How very fortunate for America that a camera just happened to be there and filming when Fred turned from his newspaper-readin' and ruminatin' (in a very unstagey manner, I might add) and spoke to us in that folksy unscripted way of his. The part where he started coughing and accidentally pooped himself was also a nice touch. Very natural. Very.... earthy.

Cell phone died today. Or maybe yesterday. I don't know. I got a call from a friend, "Hello? Hello?".  They could hear me. I couldn't hear them. It was like really good phone sex; all about me.

I hate talking on the phone. I mean I really really hate it. Without something to look while talking at my eyes start flickering around and then my mind starts wandering and the next thing I know I've inadvertently volunteered to be a test subject for an innovative new colonoscopy procedure, or worse I've agreed to attend a wedding. Unfortunately, for business purposes, I need to stay "connected" as they say and  since we no longer have a land line in the house: the cell phone.

And today the chirpy little bastard died.

That means that tomorrow I have to go to the phone store (Verizon and, yes we like Verizon and, no, I won't switch to AT&T so I can get a iPhone) where a salesperson (who most likely recently graduated college with a business degree only to discover that P&G wasn't interested) will attempt to sell me a phone that contains multitudes: internet browsing, touchscreens, email access, GPS, Hubble-quality camera, salad tongs, and death ray. Actually I could use the death ray.

So...touchscreen? Blackberry*?  Anyone? Anyone?

* I can't wait for the Blackberry Storm but I'm leery of being an early adopter anyway so, you know.... whatever.

Since returning from the NRO Cruise, K-Lo and the usual gang of nitwits have been rattling the tin cup for alms for the brain bereft. As we can see  from last Thursday until today,  things have not gone swimmingly. It is possible that after eight years of trampling reason and logic underfoot in a mad scramble for discount Reaganism their loyal readers are neither in a forgiving nor giving mood this holiday season. Obviously drastic measures are called for and NRO readers are best reminded that K-Lo has tan lines from the cruise and she's not afraid to share them.

That way lies madness. Or blindness if God is  more generous than the NRO readership...

Shorter Bill Kristol:

Kill them all and let their Mudgod sort them out.

Ohio State freshman Justin Higgins explains at PJ Media  why the kids don't want to party with John McCain, Mitch McConnell, and John Boehner:

Conservatism needs to become sexy again.

I give up.

No.

Really.

When exactly was conservatism "sexy"? I don't remember it even looking good at closing time after quite a few drinks and maybe even a little blunt force head trauma. In fact, based upon the most recent election, it appears that quite a few people who jumped in bed with conservatism eight years ago spent the last year or so  doing the walk of shame and secretly hoping they didn't catch herpes.

But let's indulge OSU Buckeye Justin and find out what it takes to make young conservative junk in the box pop up and say "Hello!":

We need to emphasize the elements of conservatism that empower the individual, expand liberty, and defend freedom. We need to break down issues like earmarks into simple terms, and explain that it’s not about changing the rules in the Senate. It’s about fixing our government and building a future without debt, a future with strong American consumers making individual decisions. We need to talk about the elements of conservatism that create a strong culture, instead of talking about the “inside baseball” issues surrounding the Supreme Court. We need an ambassador to the idealists just as John McCain or Mitt Romney were ambassadors to the pragmatists who focused on policy solutions but not public relations solutions. To win the youth, conservatism needs to become “sexy” again, and we have to start talking about issues in a way that shows that they matter to my generation.

We don’t have to dumb down our agenda or abandon our principles for populist rhetoric, but we need a strategy that convinces people they need to vote for America’s future, and that the Republican Party isn’t the party of old ideas or “rich white guys.” As much as I hate to admit it, the Democrats have successfully made that our image.

So it was really unfair of Democrats to force a bunch of white Republican guys to pose for a picture when they were celebrating 'empowering the individual and expanding liberty' by limiting a woman's ability to make reproductive choices for herself. Although it was still kind of sexy because vaginas were tangentially involved and, when you're a young Republican, sometimes that's considered sniffing distance... if you'll forgive the entirely inappropriate and ill-chosen colloquial expression.

And while  breaking down "issues like earmarks into simple terms" doesn't sound particularly conserva-sexy,  when you consider the alternative it's positively Boehner-inducing.  

Clean up on aisle nine:

PALM DESERT, Calif. - Two people were shot to death in a crowded toy store on Black Friday in a confrontation apparently involving rival groups, city officials said.

Palm Desert Councilman Jim Ferguson said police told him two men with handguns shot and killed each other. Ferguson said he asked police whether the incident was a dispute over a toy or whether it was gang-related. He said police told him they were not going to release further details until the victims' relatives were notified.

"I think the obvious question everyone has is who takes loaded weapons into a Toys "R" Us?" he said.

Oooo! Oooo! Ask me! I know.

Hopefully one of the Jonas brothers will move into Pete Doherty territory soon so at least they'll be interesting in that special multi-car pileup way that we all secretly love.

One thing I haven't had time to do was catch up on some movies, so the cuddly and amenable mrs tbogg and I settled in to watch Tropic-- Thunder (which had its moments, but, you know), Wall-E (impressed by the animation, but not by the story which lacked... something), and I finally got to watch Charlie Wilson's War which I enjoyed immensely mainly because of the snappy dialogue between Tom Hanks and Phillip Seymour Hoffman (the best actor working this side of Daniel Day-Lewis). I have copies of Hoffman's Before The Devil Knows You're Dead  and The Savages which I still haven't gotten around to, but hope to this weekend since I'm in a movie mood.

I was unaware that Aaron Sorkin wrote the screenplay for Charlie Wilson and it occurred to me that, while I'm familiar with who Sorkin is, I've never actually watched anything that he has been involved with. Which is to say, I've never seen A Few Good Men (due primarily to my Tom Cruise aversion and, yes, I know he was in Tropical Thunder) and I have never seen even one episode of The West Wing. Appointment TV just isn't my thing. I've only seen three episodes of the first season of The Sopranos, the first episode of Six Feet Under, the first two episodes of Mad Men, and nada zip zilch of The Wire. 

I am so out of it.

However, in a case of "timing is everything", today I happened to receive an email from Amazon with their Black Friday specials and, lo and behold, they have the complete West Wing for $75 which is kind of a rocking good price. Okay. I'll bite.

Please feel free to use the comments to either tell me that I scored a great deal or you can totally harsh my anticipation and point out that I should have gone full Gilmour Girls instead. And no spoilers: I already know that Darth is Luke's father.

Duh.

The big comfy bed is in place and it meets with the boys approval although they had to suffer through some initial anxiety when the bed guys were delivering it (see them crated together below). They have made it their own.

Here's your Thanksgiving bassets...

Added: Noodles!

Have a simply lovely Thanksgiving. We'll be taking this evening and tomorrow off with the exception of Thursday Basset Blogging because, Jeebus knows, what kind of a ruckus the absence of basset blogging would create.

In the meantime, enjoy this.