Welcome to The Daily Show/Colbert Report re-run thread for August 20, 2008. I don't know how to import the wonderful graphics that TiaRachel uses, but we can still have fun without them.

Hey! While many of you are driveling on ad naseam about who Barack's running-mate will be, I just wanted to take the opportunity to remind you that Election 2008 will be the most important election ever for achieving marriage equality in the United States. California has become ground zero in the debate over gay rights, with rabidly antigay conservatives threatening to nullify the California Supreme Court's courageous decision legalizing marriage equality.

So far, polls about voter attitudes toward Proposition 8 have been favorable for supporters of marriage quality. But now is not the time to get complacent. There have been two major developments in the last twenty-four hours that will be of interest to all progressives and advocates of GLBT rights. More after the jump.

This diary will be short and simple because I don't have much to say.

I think it's safe to draw the following conclusions: (1) most Kossacks are disappointed with recent assaults on the 4th Amendment, even as we differ about how to best express that disappointment, (2) we are all still committed to supporting a grassroots progressive movement, even as we differ about how much leeway to  give Senator Obama and Congressional leaders when they depart from our opinions, and (3) emotions here on Daily Kos are running high. One group of posters have been called by "Purity Trolls" by other posters, and that second group in turn has been called "Concern Trolls" by the first group.

This isn't much of a diary, really. CNN, Fox News, and the Associated Press are all reporting that Deborah Jeane Palfrey, known as the "DC Madam" in the national media, has been found dead in Florida in an apparent suicide. Palfrey had been awaiting sentencing after being convicted in April of Federal racketeering and money laundering charges.

Although I certainly don't mean to condone prostitution, Palfrey's death sounds like a terrible end and my deepest sympathies go out to her family. Rather than condemning those in the prostitution industry for being amoral and cash-driven individuals, I think we need to ask ourselves more about the cultural and economic conditions that give rise to prostitution in first place. There would not be a market for these sorts of services if people didn't feel the need to turn to them for sexual gratification.

I don't really have anything else to say.

I'm surprised not to have seen much discussion of today's news events regarding an alleged Syria-North Korea nuclear cabal. For those who haven't yet seen the story, here's what BBC News is reporting (bold emphasis is mine):

The United States has accused North Korea of helping Syria build a nuclear reactor that "was not intended for peaceful purposes".

The site, said to be like one in North Korea, was bombed by Israel in 2007.

Syria must "come clean" about its secret nuclear programme, the White House said in a statement after CIA officials briefed members of Congress.

I feel a sudden chill in the room.

Arizona continues to be a major source of political news this week. As if John McCain's shenanigans, Rick Renzi's indictment, and John Shaddeg's unretirement weren't enough, the Arizona Republic is now reporting that controversial ex-governor Evan Mecham has died at the age of 83. Mecham, a Republican, holds the dubious honor of having served in office for less than two years before his impeachment and removal from office in April 1988.

Even though few people outside of Arizona remember him today, Mecham's colorful political career serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of political corruption and conservative ideology. Read on for remembrances and musings.

I need a long shower right now. I just attended a Mike Huckabee rally at the Stamp Student Union at the University of Maryland. I lasted about 40 minutes, before I finally left in disgust. The basic gist of my observation is this: Huckabee is the real deal. Even though McCain is the obvious Republican nominee, Huckabee is not going away anytime soon this year and will be back in 2012 or 2016. Although Rep. Paul's supporters like to call themselves "The Paul Revolution," the real revolution in the GOP is being waged by Huckabee.

Based on experience during the past hour, I am now convinced that Huckabee represents the GOP side of the emerging realignment taking place right now. Read on after the jump to find out why.

As a quick break from the endless speculation about the Democratic primaries, I wanted to point out that the GOP is continuing to implode. George F. Will has a damning piece in the most recent issue of Newsweek arguing that the Huckabee surge in Iowa and other recent trends are bad omens for the future of the GOP. You can read the piece for yourself here. After the jump, I'll summarize some of the more salient arguments in the article and explain what it means for progressives.

Two brief disclaimers: (1) yes, I know that Will is a conservative schmuck, and (2) be warned that Will makes some incendiary comments about John Edwards, Al Sharpton, and Jesse Jackson near the beginning of the article that makes clear his continuing disdain for the Democratic Party. But keeping Will's political ideology in mind, the article offers a damning critique of the GOP. Read on for more.

. . . and there isn't a darn thing that you can do about it. I don't care if you're a Muslim, an athiest, a Jew, an agnostic, a Methodist, a deist, a Quaker, a Wiccan, or even if you worship at the High Altar of Aguacates Verdes. There is no such place as hell, and no one will go to it.

Moreover, Barack Obama is not wrong to point out that faith can play a role in public life. And no, he's not going to be our pastor-in-chief. So put down your pitchforks and stop burning the Bible for a minute, and come over the jump to hear me out.

My family's beloved golden retriever, Chelsea, passed away this morning at my parents' house after experiencing massive internal organ failure earlier this week. She was 13, an advanced age for a retriever, and the news was not entirely unexpected. Sadly, I have been 2800 miles away from her for the past eight months. While I had previously hoped that she would live long enough for me to see her one last time this December, I'm glad that her suffering was brief and I hope that she's chasing squirrels and rabbits wherever she is now.

The rest of this diary is a remembrance dedicated to her.

There.  I said it.

I will not vote for Franklin Roosevelt in the general election. No matter what. I'm trying the idea on for size anyway and really it feels pretty good.

Those who have not skipped directly to troll rating my tip jar may be wondering why I would take such a seemingly destructive position, one that is contrary to my own self-interest.

Click to keep reading.

Hello,
Is there anybody in there?
Just nod if you can hear me.
Is there anyone at home?
Come on now.

There is a lot of righteous anger on Daily Kos right now over Bush's commutation of Scooter Libby. I'm disappointed, too. There are a lot Kossacks right now who are angry at the Democratic Congress and their apparent failure of leadership. I too believe that their response could be stronger. There are lot of Kossacks right now calling for Bush's impeachment. I too want to see Bush gone from office.

But something strange has happened. While there is a lot of rage on Daily Kos right now, I find myself feeling absolutely no emotions about the current situation. What the hell is happening to me?

CNN is reporting that Wyoming Senator Craig Thomas has died. He was diagnosed with leukemia shortly after the 2006 election. He was 74.

Amanda Howe will not be attending the Marian High School Junior/Senior prom. Left without a date, the high school student planned to attend the prom with another (platonic) female friend. But as Amanda tells WSJV News:

I was going to take my friend, Justine, who graduated last year, but they decided that they wouldn't let her come. They told me at the end of last week that they wouldn't allow her coming because she was same sex.

Amanda isn't even gay. But homophobic bigotry is so thick in this Catholic high school in northern Indiana that Amanda's sexual orientation seemed lost on school administrators.

Earlier this week, the British and Iranian governments averted an escalating crisis over 15 British solider held captive by Iran.

For the most part, the sailors have rightly received a warm welcome upon their return to the U.K. But now those fifteen soldiers are being swift-boated by Brits and Americans alike, including by some people in the progressive blogosphere. As a self-professed Anglophile, I'm disgusted by these smear jobs. It's high time that we stop this nonsense.

Reuters is reporting tonight that Saddam Hussein's half-brother went to the gallows at dawn, Iraqi time:

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Saddam Hussein’s half brother and the former head of Iraq’s Revolutionary Court were both hanged before dawn Monday, Prosecutor Munqith al-Faroon said, two weeks and two days after the former Iraqi dictator was executed in a chaotic scene that has drawn worldwide criticism.

Much noise has been made in the mainstream media about tepid support in the Republican ranks for President Bush's ill-advised plan to escalate the war in Iraq. However, there's been very little noise about how disastrous Bush's plans are shaping up to be for his party's short-term and long-term future.

It's already well-known that Gordon Smith doesn't support a troop surge. Neither does Susan Collins. Or John Sununu. Or Norm Coleman. But you don't need me to tell you that. Read on after the jump to find out just how big the GOP meltdown is growing.

Though I've been a registered voter in Maryland since moving here for graduate school in 2004, I've always been an Arizonan at heart. I lived in the state for 23 years and always felt most at home in the ponderosa pine forests of Coconino County (hence my moniker, Pine).

Tonight, I'm proud to be an Arizonan because of imminent progressive victories in two very significant races: AZ Congressional District 5, and Proposition 107, the "Protect Marriage Now" initiative. If the current results hold, Arizona is poised to become the first state ever to reject a constitutional ban on gay marriage.