We have a rule about these things: You only get a mention if your demagoguery is above and beyond other demagoguery, and so moves the demagoguery forward. Granted, Newt already won the Godwin’s Cup for being the first to invoke Hitler, but you also get a mention if your demagoguery is a personal best:

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Our afternoon guest columnist is Thomas Wright, author of “The Fisherman’s Catch: A Conservative Bedtime Story.”

The original concept for this story came about in October of 2008 while trying to figure out a way to talk to one of my co-workers who could not understand why I felt taxing one group of people more than another was morally wrong. I finally came up with a story about a fisherman in a small village long ago that discovered a new way to fish with a net. He caught many more fish than before and became wealthy. A few men from the village decided to force the fisherman to spread the wealth. They went up with rocks and clubs and told the fisherman to give them half his catch each day for ‘the good of the village’ and thus the first government was born.

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“The CIA has tapes of 9/11 plotter Ramzi Binalshibh being interrogated in a secret overseas prison. Discovered under a desk, the recordings could provide an unparalleled look at how foreign governments aided the U.S. in holding and questioning suspected terrorists.” [AP/SFGate, via SFL]

We really can’t recommend enough the comfort and health benefits of burying your head under a stack of pillows. Not only does it drown out the goddam fucking idiocy that passes for our national discourse, it’s also much safer than shoving dinner utensils in your ears.

Plus, you can also pound the shit out of them during those Special Moments when your nation’s leaders act like a bunch of craven bastards, and they’ll still retain their gentle fluffiness when you’re ready to hold them to your mouth and scream the anguish of utter hopelessness.

Also available in industrial sizes.

Prop 8 remains in effect in California.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals granted a stay Monday afternoon, scheduling a hearing for the week of December 6 in San Francisco. Gay marriages, which had been set to resume as of 5 p.m. Wednesday, are back on hold.

Arguments must be submitted prior to the December hearing:

The opening brief is now due September 17, 2010. The answering brief is due October 18, 2010. The reply brief is due November 1, 2010.

But wait! There’s more!

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James J. Kilpatrick, Conservative Voice in Print and on TV, Dies at 89 [NYT]

Update: The not-mosque backers are disputing the Haaretz story. See below.

We don’t know why (or how) Haaretz is breaking this news, but here it is:

After weeks of heated debate over plans for an Islamic community center near Ground Zero — the site of the 9/11 attacks on New York — it seems Muslim leaders will soon back down, agreeing to move to a new site.

The decision follows a high-profile campaign against the project that included advertisements on New York buses showing images of the burning Twin Towers, an iconic landmark razed when al-Qaida terrorists flew packed passenger planes into them in 2001. The New York Republican party is also said to be planning a hostile television campaign.

Sources in New York said on Monday that Muslim religious and business leaders will announce plans to abandon the project in the next few days.

But not before Harry Reid hands over his nuts to Pam Geller:

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