We all knew, deep down, that this was coming for years.  So it’s down to gallows humor until the early-morning press release announcing the filing.

The choice of last meal might be interesting for the ghoulish among us.  A case of Castrol?  A premium fill-up at Shell?  Or perhaps they go off the board and request tickets to Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final.  (Of course, the Penguins may not be around to force a Game 5, on evidence given thus far.  But, then again, neither will GM.)

Feel free to send GM off in style here.

DEVELOPING HARD: Fitzy has another official in his sights. Press conference at 1500 (EDT). Early speculation is on Junior Senator From The State Of Illinois. But he has been gunning for Richard M. Daley, Mayor, for some time now. We shall see.

UPDATE: Actually, the Sun-Times has this rumor:

Federal authorities later today plan to announce charges against Ald. Ike Carothers (29th), the chairman of the City Council’s police and fire committee, sources told the Sun-Times.

Corruption in zoning?  Boring.  Never mind.  Sorry.

Shoot.  This day has gone from bad to worse.  First, the Blackhawks (ah, Sport) lay an egg against the Red Wings this afternoon.  Now: apparently, North Korea just did a nuclear test.

Oh, to be a fly on the wall when Rahm Emanuel got the news.  The motherfucker-per-minute gauge must be redlining.

UPDATE: USGS survey says… Magnitude 4.7 temblor in northeastern North Korea — fairly close to Sea of Japan — at about 2055 EDT tonight.  Which, for those of us with experience with West Coast earthquakes, is hardly worth writing home about.  But still — this looks like it is for real.  Per AP/MSNBC: State Department knows nothing yet.

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The minds that came up with this must have a “cognitive dissonance” light that is blinking like crazy:

Maine Marriage Initiative was established with the goal of informing Maine people about the consequences of the legalization of same-sex marriage. Maine Marriage Initiative is a coalition of concerned Maine citizens committed to preserving traditional marriage in the state.

We believe that all Maine citizens are entitled to equal rights and respect regardless of their gender, race, creed or sexual orientation.

We further believe that the values exemplified in traditional marriage are optimally beneficial to society, and therefore do not believe that changing the definition of marriage to include same-sex couples is warranted or advisable.

The objection(s) to same-sex marriage are based not only on religious tenets but also human reason and the good of society at large.

(Note: the bolding is theirs.  Really.)

(But also: nice use of the “(s)” there.)

In re Maine (The Way Life Should Be), your friendly neighborhood Freepers have a few things to say about what happened today.  Like, for instance —

Keep pushing libs, you may push us into civil war.

Resolved: that this whiny little bitch should bring it, thereby “putting up” — as opposed to “shutting up.”

(Noted: the same commenter asked, later, “can’t we cede Maine to Nova Scotia?” and steadily progressed downwards from there.  Another has issued the inevitable call to boycott L.L. Bean.  They really are grasping at straws now, aren’t they?)

[Latest… Live, Local and DEVELOPING HARDER: We got two houses of the Maine Legislature (that would be all of the houses there are) on board with gay marriage.  House vote is 89:57.  Goes back to the Senate for one last check in the mirror before presentation to Governor, probably later this week.  Bean suppah!]

D.C. recognizes same-sex marriages performed elsewhere, may sanction weddings in its own right.

Morning Line — Odds on who decides, first, to hold D.C. appropriations hostage over this

Sens. Inhofe / Coburn (Oklahoma Entry) — 4:5
Sen. Kit Bond (R-Mo., on subcommittee) — even
Sen. Bitch McConnell (R-Ky., on committee) — 3:1
Rep. Jo Ann Emerson (R-Mo., ranking on subcomm.) — 4:1
Sen. Dick Shelby (R-Ala., on committee) — 6:1
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska, on subcomm.) — 10:1
Field — 12:1

Molly Ivins would be having a field day with Rick Perry and Tom Delay talking about secession.