[MSNBC]

Back in March 2003, as we were settling in to what would prove to be a month-long CNN marathon, we had a single thought:

Don’t fuck this up.

Our opposition to Shrub’s War, hopeless to begin with, had been rendered moot by the launch of Shock & Awe. Whatever Bush did, we were stuck for the ride, and could only hope that he would prove competent at the task. We’re old enough to remember when “quagmire” was part of contemporary political jargon, not a Family Guy character.

As it happens, eight years to the day after Dubya announced that war to the nation, Barack Obama launched missiles into Libya. Maybe we’ll get lucky this time, and there the comparisons will end. Beyond that, we’re absolutely fucking clueless what to think.

We know what others think, and unless they’re John McCain, they generally don’t think well of it. It certainly sets a bad precedent — or, more to the point, continues a long string of bad precedents. After all, we also remember “Imperial Presidency” the first time around. And “War Powers Act”.

And “Three Mile Island”, come to think of it. Seriously: We thought Seventies Nostalgia was over.

In the end, all we can think for certain is what we thought eight years ago:

Don’t fuck this up.

So, how’s your bracket doing?

Ohhhhhhhh. We’re soooooo sorry.

Actually, no. See, we copped Nate Silver’s bracket, and Yahoo tells us we’re doing better than 97 percent of losers. But not as well as Libertarian Tool, who copped Our Preznit’s bracket, and is claiming the title of Most Resented Bracketeer.

(Please note: Showing humility doesn’t work. That just makes the rest of us hate you even more.)

Anyway, now that it’s been publicly proven that you suck, Bracket Queen Mellbell has graciously provided you the opportunity to suck again — with the Stinque Losers Braquet!

Just drop by Yahoo Sports and sign your doom thusly:

Group ID: 6376
Password: eventhelosers

You have until — well, shit, we dunno. We’re just in it for the sadism.

Title: “Infinite Quest: Develop Your Psychic Intuition to Take Charge of Your Life”

Author: John Edward

Rank: 77

Blurb: “By following certain guidelines and intuition-building exercises, we can learn to get in touch with our Spirit Guides and identify the psychic energy around us on deeper levels.”

Review: “I really liked John’s description of his team of energetic guides that instruct, poke, and inspire him from the Not-Earthly-Plane-of-Being. I want my own team, too! Do I recruit them on Craigslist?”

Customers Also Bought: “Do Dead People Watch You Shower? And Other Questions You’ve Been All but Dying to Ask a Medium”, by Concetta Bertoldi

Footnote: Edward, not Edwards. Although they’re both charlatans.

Infinite Quest [Amazon]

Buy or Die [Stinque@Amazon kickback link]

The horrific gang rape of an 11-year-old girl by 18 men and boys in East Texas recently made news not only for the unspeakable act of violence but also because of the clumsy reporting by the New York Times.

Of course, it was only a matter of time before this crime was exploited by politicians. According to the Broward Palm Beach New Times, during a Florida Legislature subcommittee hearing on HB 61, the “sagging pants bill,” which includes dress code regulations for public school children, GOP Rep. Kathleen Passidomo shared this insight with the subcommittee:

There was an article about an 11 year old girl who was gang-raped in Texas by 18 young men because she was dressed up like a 21-year-old prostitute. And her parents let her attend school like that. And I think it’s incumbent upon us to create some areas where students can be safe in school and show up in proper attire so what happened in Texas doesn’t happen to our students.

Read more »

…to the shores of Tripoli.

U.S. Navy warships and submarines are launching missiles at Libya. French fighter jets are flying over Tripoli attacking Gaddafi’s troops.

UPDATE: The military has named this “Operation Odyssey Dawn” —  who the hell comes up with these idiotic names for military operations?

[NYT]

Which is more beautiful?

That clip is the opening scenes of the cult classic Le Mans, starring Steve McQueen. And now you can buy that very car – it’s being sold at auction.

Hemmings Motor News