YOU KNOW YOU'RE HAVING A CRUMMY DAY WHEN...

Cop shoots himself after gun-safety lesson

Ohio police chief injured following bid to teach daughter about firearms

MONROE, Ohio - A top cop mistakenly shot himself in the thigh after giving his daughter a lesson in gun safety, police said.

Middletown police Chief Greg Schwarber, 54, was preparing to clean his Glock .45-caliber pistol on Friday and didn't realize the gun was still loaded, according to a police report.

Written by officers from neighboring Monroe, the report said the bullet entered Schwarber's leg just above the knee.

When officers arrived, they found the chief lying on the floor with a towel covering his leg. Schwarber was taken to a hospital for treatment.

ISN'T THIS WHAT CHRISTMAS IS ALL ABOUT: THREE KILLED IN HOLIDAY SHOPPING MAYHEM NATIONWIDE

Two people were killed in a shooting inside a Southern California Toys "R" Us store on the busiest shopping day of the year, authorities said.

The violence erupted on Black Friday, the traditional post-Thanksgiving start of the holiday shopping surge, but accounts of what occurred inside the store were fragmentary or second hand and it was not clear whether it involved any shopping frenzy.

The Palm Desert Police Department received calls of shots fired around 11:35 a.m., Riverside County sheriff's Sgt. Dennis Gutierrez said. He said officers were still investigating what prompted the gunshots.

Immediately after the shooting, about 20 people rushed into the World Gym across the street from Toys "R" Us, the gym's assistant manager Glenn Splain told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

"They were crying, tearing and shaking," Splain said, adding that one woman came in cradling a baby.

"Some people got into a fight," said Splain, who spoke with some of the customers. "One of the guys here thought it was over a toy, but it got louder and louder and then there were gunshots."

Sarah Pacia of Cathedral City told The Desert Sun newspaper she was in the store with her two boys, ages 4 and 6, looking at coloring books when she heard a commotion in the next aisle. She thought it was people rushing to get a sale item. Then she heard three or four shots.

She said she froze, and store employees calmly escorted her out of the store.

"This is Toys "R" Us. There are kids shopping in there," Pacia said. Her son Jayden, 4, was clinging to her leg. He told her he didn't want to die, she said.

Toys "R" Us officials did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

Palm Desert is about 120 miles east of Los Angeles.

Across the nation in New York, a Wal-Mart worker was also killed Friday after an "out of control" throng of shoppers eager for post-Thanksgiving bargains broke down the doors at a suburban store and knocked him to the ground, police said.

At least four other people, including a woman eight months pregnant, were taken to hospitals for observation or minor injuries, and the store in Valley Stream on Long Island closed for several hours before reopening.

Nassau police said about 2,000 people were gathered outside the store doors at the mall about 20 miles east of Manhattan. The impatient crowd knocked the man to the ground as he opened the doors, leaving a metal portion of the frame crumpled like an accordion.

"This crowd was out of control," said Nassau police spokesman Lt. Michael Fleming. He described the scene as "utter chaos."

Dozens of store employees trying to fight their way out to help the man were also getting trampled by the crowd, Fleming said. Witnesses said that even as the worker lay on the ground, shoppers streamed into the store, stepping over him.

Kimberly Cribbs, who witnessed the stampede, said shoppers were acting like "savages."

"When they were saying they had to leave, that an employee got killed, people were yelling 'I've been on line since yesterday morning,'" she said. "They kept shopping."

The 34-year-old man was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead at about 6 a.m., police said. The exact cause of death has not been determined, and the man's name was not released.

A 28-year-old pregnant woman was taken to a hospital, where she and the baby were reported to be OK, said police Sgt. Anthony Repalone. At least three other people were taken to hospitals with minor injuries.

Police said criminal charges were possible in the case, but Fleming said it would be difficult to identify individual shoppers. Authorities were reviewing surveillance video.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., based in Bentonville, Ark., called the incident a "tragic situation" and said the employee came from a temporary agency and was doing maintenance work at the store.

"The safety and security of our customers and associates is our top priority," said Dan Fogleman, a company spokesman. "At this point, facts are still being assembled and we are working closely with the Nassau County Police as they investigate what occurred."

I KNEW IT WOULD HAPPEN SOMEDAY: DRIVER SMASHES INTO CEDAR HILLS AND JENKINS JACK IN THE BOX

By ERIC ADAMS, Kgw.com Staff

PORTLAND, Ore. -- A driver trying to evade police on Thursday evening instead crashed into a Beaverton Jack In The Box, leaving one woman with a broken leg.

A Washington County sheriff’s deputy reported trying to pull over Domitilo Chavez-Gallardo, a 28-year-old Aloha resident, about 5:30 p.m. Thursday, after receiving a call that he'd threatened another driver.

But Chavez-Gallardo refused to pull over. Instead he accelerated and eventually crashed into the Jack In The Box fast food restaurant at 2920 SW Cedar Hills Blvd.

Deputies said Chavez-Gallardo then ran away from the crash. They had to use a Taser to subdue him.

His Ford Explorer came to a stop about 20 feet into the restaurant, sheriffs said, and a woman inside broke her leg trying to get out of the way.

"Suddenly, we saw a car coming and the police were chasing that car and there was a huge sound coming -- and we were just scared," said Pompa Roy, a witness to the wreck.

Three people were inside the SUV when it crashed.

One passenger was taken to the hospital along with the woman that broke her leg.

Officers don't know why the man refused to stop but suspect he may have been driving under the influence.

His only known offense prior to the wreck was driving with a suspended license.

Sheriffs said Chavez-Gallardo would be charged with assault, felony hit-and-run, attempting to elude police and DUI, driving while suspended and criminal mischief.

Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue helped shore up the Jack In The Box's walls after the vehicle was removed.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING........MAHALO

NEW HOME FOR THE NEW YORK METS RENAMED TAXPAYER FIELD

NEW YORK -- Two New York City Council members say that Citigroup should show its thanks for a federal bailout by sharing the naming rights to the new Mets ballpark in Queens.

The struggling bank is slated to pay $400 million over the next 20 years to name the stadium Citi Field.

The bank made the commitment years ago, when it was flush with cash. Now that Citigroup is getting billions of dollars in federal aid, Staten Island Republicans Vincent Ignizio and James Oddo say the ballpark's name should be changed to Citi/Taxpayer Field.

Citigroup and Mets chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon have been saying that they have no plan to alter the naming-rights deal for the ballpark, which hosts its regular-season opener April 13.

TREASURY DEPARTMENT MISTAKENLY BAILS OUT SPERM BANK

WASHINGTON (CAP) - In what is the most damning evidence to date that the U.S. Treasury department's $700 billion bailout of the nation's financial institutions is faltering, a CAP News investigative report revealed yesterday that a $6.5-billion capital injection was sent to Sacramento CryoBank, one of the nation's largest sperm banks.

A Treasury official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told CAP news that although the intern who typed up the list of the eligible banks was always very professional and brought a lot of enthusiasm to his projects, his attention to detail "did need some work." He said the department will review the rest of the list and delete any other sperm banks on the list, and river banks, for that matter.

"In the meantime, we're going to let this go through," the source said. "We've got a sticky note on the list reminding us that when we go back to Congress in a few months for more money that we tack on another $6.5 billion to cover the misappropriation."

Through its Troubled Asset Relief Program legislation the Treasury department has already committed close to $300 billion dollars to banks, including $115 to Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Citigroup Inc., and Bank of America Corp. But the government has not provided details about how the allotments are decided and which banks are eligible.

CryoBank president Warren Duncan says he doesn't care how his facility became eligible. He was pleasantly surprised by the $6.5 billion his bank received and he's working to put the funds to good use.

"I won't have to hear any more complaints about the 14-year-old copies of Juggs in our client donor rooms, that's for sure," he said. "We've just installed 72-inch high-def plasma televisions, and we've got Blu-Ray porn running all day."

He said that they've revised their projected client totals for the year and they also plan to restart their marketing campaign to lure celebrity donors to the facility.

"The celebrity donors always generate a lot of interest, and our modest push last year was successful," he said. "But as great as it's been having Steven Baldwin stop by two or three times a week, I think we can bring in a few others."

Duncan has also extended the invitation to members of Congress. He's purchased engraved cups especially for them, and he hopes they'll make another donation on top of the giant wad they've already given him.

EVERYONE IS JUMPING ON BOARD TO COLLECT GOVERNMENT BAILOUT

Congress Considers Teenager Bailout Plan

WASHINGTON (CAP) - Separate measures before the House and the Senate that would provide $600 million to help bail out America's teenage population could be voted on as early as next week. The biggest hurdle facing each bill is a rider stipulating that the teens must perform chores in order to receive their share of the bailout.

"This will address one of the central problems plaguing our financial system," President Bush said as he announced his support of the bailout. "Teens have been unable to borrow money from their parents and that has constricted their ability to spend at their normal pace."

Bush said with the jobless rate nearing record highs and teenager confidence hitting record lows, America's youth are finding allowances slashed and curfews shortened as parents struggle not only to keep their families afloat financially but also keep their children from "being bored out of their skulls."

"Let's face it - a teenager's spending habits have far-reaching ramifications," said Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID). "When teens don't have money to spend, we feel it at the malls, at the movies, at the liquor stores.

"Sure, we could just earmark the funds for those industries directly," Crapo noted, "but by funneling the money through our teenagers, it also helps keep them out of our hair."

According to polls conducted on various social networking sites, teenagers are overwhelmingly in favor of the bailout, although poor reading comprehension and mathematical skills are lending to a variety of interpretations as to just how beneficial the government assistance will be.

"I'm really hoping this money will help me land on my feet," said 16-year-old Shawn Westover, whose parents recently dropped him off at a hospital in Omaha, Neb. and then sped away. "If not, a new Xbox 360 would be pretty cool."

Mothers Against Everything, outspoken critics of the measure, say the reasons being given in support of the bill are the exact same reasons why it should be soundly defeated. MAE spokesperson Darlene Fortenski said they chose the confusing non-argument argument approach because "we're mothers and that's what mothers do."

Proponents of the measure say if it is successful, the move could pave the way for a tooth fairy bailout bill that has been stuck in committee for the past month.

ROSS WREDE REQUESTS $1 BILLION FROM GOVERNMENT BAILOUT

Ross Wrede, an upstanding citizen and usually a real nice guy, contacted his congressional delegation today requesting one billion dollars from the federal government's $700 billion bailout.

"If the automakers, banks, and just about every business in America can get a piece of the big pie, I figure I might as well get my part of the action too." said Mr. Wrede from his Beaverton, OR home. " One billion dollars would pay off my mortgage and a few other bills I have. With Christmas coming up, I could buy some great gifts for my friends and family. I'd do my best to stimulate the retail sector which has been in the doldrums as of late."

Oregon Congressman David Wu who represents Mr. Wrede was unavailable for comment. Oregon Senator Ron Wyden made this brief statement: "Sounds like a great idea to me. I wonder if I can apply for some of this money too. I will have to check that out."

A CAR SO BAD, YOU WOULD THINK GENERAL MOTORS BUILT IT: LAST YUGO ROLLS OFF THE ASSEMBLY LINE

Now, the last Yugo, once the pride of communist Yugoslavia's automobile industry, will roll off its Serbian production line Thursday in the central town of Kragujevac.

It will be missed here — but probably not in America.

Soon after it hit the U.S. markets in 1986, selling for the bargain-basement price of just $3,990, the boxy Yugo was derided by American car magazines "as barely qualifying as a car" and "an assembled bag of nuts and bolts."

Although it was a flop in the U.S., Yugo enjoyed iconic status in the former Yugoslav republics — something like the Volkswagen beetle in West Germany or the Trabant in East Germany.

It was also exported to East European states, but not in the same numbers as to the U.S. mostly because the factory could not meet huge domestic demand.

In America, owners complained of frequent engine failures and transmission problems — with the manual gear sticks sometimes detaching and ending up in their drivers' hands — in addition to passenger doors and trim parts going awol.

When the U.S. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety conducted crash tests of 23 compacts in 1986, the car with the worst results was the Yugo, with $2,197 worth of damage in slow speed crashes against a flat barrier.

Still, over 100,000 Yugo GVs — standing for Great Value — were sold in the U.S. before Yugo America — the company that imported it — went bankrupt and Washington imposed economic sanctions on Belgrade for fomenting ethnic wars in the Balkans in 1992.

In the U.S., Yugo has made several joke appearances in Hollywood blockbusters such as Die Hard 3. Artists in America also found inspiration in the flimsy tin-can structure, turning it into something more useful — like a queen size bed or a kitchen stove.

When sales started plummeting in the late 1980s, some U.S. dealers tried to clear their stocks by throwing in a free Yugo with an Oldsmobile or a Cadillac.

"Of course, Yugo was never a BMW or a Cadillac, but I think most Americans did not know how to appreciate it," said Momcilo Spajic, a proud Serbian owner of a Yugo — one of the nearly 800,000 produced by the Zastava, or Flag, factory since 1980.

"This is driving in its most natural form. You feel every bump, squeak and jolt, and one can enjoy the sweet smell of gasoline and exhaust fumes," he said. "No car can replace it."

Zastava is finally stopping the production of Yugo because its new owners, Italy's Fiat, plans to start the assembly of its own compact, the Punto.

As Zastava's workers prepared to bid farewell to their greatest commercial success so far, they have attached a handwritten sign on the tailgate of the last Yugo on the production line.

It reads: "Cao, nema vise" — "Goodbye, no more."

TOO CLOSE TO REALITY

Voting Machines Elect One Of Their Own As President

OBAMA PREPARES FOR PRESIDENCY

Obama Undertakes Presidential Internship To Ease Concerns About His Lack Of Experience

FREE OBAMA STICKER

Hey,

Want a free Obama sticker to celebrate our victory? It's designed by Shepard Fairey, the artist who created the iconic HOPE poster. And MoveOn's giving them away totally free--even the shipping's free.

I just got mine. Click this link to get your free Obama sticker:

http://pol.moveon.org/shepstickers/?id=-11503716-Bx61DZx&rc=

Thanks!

A FEW NEW YORK PICTURES

ROSS HEADS TO NEW YORK CITY

I am leaving Puddle Town, heading to Gotham City on Thursday. I'll try and keep you all posted on my adventures.

THEY DID IT!!! I STILL HAVE A HARD TIME BELIEVING IT!!

McCAIN DIDN'T HAVE A CHANCE

McCAIN CONCEDES, BLAMES PALIN FOR FUCKING IT ALL UP

PHOENIX (CAP) - Just minutes after delivering his speech conceding the presidency to Barack Obama, John McCain sat down for an exclusive interview with CAP News where he revealed for the first time that he never wanted Sarah Palin as his running mate.

"It's true," admitted McCain. "The whole thing went down like a Three's Company style crazy series of misunderstandings, and it ended up costing me the White House."

McCain said it all started at the Republican Leadership Conference in Spokane back in January while he was sharing some little blue pills with Bob Dole. "And in walks the hottest piece of tail I've seen at a Republican Party event since Herbert Hoover brought his 18-year-old niece who worked part-time as a flapper to the 1928 National Convention in Kansas City," recalled McCain.

"So Bob tells me she's governor of Alaska, and I'm like, well, I'd love to show her my massive oil pipeline, if you know what I mean!" continued McCain. "In person, she doesn't even have that little scar on her chin like she does when she's on Saturday Night Live."

McCain said that led to Dole telling Mitt Romney he liked Sarah, even clarifying that he didn't just like her, he liked her liked her. That apparently led to the two discussing whether they should go tell Chairman Duncan that McCain wanted Palin as his running mate.

"I didn't even know what Mitt was talking about," Dole told CAP News during a later phone interview. "I thought he'd just said, tell Duncan John wants Sarah, so I was like, ahh, yeah, who doesn't?"

"All a misunderstanding," said McCain as he shook his head. "I told her to lick my erection, not wreck my election."

When CAP News asked McCain why he didn't straighten things out once he got his party's nomination, the Arizona senator said all he could picture was "how good her Symington Side Lacer and cloche hat would look balled up on my bedroom floor."

"Rumor around Washington was that she's got this unbelievable move called the Bridge To Nowhere that could put a guy my age into traction for a month," noted McCain. "I knew she'd kill my campaign, but it was worth it to take a shot at slapping around her Fairbanks and burying my head in her Juno."

Palin responded to McCain's comments by saying that a romance between the two would never work - as she's a woman who needs a lot more than a Nome.

LONDON TIMES RANKS THE WORST U.S. PRESIDENTS OF ALL TIME (AND GEORGE W. BUSH DOESN'T TOP THE LIST!)

42-33: a panel of experts from The Times has ranked every one of the Commanders-in-Chief - and here are the very worst

James Buchanan
(1857-1861)

Image :1 of 10

Nico Hines

Countdown:
32-22: the also-rans
21-11: the nearly-greats
10-1: the greatest presidents
Who is on the panel?

42. James Buchanan

1857-61 (Democratic)

A poll of American historians recently selected Buchanan’s failure to prevent the American Civil War as the greatest single mistake made by any president and our panel agree that he was the worst ever President.

Despite being a northern man, Buchanan had strongly southern principles and he struggled to maintain the fragile peace as the southern states agitated for more freedom. He denied the legal right of states to secede from the Union but at the same time he insisted that the federal government was not legally able to prevent them.

By the time he left the White House his Democratic Party had split in two, seven slave states had rebelled and formed the Confederacy and the country was embroiled in the American Civil War.

“Failed to prevent the near disintegration of the nation.” Gerard Baker, US editor.

41. Franklin Pierce

1853-57 (Democratic)

Multimedia

• Across the pond: blogging the election

• Full coverage and analysis of race for White House

• Podcast: satrical view from both sides of the Atlantic

Related Links

• The Times US presidential rankings - numbers 32 to 22

• The Times US presidential rankings - numbers 21 to 11

• The top ten - The Times US presidential rankings

Pierce was one of the few presidents to be abandoned by his own party after a single term. Pierce became hated for signing the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which was designed as a compromise between northern and southern states but was seen as kowtowing to slave power. Furious opposition to the act spawned the Republican Party.

His credibility was further diminished by the Ostend Manifesto, which advocated the annexation of Cuba, prompting domestic and international scorn when it was leaked.

40. Martin Van Buren

1837-41 (Democratic)

Served as Andrew Jackson’s Vice President and made it clear he wanted a continuation of many of his predecessor’s policies, including the expulsion of Native Americans from their homelands. The draconian Indian Removal Act was passed by Jackson but brutally enforced under Van Buren.

"I found it hard to place high up on the list those who sanctioned the slaughter of Native Americans." Tom Baldwin, Washington bureau chief.

39. William Harrison

1841 (Whig)

Harrison only lasted 32 days as President so our panel struggled to push him very far up the table. He had unsuccessfully stood as the Whig candidate for the White House in both of the previous elections and was eventually sworn in, aged 68, as the oldest President until Ronald Reagan.

37= Richard Nixon

1969-74 (Republican)

Nixon’s dramatic, if controversial, escalation and conclusion of the Vietnam War and successful diplomatic missions to China and the Soviet Union ensured that he won a landslide re-election after his first term - carrying 49 of the 50 states.

Just two years later, he was forced to resign in disgrace after White House tapes suggested he had covered up a break-in at the Democratic headquarters in the Watergate Hotel.

"Cynical manipulation, bringinging the presidency into disrepute and changing the language to the extent that even a whiff of scandal merits the suffix '-gate'." Ben Macintyre, writer-at-large.

37= George W. Bush

2001-2009 (Republican)

A dead heat between the unpopular Bush and the dastardly Richard Nixon.

The September 11 attacks, eight months into his presidency, created a central focus for the Bush administration that lasted into his second term. Bush responded by declaring a “war on terror” and leading military invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan as part of his doctrine of pre-emptive military action. The lengthy operations have plummeted in popularity throughout his time in office.

Domestically, he implemented tax cuts and the “no child left behind” education programme but has been criticised for his failure to deal with the impact of Hurricane Katrina and the collapse of the US financial market.

"Bush Jr. invaded Iraq based on faulty intelligence and then catastrophically mismanaged the war, dragging America's name through the mud." Chris Ayres, Los Angeles correspondent.

36 Herbert Hoover

1929-33 (Republican)

Terrible timing or massive mismanagement? Our panel goes for the later. Hoover came into office at the start of 1929 when the economy was apparently booming. Within months the Wall Street Crash meant he was doomed to years of struggling through the Great Depression.

Hoover’s policy proposals included slum clearance, prison reform, pension increases and tax cuts for low-income families but he failed to enact any of them and was routed at the next election.

"Unwittingly turned the 1929 crash into a global depression which weakened democracies and prepared the ground for the Second World War." Camilla Cavendish, columnist.

34= Warren Harding

1921-23 (Republican)

When Harding died suddenly after two years in office, he was a popular President. The economy had rebounded after the post-war lull and his low tax, small government attitude had many admirers as the US roared into the twenties.

After his death, however, the scandals emerged. Harding may not have profited directly but he seemed to have known that many of the friends he had appointed to the administration were up to no good. Court cases, suicide, bribes, fraud and lengthy jail sentences clouded his reputation in the years after his death.

"Headed one of the most corrupt administrations." Gerard Baker, US editor.

34= James Garfield

1881 (Republican)

The second shortest Presidency after William Harrison’s 32 days but the panel still prefers him to Nixon. Garfield was shot by Charles J. Guiteau, a disgruntled office-seeker who had been overlooked by the President just four months after his inauguration. He died two months after the shooting.

33. Millard Fillmore

1850-53 (Whig)

Fillmore crept into the bottom ten because of his abject failure in solving the slavery crisis.

His short Presidency began after the death of Zachary Taylor during intense negotiations over the future of the slave trade. The Compromise of 1850 eventually resulted in a complicated and contradictory approach to slavery. The trade was abolished in the District of Columbia and in California while, at the same time, the remaining slave holders’ powers were strengthened. Both sides of the debate were left frustrated.

"Created a compromise on extending slavery that laid the ground for the US Civil War." Camilla Cavendish, columnist.

PALIN TAKES PRANK CALL FROM FAKE FRENCH PRESIDENT

TORONTO – Sarah Palin unwittingly took a prank call Saturday from a Canadian comedian posing as French President Nicolas Sarkozy and telling her she would make a good president someday.

"Maybe in eight years," replies a laughing Palin.

The Republican vice presidential nominee discusses politics, the perils of hunting with Vice President Dick Cheney, and Sarkozy's "beautiful wife," in a recording of the six-minute call released Saturday and set to air Monday on a Quebec radio station.

Palin campaign spokeswoman Tracey Schmitt confirmed she had received the prank call.

"Governor Palin was mildly amused to learn that she had joined the ranks of heads of state, including President Sarkozy and other celebrities, in being targeted by these pranksters. C'est la vie," she said.

The call was made by a well-known Montreal comedy duo Marc-Antoine Audette and Sebastien Trudel. Known as the Masked Avengers, the two are notorious for prank calls to celebrities and heads of state.

Audette, posing as Sarkozy, speaks in an exaggerated French accent and drops ample hints that the conversation is a joke. But Palin seemingly does not pick up on them.

He tells Palin one of his favorite pastimes is hunting, also a passion of the 44-year-old Alaska governor.

"I just love killing those animals. Mmm, mmm, take away life, that is so fun," the fake Sarkozy says.

He proposes they go hunting together by helicopter, something he says he has never done.

"Well, I think we could have a lot of fun together while we're getting work done," Palin counters. "We can kill two birds with one stone that way."

The comedian jokes that they shouldn't bring Cheney along on the hunt, referring to the 2006 incident in which the vice-president shot and injured a friend while hunting quail.

"I'll be a careful shot," responds Palin.

Playing off the governor's much-mocked comment in an early television interview that she had insights into foreign policy because "you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska," the caller tells her: "You know we have a lot in common also, because ... from my house I can see Belgium."

She replies: "Well, see, we're right next door to different countries that we all need to be working with, yes."

When Audette refers to Canadian singer Steph Carse as Canada's prime minister, Palin replies: "Well, he's doing fine and yeah, when you come into a position underestimated it gives you an opportunity to prove the pundits and the critics wrong. You work that much harder." Canada's prime minister is Stephen Harper.

Palin praises Sarkozy throughout the call and also mentions his wife Carla Bruni, a model-turned-songwriter.

"You know, I look forward to working with you and getting to meet you personally and your beautiful wife," Palin says. "Oh my goodness, you've added a lot of energy to your country with that beautiful family of yours."

The Sarkozy impersonator tells Palin his wife is "so hot in bed" and then informs her that Bruni has written a song for her about Joe the Plumber entitled "Du rouge a levres sur une cochonne" — which translates as "Lipstick on a Pig."

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama derided his Republican challenger John McCain's call for change in Washington as "lipstick on a pig," days after Palin made a lipstick joke at the Republican convention. The McCain-Palin campaign then released an ad implying Obama was calling Palin a pig with that remark.

The caller asks Palin if Joe the Plumber is her husband and adds: "We have the equivalent of Joe the Plumber in France. It's called Marcel, the guy with bread under his armpit."

He also tells the Alaska governor that he loved the "documentary" made about her and referred to a pornographic film with a Palin look-alike made by Hustler founder Larry Flynt.

She answers tentatively, "Ohh, good, thank you, yes."

The callers then reveal the prank and identify themselves and their radio station.

"Ohhh, have we been pranked?" Palin asks before handing the phone to an aide who ends the call.

Obama's campaign spokesman Robert Gibbs, commenting on the prank, said: "I'm glad we check out our calls before we hand the phone to Barack Obama."

PEOPLE ACTUALLY READ THIS BLOG (BESIDES AL)

This is a response from my October 30 post, VERIZON SUCKS. Comcast must be googling for irrate Verizon customers.


Hello!

I read your blog. If you do ever decide to make the switch to Comcast, email our team at We_Can_Help@cable.comcast.com. We'll assist in making sure the transition is smooth and painless.

Kind Regards,
Melissa Mendoza
Comcast Customer Connect
National Customer Operations