It takes alot to strain the rational part of my brain to the limit, but this story out of Yale might have done it.  A senior art student claims to have artificially inseminated herself as many times as possible, and then induced abortions using herbal teas.  Her art project consists of a hanging cube wrapped in sheets of plastic smeared with the blood from the miscarriages.  There are also videos of her during the procedures.

Here is the link to the Yale Daily News article on the subject:

http://yaledailynews.com/...

Michael B. Muchasey is a retired federal judge.  He presided over the Jose Padilla case, the trial of the "Blind Sheik" Omar Abdel-Rahman, and the insurance case resulting from the destruction of the World Trade Center.

He is a graduate of Columbia and went to Yale for law school.

He might also be our next Attorney General.  CNN is reporting that he is on the short list of possible nominees.

But just in case you think that we're dealing with a reasonable and responsible jurist, I point you to the following op-ed in which he argues that "Terror trials hurt the nation even when they lead to convictions."

That's the only conclusion I can come to after our Rabbi, leader of one of the largest congregations in New Jersey gave a rousing High Holy Day sermon calling for rehabilitation and treatment for non-violent drug ofenders, universal health care, zero tolerance for public corruption, and an end to the revolving door between the halls of government and K Street.

Our temple has a long history of social action and progressive values.  Our Rabbi from 1939 to 1976 was Dr. Joachim Prinz.  In 1963, he marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Washington DC where he was priveleged to speak:

America must not become a nation of onlookers. America must not remain silent. Not merely black America , but all of America . It must speak up and act,. from the President down to the humblest of us, and not for the sake of the Negro, not for the sake of the black community but for the sake of the image, the idea and the aspiration of America itself.

The Blue State Blues

Sometimes I hate living in a blue state.  Now is one of those times.  The majority of public officials in New Jersey are Democrats, so when corruption rears it's ugly head here (every single freaking day), chances are it's going to involve a Democrat.  This time it involves at least seven.

James Pressley - $32,000
Jayson Adams(D) - $25,000
Marcellus Jackson(D) - $16,500
Rafael Velez - $14,000
Rev. Alfred E. Steele(D) - $14,000
Maurice "Pete" Calloway(D) - $13,000
Jonathon Soto(R) - $12,500
Keith Reid(D) - $10,000
Mims Hackett, Jr.(D) - $5,000
Samuel Rivera(D) - $5,000
James McCormick- $3,500

Those whose affiliation is not listed are members of the Pleasantville School Board, and I'm having a bear of a time trying to find out their affiliation.

CNN.com reports that while Karl Rove's Jaguar was parked in the White House driveway, some clever little pransters gave him a going away present.

They wrapped his car in plastic, slapped on an "I love Obama" bumperstick, strapped two stuffed eagles onto the trunk, and mounted a stuffed elephant to the hood.  The link above has a picture.

Now, I'm all for defacing Turd Blossom's car.  I just wish they let me in on the prank.

Their ideas were cute, and I particularly like the Obama touch, but these Regent University pranksters are way too nice.

Yesterday was the first time I had a chance to visit a very small farmer's market one town over.  I'm from New Jersey, the Garden State.  If the most of Jersey you have ever seen is the area around Newark Airport, you might be confused as to the accuracy of our nickname.  In reality, most of the state is green and lush.

And if there was ever any doubt that we grow good produce, yesterday's adventure dispelled that notion.

Like an artist's palette, my choices lay spread out before me.  Reds, greens, purple, white and yellow.  The scent of freshly turned earth.  Despite the heat and the roar of traffic just a few yards away, it was an inspiring site.  It's a deeply satisying experience to brouse the stands smelling each tomato, tasting each herb.  It touches something primal in me, as though I am the ancient gatherer, hunting for the choicest plants to feed my family.  It is so much more personal than the cold sterility of the supermarket where every fruit and vegetable shines with a layer of wax and the tomatoes are all perfect red bland spheres.

I check CNN.com several times a day at work.  It's a habit.  Generally I find no major problems with their stories.  Their choice of stories on the other hand can be quite troubling.

Take for example one of two featured headlines in their political section right now:

That's right. 'Hollywood Madam' 'big fan' of Sen. Clinton

Nazis, KKK, cannibals.  The nutroots here at Daily Kos have been called many things.  Their fasco-communist homosexual agenda is aimed at one thing and one thing only:  The utter destruction of the United States of America.

Like marauding barbarians, they spread across the internet pillaging and burning innocent moderates along the way.  No longer content to rule the backwater hovels of the internet, these godless savages have taken to their Volvos and the Priuses and are cutting a swath of death and destruction as they seek to conquer every state in the union.

I call on all red-blooded god-fearing Americans to step up to the plate.  There is a war on and you are either a true patriot, or you are with them.  We must fight them here on the internet, lest we be forced to fight them at home, in the polls and on the streets of small towns across America.

The Raging Mongol Hordes want you to have health care!  Who will stand with me at the walls of the White House and turn them back?

Welcome to all Meet the Press viewers who may be visiting our site for the first time.  Chances are you are checking out the site after seeing our founder Markos debating Harold Ford on Sunday morning.

If this is your first time, you might be here to check out just how antisemitic we are.  After all, Mr. Ford used as one of his debate points, that:

"Your site has posted awful things about Jewish Americans"

You also might be here because you got a letter from a supporter of Republican Congressman Mark Kirk.  In this email, the supporter calls Daily Kos:

a community that slurs Jews and supports the Iranian President's dream of wiping Israel off the map

Maybe you're like my father who had a friend tell him that his daughter posts on an antisemitic website.

The Department of Homeland Security will be taking over the task of checking airline passengers against the "no-fly" list.  Currently individual airlines do it themselves.

I'm not sure why, but apparently DHS thinks they can do a better job.

Seriously.

August 6, 2007 (AP)

Capping off a two week attack on the popular liberal website, DailyKos.com, Fox News personality Bill O'Reilly announced his "most shocking and disturbing revelation yet" about the site.

"The Kos is a bastion of hateful language and vile imagery, but we never expected to find that using the site can actually lower sperm counts and make men functionally infertile.  I told you they were Nazis, and this proves it.  Now you can see they are deeply involved in eugenics and controlling who is able to reproduce.  Disgusting!"

The latest attack comes after a recent study in The Oxford Journal of Human Reproduction found that using a laptop computer held in the lap generated enough heat to raise testicular temperatures and lower sperm count.

Or...

How to succeed at YK07 without really trying

In a few hours, seven presidential candidates will descend upon the peaceful, YearlyKos conventioneers.  I'm not sure exactly what format the forum will take, but at one point, they will be required to give a quick speech to us.  Whether it is in the forum itself or at the breakout sessions, they will be facing an eager, but potentially hostile audience.

Having sat through countless speeches and introductory remarks over the past two days, I have finally discovered the secret to making friends and winning allies at YearlyKos 2007.  I hereby offer these insights to the candidates.  

CNN.com's Political Ticker has broken an enourmous story that is not being covered by the MSM.  Unless of course you count CNN.com.

Apparently, there are only two actors who support Republican Presidential candidates!

How is this possible?  Simple.  Hollywood is a dirty hippy, liberal, vegan, homosexual commune out of touch with the rest of America.

Or maybe CNN didn't finish their research.  

Take a look at the lists.  There are 53 individual donors on their lists for 7 Democratic candidates: Clinton, Dodd, Edwards, Gravel, Kucinich, Obama, and Richardson.

There are only two donors for Giuliani who is the only Republican listed.  They are Melissa Gilbert who played little Laura Ingalls on Little House on the Prairie and Tony Sirico, who was Paulie Walnuts on The Sopranos.

What is a loyal reader to think?  That no other Republican has celebrity donors?  Maybe all the Republican celebrities are holding out for Fred Thompson.

Everybody loves Jon Stewart.  He can be silly and farcical one moment and biting and sarcastic the next.  He is the conscience and comedian of our generation.

He is also for sale!

Okay. He's not really for sale. But VIP tickets to The Daily Show are! If you haven't checked out the YearlyKos auction, now is the time.

In addition to the Daily Show tickets there are Live Earth Tickets, Keith Olbermann DNA (and his autograph), and a finch on a stick.

So get your lazy ass over to Ebay and bid. The auction ends Monday night so there is no time to waste.

Now on to the main event: A YouTube retrospective of Jon Stewart.

New and Insidious Terrorist Threat gets Bush's Attention
(The Washington Post) June 28, 2007

Responding to an AP report that over 77 million Americans have been hiding their Middle Eastern heritage, Presdent Bush released a statement reaffirming his dedication to fighting terrorism wherever it may be.

"Today's discovery is very troubling.  It suggests that illegal immigration is not the only way terrorists are finding their way into our country.  The department of Homeland Security is investigating the matter and we will find which of these Americans are terrorists and any who harbor or support them will be found and punished to the fullest extent of the law."

When questioned about the matter at a press conference late Thursday, Bush had more to say on the subject.

"Am I troubled by this discovery? You bet I am.  That's not to say that every one of these Americans are terrorists, but I  think it is reasonable to ask why they have been hiding their personal history and where their loyalties lie."

The Star Ledger in New Jersey is reporting that Newark School Superintendent Marion Bolden ordered all of the yearbooks for East Side High School censored to hide a picture showing a senior kissing his boyfriend.

Graduating senior, Andre Jackson paid $150 to purchase a full page in the yearbook.  One of the pictures on this page showed him kissing his boyfriend, David Escobales.  Other pictures on the page showed him and his family and friends.

When the picture was originally brought to the School Superintendent's attention, the original idea was to tear out the whole offending page.  Instead, they took a black marker to each and every yearbook and blacked out the image.

Superintendent Marion Bolden called the picture "illicit."  

"It looked provocative," she said. "If it was either heterosexual or gay, it should have been blacked out. It's how they posed for the picture."

The only problem with her reasoning : Other pictures showing heterosexual couples kissing were allowed to remain uncensored.

More details below...

Government health policy!

That's right, former Senate Majority leader, Princeton alumnus and kitty-killer, Bill Frist will be teaching a graduate level class at Princeton next year.

You might remember Frist from such fiascos as:

Diagnosing Terri Schiavo via video

Experimenting on stray cats during med school

and

HIV is spread through tears and sweat.

Clearly, this is just the type of person we need teaching students at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.

I'm sick and tired of all these closeminded diarists suggesting that just because Ron Paul has made a few borderline racist comments that he is somehow not worthy of support or devotion from Democrats and kossacks.

The people have no idea what Ron Paul is really capable of.  He is the greatest politician in Washington today.  He puts Republicans and Democrats to shame.  He is a man of the people.

He mows the lawn and does the laundry.

He rebuilds vintage Chevys on the weekend and knits sweaters for veterans at night.