This should disgust anyone who has been following Bloomberg - finance tycoon, Iraq War booster, Bush-cheerleader, and Neocon ally, before the polls suggested a new strategy.

Glen Greenwald ably debunks the myth of Bloomberg as trans-partisan savior:

http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2007/12/31/bloomberg/, with the usual sharp pen and truckload of eye-raising quotations. And need we remind readers who think of him as centrist or independent because he was elected by supposedly liberal NYC voters that they're the ones who elected Rudy "Freedom is Authority" Giuliani?

Were Obama to select this man as running mate, I'd consider that to seriously tarnish his ticket.

No discussion of homophobia is complete without a mention of the research of American psychologist Henry E. Adams who found that 80% of homophobic men exhibited signs of homosexual arousal. Applying "penile plethysmography" (the measurement of penile circumference) to subjects watching homosexual acts, Adams found that homophobes exhibited a several-fold larger increase in circumference compared to non-homophobes:

http://www.oogachaga.com/downloads/homophobia_and_homosexual_arousal.pdf

We need to remind the homophobes, very publicly and frequently, that they are probably gay (or bi) until these idiots shut up and let others live their lives the way they choose.

Are the oil speculators really so bad?

Let's assume for the sake of argument that higher prices really are the result of activity by futures traders - and not a reflection of current real demand outstripping supply. Aren't the speculators simply rationally anticipating future shortage? In the end, the consequences match the goals of policy makers concerned about energy supply:

• Consumers curtail their energy use
• Markets are incentivized to develop alternative energy resources
• Policy makers have public support to push through energy policies

In other words, the side effect of speculation is to promote progressive energy policies in advance of the real crisis (when we actually have a supply shortfall). Isn't this exactly how we'd want things to happen in an ideal world?

Let's note that scientists have been unable to mobilize the populace to do much to change their consumption habits, and politicians have had little support to implement progressive energy policy. Politics requires crisis.

Would consumers actually curtail their energy usage without being forced to? Would politicians be able to push progressive energy policies? Would as much investment capital be available for alternative energy were gas prices not so high? Isn't it better that all these things happen now rather than just when oil supplies are actually vanishing?

It strikes me we should be thankful for the speculators who've managed to achieve through trades what the wise and outspoken could not through words.

From 1995 to 2002, you were a member of the AIP, a group dedicated to Alaskan secession. Your leader, Joe Vogler, said at the time "The fires of hell are frozen glaciers compared to my hatred for the American government. ... And I won't be buried under their damn flag." Mr. Vogler urged AIP members to "infiltrate" the American government, and insinuated that you dropped your membership to get elected in Wasilla.

How are you going to assure Americans that you are not a dangerous right wing extremist?

The McCains have suggested that proximity to Russia has given you foreign policy experience. Can you name one specific example? Do you have any foreign policy experience?

It's been widely reported that you had books banned from the Wasilla Public library. Which ones and why?

Banal, trite and flat-out stupid. Why on earth did you chose to publish this?