The latest out of Moscow is really embarrassing. Had someone at the embassy or in the FSB [Russia's Federal Security Service] been watching FX’s Reagan-era spy melodrama The Americans and actually thought this would work? It’s hard to believe even thirty years ago those wigs would have passed, but today? Come on, really?

I feel like Ryan Christopher Fogle was set up in some weird Craigslist sex hustle:

Show up on this corner in a blond wig…

and the rest of the stuff was staged.

What’s your favorite spy movie?

Happy Walpurgisnacht!

Are you clutching your pearls? Quick get out the smelling salts:

You will be shocked when you view American Life League’s latest video report.  Directed toward adults only, the report Hooking Kids on Sex contains jolting, unedited pictures from Planned Parenthood’s community efforts to indoctrinate children and teens into a sick culture of sex. This report is not for the faint of heart.  It is, however, a long-overdue wake up call.

Oh and why the jobs number are so low:  We’re all on drugs. Or hooked on sex. Or on the internet.

Or flying on your broomstick!

Quick, turn to CSPAN!

Conan O’Brian hosting. Attendees like Kevin Spacey, Barbra Streisand, Scarlett Johansson, Nicole Kidman, Steven Spielberg, Jon Bon Jovi, and Sigourney Weaver. And a 20 lb swag bag stuffed with goodies. What is this, the Oscars?

Nope, it’s the increasingly popular “nerd prom”, the White House Correspondents Dinner where  the press gets to um…why does it exist really?  Well, it’s a fundraiser. And the President shows up and makes some jokes about his fellow politicians who are also in attendance and everyone eats a fancy meal. And the correspondents feel like they have power and influence -especially if they are lucky enough to bring a celebrity as a guest, or get a shout out from POTUS.

Here’s what’s in the 20 lb goodie bag, sponsored by Time and People magazines (copies of which are thankfully included):

Alba Botanica, Alex and Ani, California Baby, C Wonder, Demeter Fragrance, Eastern Collective, Edge Shave Gel, Georgetown Cupcake, GoGo squeeZ, GoMarco In., Good Karmal, Grooming Lounge, Happy Socks, Herban Essentials, illy issimo, Incase, JASON, John Masters Organics, Justin’s, KIND Healthy Snacks, Kusmi Tea, LeSportsac (the bag itself), L’Oreal Paris, MADHOUSE by Michael Aram, Manduka, Neuro Drinks, Peeled Snacks, Pirate’s Booty, Praim Gorup, Preserve Products, PRITI NYC, Purely Elizabeth, Quinn Popcorn, Red Bull, Revision Skincare, RUSK, SAMY FAT HAIR, Sara Kety Baby, Schick, Scholastic, Sheila G’s Brownie Brittle, Somersault Snack Co., SpaRitual, Starbucks, Stila, Supersmile, TableTopics, Taza Chocolate, Theo Chocolate, Toyota (alas, a mug, not a car), Twistband, Urbanhalo Headbands, VEGA, Weleda.

What’s missing? Um, knee pads?

So pull up your unsponsored snack food item of choice, and let’s live blog this lame duck White House Correspondents dinner. It will certainly have some zingers, though let’s face it, ours here will be funnier.

This Elvis stuff is off the hook. Last week it was reported that Paul Kevin Curtis, an Elvis impersonator, was suspected as the perp behind the mailed ricin attacks against POTUS, Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker, and a local judge . (In all fairness, besides Elvis Curtis also does Jerry Lee Lewis, Kid Rock, Prince, and Freddy Fender.) While he was in jail being investigated, in a bizarre act not motivated by sequined spangled solidarity:

A 53-year-old career Elvis impersonator from Iowa engaged police in a 30-hour standoff on Sunday after a property dispute led to the man discharging a shotgun at officers and threatening to kill himself.

Michael Reed, known for playing the faux Elvis Pressley character “Micky King” for more than 30 years, was confronted by police on Saturday after a warrant was issued for his arrest stemming from an allegation of harassment.

This morning Ricin Elvis was released from jail after the FBI failed to find any ricin making equipment or supplies at his house (does this mean castor oil will now have to be signed for at pharmacies like Sudafed-D?), but the charges are in place. However, before The King-maqué was back in his jumpsuit

Sen. Harry Reid said there was “alleged ricin incident” at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington — just days after there was reportedly “white substance” at a base in Virginia.

Now, reports The Atlantic, the FBI is investigating

a Mississippi martial arts instructor named J. Everett Dutschke, who supposedly feuded with Curtis after the latter uploaded a certificate indicating his membership to Mensa, the high IQ organization, to his MySpace page. The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal reported on Monday that FBI agents had spoken to Dutschke before searching his home in connection to the ricin investigation. “I wasn’t going to be pulled into his fantasy world,” Dutschke told the paper, after admitting that he met Curtis in 2010.

What’s YOUR favorite Elvis era?

The American Library Association has released its list of the most challenged books of the past year, and Fifty Shades of Grey was only number four on the list, beaten out by the charming and funny kid’s book series,  Captain Underpants, Sherman Alexie’s prize-winning “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian,” and Jay Asher’s Thirteen Reasons Why.

The ALA’s  Office for Intellectual Freedom defines a challenge as a

formal, written complaint filed with a library or school requesting that a book or other material be restricted or removed because of its content or appropriateness.

The first three books on the list were considered unsuitable for any age. Fifty Shades of Grey was challenged for its sexytime situations, and some libraries claimed the smutty trilogy was too poorly written to be stocked, according the Guardian. (And yet, Jackie Collins can be found on shelves…)

In the past decade the  top ten list list included works by Mark Twain, Maya Angelou, Alice Walker, Toni Morrison, Maurice Sendak, Judy Blume, J.D. Salinger, John Steinbeck, Harper Lee, and J.K. Rowlings. Nobel Laureate Morrison’s Beloved made the top ten list this year.

The 2012 list of most challenged books is 25% longer than 2011′s but not as extensive as during the last two decades of the 20th century.

Captain Underpants, challenged for

offensive language, unsuited for age group

is so much fun. The book follows the adventures of schoolkids as

they duel Dr. Diaper, tackle the talking toilets, clash with the crazy cafeteria ladies, plot against Professor Poopypants, and wrestle the wicked Wedgie Woman. Overflowing with humor, action, and that world-famous cheesy animation technique, Flip-O-Rama, this boxed collection will make kids laugh until soda comes out their noses.

No doubt the anti-authoritarian tone is what got folks all sandy-pants over Captain Underpants!

Author Dav Pilkey who based the books on his own elementary school experiences, issued this statement:

It’s pretty exciting to be on a list that frequently features Mark Twain, Harper Lee, and Maya Angelou. But I worry that some parents might see this list and discourage their kids from reading Captain Underpants, even though they have not had a chance to read the books themselves.

I was always sort of rooting for Dan Halloran, the Republican pagan Queens, NY District 19 city councilman, because he showed that the GOP wasn’t totally overrun by uptight Christian theocrats (actually, many of the Republicans I know practice non-mainstream religions, but that’s probably because most of the people I know are not mainstream, period!). Halloran’s faith is a neo-pagan faith, Theodism.

Theodism is basically a cultural, religious, and martial organization practicing a reconstructed/revisionist form of pre-Christian Northern European polytheism. Theodism differs doctrinally from the similarly Norse-based Astaru and the more familiar Celtic based-based Wicca, though they share some of the same holidays, based on solar and lunar cycles. In Theodism, kings are also the high priests; the gods Tyr, Odin and Freyr offer their blessings in the form of luck on the priest-king and thus down through the people. And for rituals and events, dress is in period costumes.

Halloran–an attorney and partner in the firm Palmieri, Castiglione & Halloran, who served as legal counsel and incorporating attorney for the New York City Pagan Pride Project and as the chairman of the state Republican Liberty Caucus–was endorsed by the Queens County Republican Party during his 2009 run. Queens GOP Chairman Phil Ragusa and the GOP executive committee were aware of Halloran’s religious beliefs when he announced his candidacy, and stood by him when the Queens Tribune ran a story about Halloran’s faith, managing to bring up “blood sacrifice.” It turned out that, according to the Village Voice:

a Kim campaign consultant also happens to be the VP of the Queens Tribune, and because Queens congressman Gary Ackerman, who founded the paper and still holds a chunk of it, used to be Kim’s boss and who urged his old employee to make the race…

Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition. Surprise! Its supporters are in Washington DC, marching with NOM in protest  of marriage equality.

Tradition, Family & Property, a far-right Catholic organization whose founder cited the Spanish Inquisition as “a glorious moment” for the church. The Inquisition burned more than 1,000 Jews at the stake, confiscated the property of tens of thousands, and ultimately led to the expulsion of all Jews from Spain in 1492…

TFP is an all-male organization that finds its recruits among adolescent boys, whom it trains in the use of the combat regalia of the Middle Ages — maces, crossbows, and the like…

Adele M. Stan, who also covered TFP in 2010, writing for AlterNet, reports:

In South America, TFP is known for backing authoritarian regimes; it was involved in the 1964 military coup in Brazil, according to researcher  Richard Bartholomew, who also notes that after the coup against Allende in Chile, “[t]he editor of TFP’s Chilean magazine, Jaime Guzmán, became chief ideologist for General Pinochet’s regime.”

Washington is awash in pride as proud families and couples, gay and straight, march and rally outside the Supreme Court. Meanwhile inside Scalia says he has a

Longstanding and profound fear of homosexuals

so should he just recuse himself? I have friends who are afraid of clowns, cats, dogs, spiders, avocados…but teh gays? Like, why?

I wish he would look at this video from Mark S. King’s blog My Fabulous Disease. How can anyone be afraid of people who love and just want the option of marrying, to have the same rights as straight folks if they do marry?   And why do I think that the issue is more about money than religion–so for decades same-sex couples have been paying higher taxes (single payer filing) and their domestic partner insurance is taxed.  CNN Money explains:

A same-sex couple with combined income of $100,000, in which one person earns $70,000 and the other makes $30,000, currently pays an extra $1,625 a year by filing separately rather than jointly, according to an analysis H&R Block conducted for CNNMoney. The calculations assume a standard deduction, no children and no tax credits.

The extra tax liability jumps to nearly $8,000 when one spouse earns all $100,000 and the other reports no income. In this case, couples filing jointly owe tax of $11,858, while a same-sex couple filing separately owes $19,585 — a 65 percent difference….
Another major tax issue at stake in the DOMA case is the estate tax. Currently, surviving spouses in federally-recognized marriages don’t have to pay taxes on their deceased spouse’s estate, while same-sex widows pay a 35 percent estate tax on anything in excess of a $5 million exemption.

But it’s pointed out that some couples could end up paying more:

Other couples would end up owing more by filing jointly, especially if they miss out on deductions or credits like the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit because, when combined, their income is no longer low enough to qualify or receive the full benefit.

Activist singer, feminist, and 90s college radio darling Michelle Shocked went on an anti-gay rampage in at her show in San Francisco, declaring:

You can go on Twitter and say ‘Michelle Shocked says God hates fags.’

Shocked, who self-released the album Kind Hearted Woman after leaving Mercury Records, and contributed an original song to the soundtrack for the film Dead Man Walking called “Quality of Mercy,” is clearly neither the former and lacking in the latter. On her Facebook page Shocked describes herself as

your average anarchist skateboard punk rock born again Christian.

Maybe she should hook up with Fred Phelps. They have a few openings in his hate-filled family cult. Tweets from appalled concert-goers at Yoshi’s in San Francisco included:

“she said gay marriage would cause the end of the world” — @anile02

“wow, she’s a total bigot and said so on stage. It was unreal. We had to leave. I am so disappointed.” — @lisahubbert

Video gamer blogger and online personality Matt Penfield, who was tweeting the show for Shocked was stunned, reporting on his Twitter feed:

adding that he was proud of the audience for voting with their feet.

Photo: Michelle Shocked performing on 10/08/2006 at West Angeles Church of God in Christ

This  video created by North Korean propagandists is pretty extreme, if only for the narration, which claims, along with our diet of snow,

[t]here are no birds. They have been eaten….Their houses blow down very easily…There are no birds in the trees apart from these, which will be eaten on Tuesday. They are yummy. You can also eat the snow, of which there is plenty in the United States.

Full of images of  modern American cities

often disguised as a foreign countries in Europe.

The short film is an exercise in propaganda designed to show the worst of America, by highlighting one northeastern city’s homeless during the winter and claiming this is representative of the entire country. The images are truly heart-wrenching.  It is a great shameful thing, a hideous reality that our country has so many  homeless–it shouldn’t be happening.

The narrative goes very much over the top (the homeless man identified as a former Republican candidate for Oregon state senator, bowls of “hot snow” being served at a soup kitchen truck), but makes me wonder about the footage we see of other countries. How “real” is that? All it takes is footage and narration.

The video shows a man being woken up and given

coffee from North Korea

because here in America, our coffee is made from snow and handouts of

money and cake

from North Korea, which plays into this current meme showing  Kim Jong Un obsessed with cake..

HT: LiveLeak.com

Ash Beckham delivers, and brings it home, laying out the whys and hows of not saying

That’s so gay

in a 5-minute speech in front of over 800 people as part of part of a series sponsored by Ignite Boulder.  With 20 slides set on auto-advance every 15 seconds, it’s a challenge, and Beckman conquered it, laying out the difference between tolerance and acceptance, and evoking laughter from the crowd for her use of images.

She rocks. And she’s right.

HT: SheWired