This should be fun:

Mr. Crist, who has been endorsed by the National Republican Senatorial Committee, is seen by these conservatives as too moderate — even liberal — in his judicial appointments and his support of policies like cap and trade for emissions that contribute to global warming and restoring voting rights to ex-felons.

“Florida is a hill to die on for conservatives,” said Erick Erickson, editor of the conservative blog RedState.com, which leads a daily drumbeat against Mr. Crist. “This is the clearest example we have of these two competing concepts.”

So die already.

Governor Crist Becomes a Right Wing Target [NYT]

As if today’s testicle-shriveling event wasn’t enough to fret about, from China comes news of another ball-buster that’s certain to haunt the dreams of at least half our readership:

Bisphenol-A (BPA), a chemical found in hard, clear plastic used to make everything from baby bottles to food packaging, may increase the risk of erectile dysfunction…

Among the men who work with BPA, the risk of having difficulty ejaculating was seven times greater than it was among the non-exposed group, and the risk of erectile problems was more than four times greater.

So: a chemical found in a wide range of consumer products creates a health problem that can be solved with another wide range of consumer products.

And the Circle of Capitalism remains unbroken.

Study Links BPA in Plastics to Erectile Dysfunction [Health.com, via Harry Shearer]

Left: President Obama bows for Japanese Emperor Akihito, a gesture of respect setting off yet another firestorm among wingnuts.

Right: President Bush demonstrates the proper way to honor Japanese hosts.

How low will he go? Obama gives Japan’s Emperor Akihito a wow bow [LAT]

David S. Broder:

The more President Obama examines our options in Afghanistan, the less he likes the choices he sees. But, as the old saying goes, to govern is to choose — and he has stretched the internal debate to the breaking point.

It is evident from the length of this deliberative process and from the flood of leaks that have emerged from Kabul and Washington that the perfect course of action does not exist. Given that reality, the urgent necessity is to make a decision — whether or not it is right.

Of course, I had a comment:

Oh David – how you must yearn for the days of The Commander Guy, when decisions were made in his “gut”. Sure, they were always wrong, but we had a Decider! Heaven forbid a president should actually “consult” with advisors or “think” about what’s the best way forward.

Our opinion media – monsters.

There’s something heartwarming in the notion that, forty years after Woodstock, authority figures still get uptight over hair:

Dustin Reader, an eighth-grader at Garfield Middle School, received an in-school suspension Monday because of a haircut he received over the weekend in honor of the Cincinnati Bengals.

His barber, Chris Campbell of the B Street barbershop Razor Sharp, cut Bengal stripes on the sides of Reader’s head and a large capital B on the back to resemble the team’s helmet, and on Sunday, he colored his head and scalp to match for the game. The colors were washed out for school on Monday, according to his parents, but he barely got off his bicycle at Garfield when he was sent to his principal’s office.

This isn’t Dustin’s first run-in with The Man. He’s also flaunted such anti-authoritarian hair carvings as a rose, a spiral, and “LOST” — known symbols for socialism, anarchy, and crappy second seasons. Personally, we think the only solution is school uniforms and shaved heads.

For the administrators, anyway. The kids can do whatever the hell they want.

Student suspended over ‘Who Dey’ haircut? [Hamilton Journal-News]

Title: “Going Rogue: An American Life”

Author: Attributed to Sarah Palin

Rank: 1

Blurb: “In this eagerly anticipated memoir, Palin paints an intimate portrait of growing up in the wilds of Alaska; meeting her lifelong love; her decision to enter politics; the importance of faith and family; and the unique joys and trials of life as a high-profile working mother. She also opens up for the first time about the 2008 presidential race, providing a rare, mom’s-eye view of high-stakes national politics — from patriots dedicated to ‘Country First’ to slick politicos bent on winning at any cost.”

Customer Tags: keeping america stupid, quitter, sea of pee, premarital sex, idiocracy, narcissistic personality disorder, epic fail, pig vomit, waste of a good tree, book to nowhere, clown car, 15 minutes are up, conservative blowup doll, english as a second language, novelty toilet paper, queen of the crackpots, shallow end of the gene pool, i can see her career dying from my house

Customers Also Bought: “Sarah Palin 2012 You Betcha! Button”

Footnote: Available Tuesday. You can run, but you can’t hide.

Going Rogue [Amazon]

Buy or Die [Stinque@Amazon kickback link]

Wikipedia informs me that our dear friend, Carrie Prejean, currently attends a joint known as “San Diego Christian College,” which is affiliated with the Southern Baptists, is a nerve center for creationism (which doesn’t really believe in “nerve centers” to be honest), and was the brain child of Tim LaHaye, of Left Behind fame.

So: the worst colleges in California, from worst to merely awful, are:

1. Taft Law School

2. San Diego Christian College

3. U$C

4. Thomas Jefferson School of Law

5. ITT Tech (various campuses)

(Long way, I know, to say “come on, Cardinal!”  But it works for me.)