... Rush was detained by customs for possession of Viagra that had not been prescribed to him when he came back from a trip to the Dominican Republic. So it's fair to infer that he might have some problems with his jiggly thingy.

Sadly, the horrific picture this calls up of his jiggly pile of mess straining over the body of some poor starving Dominican prostitute is made even more vomit-inducing by the knowledge that the Dominican Republic is a known destination for sex tours specializing in child sex. There aren't many other reasons for rich fat dudes like Rush to go there...

Blunderdog, Readerreader was comparing Palin to the lightweight young conservatives that Ike, Dick and HW picked as their VP candidates. Palin = Dan Quayle, get it?

... but the three guys "chastising" her are a-holes too:

"Furthermore, a boycott opens the door for partisans to statistically adjust census results. The partisan manipulation of census data would irreparably transform the census from being the baseline of our entire statistical system into a tool used to wield political power in Washington."

Their letter really is just another opportunity to impugn Acorn and insinuate that the Obama administration will somehow use the Bachman-types' failure to complete the form to manipulate the census data. No, guys, the Bachman-types will have already manipulated it (to their own detriment) and the government will simply use what information is reported.

Goddammit, how hard is it for Virginia and his/her fellow birthers to READ or LISTEN CLOSELY to what the Hawaiian official said: The computer printout that has been published numerous times, including on worldnetdaily, IS HIS BIRTH CERTIFICATE. And guess what, it looks exactly like the one I got for myself in Cook County, Illinois recently. It is no longer possible in many states to get a photocopy/microfilm of the original birth certificate that the hospital filled out on the day you were born. The county or state certifies the information in its database, and that's your newfangled birth certificate. Welcome to the 1980s, morons.

Burris hasn't been in the news lately so he threw that out to get some free press. No one here in Illinois thinks he's serious. Sadly, so far no good candidates have shown interest in the seat, either Democratic or Republican.

The poll questions asks if you believe that: "People in the federal government either assisted in the 9/11 attacks or took no action to stop the attacks because they wanted to United States to go to war in the Middle East."

It's an either/or questions, and it's reasonable to believe the second half - that given the knowledge we KNOW the Bush administration had about Bin Laden's intentions, they took no action to stop the attacks because they wanted a pretext for war in the Middle East.

You were right the first time.

Organizing for America held a web/conference call forum on August 20th, at which Obama spoke to some 200,000 OFA members/volunteers. This is what I took away from it. I wish Obama/Democrats could be as clear as he was at that excellent forum (I sent a version of this to friends and family and as a letter to the editor of my local paper):

There are too many myths and lies circulating about health care reform. Here are the facts:

First, President Obama has proposed some basic consumer protections that would end insurance companies' abuse of their premium-paying customers. This will provide more security and peace of mind for the majority of Americans who already have coverage. Not so long ago, insurance companies charged reasonable premiums by covering a large, diverse population of people and spreading the risk among all customers. Now, they take no risk whatsoever by excluding all but the most healthy, and then denying reimbursement when their healthy customers inevitably get hurt or sick. You and I are one car accident or cancer treatment away from being victimized. President Obama's proposal will end these abuses. Basic consumer protections will not deny these companies any profit--they will simply restore the concept of spreading risk that these companies once accepted.

Second, President Obama has proposed an insurance exchange where the uninsured, underinsured and small businesses could choose from a number of insurers and plans, including a "public option." There could be no exclusions for pre-existing conditions. The public option would provide a basic affordable plan that would be administered by the federal government, similar to Medicare. People below a certain income level would receive subsidies to help them buy insurance on the exchange.

Who will be able to buy insurance on the insurance exchange? At some point in our lives, it is likely to be you and me. If you have employer-provided coverage right now, like I do, you could lose that coverage tomorrow if you lose your job. Currently, individual coverage is much more expensive than group coverage, and insurance companies would turn many of us down due to pre-existing conditions--anything from cancer to pregnancy to high blood pressure. We are all potentially vulnerable to loss of coverage, and we will all potentially benefit from the insurance exchange. The insurance exchange, including the public option, will provide us with real security in the event of a job loss.

Third, President Obama has proposed some ideas which over time will help reduce health care costs. There is no magic bullet. But if we have patience, we will see reductions in costs from these types of measures: requiring insurers to cover minimal preventive and wellness measures, such as mammograms and weight management, leading to a healthier population. Allowing Medicare to reimburse end-of-life care counseling so people understand hospice and palliative care. In addition, as the uninsured get coverage, expensive visits to emergency rooms for primary care will decrease. Lower health care costs will mean lower premiums.

These basic components would help us all have more secure and affordable health care.