it's all my fault

If only I weren't a godless feminist, California would not be burning. So says Pat Robertson, and when was the last time he was wrong about anything?

Still, have to love the honesty of the Lt. Governor, John Garamendi, who said this to Chris Matthews:

Garamendi: I’ve got some doubt about the value of President Bush coming out here. That…um, how many times did he come out to New York, or to New Orleans? And still, made promises but hasn’t delivered. We have the Terminator out here; Gov. Schwarzeneggar is doing a good job. We’ll see.

Matthews: You think it’s public relations rather than action?

Garamendi: Of course it’s public relations. The actions taking place by the hardworking firefighters and men and women, police are out there on the line, and the community, that’s pulling together to support each other. That’s where the action’s taking place. I know I’m…okay, President Bush comes out; we’ll be polite. But frankly, that’s not the solution. How about sending our National Guard back from Iraq? So that we have those people here to help us?

Later, Pravda--okay, "Fox News"--used this quote to say that the Lt. Gov. (a Democrat, if memory serves) was not supporting our troops in Iraq. I kid you not.

my dog should vote before ann coulter gets to

Because, first of all, Lily has much better hair. Secondly, she doesn't speak in a tone of voice that makes me want to peel all the lead-based paint off my walls and eat it. Lily has also been known to actually make people feel happy, and better about their existence, which couldn' t be said of Miss "I can't believe Michigan gave me a law degree--I bet they're sorry now. More sorry than Stanford, even." Finally, she couldn't possibly be as rancidly stupid as Ann Coulter.

So when Ann C. says that she thinks that women shouldn't have the right to vote anymore, because then there would be no more Democrats in government?* I say, let's start with you, Ann.

*Please note that this is a statement that shows that Ann has been following the slow diminishing of the alcohol in her glass rather than actually following politics. Women are not statistically more likely to vote for Democrats, and in fact gave the 2002 election to the Republicans and the 2004 election to Bush. So suck on that, Ann.

In other news, The Daily Show does it again.

vive le rude

I'd like to once again kick you to The Rude Pundit, who has been gloriously rude, a true inspiration, for four years now. As a small hat tip to myself, most of what he says about Preznit Fuck-the-Poor-Get-Me-Some-Mercenaries' veto of SCHIP echoes my own thoughts on the matter. By the way, though, it just occurred to me that perhaps companies like Blackwater exist because they are the preznit's wet dream: getting obscenely rich off the back of working class Americans, shooting brown people with big guns and not one damn bit of blowback. Had Blackwater existed in the 70's, maybe Bush would have gone to Vietnam, after all.

The Rude Pundit, responding to the "why do this at all, when the world is going to end?" question, says: "It's a question that plagues the practitioners of bloggery, whether it's "working" or "useful." The Rude Pundit has long subscribed to the notion that "preaching to the converted" is its own reward. Hell, it's pretty much what preachers do, with the occasional soul added to the ranks of the saved. The converted deserve to have their fires fanned and their genitals turned on. And if the Rude Pundit articulates a rage that sometimes can only come out as "Oooh, I hate those fuckers so," then all the better."

the people who read the new york times

Are clearly effete liberal intelligensia, else why would the top emailed article today be about shortening the time it takes to get a Ph.D.?

I read the article, but the part where they called up some Princeton grads and had them talk about how great it was that they didn't have to teach and could just write their dissertation, etc. etc. made me lose some enamel on my teeth, what with the grinding and gnashing, and so I moved on. Look, people, state schools have no incentive to rush us through our Ph.D.'s. As long as we are there, they are getting highly qualified people to teach undergrads at a cost of $15,000 a year. They don't care if it takes us 8.2 years (the average, by the way, and can I say, "Look, mom and dad, I'm average!"). Our professors care, but the institution doesn't.

Also, a study has been done that shows that women who self-silence in arguments with their spouse (who repress/suppress their true feelings in an argument) are four times as likely to die of heart disease as women who don't. The researchers say, "This doesn't mean women should start throwing plates." But you know what I think.

Watch out for the shards, they're sharp.