A Very Hungry Caterpillar

Roger Ailes (no, the other one) has something very smart to say about the right's hatred for gay marriage, which I believe boils down the problem to one simple sentence: "If you think gay marriage will hurt your family, Ricky [Santorum], maybe it's because you're just not a very good father."

The salary of Press Secretary Scott McClellan is $157,000. John M. Currin, the White House Director of Fact-Checking, makes $52,200 per year.

This explains a lot.

For you buffoons who still think George W. Bush is decisive, allow me to put forward a definition that you seem to misunderstand:

There is a difference between being decisive and doing whatever stupid thing wanders into your head.

Hi, My name is Brian Dickerson, and I've never heard of Richard Nixon or Watergate.

It sickens me to write these words, because I am one of those who gave Bush the benefit of the doubt -- one of the many Americans who, however much we may have disagreed with him on a dozen other issues, simply could not bring ourselves to believe that any president would mislead his constituents about so important a matter, or be so cynical about exploiting the emotional dynamite of 9/11.

Jeez, I'm young enough that Nixon's presidency is only a vague memory, but even I know that presidents often lie, cheat, steal, and commit acts of near-treason...

I discovered an essay written about two years ago, commenting on the segregationists who are given aid and comfort by the Republican Party. It's nothing new, but it's all in one place. Give this link to the next person who calls the GOP the Party of Lincoln.

South Knox Bubba tallies up the President's successes, finding a record of honor and truthfulness which easily eclipses the accomplishments of Vidkun Quisling.

Via Tom Tomorrow.

For reasons which aren't entirely clear, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia said "Quack, quack" as part of a response to a question about his conflict of interest in a case regarding Dick Cheney.

The world gets stranger by the minute.

A gentleman named Ken Moulton wrote to the Boston Globe to document his experiences with the military, which are perfectly orthogonal to those of George W. Bush:

I was in the regular Army from 1969 to 1977, in Vietnam in 1970, and asked for a hardship discharge in 1976. My son was having seizures from a brain disorder, and my wife had almost died. My request was denied. President Bush was released early from the National Guard to attend graduate school...

For almost a year I have asked the Bush administration for my wife's, son's, and my own military medical records. All of my requests have been in writing and by e-mail. The president gets his records in a day while my formal written requests are ignored.

Via skippy the bush kangaroo.

A fellow named TBogg has caught Ann Coulter in a disgraceful lie, stating that war hero and former Senator Max Cleland had injured himself with a grenade and didn't deserve his accolades or medals.

The weblog George Must Go has replied to Coulter's outrageous action by requesting his readers send polite letters of complaint to Coulter's publishers, editors, and other interested parties who pay her money for her opinions.

I can't think of a better way to force Ms. Coulter to get a real job than to exercise our First Amendment rights of free speech to complain about her paid lies. Go get 'em, folks.

Jane Mayer's New Yorker article on cronyism in Iraq in general and Halliburton in specific makes me long for the days of Civil War profiteers. At least then, the war profiteers weren't the President and Vice President.

If the New Yorker article strikes you as a little long, try the Washington Post Cliffs' Notes version.

Via The Felonious Elephant.

The county clerk of San Francisco is issuing marriage certificates to gay couples. I think this is a wonderful idea. I saw the first couple, elderly ladies named Lyon and Martin, on CNN this evening and I have to say: anyone who would think those two grandmotherly types are out to destroy Western civilization desperately needs his head examined.

Some say it's possible to pass a new law creating "civil unions" which gay couples would be allowed to use to mimic marriage. I say that separate-but-equal treatment was already shown to be both immoral and corrosive to the body politic.

Things Creationists Hate. Somewhat scattershot, but very earnest and eager. Quite funny in spots.

"Gay Penguin is a homosexual penguin. He is incapable of speaking, of signing laws and bills, and perhaps even incapable of abstract thought. However, in retrospect, the past four years of American Leadership have been so poor that Gay Penguin would have easily been the best choice for America. "