Well, as per the subject heading, mine would be, in no particular order:

--Paul Krugman
--Ian Buruma
--Leonard Pitts
--Bob Somerby
--Digby

And (avoiding such obvious picks as Anne Coulter, e.g.) my scheisse list:

--Tom Friedman
--Bill Kristol
--Charles Krauthammer
--Mona Charen
--Richard Cohen

And yours? Any and all feedback appreciated.

Robert

Oh, I am rolling on the floor laughing at this T-shirt slogan:

"A Cat Will Blink When Struck With a Hammer."

Maybe you will blink when I kick your ass up between your shoulder blades, dirt bag!

How in the fuck can TPM allow slime who would sell T-Shirts with such disgusting messages to advertise on the site?

Get rid of that ad, or this is one of the last times I will visit your site. And I humbly entreat others to follow my example.

Robert

P.S. Try clicking on the picture of the floozie in the tired, '70-esque slogan "Save Water..." if you don't know what I am talking about.

The Economist has endorsed Obama!!!

Qualified with classic British understatement, but a strong endorsement nonetheless!!

WOO-HOO!!!

Robert

How does this Jibe?

Seems Obama is still smoking! And, to borrow from 'ol Joe B., literally, not figuratively. OK, I get this just from hitting the 60 Minutes site, which says he has acknowledged having the occasional cigarette on the campaign trail. I am sure that the stress of campaigning is great--I sure as hell couldn't handle it*--but bloody hell; I can't help but imagine a scenario where we successfully elect him, and then he dies of emphysema or lung cancer in his first term. Pock, Pock, someone talk chicken little down here...

Robert

* See Airplane: "Boy, I picked the wrong week to stop sniffing glue.

Just watched the vid on TPM's main page where (see title) some airhead hack asks Senator Biden one 'Are you still beating your wife?' question after another. My first though was 'yeah, yeah.' Until I noticed something which gave me pause: this is an ABC News affiliate, not Fox, as I thought was a safe assumption. Believe me, I do NOT think ABC News (national or local) purveys anything close to first rate journalism, but Fox news they ain't. (Or, at least, weren't.) I'd be interested to hear what other readers have to say about the quality of their local news: i.e., is it this blatantly biased? Here in the conservative stronghold that is Seattle*, the few times a year I watch local TV news, my primary complaint would be about the vacuity, not bias, of how they report. But perhaps it is different in much of the other 50.

Anyone care to comment?

Robert

* Yes, I am kidding.

The so-called scandal regarding the fact that the RNC spent 150K to clothe Palin is one of the biggest non-issues of the campaign. Please: how much do you think both parties spent on their convention backdrops? The pillars at Invesco Field likely totalled as much. Spending money on Palin's appearance is legitimate campaign money spent. Don't get me wrong; I am a fervent Obama supporter. But this is pure media BS. Taking my cue from Bob Somerby, does anyone think the media won't turn this sort of crapola reporting on our side again? Remember Edward's $400 haircuts and other matters of vital import to who we elect as president? We liberals need to call it at both ends.

Robert

How do you know if you're living in phony America? It's a walk in the park! That's right, just take a walk around your local park, and if you can count more than two non-whites, you may be living in phony America. 

Recognize the ten warning signs:

1. Strange churches without steeples, attended by people wearing funny little round hats
2. Restaurants serving weird, funny-named food, served by brown people with funny voices
3. Movies at the multiplex where you have to read what the actor's are saying
4. Plays at the community theater where no one ever sings and dances(!?)
5. Sidewalks, and with people actually walking on them
6. Retail stores that have only one location, and no TV ads
7. Newspapers with more than sixteen pages, lacking exhaustive high school sports coverage
8. Weirdos who dress funny
9. Lawns which have plants other than grass on them
10. Strange bars where only guys hangout

Real America! Governor Palin won't settle for anything less, why should you?

Robert

Obama's down a little over one point in today's tracking polls--which has "concern trolls" like me reloading the .38. But! If you haven't already heard, here's a bright spot: Obama drew a crowd of 100,000, and in Missouri! This is all the more heartening when one considers that civic officials tend to underestimate the size of crowds at outdoor events. (In a stadium, where seats are assigned, head counts are more accurate for obvious reasons.)

Now, if only General Powell would endorse him...

Robert

I have practiced the Tao of the Pessimist over the past few years for matters political, and grasshoppers, it works for me! Here's how: expect a crushing disappointment, but act like a giddy optimist on the outside. (I.e. TAKE action; volunteer for GOTV efforts, donate etc.) Then when the moronic swing voters who decide our elections put another idiot in power, you'll know deep down that yes, you were the sole cynical f*ckhead who clearly saw the doom descending whilst the naive Pollyannas surrounding you were blindsided. There is no salve quite like self-congratulation. Plus, self -pity is fun! Think about it: you did all that volunteer work, forked over $.*, and all for nothing. AND! Should events prove that said giddy optimism was indeed warranted, well, enjoy! Either way, you win!

Uhm, no I'm not quitting my day job, and no, I'm not off my meds, why?

Robert 

I'd be really interested to hear some reader feedback on this question--do you think that since its inception Media Matters has had a tangible effect on MSM coverage? Do the MSM pay any of their complaints much heed?

Robert

To state the obvious, for some time now the Republicans have been systematically prevaricating the myth of widespread voter fraud on the part of the Democrats. Yet every article I have read--all from non-partisan sources--reveals that the overwhelming consensus among experts is that voter fraud in America is virtually non-existent. While voter registration fraud is not uncommon, it is nearly always the result of dishonest, paid employees, or simple carelessness, and more importantly, it almost never results in an illegitimate ballot being cast. (During the painstaking recount following the astonishingly close Gregoire vs. Rossi gubernatorial election out here in WA, a total of four false ballots were found.)

It seems that MSM is (surprise) reporting Republican accusations without challenge. Where is the Democratic response?

Anyone care to weigh in here?

Robert

OK, lads and lasses, things are far from totally rosey, but comprehensive poll data does seem to suggest that Obama would win, albeit narrowly, were the election held today.
But...

I used to think the so-called "Bradley Effect" was a myth borne of the vacuous sophistry so common to the press. After all, it was a seeming bit of ass-covering for the fact that in one major city (L.A.), the polls and the pundits got it so wrong. And that election was years ago. Yet I now understand that Douglas Wilder also polled way ahead of his opponent in his race for the governership of VA, and only won in a squeaker. Until now I had consoled myself that any who would not vote for Obama simply because he's black... Well, let's just say I believed that any 'racism factor; already showed in the polls. Yet now I wonder.

Anyone care to weigh in?

Robert

Seven bill.... Seven Bill... Seven Billion dollars--likely to stretch to a trillion, and still Obama only edges McCain by a point or two?

Well, what happens when the press reports this!:

McCain Takes Leak All Over Liberty Bell

Today Senator John McCain crowned his visit to Philadelphia by urinating on the Liberty Bell. Later, as the candidate exited the men's room at Independence Hall, he passed the comment that he regretted the fact that the Declaration of Independence--signed in Philadelphia--is kept in the National Archives in Washington DC, for he would just have loved to have it for toilet paper. Old ass, old paper, eh?

Muhahahah! Let's bounce this around the net, just like wingnuts did with the Clinton Murder conspiracies! Or the John Kerry is a 'lying chicken' schpiel? I mean, they gave both of those credence, they'll surely have to give equal attention to this! Don't want to be 'biased' now do we press corp?

Robert

OK I'm hitting the sack. Tomorrow I will take my meds, promise.

Nothing to do with politics, so I will hardly be piqued should it get deleted. But.. Anyone want to give me the quick and easy guide as to where one should properly use 'who' and where one should use 'whom?' Robert

We just can't lose this election now!

What? Do I have to tell you?

In recent weeks:

1. McCain has tried to position himself as the 'Change Candidate,' even though he is a member of the party which has held power for the last eight years, and despite the fact that he has voted along party lines on every major vote! (LOL!)

2. McCain and his campaign advisors opt to go with a woman as McCain's running mate. So who do they pick as his potential VP? Kay Bailey Hutchinson? No. Olympia Snowe? No. They go with Sarah Palin! Oh man, this kills me! Former mayor of Wasilla(?) pop. 7000, less than two years in as Governor of Alaska, radical fundamentalist views which extend to support for banning all abortions, even in cases of rape or incest, or when the mother's health could be at risk? Yeah, like any women will vote for her. And like people are going to vote for a ticket where you have a VP candidate with so little experience, topped by a 72-year-old with a history of skin cancer.

3. McCain's already said he knows little about economics, while numerous polls show the economy to be the voter's primary concern! Then, with the economy going in the drink, he again says "The fundamentals of the economy are strong!" Is this guy TRYING to lose?

4. I almost felt bad for McCain at his convention. I mean, after Obama's stunning acceptance speech, he had a hard act to follow, but that insomnia-curing acceptance speech he gave... Please!

Well, I could go on, but need I? I mean, like it takes a phd. in poli-sci to understand why Obama is ten points ahead in nearly every poll. Sheesh.

Robert