The problem with the attempt to 'control' meaning is that slang simply doesn't work that way: think of people who bemoan the 'loss' of 'gay' when it meant 'merry' because they don't (want to?) 'get' its changed usage. (And think of how 'queer' is now somewhere between an in-yer-face sexual identity and a term of abuse.)

Similarly, the argument that the use of 'pimp' - as in 'Pimp My Ride' - shouldn't be allowed (if you're the kind of person that regards prostitution as inherently violent and exploitative) makes the same mistake of thinking slang (especially sexual slang) has to pass some kind of official dictionary test (which only you get to set). In some instances, unfortunately, it doesn't.

At root, this is still a workplace sitcom, so in the end it'll be about a bunch of disparate characters who rub along with each other or who repeatedly rub each other up the wrong way - think Cheers with a PhD. For example, if our professor heroine has to deal with Faculty/office politics, one strategy might be to give her an old-school male Dean as an antagonist (see Fey/Baldwin in '30 Rock', as well as the Harvard row from a few years back). Give the heroine the research assistant from hell. And you want a story arc? Make sure she's still pursuing tenure at the start of the series (in contrast to at least one character whose been there for decades), so she has to walk a fine line between securing the job and upsetting the wrong people (can she really propose an entire module analysing stripping? did she really mean to say that to one of the Faculty's key donors?). In the end, it's less about where it's set than about how the characters work, and - above all - whether it's funny or not. I wish the the project luck.

If Palin tries to re-invent herself, how does she successfully all the inevitable re-runs of the Couric interview and the Fey spoofs in 2012? Which accent will she have by then: her own one or Marge Gundersen's? If she shifts towards the center to pick up independents, the GOP fundies will go nuts, and she'd leave herself space to outflanked by some other nutjob. If she doesn't move to the centre, Obama gets all the votes he got this time round. And that's assuming the GOP base will sustain her through the primary campaign (not if McCain and others have anything to do with it: there'll be plenty more where the 'OMG! She thought Africa was a country!' story came from). She might also end up having to pick Cheney to 'balance' the ticket. In short, she won't be the surprise insurgent candidate she was this time around, and hopefully Obama will be ready and waiting (he defeated Hillary Clinton after all).

PS: Can someone confirm that FDR was the only failed VP candidate to go on to become President? If true, the bar's pretty high for Palin.

- In the age of the internet: Dubya Dubya McDubya

- Moose Palin AK-47

- McCain Heart 'Clear!'

Glenn - the same thing happened with the UK Conservatives in the 1990s: a complete inability to realise that it was their fault after being in power for nearly two decades under Margaret Thatcher and John Major, and despite the dominance in the print media. It looks like the US Right are even worse in this respect.

It depends on whether you regard a feminism as a coalition (which may not agree on everything) or a club with rules (set by...?) where if you don't sign up to everything, you're out. Such a 'litmus test' could also apply to, say, porn or sex work - and indeed it has been in the past. While 'Feminists for Life' sounds more like a GOP front for the likes of Palin (no abortion even for women who've been raped), the possibility of this issue be a sticking point for some individual women (especially if they're Catholics/feminists) may only matter if they are determined to stop other women from having abortions.

The phrase 'torture porn' used to describe films like Hostel is more to do with the buzz for the audience in being grossed out than by the fact that it's about sexual arousal. The US military didn't need to watch a whole load of BDSM smut to get their ideas for Abu Ghraib or waterboarding. In fact the term 'porn' - as in 'food porn', 'supercar porn' - is a shorthand for any pile of cultural stuff that some readers/viewers enjoy that bit too much (or at least too much for others' comfort). 2girls12cup isn't 'porn': it's a carney routine - Roll up! Roll up! See the Bearded Lady! - that's why seeing the reactions of viewers is probably more important than the act itself (besides, Divine got there first in Pink Flamingoes).

PS: Susie Bright used to write for Salon (see the archives); it'd be good to have her back to tackle badly thought-out books like this.

I guess we will learn from our panelists whether and to what degree it matters that the simulated practice sessions achieve this level of approximation.

It will matter for Biden, because the 'sexism' charge that McCain/Pailn keep trying to make will be part of their strategy and part of their spin. Also, Palin will still be trying to play the pitbull/lipstick line, as well as blustering her way out of any awkward questions - who needs to be a pointy-headed liberal elitist expert on foreign policy when Jesus can see Russia from your house? I think such a simulation will help Biden more than having a black stand-in will help McCain.

What didn't get mentioned was that Perkins was up against drum 'n' bass pioneer Goldie in the final. It was great Perkins won, but how many black conductors are there, by the way?