Hey, members of the rightwing cabal, chill out, my bible-totin' brethren. The whole hullabaloo over the vice president's visage being obscured by a giant black X on CNN's broadcast of his speech to the AEI yesterday? We got all worked up about nothin', man. It was merely a technical error, see?

Which is far, far better than an error in judgment.

President Bush rides with members of the Chinese Olympic cycling team on the Laoshan Olympic Mountain Bike Course in Beijing. (Charles Dharapak, Associated Press)

The Washington Post's headline writers illustrate the success of his trip as follows, and somehow manage to be both more and less pointed in their commentary: "Bush's Asia Trip Meets Low Expectations" (Washington Post, November 21, 2005).

But you know what? We're at least proud to say he is so totally beating those Chinamen! You show them who invented bicycling, George! And we'll pretend it wasn't the French or the Germans. And that no one can ever, ever, ever pass you on the bikepaths. Or tell you that you're wrong. About anything at all.

And then there's this, which, as always, is unrelated...from "House Approves Spending Reductions", Washington Post, November 18, 2005:

The House narrowly approved a broad five-year budget plan early this morning that squeezes programs for the poor, for college students and for farmers, handing Republican leaders a hard-fought victory after weeks of resistance in GOP ranks.

No word yet on whether or not the Pointless-but-Pricey Trips Abroad Appropriations Bill (H.J.Res.27, H.R. 48) will be vetoed once it hits the president's desk.

From "Texas Voters Approve Ban on Gay Marriage", the Associated Press, November 9, 2005:

"Texans know that marriage is between a man and a woman, and children deserve both a mom and a dad. They don't need a Ph.D. or a degree in anything else to teach them that," said Kelly Shackelford, a leader Texans For Marriage, which favored the ban.

Southern anti-intellectualism continues to thrive! It's almost enough to make one feel sorry for the faculty and students at a place like Rice University.

But not really. Fuck you, Texas.

At Home in Oliver's Macedonia and Woody's London, the New York Times, November 6, 2005

Selected highlights from the Times' Hollywood scribe Sharon Waxman's interview/Q&A with actor Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, star of Woody Allen's upcoming tennis thriller Match Point...

First up? The 28-year-old actor touches upon this whole "crisis in the Middle East" thing and its relationship to his filming Alexander with director Oliver Stone:

RHYS-MEYERS: You had 20 young male actors, as his main friends, and then 350 soldiers who'd recently pulled out of Basra and Tikrit - they were all actual soldiers. These guys were constantly living their life to the full, because when they were finished, they were being sent back to the Middle East.

WAXMAN: Let's talk about "Match Point."

OK, so the subject of Iraq doesn't interest Waxman so much. Or, at least, an Irish actor's take on Iraq. What about an Irish actor's take on being, hmmm, an Irish actor?

WAXMAN: Are you very Irish?

RHYS-MEYERS: What's very Irish?

WAXMAN: Are you attached to being Irish?

RHYS-MEYERS: Am I in touch with my roots? Yes, I am very Irish.

And with that matter settled, young Jonathan returned to his pensive brooding, coyly maneuvering his gaze about the room, pausing ever-so-briefly to flit his eyelashes...and looking anywhere, anywhere but at this cursed interviewer who had deigned to help him promote his most recent film.

U.S. President Bush speaks during a news conference with President Martin Torrijos at Casa Amarilla in Panama City, Panama. Monday, Nov. 7, 2005. (AP Photo/Arnulfo Franco)

Residents of the Chorrilo neighborhood set tires alight during a protest against the visit of the US President George Bush in Panama City, Panama, Monday, Nov. 7, 2005. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)

And half a world away...

A man attempts to extinguish a burning truck in Ramadi, Iraq, Monday, Nov. 7, 2005. According to eyewitnesses the driver of the truck died after being attacked by a US convoy that suspected him as a suicide truck bomb. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

RELATED: Withdrawal Plans or Withdrawal Pains? Bush, Iraq, and his elusive timetable: Iraq Options, TPM Cafe, November 7, 2005

Rims sold separately
12 mpg city/16 mpg playground
Some rollover risk

Mayor Bloomberg's ear-to-ear smile, as seen above? You can have that, at least, for free.

RELATED: Wrapping Up, Mayor and Ferrer Ask Voters to Ignore Polls, the New York Times, November 7, 2005

You assume they're referring to Chris Martin, lead feyboy of Coldplay, not Paul Martin, Prime Minister of Canada.

Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld and his wife Joyce arrive for a social dinner in honor of Britain's Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2005, at the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)