Tennessee Republicans Get Screwed

Having lived in Tennessee for three years, I can tell you that the state Republican Party is batshit insane. Tennessee is one of the only states trending more Republican and for the first time in 40 years, they won the state House. Ready to elect a true wingnut to the speakership, the Democrats, down a mere one seat, struck back. They nominated the single moderate Republican to the speakership. This is a guy who has been threatened by other state Republicans for his belief. That he comes from a very conservative part of the state (Carter County, in the far east) makes me surprised that he has held his ground and continues to win elections. Anyway, much to the chagrin of Republicans, the guy went ahead and voted for himself, essentially defecting to the Democrats and giving them control of the House.

I have never seen a more hilarious newscast of Republican fuckuppery than this.

Hat tip to Brian. Wonkette also has more.

NOTE: It seems that the video is no longer playing. Too bad. You can hear the Republicans freak out as this all goes down. It's freaking hilarious.

Why I love The Onion

For those who don't check out The Onion's American Voices, you're really missing out. However, some resonate more than others, and while I love my hometown of Akron, this can't be beat:

The State Department has said that it may force Foreign Service staff to
serve in the U.S. embassy in Baghdad if they do not get enough volunteers to
fill 40-50 vacancies. What do you think?
Philip Kendricks,Carpenter's Apprentice"American diplomats have been forced
to work in undesirable postings before. Akron, for one."

(Another great response is "Maybe we could try to make Iraq better. Has that been suggested yet?")

Also, this week's story on A-Rod (sample: "Someday, I can tell my kid that I was at some baseball game when [Rodriguez's agent] Scott Boras sent an e-mail to the Associated Press saying that A-Rod had just opted out of the final three years on his 10-year, $252 million contract.") is dead-on.