Tom Petty speaks for me on the whole backing down thing. Naomi Wolf's post here today was utterly awesome. General strike on November 6th? I could be convinced.

Here's an NPR story about how U.S. workers are afraid to strike these days for fear we'll lose our jobs.

Dorris Lessing on winning the Nobel Prize for Literature:

"Oh, Christ, I couldn't care less."

Gosh, I wonder if she'd like to be my surrogate auntie or something. Shhhh, don't tell her I said this, but that'll be Jane at 90. ("Nobel Prize? F*&k off! You're trampling my irises, you miserable sh#tstains!")

That plan to build a Vatican-sized American embassy in Iraq?

It is no more. It is an ex-plan. It has joined the choir invisible.

Construction contractor and Oregon Democratic blogger Chuck Butcher says:

And the Republicans have the nerve to talk about and campaign on taxes and spending responsibility? In Japan they'd shut up and commit Hari Kari, here they run for President.

Some jerkwad hung a noose on a black professor's door at Columbia Journalism School. I'll bet you ten bucks that jerkwad reads Michelle Malkin every single day.  I'll bet you twenty that Stalkin' Malkin drives up to New York examine the office door and to accuse the professor of hanging the noose there herself.

But remember kids, Tony Snow says racism's not such a "big deal" these days.

Speaking of liars for hire, Joan Walsh wonders how long it's going to take for Dana Perino to decide she wants to spend more time with Karen Hughes's family. It takes a certain special something to make Scott McClellan look competent.

Anything in particular you want to talk about tonight?