As anyone who’s read Eats, Shoots and Leaves will tell you.

Or anyone who’s seen this bumper sticker.

(thanks to Josh for the link)

Disgraced former lobbyist Jack Abramoff and a business partner were sentenced Wednesday to five years and 10 months in federal prison… for fraud related to their 2000 purchase of the SunCruz Casinos gambling fleet…

The judge postponed their reporting date for at least 90 days so the two can continue cooperating in a Washington corruption investigation…

Yes, that’s right. This 5+ years is entirely separate from anything having to do with Washington corruption, so he could have yet more years in store.

.

Dan Savage brought us spreadingsantorum.com, and now he brings us ITMFA.com.

(Both links NSFW.)

A UC Berkeley professor tracked 95 kids in nursery school, looking to see what happened to the whiny, insecure ones versus the confident ones. His study finds that

…the whiny, insecure kid in nursery school, the one who always thought everyone was out to get him, and was always running to the teacher with complaints? Chances are he grew up to be a conservative… The confident, resilient, self-reliant kids mostly grew up to be liberals.

…He reasons that insecure kids look for the reassurance provided by tradition and authority, and find it in conservative politics. The more confident kids are eager to explore alternatives to the way things are, and find liberal politics more congenial.

In a society that values self-confidence and out-goingness, it’s a mostly flattering picture for liberals. It also runs contrary to the American stereotype of wimpy liberals and strong conservatives.

(link via Metafilter)

I want this.

I don’t watch Boston Legal, because my tolerance for Shatner is limited (yes, yes, Emmy winner, blah blah, whatever), but this clip is pretty remarkable. Not just because it aired during a fictional drama – not a news or commentary show – but because it leaves James Spader making a stronger statement about the state of this country than most Democratic figures.

I found this to be an interesting analysis of how the Daily Show, intended as a spoof of the media, has been shaping the media instead.

This may possibly be the single greatest moment of television ever.

On radio you can just hang up on someone who you don’t like. It appears that a live audience on TV doesn’t work the same way.

Sen. Feingold will introduce a resolution to censure Bush for his wiretapping program.

Call your Senators and tell them to support the resolution!

(link via Metafilter)

This is, apparently, not a satire. It’s an actual campaign ad for a guy running as a Republican candidate in North Carolina’s 13th.

And it’s appalling.

Tres cool.

Available through the EFF, but you get it free if you join them.

(link via BBSpot)

Senate Republicans yesterday rejected a full inquiry of the domestic spying program that was secretly authorized by President Bush, but they said they would push to impose new limits on the administration’s ability to eavesdrop on Americans’ phone calls and e-mail messages without a warrant…

”The committee is, to put it bluntly, is basically under the control of the White House,” said Senator John D. Rockefeller IV, a West Virginia Democrat and the intelligence committee’s vice chairman.

Read on.

Or, at least, they realized they needed to comply with, you know, the law.

Read on.

According to last night’s Daily Show, that’s the cost for the Iraq war, per taxpayer. That’s your share!

…so far!