So we are one month away from the handover of the House.  And the reality is starting to hit home.  Seems that the Smithsonian — those rabble-rousing anarchists — have decided to put up a special exhibition on portraits of homosexuals. 

ORANGE ALERT!

There are some very famous artists represented in the show: Andy Warhol, Walt Whitman and Jasper Johns, among many others. But the work that so far has been the most controversial is a provocative video from 1987 by the late artist David Wojnarowicz called A Fire In My Belly.

Martin Sullivan, director of the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, says the artist created the piece as a response to the “agony and suffering” of his partner who at the time was dying of AIDS. Using “vivid colors, and some fairly grotesque scenes, it’s more a meditation on the fragility of the human flesh,” Sullivan says.

[ants on crucifix, standard-issue rant from Bill Donahue, yadda yadda yadda]

At least one critic has accused the Smithsonian of caving in to pressure from Catholics and from two Republican members of Congress. Representative Eric Cantor of Virginia called the exhibition “an outrageous use of taxpayer money.” A spokesperson for incoming House Speaker John Boehner told The Hill newspaper that “Smithsonian officials should either acknowledge the mistake or be prepared to face tough scrutiny beginning in January.”

[See what I did?  Orange Alert?  John Boehn… oh, you people are no fun.]

And thus we see the value of having Democrats in power.  With Dems in power, the GOP merely gets two-thirds of what it wants. The good news is that the truly wingnutty stuff is pushed to the side.  But when the GOP gets the keys?

Point: the first two weeks of January are going to see toxic levels of crazy.  Hang onto your asses, everyone!  (Just not too suggestively, thanks.)

And so Joe Lieberman has, apparently, forced the hand of Amazon, who has advised Wikileaks to get off of its cloud.

This does pose an interesting question for us here, concerning the Stinque Kickback box, on the right-hand side of your screen.

Admittedly: this is not a decision for me, but for Fearless Leader.  But the question has no good result.  Either we keep the Amazon link and reward Amazon for giving bandwith to a self-absorbed, nefarious gasbag, or we punish Amazon for caving in to pressure from… a self-absorbed, nefarious gasbag.

Your move, nojo.

The high point for gays in the Land of Lincoln, so far this year, was having Brent Sopel bring the Stanley Cup (pictured) to the Gay Pride Parade in Chicago — the first time the Blackhawks made an appearance at the party.  But the bloom kind of came off that rose, as Sopel promptly departed for Atlanta, after a trade to the Thrashers. 

It was a neat story, actually.  Sopel promised to go even after he learned he was on his way out — all in honor of Brendan Burke, an out hockey player (and son of Brian Burke, GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs and the U.S. Olympic Hockey Team), who died in a car crash in February.

But this is the second best moment, it seems, for those with a case of the gay in Illinois this year.  Moment No. 1 just might come tomorrow:

After waiting years for a political climate that would generate enough support, gay-rights activists won one of their biggest fights in history Tuesday when the Illinois house voted to allow civil unions for same-sex couples…. The legislation was approved by a 61-52 vote [and] now moves to the Senate, and a spokeswoman said it could be called for a final vote there Wednesday.

It’s taken me seven years, since I moved to Chicago, to say something this brash and bold.  And tomorrow, I just might be able to say…. suck it, Wisconsin.

OK. So the Iowa Hawkeyes’ game this afternoon against The… Ohio State University will feature a pregame ceremony honoring Medal of Honor recipient Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta — who, fortunately, is from Iowa. Which is nice, all things considered.

All things considered, of course, except for this tripe from Iowa’s star quarterback, Ricky Stanzi:

“I don’t know how other colleges are, but when you walk around here, you’ve got people … you’ve got guys walking around in dresses and just these hippies. They’re doing nothing. There’s the Ped Mall area down there, right in the middle. Those people are going nowhere. Those people are the people who don’t like America. They always find something wrong with [America]. They’re the problem. They’re the people who need to change and figure it out. They need to get it together and work hard.”

The instareaction is, of course, annoyance. Guys walking around in silly clothes wanting to change the world MADE THIS COUNTRY GREAT. Hell: look at Ben Franklin — dude did so much for America and still had time to make frilly shirts look faaabulous.  Even on fat guys like him!

Or: how about satire? Seriously, the Buckeyes’ d-line should move from their four-point stances to a knee, in unison, and ask Ricky to marry him. He crosses the line to punch the nose tackle in the throat.  False start (5 yards).  Unsportsmanlike conduct (15 yards).  First-and-ten goes to first-and-thirty.  And Ricky gets tossed.  You’re welcome.

But having hippies get off their asses and do something? Like, say, elect Iowans who aren’t knuckledraggers like Steve King?  Ricky may have a point after all.

Anyway: big slate of college football today.  Wisconsin at Michigan in a massive Big Ten tilt.  Illinois and Northwestern will cram (literally) into Wrigley Field. Domers to the Bronx to try to salvage an awful season against Army.  Haaahvid and Yale have their clambake.  And, oh, by the way: Stanford at Cal for Big Game.  Allow this to serve as your College Football Smackthread.  Enjoy!

The pressing question is whether a drunken, joyous San Francisco will have an effect on turnout, thus allowing eMeg and Carly an unearned advantage.

What is not a question? Timmy Lincecum is the man. As are the other boys on your World Champion San Francisco Giants. Big congrats to Stinque’s very own SanFranLefty — enjoy, dear.

As you enjoy the festivities in Washington, please permit me to throw ice water on your fun.  I do this because, of course, we all know what is coming.  Barring a miracle, the Dems will lose the House, and the Senate will probably hang on the vote of Joe Lieberman, of all people.

Not a surprise, in light of the usual performance of out-parties in midterms.  But the whos and hows this time around make my head hurt.  For example, take Sharron Angle (please).  When asked about her views on foreign policy, her response left something to be desired.  Like, for instance, an actual thought.  She said: “I’ll answer those questions when I’m the Senator.” 

She said this the week before an election.  And she still could win.  Oh, to be a fly on the wall when she goes in for the inevitable policy boot-camp Jim DeMint is going to run for his new minions.  That will be hilarious.

Seriously, though:  The Dems had momentum and a clear mandate for change.  They passed sweeping legislation — not a whole loaf by any stretch, but something tangible.  And they are about to lose to a bunch of people who are as content-free as a documentary on the life of a mayfly.  And not just content-free, but people who actually break into fits when asked to think about something.  What this says about politics, and about Americans, is almost too frightening to contemplate.  It is enough to say that, if ever there was a moment for sanity, it is now.

With that: OPEN THREAD!  Laugh to keep from crying, everyone.

You may be saying, “nothing has the capacity to shock anymore.  I’ve seen a candidate lead off a 30-second spot by declaring that she is not a witch.  A candidate who suggested that chickens could be traded for basic medical care almost won an election.  A guy who has been out of political office for a decade and who divorced a cancer-ridden wife is seriously angling for the Oval Office on a family-values platform.  There is no more to see.”

Not so fast.  Now, Campbell’s Soup, we are told, wants to destroy everything we know and love.  Seriously.  Campbell’s Fucking Soup.

Earlier this year, Campbell Canada introduced a line of halal-certified soups. The 15 soups comply with Islamic dietary regulations which, much like kosher regulations, prohibit certain foods and define the right way to slaughter animals.  The line, which includes low fat cream of broccoli and vegetarian vegetable, was certified by the Islamic Society of North America, which has been certifying halal foods since 1988.  To some people, that’s just more evidence that Sharia is coming to North America — this time, via the grocery store.

Of course, this is Canada we are talking about here.  Not U.S. America, but Canada.  But, as you shall see post-jump, that means nothing to anyone who loves freedom.

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