The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age

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Governor Blagojevich, I Salute You

The mob has gathered round the house of Governor Rod Blagojevich, waving their virtual pitchforks and shrieking for justice. Our own Deadman has even called him "ugly." Shame on him. Governor Blagojevich may not be married to a hot Star Trek actress, but he's a fine looking man, if a bit jowly. And no one is fooled by Aman's crocodile tears; we know that he yearns to return to his hometown and claim the office of Governor for himself. (When asked who would replace Blagojevich as Governor, he innocently shrugged in mock ignorance.)

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More fun with cardboard: Obama speechwriter Jon Favreau gropes cardboard Clinton

Cardboard strikes again: Jon Favreau has been busted for a facebook photo in which he was caught groping a cardboard cutout of Hillary Clinton. Now I can understand the allure of two-dimensional women. In college, my (coed) roommates kept a cut-out of a model stroking a massive six-foot bottle of beer in our common room.

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Love it? Hate it? Meh? Talk to me.

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The State of the Day is Estrogenic

Caroline Kennedy is considering pursuing Hillary Clinton's vacant Senate seat according to a cousin, who surely spoke of his own volition and not as part of any political PR strategy. Kennedy may face some stiff competition for the post though, as dagblogger Mortimus is considering changing his screen name to Mortimus Kennedy Jr. and appropriating Orlando's womanly avatar, according to his cousin. Question for the audience: Do you know of any female "Juniors?" Why don't women give their daughters their own names?

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Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Canadian Prorogation But Were Afraid To Ask

Prime Minister Stephen Harper prorogued Canada's Parliament yesterday. Proroguing is not to be confused with pierogieing, a Polish sport in which competitors pelt each other with cheese-filled dumplings.

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In rare victory, our folks defeat other folks

In a victory for our folks, Saxby Chambliss won the Georgia runoff. Thank goodness. Our folks took a beating on Nov. 4th as the other folks voted for one of their own. A few years ago, the idea that one of the other folks could become president was unthinkable.

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Era's End

I watched live stand-up comedy one night last week. In an attempt to energize a quiet crowd, a comedian remarked, "So Barack Obama will be President," which elicited a cheer. She then remarked that it was a guaranteed way to wake up a room, which got a laugh. But the laugh carried an ironic note. The trick is dated. Our ecstatic enthusiasm for Obama's exhilarating election is fading. When another comedian tried the same routine later in the night, the response was modest.

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Change What?

Back in the primary, pundits and critics wondered how Obama could deliver change while keeping his promise of bipartisanship, for the Republicans would surely block progressive initiatives. As Obama selects experienced insiders for his administration, pundits and critics now wonder how he can deliver change with a staff whose ideas have shaped past administrative policies. Some assume that Obama will not try or will not be able to fulfill his promises of change. Others assume that to Obama, "change" is an empty word, useful for getting elected but irrelevant to his governing plans.

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Review: Slumdog Millionaire - City of Bollywood

City of God (2002) tells the story of a good kid from the teeming slums of Rio who struggles to escape the gravitational pull of poverty, crime, and prejudice in quest of love and a better life. Slumdog Millionaire tells the story of a good kid from the teeming slums of Bombay/Mumbai who struggles to escape the gravitational pull of poverty, crime, and prejudice in quest of love and a better life. Thus, a genre is born.

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Korea, Madagascar, and Nouveau Colonialism

Dagster Donal recently posted the news that a South Korea company is pursuing a deal with Madagascar to lease arable land equivalent to almost half of its currently farmed land for 99 years in order to grow crops for feed and biofuel. Chinese companies have been doing similar deals with a number of African countries but at much smaller scales.

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Biography

Michael Wolraich is a non-fiction writer in New York City. He co-founded dagblog and has contributed  to the Atlantic, the Daily Beast, New York Magazine, CNN.com, TalkingPointsMemo.com, Reuters, and Pando Daily.

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Wolraich is also the computer genius who maintains dagblog's state-of-the-art software, but he denies responsibility for technical glitches and advises users to "quit sniveling." In his spare time, Wolraich raises peach mold and performs live impressions of the law of gravity.

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