Now I want lunch.

Slate has an excellent article today on chankonabe, the soup that makes a sumo wrestle for seconds (and twelfths, and thirty-seconds...). Don't forget to check out the chanko recipe, generously donated by Konishiki, who, in all honesty, The Malcontent cannot afford to take to lunch.

For those who require more scholarly approaches to lunch, check out the chanko article at Gastronomica. As for The Malcontent, whose affection for lunch is even revealed in his profile, well, it's time to find some soup. (But not chanko. The Malcontent is a well-known pho tai junkie.)

Gitmo: we already knew.

The New York Times may be reporting on the International Red Cross reports and Guantánamo, but this is all stuff that we have heard before--from the detainees.

Michael Ratner, from the Center for Constitutional Rights, already told us last summer what was happening at Guantánamo in his book with Ellen Ray entitled Guantánamo: What the World Should Know. Published by Chelsea Green Publishing in 2004, the book was a quick primer on what was at stake at Gitmo.

Following is a review of Ratner and Ray's book that originally appeared in New Orleans-based magazine Thirteen Knots on Friday. The review gives you a flavor of what the book is about. The author, Euripedes, is a close friend of The Malcontent, and the review appears with the permission of Euripedes and of Thirteen Knots on Friday.

A lawless region, ruled by might, where the possession of a sidearm or a uniform marks you as a member of the ruling class—Iraq? Afghanistan? Reasonable guesses, but try instead Guantánamo Bay Naval Station, Cuba. In this slim volume, progressive lawyer Michael Ratner lays out his case against the Guantánamo detention camps currently being used by the U.S. to imprison people as part of the “war on terror.”


Like the infamous Long Kesh imprisonments in Ireland during the early 1970’s, these prisoners are being held without charge, without an opportunity to challenge their imprisonment, and without access to counsel or family. In Guantánamo: What the World Should Know, Ratner recounts tales of ceaseless interrogation and practices which rise perilously close to torture.


Ratner, the President of the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), was part of the legal team representing Shafiq Rasul, whose case challenging the conditions and nature of imprisonment at Guantánamo, Rasul v. Bush, was heard this year before the U.S. Supreme Court. As several decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court about the power of the President to detain people has sent the Rasul case (and others) back to the trial courts for a full hearing, the book serves as a brilliant primer for what’s still at stake for those imprisoned at Guantánamo, and for the implications Guantánamo has for us all.


The book, a conversation between Ratner and journalist Ellen Ray, was transcribed and rapidly published following the arguments before the court this past April. The book, particularly when read in conjunction with the Court’s recent decision on Rasul v. Bush, as well as the decisions in the Padilla and Hamdi cases, offers a chilling look at the current practices at Guantánamo—actions that anyone who has been following the recent revelations regarding systematic abuse at Abu Ghraib will find all too familiar.


Ratner’s persuasive portrayal of which is happening at Guantánamo, and its importance for Americans, revolves around two themes: first, that through the arguments of the Department of Justice, the Bush administration has sought to declare Guantánamo an “extra-legal” zone where no law, U.S. or international, applies (and thus no judicial body has the authority to monitor or review); and second, that systematic human rights abuses are being perpetrated in violation not just of the Geneva Convention, but of U.S. laws and international treaties, including the U.N. Convention Against Torture. While the Supreme Court in Rasul rejected the idea that Guantánamo is outside the jurisdiction of U.S. courts, it is still unclear what legal protections the prisoners at Guantánamo can expect.


The importance of the detention camps at Guantánamo for the citizens of the United States is that it represents an attempt by the current administration to garner powers to the executive branch, and thus to the President, that have long been recognized as not properly theirs. As Ratner explains:

“In our system of checks and balances, each of [these] steps are taken by a different branch of the government of the United States. The Congress defines crimes. The executive branch prosecutes people for crimes that have been defined by Congress in courts that have been established by the Congress and the Constitution. The judiciary adjudicates guilt and dispenses punishment.

In this case, the executive has taken all these roles unto itself.”

The key to understanding how the U.S. could come to this place, is foreshadowed in Anthony Lewis’s forward to the book, entitled “A President Beyond the Law,” and developed further in the body of the book itself.


Ultimately, Ratner’s book serves as a wake up call for all U.S. citizens, not merely for civil libertarians, but for all those who think that the ideals of freedom, fairness, and democracy still matter. As Ratner notes, the events at Guantánamo are a “descent into barbarism.” While it appears that the courts will likely drag us back from the abyss, the legal process will be slow. Ratner hopes “public outcry” may speed this process—this book is his call to action.

Becoming monsters.

When we spend our rhetorical energy demonizing the terrorists who would attack America, we make it easier for some of us to become monsters ourselves. When you dehumanize your enemy, you make it easier for some to abuse them. The Department of Justice has been foot-dragging on hearings at Gitmo, and most of the world had a suspicion as to why.

That suspicion is confirmed by reports from the Red Cross that Americans are engaging in intentional and systematic human rights abuses at Guantanamo.

These reports would confirm the claims of those who have been released from Gitmo, as well as those attorneys who have been representing detainees. (A PDF document enumerating some of the abuses at Gitmo, as reported by former detainees, is available here.)

Need The Malcontent remind those readers who feel less-than-sympathetic towards those who have been abused that such actions increase the risk to our soldiers and civilians abroad and, perhaps just as importantly, cede the moral high ground that we generally, as a country, prefer to claim for our own? We didn't think so.

"Eternal Sunshine" here?

Check out this article on "therapeutic forgetting."

Lucky Japan.

According to an article in this week's Chronicle of Higher Ed, "...there is only one lawyer per 6,300 people in Japan compared with about one lawyer for 471 people in the United States."

The total population of the U.S. is 281,421,906, according to the U.S. Census.

A quick back of the envelope calculation puts the U.S. population of lawyers at 597,498.

We're screwed.

Did you just give us an inch?

Thanks from the world to U.S. District Judge Dickinson Debevoise, who recently ruled to allow aliens to sue the companies who run detention centers over the human rights violations committed in those centers. Good call, judge.

Now that the door is open a crack, hopefully we'll bumrush right on in. Penny Venetis has cleared the path, let's hope plaintiff's counsel beat it flat.

Food as far as the eyes can see.

Food blogs, that is. The Malcontent's wednesday food section points you to a terrific resource. Food Porn Watch provides a killer list of recently updated food blogs. The Malcontent is a regular visitor.

Whew, just in time for Thanksgiving--in case you don't know what to cook.

Awww, poor Detroit.

Detroit tumbles to number 2 as Camden rockets from third to first. Good job, Camdenites!

Because he is...El Macho!

The President rescues his Secret Service Agent in Chile.

No, no, Mr. President, they are supposed to protect you. (It's confusing, we know.)

But it is nice to see you trying to earn your paycheck.
(Keep up the good work, and thanks for not invading Chile.)

Horror in Wisconsin woods.

I have no words for this.

Christian Law Schools=Crap Factories

The Malcontent previously addressed the creation of right-wing christian law schools, and now the New York Times is adding to the noise.

What the Times fails to address is how hard it is for these schools to get American Bar Association accreditation, in part because the school fail to supply a basic legal education, jamming up their students heads with their "natural law" and Ten Commandments crapola.

Regent University's holy-rolling law school, for example, took over 10 years to get accreditation. As the ABA points out

Once a school has obtained provisional approval, it remains in provisional status for at least three years. Unless extraordinary circumstances justify an extension, a school may not remain in provisional status for more than five years.

Regent's took twice as long as the typical upper limit. The Lord sure works in mysterious ways.

Also noticably missing in the Time's coverage is a sense of how these schools, their professors and their approach to legal fundamentals are really off-the-wall and completely beyond the bounds of reasonable legal thinking. Their overt attempts to read and insert a specific religious ideology into legal thinking, court decisions and other structures of the law is an affront to the Constitution of the United States, and to all of us who hold dear the separation of church and state.

Tell it!

Nobel Laureate Elfriede Jelinek brings the wisdom in a great NYT Magazine interview.

The killer quote?

A woman who becomes famous through her work reduces her erotic value. A woman is permitted to chat or babble, but speaking in public with authority is still the greatest transgression.

Hijack the Sugar Truck!

Steal wi-fi and start the revolution! (in Slate)

Google expands empire.

Google Scholar, for scientific and academic searches. Very cool.

Next up? Google Neural Scanner--index and search your own brain!

Hardee's: Where Your Health Comes Last.

The Malcontent may be paranoid, but this one is clear: Hardee's is trying to kill us.

Tip of the blogging fez to Hawthorne, who alerted me to this story.

Kerry in '08?

Reports today that Kerry hasn't ruled out another run at the presidency.

While the headline read "Kerry Says He's Not Ruling Out Another Run" it might just as well read "Democrats got nothin', fail to field candidate." Or maybe "Random Republican to be elected in '08."

John, if you couldn't beat Dubya, ain't nobody you can beat. Sorry.

Don't hide your light now, Dr. Bob.

We here at The Malcontent were shocked -- shocked! -- that the Good People at Bob Jones University have removed the letter from university president Bob Jones to President Bush from its place of prominence on the BJU website.

Could it be that the rabid tone of intolerance against non-Christians was embarassing even for BJU's faithful?

Perhaps the text of the letter itself (reproduced here in lovely green) bears some clues as to why it has been banished from sight. (The Malcontent has interleaved the patented Malcontent satirical comments in non-green italics, for your convenience.)

Dear Mr. President:

The media tells us that you have received the largest number of popular votes of any president in America's history. Congratulations!

Admittedly, it was the second smallest margin of victory ever, second only to the 2004 election. But, don't you worry your empty little head about it! Who's Daddy's Little Failure? You are! Yes, you are!

In your re-election, God has graciously granted America—though she doesn't deserve it—a reprieve from the agenda of paganism. You have been given a mandate. We the people expect your voice to be like the clear and certain sound of a trumpet. Because you seek the Lord daily, we who know the Lord will follow that kind of voice eagerly.

The Pagans have an agenda? What's next? The Anarchists will form a exclusive social club for tea parties?

And the whole "voice like a trumpet" thing? Don't worry about it--we all know you can barely speak coherently under the best of circumstances. Just try not to use any curse words, unlike that potty-mouthed Dick Cheney. Even his name is a little dirty.

Plus, Dick once referred to BJU as "Lewinsky College." We don't get it, but we bet it is not polite. He is a bad role model. No wonder the Lord has seen fit to give him a bum ticker.

Don't equivocate. Put your agenda on the front burner and let it boil. You owe the liberals nothing. They despise you because they despise your Christ. Honor the Lord, and He will honor you.

Sorry, we didn't mean to use a big word like equivocate. However, we are sure that whoever it is in the White House who reads things to you will be able to explain it during "storytime."

We here at The Malcontent thought the liberals despised you because you are an incompetent, small-minded, mean-spirited, incurious, warmongering religious zealot with delusions of grandeur and no sense of humor. But if those pesky liberals are down on Jesus too, that's not cool.

Had your opponent won, I would have still given thanks, because the Bible says I must (I Thessalonians 5:18). It would have been hard, but because the Lord lifts up whom He will and pulls down whom He will, I would have done it. It is easy to rejoice today, because Christ has allowed you to be His servant in this nation for another presidential term. Undoubtedly, you will have opportunity to appoint many conservative judges and exercise forceful leadership with the Congress in passing legislation that is defined by biblical norm regarding the family, sexuality, sanctity of life, religious freedom, freedom of speech, and limited government. You have four years—a brief time only—to leave an imprint for righteousness upon this nation that brings with it the blessings of Almighty God.

Sure, I Thessalonians 5:18 says give thanks. But what about Austin 3:16? That's right, John Kerry, take that!

Thanks go out from The Malcontent to Dr. Bob for reminding Dubya that he is JC's servant and not The Man Himself, if you know what we mean.

And when Dr. Bob says all that stuff about "the family, sexuality, sanctity of life, religious freedom, freedom of speech, and limited government"? He means no sodomy. And he's serious.

Christ said, “If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my father honour” (John 12:26).

Wow! With all the following and leading, it sounds like a crazy conga line. Whoo-hoo! Just like the good old days at DKE. Man, good times. We know, Mr. President, we miss beer and blow too.

The student body, faculty, and staff at Bob Jones University commit ourselves to pray for you—that you would do right and honor the Savior. Pull out all the stops and make a difference. If you have weaklings around you who do not share your biblical values, shed yourself of them. Conservative Americans would love to see one president who doesn't care whether he is liked, but cares infinitely that he does right.

Oh, I think we're all praying for the President, even the atheists. As for weaklings, do they mean Colin Powell? Or Ashcroft? What the h-e-double-hockey-sticks, the smart ones are all going to flee the rat-infested vessel that is your Administration anyhow--before the skeletons start popping out of the closets left and right.

Boy, if conservative Americans would "love to see one president who doesn't care if he is liked," are you their man or what?!? They must be ecstatic.

Best wishes.

Sincerely your friend,

Bob Jones III
President

BJIII:lw

PS: A few moments ago I read this letter to the students in Chapel. They applauded loudly their approval.

Man, they didn't even think Dr. Bob could read, much less write. How excited they must all be!

When I told them that Tom Daschle was no longer the minority leader of the Senate, they cheered again.

They were just happy to learn that there would still be elections. Especially after last time.

On occasion, Christians have not agreed with things you said during your first term. Nonetheless, we could not be more thankful that God has given you four more years to serve Him in the White House, never taking off your Christian faith and laying it aside as a man takes off a jacket, but living, speaking, and making decisions as one who knows the Bible to be eternally true.

"Living, speaking, and making decisions as one who knows the Bible to be eternally true"? Well, sure, except for the parts on compassion, humility, sobriety, responsibility, tolerance, love, and charity. Everyone knows those parts ain't right.

Nope. We got nothin'. Why would you want to take something like that off your website?

Hell, no! They won't go (maybe).

The New York Times's Monica Davey is reporting this morning that members of the Individual Ready Reserve are resisting being called back into duty to support the war efforts in Iraq. They are filing suit, failing to show up, or requesting delays. ("Former G.I.'s, Ordered to War, Fight Not to Go")

The Malcontent is still waiting for the blog-handy link to the Times story to show up, but until then, a quote:

In the last few months, the Army has sent notices to more than 4,000 former soldiers informing them that they must return to active duty, but more than 1,800 of them have already requested exemptions or delays, many of which are still being considered.

NYT says there are 110,000 members of the Individual Ready Reserve in the U.S., essentially former warfighters who could be called to active duty, despite the fact that they have not been training as reservists. The backdoor draft has begun in earnest.

Protect, serve and shock.

The AP is reporting that Miami-Dade police admitted to recently using a Taser stun gun--not just on a six year old boy--but on a twelve year old girl as well.

What kind of law enforcement officers can't manage a 6 year old and a 12 year old?

These are some cops that should be looking for new jobs. Maybe a paper route?

OK, drop the...um...just put your hands...um...

Cyber sex-guru Gina Lynn's weekly column in WIRED news is just one more reason to look forward to Fridays.

This week's column also provides one of the best quotes about Dubya and Co. ever, from Jeffrey Douglas, board chairman of the Free Speech Coalition:

You just know high-ranking members of the Bush administration stay awake at night thinking that somewhere out there people are masturbating, and they have to do something to stop it.

Yup. And the knuckleheads elected him anyway.

Um, he's six!! SIX! SIX! He...is...S-I-X.

The Miami-Dade County police use a Taser on a six-year-old.

Those officers just got a confirmed reservation for their special place in hell.

Scott Peterson found guilty.

News outlets should have this story momentarily, The Malcontent just happened to stumble on the live AP feed on the internet, and for once, actually had some "news" in a timely fashion. (Thanks, AP!)

I know, we at The Malcontent House of Delayed Media Scavenging are surprised, too. Don't worry, this won't become a habit.

Follow-up: Murder in the 1st for his wife, murder in the 2d for his child. Just finished polling the jurors. On to the sentencing process, which will take about a week. For now, the jurors will get a week off.

Need to throw up?

Try reading the letter from right-wing "Christian" zealot Bob Jones III to President Dubya.

Particularly good passages include:

In your re-election, God has graciously granted America—though she doesn't deserve it—a reprieve from the agenda of paganism. You have been given a mandate.

Sure, that's it. A mandate!! Even though we don't deserve it.

Don't equivocate. Put your agenda on the front burner and let it boil. You owe the liberals nothing. They despise you because they despise your Christ.

Of course! There are no liberal Christians. Sorry, we here at The Malcontent forgot for a second that your head is full of pus, "Dr." Jones.

And finally:

If you have weaklings around you who do not share your biblical values, shed yourself of them.

I think he means Dick Cheney, Mr. President. Don't you let that Bob Jones talk smack about your Uncle Dick.

It only gets better.

Yesterday, The Malcontent congratulated the Emperor Dubya on his nomination of Alberto Gonzales for the position of Attorney General (see "Nice job, d-head.")

Could it get any better? Sure. Slate runs a column today questioning Gonzales' competence as a lawyer. Besides the already widely-discussed concerns about Gonzales' advice regarding the Geneva Conventions, Phillip Carter provides a telling glimpse into the kind of advice Gonzales offered Texas Governor Dubya regarding death penalty cases. Gonzales was "to provide a legal memo on the morning of each execution day outlining the key facts and issues of the case at hand."

Carter's conclusion is chilling (boldface not in original):

It's not clear whether Bush directed Gonzales to provide such superficial and conclusory legal research, or whether Gonzales did so of his own accord. Regardless, the point remains that the White House's new nominee to head the Justice Department turned in work that would have barely earned a passing grade in law school, let alone satisfy the requirements of a job in which life and death were at stake. Perhaps more important, these early memos from Texas revealed Gonzales' startling willingness to sacrifice rigorous legal analysis to achieve pre-ordained policy results at the drop of a Stetson.

Hmm, shocking.

A Call for Expanding the War on Terror

Part of what is difficult about fighting terrorists is their ability to blend in, indistinguishable from friendlies and non-combatants. However, often people will make a public action (a "slip") that marks them as suspect--whether is is financial support for institutions that hate freedom, or just a public aligning with a suspect individual or organization.

In the Bush administration's pre-emptive approach to defense, when such "slips" occur, it seems to The Malcontent that the government may wish to move immediately to contain the threat, either through invasion, seizure of the individuals involved, or other appropriately aggressive action.

First up for such treatment? The highly organized and dangerous Gorbachev Foundation, which recently held its annual meeting of Nobel Peace Prize laureates, and presented its "Man of Peace" award to the highly suspect Yusuf Islam, formerly Cat Stevens.

Oh, the insidiousness of these wily Peace Prize winners! Clearly they are sleeper agents for the Axis of Evil!! (Think about it. Among the attendees were Mikhail Gorbachev, Lech Walesa, and Rigoberta Menchu Tum, all of whom played roles in toppling governmental power in their respective countries. See? See?!? Do not be fooled, Dubya! Be ever vigilant, you vigilante! )

Oh, John Ashcroft, where are you when we need you?!? (Oh, wait. The General is still at work, so maybe it will all be OK.) At minimum, we here at The Malcontent House of Sarcastic Hyperbole expect all Nobel Peace Prize laureates to be put immediately on a "no-fly" or "watch" list.

Nice job, d-head.

Man, can the President pick 'em, or what?

Alberto Gonzales as attorney general. Did the President not read our post earlier today?

Law.com reports it's Gonzales, and finally says what we here at The Malcontent Coalition for a Civil Society have been thinking:

Gonzales has been at the center of developing Bush's positions on balancing civil liberties with waging the war on terrorism -- opening the White House counsel to the same line of criticism that has dogged Ashcroft.

For instance, Gonzales publicly defended the administration's policy -- essentially repudiated by the Supreme Court and now being fought out in the lower courts -- of detaining certain terrorism suspects for extended periods without access to lawyers or courts.

He also wrote a controversial February 2002 memo in which Bush claimed the right to waive anti-torture law and international treaties providing protections to prisoners of war. That position drew fire from human rights groups, which said it helped led to the type of abuses uncovered in the Abu Ghraib prison scandal.

Some conservatives also have quietly questioned Gonzales' credentials on core social issues. And he once was a partner in a Houston law firm which represented the scandal-ridden energy giant Enron.

Well, The Malcontent sure feels a lot safer. How about you?

Finally, a good use for the internet....

The Malcontent regrets the recent neglect of the Wednesday food section, but brings forth this gem: a website for finding good sushi. We here at The Malcontent Foundation for the Consumption of Uncooked Fish cannot wait until every city is represented.

And just to bring your attention to another good use for the internet--facilitating one's flight to Canada.

The Crisco Kid slides out of town!

That's right, every lefty's favorite freedom-hating protofascist, John "Call me General" Ashcroft resigned his position yesterday as head of the US Department of Justice.

Some of the names being floated around as possible replacements are not exactly heartening (say, political weasel and former Montana governor Marc Racicot), but one is truly chilling: White House counsel Alberto R. Gonzales. Gonzales is generally held to be one of the prime architects of the slippery (and probably ultimately erroneous) legal arguments that the Geneva Conventions do not apply to those the President deems "enemy combatants." These arguments helped pave the way for the barbarities of Abu Ghraib.

C'mon, Dubya, even Grover Cleveland knew the rule that applies here: "A man is known by the company he keeps, and also by the company from which he is kept out."

Thermonuclear hell.

Now, The Malcontent has to read a lot of science writing (a lot)--most of it very good, but not exactly the kind of writing that grabs you. That's why the cutline for a picture in a New York Times story on supernovas is a welcome refresher:

A three-billion-degree bubble of thermonuclear hell mushrooms upward through a star in the milliseconds of a supernova explosion. Sweeping around the star’s surface, the bubble could collide with itself, setting off a fatal detonation.

Yowza. And it's a good illustration, too.

Are these guys in the same place?

From CNN's coverage on Falluja:

There has been less organized resistance than expected so far, said Lt. Col. Pete Newell with Task Force 22 of the 1st Infantry Division.

From The New York Times's coverage on Falluja:

Hundreds or thousands of insurgents met the American attack, sometimes contesting every inch of the advance and sometimes melting back into the darkened houses of the city they have held for more than six months.

From The Washington Post:

Significant fighting was reported overnight in the southern sections of the city with heavier exchanges in an industrial area along the main highway leading to Baghdad.

From The Washington Times:

Witnesses said fierce battles with rockets, tank shells and automatic fire continued, and that militants claimed to have inflicted heavy casualties on U.S. and Iraqi forces.

So, we here at The Malcontent don't know what Lt. Col. Newell was expecting, but we are agog at his ability to think positively.

Off to Gitmo with 'em.

Little Egg Harbor Intermediate School parents fail to do their part in the War On Terror.

I mean, President Bush did his part and sent lots of young people off to die. None of your kids were even hurt.....yet.

Next week: bakesale for Al Qaida!

Nice day for a drive.

A tip of the blogging fez to Anonymous CoWorker for unearthing this bit of fun.

World 66 lets you make these maps to give yourself a quick visual. Red where you have already visited, grey where you've still got to go!

So for The Malcontent, within the U.S.A.:



create your own personalized map of the USA


And in Europe:



create your personalized map of europe

Makes you want to bust out your tattered copies of Let's Go, Roadfood, and those damn Michelin guides. Anyone for a road trip?

Ignorant jackasses.

An excellent example of why the Democrats are so completely and totally f***ed:

Let's blame one of our own for the loss, instead of the Republicans, who pandered to the forces of intolerance and ignorant hatred towards gays and lesbians.

America v. Little Egg Intermediate School

As The Emperor Dubya observed: "The United States of America will not permit the world's most dangerous regimes to threaten us with the world's most destructive weapons."

Because apparently we can do that all on our own. (Threatening ourselves with the world's most destructive weapons--the one job that won't be outsourced under Bush.)

BTW, a 20-millimeter shell is fired from a cannon and is about the size of a small cucumber, or a good sized carrot.

Dooce: Good for gruntling.

In the midst of all the political kvetching, whining, sniping and grousing, The Malcontent takes a moment out of everyday to go see what Heather Armstrong is up to.

Heather's personal and direct blog entries serve as a reminder as to why The Malcontent became interested in blogging in the first place. Plus, she regularly writes posts that make it hard to be fully disgruntled.

(Yes, I know that particular entry is disgustingly cute. So what!?! I'm a malcontent, not a hater. Armstrong is the real deal, and if you think I'm just looped by how adorable her baby is, read this post. Thanks, Dooce for reminding the blogosphere that there are choices other than s***-talking punditry, uninformed ranting, narcissistic diary entries, or totally obscure self-reference.)

Is this an upside?

For the next four years, The Malcontent (and affiliated posse-mates at Minimum Safe Distance) should have endless material to feed our bilious rage.

So there's that.

The Man Can't Hold Me Back.......

....but he might be able to make it impossible to access my Blogger account.

Yea, indeed, The Malcontent has tried all day to log onto his account, but has only now succeeded. This means resorting to The Malcontent's patented shorthand blogging. Here goes....

Stupid.

Stupid.

Stupid.

Excellent.

Aggravating.

The antidote.

OK, so The Malcontent is a little too negative about the election, too pessimistic? Well, here's the antidote.

Finally, some useful lawyering.

Legal Goddess Dahlia Lithwick breaks it down for you, and the title makes it clear: File Your Own Election Lawsuit - Slate's handy do-it-yourself pleadings for a more litigious Election Day.

Fine!

You people want posting while The Malcontent is on vacation?

OK, here it is. The Malcontent crunched the poll numbers, read the tea leaves, drew on the vast political memory of The Malcontent Political Posse, threw the i Ching, and concluded....

Bush, by 6 points. Litigation to follow.

There. Everybody happy now?