For a good time peruse LOLTHULHU by way of The Solar Satellite.

I can laugh at the idea of a giant squid-faced god/monster eating everything in its path but can’t bear to watch a king crab running for its life across the deck of a trawler in Deadliest Catch. That’s because in reality, the insatiable, unstoppable monster is us.

A low-flying Presidential 747 circled Lower Manhattan several times Monday morning, accompanied by a helicopter and two F-16’s as part of an Air Force photo-op.

New Yorkers Panic. Buildings are evacuated and rumor quickly spreads about a hijacking. The Police Department claims that the FAA barred them from alerting the public about the flight. The Air Force scuffs the dirt and says that it’s SNAFU, flights like this happen quite often. The White House apologizes.

First-person accounts from Staten Island:

My two year old was looking out my bedroom window and told me he was saying hello to the people on the plane! A few minutes later I saw the jumbo jet being escorted by a fighter plane flying over St. George! All I saw was a tremendous planes underbelly. It was very scary! I immediately called my husband who works in midtown. Shame on you to anyone who thinks we should not have been scared or concerned. You obviously were not in NYC on 9/11! -Victory724

I live in an apartment building on the North Shore. My terrace faces Newark Airport and Manhattan is on my right. This plane was so low I thought it was going to hit my building. We saw a fighter jet following so of course we thought the worst. It went over Newark, over Silver Lake Park and looked as if it was heading straight towards us but then it turned towards Manhattan. I was so scared I grabbed my son and ran for the door. We didn’t notice the presidential seal until it made it’s SECOND turn over the park…that’s how low it was and how close to our building it was. I am so angry and so upset. A little tip for this administration….if you’re going to fly a plane over NYC notify the residents esp., because of 9/11 WTC survivors and family members. - twittertweet

Gems from Democratic Underground’s Peanut Gallery:

It’s too close to Cheney warning of another attack and the torture memo’s being released not to make some of us suspicious about this. - KoKo

I hope they don’t do a documentary on anthrax in our mail. -blueworld

By the way, the matador is a caricature of Walt Disney. (Cartoon at link!)

A Spanish Bullfight is a barbaric game inevitably leading to the bull’s death. It’s a glamorous spectacle meant to emphasize Man’s domination over animals. Ferdinand’s happy refusal to fight thwarts the Matador’s aggression, defeating him, and saving his own life.

Like Ferdinand, may you who read this save the day by sitting on your ass, when asked to facilitate violence and oppression. I wish you all the happiness and joy of peace in the coming year. You can have it, if you want it. I want it now.

…we ask You to help us work for that day
when Black will not be asked to get back,
when Brown can stick around,
when Yellow will be mellow,
when the Red man can get ahead, man,
and when White will embrace what is right.

Joe Lowery’s prayer of benediction appeals to me more than any other speech, sermon or prayer I heard yesterday, because of his inclusive language. The transcriptions of his prayer that Google returns don’t match the video so I’m working on a version of my own.

Here is his prayer:

God of our weary years, God of our silent tears, thou, who has brought us thus far along the way, thou, who has by thy might led us into the light, keep us forever in the path, we pray: lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met thee; lest our hearts, drunk with the wine of the world, we forget thee.

Shadowed beneath thy hand, may we forever stand true to thee, oh God, and true to our native land.

We truly give thanks for the glorious experience we’ve shared this day.

We pray now, oh Lord, for your blessing upon thy servant Barack Obama, the 44th president of these United States, his family and his administration.

He has come to this high office at a low moment in the national, and indeed the global, fiscal climate. But because we know you got the whole world in your hands, we pray for not only our nation, but for the community of nations.

Our faith does not shrink though pressed by the flood of mortal ills.

For we know that, Lord, you are able and you’re willing to work through faithful leadership to restore stability, mend our brokenness, heal our wounds, and deliver us from the exploitation of the poor, of the least of these, and from favoritism toward the rich, the elite of these.

We thank you for the empowering of thy servant, our 44th president, to inspire our nation to believe that yes we can work together to achieve a more perfect union.

And while we have sown the seeds of greed — the wind of greed and corruption, and even as we reap the whirlwind of social and economic disruption, we seek forgiveness and we come in a spirit of unity and solidarity to commit our support to our president by our willingness to make sacrifices, to respect your creation, to turn to each other and not on each other.

And now, Lord, in the complex arena of human relations, help us to make choices on the side of love, not hate; on the side of inclusion, not exclusion; tolerance, not intolerance.

And as we leave this mountain top, help us to hold on to the spirit of fellowship and the oneness of our family. Let us take that power back to our homes, our workplaces, our churches, our temples, our mosques, or wherever we seek your will.

Bless President Barack, First Lady Michelle. Look over our little angelic Sasha and Malia.

We go now to walk together as children, pledging that we won’t get weary in the difficult days ahead. We know you will not leave us alone.

With your hands of power and your heart of love, help us then, now, Lord, to work for that day when nations shall not lift up sword against nation, when tanks will be beaten into tractors, when every man and every woman shall sit under his or her own vine and fig tree and none shall be afraid, when justice will roll down like waters and righteousness as a mighty stream.

Lord, in the memory of all the saints who from their labors rest, and in the joy of a new beginning, we ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get back, when brown can stick around, when yellow will be mellow, when the red man can get ahead, man, and when white will embrace what is right. That all those who do justice and love mercy say Amen, and Amen, and Amen.

Amen!

Kudos to DU user bob_weaver for his Photoshop of the day

John McCain bails on David Letterman, and the host is not happy

Hours after John McCain announced he was suspending his campaign to focus on fixing the nation’s ailing economy, he pulled out of his scheduled appearance on the “The Late Show with David Letterman.”

As our colleague Matea Gold reports on the Show Tracker blog, Letterman told the audience during the taping of Wednesday’s show that McCain had called him personally to apologize for bailing. According to Letterman, McCain said he couldn’t appear because he was rushing to the airport to get back to Washington.

But midway through the broadcast, Letterman appeared to learn that the Arizona senator was actually still in New York. In fact, McCain was just a few blocks away, at the CBS News headquarters. He was preparing for a last-minute exclusive interview with Katie Couric.

Incredulous, Letterman interrupted his interview with Keith Olbermann (who had filled in as a substitute guest for McCain) to show the audience a live shot on the internal CBS News feed of a makeup artist putting the finishing touches on McCain while he waited to talk to Couric.

“He doesn’t seem to be racing to the airport, does he?” Letterman said, shouting at the television monitor: “Hey, John, I got a question! You need a ride to the airport?”