At least the Bush Administration can say it's best in one respect

...Most Ironic Administration In History

• Adding to his various ironic schticks (the emphatic "I'm the decider/commanderguy" bit, the "We do not torture" while torturing, the "Freedomerica" while breaking down our freedoms... the list goes on), here's Bush in Prague with the Czech President yakking about press freedom (scroll to the last blurb). Seems that the press conference was one of those where the press don't get to ask any questions. Bush at the end thanked the media for a "chance to discuss these issues with the media." Apparently, "discuss with" now a synonym for "force-feed to". On the one hand, I should love it because of the irony... but on the other hand, I'm dying inside because this guy is my President.

• Meanwhile in the race to replace the guy... uh, what the hell planet is NRO on? I'm sorry? There's so many things wrong with this idiocy. First, the "winner" of tonight's debate if there ever was one was McCain. He stood his ground, held unpopular positions, and reminded Republicans why they liked him in the first place. But second, and most importantly, Levin posits that Giuliani, Thompson, and Romney are "Presidential" while the three leading Democrats, Clinton, Obama, and Edwards are not. Really? Where the hell is this guy coming from? This is a perfect demonstration of the Republican conflation of testosterone and leadership. Note that the three Levin picks are the three best conveyors of testosterone... Giuliani the presumed 9/11 hero, Thompson the actual actor, and "Double Guantanamo" Romney the game show host. Never mind that McCain actually fought in a war. These guys have "guts." These are the "dream" candidates?

• While the Republicans distance themselves from Bush precipitously, they are all still descendants of his legacy: on torture, on foreign policy, on big-government "conservatism," etc. Greenwald fairly well dismantles the right's supposedly sudden discovery that Bush is not a "true" conservative just as soon as he's not popular any more. Now, as Atrios suggests, the Republicans can go embrace a new Leader to replace the disgraced one. As soon as he's unpopular, Bush is no longer useful to "the movement." These guys drive me nuts.

• With all the Rome/America comparisons floating about, here's a more in-depth piece in Vanity Fair excerpted from Cullen Murphy's new book on the subject. Murphy identifies the problem of private contractors and government outsourcing as the source of the downfall of the "empire" as it were. I'm not sure if I entirely agree, but no doubt, Murphy succinctly breaks down the problems of the contractor-based system.

• So the Second Circuit ruled that if the words "fuck" and "shit" are used on air in an off-the-cuff comment, the station can't be fined if they reach the audience's ears. A victory for the First Amendment! But wait! FCC Chair Kevin Martin doesn't think so, releasing this press release... which contains the dreaded words "fuck" and "shit" themselves. So... in Martin's world, if CNN broadcasts his press release, can they be fined? Should they? Hey, Kevin Martin. Fuck you.

• The New Republic (free registration) has a series of pieces on Bernard Kouchner, France's new Foreign Minister. It's definitely worth a read, since Kouchner will no doubt be the new global face of France and has almost no previous exposure in America.

• Am I the only one who finds the "PARDON SCOOTER" talk a bit silly? Isn't this the same party that thought that perjury was a high enough crime and/or misdemeanor to impeach Bill Clinton? And, not that it matters when it comes to perjury, but Clinton's was about a blowjob, and Libby's was about the outing of a covert CIA agent. While Libby's defenders may fight to make the public think that Valerie Plame was a desk jockey, make no mistake. She was a covert agent. So covert that the CIA won't let her disclose information already in the public domain in her memoir. This guy broke the law and lied under oath. Where are all the "law and order" guys now?

• In memory of great "Hey! It's That Guy!"s, Cracked has a list of the 20 best "That Guy"s. Amazed that Walsh isn't number one, though. And I don't think Cromwell can count as a "That Guy." He even had a starring role in a short-lived family drama.

• Bye Bob. You made so many summer weekday mornings Righter.

• I bought my ticket to go see the sneak preview of Persepolis Friday night. If you aren't familiar, Persepolis was originally a French language graphic novel in four volumes by Marjane Satrapi, detailing her flight from Iran and consequent interactions with her homeland, her family who was left behind, and various historical events like the Iran/Iraq war. It will be remembered as a monument to the 21st century autobiographical graphic novel, and I love the book and its sequel Persepolis 2. That's why the thought of a movie was so intriguing. I had no idea they were making one until it won the Prize of the Jury at Cannes. Needless to say, I'm pumped. Plus, the filmmakers will be there! And possibly Satrapi, too (although I'm not sure on that one... it may just be the other animation director).

• Gas prices pimpin all over the world.

• Hah. Amp'd Mobile goes under, because almost half its subscribers don't pay their bills. The danger of approaching the youth market rear their head. We are irresponsible fickle bastards.

OK, that's it for now.
Video clip. It's the Human Slinky! Not that difficult to figure out, but hypnotizing to watch.