I Don't Like You Either.

How A Bill Becomes Law (Revised)

Posted by Damozel | Gen. J.C. Christian of Jesus' General writes:

While watching John McCain work the offshore oil drilling issue, it occurred to me that the old "How a Bill Becomes Law" chart we used in school is now out of date. 

Click here to see revised version.

The Edwards "Controversy" & The Media Double Standard

by Teh Nutroots | Okay, we've dissed Edwards.  We've said what there is to say, i.e. [accompanied by the sound of a newspaper whapping him on the nose]:

BAD BAD BAD! [::whap::] How could you do it to Elizabeth? [::whap::] How could you do it to your supporters? [::WHAP WHAP::] How could you encourage us to vote for you, thereby encouraging us to vote for a candidate who could scuttle the whole election? (here)  [::whappity whap whap::]  How could you be such a hypocrite? (here)  [whappity whappity WHAP WHAP WHAP]

Since he didn't win the nomination, he didn't inflict the harm---though it wasn't for the want of trying.  So it's an issue, though not a major issue.

The New York Times raises the question of the media's "reticence" toward the no-longer-campaigning former Senator and his incurably ill wife.  As noted below, the no-longer-campaigning Edwards isn't the only beneficiary of such reticence. 

Joe Klein---working hard to redeem himself, but as usual failing to see the trees for the forest---says:

If Barack Obama is Your New Bicycle, What are John McCain & Ron Paul?

by Damozel | I commented the other day on a MoJo interview with Matthew Honan, the creator of Barack Obama is Your New Bicycle.com (and how the site came about).  To see all the ways he cares, click on any link and keep on refreshing. 

• Barack Obama made up your bed

• Barack Obama paid your speeding ticket

• Barack Obama carries a picture of you in his wallet

• Barack Obama saved his dessert for you

• Barack Obama spent the afternoon setting up your router

• Barack Obama thinks you are cute

But what about other candidates?  Honan's site has spawned plenty of imitators.

Ride the Wayback Pony: Edwards' Hypocrisy Gets A Democrat Down

by Blue Stockings | Sometimes The Huffington Post really gets on my last nerve.  I know, I know, THEY TOLD US SO and we told them to shut up till they had proof.  Still:  it's a tragedy for Dems and they shouldn't be quite so full of piss and judgment.  Read the smuggery here (Say It Ain't So, Elizabeth -- You Knew But Supported His Run For President?) and here (What is Wrong With Men?)

The first bothers me more than the second.  It's not Elizabeth's fault.  And Stranahan is as wrong as he can be when he implies that there would ever be a time when it wouldn't matter to Edwards' presidential bid.  His rebuke to Clinton would have come back to haunt him no matter what. 

As for what's wrong with men:  same old same old.  You could say it's a refreshing change from Republican-style sex scandals such as this one (involving a 14 year old girl and a Missouri state rep).

But I am not letting Edwards off the hook.  Far from it.  From The Raleigh News and Observer:

Ride the Wayback Pony: Michael Moore's Advice to Obama in Today's Guardian & His Open Letter to Al Gore in 2000

Blue Stockings | I like Michael Moore, and some of what he says in this piece in The Guardian is dead on, but the following annoys me.  It's flat out hypocritical.

[Y]ou would think, with more than 200 million eligible voters, the Dems would be cleaning up, election after election. Obviously not. The Democrats appear to be professional losers. They are so pathetic in their ability to win elections, they even lose when they win! Al Gore won the 2000 election, but for some strange reason he didn't become the president of the United States. (Guardian)

Some of us think that Ralph Nader spoiled the election for Al Gore in 2000, bequeathing to us our present ills.  And do you know who was standing right out there on a soapbox in the middle of the ring, banging his knee cymbals, and yelling through a  megaphone about the uselessness of Al Gore and the importance of voting for Nader?  Guess.  Go on.  Guess. 

Um, Michael?  Remember this?