the 941

Obama’s recent pick made a town hall-style appearance at the school last night. Pictures courtesy of CL intern Kerem Ozkan. Look out for his commentary in an upcoming post.

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Vern Buchanan wasn’t in his downtown Sarasota office today, but Greenpeace activists symbolically picketed outside his office, directing their attention toward passing drivers.

Afterward, they left the republican congressman a banner made with 369 postcards from Sarasota County constituents demanding Buchanan’s support for clean energy. The previous day, they had presented a similar banner to his Bradenton office, with 369 messages from Manatee County residents.

Greenpeace global warming organizer Joe Smyth, pictured below with his hands clasped as he addresses the activists, said he’s collected thousands of similar postcards. He displays them in increments of 369 because that’s the number that decided Buchanan’s victory over democrat Christine Jennings in the 2006 election.

See below for a photo gallery. (more…)

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 Jeb Corliss is pushing the boundaries of human flight.

• It’s time to purge Congress of conservative Democrats.

• Americans continue to grow more disillusioned about the economy.

• Some good questions for John McCain.

• Followed by some good questions for Barack Obama.

• Iraq is know as Bush’s War. Will Afghanistan be known as Obama’s War?

• GOP Senator Ted Stevens indicted. Who’s next?

• American food portions continue to swell to enormous and unsustainable levels.

• If you read nothing else this week, read this interview of Noam Chomsky.

• Sigh. Penn and Teller used to be funny.

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Never forget that one likely trotted across your head last night while you were sleeping.

Thanks to uglybug.org

• As I said yesterday, he does not have a chance of succeeding, but it’s still beautiful to watch all 35 articles of impeachment read against President Bush.

• What are the scientists at the South Pole going to do during the next three months of darkness? Get busy.

• Why is President Bush giving nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia, home of 17 of the 19 9/11 hijackers?

• And what about the Reconquista?

• The sheriff of Philadelphia, Pa., has not forgotten that he is both to protect and serve.

• And for all you germophobes out there, here’s 10 more places you never expected to harbor dangerous bacteria.

• If you want a good chuckle, check out this sampler of the Best of Craigslist.

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The Caribbean Monk seal will soon be off the endangered species list, but only because it’s officially extinct.

• Don’t believe in God? Well, neither does this guy and he took out a billboard to prove it.

• Is Barack Obama an enlightened being?

• Is this the end of the Clinton era?

• Sign that John McCain is in trouble: Robert Novak is calling McCain talking points silly and stupid.

• McCain may be running on the ticket of the “family values” party, but what about the wife he so callously left behind?

• In the lighter side, here’s a look at some really strange festivals in Europe, including Greece’s phallus fest.

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Here’s this week’s photo caption contest:

And while you are thinking about it, here’s something inspiring to watch:

OK, that was not what I thought it was, but it’s still funny. Here’s what I meant for you to see:

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A couple dozen New College students, a couple dozen mp3 players, a parade of bewildered tourists.

I’ve often fantasized about a dance party where I select the entire playlist. No more trying to dance, dancing forces itself upon me.

Commence the headphones dance party. We biked from Myrtle Avenue to St. Armand’s Circle, where each of us hooked up our headphones, squeezed our eyes shut and danced it out. Passersby stopped and stared. While I took photos, an Asian tourist approached and asked, “What they doing?” Dancing, duh.

The only drawback was you couldn”t dance with another person. You’d try, then all of a sudden they’d mouth a scream and jump in the air. What are you doing? There’s no scream at this part.

After a half hour or so, we dance-ran down to Lido beach, where we set to dancing on the shoreline. I played some Smiths, some Magnetic Fields, some Talking Heads. Out of curiosity, I paused my iPod to see what we looked like without music.

It just seemed like they were keeping really bad time with the sound of the surf. I guess your ear looks for rhythm where it can find it. Your ear looks? Never mind.

Check out these photos from the party: (more…)

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What’s your vote worth to Hillary Clinton? How about as little as $27.16?

• Curious about the decision-making (or lack thereof) in the Bush White House prior to the invasion of Iraq? You (and future historians) are not going to read any of the 10 million e-mails that were supposed to be archived. Can anyone say cover up?

• Still hankering for the truth about the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal? Still want to see some of the decision-makers held accountable? Well, you are going to be disappointed by the new film “Standard Operating Procedure.” At least that what one Army intelligence officer had to say.

• Today’s first entry in the annals of “Abuse of Police Power.” Yes, this man was arrested for failing to use his turn signal.

• The second entry. Yes, this farmer was arrested for selling milk.

• One cheeky Australian fellow has been improving his nation’s roadsides, one new traffic sign at a time.

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This was happening at Sarasota Olive Oil Company yesterday. Wtf. Photo caption contest begins now.

Here’s our first: Goddamn peyote flashbacks. Hand her the coffee, steady hand, don’t cry. Don’t cry.

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This, from outside CLHQ:

We’ve never been big on vanity plates. They’re sort of like distressed jeans to us — you shouldn’t have to work that hard, or pay that much, to set yourself apart. But this?

The awesomeness is indisputable.

Plus, the guy chose the Protect the Panther plate. Is there anything tougher? Nope, nope and definitely nope. OK, maybe there’s something to the intensity of the organ-donor plate, but it is “Badolac” worthy?

Hell no — Badolac keeps his organs for himself.

Browse the never-ending list of Florida specialty plates here.

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