The Buffalo Beast brings us the 50 Most Loathsome People in America (the 2004 edition). I don’t think I disagree with a single choice they’ve made. Some excerpts:

Colin Quinn: “Blamed cancellation of his awful show on reverse racism, ignoring his pathetic ratings, stumbling speech and the fact that his entire C-list entourage couldn’t beat Pamela Anderson at Trivial Pursuit.” … Dick Cheney: “The kind of guy who starts talking cannibalism the minute he steps on the lifeboat.” … Ben Affleck: “His uncanny ability to produce an unending stream of shitty movies and still get work rivals that of even Kevin Costner.” … Dan Rather: “Made Peter Jennings the most credible anchor in the business.” … Jessica Simpson: “The aesthetic equivalent of vitamin D milk.” … Donald Rumsfeld: “Carries himself in press conferences like a cranky grandfather who is sick of hearing his daughters whine about how he molested them every now and then.”

Any additional nominees? Oh, by the way, you should give this a read, just in case you’re on the list too…

[spotted at MetaFilter]

Your screen is looking kinda filthy. Here: Clean Your Screen For Free, Now.

[photo by Chris Hondros for Getty Images]

There is a fantastic and lengthy documentary series about the Civil Rights Movement called Eyes on the Prize. I am lucky enough to have seen most of it during my public-school education. It’s an amazing piece of work that drives home to “the kids today” just how different America was prior to the social upheaval of the 1960s, and how hard that entire fight was.

Alas, due to the way that our unbalanced system of copyright and “intellectual property” laws function, you pretty much can’t see this amazing educational material anymore. And this isn’t the only bit of our history that big corporations are walling off. There’s more in a great article at the Globe and Mail. The Washington Post has more, but they’ll make you register to read it.

[of course, BugMeNot can help you with the WaPo; this material spotted at Copyfight]

There was a really great piece in the Chron this weekend about my favorite Bay Area street musician, the self-described Artist General and Global Village Idiot Savant, the master of the cymbalom, Michael Masley. Whenever you see this guy out on the street playing, it’s fun to stop and watch people have their first encounter with his music. You don’t have to wait long before you spot a jaw or two just hanging open in awe and wonderment.

Ethically-challenged House Majority Leader Tom DeLay has shown the world his true colors once again. On Tuesday, at the traditional Congressional Prayer Service that helps kick off a new Congressional session, DeLay read a passage from the Gospel of Matthew. It has to do with the homes of non-believers being swept away by the mighty flood of Tom DeLay’s God:

And everyone who listens to these words of mine, but does not act on them, will be like a fool who built his house on sand:

The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew, and buffeted the house, and it collapsed and was completely ruined.

DeLay is, at best, an insensitive prick. At worst, he’s the sort of fundamentalist who honestly believes that people who don’t believe in His God deserve to die. In either case, he’s an embarrassment. But this is where we’re at as 2005 begins: Hateful people are running our country.

[spotted at MetaFilter]