Mr. Burns is really making the rounds...

Tonight
In what might be the second worst kept secret of all time, I will be on the Colbert Report tonight. We will also, of course, be liveblogging the debate.

-- Nate Silver at 5:22 PM 51 Comments...

He was also in the studio last night with Olbermann. He does a weird thing with his eyes--distracted by the lights, like a moth. He has Obama at nearly a 90% win chance right now, which means his fall will be a spectacular crispy, crackly fireball, preceded by so much sleaze that the Swift Boaters will look like a bunch of Girl Scouts in comparison.
~

Washington Post is SHOCKED to discover that McCain is an @SSHOLE

With a phony flap and a misleading attack ad, the McCain campaign sinks into silliness

How come the minute somebody mentions the word "pig," the Rethuglicans think they're talking about Palin? Oh... ok I guess I do kinda see that...

IT'S HARD to think of a presidential campaign with a wider chasm between the seriousness of the issues confronting the country and the triviality, so far anyway, of the political discourse. On a day when the Congressional Budget Office warned of looming deficits and a grim economic outlook, when the stock market faltered even in the wake of the government's rescue of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, when President Bush discussed the road ahead in Iraq and Afghanistan, on what did the campaign of Sen. John McCain spend its energy? A conference call to denounce Sen. Barack Obama for using the phrase "lipstick on a pig" and a new television ad accusing the Democrat of wanting to teach kindergartners about sex before they learn to read.

Mr. Obama's supposedly offending remark was not only not offensive -- it also was not directed at Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.
. . .

"Obama's one accomplishment?" the narrator asks. "Legislation to teach 'comprehensive sex education' -- to kindergartners. Learning about sex before learning to read? Barack Obama: wrong on education. Wrong for your family."

John McCain is a serious man who promised to wage a serious campaign. Win or lose, will he be able to look back on this one with pride? Right now, it's hard to see how.

If we're going to uphold our reputation for flamboyant corruption, Illinois will need more than one member of Congress on the "most corrupt" list

Still, kinda impressive for a second-termer

Given that Mr. Hurckes is the most highly paid staff member in Rep. Lipinski’s office, that his position is a full-time job and is generally considered a “senior staff” position, it is difficult to imagine when he has time to engage in other activities. The fact that Mr. Hurckes’ salary is just under the figure that would make him “senior staff” suggests that Rep. Lipinski is paying Mr. Hurckes a salary under this limit precisely so that he can earn a substantial outside income. This creates exactly the sort of appearance of impropriety contemplated by the Bipartisan Ethics Task Force...

By serving as a member of the Village of Oak Lawn Board of Trustees and admitting that he has been the Board’s “defacto lobbyist,” Mr. Hurckes is violating the prohibition against congressional staff serving as lobbyists. Mr. Hurckes also likely violated the prohibition against using House resources to perform the duties of his local office. And, by telling the Board of Oak Lawn that it did not need to hire a lobbyist because he was handling the city’s congressional issues and by stating that he had helped secure funding for projects in Oak Lawn, Mr. Hurckes clearly used his position in the House to provide special treatment to his constituents and encouraged the notion that his constituents would receive preferential treatment from Rep. Lipinski’s congressional office. ..

FIVE Kollyforniyans is pretty impressive, but for most sleaze per capita, you gotta love Alaska.

Christian cronyism (cont'd)

Justice Officials Repeatedly Broke Law on Hiring, Report Says (Irony Not Intended)

Former Justice Department counselor Monica M. Goodling and former chief of staff D. Kyle Sampson routinely broke the law by conducting political litmus tests on candidates for jobs as immigration judges and line prosecutors, according to an inspector general's report released today.

Goodling passed over hundreds of qualified applicants and squashed the promotions of others after deeming candidates insufficiently loyal to the Republican party, said investigators, who interviewed 85 people and received information from 300 other job seekers at Justice. Sampson developed a system to screen immigration judge candidates based on improper political considerations and routinely took recommendations from the White House Office of Political Affairs and Presidential Personnel, the report said.

Goodling regularly asked candidates for career jobs, "What is it about George W. Bush that makes you want to serve him?" the report said. (Great rezziDUNCE? Or, the greatest rezziDUNCE? Where do you see George Bush in five years? If you could be any kind of sycophant, which kind would you be? Ed.) One former Justice Department official told investigators she had complained that Goodling was asking interviewees for their views on abortion, according to the report.

Here's annudder shocker: Goodling is part of the Regent University army in the Bush White House.

According to Regent University, more than 150 of its graduates have been hired by the federal government since George W. Bush came to office in 2001.

-- The Wikipedia

Motto: "Christian Leadership to Change the World." Yes.

Well, He Should Take Comfort in the Fact that Eugene Debs Spent a Lot of Time in Jail Too...

For, you know, the courage to speak his mind. But this is a speaking of the mind too, in a sense, the kind of mind that wants to get really, really rich on the taxpayers' dime while complaining that government doesn't "work" and that things would be better if we let the pros do it. You know, the pros that pay him off and make things not work.

Arizona GOP lawmaker indicted

* Story Highlights
* Rep. Rick Renzi indicted on federal charges Friday
* Charges include conspiracy, money laundering and extortion
* Indictment of Arizona Republican stems from investigation into land deals
* Three-term congressman has said he would not seek re-election

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Rep. Rick Renzi, an Arizona Republican, has been indicted on federal charges following an investigation into his relationship with a former business partner regarding land deals, the Justice Department said Friday.

In a 35-count indictment, Renzi is charged with conspiracy, wire fraud, money laundering, extortion and insurance fraud.

Federal investigators also were looking at whether Renzi's father was enriched by the lawmaker's relationship with the ex-business partner, according to the indictment.

Renzi has been under an ethical cloud since the FBI raided a family business last year. The FBI said it was investigating whether the congressman had used his office for personal gain.

He stepped down from the House Intelligence Committee in April after the raid.

Renzi has denied any wrongdoing.

Renzi, a three-term member of the House, announced in August that he would not seek re-election. He represents Arizona's 1st Congressional District.

Federal prosecutors have scheduled a news conference Friday morning in Phoenix, Arizona, to announce details of the charges.

See how he votes! Ethical cloud or not, the man's going to salute hospitalized veterans even though his party fails these same veterans with about the regularity of a healthy goose.