No. That’s not his new campaign slogan* (though it could be).

And, though technically true that McCain has endured longer than Spam, the two birthdates actually share the same fiscal year* (exciting stuff!!)

And that’s just the beginning of the awesome stuff these two have in common. Check this out!

From Clintonopedia, the encyclopedia of denial

A Hail Mary pass or Hail Mary play in American Politics is an election strategy made in desperation, with only a small chance of success. The typical Hail Mary is a very long, tedious plan executed near the end of a primary where there is no possibility for any reasonable plan to work. This plan is unlikely to be successful, because the general inaccuracy of the plan and the defensive team's preparedness for the plan makes it likely that it can intercept or knock down the desperate candidate’s assault -- the plan is executed and a prayer is said, hoping the leading candidate’s electability somehow disintegrates.

It’s no secret that Hillary has failed miserably at currying the favor of the progressive blogosphere – something about which she could probably not care less.

It’s also no secret that the progressive Netroots heavily favors the glimmering stars that are Obama and Edwards. The November Kos Straw poll showed a combined strength for Obama/Edwards at 61% of the vote, while Hillary barely squirmed past Dodd to secure 9%, whimpering her way into 4th place behind Dennis Kucinich! Yikes!

"Too often, the Bush administration does what it wants, no matter the law. It says what it wants, no matter the facts,"

-- Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Robert Byrd, D-W.Va.

It's not enough that the Bush Administration can't consider a piece of legislation lest it be slathered with myriad "signing statements" -- i.e. presidential admissions of contempt for the rule of law. Now, it seems, they can't even work within the canyon-fitted leeway afforded by Bush's law-skirting actions. At least that's what the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in their report (though they worded it a bit differently;) Jump...

[Note: Thought this deserved some coverage but I found neither hide nor hair of it here. Please let me know if it's a dupe and I will painlessly delete. Thanks.]

According to the latest Zogby poll, in head-to-head matchups:

Barack Obama (D) beats Rudy Giuliani (R) 48% to 42%

Barack Obama (D) beats Fred Thompson (R) 52% to 35%

Anyone who dismisses Senator Obama due to his relative lack of experience doesn't understand that 'experience' is NOT the defining characteristic sought by the American public. Jump...

Dear Vice President Gore,

Fifteen years ago "10,000 Maniacs" blessed the world with their classic, "These are Days". The song began:

These are days you'll remember. Never before and never since, I promise, will the whole world be warm as this.

And as you feel it, you'll know it's true that you are blessed and lucky...

The song continues, counting the wonders and miracles of life -- of this precious time we have on Earth.

Now, we are struck with yet another group of maniacs promising us days that we'll remember. Only this time, they reside in the White House and in the halls of the punditocracy. And, unfortunately, we'll be remembering these days not for their 'wonder and warmth' but rather for their descent into corruption and chaos.

Wow! This is brilliant stuff, holding merit on so many levels.

For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, here's a little primer -- a visionary concept being promoted by braniacs across America.

Here's the idea, plain and simple: If everyone in America had a gun (As our beloved 2nd amendment apparently insisnts we should (source:NRA)), then we'd all be much safer from such horrific threats to society as was perpetrated by the monster at Virginia Tech..

The rationale is that if someone started to shoot at people with their 2nd-ammendment-sanctioned firearm, then any and all armed onlookers could simply reach into their bookbags, change purses, and/or holsters, pull out their guns and halt the violence with a subtle twitch of their index finger.

That makes sense, right? Heck I think most people, if armed, would have put a non-negotiable stop to the catastrophe in Virginia. And I do believe that, if every student and professor had been packing, the number of deaths there would have been significantly lower. But would a totally armed populace be a good idea outside the realm of such aberrant instances?

In the run-up to the 2000 decision of Bush v. Gore, the Republican establishment worked tirelessly to frame the events of those days as a 'constitutional crisis' -- a situation so dire, so delicate -- as to threaten the very foundation of our nation's existence.

So, it was with great relief that Justice Scalia hastily passed down the high court's decision to forego a genuine manual recount and award to George W. Bush the White House and all its associated powers, real or imagined.

Little did the Supremes (or the rest of the Republican establishment) imagine that those actions would be the catalyst that set forth a series of unfortunate, unforgivable, and completely unnecessary, events that would eventually lead to a genuine constitutional crises -- a situation truly dire and legitimately threatening to the founding principles of America.

But here we are -- crisis in hand.

Only a few more days until that magical morning, when millions of children across the globe will awake to the bounty of Santa and people will gather to spread good cheer and well-wishes.

Unforutnately, that makes this the perfect time for the Grinch to make his rounds -- choosing to spend the final run-up to the holiday taking his final jabs at the Whos down in Whoville.

In early November, Democrats, Americans, and the world were blessed with the glorious gift of 'check and balance' (Remember those?). So many thought the Democratic rout might be just sobering enough to wipe the smirk and swagger from Bush's pose.

Not so.

Seems the decider's calls for bipartisanship were as hollow as his head -- as we always knew they were.

Happy Hanukkah!
Happy Kwanza!
Happy Winter Solstice!

Let's be clear. It's okay to say any one of these AND exclude the others if you wish -- to anyone, regardless of yours or other's preferred celebration or beliefs. Really, it is. I promise.

It's true. Everyone has to lighten up -- just a bit. That's the only way we're all going to live in peace and harmony. For example, if someone says Happy Kwanza to me -- and I barely know what Kwanza is -- I'm not about to get upset or indignant because the person was 'insensitive' to my personal set of beliefs. Instead, I will thank them handily and wish them back, 'Happy Kwanza!'

It drives me nuts (and I'm probably not the only one) when some people get soooooo uptight about various seasons greetings. They think that being culturally sensitive means being culturally neutral. That is NOT true.

The 110th congress has yet to convene but Speaker-to-be Nancy Pelosi has already lowered the hammer, given the opposition their walking papers, and outlined the plan to pound through the Democrats '100 Hour' agenda.

Speaker Pelosi said House Republicans will "be given only one chance to amend or debate a plan to curb oil and gas subsidies and other Democratic priorities." Legislation "cutting subsidies to oil and gas producers is one of Democrats' top six priorities for their first 100 hours in power. Pelosi said Thursday that the oil and gas legislation along with bills cutting student loan interest rates and requiring the government to negotiate prescription drug prices for Medicare would not go through the normal legislative process."

Everyday seems to be met with something special -- perhaps some news that we didn't know about the previous day.

For example, yesterday we were blessed with the news that there will likely be no late-summer ice at the North Pole. Great, huh?

And today is no different. Though this special news came out over a month ago, I heard nothing about it at the time and I think it's safe to imagine that it got very little play in our ever-vigilant, Britney-obsessed press. So here it is -- as if brand spankin' new:)

"The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it."

--Albert Einstein

In their efforts to create an 'elixer of immortality', Taoists of ancient China unwittingly created it's antithesis -- a mixture of sulfur, realgar, saltpeter and honey -- a concoction known today as gunpowder. Innocently enough, the powder was used for entertainment purposes -- creating fireworks to dazzle and amaze.

Unfortunately, it didn't take long for some clever killer to realize the destructive potential of the new substance, making it's debut as the first weapon of mass destruction in 904 AD.

I'm a science freak. I'm also a politics freak. You might say I'm a 'Science and Politics' freak.

So where are all the 'Science and Politics' blogs and bloggers?

Sure, there are tons of 'science' blogs and tons of 'politics' blogs, and each group necessarily touches upon the other as they see fit, but I don't really know of any that regularly focus on 'Science and Politics' as a theme.

I see tons of 'national' blogs, 'local' blogs, 'elections' blogs, 'polling' blogs, 'labor' blogs, 'civil rights' blogs, 'abortion' blogs, 'healthcare' blogs and several high quality 'politics and religion' blogs, but one thing I really have not seen out there in force is a serious 'Politics and Science' blog!!!

"Eight years ago Michael Mann introduced a graph that became an iconic symbol of humanity's contribution to global warming."

The famous "hockey stick", a graph that shows the 'drastic influence' of humans over the past hundred years, plots the Earth's surface temperature over the last thousand years. A quick glimpse of the graph shows temperatures relatively static -- that is until the industrial revolution moved into full swing. Around 1900 the temperatures take off like a rocket forming the image of a very long-bladed hockey stick.

The rumors that chief White House political architect Karl Rove will leave sometime next year are being bolstered with new insider reports that his partisan style is a hurdle to President Bush's new push for bipartisanship. A key Bush advisor tells the US News Political Bulletin, "Karl represents the old style and he's got to go if the Democrats are going to believe Bush's talk of getting along." The advisor said a departure might come in "weeks, not months." A Rove ally, however, noted that he has a record of out-witting his critics.

In addition, I've heard/read that, although the result of the midterms reflected VERY poorly on Bush's Brain, the White House is forced to retain Rove through the conclusion of this administration for the simple reason that Rove knows too much.

To me that means the White House believes Rove is not above a tell-all book if the situation served him.

You know, I started this diary as a serious 'hit' piece to Giuliani's presidential aspirations, but the further I got, the more I realized that it was largely a waste of my time. Giuliani already did the work.

So, in case there was any serious speculation about Rudy making it as the GOP's choice in 2008, I feel it is my duty to remind the world of Rudy's... uhhhh... prior escapades.

Though it was clearly in good fun, we all know that the Republican base has a sense of humor akin to a horse's ass.

So buh-bye Rudy, and let's not waste our time with him. Rudy will be but a diversion to the 2008 race.

First some pics:

And then the BIG SHOW: Check out this YouTube Footage since the Embed doesn't seem to be working here. ACH!

Of all the pundits, both amateur and professional, there were very few who nailed the 2006 elections -- who had the cojones to take a stand and call it all without doubt, without apology or caveat.

So who were these political geniuses?

Well, before we go there, let's take a look at some of those who were WRONG (i.e. Every other pundit)