Watched some of the British election coverage on C-Span, just as I did in the summer of 2001, several months after the White House coup in the United States.

It goes without saying that the BBC covers elections about a million times better than our U.S. "networks" do.

Last time, I was incredibly impressed with their parliamentary system, whereby every candidate for M.P. assembles in his/her home constituency for a formal announcement of the results. I was especially impressed seeing that Tony Blair had to stand on a stage (in what looked like a high school auditorium) with the other candidates from Sedgefield--including not only the Tory and Lib-Dem candidates but every other asshole who felt like running for M.P., including a guy dressed in a clown suit.

This time, I was even more impressed--and there was no clowning around. Blair had to stand on the stage (he was the winner, of course) with an independent candidate who ran for office because his son had been killed in Iraq and he believed Blair had lied and misled the country into war.

The guy did pretty well, garnering (I believe) about 10% of the vote. And Blair had to stand there, three feet behind the anti-war candidate, looking like he'd just bitten off and swallowed a big fat turd, while the anti-war guy gave a moving and damning concession speech in which he openly alluded to Blair's lies.

Blair has gone from looking sprightly and fresh-faced to looking like a bleary, haggard, run-down phony loser. He made his bed and he's sleeping in it. But compared to our own chimp-faced piece of inhuman presidential shit, he looks like King Lear.

Their system is just better then ours. Their democracy is better than ours. True, their weather is shit. But compared to our psychotic, holographic holocaust of a nation-state, Britain seems like a pretty good country.

N.B. For you fans of "The Office," Slough went for Labour.

So now John Kerry wants your money for a newspaper ad to try to sway opinion against Frist's immanent use of the nuclear option.

It's decision time. Republican leaders are doing everything in their power to find the votes to pass the nuclear option - and clear the way for Bush nominations of extreme judges that don't need a single Democratic vote.

We've been working hard to stop them. But, now we've got to pull out all the stops. Your immediate financial help is essential as we launch an intensive effort with a powerful newspaper ad in next Tuesday's USA Today. Your donation can help deliver our message to 2.2 million people.

http://contribute.johnkerry.com/

But when have Bush, Frist, et al, ever given half a shit about public opinion? And does our brain-dead populace even have any idea what a fillibuster is, much less an opinion on whether Bill Frist should prevent the Democrats from using it? Do they have the mental capacity to receive this "message"?

Let's not forget: America chose last November to continue its descent into neofascism. Now, this is just part of the descent. So what's the problem?

Donate if you want.

I know it's been a while (oh, say, about six months and three days--Jesus, has it been that long??) since I've put up any "act now" type posts. It's just been too depressing to do anything but laugh and go back to sleep. And I don't know what good can come of signing another goddamn petition. Nonetheless, here is the latest from MoveOn. It's just too insane to let slip.

On Sunday morning, Christian Coalition founder Pat Robertson told TV viewers nation-wide that the threat posed by liberal judges is "probably more serious than a few bearded terrorists who fly into buildings." When an incredulous George Stephanopoulos asked if Robertson really believed that these judges posed "the most serious threat America has faced in nearly 400 years of history, more serious than al Qaeda, more serious than Nazi Germany and Japan, more serious than the Civil War?," he responded, "George, I really believe that." [1]

These comments were not made in isolation. In fact, Robertson's statement is only the most outrageous example of a growing effort from the extreme right to whip up an intense fear and hatred of American judges — including comments from Republican congressmen and senators intimidating, threatening and even justifying outright violence against judges. [2] The strategy is designed to build support for the Republican "nuclear" scheme to break the rules and stack the courts — and it is poisonous to our democracy. It must stop here.

That's why we are launching a national petition demanding that Bill Frist and Tom DeLay publicly reject Robertson's statement. If they do, it will send a clear signal that this type of dangerous incitement against officers of the law is not welcome in our democracy. And if they don't, it will send an equally clear signal about how far they are willing to go. Please sign today.

Unbelievable.



And an hour later:



Weird weather. Anything going on out there in the world? (I.e., anything other than the burrito lockdown?)