The internets are a great thing.  They help us remember things we might otherwise forget.  For example, when we had to ask that important question about whether Huggy Bear is a criminal.

Raise your hand if you remember the Keating Five.  Chris Suellentrop of Slate does, and he wrote about Huggy's membership in that elite club back in 2000:

(continued below the fold)

Proving once again that it's foolhardy to cite Dan Gerstein as an authority on anything except what it means to be an idiot, some überwingnut named Warner Todd Huston (he supports Alan fucking Keyes, for crying out loud!) takes Kos and the Kossacks to task for their support of the "angry populist" John Edwards, saying that the victories of "unity" candidates like Joe Lieberman (gag!) prove that this blog "has lost the contest for the hearts and minds of the Democrat Party."

More below the fold ...

As the National League champion Colorado Rockies enjoy their record-long eight-day layoff before the World Series, where they'll meet either the Cleveland Indians or the Boston Red Sox, there's one thing they're likely to do a lot of besides working out:

Praying.

More below the fold ...

I received an e-mail this morning about the rally on Saturday in D.C., where I'll be joining thousands of my closest DFH friends.

Check out who's speaking at the rally, below the fold ...

I don't mean to whine about being flamed -- certainly, I can take it, and I did, plenty of it -- but I can't help but laugh a little at the way things have changed around here in just a few short months ... basically not much more than a Friedman Unit.

I've got to go below the fold to go further ... but I'm amazed at how Kossacks are responding to the idea of taking impeachment off the table when it's Sen. Feingold doing the taking ... but last fall, when I said Speaker Pelosi was ignoring a mandate by doing the same thing, I was roundly castigated in these here parts ...

But let's continue below the fold ...

Not to take away from another similarly directed diary, but it's misleading to say that Chimpy "gave up" on four judicial nominees today.  In fact, they withdrew their own nominations ... either way, though, this is sweet.

I've long held that the real, long-term effect of elections occurs in the only non-elected branch of federal government: the judiciary. Therefore, I can conceive of no better early example of the positive effect from Democratic control of Congress than this (let's go below the fold):

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Miami) has had to admit that she lied when she denied that she called for the assassination of Fidel Castro:

U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen admitted on Friday, through a spokesman, that she did call for the death of ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro during an interview with a British documentary-maker whom she had earlier accused of altering the video.

Let's go below the fold for more, plus the backstory.

Are Christians not as smart as atheists or agnostics? David Sklansky is betting they're not ... literally.

This isn't my idea, but it's still an interesting topic for consideration.  Take a look at what Sklansky's betting ... and maybe you'll want to take a crack at it.

Let's head below the fold ...

Dethroned Kitten Killer, er, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) is clapping as loud as he can.

In his parting shot to the American people today, the renowned Distance Diagnosis Doctor stamps his feet, jumps up and down, and insists that the 109th Congress was successful, really it was!

Join me below the fold and let's see what unmitigated crap the "good" "doctor" is throwing around his cage today ...

Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) are about as different on the ideological spectrum as two politicians can be.  Yet both appeared and spoke Friday at the Global Summit on AIDS, which is taking place in Lake Forest, Calif., this weekend.

At first blush, host pastor Rick Warren seems to be sending a bipartisan message, one that was echoed by the two senators.

Quotes and analysis below the fold.

A pleasant, if damp, Sunday morning in south Florida.  I wake up (thanks to my 7-year-old son urging me to get up, because "it's already almost 7:45!") and switch on the ol' laptop.  I check out my blog ... and I've got a comment.  In fact, it's a comment from someone claiming to be a Fox News graphics employee, chastising me for being critical of the propensity the folks at FNC have for conveniently mislabeling party affiliation (e.g., making Mark Foley a Democrat or switching up Senate candidates in Rhode Island).

Character limit ... gotta go below the fold ...

Is Nancy Pelosi trying to position herself and the Democrats in Congress more towards the center?

Once again, even though I respect the Speaker-elect very much and think her progressive record is at least as consistent, if not more so, as anyone in Congress, I think that for too long, Democrats have tried to be the party of consensus, the "let's all get along" party. This is just another example of our endemic need to be agreeable, I guess.

Please join me below the fold for more, including an excerpt about the Democrats' decision to forgo impeachment and allowing gays in the military ...

You may recall that several weeks ago, I wrote a couple of diaries regarding Fox News' habit of reversing party affiliations, particularly with Mark Foley and then with Sheldon Whitehouse (Diary here on dKos is inaccessible at the moment).

Feeling particularly full of schadenfreude this morning (and, yes, truth be told, perhaps a little flushed still from my comeback win [link may be incomplete] on Jeopardy! last night - please watch for me again on November 22!), I stopped by the Faux News website to see what was going on in the enemy camp.  I don't suppose you'll be surprised to learn that they have, um, a different version of things.

Check out their congressional "Balance of Power" and then join me below the fold (click for larger version):

Since there seems to be a bit of interest around here (not by everyone, I know, but by some) in my appearance on Jeopardy!, I thought perhaps some folks might like a break from the pre-election hubbub for a daily memoir ... hmmm, does that give away that, say, I was on for more than one day?  You'll have to see for yourself!  I'm sworn to secrecy ... although you can watch my promo online if you want.

Anyway, I'll say at the outset that being on Jeopardy! was a terrific experience.  The crew couldn't have been more supportive and helpful, and they really made sure everyone had a good time.  What was truly remarkable, though, was the camaraderie among the contestants.  I've heard it described as kind of a "hostage mentality," where everyone bonded due to their shared stressful experiences.

Mostly, though, I went to L.A. just wanting to have a good time, and I think I definitely achieved that.  Join me below the fold for more, or see the article about my Jeopardy! experience in today's Palm Beach Post ...

People who remember me or my blog, Blast Off!, from the old days (like, 2004) may recall that I moved back to Florida from Michigan about two and a half years ago. In fact, my political renaissance actually occurred in Michigan, where I was a lead volunteer for the Howard Dean Meetups in 2003-04. So, I like to check back periodically to see how things are going up in the Great Lakes State.

Besides Michigan State finally firing their ineffective football coach today, the big news is that Gov. Jennifer Granholm has widened her lead over GOP challenger Dick "Dick" DeVos, according to a new poll. She's now over that critical 50% mark with a 52-42 lead, up from 48-43 in the last poll.

Check out the garbage analysis from the pollster, though ... below the fold.

I'm as guilty as anyone of focusing nearly all of my political attention on the candidates for office, both locally and nationwide. The battle for control of Congress surely deserves to be the main objective for both parties and it certainly will be the deciding factor in determining whether the Bush-Cheney right-wing stranglehold on government will continue or be suppressed during the next two years.

However, an article in today's Washington Post suggests that voting patterns in many places, including some critical races, may come down to ballot initiatives and issues rather than merely the candidates:

(Please join me below the fold for excerpt and more.)

As if we didn't already have enough to worry about, it appears that concerns about the security and accuracy of voting have moved beyond tin-foil-hat-territory squarely into the mainstream.  According to Electionline.org, in its Election Preview 2006 (.pdf), ten states - Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Maryland, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Washington - are labeled "states to watch" due to myriad issues ranging from voter registration snafus to problems with new voting technology.

In addition, Georgia, Missouri, and Montana "just missed the list," due in each case to new election laws that may create confusion at the polls. Georgia's and Missouri's laws face court challenges that might render them null and void even before Election Day, while Montana's introduction of Election Day voter registration could increase voter turnout markedly ... or it could simply gum up the works even more.

As important as the 2006 election is to America's future, and as close as some of the most critical races are likely to be, we still must remember that the very act of voting itself remains a major question mark.

You may recall the post by Hunter earlier today entitled Who Supports The Troops? Democrats, As It Turns Out..., which as of this writing still appears on the front page.

Hunter included a chart prepared by Bob Geiger sorting the members of the U.S. Senate by their IAVA rating and showing that Democrats uniformly were rated above Republicans based on their votes in Congress in support of the troops and their needs.

Well, after much data mining and some self-taught HTML, I've prepared a House of Representatives version of the chart - below the fold.