I have to say that, as somebody who spends an embarrasing amount of time on blogosphere comment boards, I am emphatically impressed by the quality and sophistication of my own readers. Contrary to some other site's postings, which tend to reside in the same realm as fart jokes, the commenters on this site always have thoughtful and articulate comments to make. For instance, check out antihebe 's comment on my Milgram Experiment post from a while back as an example of a well-reasoned inquiry which serves to intelligently advance the dialogue.

I'm the proudest blogger to ever handle a laptop!

Little Ricky is clinging to his story, despite it being complete bollocks. But who needs the truth when you have FOX News who claim that the story is true, but was suppressed at of pure altruism in order to protect their good buddies, the French. Meanwhile, Santorum’s constituency thinks Ricky has some splainin’ to do.

John Edwards continues his campaign to combat the Conservative Nanny State and eradicate poverty. Please, please let this guy run the country for a while.

Speaking of poverty, good thing we have an intrepid leader who believes in No Child Left Behind. Except of course, the ones who are.

Religious fanatics the world over are doing their best to hasten Armageddon by combining technology with religious texts, as well as a healthy dose of the Red Heiffer. That’s right, I said Red Heiffer. Anybody else tired of wackjobs with a death fixation trying to ruin the world?

Note the quivering lips, the stuttering, stammering fool, the squeaky voice, the beads of sweat. Gitmo torture room or reporter calling Bartlett out on his utter B.S.

Our neighbors to the North note how Americans are shocked, outraged even at the clamping down on civil liberties. Nah, just kidding. We’re actually just learning to live without freedom.

This is your terrorist. This is your terrorist with a pack of high-yield plastic explosives strapped to his chest. Any questions?

First Lieutenant Ehren Watda became the first commissioned officer to publicly refuse deployment to Iraq. “I am opposed to this war and the misconduct within this administration. I am willing to sacrifice my freedom and my good name to end this war and save lives: both Iraqi and American.” So why exactly don’t the Republicans want the war to ever end??

GM prompts the largest employee buyout in American history offering workers a choice between the sudden loss of security in a lifelong career, or to “take the cash and walk away.” PBS offering follow-up coverage.

A fleet of unmanned spy drones flying over Los Angeles?

Ann Coulter has finally completely lost control of her verbal bowels. Check out this radio broadcast and explain to me what drugs she is on and where I can get them. In other news, Coulter has endorsed Joe Lieberman. Yes, the Coulter endorsement is every Democrats dream come true. Oh, wait. Kissy-Joe’s not actually a Democrat.

Washington ‘inadvertently’ hands Somalia to radical anti-American militants.

No, no. The timing isn’t suspicious at all. Why would you even insinuate something so cynical? It happened in Florida, you say? Well so what you crazy, liberal, pinko, commie, America hater! Jerk.

And in lighter news, this is what happens when Disney kids grow up.

When I was a young buck, I decided to relinquish my cushy life in the northeast for the exploration of southern accents and sunny weather in Clemson, S.C. Needless to say, the culture shock was intense.

Probably one of the biggest surprises was that the Civil War, for most of the country a relic of the history books, is very much alive in the Southern tribal culture. While the north (and most of the country) has generally forgotten this deep division in our historical narrative, a very real and palpable sense of anger and oppression has persevered throughout the generations in the lower eastern seaboard.

This schism is not simply among the wack-job pro-slavery crowd, and is certainly not to be underestimated. I am reminded of the Aztechs (or was it the Mayans or Incans?) who were conquered by the Spanish so very long ago. Inferior in weaponry, a military defeat was inevitable. But the culture persevered and after a few generations, the Spanish conquistadors had been assimilated into the pre-existing culture. In the long-term, it was a spectacular nonviolent defeat of the Spanish.

I see the same movement happing in the U.S. in the rise of the Bush administration. The South will rise again is no longer a hick flight of fancy but has assumed at least the façade of reality. By waiting patiently, keeping the culture alive, and spreading their ideology through Talk Radio, etc., the south has effectively assumed control of this country through the cooperation of the BushCo administration.

As if to prove my point, this website has a line-by-line comparison of the Confederate States of America and the current United States. It’s pretty eerie stuff. But moreover, I think it is a lesson to us all that humiliating defeats live on in the psyche of the subjugated long after fading from the victors memory. Solutions that employ the rule of force-power alone will never do more than exacerbate the problem in the long-term.

Still don’t believe me? Well just take a look at this past week. The GOP congress killed the vote to renew the Voting Rights Act of 1965, a critical piece of legislation targeting areas (in the South) that have a notoriously poor civil rights record. Is there really any question towards whose value system Republicans are campaigning?

"Boutique" gasoline blends to help states meet clean air rules are not a factor in higher prices as President Bush has suggested, says a draft of a study ordered by the White House.

Although often cited as a reason for volatile gasoline prices, so-called "boutique fuels" have not caused unusual distribution problems or contributed to price increases, the report concludes.

The review was conducted by a task force headed by the Environmental Protection Agency and involving representatives from the 50 states as well as the Energy and Agriculture departments.

I’ve lived in Europe now for almost 6 years and in that time fuel prices have risen about 10-12 cents per liter. Now granted, that is about 30-36 cents per gallon, though hardly on par with the tripling cost of petrol in the U.S. Moreover, road maintenance, pollution reduction, etc. are all covered by tax revenue directly from the sale of fuel. In other words, our infrastructure is paid for by the drivers at the pump and not by increased tax revenues. So maybe somebody could explain to me exactly how Big Oil has justified such a gross display of price gouging in the U.S?