Linkatharsis: Bob Loblaw

I figure it's never too early to look ahead, as the 2012 Presidential race is already around the corner (I'm pulling for Obama, but I have a feeling the ladies are going for the latin heartthrob George P. Bush). And you gotta figure the population loss in Louisiana looks like bad news for Democrats on several levels.

Let's see,

• As it is, population growth is tilting towards the Red States
  
• Louisiana, a key swing state, is losing a huge chunk of urban voters, that is to say, reliable Democrat voters
  
• And much of that exodus has gone to Texas, where it won't make a dent in the state's Redness
  
• Lousiana will be less of a swing state minus one congressional seat (which I guess is a good thing if the state goes solid red, but still)
  
• We were pretty fucked to begin with

So yeah, Canada is looking pretty good right now. Lest we gaze at our navels too much though, maybe we can reverse the trend. Maybe if, say, the President grossly mishandles the war in Iraq or appoints a bunch of fucktards to key posts like FEMA chief or a high ranking White House official gets caught leaking a CIA agent's identity to the press or some prominent GOP congressman's caught in a scandal or the Republicans blatantly try to give to the rich by repealing the Estate Tax or...

One ticket to Toronto, please.

More Harriet goodness from the Times:

President Bush sought today to allay the fears of social conservatives about his latest Supreme Court choice, saying that his selection, Harriet E. Miers, would adhere strictly to the letter of the Constitution.

Now, can anyone tell me what's wrong with the quoted sentence?

Further down:

The president's remarks, at a news conference called just a day after he announced his selection of Ms. Miers, seemed timed to head off any groundswell of opposition from conservatives, some of whom have expressed keen disappointment that he did not pick a jurist in the mold of Justices Antonin Scalia or Clarence Thomas, as they believe Mr. Bush indicated he would during the 2000 campaign.

So you're telling me that out of everything Bush promised in 2000, implicit or explicit, the wingnuts are disappointed he's not nominating Scalia-clones to the Supreme Court?

I really don't know what the conservatives are complaining about. Look, if Miers has stuck with Dubs long enough and earned enough brownie points that he's turning to her for arguably the second most important appointment of his Presidency, she's clearly someone who's on the same wavelength politically. She's certainly not going to announce that she likes to perform abortions in her spare time any time soon.

I don't know, I guess it's true with fringes of any political movement, but them motherfuckers like to complain about anything that doesn't lead to the immediate overturn of Roe v Wade, and they sure build some fancy looking strawmen. It's just that unlike those kids with the bullhorns at Union Square, the nutty types on the right actually have access to the ears of people who matter and can get schools to teach Intelligent Design. That Bush even pays attention to them is scary. But I guess that's the price of depending on the evangelical vote to spread the neocon agenda.

Michael Owen says no more to Europe

"I had a good time in Madrid, both on and off the pitch but I missed the UK weather, I missed the food, the Premiership and being around English people."

Come again? Missed what? You left where for gray skies and boiled meats?

City Rag calls the "Leak" over before it even had a chance to hit the urinal cake. Though we had to know that this trend would be hot for a minute only to cool off all too quickly, leaving only shame and discomfort.

The delightfully imperfect NYC subway system dusts off the scrapbook and looks back on all the wacky accidents caused by human errors over the past 20 months.

Though calling the MTA a bunch of fucktards may be too easy and redundant, I can't help but note that of the 8 incidents listed, 5 happened on the 6th Ave line, the line I take everyday to and from work. Yay me.

If you can't meet the already lowered recruitment target with free music downloads and Craigslist postings, you rely on flunkies to protect the country. Yeah. If you couldn't handle 10th grade remedial math, missile defense should be a piece of cake.

Fred Kaplan does offer this useful piece of advice: "If you do go to war, plan it better." Jeez, why didn't anyone say this back in 2003?

Alaska says "Please visit before you die. You know, if you're not too busy. I mean, I totally understand if you want to go to Hawaii first. Or you know, you have to visit your mom. It's okay, no rush, whenever it's convenient for you. Just, like, before you get too old and die."

Shocker. McDonald's fails to get any takers for its ambitious, incredibly well thought out Big Macs-for-rhymes program.

Analrapist.