While the fallout from yesterday’s Senate race in Massachusetts sends Democrats scrambling to save health care, here’s the Daily Kos’ Laura Clawson with 6 Shocking Discoveries about yesterday’s victor, Scott Brown (beyond his above posing for Playgirl in ‘82):

The campaign against Scott Brown has effectively been 10 days long.  Ten days is not a long time, but in that time we’ve learned a lot about Brown.

1. Scott Brown suggested on television that President Obama was born out of wedlock, then tried to claim that Martha Coakley was making things up when her campaign called attention to it.

2. Scott Brown voted against aid to 9/11 recovery workers because it was too expensive, while at the same time he was trying to fund a golf course in his district and give tax subsidies to corporations.

3. Scott Brown tried to deny emergency contraception to rape victims.  When he was called on it, he tried to deny the truth, then hid behind his daughters.

4. Scott Brown claimed he didn’t know anything about any Tea Parties, even though he’d appeared at their rallies and publicized fundraisers they threw for him.

5. Scott Brown opposes a fee to get back bailout money from the biggest banks.

6. Scott Brown supports a constitutional ban on gay marriage and thinks two women raising a child is “just not normal.”

That’s a lot to take in in 10 days. Imagine if there had been a longer campaign in which these stories emerged more gradually so voters had time to absorb them fully.  Now imagine what else we’ll know about Scott Brown in 10 more days.

President Obama’s thoughts on passing health care in relation to Senator-elect Brown:

 
See also: Dazed Dems Rethink Entire Strategy

(via Alternet)

 
It’s obvious that John Edwards is reviled by a large segment of the American people and rightfully so, if you ask me. The hayseed Lothario is viewed positively by only 15% of people in his home state of North Carolina. The firm who took the survey, Public Policy Polling, say this makes Edwards the “most unpopular person we’ve polled anywhere at any time.”

He’s still seen positively by 25% of Democrats but only 9% of independents and 3% of Republicans. Interestingly despite his new image as a philanderer men have a more unfavorable opinion of him (75%) than women (68%).

The numbers are what one would expect when polling the popularity of a politician who cheated on his cancer-stricken wife while possibly fathering a child out of wedlock, all while running for the presidency of the United States. And Edwards’s horribly negative portrayal in the new 2008 campaign book, “Game Change,” certainly didn’t help matters.

And about that “horribly negative portrayal” in Game Change there is an excerpt from the book on New York magazine’s website that is well worth reading. In fact, it’s astonishing. What a fucking idiot! Edwards alone could have been the ruination of the Democratic party with his insane, reckless philandering under such intense media scrutiny. Imagine if he’d gotten the nod instead of Obama and then got caught out. McCain/Palin win the election by a landslide. McCain dies in his sleep and Sarah fucking Palin is the leader of the free world. Bing, bang, boom. THAT could have been our collective fate because of this guy! I hate John Edwards. He’s an asshole of epic proportions and his karma must be putrid. It must hurt to be the most unpopularest guy ever but Edwards earned it.

And if you want to know how I really feel…

 
A pictorial representation of China’s censored words and blocked websites (minus the pornography).  For a (slightly) larger pic of this, visit InformationIsBeautiful.

 
“I do not have a single constructive proposal.”

This is hilarious. It’s poetry, too. This man is a genius. Give him his own TV show!

Here’s what it says about him on WIkipedia:

Koichi Toyama (?

 
The cannabis prohibition dominoes keep falling. One by one, they’re falling. This just in from Bloomberg:

New Jersey lawmakers approved a bill that would make it the 14th U.S. state to allow doctors to prescribe marijuana for patients suffering from cancer and other debilitating diseases.

The legislation passed the Assembly 48-16 with one abstention. The measure already cleared the state Senate, which voted 25-13 to approve restrictions in the Assembly version, including a list of ailments for which the drug can be prescribed and a prohibition on the growing of marijuana by patients.

“This is a wonderful beginning,” said Nancy Fedder, 62, of Hillsborough, who spoke outside the Assembly chamber and said she has been illegally smoking marijuana for more than a decade to alleviate pain from multiple sclerosis. “It’s something that needed to happen a long time ago; sometimes I have to go to bed and stay there for days, and when I smoke marijuana the pain comes right down.”

The plan was among 100 today that went before both houses of the Legislature in the final day of its session. The Senate and the Assembly, which are both controlled by Democrats, are getting ready to share power with the first Republican governor elected since 1997.

Tara and I used to live in NJ (don’t ask) and it’s a pretty state, to be sure, but it’s not exactly cool there. When we were living there, just a few years ago, it was still a zero-tolerance state! So this is big news.

 
This is disturbing. Can you imagine being responsible for responding to this on a governmental level? Talk about a mine field, you’d be getting this from all sides no matter you you did.
Clearly, though, they’ve got to do something. It just won’t be easy. Or popular. Yikes.

Police have identified children as young as seven being groomed for terrorism, with some expressing a wish to become suicide bombers.

Up to 10 primary school pupils, aged between seven and 10, have been placed on a government outreach programme for individuals considered at risk of being radicalised and turning to violence.

Some have taken inspiration from jihadi websites or after viewing extremist material in Islamic bookshops.

One child was referred to the programme by his teacher after writing on a school book: ?

Say what you will about Barack Obama, I have to say that taking responsibility for the Christmas terrorist plot intelligence failure is, well, the most (by which I mean the only) mature act I’ve seen from a president, ever. Call it the kinder, gentler face of fascism, but this?

 
Howard Stern’s take on Sarah Palin’s audio book. Truly hilarious and definitely NSFW. You just know she’s going to complain to the media and/or try to sue him when she gets wind of this.

Thank you Ynohtna Oimefue!

 
My colleague at the Los Angeles Times, Ramie Becker, wrote a great short article about the closing of iconic LA nightspot Dragstrip 66, looking back at the club’s almost unheard of seventeen year run. (Make sure to browse through the photo gallery. Some winners there):

Equally inspired by high fashion and lowbrow art, Dragstrip 66 carved out a niche for those who liked their night life tempo somewhere between a John Waters film, a Bob Mackie fashion show and a drunken punk dance party. It became a who’s who of the alternative/queer performance art scene; Jackie Beat, Joey Arias, Varla Jean Merman, Chi Chi LaRue and Jer Ber Jones all graced its stage. A-list celebrities showed up too: Marilyn Manson, Claire Danes, Roseanne Barr, Traci Lords, RuPaul, Alan Cumming, Drew Barrymore and Adam Lambert among them.

Read more: Dragstrip 66: Saying goodbye is such a drag (Los Angeles Times)