From CNN:

Bush: Cheney's Darth Vader for Halloween

President Bush suggested Wednesday the vice president is going as Darth Vader this Halloween.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Even Vice President Dick Cheney is dressing up for Halloween — according to President Bush.

Speaking before a Grocery Manufacturers Association gathering Wednesday, Bush suggested his No. 2 is going as "Star Wars" nemesis Darth Vader this year — even though he's not wearing a costume.

Personally, I find this kind of offensive-- to Darth Vader. Say what you will about the Dark Lord of the Sith, he never shot a guy in the face.

I noticed that redstate.com has banned Ron Paul supporters from posting on their message boards:

The post on Redstate, “Attention, Ron Paul Supporters (Life is *REALLY* Not Fair),” begins, “Effective immediately, new users may *not* shill for Ron Paul in any way shape, form or fashion. Not in comments, not in diaries, nada. If your account is less than 6 months old, you can talk about something else, you can participate in the other threads and be your zany libertarian self all you want, but you cannot pimp Ron Paul. Those with accounts more than six months old may proceed as normal.”

But where are those "zany libertarians" supposed to go now? Where can they vent their rage and frustration?

Here.

On Howiekaplan.com.

Post away! Tell your friends! Click on a few ads! What's stopping you? Go nuts.

So much work due, so little time to do it.

Sadly, paying work has to take precedence. I'll hopefully be back with more posts later this week.

From CNN:

Asteroid renamed for 'Star Trek' actor

NEW YORK (AP) -- A piece of outer space named for George Takei is in kind of a rough neighborhood for somebody who steers a starship: an asteroid belt.

"I am now a heavenly body," George Takei said Tuesday.

An asteroid between Mars and Jupiter has been renamed 7307 Takei in honor of the actor, best known for his role as Hikaru Sulu in the original "Star Trek" series and movies.

...The celestial rock...joins the 4659 Roddenberry (named for the show's creator, Gene Roddenberry) and the 68410 Nichols (for co-star Nichelle Nichols, who played Lt. Uhura). Other main-belt asteroids have been named for science fiction luminaries Robert Heinlein and Isaac Asimov.

I can't see Takei's asteroid being very happy in the asteroid belt. There isn't an antiques store or Express for Men for lightyears.

Now that I've fulfilled my homophobic joke-quota, the real story is on the front page-- CNN's webpoll, which reads:

Quick Vote

Would you want an asteroid named after you?

Yes	56%	5939
No	44%	4652
Total Votes: 10591

read related article »

This is not a scientific poll.

Who the hell are these 4,652 people who say they WOULDN'T want an asteroid named after them? Are you kidding? If there's a chance... as slim as it is... that something with my name on it could potentially be sent careening towards Earth and end all life on this planet, you can bet I'd want it to be named after me.

If for no other reason than all the cable news graphics.

Of course, it would be kind of annoying to have that sort of disclaimer when I meet new people. "No, I'm not the Howie Kaplan that's going to end the world. I'm the other Howie Kaplan."

I wonder if that would get me on a terrorist watch list...