The Smirking Chimp: The money spent for laws in campaign contributions, issue advertising, lobbying, ear marks, and bribes have provided an unequaled return on investment for some U.S. and international corporations. But their value for the U.S. public turns out to be negative, and the greater the price, the more severely negative.

thump and whip: Ever heard of the “Atlantic triangular trade?” Me neither, but the Texas education board has decided it sounds better than "slave trade."

Seeing the Forest: "Statism" and the Ayn Rand Cult. GOP pols will have to decide whether they're jumping on or off the Rand-Wagon

Rumproast: Blogosphere demands as-yet-nonexistent super-science fix for Gulf oil disaster

The Reid Report: Six degrees of George 'Rentboy' Rekers: Jeb Bush edition

Grasping Reality with Both Hands: Links...

Tengrain Presents: The Miracle of Chimpy's Economy at Mock, Paper Scissors.

Open Thread below...

Prairie Weather: It's all about timing

The Smirking Chimp: Lobby This, John Sidney: Another McCain aide out over Myanmar ties.

Tomgram: The defining moment for climate change

Cranky Cindy Changes the World: Helen Thomas is my hero.

The Poor Man Institute: The Amazing League of Pundits!

The Opinion Mill's Bookchat: George F. Will refutes himself while trying to refute Rick Perlstein's Nixonland. How a government attempt to silence a wartime dissident created an uproar -- and sparked the American Civil Liberties Union. How to explain Dick Cheney to your children.

alicublog: Bush I parties with Sun Myung Moon, Bush II goes to Bob Jones University, John McCain seeks and accepts the endorsement of John Hagee, and it slides. Barack Obama renounces Rev. Wright, and we are told that the taint is indelible. The trouble starts when pols ignore this and do this. TBogg has more on the subject...

The Left Coaster: All of the above is Hillary's fault.

The Newshoggers: Enlisting opinions.

Connecting.the.Dots: The ultimate triumph of George W. Bush. The Chimperor and the rest of our dysfunctional ruling class are always wrong about everything.

JURIST: Torture Doctors

Sunday Bookchat: Three decades of rebel-rousing by a reggae poet! A handbook for liberals in the era post-Bush! A Travis McGee novel for Eliot Spitzer! When is a blurb more than a blurb? When is wit only half of what it seeks? These and other questions answered in The Opinion Mill's Sunday Bookchat.

The Smirking Chimp: Campaign 2008: The things they wont discuss.

Faithful Progressive: The IRS is messing with the United Church of Christ.

Scholars and Rogues: Fox News says the terrorists are sending killer robots after us!

INSTAPUTZ: Fringe dweller smack down every day

Vox Verax: Reasonable folks in the Grand Old Party are hard to find these days. But there are some...

HOLY CRAP: It's no surprise to hear this long-time resident of Wingnuttia expelling Christian Nationalist horse exhaust, but John McCain, too? This End-Times-loving bigot is pleased to welcome McCain to the fringe, although another religious nut is unhappy about it...Those running for high public office, and untaxed radical clerics should be required to learn something about our First Amendment... Prophets of Moderation...Priests policing themseves, haven't we already seen that?...Bibleman! ...In Gosh We Trust...Suing Jesus...Interfaith Alliance Media Roundup...Jesus' General has a fundraiser going...God doesn't like California and He doesn't like mammograms, either

Tengrain presents... Chimpy McStagger in "I can hear you!"

On topic, the ACLU is fact-checking the White House on FISA and finding them, um, counter-factual. Yeah.

The Existentialist Cowboy: George W. Bush's Unitary Law ends the Rule of Law, The Constitution, The Bill of Rights, and the Separation of Powers.

Obsidian Wings: Just when I thought I couldn't be more angry about Iraq...

First Draft: Dana won't comment on how Chimpy's Torture Fetish has imperiled the case against KSM.

Common Cause Blog: Comcast's recently released 'terms of service' makes it clear that they intend to continue online censorship of free speech.

hearsay: A note on 'change.'

OFF THE BEATEN PATH: Undercover Black Man, Hill's Country, Insular Cabal, LAist

All Spin Zone: The economic outlook is so bleak, some economists are looking for a bunker to hide in. But what do economists know? Chimpy is is upbeat about the economy, though I'm sure he'd be amenable to more tax cuts...and he's not the only one living in a fool's paradise.

Wall Street Jackass: Sage advice

Beggars Can Be Choosers: Iowa shows how Iraq war support remains toxic for candidates, though apparently, the "surging" St. McCain doesn't think so.

Blorgable: Year of the web: 10 strangest political moments of 2007

CQ Politics: Voter ID court challenges expected to have a big impact on the 2008 elections.

Watchdog Blog: The House Ethics Committee parties on

Dusty at It's My Right To Be Left of Center has video of a Japanese journalist being killed in Burma. I had to look away. *link fixed

Buck Naked Politics spends a Sunday in the Park with George Bush.

Orcinus, Sisyphus Shrugged and Roger Ailes think that maybe Matthew Shepard has been bashed enough.

That old-time religion: Higgaion on a teacher fired for questioning Genesis and The Smirking Chimp on the Theology of the American Empire.

Circle Jerk in the Square reports on Bill O'Reilly's visit to a Chinatown restaurant.

Driftglass presents The Adventures of Sgt. Iraq.

This was the last Blog Round Up hosted by noted conservative blogger Jon Swift. Tomorrow Steve from The Opinion Mill is hosting. Send your tips to Steve at steve.theopinionmill [at] gmail [dot] com. I want to thank everyone here at Crooks & Liars for being such great hosts and all the readers and commenters, even the ones who mercilessly attacked me. In fact, I think I'll miss you most of all. Have a piece of schadenfreude pie on me. And thank you also to everyone who sent me tips and my apologies if I didn't get to yours. Whatever Atrios might think, your blogs don't suck.

Lean Left: Oh, that liberal media

Faithful Progressive: Four September 11 stories your press corps ignores

Mock, Paper, Scissors: The miracle of the Bush economy

Scoobie Davis Online: Isn't it ironic?

Daily Howler: The price of journalistic group-think: Petraeus was a "straight shooter"--even though he was talking pure bunk

The Next Hurrah: If Ted Olson is Chimpy's AG nominee, Harry Reid says he'll do everything he can to prevent confirmation. There's many reasons why Olson is a lousy choice, but here's a big one.