I quoteth from Monty Pyton. This time, from the book of "The Dead Parrot" sketch:

Mr. Praline: "Look, matey, I know a dead parrot when I see one, and I'm looking at one right now."

Owner: "No no! 'E's pining!"

Mr. Praline: 'E's not pinin'! 'E's passed on! This parrot is no more! He has ceased to be! 'E's expired and gone to meet 'is maker! 'E's a stiff! Bereft of life, 'e rests in peace! If you hadn't nailed 'im to the perch 'e'd be pushing up the daisies! 'Is metabolic processes are now 'istory! 'E's off the twig! 'E's kicked the bucket, 'e's shuffled off 'is mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleedin' choir invisibile!! THIS IS AN EX-PARROT!!

Owner: Well, I'd better replace it, then. (he takes a quick peek behind the counter) Sorry squire, I've had a look 'round the back of the shop, and uh, we're right out of parrots.

is that if a member of congress is back home, the folks who feed him/her the necessary funds to campaign every other year won't have to travel so far to line that member's pocket. Plus, if you're holding your fund-raisers in Washington all the time, it's always the same old people showing up. Spending more time at home allows for more new blood to attend and give, give, give. Yep, these guys are always working...

Tim, you keep giving us all these facts and numbers. How is that going to help us smite our evil enemy and bring democracy to the Middle East? I say we need more slogans, propaganda, and cheerleading--and less of these pesky facts and numbers. Worrying about how many troops have been killed doesn't help us stay on the course to victory.

"Geez, What Do Ya Know The Iraq Report is as important as MY PET GOAT."

See? Iraq and 9/11 ARE connected!

From Mary Cheney this week, to Borat last month, and Mark Foley the month before. There's a certain portion of Salon readers who obviously think it's wrong to poke fun at anybody's expense, regardless of who they are or what they've done or said. And on some level, they're right. But that's not gonna stop me, or most of the other readers who enjoy laughing when some extreme hypocrite falls off their lofty high horse. We enjoy watching it and laughing at it, and nobody's gonna make us feel guilty about it. So you priggish schoolmarms can complain all you want (and I'm sure you will), but Salon is gonna publish articles like this for some time to come, and I'm gonna laugh when they do. Guilt-free.

people like Skeptical Geek write in to say what a waste of time a certain story, or story lines, is just because they don't happen to give a shit. Thank you very much for your help and advice, Mr. Geek! I'm sure the powers that be at Salon took your thoughtful words to heart. And I'm sure your effort--which certainly couldn't be seen as a waste of time by any rational person--helped you sleep more soundly. I think a round of applause is in order!

Now it's "I can say whatever the hell I want. And I get to mean what I say until I don't want to mean it anymore."

It's good to be king. (Unless you want the respect of thinking, rational people, that is.)

The Bush administration has been spinning for so long now that it's obvious to most of us that they're doing nothing but 360s. And these poll numbers show what percentage of our electorate is sharp enough to recognize when someone is just chasing his tail in circles

Was it maybe Bill Kristol, of the Project for a New American Century, who said during the build-up for the war that it was a "myth" that the Sunni's and the Shiites don't like each other? Wow, it almost seems now like he was sort of wrong. Spectacularly wrong. So wrong in fact, that it's unbelievable that anyone would ever seek his council, invite him on a news talk show, or re-print his op-eds. Just wait until he offers up the opinion that to keep the Saudis from getting get involved, we'd better start carpet bombing Iraq, Iran Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Palestine...

I think what we're talking about here is Sunni insurgents receiving official, state sponsored Saudi support, as opposed to secret, under-the-table, independent support from wealthy Saudi citizens. I would say the difference is sort of like getting support from the current U.S. government to go bomb some abortion clinics, rather than getting support from James Dobson, Pat Robertson, or someone like that. I realize the difference might be subtle to some, but it's significant, nonetheless.

I'm seconding Cary's advice. The LW's boyfriend is an immature jerk. Life's too short to wait and see if he'll ever grow up. I doubt he will. Most likely, if LW stays with him he'll lord it over her forever. There are lots of wonderful people in this world, and she deserves to be with someone better. And to the guys who are writing letters defending the LW's boyfriend, you guys are at least as bad as he is. What a bunch of babies.