You don’t know me, your detractor seethes, yet she fears, more than anything, that you do. She fears that you have taken a peek under the shell and found the vulnerable, trembling parts she has tried so hard to hide. That we are all vulnerable and trembling in some way does not appease her. She sees no beauty in a raw sketch — it’s ugly until it’s covered in paint, sealed behind glass, and hung in a gilded frame.

You see this in her: Disgust, fear, and a need to drag an eraser over your spirit and make you her antagonist. Her passion for loathing is so profound that you wonder if perhaps, had circumstances been different, she may have crawled up the mountain with you and screamed.

Wow. Powerful writing indeed.

Taco Bell 'Meat' Only 36 Percent Beef

It's time to become a vegetarian. An Alabama law firm is filing a class action lawsuit against Taco Bell after discovering that the “meat” used in their dishes isn't really meat at all, at least not according to the USDA. The "taco meat filling" as it's written on their containers has only 36 percent real beef; the rest is a combination of chemicals and odd-ball ingredients like 'cocoa powder'. The USDA defines "meat taco filling" as having at least 40 percent fresh meat. Taco Bell spokesman Rob Poetsch issued a statement that read, "Taco Bell prides itself on serving high quality Mexican inspired food with great value. We're happy that the millions of customers we serve every week agree. We deny our advertising is misleading in any way and we intend to vigorously defend the suit."

I have said many times that fast food is not food. Taco Hell may be one of the worst offenders, but none of it is food.

The sad part is that I actually remember each and every one of these. Scarier still I was even involved in a couple of them.

Ahhh ... the good old days...

It’s difficult to know where to begin deconstructing conservative rhetoric on taxes and spending. It's such a central part of their worldview, and yet it's a view informed by a whole slew of falsehoods that have been repeated again and again during this year's debates over the Bush tax cuts, public spending and the deficit. What follows are nine of the biggest fact-free whoppers that conservatives insist are true.

I know, picking the 9 biggest lies must have been a challenge, but really, go read the whole thing. Those of us who have even a rudimentary understanding of math and economics have always known that "cutting taxes generates more revenue" was laughably false.

And yet ...

It really is almost impossible to make up this combination of stupid and crazy. I mean really. She gets nothing right. And by nothing, I mean, well, NOTHING. And that's pretty much ever.

Why Minnesota? WHY? Is there something in the water that produces this kind of thing, and then pre-programs you to continue to elect it to national office?

I, for one, hope she runs for President. If she and that other crazy stupid lady both run? Two words: Comedy GOLD! 

Seriously. No one can make this kind of stuff up. It's just too far out there. If it weren't so sad, it might just be funny.