With all due respect to Mt. Mutombo, news of his humanitarian efforts in the Congo is a bit...er...outdated, especially considering Ed Bradley and 60 Minutes profiled the tale way back in 2000. In personal terms, this would be like someone congratulating me today for wedding my divine Hammer nearly a decade ago. In practical terms, this means that Dubya will finally admit what a fucking catastrophe he has on his hands in, oh, say, 2014.

Optimistically, even if he can split the difference, shaving   more...even the five less years it took to cut the deficit in half (how many hundreds of billions is that at now?), that still puts us in 2009, still putting us in a timeframe where Our Dear Sweet Idiot will refer to this Middle Eastern clusterfuck as "had on his hands".

If there's one thing that truly makes me want to slap everyone who voted for this Ricky Strattonesque savant, it's his hellbent unwillingness to face reality - or is that simply a tactical measure in the hopes that daddy in the form of Joel Higgins as Edward Stratton III will come, impart an important lesson, and everything will suddenly freeze frame into the closing credits. You know he's waiting, desperately, for the closing credits of this 8-year debacle in democratic rule, and as he "aw shucked" his way out of the chamber this evening, the best face he could put on things...

"Thank Jesus, I only have to do this one more time."

I'm not a believer, but what the fuck. I'll second that, pardner.  less

For those interested in making Wednesday's a night for beef stroganov, I lean towards Sara Moulton's shiitake variety:

Shiitake Beef Stroganov

2 tablespoons olive oil
4 (5 to 6-ounce) tail of filet or filet mignon pieces, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick pieces
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 pound fresh shiitakes, stems discarded and caps thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
1/2 pound white mushrooms, trimmed and thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
  more...2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup dry red wine
1 1/2 cups beef broth
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, or to taste
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley leaves

Serving suggestion: buttered egg noodles

In a 10 to 12-inch skillet heat 2 tablespoons oil over moderately high heat and brown beef in batches, transferring beef to plate with slotted spoon or tongs.

Add 2 tablespoons butter to skillet and cook onion with salt and pepper, to taste, over moderate heat, stirring, until softened. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring, until tender and liquid they give off is evaporated. Sprinkle flour over vegetables and cook, stirring 1 minute. Add wine and boil until cooking liquid is almost evaporated Add broth and simmer 1 minute. Stir in sour cream and Worcestershire sauce.

Return beef to skillet and gently simmer carefully, stirring occasionally, until beef is warmed through about 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in parsley, and season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Serve stroganov with buttered noodles.  less

Hey hey ya'll - for the record, my semi-regular spews can be read at both AMEN and on Phawker, so get on that and thanks for visiting the [video] gospel according to moi!

More so than turkey skin, sausage stuffing, pecan pie and familial strife, nothing says "Happy Holidays" like the knowledge that "Black Friday" will assuredly bring copious television coverage of overeager shoppers storming the gates of commerce at the crack of dawn. For this, I pine...with extra bonus points for bodies felled.