Salt Lake City drive-in, August 1958, from Google’s new Life magazine archive. If it makes you feel better, we were doomed long before most of us were born.

Life photo archive [Google]

How could the cynical bastards among us miss this big, hanging curveball: Thomas Kinkade’s The Christmas Cottage. Apparently, this was actually due for release last year, but went (of course) direct to video — released a couple of weeks ago.

From Fandango: “Inspired by the early life and art of renowned painter Thomas Kinkade, the story of how a small community and an aging mentor come to the aid of a family to save the only home they have ever known and along the way teach….” [interrputed due to jarring pain developing behind both eyes]

(BTW: Kinkade has some cinematography tips for his crew. Listen well, if your ears have stopped bleeding.)

Mistress Cynica points us to this bit of fucktardery from Kathleen Parker:

As Republicans sort out the reasons for their defeat, they likely will overlook or dismiss the gorilla in the pulpit.

Likely will?  Oh please.  They will continue to rearrange deck chairs.

Three little letters, great big problem: G-O-D.

I’m bathing in holy water as I type.

To be more specific, the evangelical, right-wing, oogedy-boogedy branch of the GOP is what ails the erstwhile conservative party and will continue to afflict and marginalize its constituents if reckoning doesn’t soon cometh.

Simply put: Armband religion is killing the Republican Party. And, the truth — as long as we’re setting ourselves free — is that if one were to eavesdrop on private conversations among the party intelligentsia, one would hear precisely that.

More whining after the jump.

Read more »

The California Supreme Court may take up Prop 8 for review today, and in so doing the justices face recall if they thwart the will of the Mormon church.

That’s how democracy works, of course. If you don’t hate with us, you’re against us.

But we’ll save that fun for later. Because buried near the end of the L.A. Times story reviewing the constitutional issues we find this nugget:

Proposition 8’s [Andrew] Pugno said voters could indeed resurrect a ban on mixed-race marriages if the issue had been decided purely on state constitutional grounds.

The reference here is to a 1948 decision that struck down a ban on interracial marriage. Pugno — general counsel for “ProtectMarriage.com” — says California voters could easily reinstate that ban, if only the state court hadn’t reached for federal justifications.

In other words: All California marriages are subject to the whim of the electorate, unless the Feds butt in.

Protect marriage? Hell, California just voted to undermine it.

Recall specter hangs over high court as it considers Prop. 8 challenges [LAT]

As of ten minutes ago, Mark Begich is now 3,724 votes to the good over Tubes, with the vote counting to be virtually finished tonight.  That’s a lead of about 1.2%. 

That’ll be Sen. Begich to you clowns. This thing is OVAH.

[UPDATE: AP calls it, per not-Keef on MSNBC. Again: OVAH!]

Cheney, Gonzo Indicted

Vice President Cheney and Former Attorney General Gonzales Indicted [Think Progress]

Newsweek has Eric Holder as your new Attorney General.

Know very little about the guy besides the basic blurb: Columbia BA/JD, former judge, and (under Clinton) U.S. Attorney and Deputy A.G.  Connections to the Marc Rich pardon.  Connections to Bill/Hill.  On Barry’s veep-search committee, which came up with Biden.

(Of course, John Edwards and Eliot Spitzer would have been more likely picks, if not for their, um, shortcomings.  Also notable: Patrick Fitzgerald ain’t going nowhere — which is very good, because he is a good guy to have in Chicago.)