Atrios and Chris Bowers are covering this one -- the Bush campaign blog said some dumb things about firefighters:

Generally speaking, the likelihood that a firefighter will vote for John Kerry is inversely proportional to the number of fires he has actually fought. Witness all those T-shirted "Fire Fighters for Kerry" you saw at the convention. A little soft around the middle some of them were, weren't they? Do you think some of them could haul a hose pack up 50 flights of stairs? I'm not betting on it. I'm guessing the only fires many of them have seen lately were at IAFF barbecues.

I'm not that outraged at this -- while firefighters are certainly deserving of our admiration, I think post 9/11 our national cult of the fireman has gotten a little out of control; being a cop is a more dangerous job, after all, and while police have been paid plenty of lip service in the last three years, the fact that firefighters won't arrest you for simple posession -- combined with the rise of the Great Outdoor Games -- seems to have cemented them in the collective unconscious as the prototypical American Heroes.

Still, it's kind of amazing that someone would think calling firemen lardasses would be a good campaign strategy. And who's copy editing over there, anyway? "A little soft around the middle some of them were, weren't they"? Is Yoda working for BC04?

UPDATE: Sorry, correction. The Bush blog merely quoted from an article from an LAPD officer in which the above quote appeared. Still seems dumb to me. Anyway, visit the GWB.com blog for the source material, and other great tidbits. Example: John Kerry said he was going to go get some ribs from a Milwaukee BBQ joint, and then he didn't. George W. Bush, on the other hand, DID eat at that BBQ place. Why do you insist on lying so much, Mr. Kerry?

Okay, so maybe the President thought he was going for Chinese. Things didn't go according to plan. It could happen to anyone! The whole press bus thought they were going for Chinese too! At least he set his mind to something, god dammit, and made the best out of a bad situation.

totally depressing - i was informed today that i can never donate blood again because i've lived in italy (well, can never donate again until they develop a test for mad cow disease). i went down to the building conference room, where the red cross had set up shop, and was promptly sent away (though all the staff were really sweet about it and gave me cookies anyway). i understand that they don't want mad cow disease sweeping through the country's blood reserves, but since i've donated blood a lot and firmly believe in doing it, especially since there is almost constantly not really enough blood and this summer has been particularly bad, i was sad. fucking european cows.

anyone want to donate in my place? if you've never done it before, it's kind of a fun experience. there is the whole sticking-an-enormous-needle-in-your-arm part of the deal, but then you just lie back for 15 minutes and squeeze a ball repeatedly. and then you get all the juice, cookies and soda you want. you also then have a fool-proof justification for not exercising for the next few days, and it can usually get you out of work for an hour or more (what boss is going to say you can't cut out for the afternoon to donate blood?). and you get to wear a "i donated today" sticker around, proclaiming your donor superiority to all who can see.

info here. go donate!

you have to see it to believe it:

from eeeevvverbody's favorite security mom, michelle malkin.

this book is a great addition to malkin's recent column on townhall, where she complains about a UNITY conference where minority journalists argue they aren't receiving fair treatment in the business of journalism. malkin rightly takes these whiners to task for asking for this silly thing called "diversity." what is this "diversity" that they chatter on about? then she complains that she wasn't invited back to the next UNITY conference, which really doesn't seem to make sense, since she hates minorities who ask for equality and wants to put all muslims in an internment camp and you think that UNITY would really want to talk about these issues. in the column she also includes a great "media diversity checklist" that she suggest you pass out to your favorite colored reporter to make sure they are on the right side of the line. it includes questions such as "i oppose bilingual education", "i oppose gay marriage", and "i cry when i hear 'proud to be an american' by lee greenwood." it's true -- that song always does get me right here, in the gut.

only will journalists (and, we presume, the rest of america) be truly diverse when we all become an army of self-loathing, condom-fearing, sappy song-endorsing, gun-toting malkin bots! preferably with bullet-spraying nipples.

i know i shouldn't sputter self-indignant hatred of crazed, racist conservatives before i've fully finished my cup of instant coffee. but i couldn't help it. this woman drives me insane.