The Nightowl Newswrap

Goode Riddance! The sweetest upset of 'em all came in the Virginia 05, where newcomer Democrat Tom Perriello eeked out a narrow victory over incumbent republican Virgil Goode. Goode, you might recall, is the frothing fuckwit who had seizures over the election of Minnesota Congressman Keith Ellison, America's first Muslim congressman, and his decision to swear his oath of office on the article of his own faith - the Qu'ran - instead of the Christian bible. Ellison, you may recall, cut the legs out from under the braying jackass by using Thomas Jefferson's copy of the Qu'ran. We will have much more to say about Perriello in the future - he is the kind of person that makes us proud to be Americans and Democrats. He is truly one of the best among us.

Damnit! We wanted this seat almost as much as we wanted the VA 05! It was so close that it took days to certify the election, but Netroots and Act Blue favorite Darcy Burner barely lost unseating Dave Reichert in the Washington 08 after a full-on media hit-job led by the Seattle Times and local talk radio. I met Darcy at Netroots Nation in Austin, and really like her as a person. A candidate's loss is especially acute when you have exchanged hugs with her.

What Anonymous Liberal said I am not a lawyer, I barely ever consult with one, but I do read Balkinization, and I like the idea of Georgetown law professor and legal blogger Marty Lederman heading up the Office of Legal Council in an Obama Justice Department.

The idiots at The Corner wasted no time in succumbing to Obama Derangement Syndrome Derbyshire is back after a blessed respite during the campaign. He wasn't missed, and this kind of hyperbole is why. Derb is beside himself that our newly elected President will ask Americans to put our shoulders to the wheel for the good of the nation. So beside himself that he set a land-speed record invoking Godwin. I would just like to remind you all that Derb the Douchebag has unfailingly backed the guy told us that the only sacrifice we needed to make was to go shopping for duct tape and plastic sheeting. By the way, and I say this as a person of Ashkenazi heritage, his comparisons are damned offensive to the people who really did suffer under Stalin and Hitler.

He simply inspires confidence Let Derb and the rest of the irrelevant Cornerites twitch and writhe - they are a marginalized, defeated and vanquished minority, and we have proof: After yesterdays press conference, over half of the country felt that the newly elected President "set the right tone" in his maiden presser.

And that is a damned good place to start As bad as I hate to admit that I agree with Tyler Cowan about anything, the national mood does matter, and inspiring confidence in Americans will help the new President as he sets about cleaning up after the eight-year drunken frat party we just endured.



Another parting shot from the bu$h administration Yesterday the current occupant took a parting shot at the poor and those who care for them. They narrowed the scope of services that can be provided to poor people under Medicaid’s outpatient hospital benefit. Public hospitals and state officials immediately protested the action, saying it would reduce Medicaid payments to many hospitals at a time of growing need. The new rule conflicts with efforts by Congressional leaders and governors to increase federal aid to the states for Medicaid as part of a new economic action plan.

In a word, yes. That is, if the question is "is RFK, Jr. too controversial to head the EPA. He is good on environmental issues, but he has a science-denying bent where immunizations and autism are concerned that simply disqualifies him. As a scientist who had access to the raw data, I just can't take anyone seriously that still, in spite of so much solid evidence, argues that there is a connection between immunizations and autism. I appreciate that the parents want answers, but doesn't it matter that they be the right answers?

Of course, he also inspires venom and vitriol among the lizard-brains Outraged parents of students at a middle school in Mississippi are raising hell after a bus driver and a girls basketball coach forbid students to even utter Barack Obama's name in their presence. When students on the bus were talkiing about the historic election and saying "Obama is our president," the ignorant cracker bitch bus driver told them she didn't want to hear his name, and put two students off her bus. The basketball coach was so distraught with the results of the election that the dumbfuck actually threatened students with suspension for talking about the election.

Not mourning these guys Three men found guilty of the Bali disco bombings in 2002 that killed 202 people were executed today by firing squad. Tied side by side to wooden posts, the bombers were simultaneously shot in a field on a small prison island off western Java, officials said. The bombers remained defiant to the end, never expressed any remorse for the loss of innocent life and said they hoped they would be seen as martyrs and inspire attacks against Indonesia.

Shades of the Kursk? At least 20 Russian sailors were killed and 21 more injured in an accident on board a Russian nuclear-powered submarine in the Pacific Ocean. A spokesman for the Russian navy said that radiation levels aboard the vessel are normal when the accident was announced. The accident is the latest in a string of devastating and deadly mishaps for the Russian Navy.

Northern plains digging out from first blizzard of the season Crews fought mud and water as they tried to restore power after a fierce storm spread a wintry mix across the Dakotas. Authorities also struggled to remove snow-stranded vehicles that littered an interstate highway hours after the drivers and passengers were rescued.

Bill Maher gets it exactly right The hard-core wingnut-freakazoid base is like a stalker. Rejection just makes them crazier.

Dumbassery. Make that greedy dumbassery. A homeowner and the contractor who found $182K in depression-era cash that had been hidden in a bathroom wall all those years ago couldn't decide how to divvy it up, got into a squabble that became public and ended up having to share with the descendants of the businessman who stashed it, and everybody ended up with a pittance. Which, given the level of greedy dumbassery they obviously displayed is more than they deserved.

Another reason not to take up jogging A woman out jogging near Prescott, AZ had a run-in with a rabid fox and ended up running a mile back to her car with the animals teeth sunk into her arm. Back at her car, she managed to pry the animals teeth from her arm and lock it in the trunk of her car before racing to an emergency room for treatment. The animal also bit an animal control officer who removed it from her car. Both of the bite victims will have to undergo a series of extremely unpleasant vaccinations to prevent becoming infected with the deadly virus.