Like a lot of the posters, I still dig a great deal of Nugent's music. Unlike most of his right-wing brethren, I can seperate my appreciation of art from the foibles (or worse) of the artist. In that vein, I could never understand the burning of Dixie Chicks records by people who only days earlier would have killed for a pair of tickets to see them.

With that in mind, I recently went to a Nugent concert at a weekend fest put on by a middle-class Chicago suburb. At the outset, I was particularly disturbed by the large percentage of neo-nazi types in the crowd. I also saw and heard first-hand the rap that's depicted in the video posted (which really just skims the surface). I kind of expected that, though, being aware of Ted's leanings and bombast.

But what was really amazing was the utter lack of irony in the encore as he tore through Great White Buffalo, which at its heart is an indictment of the ignorant "white man" who destroyed the natural world and way of life of the indigenous peoples of North America. An indictment of the very attitudes Ted and his shaved-headed, swastika-tattooed acolytes proudly embrace today: we have the power to bend the world to our wishes, so we will, and fuck 'em all if they don't like it.

Oddly, he claims that if only the rest of us spent more time in Iraq, we'd understand that amazing progress is being made. We simply can't know how wonderful life is there because we're not there.

In a complete reversal, he claims that you can only see the progress in NOLA by NOT going there.

Somewhere, the Mad Hatter is pissing himself.

My god. If this woman knew how much most guys loathed the whole traditional "bachelor party" scene she'd actually feel sorry for the poor gal who has to tag along, instead of resenting her.

The bachelor party -- in its traditional stag party incarnation (like the one her husband is being forced to attend) -- is a contrived farce for most of the modern world. An anachronism that a handful of misogynists and misanthropes can't let go of; their one excuse from time to time to leer at nekkid ladies.

For myself and most men that I know, the "bachelor party" is now merely a night out for dinner and a few drinks with the boys without having to apply or pay for a "hall pass" from our loving wives or significant others. (For those men who insist that they always get to do whatever they want, whenever they want, their wives be damned: really?)

Frankly, were I to get invited to the kind of bachelor party this reader's husband is in for, I'd beg my wife to forbid me from going so I had a good excuse to skip it.

Then: We must invade Iraq to take away Saddam's WMD, which we know are specifically in the areas north, south, east and west of Baghdad, and because he assisted the hijackers who attacked us on 9/11.

Now: We invaded Iraq in order to free a noble people from the shackles of a brutal dictator, and are staying to help them on the road to achieving their divine right to democracy (which will inspire the other noble people of the mideast to assert their own divine right to democratic self-determination).

Of course, both statements are a load of crap, but Kerry's right: these guys do more goalpost movement than the grounds crew at a combined baseball/football stadium in September.

As I understand it, "intelligently" in reference to the mental state of one entering a plea does not mean doing something that makes sense, as Sen Spector seems to be implying. Rather, it is synonymous with "knowingly." That means that you are aware of your rights and the consequences of your actions.

Using Spector's disingenuous -- particularly for a former prosecutor -- interpretation is of course Craig's only chance at a successfully withdrawing his plea. Because using the actual standard would mean trying to convince a judge that a sitting US Senator and longtime congressman was utterly unaware of his constitutional right to counsel and trial, and that he had absolutely no idea that pleading guilty constituted an admission of the facts constituting the elements of the crime, and would result in actually being convicted of the crime to which he had pled.

Apparently, Craig now believes that admitting he is the dumbest bastard to ever hold federal office is better than admitting that he might have wanted a bit of sexual gratification from another man.

Actually, what's REALLY amazing is that the Chancellor of the University of Cailfornia at Irvine had not been aware that Chemerinsky is a target for criticism from conservatives. Does the good Chancellor live in a cave?