"I'm a-gonna git richer than hell!"
-Another rat jumps ship-
Onetime Senate GOP leader Trent Lott wil be retiring from that body before the end of the year. "I don't know what the future holds," says Trent. "A lot of options, hopefully, will be available."
One of those options in the unknown future will be a very likely job as a lobbyist. According to Raw Story, "By resigning before Jan. 1, 2008, Lott will dodge new ethics laws that would require him to wait two years before taking on a lucrative lobbying gig in Washington." We may see less of Trent in the near future, but DC won't.
Lott's greatest claim to recent fame was an incident in 2002 where he praised segregationist Sen. Strom Thurmond, saying the nation wouldn't have had "all these problems" if Thurmond's racist-asshole ticket had won in 1948. That bit of longing for the good ol' days when a blatant racist could seriously run for president cost Lott his position as Senate Majority Leader.
Other options for Lott include a series of books praising Jefferson Davis, Adolph Hitler, and Osama Bin Laden. Can't say we'll miss ya much, Trent. (Raw Story, Bloomberg)
-Headline of the day-
"Cheney on predatory lending: the markets are working." That's right, the country's in the middle of a sub-prime mortgage crisis and a sluggish holiday retail season because the markets are working. So, I guess it's safe to assume that when the markets aren't working, lenders actually come over to your house and literally rape you.
Good to know. (Think Progress)
-[Reddit] headline of the day-
"Greenpeace are having a vote to name a whale they have 'adopted'. All the options are the names of ancient gods of the sea. And then there's 'Mister Splashy Pants'. Please vote 'Mister Splashy Pants'."
Actually, the headline's not entirely true. There are Japanese, Finnish, and other maritime names whch aren't of divine origin, including one extremely unimaginative one -- Paikea, which is a word meaning "humback whale" among the Maori of New Zealand. Oddly, the English term for a humpback whale, "Humpback Whale," isn't an option.
But Mister Splashy Pants is winning. It's majestic. (Greenpeace, via reddit)
