Where is that, you ask? Why, dear reader(s), that would be the Supreme Court which, in what must be one of the strongest signs yet of impending apocalypse, is actually giving the time of day to this ridiculous piece of batshittery:

The US Supreme Court will consider whether to take up a lawsuit challenging President-elect Barack Obama’s US citizenship on Friday, a continuation of a New Jersey case embraced by some opponents of Obama’s election.

No, I can’t believe it either.

True, all kinds of cases are brought to the court, and they only ever agree to hear a small minority of them…

Many petitioners seeking stays of pending events have their cases distributed to the full court, he said. Of those, Volokh found that 782 were denied in the last eight years while just 60 were heard, not all of those ultimately were successful.

…but still, I mean, come on, people. This shouldn’t have even gotten within light-years of the court. It’s not a legal proceeding; it’s the Tinfoil Hat Squadron on parade.

I am so sick and tired of the politically unhinged being treated as a constituency that matters that I’m about to plunge my head through the screen in front of me out of sheer frustration. There’s no winning with these people; when (not if) the Court tells them to go piss up a rope, they’re only going to take it as a sure sign that those dastardly judges are in on the conspiracy! After all, they’ve already decided that the State of Hawaii, which had the audacity to actually certify that the President-Elect was actually born there, is covering something up! Every bit of proof that they are wrong is only taken by them as further proof that they are right.

Gaaahh.

And many thanks to Clarence Thomas for doing what David Souter had too much sanity integrity to do, which is to formally bring this stinkbomb to his colleagues’ attention. I’m all for Thomas actually doing something to earn his salary once a decade or so, but this is carrying it a bit far.

Well, who woulda thunk it? Canadian politics is actually interesting at the moment — really interesting, as PM Stephen Harper is trying desperately to avoid being force-fed his own political entrails:

“There is no precedent whatsoever in Canada and probably in the Commonwealth,” said Ned Franks, a constitutional scholar and political scientist. “We are in uncharted territory.”

For those wondering just what the holy hell is happening north of the border, head on over to bastard.logic and get the scoop, the skinny, the lowdown from folks who actually know how to describe what’s going on, which only makes sense seeing as how they live there and all.

Leave your own jokes involving moose and maple syrup in the comments.

While I’m still on my deviantART kick, I just bought the top print here for my friends who are expecting a little one soon.  Maria Jose Da Luz’s work is pretty diverse:  dreamy surreal pastels, angelic cartoon work and hyperrealistic fables can all be found here.  As I said yesterday, prints from deviantART can be printed at different size, in matte, glossy or canvas.

touch a dream

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Watch Chris Cillizza perform this amazing feat right before your eyes!!!

WINNERS

John Cornyn: The incoming chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee got a bit of good news as he looks at (another) tough electoral landscape in 2010. Had Chambliss lost Tuesday night, the “sky is falling” sentiment within the party would have run wild, making it tough for Cornyn to recruit top tier candidates and drive fundraising. Now the Texas senator has at least one good talking point to donors and prospects.

Poor Chris, up against a deadline, knowing he must offfer something on the Georgia race but unable to find any kind of relevant angle anywhere. In his frustration, he turns to that time-honored tradition known as turd polishing.

Saxby Chambliss (l) and Zell Miller - eh, close enough

Fact is, this is not good news for John Cornyn, or Bible Spice, or any Republican on the face of the earth other than Saxby Chambliss himself. Imagine this as the NRSC recruiting slogan: “We elected a Republican to the Senate in Georgia. Georgia!!!”

A conservative Republican being forced into a runoff in Georgia against a liberal Democrat is not a victory, not in a state in which Democrats usually look either like Republicans (Sam Nunn) or insulting Southern stereotypes (Zell Miller - who did, surprise surprise, endorse and campaign for Chambliss). Winning said runoff is a victory only in that it holds a seat that should never have been in jeopardy to begin with.

Now that doesn’t mean everything’s hunky-dory on the Democratic side of things - the Georgia runoff was not exactly masterful GOTV, for starters. But those who are trying to spin the Georgia result into anything like a GOP “comeback” are grasping at some of the thinnest reeds of hope I’ve ever seen. Or, like Chris, they’re up against a deadline and need to pull something out of their ass.

I mentioned yesterday that Sen. Mel Martinez (R-FL) has announced that he doesn’t plan to run for reelection in 2010. There is going to be stiff competition for his seat and it was even being mentioned (as somewhat of a long shot) that former Governor Jeb Bush might put his name into the race. 

I began a draft post this morning based on information from Marc Ambinder that the “long shot” might be decidedly shorter than expected: 

Two sources close to Jeb Bush, including one who has spoken to the former Florida governor within the past few hours, say he is seriously considering a run for Senate now that incumbent Republican Mel Martinez has retired.

“He is receiving a lot of encouragement from both in and out of the state,” an longtime Bush adviser said tonight. “He is going to take his time and approach this very methodically.”  Bush will weigh, according to this adviser, how a run would impact his family, his business, and whether the Senate would be the best platform for the causes he’d advocate — education, immigration, GOP solutions to health care and energy.

Bush did not respond to an e-mail seeking comment.

But Jeb Bush had already responded to Politico by email last night, saying: “I am considering it.” It is speculated that if J.B. does get into the race, the other Republican candidates- including Rep. Connie Mack- will back down. But the path might not be so smooth if current Governor Charlie Crist decided to enter the race. J.B. and Crist aren’t fond of each other- with Bush suggesting that Crist is “Democrat-lite”. Crist was a strong contender for John McCain’s v.p. pick back in those innocent days before we all knew (and feared) Sarah Palin. He wa such a favorite that Crist- a long time bachelor- managed a rather, um, conveniently timed engagement to a woman no one knew he had even met. And if you know anything about Crist, that “woman” part says quite a bit, too. 

“But, surely,” you say, “In an America when even the still delusional George W. Bush acknowledges that the Bush name might be somewhat tainted, another branch from the dull shrub wouldn’t make it into the Senate?” Unfortunately, Jeb Bush remains fairly popular in the state. And portions of the still fractured Republican party may back J.B. just to spite the “other” Republicans. 

In summary: Yes, we are already covering the 2010 elections.

The photography of Lara Jade first caught my eye while scanning the prints available to purchase at deviantART.  The majority of her work is in portraiture, which is often a difficult subject matter to sell.  After all, most folks don’t want people they don’t know on their wall.  So to sell portraiture, artists often lend an anonymity or a vulnerability to the photo that the viewer can put themselves into, and that’s something that Lara Jade does quite well.  The print with the strawberry is noteworthy in that she reports that photoshop and similar effects were used for the colouring but not for the concept - the actual shot is courtesy of trial and error, not digital artistry.  Prints from deviantART have different costs depending on their size, which allows you to pick a piece that fits your wall as well as your wallet.

submerged

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CNN is projecting that Republican Saxby Chambliss has won the Senate seat in the Georgia runoff. His Democratic opponent was Jim Martin. This loss will keep the Democrats at least one (two if Franken loses Minnesota) away from a filibuster beating 6li0.

The election of Barack Obama and Joe Biden and the appointments following have left some Senate seats open. And there are still Senate races left to be decided. Politics- it’s fluid. 

A brief rundown on the seat shifting: 

Hillary Clinton’s Seat

Former President Bill Clinton doesn’t want the spot . Governor David Paterson has taken himself out of contention, as has Robert F. Kennedy Jr (who was rumored to be under consideration for the EPA spot) and Rep. Nita Lowey.  A long list of names are being floated around as a potential replacement- including Andrew Cuomo and Caroline Kennedy- but it seems that it is mostly speculation. Gov Paterson will make an official announcement in January when Clinton formally leaves her seat for her new job as Secretary of State. 

Joe Biden’s Seat 

Biden didn’t offer his resignation at the same time as Obama, which struck some as odd. It appeared that Biden might be holding on to his seat until incoming Delaware Governor Jack Markell took office in January. Markell and current Governor Ruth Ann Minner are both Democrats but it was believed that Markell would be more comfortable with replacing Biden with someone who would not want to run again in 2010, thus leaving the seat open for Joe’s son, Beau Biden (who is currently serving in Iraq). 

But the wait for Markell wasn’t needed. Gov. Minner announced that Ted Kaufman- friend and former aide to Biden Sr.- would take over the seat until 2010. Kaufman has already stated that he has no plans to run for the seat in two years.

In other words: they’re holding your seat for you, Beau. (Yes, Beau will actually have to run for the seat but since there’s been a Biden in the Senate since humans rode on dinosaurs, it is a sure thing.) 

Barack Obama’s Seat 

Though Obama gave up his seat a couple of weeks ago, Illinois Gov. Rod “Blago” Blagojevich has yet to put a new body in that position. He formed a vetting committee and rumored candidates include Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., State Sen. Kwame Raoul and V.A. Direcotr (and wounded Iraq vet) Tammy Duckworth

Other Senate News: 

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AL)- who is planning on running for reelection in 2010- is nervous that Gov. Sarah Palin is going to make a run at her job. Also nervous about the prospect of Sen. Sarah? The entire (non-fundementalist) world 

Sen. Mel Martinez (R-FL) will not run for reelection in 2010 and the competition for his seat is likely to be fierce. Speculated Democratic contenders include Rep Ron Klein, Sen. Dan Gelber and possibly State CFO Alex Sink (who had decided not to run before the Martinez announcement and now may change her mind). Potential Republican candidates: Rep. Connie Mack, State A.G. Bill McCollum and- in the long shot column- former Gov. Jeb Bush. 

Though 171 more uncounted ballots just turned up in the Minnesota recount, Five Thirty Eight is still calling the race for Republican Norm Coleman. 

And the Georgia runoff election happened today More on that and the Franken-Coleman battle to come later

This, dear readers, is the 500th post at Moue since we switched over from the old site. Yay us!

Well, okay, actually more like yay Brandy, since she does about 4/5 of the posting ’round here… Actually, come to think of it I really don’t do much around here at all, except for oiling the Victrola (which doesn’t really need oiling) and making sure nobody steals the ore cart (like anyone ever would).

Anyway, my favorite factoid of the new location is that, in the almost three months we’ve been here, one of our most popular search terms has been and continues to be “Sarah Palin dominatrix”. That should make your day more festive right there.

Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal is the brain child of Zach Weiner. It has been around since 2002 but has (like most long running comics) changed look some over the course of its life. How cool is SMBC? So cool Weiner had to take to YouTube for a satirical response (video) to a “controversy” over whether Sarah Silverman borrowed material from one of his strips.