This article is one of the most egregious examples I've seen this campaign season of the typical, anecdotal, Newsweek-style journalism that we have all come to know and loathe.

I don't care what twelve people in some suburb think. Look at the data (which is not, as the saying goes, the plural of anecdote). Palin has the worst favorable/unfavorable rating of all the four candidates. She is the least popular, the most disliked. Period.

I expect better from Salon.

Let me guess: "South Side Chicago boy" was an innocent remark, having nothing to do with Obama's skin color.

The commenter should be banned.

For those new to DFW I would recommend the following:

-Incarnations of Burned Children (from 'Oblivion'), a short story

-Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature (from 'Oblivion'), another short story

-Host (from 'Consider the Lobster'), essay about right-wing talk radio

-E Unibus Pluram (from 'Supposedly Fun Thing'), essay about television

There are two stories in 'Oblivion' that I think rate as DFW's best ever: Good Old Neon, and Oblivion. But it is probably better to get acquainted with Wallace's style before diving into those.

The underlying idea is pure conjecture as to the cause of a slight but significant discrepancy between opinion polls and the actual vote tallies in exactly two high-profile elections. The hypothesis was that the difference could be explained by positing that a certain percentage of voters - enough to make up the discrepancy - were unwilling to admit that they were not voting for the black candidate for fear of being considered a racist.

Does this sound plausible to you? Are there really legions of McCain voters who are so sensitive to racial issues that they can't bear the thought of someone thinking there is a racist motive behind their vote?

Come on - the Cubs bombing in the playoffs is a fluke? Cub failure is the opposite of fluke. It is anti-fluke. It is the natural order of things. It is the way things ought to be and always shall be. "The Cubs suck" is a logical, eternal truth. The Cubs losing can never be a fluke. The Cubs losing is a manifestation of The Real.

I think. I remember long ago an outfielder, maybe it was Willie McGee, made a diving catch, and in doing so injured his wrist. In pain, he took his glove off, with the ball still in it, and set it on the ground. It was ruled a hit.

I believe the rule is that until you take the ball out of your glove with your other hand, you're not safe.

I'm just pulling this out of my memory and/or ass, however.

Not a force play. Runner bowls over the catcher as the catcher is holding the ball in front of him. Catcher is knocked over, falls backwards. His hand hits the ground hard and the ball is knocked out.

Safe!

How many days do you think it will take Salon.com to publish a story assuring us that everything was on the up and up?

is that hardly anyone lives there. About 80-85% of Missourians live in either Greater St. Louis or Greater Kansas City. And many of the remaining people live in college towns like Columbia and Springfield. When Republicans win Missouri they do it by winning in the suburbs.

So this tired, lazy "critique" of cultural relativists who celebrate female genital mutilation, which wouldn't be at all out of place on the O'Reilly Factor, is supposed to be profound and thought-provoking? What, because he's French? Give me a fucking break and stop printing this kind of nonsense.

Coming soon to Salon?

-"Is the Federal Reserve Unconstitutional?"

-"The NAFTA Superhighway: Road to the North American Union?"

-"Buildings Don't Fall Down Like That: What REALLY Happened on 9/11"

-"Spreading the Wealth: Barack Obama's Hidden Socialist Agenda"

From what I can tell, their complaints about the World Series amount to:

1. It rained a lot.

2. In an alternative universe where the Rays hadn't tied the game in the sixth, Bud Selig would have suspended the game anyway.

3. Neither team was from New York, Boston, or Chicago.

They were and still are preening narcissists who cared more about their own "trip" than other people. The hippies in Grant Park didn't give a shit about Vietnamese civilians; they just wanted to feel important, and while they were at it get high and get laid.

A lot of people probably wonder why Salon continues to publish the inane musings of Ms. Paglia. The answer is simple: outrage = hits. Salon figured this out a long time ago.

So stop reading Paglia's column. Stop clicking on it. Stop commenting on it (yes, I know I'm violating this one right now). Just ignore her like you would any internet troll, because that is what she is. And then she'll go away.

How long do you think you can get away with spitting in the face of your readers?

When does he get admitted into the BBWAA? When does he get to vote for the Hall of Fame?

I say we engage in civil disobedience until King is given his rightful due.

Wow, this story really is a hoot, isn't it? I'm sure this woman would feel better if she knew that she was providing blog fodder for lazy Salon writers.