Seems like the Republican National Committee is disguising a fundraising letter as a Census form! I got this email from Congressman Loebsack of Iowa:

I was very disappointed when I heard from concerned citizens in the 2nd District that Michael Steele, Chairman of the Republican National Committee, has sent a fundraising appeal into our district that looks like an official Census document. This fundraising letter even calls itself a 'Census survey' and asks people to pay for the cost of processing the census form.

The Census is vital for our communities because an accurate count helps ensure that Iowans get adequate funding for schools, roads, and hospitals. It is also critical for flood recovery, and helping our disaster stricken neighbors.

Please look for your official Census in the mail over the next few months. It will not ask for party affiliation or for money.

That the RNC would target our district shows just how determined they are to take back the House. Please stay vigilant and please be in contact if you see any further attempts to mislead our community: info_at_loebsackforcongress.org.

I have not seen any such form in my area, so I can't judge the level of duplicity that the RNC has sunk to. However, it seems to me this could be outright fraud. Has anyone out there received such a letter? I would like to get a scan of it.  more this way»

CruelSecretary tweeted the following question:

if you cld bundle the perfect safer-sex bag, what wld you put in it? No judgments. Just doing some research...While I do that, answer this: if you cld bundle the perfect safer-sex bag, what wld you put in it? No judgments. Just doing some research...

I responded that in my bag I would have MONEY; especially if it is a date where you're being driven around. You want to make sure you have extra money to leave from wherever you are from a bad date.

Sex is not just about the act. In my book, sex is about a whole set of social practices between two people trying to figure out if they are meant for each other. Even if it is a quickie, one shut fuck, you still go through a whole ritual of social "tics" to figure out if the guy is, well, fuckable.

A lot of those social tics have nothing to do with a penis being inserted or a vagina or anus stimulated. A lot of what goes around the sexual act has to do with getting to the point of feeling comfortable enough with the object of your lustful desire to take your clothes off and go for a sexual ride.

So here's what I would put into a safe-sex bag:
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Congressman Murtha Dies - The Caucus Blog - NYTimes.com

Representative John P. Murtha, the longtime Democratic congressman from Pennsylvania, has died at age 77.

His aides released a statement saying that he died shortly after 1 p.m. today at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, a suburb of Washington, D.C. Mr. Murtha had been placed in intensive care last week after complications from gallbladder surgery, his staff said then.

Given that with Teddy Kennedy's passing the Demcoratic Party lost their US Senate majority to a Republican, am naming the coming electoral fight for this seat the SENATEPOCALYPSE.

It's not going to be pretty.

Yet another country beats the United States to electing a woman President. Costa Rica has elected Laura Chinchilla as their next President. Thus Costa Rica joins India, Pakistan, Israel, Nicaragua, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Liberia and Chile, to name just a few, in accepting a woman as a democratically elected leader. This is one way that the US remains a bit backwards.

Laura Chinchilla is fairly right wing in my book. Pro-free market (which is fine up to a point), anti-abortion and anti-marriage equality, she wouldn't be my first choice for President. Her predecessor and mentor, Oscar Arias, supported legislation to separate church and state in Costa Rica. Chinchilla's views make me wonder if she will be more right wing than Arias. Somewhat paradoxically, Chinchilla's party, the Partido Liberación Nacional, is a member of the Socialist International, which makes it's free-market stand seem a bit at odds with its supposedly socialist claims. It should be noted that there was an even more right wing candidate in the running, so Chinchilla would qualify as "centrist" to many.

As a minor aside, Costa Rica has been developing into one of the greenest and happiest nations on earth. It ranks third in terms of Environmental Performance Index, along with Sweden, Iceland and Switzerland (sadly, the US ranks 63, along with Paraguay, Brazil and Venezuela). And Costa Rica came out on top in terms of Happy Planet Index. And, I will add, they are the source of one of my favorite hot sauces: Iguana Mean Green Jalapeno sauce.

Viva Costa Rica!

I wasn't going to write about how cute Brangelina looks in these photos after seeing them over at Oh No They Didn't. That is, until I saw on my twitter stream a messed up article about the Jolie-Pitts, ganked right out of gossip blogs, published on the Puerto Rican newspaper EL Nuevo Día.

What the hell people?!?! No wonder journalism is dead.

To which I say, TEAM BRANGIE! They soften this cynical bitch's hard cold heart and make me want to fall in love again.

They're just adorable.

The Wolfman is opening in theaters this week in the United States and El Papi Chulo to end all papi chulos, Benicio del Toro, has been in full force promoting the movie. This video is from 20minutos, in Spain.

So y'all know he's not just that gruffy voice and killer bedroom eyes, he's got producer credits for this little cinematic beast. From Benicio Del Toro - Wolfman Inspired By Del Toro's Memorabilia Collection - Contactmusic News:

We went to Universal with the idea. That is how you do stuff. You go to the studio."
And Del Toro is convinced his hairy appearance when he went to meet movie bosses persuaded them he was the right man for the lead role.
He adds, "I was in the middle of getting ready to do the Che movie. So I looked pretty much like a Wolfman! I looked either like The Wolfman or a smaller version of (Star Wars character) Chewbacca."

In this video, El Papi Chulo talks about approaching Universal with the Wolfman idea, watching old horror classics in Puerto Rican TV and identifying with the misunderstood monsters more so than their killers.

Awww!
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