Israel's Elections

So, it's a near tie, with Kadima barely winning a plurality, but Likud and the parties to its right winning more seats. Not to put too fine a point on it, but all of those guys are assholes. Kadima and Labor started the Gaza war in order to show the Israeli electorate that they were tough enough on the Palestinians that the public didn't need to vote for Likud. This apparently had the result of boosting the right-wing so much that an Israeli Nationalist (ultra right) fringe party, Beiteinu, actually came out ahead of Labor, bumping them back to fourth place.

Nice going, Ehud, you fuck.

Whatever Israeli coalition forms out of this mess will look something like this:

Why Does Claire McCaskill Suck So Much? (4)

Amusingly for me, McCaskill merits ridicule in Kos's quick hits from today:

I'm so relieved that we have Sens. Claire McCaskill and Ben Nelson in our party protecting us from the tyranny of building and renovating schools. Oh, and life-saving medical care.

And remember, McCain won Nebraska by 15 points. Nelson's excuse to being a douche bag is that his state is horribly Republican. What's Claire's?

Hey, this guy's pretty smart

Watching the Obama press conference is surreal. I can't recall hearing Bush make a single comment as insightful as any of Obama's answers.

Madelyn points out that you can see him thinking. You can literally (Joe Biden!) see him thinking.

Update: Pssst, Mr. President. They're over there.

Dean for HHS

They make websites...

Why Does Claire McCaskill Suck So Much? (3)

Show Me Progress (a local blog) and Matthew Yglesias are getting in on the act.

Man, lying in your twitter feed is some pretty sick shit, right?

Why Does Claire McCaskill Suck So Much? (2)

Atrios is also wondering...

I'm confused

How did this not come out during the camepaign?

Why Does Claire McCaskill Suck So Much?

When I was working for the Obama Campaign, I was shocked to find that many of Missouri's Democrats (and these are hardcore activist types) actually like their Junior Senator.

People were not happy when I pointed out that she, in fact, sucks as a Senator. Her latest round of populist "let's cap executive pay" media blitz annoyed the shit out of me, since she has one of the most pro-corporate records of the Democrats in the Senate. I had hoped that the age of Obama would mean a change for McCaskill as well, considering how much she seems to like Obama personally.

Apparently not. I see plenty of Senators on that list from states that are a lot redder than Missouri, who have managed to get with the fucking program.

Iowa's Junior Senator

You know, I've always liked Tom Harkin.

Makes me feel better about the $25 I gave him back in '03.

What don't you fucking understand?

This is a thing of fucking beauty. You should listen to it at full blast in the office.

Acoustic Krypton

It truly is the year of Beyoncé.

ZOMG BEST DAY EVER

I feel like I've been waiting my whole lifetime for this moment. It's here.

Waterworld: Extended Edition

It's like they can read my freaking mind:

Daschle

It seemed to me that their was a very good case for appointing Tom Daschle to HHS, despite his somewhat scummy history. That argument was a simple one: Daschle, better than anybody else, knows how to move things through the Senate. And since the Senate is the biggest stumbling block to achieving Universal Health Care right now, Daschle was perfect for the job.

But if the guy couldn't even move his own confirmation through the Senate, then all of the positive arguments for him absolutely collapse.

Good to see him go.

Did you know?

Al Franken is the fourth Jew to hold his Senate seat, representing the great state of Minnesota. Less than 1% of Minnesotans are Jewish. Weird.

Also, of the four African Americans Senators since Reconstruction, three of them have occupied the same Senate seat currently held by Roland Burris.

Superbowl Ads

Is it just me, or were GoDaddy's ads last night the most hateful and misogynistic things we've seen on TV since the Republican Campaign last fall? They really ought to inspire some backlash. GoDaddy's customer base can't be entirely composed of drunken frat boys, can it?

On the other hand, I really liked PETA's rejected ad.

I know people disagree with me about this, but I've always found PETA's use of sexuality to draw attention to the plight of animals to be legitimate.