Via Washington Post: Although the fate of tonight’s presidential debate in Mississippi remains very much up in the air, John McCain has apparently already won it — if you believe an Internet ad an astute reader spotted next to this piece in the online edition of the Wall Street Journal this morning. “McCain Wins Debate!” declares the ad which features …

Now Wachovia is wobbling. The seizure of Washington Mutual Inc. (WM) is quickly becoming a problem for Wachovia Corp. After federal regulators on Thursday night seized the West Coast thrift and its bloated book of failing home loans, investors have trained their focus on Wachovia, which itself holds piles of risky mortgages. Wachovia shares recently traded down 23% to $10.58, …

Some Ohio farmer sacrificed 16 acres of farmland to draw Sarah Palin in corn. Later he mowed down a field of Metamucil to draw McCain.

Here’s CNN assessment of the rise of LGBT characters on television this season, with some soundbites from GLAAD’s Neil Giuliano and the Family Research Council’s Peter Spriggs, who of course says it’s all part of the gay propaganda agenda. CNN’s conclusion: “Things are changing in the right direction.”

David Letterman did not let up on John McCain last night, devoting the first ten minutes of the show to again rip McCain for ditching his show and “suspending” his campaign.

CNN is reporting that University of Mississippi officials have received word that both candidates will appear for tonight’s debate.

– Creepy, kooky, ooky. Workshops for The Addams Family: The Musical begin in January. Music by openly gay (and gay married) composer/lyricist Andrew Lippa (left), book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice. Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth have done a rehearsal as Gomez and Morticia. The show is an “original musical” and will not draw upon the TV or movie …

The Baghdad coordinator of Iraqi LGBT, the group that organizes underground safe houses for gays in Iraq, was machine-gunned to death yesterday in a Baghdad barber shop. The announcement was made by UK-based activist Peter Tatchell. This morning, I received news from Iraq that the coordinator of Iraqi LGBT in Baghdad, Bashar, aged 27, a university student, has been assassinated …

This is writer/comedian Greg Scarnici and SNL musical director Katreese Barnes, who debuted her smash club hit Alright, Alright at this year’s Black Party. Does this remind anyone else of Gwen Guthrie’s Ain’t Nothing Going On But The Rent?

The Catholic League’s Vice President of Spooky Things, Bill Donahue, rushed out a press release yesterday to defend Sarah Palin’s church after a 2005 video surfaced showing a minister performing an anti-witchcraft incantation over her bowed head. “Witchcraft is a sad reality in many parts of Africa, resulting in scores of deaths in Kenya over the past two decades. Bishop …

The owners of London’s famous G-A-Y nightclub, which closed in July, have purchased the possibly more famous Heaven. “MAMA Group Plc is pleased to announce that through its jointly owned subsidiary, G-A-Y Group Limited, it has acquired Heaven, the company which owns the leasehold of Heaven Nightclub and owns, operates and manages the business of promoting events at the venue,” …

It may not look like much from this angle, but this is the home of Martha Stewart Omnimedia. In 1931 the block-sized Starret-Lehigh was built on West 26th Street as an innovative “modernist experiment in industrial architecture” because it featured train tracks so that freight cars brought by boat from New Jersey could be driven into the building and lifted …

At least we won’t be paying for this one. Maybe. Washington Mutual, the giant lender that came to symbolize the excesses of the mortgage boom, was seized by federal regulators on Thursday night in the largest bank failure in American history. Regulators simultaneously brokered an emergency sale of virtually all of Washington Mutual to JPMorgan Chase. The remainder of WaMu, …

COURIC: You’ve cited Alaska’s proximity to Russia as part of your foreign policy experience. What did you mean by that? PALIN: That Alaska has a very narrow maritime border between a foreign country, Russia, and on our other side, the land– boundary that we have with– Canada. It– it’s funny that a comment like that was– kind of made to– …

The Palin Principle: A theory of workplace economics which postulates that one can be vaulted several rungs above their level of incompetence when it suits the demands of the Religious Right. The Bush Corollary: Sometimes people rise to their level of incompetence by manipulation of the Supreme Court. (Image via – Chris Glass)

I’m not a huge fan of Sarah Silverman, but this bit about convincing your Jewish grandparents in Florida to vote for Obama is pretty cute.

You’ll be glad you did.

Thursday, 8:30am, 6 train, 68th Street Woman: Does this train go to the Empire State Building?Man: Yeah, just get off at 33rd and walk west to Fifth Avenue.Woman: Oh. But which one GOES to the Empire State Building?Man: There isn’t one. Woman: Yes there is. Which one is it?Man: None of them GO there, but this one comes close.Woman (turns …

Max Blumenthal visited Sarah Palin’s church last weekend, where Kenyan evangelist Thomas “Witch Fighter” Muthee was holding forth. On the first night of services, Muthee implored his audience to wage “spiritual warfare” against “the enemy.” As I filmed, a nervous church staffer approached from behind and told me to put my camera away. I acceded to his demand, but as …