Molly Ivins, 1944-2007

Bless her heart.

My New Favorite TV Show

Sugar Bush Squirrel Tops Herself

Tears run from the eyes of U.S. President George W. Bush and Sugar Bush Squirrel during a ceremony [to honor a Marine killed in Iraq]... For those of you who think these two patriots have no feelings for those who have fallen...think again!

The story so far: Sugar Bush is a Florida squirrel whose owner photographs her in patriotic tableaus. Link (Scroll down)

Previously

The A.H.O.Y. V.I.P. Room

Asshole of the Year poll: more results.

Clinton calls for "a new president"

NY Senator Hillary Clinton on Saturday morning called for "a new president" to address US foreign and domestic policy woes.

Possibly due to her origins on Krypton, where term limits are apparently rare, Clinton seemed unaware that the US Constitution virtually guarantees a new president will be elected in 2008.

Or is her statement a warning? Emboldened by their successful raids on the electoral process in 2000 and 2004, do the escapees from the Phantom Zone have plans for '08?

Zap! Pow! 'Relevant' Comics Tackle Social Issues!

Beer & Meater Bubba G. Russo found this great 1950s political campaign comic on an ebay auction; you can go there and read the whole thing. It's an attack job on a candidate for Massachussetts governor who was apparently quite a prick.

A.H.O.Y.

First results.

Why Did It Take Me Six Years To See This?

Dick Cheney is Milburn Drysdale. George W. Bush is Jethro Beaudine. And Condoleezza Rice is Miss Jane Hathaway.

I Got An Urgent E-Mail From The Fuckers At Parents' Television Council

Here's a fuckin' excerpt:

It used to be that you could sit down and watch an evening football game with your children without fear of them being exposed to inappropriate material. Sadly, that's no longer the case as was proven Saturday night during the Fox broadcast of the NFL playoff game between the New Orleans Saints and the Philadelphia Eagles.

During a cutaway shot to the stadium spectators, the camera focused directly on a woman wearing a t-shirt clearly inscribed with the words "F--k Da Eagles" (without the dashes). The shot stayed focused on the woman and her shirt for several seconds. There can be no doubt that this was an intentional airing of patently offensive language on the public airwaves, as the person wearing the profane t-shirt was culled by Fox Network's broadcast crew from more than 70,000 spectators in the stadium. The camera operator selected that particular woman and the director and/or producers of the event made an affirmative and conscious decision to air the shot from that particular camera, forcing the f-word into millions of homes. Furthermore, the v-chip would not and could not have protected children and families from the type of content evidenced here.

Fuckin' "FCC Complain Form"--and the fuckin' photo--here.

A.H.O.Y. Instant Poll Results

Who talked the most shit in '06? Click and learn. Who are your top 40 finalists for Asshole of the Year? The countdown begins Wednesday. Here are last year's 40.

The New War

I don't have a lot to add to the debate about runup to our next war -- even hyperactive sycophant Chris Matthews is on the case this time around. So I'll just refer you to this piece I wrote, almost four years ago, about the folly of the then-impending war in Iraq.

A few notes:

• The Bush Administration did eventually cough up most of the promised money for New York City. Of course, then they turned around and declared we had no terrorist-target landmarks, and cut our antiterrorism funding. For blatantly partisan reasons, of course.

• Like most people, I took the existence of Saddam's WMDs for granted. It didn't even occur to me that our intelligence system was that badly broken and/or mismanaged.

• I was much too giving to the Administration on the matter of preparations for an attack. When I wrote the essay, I thought that was the weakest part of my argument. This was, of course, prior to the revelation of the famous Presidential Daily Briefing "Bin Laden Determined to Attack within U.S."

• My favorite reply to the column is still, "What a wiener. To his credit, he did manage to get Daredevil shipping on a regular schedule."

It's The First Anniversary Of Batman's 40th Anniversary, The Day I Posted This:

The coolest show in TV history turns 40 today. ABC broadcast "Hi Diddle Riddle," the premiere episode of Batman, on January 12, 1966.

Bat-Signal pix: Batfriend
I was going to link you all over Bat-Hell, as I did last year. Then I saw Mike Sterling's Insanely Bat-tastic Collection Of Bat-Links. He is clearly my better; go there and start Bat-Clicking. But first, here are a few that popped up since his post, and a couple I think he missed:

• Fred Hembeck's Bat-Clippings From 1966 Newspapers & Magazines
  
• Dial B For Blog's Tribute 1 2 3 4 5
  
• Zsa Zsa Gabor, Van Johnson, & Other Surviving Bat-Villains
  
• Fab Argentine Bat-Site
• 1966 Batmobile Paper Model via Broken Glass Makes Me Laugh
  and the essential
  
• McSweeney's Analysis Of The Batman Theme!

Say Hello To John Layman's Little Friend

The Seattle Times decided to publish Wednesday, which was good because Mark Rahner's piece on the John Layman/Dave Crosland Scarface comic began with this sentence:

Midway through this interview, John Layman's cat pukes.

Ford's Widow Locked Out

President Gerald Ford's widow has been denied access to her late husband's home at the order of his lawyer and accountant.

Betty Ford arrived at the California home today to find it padlocked. Lawyer Buddy Dallas and accountant David Cannon were able to prevent Mrs. Ford from entering the property as she did not own the deed to the home.

"This is my home," she said. "I don't have any money. I don't have anywhere to go."

Ford, 93, was the longest living former president, surpassing Ronald Reagan, who died in June 2004, by more than a month.

No End In Sight, Bush To Send Additional Mourners To Ford Funeral

"I understand people are impatient, but we're going to stay until the job is done, no matter how long it takes," the President said.

"Holy Apparition!"

Batgirl Pilot, 1967. Seven minutes. IMDB. [Via Chris Roberson.]

Sugar Bush Squirrel Salutes Saddam Hussein's Death

Link

As Saddam Hussein was sweating it out in his cell reflecting on the heinous crimes he had committed, Sugar Bush Squirrel was volunteering for sentry duty and inspecting the gallows before the punishment was finally carried out.