Yesterday I slept so late that most of my day was gone before I got up.  As a resault, I was not sleepy at bedtime and am posting a little earlier than usual.  I did catch up on replying to comments.  Today’s holy day for the Church of the Ellipsoid Orb is less sacred for me, because the Denver congregation has a day of rest, aka a bye week.  This afternoon I plan to join the conversation with Gwen, Jack and others on the Here Be Monsters show on Blog Talk radio.  It starts at 3:00 PM PST (6:00 PM EST), if you’d like to listen or call in.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today it took me 4:27 (average 4:47).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From NY Times: In a letter to colleagues, the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, who is seeking to remain as minority leader despite her party’s steep election losses, urged House Democrats to unite behind her and even said she hopes to help ousted lawmakers return to Congress in two years.

I approve.  Pelosi did her job, unlike the leg hound.

From Right Wing Watch: Last week, leaked results from the Pentagon’s survey revealed that most soldiers were unopposed to repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.

So, if you are the Family Research Council, it can only mean that the survey is flawed and cannot be trusted.

Leave it to the Theocons of the American Taliban to insist on inventing their own facts when the real ones conflict with their bigotry.  Unless we do this in the lame duck session, repeal is dead for two years.

From Daily Kos: The Seattle Chamber of Commerce, being a local organization in a liberal city, with many liberal members represented, wants to make it crystal clear that they are not in any way associated with [ads aired by] the the U.S. Chamber, which spent millions in the state to pick up the open 3rd district seat, and to oust Patty Murray.

This is a worthy sentiment, but lip-service is not enough.  As long as they are members of and pay dues to the US Chamber, they must weat the green letter. $

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Pray (or whatever you do) for America!

Yesterday I spent almost the entire day doing volunteer work, because 7th Step Foundation is introducing a new weekly CoDA group tonight intended to teach healthy relationships to former prisoners, but open to all, and I am one of the facilitators.  As a result, my backlog of comments needing replies and visits needing returns is growing again.  I hope to catch up on the replies today.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today it took me 4:11 (5:18 average).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Raw Story: In an interview with Fox News’ Chris Wallace Wednesday, Stewart complimented Chris Wallace and his team at the network on for their big win.

"Congratulations to you," Stewart told Wallace. "You guys did it. You worked hard and you pulled it off."

It seems clear to me that Stewart’s congratulations was a tongue-in-cheek accusation that Fox is the Republican Reichsministry of Propaganda, not a News Channel.  But I’ve actually heard a couple regressives (pseudo-progressives who would rather whine than work for change) complain that Stewart was selling out.

From NY Times: In one of the nation’s straggler election contests, Senator Patty Murray of Washington won the Senate race in Washington state, narrowly defeating Dino Rossi, who conceded Thursday afternoon.

Yea Patti!!

From Common Dreams: The US Department of Labor filed an unprecedented federal lawsuit yesterday seeking to close a mine operated by troubled coal producer Massey Energy Co. for continually violating safety laws.

The Labor Department has never sought an injunction to protect coal miners before, but is considering several more lawsuits, Patricia Smith, the agency’s solicitor, said during a conference call.

It’s about time!

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TGIF!

Yesterday I rested, and it’s a good thing I did, because I have been live blogging throughout the time I normally sleep to bring you election results.  What I do later will depend on how I feel, but right now, my eyes need toothpicks.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today it took me 4:53 (4:40 average).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Washington Post: ABC News sends over the letter that Andrew Morse, the chief of their digital division, has sent to Andrew Breitbart, pulling the plug on their much-discussed, widely-parsed-over invitation for him to join in their election night coverage.

Consumer protest does work, but only if we know who the offending company is.

From Think Progress: Last night, someone broke into a campaign office of Rep. Tom Perriello (D-VA) in Charlottesville, VA. According to a report the campaign filed with the Charlottesville police, someone entered the unoccupied office between 2 and 5:30 a.m. by busting in a window screen. The perpetrator then took information on polling place locations and deliberately distributed it in the wrong neighborhood, Perriello’s campaign says…

I can’t say whether or not this made a difference in the results, but I am confident more such incidents will surface as time goes on, because the Republican Party is without honor.

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Vote in 2012!

Another day, another month.  Where has it gone?  Yesterday morning I watched football and yesterday afternoon I did Blog Talk Radio with Gwen.  Today I may fall even further behind, because it’s time for the quarterly surgery on my foot.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today it took me 4:22 (4:53 average).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Religious Agony:

Short Takes:

From Waskington Post: At least seven Iraqi Christian worshipers and seven Iraqi security forces were killed Sunday night after commandos stormed a church in Baghdad where a band of suicide bombers had been holding parishioners hostage, Iraqi and U.S. military officials said.

As Iraqi troops stormed the Our Lady of Salvation Church in the upscale Karradah neighborhood shortly after 9 p.m., some of the assailants detonated suicide vests, said Lt. Col. Eric Bloom, a U.S. military spokesman.

The mayhem underscored how dangerous the Iraqi capital remains.

When I thought I had been wrong about the Bush/Republican surge being a failure. I said I was wrong.  Now that it turns out I was right, I take it back.

From News Hounds: During Sarah Palin’s appearance on Fox News Sunday yesterday (10/31/10), Host Chris Wallace cited Karl Rove’s less-than-complimentary comments about her potential presidential candidacy. Wallace was referring to a recent interview in which Rove suggested that Palin’s upcoming TLC reality television show indicated that she lacked the gravitas to become president. Palin responded by rhetorically asking, "Wasn’t Ronald Reagan an actor?"

Obviously, Drill Baby Dingbat, the Tebuggerer of the Tundra, is no Ronald Reagan.  In fact, today’s Republicans would drum Reagan out of the Reich.

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OGIM!