Speakin’ of the gay, there is a nice article from Dan Savage on recent court decisions: 

In New York, the court ruled in effect that irresponsible heterosexuals often have children by accident — we gay couples, in contrast, cannot get drunk and adopt in one night — so the state can reserve marriage rights for heterosexuals in order to coerce them into taking care of their offspring. Without the promise of gift registries and rehearsal dinners, it seems, many more newborns in New York would be found in trash cans.

Go check it out, it’s really good (hetero-laden sports metaphors and all).

Dillweed alert: 

The right-wing blogosphere is up in arms over a Rolling Stone article about prominent neo-conservative Michael Ledeen. The article, written by James Bamford, argues that Ledeen was using unreliable intelligence to push the Bush administration into military action against Iran. The National Review’s Andrew McCarthy and Mark Levin claim that the premise of Bramford’s article is flawed because Ledeen opposes military action against Iran:

Yet, anyone even vaguely familiar with Michael’s work knows that he has opposed military action against Iran — notwithstanding that he was years ahead of most experts in accurately portraying Iran’s role as the terror master at the center of the jihadist network.

Just for the record, here is a (partial) collection of quotes from the PNAC in 1992 (emphasis added): 

"Potential rivals such as China are anxious to exploit these  transformational technologies broadly, while adversaries like Iran, Iraq and North Korea are rushing to develop ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons as a deterrent to American intervention in regions they seek to dominate." 

"U.S. nuclear force planning and related arms control policies must take account of a larger set of variables than in the past, including the growing number of small nuclear arsenals – from North Korea to Pakistan to, perhaps soon, Iran and Iraq..." 

"Iraq, Iran, Libya and Syria – “already have or are developing ballistic missiles” that could threaten U.S allies and forces abroad." 

"We cannot allow North Korea, Iran, Iraq or similar states to undermine American leadership, intimidate American allies or threaten the American homeland itself."

And my personal favorite: 

"Over the long term, Iran may well prove as large a threat to U.S. interests in the Gulf as Iraq has.  And even should U.S.-Iranian relations improve, retaining forward-based forces in the region would still be an essential element in U.S. security strategy given the longstanding American interests in the region."

As my chaotic time schedule continues to pervade this whirlwind tour of "AMERICA: The Theme Park", I am trying to use what little blog time I have to chip away at my stagnant to-do list. In that spirit, I would invite you all to check out the unveiling of THF's long-overdue 'Links ' section.

I will no doubt be adding to this over time, but I wanted to get something up there to acknowledge some of my favorite sites on the net or, in some cases, those that are simply guilty by association! If you feel like I've missed something important, or want to suggest a site to check out, feel free to leave a comment or contact me directly.

Here's a bit of mental floss for your otherwise slothful weekend. I had a hard time with 8, 10, and 17 (good guesses, but not the right ones). 

As an Iraqi soldier describes life on the ground as pretty much sitting around and waiting to get blown up, Team Chimpy stages another ‘surprise’ visit with Maliki hoping to stick around in D.C. for a while (when D.C. is a safer place to be, then you know you have it bad).

John Stewart has some thoughts on the visit:

Also, AJ from AmericaBlog has a nice little analysis on the groundbreaking, going-to-solve-all-our-problems troop movement to Baghdad while digby graces us with a rundown on life in modern Iraq.

And for a TDS bonus, Stewart asks McCain, “How much safer can the world afford to have him make us?”

Ahhh, the Lakeway Hotel Bed and Breakfast: A lovely bed and breakfast in the quiet hamlet of Meade, Kansas?  Or demon seed spunked from the depths of Hades?

For J.R. and Robin knight, owning a bed and breakfast is everything they've always wanted. "We came here in search of our dreams, my wife always wanted a bed and breakfast and I always wanted a restaurant," says California native J.R. Knight.

But recently their dream has turned into a nightmare, all because of a flag they're flying outside. “It's a rainbow flag - to some people it means friendship to some people it means gay pride,"

… 

Local resident, Keith Klassen says the flag is a slap in the face to the conservative community of Meade. “To me it's just like running up a Nazi flag in a Jewish neighborhood. I can't walk into that establishment with that flag flying because to me that's saying that I support what the flag stands for and I don't," says Klassen. 

Yes, the two are exactly the same.  Except in your analogy, gays are the Jews and you are the Nazis.

The New York Times has a handy little interactive map with some handy filters to keep an eye on the upcoming Senate, House and Gubernatorial races (registration may be required).  Looks like pretty good news for the Dems (and by extension the rest of the world).

I generously bestow upon thee – Star Wars on a Banjo.  No thanks necessary, just send money.