James Madison:

We are free today substantially but the day will come when our Republic will be an impossibility. It will be impossibility because wealth will be concentrated in the hands of a few. A republic cannot stand upon bayonets, and when that day comes, when the wealth of the nation will be in the hands of a few, then we must rely upon the wisdom of the best elements in the country to readjust the laws of the nation to the changed conditions.

As a certain French monarch found, you can’t treat people like shit indefinitely.

Okay, fine, that’s a coplutocrat from Mitt’s salad days at Bain Capital sucking down the legal tender. We’ve just never seen Mitt so, y’know, comfortable with himself.

[via Political Wire]

From the final episode of one of the most beloved shows ever produced by the BBC. This is what crushed the competition back in 1978. Though for some reason it never caught on in the States it achieved an international following and led to stage versions that toured for years coming in to the West End for seasonal engagements.

Offensive? Undoubtedly. It was a nightmare then and has not improved with age. Most offensive? Look at that choreography! Dear God, have we learned nothing from Michael Kidd?

(Check out Pippa around the 27 mark working her way out of the chorus. One longs to reach back into the past to tell her: Darling, that’s not how it’s done.)

Has the detestable homunculus from Texas been unmasked as a prettified himbo wannabe?

If, like me, you were transfixed by the mystery of his double eyebrow during the last Republican ‘debate’ (Romney totally won!) today’s New York Times breaks the story: was it an eyebrow toupée that came adrift? How can a man with no eyebrows lead the Free World?

I can think of no better accompaniment to an election year than this piece of election swag. Now you can boozily be reminded of the class act in charge if our current president kicks it. Then you’ll think, hey drunky, feel better! He’s a lot more qualified than any of the other dudes trying for the job right now. Try not to cry beer tears about the Herman Cain/Frothing Crazy Person ticket that will going to replace both those dude’s. Fuck it; let’s get Bidenebriated.

One of the few genuine pleasures of the GOP nomination process has been playing witness to the Rick Perry implosion. It is strikingly reminiscent of the events that led to the failed candidacy of Fred Thompson in 2008. With his genial grandad persona and “plain spoken horse sense” Thompson was annointed a sort of Republican child Lama, the reincarnation of Ronald Reagan who would carry the presidency by channeling the Gipper, raised aloft into the White House by a throng of GOP faithful. Yet when he dropped into the race, instead of walking on air, Thompson fell to earth with a dull thud. Apparently the guy was just too lazy to get up and walk, and the rest of the field just ambled past him. Read more »

A year-old girl finds magazines distressingly unresponsive to her touch, because, y’know, that’s how flatscreens are supposed to work. We presume it’s our duty to fret about the future of humanity in a world of iGadgets — and if we don’t, somebody else will — but honestly, we canceled our remaining magazine subscriptions, oh, eighteen months ago, so we’re probably not the best advocate for Traditional Reading Values.

[via Yahoo]