So McCain tries to talk about Ayers. Let’s see how this works out.

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David Talbot reports on what would have been the crowning achievement of Alaskan Independence Party founder Joe Vogler had he not been first killed in a plastic explosives deal gone bad:

Vogler’s greatest moment of glory was to be his 1993 appearance before the United Nations to denounce United States “tyranny” before the entire world and to demand Alaska’s freedom. The Alaska secessionist had persuaded the government of Iran to sponsor his anti-American harangue.

That’s right … Iran. The Islamic dictatorship. The taker of American hostages. The rogue nation that McCain and Palin have excoriated Obama for suggesting we diplomatically engage. That Iran.

The following year, Todd and Sarah Palin attended the AIP convention, and Todd Palin joined the party shortly thereafter.

I received the following e-mail from a good friend:

Right now, for the third time this week, I am listening to This American Life’s most recent show, Another Frightening Show About the Economy. It simply and clearly explains the current financial crisis, the seizure of the commercial paper market, the money market Reserve breaking the buck, the explosive quality of credit default swaps, and finally how the taxpayers got an equity interest in $700B bailout through a stock injection plan rather than Paulson’s plan.

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?sched=1263]

I haven’t had time to listen to it myself yet, but I thought I’d pass on the recommendation, since the next episode is coming up tomorrow, and I’m not sure how long you can listen to old episodes on the web…

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We may be living in the era of the email, but one young illustrator has proved that the art of correspondence is far from dead. While working for her degree at Glasgow School of Art Harriet Russell decided to find out exactly what lengths the men and women of the Royal Mail were willing to go to to ensure the safe delivery of her missives.

To put them to the test she concealed the addresses of 130 letters to herself in a series of increasingly complex puzzles and ciphers. Among the disguises she employed were dot-to-dot drawings, anagrams and cartoons. The answer, it seems, was very far indeed. Amazingly, only 10 failed to complete their journey back to her.

More pictures here

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The US government’s debts have ballooned so badly the National Debt Clock in New York has run out of digits to record the spiralling figure.

The digital counter marks the national debt level, but when that passed the $10 trillion point last month, the sign could not display the full amount.

The board was erected to highlight the $2.7 trillion level of debt in 1989.

The clock’s owners say two more zeros will be added, allowing the clock to record a quadrillion dollars of debt.

Douglas Durst, son of the late Seymour Durst – the clock’s inventor – hopes to replace the Manhattan clock with its lengthier replacement early next year.

For the time being, the Times Square counter’s electronic dollar sign has been replaced with the extra digit required.

For its part, the digital dollar symbol has been supplanted by a cheaper version – perhaps a sign of the times for the American economy.

Some economists believe the $700bn bail-out plan for ailing US financial institutions could send the national debt level to $11 trillion.

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British paratroopers Private Danny Berk, right, and Corporal Scott Evens move through a hole blown in a compound wall by a grenade, Saturday Aug. 31, 2008, while protecting a convoy. The convoy consisted of over 100 vehicles in total, some carrying equipment and a new turbine for the power station at the Kajaki Dam. It passed through Taliban positions which were hit with artillery, mortars, Apache Attack helicopters firing rockets and Hellfire missiles, and fast jets dropping precision guided bombs, which resulted in an estimated 250 Taliban casualties. (AP Photo/Sgt. Anthony Boocock, MOD ho) #

Many more pictures at the link..

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Tim Russo at Blogger Interrupted captured the breathtaking ignorance that presides over most McCain/Palin rallies. The base is in rare hate-filled form.

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After a week of McCain supporters being incited to shout “kill him!” and “terrorist!” and “treason!“, a man in Louisiana was arrested for threatening to kill election officials. The Smoking Gun has his arrest report and mug shots. It seems his voter registration card was delayed, and he was insistent that he would bring his shotgun to their office and kill them if they didn’t hurry up because he needed to “keep the n*gger out of office.”

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American International Group Inc., the insurer facing criticism for hosting a $440,000 event at a California resort less than a week after a federal takeover, plans another gathering for its brokers at a Ritz-Carlton hotel next week.

The event, in Half Moon Bay in northern California, is designed to “motivate and educate” about 150 independent agents that sell AIG coverage to high-end clients, spokesman Nicholas Ashooh said. “These sorts of sales meetings are an essential function,” he said. “We have them around the world all the time.”

And if you wonder how they pay for these parties? They don’t. You do:

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The Federal Reserve announced Wednesday it was lending billions of additional funds to cash-strapped American International Group Inc.

Under the program, the New York Federal Reserve Bank will provide $37.8 billion in additional cash to certain domestic life insurance subsidiaries of AIG in return for investment-grade, fixed-income securities.

AIG already has an $85 billion line of credit with the Fed. As of last week, AIG had used $60 billion of this loan, according to Fed data.

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This billboard has appeared south of Mustion Creek on the west side of U.S. 63, according to the West Plains Quill [south central Missouri in the Ozark region]. The paper said it was unable to determine who is responsible for the sign.

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Nothing quite prepares you for the culture shock of Jay Walker’s library. You exit the austere parlor of his New England home and pass through a hallway into the bibliographic equivalent of a Disney ride. Stuffed with landmark tomes and eye-grabbing historical objects—on the walls, on tables, standing on the floor—the room occupies about 3,600 square feet on three mazelike levels. Is that a Sputnik? (Yes.) Hey, those books appear to be bound in rubies. (They are.) That edition of Chaucer … is it a Kelmscott? (Natch.) Gee, that chandelier looks like the one in the James Bond flick Die Another Day. (Because it is.) No matter where you turn in this ziggurat, another treasure beckons you

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A 15-year-old Ohio girl was arrested on felony child pornography charges for allegedly sending nude cell phone pictures of herself to classmates. Authorities are considering charging some of the students who received the photos as well.

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Charges include illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material and possession of criminal tools. If convicted, the girl could be forced to register as a sexual offender for 20 years, but because of her age, the judge hearing the case has some flexibility in the matter, an official told the Advocate.