Back in the '70s, Frank Zappa was under contract with Warner Brothers. The relationship had soured, he wanted out, but he still had four more albums to deliver. So, he went into the studio and crapped out four albums' worth of awful material, the worst of which was titled "Sleep Dirt".

HBO pulled the plug on "Deadwood", one of the best shows ever written for television. "John From Cincinnati" is a poorly written, poorly directed, poorly acted, meandering, and altogether pointless show. I'd been trying to make sense of it all, and the best I can come up with is that "John" is David Milch's "Sleep Dirt", a justifiably vindictive swipe at the executives who killed a phenomenal series in cold blood.

HBO shows famously take several episodes - even whole seasons - to develop, but I am OUT on this one.

OK, here's what I predict will happen in the next episode: McNulty steals that little hopper kid's scooter, rides it down to SeaWorld, and jumps over a shark tank with it. Templeton records the moment for posterity, and McNulty rides off into the sunset with Pinky Tuscadero on the back.

All great series stick around for at least one season too long, and The Wire is no exception. I'm just glad they're going to let it go after this...

What must be going through the minds of the likes of Kay Bailey Hutchison, Liddy Dole, and Christine Whitman right now as they watch Sarah Palin, for whom they were passed over by John McCain and his handlers? Republican women who have (whether we agree with their politics or not) served their country with distinction, and put in all of the sort of work that's required in order to qualify for the number two (or number one) job in the country?

If it had been explained to them that the path to follow for such a position would be to look hot and doable while spouting extreme, fundamentalist viewpoints, to not just pander to, but demonstrate without question that they ARE part of the drooling, uninformed, and short-sighted masses, how would that have affected their decision to pursue their political careers from the righthand side of the aisle?

Godspeed, Charlie Gibson...

Let's all hope Palin keeps talking... and talking... and talking. The more she talks, the more she wears out her welcome within the GOP, as evidenced by her chilly reception at their governors' conference. The more she's portrayed as the new standard-bearer of the Republican Party, the more the "sensible" wing of that party will push back.

Meanwhile, the rest of us - even the comics - will tire of her. We as a people just don't have the attention span for another four years of this woman's antics, and truthfully, she provides little incentive for us to make the effort.

My crystal-ball prediction? In a year, Meet the Palins will debut on basic cable. In four years, Sarah Palin will be no more than a vague, historical footnote.

... unless by "inclusiveness", we mean "inclusiveness for everyone on our side." I'm not shocked - but no less dismayed - by those on the far left who are shrieking with rage over Obama's failure to set up a guillotine atop the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Like it or not, our man's got to throw a whole rack of bones to our ingrown brethren on the right if he wants to see his significant legislation passed, at a time in our history when it really needs to get passed.

First, he defanged the Clinton wing of the Democratic Party. Then, he gave the Republican base a nice belly-rub, and now we see even Newt Gingrich calling for reasoned cooperation. That's leadership, folks. For those of you crying "treason", you should ask yourself how much separation there really is between you and that other reactionary segment of society you so despise.

Seriously, why is everyone acting so shocked... shocked... that the Republican Party as assembled by Karl Rove is not playing nice with Obama? The current makeup of the GOP is something that was carefully planned out and meticulously executed, and it's not going away until at least 2010.