Please Respond Immediately Forthwith In Confidence

Dear American:

I cordially correspond today to request you to support an urgent secret business relationship with a transfer of funds of great magnitude which is most seriously important.

I am Ministry of the Treasury of the Republic of America. My country has had crisis that has caused urgent need for large transfer of funds of 800 billion USD. If you would assist me in this transfer, it would be most profitable to you. Full Story »

S&R will be doing some maintenance tonight starting around 8PM Mountain and, if we’re unlucky, tomorrow. During the maintenance period comments will be disabled. We apologize for any inconvenience and thank you for your patience.

Beginning tomorrow, S&R’s weekly literature feature, VerseDay, becomes WordsDay. We love poetry, but we felt like we were ignoring other literary forms, so it just made sense to expand the field.

WordsDay will continue to address poetry, but now we’ll also be writing about fiction and creative non-fiction, as well.

We hope you enjoy it.

The results of our latest S&R poll are in.

Which of the following statements comes closest to expressing your views about the November Presidential election?

1. I will vote for either Democrat over McCain. (285)
2. I will vote for a third party candidate if Clinton is the Democratic nominee. (56)
3. I will vote for Obama, but favor McCain over Clinton. (45)
4. I will vote for a third party candidate regardless of who the Democratic nominee is. (27)
5. I will vote for McCain over either Democrat. (15)
6. I’m not voting. (13)
7. I will vote for Clinton, but favor McCain over Obama. (8)
8. I will vote for a third party candidate if Obama is the Democratic nominee. (3)

Our new poll is now posted in the column to the right. In it, readers are asked their opinions on how the Democratic Party should handle the controversy over Florida and Michigan delegates.

S&R polls are not scientific. Boy, are they ever not scientific. Please, no wagering…

Welcome to another edition of NB, in which linkage new and old come together to eat up your valuable time. Enjoy ∞ BooMan says Hillary Clinton is not going to win Texas ∞ Christopher Hitchens writes of learning that pro-war articles he wrote prompted a young man named Mark Daily to enlist for service in Iraq, where he was killed ∞ INTERNS NEEDED. Requirements: Must able able to lift 30 lbs. Type 40wpm+. Wide stance preferred ∞ Bob Herbert on Ralph Nader: “It would have been impossible to believe during his heyday that Nader could be despised by many Democrats and progressives, that he would become a target of their ridicule and vitriol” ∞ Stop the presses: white men rule! ∞ In Afghanistan, flying kites is a way of life ∞ Researchers say an ancient meteor blast peppered mammoths with “shrapnel” ∞ E&P’s esteemed editor Greg Mitchell has a book on Iraq and the media coming out soon ∞ “What are you puttin’ in my malt liquor, white boy?!” ∞ Check out Alltop, a handy site listing headlines from top blogs, including S&R ∞ Ex-Bush policy experts say the U.S. has been gearing up for a war with Iran for years, despite claiming otherwise ∞ Leadville, Colorado could be deadville if rising levels of contaminated water burst from a tunnel and flood the town ∞ Taylor Marsh writes, “Scott Kesterson was the only photojournalist in Afghanistan for quite some time. He’s put together a film.” See excerpts of At War here ∞ Larisa Alexandrovna, one of the first on the Don Siegelman story, fears Karl Rove’s attack dogs are on the loose ∞ Ethiopian Christians have long believed they possess the Ark of the Convenant. Smithsonian piece here, earlier National Geographic piece here ∞ Another strong hint that John Edwards is leaning Obama ∞ And finally… Roger wanted Rick out. Dave thought Nick was next. Bob gave them the hit and got sacked too. The soap opera that was Pink Floyd ∞

Scholars & Rogues has added a couple of new features to its lineup, and we hope the new additions will provide our readers with even more reason to check by each day to see what’s new. In addition, we’ve reshuffled the feature lineup a bit, so here’s what to look for.

• Monday: Nota Bene - Scholars & Rogues takes you around the Web for all kinds of interesting stories you may have missed.
• Tuesday: TunesDay - A new feature. Each Tuesday S&R’s team of music lovers will present an artist or band of the week (maybe more than one), or will perhaps examine a new development in the world of tuneage, or note an important historical landmark… The possibilities are endless. Tune in for the first installment tomorrow. Full Story »

Here’s your weekly dose of link love, enjoy. ∞ The U.S. Air Force wants (in addition to the $144 billion it scores each year) an extry $19 bil for, among other things, “dorm furnishing“∞ Rust may never sleep, but the power of music sleeps with the fishes, so says Neil Young ∞ On a related note (giggle), John Cougar Mellencamp and Boston’s Tom Scholz are tired of presidential candidates thiefing their tunage ∞ My own humble abode of Aurora, Colorado is for some bizarre reason the top digital city in the U.S. Maybe they’re going by the number of times we give each other the finger in traffic ∞ Newt Gingrich foresees a likely McCain-Huckabee GOP ticket ∞ Nearly a dozen cartoonists recently organized an illustrated effort to protest the lack of color in comics ∞ I have no idea what you’re talking about, so here’s a collie balancing cups on its head—along with other amusing photos from a recent UK book ∞ Oh, that silly ol’ rascal King George the W. He’s now ordering a clampdown on flights to the U.S., demanding extra personal data from air passengers ∞ Sara Robinson presents 10 myths aboot Canadian health care ∞ Attention photoshoppers: the Library of Congress now has a Flickr page ∞ JFK’s old speechwriter, Ted Sorensen, has a warm fuzzy about Obama ∞ America’s next generation is too demanding at work. Anthony Balderrama explains Y ∞ Mark your Outlook calendars: there’s a massive Iraq War blogswarm on March 19 that S&R is proud to be a part of. “Stop the killing. Stop the maiming. Stop the economic and environmental devastation. Bring the troops home.” Hear, hear ∞ And finally, the long, strange tale of a steel mustang that took the life of its own sculptor. You can see it for yourself next time you’re at Denver International Airport ∞

Once again here’s a blogpourri of hot links aged to imperfection, or words to that effect. Enjoy ∞ Activist group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) has launched an ambitious online database, governmentdocs.org, that will “revolutionize research of government documents” … Speaking of CREW, they want answers as to why our old friend Neil Bush—yes, the S&L dirtbag and Dubya’s little bro who hangs out with a Russian mobster—has his filthy hands on No Child Left Behind funds … “In hindsight, it is easy to be for the war when you don’t have to worry about going to Vietnam.” Just ask Mitt Romney … Mi gente: Do yourself a favor and check out the inventive, inspired work of Steven Lucero … David Sirota hears a giant sucking sound and wonders, was Ross Perot right? … Imagine the likelihood of a straight white male Republican Congressional candidate in Wyoming that supports pro-gay-marriage. Now meet the real deal, Dan Zwonitzer. On a related note, you should watch this moving video of San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders revealing his change of heart re: to same-sex marriage … When he’s not acting or rapping, Mos Def is digging conspiracy theories. He says Osama bin Laden is a boogeyman who had nothing to do with 9/11. We gotta get him and Bill Maher in the same room … And speaking of conspiracy theories, Willie Nelson is afraid that there won’t be a 2008 election … Kelly Beatty at Sky & Telescope talks about the 2001 “mystery pulse from outer space” … A blind rabbi runs for Congress. Uh, it’s not the first line of a bad joke, I’m serious … And lastly, a little story about one of my local writing heroes, the late great Gene Amole. ∞

A quick ‘n’ dirty NB of links new & old across the ’sphere for your reading (dis)pleasure… ∞ If you can stomach it—and I’m not talking about the sight of our grievously wounded Iraq war veterans—here’s our oily President scoring photo opps with some of the hurt kids he done send off to that war with them raghead terrists over yonder … Damned Negroes, always gotta ruin a good thing. Here they go putting our wondrous economic times (cough, cough) in a bad light with that “reality” thingie … NPR senior correspondent Juan Williams says of bloggers, “All you’ve got to do is shout, say something on the blog that offends and attacks the other side, and suddenly, you have the credentials, and you’re said to be a journalist. I think it’s a great lie.” All fine and dandy, a reasonable critique—except that he was saying it to goddamned Sean Hannity on Fox News … The UK Independent’s Robert Fisk walks into controversial territory yet again, writing of “the first modern genocide“—the slaughter of over a million Armenians. In another piece, Fisk writes of “the death of history” … This frank admission—Alan Greenspan saying the Iraq war was really about oil—is right up there with the late Henry Hyde’s startling remark about Bill’s Clinton impeachment … Children accused of witchcraft are being murdered in Nigeria … A mysterious lost photo archive of ancient Qur’an manuscripts has been revealed after 60 years, and may have serious implications for Islam … And finally, recent Radiohead concert clips, enjoy ∞

Greetings, readers, welcome to another messy batch of linkage old, new and somewhere in between for your reading pleasure, carefully selected by our panel of experts, i.e., me. ∞ Speaking of linkfeasts, mark your Outlook calendars: Fear and Loathing (along with Change Therapy, Fallen Words, Anja Merret and Fiction Scribe) will co-host a five-site interconnected blog megacarnival on January 30. Our own Edmundo Rocha is planning to be in on the action . . . The BBC reports that the darkest ever material known to science has been made in a US lab, darker even than Ronald Reagan’s hair dye . . . Speaking of the Great Communicator, guess what prominent Republican politician said of Reagan, “It shows you how a man of limited mental capacity simply doesn’t know what the Christ is going on in the foreign area.” Answer here . . . Hope each of you are able to pony up your $8,000 to help pay for the War on Terrorâ„¢ . . . This reminds me of A. Whitney Brown’s observation that in China, there are so many people that even if someone says you’re one in a million, there are a thousand other guys just like you . . . The CIA set up an X-Files-like “uber-intelligence group” called ONE to study UFO sightings. This and other revelations courtesy friend of S&R Darryl Mason . . . Gore Vidal’s take on the media-shunned Peace Gnome, Dennis Kucinich . . . Collecting meteorites ain’t just for pasty geeks. See for yourself as Michael Farmer travels all the way to Colombia for a few fragments of space rock . . . Check out the amazing rapid 3D scene modelling—from a video source, no less—of VideoTrace . . . No less than Derek Jacobi casts doubt on the authorship of Shakespeare’s classic works. And he’s not alone, as the BBC reports . . . Project Censored sheds light on the top censored stories for 2008 . . . Who said the biggest threat facing America is the move towards “a fascist theocracy?” He was decades ahead of his time, in more ways than one. Watch and listen to the one and only Frank Zappa on CNN’s Crossfire in 1986 . . . Iraq War veteran and fellow Coloradan Raf Noboa says, please, stop thanking me for my service . . . Will-he-or-won’t-he-run NYC mayor Mike Bloomberg blasts the trendy anti-immigration sentiment of the far right in a stirring speech . . . And finally, listen to this stirring speech and how it resonates today. ∞

We’ve completed our latest S&R election reader poll, and here are the results.

1: Sam “Dr. Slammy” Smith, Independent (14)
2: Cynthia McKinney, Green (10)
- Ralph Nader, Independent (10)
4: Cris Ericson, Marijuana (3)
- Gloria LaRiva, Peace & Freedom (3)
- Other independent or 3rd party candidate (3)
7: George Phillies, Libertarian (2)
8: Brian Moore, Socialist USA (1)
- Wayne Allyn Root, Libertarian (1)

Candidates receiving zero votes:

Gene Amondson, Prohibition
Orion Karl Daley, Balanced
Charles Jay, Personal Choice

Our new poll, up now in the column to the right, asks S&R readers to identify what they see as the most important issue of the 2008 presidential election cycle.

Welcome back to day 2 of the S&R Year in Review. Today we tackle some of 2007’s big moments in news and current events.

The Invasion and Occupation of Iraq Surpasses the American Civil War in Duration: The United States’ involvement in World War I lasted only 19 months and World War II lasted 44 months for the United States, even though the war itself was nearly six years long. The occupation of Iraq (aka the Iraq War) outlasted World War II in November of 2006, making the duration of U.S. involvement in Iraq the third longest foreign occupation in U.S. history. The American Civil War lasted 48 months, and the Iraq occupation surpassed that duration on March 20, 2007. This makes the Iraq occupation the third longest running period of continuous conflict in U.S. history, behind only the Vietnam War and its sister conflict in post-Taliban Afghanistan. Full Story »

Welcome to S&R’s year in review. Over the next few days we’ll be taking a look back at the year past, the ridiculous and the sublime, the famous and infamous. We begin the series with a couple of carols that you and your family can sing by the fire today.

Dreaming of a White Christmas in Northern Neck Regional Jail in Warsaw, Virginia

For Michael Vick
(to the tune of “White Christmas”)

I’m screaming at a white, pit bull
Each time he backs away in fear
It’s a thing I’m dreading
‘Cause I’ll be betting
My pride, money, and career

I’m screaming at a white, pit bull
It seems he doesn’t want to bite
So I’ll hang, drown, or fry him, in sight
Of the other dogs so that they’ll fight Full Story »

Here’s the latest issue of Nota Bene, our roguedelic kalinkescope. Enjoy. ∞ You can’t just blame the heartless bastards in China for allowing lead paint-ridden toys into the U.S. Check what our own heartless bastards have been up to … Loathe as we are to discuss anything regarding the foul Ann Coulter, couldn’t pass this one up. So where does the Genderless One hang when she’s not calling people “fag?” Why, a gay-friendly eatery, of course, with a pic to prove it … America’s “greediest executive,” mighty Christ-bot Philip Anschutz, is on a commercial crusade to transform Hollywood into Holywood. “The vast majority of Americans have never heard of him,” writes Bill Berkowitz for Media Transparency, “which is just the way he prefers it” … If you have young kids and you haven’t sat and watched the show Yo Gabba Gabba! with them, you are seriously depriving yourself … In the spirit of Ambrose Bierce, here are the “Pocket Paradigms” of Sam Smith. No, not our esteemed colleague Sam Smith, it’s the Sam Smith who founded Progressive Review … Photographer Luis Sinco of the Los Angeles Times tells a bittersweet story of two lives blurred together by a single photo … “Dear Santa: I have just one Xmas request. Please out Patrick McHenry once and for all. Thanks! Hugs, America” … VoteVets.org has come up with a nifty idea: Chickenhawk of the Day. The feature could theoretically stretch for years … Peter Garrett of Midnight Oil fame has finally climbed the hill in Australia, having been appointed a cabinet minister under new PM Kevin Rudd. But will it be a good thing or a bad thing? … Segregation rears its ugly head in Israel, and it’s not between Jews and Muslims. Ynetnews has more on the “true state of racism” in the Holy Land … Speaking of discrimination, David Margolick at Vanity Fair recalls the historic 1957 desegregation of Little Rock Central High School and an iconic photograph in an in-depth, heart-breaking article … And finally – Hey space junkies, here are three lovely words for ya: Google Star Map. ∞

Welcome to another edition of Nota Bene, the steamin’ hot pot of S&R link stew. A little bit of old, a little bit of new, a whole lot of yummy. Enjoy!   ∞   Imagine living longer, having more sex, and eating more without gaining weight. Caveat: you’d be a gen-modded mouse … Salon’s Sidney Blumenthal writes about the “steady degeneration of the press over the past few decades” … And you Gen-X’ers thought your lives were shit. Reggie at TvNewsLIES spells out the sad start for the Bush generation … Remember, this Australian man proudly waves the American flag though he lives in Communist China with his Chinese wife. What a patriot … Andrew Sullivan posits at The Atlantic that one White House candidate could transcend nagging questions that have divided the Boomers and distorted politics. Find out of whom he speaks … “Ha! Ha! Ha! Merry Christmas!” … “Bush may be financing al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations.” Yes, you read that right. The Existentialist Cowboy makes the case … Quick question: Which presidential candidate’s wife says America has “a rigged and a fake political system?” Hint: he has zero chance of being elected … Believe it or not, Dennis Kucinich (the answer to the previous question) is being challenged for his Congressional seat by an anti-war activist … If you’re one of the rare birds who has some extra money on hand during this holiday season, I got three things you oughta check out: Lalmba, Mercy & Sharing, and KUVO. Good people, worthy causes … For the esoteric sound lovers among you: experience Odd Music, a Fire Organ, a Vegetable Orchestra, and 10 wee recording foul-ups that made the album … Duh…! … Jesus is the reason for the season—Jesus Manual Cordova, that is. Y muchas gracias, Rep. Grijalva … And finally, the battle is over for a brave warrior. Rest in peace, Dan Fogelberg. ∞

We’re happy to revive a feature that’s been dormant way too long: Nota Bene, the Scholars & Rogues smorgasbord of yummy links from around the blogosphere. We’ve got must-reads, should’ve-reads, gotta-check-it-outs, omg’s, wtf’s, lol’s and so on. It’s like a Scrogue version of the famous Garbage Plate. So have a fork and bib handy and enjoy…

Full Story »

Thanks for all the votes, folks, and if you haven’t voted yet, or would like to vote for S&R again, today’s the last day to do so. Registration’s not required, it’s just cheap ‘n easy clickage. Currently, we’re in fourth place behind ‘Slow Cooker Recipes.’ Please, let us keep our dignity… vote now for S&R at this link. Your support is appreciated!

The 2007 Weblog Awards nominees have been named and voting is open. S&R has been nominated in the category “Best of the Top 6751 – 8750 Blogs” against the likes of Winter Patriot, Gus Van Horn, et al. You don’t need to register, you can vote daily (once every 24 hrs.), and voting will end soon… so if you like what we do here, please feel free to express it at their voting page. Thanks for your support!

Beginning with this post, I’m starting a regular feature called “Nota Bene” in which I round up interesting blog posts and bits of news each day, M-F (with Monday covering weekend goodies). This inaugural post is gonna be a long one, so bear with me.

Jesus’ General on Victor Davis Hanson’s “greatest shame” … Chicago Sun-Times columnist Mary Mitchell: “I’m a racist? Those are fighting words” … Brad DeLong on al-Qaeda-mania … David Sirota asks aloud if the conservative economic revolt is over in the Rocky Mountain West … In semi-related news, Denver is still $1.5 million short of the Democratic convention goal … David Airey revisits the surreal art of Octavio Ocampo … SCOTUSblog: What the school cases mean for the workplace … The late Steve Gilliard’s News Blog crew carries on at a new site, The Group News Blog … Bruce Schneier: Terrorist Special Olympics in the UK? … Sen. Joe Lieberman apparently on crack, says Iran has declared war … A La Gauche on mainstream media’s poor estimation skills … Larisa Alexandrovna: Impeachment is back on the table … Black Looks recalls the obscure Kimpa Vita … A firebomb-launching blogger mellows out … Thirty percent of Americans abuse alcohol … Digby props a late blog colleague and calls attention to some other bloggers’ plights … National Security Archive finds that the oldest Freedom of Information Act request still pending was filed during the Reagan administration … Read/WriteWeb: Digg needs editors, please, they’re begging … Undercover Black Man with something shocking from Scatman Crothers … Libby post-game show: MyDD has presidential candidates’ reactions; Brad Friedman with more, plus a vintage vid of Bush 41; Andy Ostroy explains why he’s happy with the commutation … Your New Reality: The terror war knows no subtlety in definitions … Saudi prince caught up in the BAE scandal is having trouble selling his $130 million ranch … New ultrasound technique could make beer even better … and finally, some asshat in New York attacks a peacock he says was a vampire.