Conservatives are worried about the November election - polls show Senator Obama easily beating McCain.

No surprise, then, that two right-wing republican attack dogs have come forth with their analysis of the Democratic nominee: Karl (Turdblossom) Rove calls Obama "arrogant," while Grover Norquist says that the Democrat is "John Kerry with a tan."

Really? Is that the best you guys can do?

Since his December 2007 endorsement of McCain, Senator Joe Lieberman has been at the republican's side at every important moment.

Yesterday Lieberman indicated that "John McCain on Foreign Policy is closer to where Al Gore and I were in 2000, then Barack Obama is." He went on to say:

I’m closer on a lot of issues, not all, to Obama," Lieberman said. "But the big difference for me is, McCain will actually get something done. It’s one thing to say where you are on a policy and give a good speech, but McCain as president will actually get something done."

While we're talking about wacko evangelicals, let's take a moment to discuss Dr. James Dobson, the homophobic, misogynistic founder of Colorado Springs-based Focus on the Family.

Dr. Dobson is not a friend of Senator McCain - some say that he loathes the republican nominee - but the good doctor took some time this week on his syndicated radio show to refrain from the usual topic of Bible-friendly child rearing advice and turn to presidential politics. Specifically, Dobson:

... took aim at examples Obama cited [in a 2006 speech] in asking which Biblical passages should guide public policy — chapters like Leviticus, which Obama said suggests slavery is OK and eating shellfish is an abomination, or Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, "a passage that is so radical that it's doubtful that our own Defense Department would survive its application."

Dobson reserved some of his harshest criticism for Obama's argument that the religiously motivated must frame debates over issues like abortion not just in their own religion's terms but in arguments accessible to all people...

It's difficult to explain George Carlin. To those born after 1980, he was the angry, pony-tailed older man who ranted about religion, greed, dirty words, politics, materialism and politics.

Older folks - particularly those of the baby-boom generation - will remember him as the comic of their generation: the man who - like the Beatles - started out as a traditional "jacket-and-tie" performer, then changing with the times, becoming a voice of the counterculture.

Putting all that aside (including the Seven Dirty Words), I wonder why today's most successful comedians don't have a similar message. Dane Cook, an incredibly popular comedian among college students, is an entirely different performer. His material focuses on the funny, quirky stuff of life, but isn't as introspective as Carlin. His website, for example, hawks "Dane Cook Gear," offers a donation space for a couple charities (including AnySolider.com), and asks that you vote for Dane for the 2008 Teen Choice Awards. Now I'm not picking on Dane Cook - it's just that he, along with most of the other comics and other artists today, does not openly challenge us to think about our lives, our communities, and our government.

What creates a climate of critical art? Is it the best of times or the worst of times? My guess is that neither one influence critical thought, new ideas and artistic revolution. My feeling is that it's the sense that change is taking place - passing the torch to a new generation, discarding the traditions of an older culture / government, the death of a beloved figure - that moves culture forward.

And after Carlin's death this past Monday, I believe that It's time for a change.

"The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter." - Winston Churchill

"To put the world right in order, we must first put the nation in order; to put the nation in order, we must first put the family in order; to put the family in order, we must first cultivate our personal life; we must first set our hearts right." - Confucious

I've had the pleasure of attending a couple family functions lately - one for my family, the other for my spouse's family. Invariably, the conversations at our family gatherings turn to politics. This year is no exception.

My spouse and I come from two entirely different backgrounds.

It's a tough time for the Bush Administration, both inside and out. Internal problems - including McClellan's "kiss and tell" memoir - are piling on economic issues, like mortgage foreclosures, gasoline prices, and unemployment.

But there is a little bit of good news from the White House: marijuana is more potent than ever. That's right - stoners are enjoying much stronger weed than they did 30 years ago. Advances in farming (think: hydroponics) account for the higher quality product, but there is a downside - marijuana is much more expensive than it used to be.

So the next time you contemplate filling your Escalade's gas tank, you may want to consider taking that $95 and buying something that will truly make you smile.

The "stimulus" checks are on their way; perhaps you are one of the approximately 130 million Americans who will receive a rebate from the IRS.

Here's how Nick in Pennsylvania spent his big rebate:

"I used my $600 to bail myself out of prison, along with $6900 more."
Nick, 28, Welder, Ephrata, PA

Senator McCain finally rejected the endorsement that he originally sought from John Hagee, a wacko televangelist based out of San Antonio, Texas.

McCain and his aides insist that no one with republican's presidential campaign knew of Hagee's unusual views on religion, history, and diversity when Hagee endorsed the elder statesman from Arizona. This point is debatable; regardless, let's take a walk down memory lane and revisit that beautiful day in late February when McCain received Hagee's blessing...

about so many things, like:

1. running out of money during retirement, because of inflation and health care costs;
2. having too much debt - particularly credit card debt;
3. that the U.S. is heading in the wrong direction;
4. dwindling oil reserves and increasing gas prices;
5. identity theft;
li>global warming;
6. about the personal safety of Senator Obama; and finally
7. everything.

This promo for a segment on worrying says it best...

Americans are guilty of so many things. At least that's what these different groups of Americans tell pollsters:

1. Women feel guilty about not being better mothers, particularly when choosing infant formula over breastfeeding;
2. Teens feel guilty about not spending more time with their families;
3. Most of us feel guilty about global warming;
4. Minorities feel guilty about stereotyping and mistrusting other minorities;
5. Democrats feel guilty about Hillary's racist behavior; and
6. Americans traveling overseas feel guilty about being American. So they tell people they're Canadian.