campaign for him during their first conversation since the heated primary. Bill Clinton was often Obama's harshest Democratic critic, trying to bring down the Illinois senator as his candidacy surpassed former first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton's. While Hillary Clinton has begun to help Obama by encouraging her supporters to back his campaign, a chill remained between the last Democratic president and the man running to be the next one. Obama spokesman Bill Burton said they had a "terrific conversation" and that Obama is honored to have the former president's support. "He has always believed that Bill Clinton is one of this nation's great leaders and most brilliant minds, and looks forward to seeing him on the campaign trail and receiving his counsel in the months to come," Burton...

More proof that the Bush economic policies are "working:" Cities and counties are battling manhole-cover thefts, a crime spree that police tie to the weak economy. Hundreds of 200-pound covers have disappeared in three months in California, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Georgia as scrap metal prices pop up. "It's a sign of the times," says Sgt. Jay Baker of the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office in Georgia, where 28 manhole covers disappeared in April and May. "When the economy gets bad, people start stealing iron." You don't say. It's the first year he has seen such thefts since he started with the department 16 years ago. The price of heavy melt steel, the medium grade used for manhole covers, has increased from $329 per metric ton in January to $519, according to the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries in Washington, D.C. A thief can get $10 to $15 for a manhole cover, says Ryan Alsop, spokesman for the Long Beach Water De...

The latest Gallop Poll indicates that Democrats will keep Congress (and maybe expand their majority). Of course the question is, "How will Democrats repay the voters that help them hold Congress?" We've already seen what happened with the GOP, after years of promising a bans on abortion and gay marriage: nothing. They had a good six years of complete control and could barely get flag burning on the agenda. The problem for liberals who support the Democratic Party is this: too many Democrats are more afraid of the GOP's base than their own . You see it on all the political shows; you hear it from their quotes on the radio. It's never about enduring the wrath of not supporting a union-friendly bill. Health Care was almost a forgotten cause until people Michael Moore and John Edwards push it back into the political conscious. Meanwhile: abortion, gay marriage, taxes -issues that Republicans have controlled message-wise for years now- remain at the forefront. With the...

When it comes to food, it's every man ( or nation ) for himself. John McCain took some time to meet with Billy Graham . "The Iraq War will pay for itself," proponents said. Remember that . The EPA wants the Pentagon to clean up their garbage . In France: a hostage situation gone bad . For adults, it's like riding a bike . In the aftermath of supermodel Ruslana Korshunova's death her ex tries to figure out what went wrong .

How do Democrats expect to get a real majority of anything if they keep caving ? The biggest problem with the Democratic Party is that they fear the Republican base more than their own . Oliver Willis is still a hardcore DC Comics comics fan . Good for DC; they need all the prodding they can get if they're ever going get that Justice League movie ready in 2037 (j/k). Meanwhile, Marvel has their own studios and are working on putting out the Avengers ...which would be the third Marvel superhero team movie. I've said it before and I'll say it again: the DCAU saved those characters (episodes like "Heart of Ice" and "Starcrossed" for example), it saved them . Just like the big screen is saving Marvel. Caption this Washington Wizard . Would you rather get your superpowers from science or God ? Why not both ? Douglas Feith is dumber than a bag of hammers . Barack Obama brings the issue of race into the spotlight . A Spider-Man 4 with a new cast? Captain Am...

...That he recently met with Log Cabin Republicans (aka, conservatives who are openly gay). Maybe it's because he still wants the rabid GOP base to think that he has a blood hatred for gay people, when in truth he's looking for every vote he can get. (H/t: Randi Rhodes & Friends )

Gloucester High School's principal is still pushing the pregnant teen pact story. Find out why the Williams Sister won't vote .

...this guy: JaVale McGee . Hopefully he's trade bait. Update: Here are some various reactions to (and information about ) Mr. McGee.

It's funny how you find answers to one question by looking for something completely different elsewhere. I was checking out an article on askmen.com entitled, " 5 Things You Didn't Know: The Cold War " and the first "thing" hit me like a ton of bricks: 1- It cost the U.S. about $8 trillion Eminent foreign relations historian Walter LaFeber has put the U.S. military expenditures bill for the Cold War at around $8 trillion. This is a reasonable figure when you take into consideration wars in Korea and Vietnam; intervention in Afghanistan, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Chile, Grenada, and elsewhere; psychological warfare through covert CIA operations such as the Congress for Cultural Freedom and Radio Free Europe; and, of course, the research, development, testing, and construction of tens of thousands of nuclear weapons (at a high point in the late 1960s, both the U.S. and the USSR were each spending $50 million a day on those weapons ). By way of c...

I keep forgetting that "Tiger" isn't Tiger Woods real first name . How cool would it be if it was though?

I'm going to recommend that people read this Daily Kos diary .

By the time the day is out, Jermaine O'Neal may be a Toronto Raptor . It may sound funny now, but to see a motivated JO with Chris Bosh in January is something I know I don't want to see. The fruits of the McCain Surge. Welcome to the Town of Irrelevant, Mr, Nader. Population: you . Think of it as a religious version of "Goodfellas," but in Iraq . California's trying to get greener . Introducing the Dell Studio . It's quitting time for Nepal's Prime Minister. Guess which US Senator is holding back a bill that will "help troubled borrowers save their homes" unless he can sneak/squeeze/stuff in tax breaks that are barely related to the bill? President Bush shows some sympathy for one of his "Axis of Evil."

Apparently, John McCain and Barack Obama aren't supposed to be arguing over the issues . Heaven forbid ! Will we ever get a candidate that just plays nice all the time, and only talks about unicorns, marshmallows and rainbows? Why, oh why, can't politicians be like a cross between Bozo the Clown and Pollyanna? McCain and Obama should be playing beer pong or having a hot-dog eating contest, not fighting about terrorism, the economy, Iraq or habeas corpus! (Sigh)

Bar Refaeli : She's 5'9" and from these pics can go from sexy to dorky to ass-kicking in no time flat. Don't sleep on her, Warner Bros. You already screwed up by losing Joss Whedon.

...I can honestly say that it's not what I expected. (H/T: blogxilla )

I know this isn't really the right time, but I'm just getting tired of politicians of the Grover Norquist mold saying that Americans shouldn't have to pay taxes. So to test the brains of people who feel this way, but are also unabashedly Christian, here's a little word on taxes from the Good Book : Paying Taxes to Caesar 13Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words. 14They came to him and said, "Teacher, we know you are a man of integrity. You aren't swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? 15Should we pay or shouldn't we?" But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. " Why are you trying to trap me ?" he asked. " Bring me a denarius and let me look at it ." 16They brought the coin, and he asked them, " Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription ?" "Caesar's,...

I may need to start wearing a vest . HENDERSON, Ky. - An employee shot five people dead at a plastics plant before killing himself early Wednesday, police said. The rampage occurred after a worker at Atlantis Plastics argued with a supervisor, Henderson police Lt. David Piller said. The employee had returned home to retrieve a handgun during a break, police said. NBC affiliate WFIE reported that witnesses initially heard a shot come from outside the plant. The gunman then came inside the building and began shooting at random. Call me morbidly curious, but I'd really like to know what they were arguing about.

Joe Arpaio , a.k.a. “America’s Toughest Sheriff” did. The victim? Shaq ; for the language he used in his rap dis of Kobe Bryant .

Credit Card Companies actually paying people money? Oh wait, it's a lawsuit . Diabetes is on the rise . Baghdad still isn't safe . Purified water recall . Supreme Court: no death penalty for child rape . The shirt Doc Rivers wore (when he kicked Phil Jackson's butt up and down the court) has gone to charity . Toll theft in Massachusetts . Heather Locklear suffers from depression ? Oh wait, she used to be with Tommy Lee ('nuff said). John McCain is OK with being the underdog . We'll see... Bush = 23% . Jim Wallis gives James Dobson one fer . Is Pakistan wasting the money that the US is giving them? Appears so .

David Freddoso is back and he's working on a new " Don't Vote For the Democrat " book entitled The Case Against Barack Obama: The Unlikely Rise and Unexamined Agenda of the Media’s Favorite Candidate. Ugh. Of course, if you want to know about Obama's policies (or life), you can check his website (or his book ).

A really good sign . The United States is a nation of believers: most Americans say they believe in God, they pray, and they attend worship services regularly; they also believe in angels and demons, in heaven and hell, and in miracles. But they also say, contradicting the teachings of many faiths, that truth comes in many forms. Large majorities of Americans say that many religions - not just their own - can lead to eternal life, and that there is more than one way to interpret religious teachings, according to a massive new study of religion in America conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life and released yesterday. "Even though the country is highly religious . . . most Americans are, in fact, not dogmatic about their faith," said Luis Lugo, director of the Pew Forum. New Englanders are among the least likely to say they are religious, according to the study. Massachusetts lags behind the nation - often near the bottom of all states - in the percentage of i...

Bill Clinton is moving toward publicly backing Barack Obama .

Difference being this guy is a mortal man who just happens to share the name . If that's not strange enough, the accused man's middle name is "Lucky."

Don Imus says something racist again . A Republican ( again ) says that America getting attacked will help them . Food products are seized at PETCO. Bike versus train. Unfortunately, the train won . R.I.P. Dody Goodman (she played in both the "Grease" movies). Headline says it all: Al-Qaeda's Growing Online Offensive .

I have no idea, considering that he's blocking a proposed re-vamping of the military . What happened to "listening to the generals?" I guess he only listens when they tell him what he wants to hear. Think Progress has another example of Bush rejecting change to the military .

From USA Today : A supposed "pregnancy pact" that drew worldwide attention to eight teenage girls at a Massachusetts high school may be fiction, the city's school board chairman says. He says none of the girls has confirmed any pact on the record. "My gut feeling is that there may have been some sort of pact after the fact — you know, two girls who are pregnant say they'll stick together," Greg Verga , chairman of the Gloucester, Mass., school committee, said Sunday. Reporters took notice of the fishing community northeast of Boston last week after reports that 18 girls at Gloucester High School — more than four times last year's total — learned they were pregnant this spring, and school principal Joseph Sullivan told Time magazine that eight of those girls had agreed "to get pregnant and raise their babies together." Sullivan could not be reached for comment Sunday. So for starters: there's a chance that when I mentioned this awhile ago, I...

Check out the roster for the U.S. Basketball team : Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Jason Kidd,Tayshaun Prince, Carlos Boozer, Chris Bosh, Dwight Howard, Chris Paul, Michael Redd and Deron Williams. Notice who's missing from this list? Wonder why ? Personally, I think it's poetic justice that the non-champion winning players (including some who thought they should have gotten the NBA championship on a silver platter) go into Olympic exile and spend the next several weeks trying to forget that they have crappy teammates. Especially since the last time Pierce was on an Olympic team, he (and Allen Iverson to a degree) were universally blamed for not winning the gold for being to ( insert euphemism for "black" ). Well, these guys are fairly nice and safe (excluding the legal troubles of Anthony and Bryant). They should bring home something worth bragging about...after all, they have the time now.

Tom Brokaw gets the "Meet the Press" nod ...until the election, that is. And I thought elections in Iraq were rough; Zimbabwe can give that country a run for it's money. Amy Winehouse has emphysema. U.S.-backed propaganda TV network to the Middle East crashes and burns . Now if they can only get the ones in the country to die a quick death... R.I.P: George Carlin . He may be gone, but his attitude (and seven words) will live on.

After being such a critic of his work for so long, wouldn't it come across as fake for Arianna Huffington to join in on the quasi-deification of Tim Russert? After all, she does have reason to objective of his work . But as I've said before: a difference of opinion is no reason to wish ill of the deceased. Some things guys look for in a woman before they decide to pop the question. Grover Norquist is a fake . Emma Watson is making power moves . Odin's Raven: Ron Burgundy 2 ? Kim Kardashian... at the pool . Stacey Dash gives women (and men) in their 40's something to strive for . Think of it as " positive rumors Barack Obama shouldn't denounce ." For some Washington Post writers , vulgarity is really subjective.

First there was the story about people stealing gasoline (which is more frequent then I first suspected); then there a story about gas stations going out of business . Now: apparently those that are still in business are beginning to refuse credit cards . Remember when Bush blanked out when a reporter asked him about the "potential" of $4.00/gallon gas ? Remember his lame-ass solution ? Of course, in his defense he had no choice after Saudi Arabia laughed in his fucking face and told him to go home . So now we have a potential scenario where a person has to go to a more popular gas station (because the local one closed due to small traffic) only to realize that now they have to pay cash for every transaction. But that won't matter, because odds are their gasoline will be stolen between them leaving their home and arriving to the gas station.

Yikes .

Yes the Celtics are still celebrating . Remember: even though the franchise has won a buhmillion championships, it's been decades since this generation of Boston fans have witnessed one. Honestly, I would have hated to be a Celtics fan in the 90's. But then again, I'm a Wizards' fan, so I understand pain and frustration all too well. I still don't believe this one: 17 girls in a high school in Gloucester, Massachusetts made a pact to get pregnant on purpose . (Some people) in Congress are trying to get Nelson Mandela of the terrorist watch list . About time. The conflict in Darfur has turned the country into a free-for-all , which almost makes it like Iraq...except that we don't have an obvious military presence in Darfur. There seems to be a link between weight loss surgery and (reducing) cancer. Israel apparently doesn't want to wait for George W. Bush.

Fred Kaplan: The Taliban is back, and we're going to need some unexpected help if we want Afghanistan to survive their return .

I'm sure ; just like Krammer and the Braveheart Guy, right?

Ugh . The Mississippi River claimed new tracts of farmland overnight north of St. Louis, Missouri, as officials warned the swollen river could breach four or five more levees Thursday around the Gateway City. About 11 levees have been breached in the St. Louis area since the flooding began, Officer Alan Dooly of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-St. Louis District said. St. Louis' woes add to the growing number of levee breaches that have been occurring from Iowa to Missouri since the flooding started last week, according to the Corps of Engineers. Overnight, the Mississippi River cut a 150-foot breach through a levee in Winfield, Missouri, sending floodwaters racing toward a secondary levee. Of course, if you're like Rush Limbaugh you can believe in the Power of Racism and declare victory in the War on Mother Nature (if only Rush knew the truth ).

Why else would they cringe at the thought of a black person saying the word "whitey?" Seriously, there's other terms to use .

Hit-or-miss actor Cuba Gooding Jr. is set to play Dr. Ben Carson in an upcoming movie . Can't exactly say Congress caved on this latest "Give Bush Money For His War" legislation, but it still makes it difficult to say troops need to come home when they always give them just enough money to stay. The Hula Hoop turns 50 . A MySpace makeover . Peace between Israel and Lebanon ? Let's hope so. The headline says it all: " Gas Prices Drive Many Stations Out Of Business ." Bonus Fun Fact : in Massachusetts, it costs " gas stations $40,000 it costs to refill their underground tanks," so if they can't make that magic number they have to scale back/shut down. Barack Obama says " no " to public funding.

...because sometimes I feeling like I'm watching "Teen Angst Drama #261" when I read opinions from the so-called "insiders" and "authorities" nowadays. It would seem that now the Conventional Wisdom is: "We need to address what to do about Iraq." But take my word for it, here's the NYT's Thomas Friedman : Iraq has become one of those subjects that so many people now come to with so much emotional scar tissue that it is very hard to have a sober discussion about the actual situation there today. So much is colored by how you feel about George Bush or whether you were for or against the war. As a result, what we do next in Iraq — how and why — is barely getting discussed in the presidential campaign. While I admire Friedman's attempt to be "the opinion writer who changes the discussion," I really wished that (in this case) he cited some poll or statistic to back his claim that frustrations with the Bush Administration and/...

Dennis Kucinich provides an example of when it's good to not quit and keep pressing on .

Researchers have found a link between depression and diabetes. What kind of lowlife would rob a lemonade stand ? When it came to interrogation and torture techniques, the CIA and the Pentagon were hand-and-hand more than either initially let on. When the Levees Broke... Part Two . Barack Obama has a narrow lead on John McCain.

She won the special election; SusanG from Daily Kos has the details .

This is what I was talking about about when I began using that term . It wasn't just about the victories by the Red Sox, the Patriots and (now) the Celtics, it was also about how they dominated their opponents and made "WTF"-like comebacks (either in the regular season or the post season). True, all three haven't dominated/won in the same season yet, and we should all be grateful for that. The sports gods have at least saw fit to give the other teams a small sense of parity. Then again, all three are peaking at the right time, they all have good management, tons of cash, and (now with the Doc Rivers pwning Phil Jackson like he was possessed by Red Auerbach himself) decent coaching, all these teams have to do is keep their core together for the next five years or so, and swap in-and-out various parts as needed. Perhaps the Bostocalypse has just begun... Overtime: Slate.com goes over Kevin Garnett's surreal interview .

The Republican Good News Fairy is here to make it all better.

More salmonella than you can handle. While it's appreciated, Al Gore's endorsement of Barack Obama could have come earlier. Mets finally fire their manager. California makes way for the influx of same-sex marriages. Not just earth... SUPER EARTH . The Taliban is still pretty strong .

Awhile ago I talked about what Barack Obama plans to do for women , and now it looks like he's getting a little more aggressive in terms of securing their support: Sen. Barack Obama hit back at Sen. John McCain's recent attempts to court women voters who flocked to Sen. Hillary Clinton's failed presidential bid in droves. "On almost every single issue that's important to women, he's been on the wrong side," the presumptive Democratic nominee told ABC News in an interview in Flint, Mich. Monday. "You know, he is in favor of judges who would overturn Roe v. Wade. He has opposed equal pay. He has opposed the CHIP [Children's Health Insurance] program, that would make children insured," Obama said. While this looks like a good sign for Camp Obama, there are always things that will remind them that winning old Hillary Clinton supporters will be a continuous process. Case in point : The nomination fight is over, but the warring between the Obama a...

On thing about the modern-day American conservative: they really like to blame groups of people for every bad thing that happens. Other than maybe when they go after George Soros, that is. But honestly, when was the last time a prominent conservative blamed a corporation for screwing up something? Anyway, the reason I bring this up is because over at washingtonpost.com, the question posed by Right Matters is: "Who/what drove Joe Lieberman to John McCain? " The answer: liberals . If liberals had been willing to tolerate Lieberman, maybe he wouldn't have endorsed McCain. But by trying to unseat him in 2006 even though he agrees with them on most issues, they both alarmed and annoyed him. If not for that primary challenge, Lieberman would have merely been a hawkish Democrat. The left-wing activists who made Lieberman a hate figure in 2006 have only themselves to blame for his enmity. If you try to kill the king and fail, don't spend the next few years whining about it. T...

One step closer to satellite radio monopoly. If you thought Kobe Bryant was going to live through another " Five Game Sweep ," you don't know him, the Lakers or the NBA . "A Missouri woman accused of taking part in a MySpace hoax that ended with a 13-year-old girl's suicide has so far avoided state charges — but not federal ones ." Condoleezza Rice may have a point , but I don't see how it endures her to Israel. Mr. Snoop Dogg was arrested for DUI. President Hamid Karzai (remember him?) is flexing his muscles at Pakistan.

At church, our guest pastor gave a sermon and he mentioned (among other things) how today men (and by extension, events like Father's Day) has become more about toleration than celebration. He also talked about what men need to do to be fathers. In light of that, here's Barack Obama's Father's Day Speech, which had some similarities. PLUS : Oliver Willis has a point; other "Go-To-Black-Leaders" have certaintly been quiet on this issue (which explains why people freaked when Bill Cosby started talking about it).

Charlie Sheen isn't pulling any punches on describing his previous marriage to Denise Richards. People ponder Paris' potential pregnancy . Make some friends . When people do movies, TV Shows and cartoons with a Southern Senator caricature -the ignorant, smarty-pants blowhard- I'm sure they're using Lindsey Graham as a template. Why an all-black new network (while I'm sure was proposed with good intentions) probably won't work . We found water on Mars . Apparently, Comcast can't take the heat . Fight the smears . Yeah, fight 'em . Stomach noises . For guys: why your suit may not fit . Nothing wrong with a geek girl , right?

The Washington Bureau Chief and Meet the Press moderator was 58 . And although Russert may have occasionally ticked of progressives, the condolences have been honest , sympathetic , and void of spite . All I can say it that while his style of "you said this/did this back then, but now you say this/do this" became gimmicky, no one did it better. No one . Next to attending church, watching him on MTP was an enjoyable Sunday tradition. His shoes will be hard to fill.

Exhibit...whatever: Here endeth the lesson.

Whoa . Just whoa.

Sexism in the media coverage of Hillary Clinton ? Ya don't say. But it wasn't why she lost. If someone would have told me 15 years ago that Nintendo would be behind getting/keeping gamers in shape , I would have smacked you with a Power Glove. This is why the Democrats slim majority is problematic: they're either getting obstructed by Republicans or participating in the return of pork spending . David Stern strikes back . In South Carolina, cheering during a graduation ceremony can get you arrested . " The City That Would Never Flood ."

John Cusack's new ad (on MoveOn.org). Tips for handling tomatoes safely . FEMA still sucks eggs .

Going by the scene shots that Oliver Willis has , the report is: there are no minorities.

I was quite pleased to see Donna Edwards bet the corrupt Al Wynn (it just shows you that there are bad Democrats as well as bad Republicans, or as I would put it, "bad people period"). Now it's time for the Big Leagues: apparently, Edward's Republican rival has decided to compare her to socialist dictators . Here's her site for those who want to learn the truth. And here's a little fun fact ( according to Wikipedia ): should she win, Edwards "will be the first black woman to represent Maryland in the US House of Representatives."

Add some gold chains and Black Power Fist Pumps, and this is what they see. In other words; they think Barack Obama is the latest incarnation of the Black Panthers and they're scared he's going to open a can of retributional whup-ass for the slavery thing . So they are frantically trying to play up black stereotypes, smear Obama's heritage, and equate the "freshness" that typically comes with relatively unknown politicians with radicalism. And really: this type of shit has got to stop .

A new bird flu vaccine ? Finally. An Iowa tornado takes the lives of four boy scouts. More food stores are taking tomatoes off the shelves. Let's just say that if you're Facebook friends with Alex Kozinski or his son, now's a good time to scrub that relationship . Iran: We ain't scurred . Fee for Fishing ? A Unicorn dear .

The team is going French today , but Hokies forward Deron Washington feels he would be a better choice: "I think I could fit in well," Washington said of his workout for the Wizards, adding that the team seems to like hard cuts to the basket, one of his strengths. "I also like to play defense and that's something a lot of teams are looking for."

Gym horror stories . TV shows that mercifully didn't make it . This lady won't get to vote this November. Willie Horton revisited . All you need to know about Gilbert Arenas' offseason .

Hulk Hogan's ex wants him in a real steel cage .

Bill Simmons explains : 1. Before the 2000-01 season, Pierce was stabbed 11 times at a Boston nightclub, suffered a collapsed lung and nearly bled to death while staggering to the hospital. Less than two weeks later, he played in Boston's first exhibition game. If the same thing had happened to Vince Carter, he would still be on the injured list seven years later. 2. During the 2002-03 season, Pierce got slammed face-first to the floor by Amare Stoudemire, breaking his two front teeth. Thirty minutes later, he was back playing with a mouthpiece. The following day, he underwent emergency dental surgery for seven hours. The day after that, he played against Portland with a mouthpiece and ended up hitting the game-winner. In my opinion, he's not only one of the toughest Celtics ever, he's one of the toughest Boston athletes ever. Not counting Tankapalooza 2007 (when the team shelved Pierce with a knee injury for half the season even when he probably could have played), Pierce ...

Seriously ? They know they're grown adults, right?

The story of the " terrorist fist jab " is well traveled through the 'Nets by now ( told ya so ) but Media Matters and others would like to ask the ever-curious people at FoxNews : should professional athletes, little white kids, silly cartoon superheroes and the Great Ricky Bobby also be considered terrorists?

The answer would be, "Very."

The things some Muslim women feel compelled to do in order to restore their virginity.

Over at Perrspectives, Bush's ignorant $4.00/gallon gas comments come full circle . Given the stratospheric - and uninterrupted - rise in oil and gas prices, Bush's February 28 display of ignorance is all the more jaw-dropping. Asked by a reporter about the looming arrival of $4 gas, Bush the former oil man did what comes naturally and played dumb: Q What's your advice to the average American who is hurting now, facing the prospect of $4 a gallon gasoline, a lot of people facing -- THE PRESIDENT: Wait, what did you just say? You're predicting $4 a gallon gasoline? Q A number of analysts are predicting -- THE PRESIDENT: Oh, yeah? Q -- $4 a gallon gasoline this spring when they reformulate. THE PRESIDENT: That's interesting. I hadn't heard that. What's even worse than his initial response/denial was his solution . Here's a hint: it rhymes with "rats butts." THE PRESIDENT: Yes. I know it's high now. Q And the other economic problems facing p...

Only the most uninformed voter in America would fall for this drivel : John McCain, who credits his defiant defense of the Iraq war for his comeback victory in the Republican primaries, is using his first major television ad of the general election to show his dovish side. "Only a fool or a fraud talks tough or romantically about war," McCain says over mournful strings against a bleak backdrop, including the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. "I hate war, and I know how terrible its costs are." Of course he does; according to him, McCain suggested the oh-so famous "surge" in Iraq! But don't expect him to make any kind of connection here. In his latest ad, which is on the air in 10 states and is to start on national cable today, McCain does not mention Iraq or Iran, areas where he has tried to draw stark policy contrasts with Democrat Barack Obama, and says only that "I'm running for president to keep the country I love safe." McCain's backgro...

Iraqis say " no " to US bases. From whiners to winners: Lakers force a Game 5 . It's wildfire season in California . Hong Kong takes action against the bird flu. If you thought President Bush was having popularity issues, check out the Japanese Prime Minister . Coolio is arrested . Maybe he has an album coming out. More proof that cigarettes are only good for making people rich . Tragedy for a stuntman in a John Woo film. Bush shows he hasn't learned a damned thing since invading Iraq .

And neither do the Lakers. Nevertheless : The Tim Donaghy scandal just got more serious. The disgraced former NBA referee told authorities in a four-page letter released Tuesday that two officials conspired to fix the outcome of a 2002 playoff series and influenced several other post- and regular-season games. Court documents filed by Donaghy's lawyer detailed the "inner-workings" of a plot in which top league executives used referees to manipulate the games. Donaghy claims two referees were "company men" whose job was to extend a playoff series in 2002 to a seventh game. The documents did not name the series, but the Lakers-Kings Western Conference finals was the only series in 2002 that went to a seventh game, with the Lakers winning both Game 6 and 7 to reach the NBA Finals. Of course, Commissioner Stern says that Donaghy is just trying to deflect attention away from his own crime. Guess we'll have to wait and see what really went down.

How Television portrays the 70's . Nine reasons credit cards are good (besides the fact that this nation is based on debt). Handling negative people . Oliver Willis says that if the best McCain can do is compare Obama to Jimmy Carter, he's hurtin'.

You'd think a story like this would have gotten more coverage, in light of Saber - Rattlepolooza . You'd think . Pentagon officials firmly opposed a proposal by Vice President Dick Cheney last summer for airstrikes against the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) bases by insisting that the administration would have to make clear decisions about how far the United States would go in escalating the conflict with Iran, according to a former George W Bush administration official . J Scott Carpenter, who was then deputy assistant secretary of state in the State Department's Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, recalled in an interview that senior Defense Department (DoD) officials and the Joint Chiefs used the escalation issue as the main argument against the Cheney proposal. McClatchy newspapers reported last August that Cheney had proposal several weeks earlier " launching airstrikes at suspected training camps in Iran ", citing two officials involved in Iran poli...

Calling/labeling Barack Obama as some ultra-liberal is kinda hard when you compare him to Dennis Kucinich, who is again calling for the impeachment of George W. Bush. Obama hasn't gone that far. Kucinich, on the other hand, has been pushing this for a long time . The next time you're trying to scare people from voting for a relatively moderate Democrat, make sure that aren't any other more liberal Democrats in the news doing things that make your claims look like outright lies.

President Bush is looking for another coalition in his attempts to saber-rattle Iran. US President George W Bush is holding talks with EU leaders in Slovenia, at the start of what is expected to be his last tour of Europe while in office. They are set to supplement UN sanctions with "additional measures" to pressure Iran to abandon uranium enrichment, according to a draft joint statement. These will include "steps to ensure Iranian banks cannot... support proliferation and terrorism", it says . The talks will also focus on Zimbabwe, climate change, trade and energy. Mr Bush will later go on to Germany, Italy, France, the Vatican and the UK. The draft joint EU-US statement, obtained ahead of the summit at Brdo Castle, shows there will be a tough message warning Tehran not to continue defying a demand from the UN Security Council to stop the enrichment of uranium as part of its nuclear programme. "We will fully and effectively implement" the existing UN sanc...

Ken Griffey Jr.'s 600th home run . I'm sure if Michael Moore included this in "SiCKO," people who watched it would be even more pissed off. "In a year when global harvests need to be excellent to ease the threat of pervasive food shortages, evidence is mounting that they will be average at best . Some farmers are starting to fear disaster." Cancer isn't keeping Patrick Swayze down . Vitamin D could help prevent heart attacks . Cool.

Unless you don't want to hear about the nasty side of America's love for steroids , that is.

Obama staffers have appeared in the Commonwealth . Part of Howard Dean's "50-State-Strategy" or maybe something a little more VP-ish? Booweeoop !

This is just precious. When Chad and Keri McCartney say their infant daughter, Macie Hope, is born again, they aren’t referring to religion — the month-old miracle baby really was born twice. The first “birth” was about six months into Keri McCartney’s pregnancy, when surgeons at Texas Children’s Hospital took the tiny fetus from Keri’s womb to remove a tumor that would have killed Macie before she was born. The second time was on May 3, when the McCartneys welcomed their surgically repaired — and perfectly healthy — baby girl into the world. The story of the two births is amazing; but what more amazing is that we have the medical technology to preform surgery on a six-month fetus.

"Oops! You weren't supposed to get that pic of my girlfriend !" Those who weren't following politics this weekend are trying to figure out why Big Brown lost . Iran blames the Us for Iraq's problems . Way to get the attention off of yourselves, guys; don't be surprised if President Bush decides to send a "gift" before he leaves office. Mike Huckabee saves someone's life . Jessica Alba gave birth already ? Boston beat L.A. (again) and now the whining starts . Don't eat the tomato .