This is indeed turning into a strange election season, made even more strange by the news out of Georgia: looks like incumbent Republican and Bush rubber-stamp Saxby Chambliss has an actual race on his hands.
For those unacquainted with the delightful Sen. Chambliss, he’s the one who unseated incumbent Democratic Senator and actual war hero Max Cleland, in part by running an ad that morphed Cleland’s face into that of Osama bin Laden. [YouTube link].
The guy giving Chambliss a run for his money is one Jim Martin, who’s running on an …

The more Democratic nooks of Blogtopia (yes, Skippy coined that phrase) are all a-twitter about new West Virginia poll results that shows Obama up 8 points — indeed, hardly ten minutes goes by without a brand-spanking-new utterly breathless BREAKING!!1!!!!ZOMG!!!! diary on dKos trumpeting what has already been trumpeted ad nauseum. Even more sober-minded and cautious sites like RCP, Pollster and even Nate Silver over at fivethirtyeight have moved West Virginia into the “toss-up” column.
All this based on an ARG poll. A freakin’ ARG poll! For reference, ARG this year has …

In an effort to seem relevant, John McCain’s campaign announced that they would have big news sometime this morning, but they couldn’t talk about what it was. After all of McCain’s crazy stunts I thought it would be that he was going off to hunt down bin Laden, or personally buying off every bad mortgage. Scott Lemieux thought the elusive “whitey tape” would finally be revealed. But after all that build up, it turns out nope, it’s just a 90-second web ad.

That’s all you’ve got? ‘Cause …

XKCD recently published the above comic, Listen to Yourself. YouTube has already made the concept a reality. There is now an optional audio preview button present when users are submitting a comment on a video. Time will tell whether idiots will have a moment of self reflection when they hear themselves. 
All hail Randall Monroe.

Barack Obama and Joe Biden have essentially dared John McCain to make the Ayers accusations to Obama’s face. The next opportunity for McCain to do so would be the presidential debate focusing on the economy. Obama could win a debate on the economy by showing up and taking a nap on stage. John McCain doesn’t think John McCain’s strongpoint is the economy.
McCain can refrain from mentioning Ayers in the debate and look like he lacks the backbone and conviction to stand behind his claims or mention it and give Obama …

Sheriff Tom Dart of Cook County, Illinois announced yesterday that he will no longer serve foreclosure eviction notices. Dart feels that the lenders sending his employees out to serve evictions haven’t done enough work on their end to find out who is living in the property being foreclosed. Landlords who have not informed their tenants that the building has been foreclosed are a typical problem. 
In Cook County, foreclosures are expected to reach a record high of 43,000 this year, compared with 18,916 in 2006.
The sheriff’s office is on pace to …

Blogger Interrupted has a video of McPalin supporters showing up to a rally in Strongsville, Ohio. Many volunteer to speak on camera which shows right away that they’re definitely not the brightest of the bunch. Though I’m not a fan of the forceful way the interview asks each person straight out if they think Obama’s a terrorist (these people are perfectly able of sinking their own ship), the video does portray the ignorance, fear and hatred that has become typical of Sarah Palin events. 
Palin apparently didn’t mention Ayers during her …

There’s a new short film out from Brave New Films called “John McCain’s Rage“. More than 30 people- including citizens, journalists and those in the government and military- have testified about experiences they’ve had with McCain’s rage. These experiences include an incident where McCain shoved a woman against a wall outside his office. This well documented side of his personality contrasts how he tried to portray himself during the debate. He’s less interested in walking softly than having a big stick. And he might hit you with that.  

This etsy-based shop caters to a particular aesthetic that I know has some detractors but that I thoroughly enjoy: a neo-Victorian and at times steampunk sensibility. But Vintage Filigree Jewels does so with pieces that are exquisitely detailed and without losing touch of classic design standards. These read as carefully composed tiny works of art, without treading the dangerous ground of “costume-y” as Tim Gunn might say.

“la dolce vita” – fine art necklace, $45

I posted earlier this week about the comments made by the sheriff of Lee County, Florida during a speech at a Sarah Palin rally. Sheriff Mike Scott, in uniform, called the Democratic presidential candidate “Barack Hussein Obama”. He did not call either Palin or John McCain by their full name. This selective usage combined with the setting of a Republican rally in the deep South makes the intent pretty clear. 
The local ACLU and NAACP chapters are demanding apologies and citizens are calling the sheriff’s office by the hundreds to complain. …