Remember how relieved we were when Ron Reagan left office (some of you will know what I'm talking about)? "Thank God he's gone. We'll never have another President as clueless as Ronny." Well look what happened. Dubya was far more destructive and dangerous than Reagan.

We all should have been forewarned when Dan Quayle was tapped as VP, but we forgot our history lesson. Karl Rove did a marvelous PR job and helped us forget what happens when we choose cowboy shtick over substance. We wound up with Bush II because we allowed ourselves to be convinced that he was a regular guy who would grow into the job, guided by the sage, calm and moderating hand of Dick Cheney.

The great thing about Sarah Palin, Michael Steele and Rush Limbaugh is that the majority of Americans *realize* that they're clowns, and that majority increases every time they speak up. The "leading" Republicans vividly demonstrate almost daily the moral and intellectual bankruptcy of the party.

These people could be refugees from bad reality TV. They are so politically inept that thinking Americans can clearly see the broken machinations of a corrupt and semi-criminal political party in the wilderness. Michael Steele couldn't pull off a Rove snow job to save his life.

Watch, take notes and remember. The Republicans aren't always going to be so ridiculous and incompetent. It's very likely that in the future they'll be as corrupt and destructive as they have been for the past eight years, however.

Didn't Levi's mom get busted on serious drug charges, like possession of Oxycontin with intent to distribute?

http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/crime/story/628010.html

Lord, I guess she did. Will the wonderful Tyra Banks touch on that sensitive issue?

I know that Todd Palin's half-sister just got busted and arraigned on attempted burglary. Folks up Wasilla way have too much fun.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/us_world/2009/04/03/2009-04-03_gov_sarah_palins_sisterinlaw_diana_palin.html

Gosh, maybe Sarah Palin will run in '12! She's just what the country needs!

@gkrevvv: It'd be great if the GOP in MN loses popularity on this. The news stories covering this recount don't cover Minnesotans' attitudes towards this whole mess at all. At this point I have to guess that Coleman is seen as a desperate, whiny loser. As for Michelle Bachman...when do her space alien overlords bring her back to their home planet?

Blockbuster is (hopefully we can say "was" in the near future) a schlocky, tired company. Mike Madden hit the nail on the head: its tired, PC corporate culture drained away any possibility that you'd find new ideas or daring cinema at Blockbuster stores. Like McDonalds, Blockbuster is the lowest common denominator and wretchedly cookie-cutter. As soon as it won dominant market share, the company stopped caring about quality and service.

So it's going down, slowly. For most of us, this is slo-mo revenge for all those late fees, feeble inventory, sullen clerks and awful store interiors. Suck it hard, Blockbuster.

The question is...what replaces Blockbuster? Netflix and other mail-order rental firms? Yes in the near future, but the future is in downloadable rentals. You hope that the big players in this market segment focus on offering customers the best and widest selection of movies with top-notch customer service, along with a strong and open online community.

Still...

The Internet has really hammered local bookstores and even the national bookstore chains. We're losing communal public spaces when bookstores close and we're culturally poorer for it. The demise of Blockbuster isn't going to be as damaging, but I do wonder whether we lose something when physical stores close, replaced mostly by online stores. Are we all becoming more physically isolated?

...and I don't have a dog.

Karl Rove isn't interested in the truth--he cares about political gain. This is the man who smeared John McCain just before the 2000 South Carolina GOP primaries by starting an ugly whisper campaign about McCain's adopted daughter and his wife. The push pollers that Rove directed claimed that the daughter (adopted from a Pakistan orphanage) was the offspring of an affair between McCain and a crack whore. They also claimed that Cindy McCain was addicted to street drugs.

Rove did the same sort of thing to Ann Richards in the TX Governor's race, claiming that Richards was a lesbian who had young lovers on her staff.

Rove is one of the most grotesque freaks in the history of American politics. His main rule: attack your opponent first. Don't worry about the truth. If your opponent has to explain or defend himself, you've won. Politics isn't about making life better for people, it's about winning elections for your party.

And that worked out so well for us from 2001-2008.

Andrew, you can pretend to be interested in the sleazebucket company, get their main telephone number and company name...and then provide the FCC with that information over the Web. It may not seem like much I know, but the FCC *does* go after companies who rack up multiple complaints.

You can also put your a PIN on your number. Try it for six months or so. I'll bet that your number will drop off telemarketers' lists when they can't get through to you...