Nine years ago (God, it's really been that long?) I was downloading tons of songs from Napster et al. That's over. Now I'm downloading entire movies in half an hour via Bitorrent. The more things change, the more they stay the same...

One argument I'd like to address is the falling revenues of the music industry. Isn't it a possibility that CDs, vinyl, etc have always been overpriced and over-valued? Maybe the recording industry is just angry because their tricks to squeeze money out of you (for example, selling albums with only one or two goods songs on it but making you pay for the ten other crappy ones) don't work anymore.

Some people find that important.

In retrospect, the most valuable thing I learned in archaeology is how to use a shovel to dig really precise holes in the ground. Interestingly, this is a skill that will earn you more money than many professional archaeologists.

By the way, for each interesting paper to come out of archaeology, there are hundreds that are soul-numbingly boring. This is also why archaeologists are fun to hang around with -- they drink a lot.

or does he only train gay dolphins?

The guy is way too meek and doesn't have enough foresight to predict situations like this. Either he changes his mind and looks weak or he goes against logic (and the wishes of Obama) and looks stupid. Either way he needs to let someone else lead the Democrats in the Senate.

Isn't that the place that sticks your fries AND cole slaw IN the sandwich instead of on the side? I can't understand why people like that...

...then I'm killing children? Would it just be safer if Krispy Kreme offered only one style of doughnut? And how do condoms enter into this? I don't get it.

Probably not.

It did on CNN. I don't know about any other networks.

No reaction from Bush. I'm not sure he's smart enough to pick up on these things.

but it's depressing to me that my 18-year-old truck isn't good enough for Mexico.

I thought that hack was marginalized by the election. Continuing to quote him serves to legitimize him again. I'm sure there's many other right-wing crackpot sites you can quote, and you can rotate them so that no one of them can gain any prestige.

I loathe the fact that National Airport was named after Reagan. (My father, a conservative, was very much against it as well -- he felt the main airport of the nation's capital shouldn't be named for anyone.) However, I thought the post 9/11 flight rule that you couldn't get out of your seat for thirty minutes before arriving or after departing was very apt:

You had to sit and wait half an hour before you could take a crap.

I'm sure Reagan came up with many of his policies under the same conditions.

I'm conflicted about this. The part of me that wants to see the GOP go down in flames -- all the better because they are doing it to themselves -- is very happy. But my common sense and basic human compassion are saying "No No No!"

except for his valuable insights into the Healthcare Industrial Complex and keen solutions to the country's healthcare problems.

I'm sure that one or more of Obama's nominees may have, at one time or another, driven faster than the speed limit or even jaywalked. We cannot tolerate such utter disregard for the law!!

To punish Specter, the Republicans will run a wingnut against him that will surely lose against a Democratic opponent? That's amazing.

Remember the Bear Patrol episode of the Simpsons? If anybody is having trouble explaining this concept to someone, just bring up this episode and they'll understand.

I think it was a missed opportunity when Obama mentioned an "ideological blockage" and didn't follow it up with "The Republicans need an ideological laxative".

"Enema" would have worked well too.

Another victim of the mysterious grammar monster that terrorizes much of the internet...

From a public health standpoint, it's hard to think of something worse than a Children's Play Area. (Well, maybe mandating the licking of escalator handrails.) Heck, elementary schools are already ideal disease-exchange centers -- do people really want to do the same thing on a national or worldwide scale?

She has clearly had over ten years of weight training from lifting up her kids -- hence the muscular arms. By the time my partner's son was seven she could punch out a rhino. So what's the big deal?

That's why I like her. I don't think sexy enters into it.

This should cut down on those vicious lemur attacks that have the population terrified to come out of their homes.

Big Old Geek made a really good point -- Humans are primates. If they didn't make a distinction then the law should apply to humans as well.

Also, to preempt any discussion of evolution, the inclusion of humans in the order Primates (pronounced with an "eez" as the end) is based on shared characteristics, not evolution. So even if you don't believe in evolution, humans are still primates.

I guess now we have to know what the definition of "pet" is. If I call my sweetie by a pet name (for example, "snuggle bunny") while driving her across a state line, am I breaking the law?

I wonder how many Republicans were googling "Primate" before they voted?

With his strained folksiness and slight lisp he sounds like the gopher from that Winnie the Pooh movie.

has resulted in only stupid Republicans remaining in office?

Quick counter-example:

In New Mexico, all the progressives are in the northern part of the state which is at a high elevation. In fact, Santa Fe is at around 7000 feet, and is annoyingly liberal in my opinion (and I myself am an annoying liberal, so that's saying something.)

The southern part of the state is lower in elevation and much more conservative. Maybe it's got something to do with cowboy hats instead.