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You won't hear about much of this on ESPN or any major American news service, but it should be big news in the sports world. Yea, I know it's hockey so it gets the short straw most of the time. I've never watched a hockey game that wasn't either from the Olympics or the pros in the NHL and late night before I went to bed I happened to find yesterday's championship game on the NHL network so I decided to check it out for a few minutes. What I saw was an instant classic game played by kids in the U 20 bracket and some of who have been drafted by many pro teams. Canada had won the Gold for 5 years in a row---they were heavy favorites and it was played in their building.

The talent level was incredible and the action was end to end all game. Canada made a great comeback after they got a break by the refs who called a bad penalty with five minutes left and they scored two goals to send it into overtime. With the crowd roaring in Saskatoon it looked like the USA had no chance, but rushed out of their zone and scored the overtime winner on a goal by John Carlson.

John Carlson scored his second goal of the night 4:21 into overtime to lead the U.S. to the 6-5 upset over the five-time defending champs.

Carlson's shot from the left circle beat Martin Jones to end Canada's winning streak and give the U.S. its first WJC gold medal since the Americans beat Canada in the 2004 title game in Helsinki, Finland.

"Jack (Campbell) made a good save, and all I saw was the puck going up the ice," said Carlson, Washington's first-round pick in 2008 who was on loan to the junior team from the AHL Hershey Bears. "I was looking to dish right away (but) the guy was taking it away. I got lucky with the shot."

America has really been developing some fine young hockey players and this was a huge lift to the US hockey movement. The Olympics are coming up next in February and that should be an incredible battle too as Russia, Sweden, Canada and the USA will go for the Gold.

TPM Muckraker has found the next late-night sensation - a birther infomercial entitled "Where Was President Obama Born." It's already received the usual 1:00-in-the-morning airing on at least one local TV station in Texas. The United States Justice Foundation, a Birther front group led by the aptly named Gary Kreep, paid $100 to the CBS affiliate in Lubbock for the privilege of gracing their airwaves. That seems like money well spent for the Birthers for reaching a few thousand eyeballs or so and filling them with wingnut ideology. But that's not the true purpose.

For a $30 contribution, viewers also get a fax sent in their name to the 50 state attorneys general and Attorney General Eric Holder demanding that President Obama produce his real birth certificate.

Getting 4 suckers to fork over $30 for nothing covers their whole expense, and looking at the production values, producing the episode didn't cost much more than $100 either. This is pure conservative hucksterism, where a few people make money off of whipping up fears for no real purpose.

And Bill Keller, the host of the birthermercial, is perfectly positioned to be that huckster - he's a fundamentalist preacher:

The program was produced by LivePrayer.com, a Web site affiliated with Bill Keller, a fundamentalist Christian minister who also hosts the infomercial.

Imprisoned in the late 1980s after an insider trading conviction, Keller later committed his life to God, attended Liberty University in Virginia, and founded Bill Keller Ministries, according to his bio. LivePrayer.com was "founded for the sole purpose of having a site on the internet where people can go 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for prayer."

This has about as much of a chance at dislodging Barack Obama from office as the Sham-Wow, but both infomercials have the same goal - to get rich off of selling you garbage. Sadly, there are probably enough morons in America to make Gary Kreep and Bill Keller very wealthy men.

Phrases international heads of state should not use together: "Dalai Lama" and "call girl".

Meanwhile, in Canadian news... We at C&L Late Night were trying to figure out if George W. Bush had said something stupider, but then again "The Dalai Lama is not a call girl" IS factually correct.

Open thread below...

Click for larger. Our friend Driftglass is doing some filling in for Howie Klein on the Late Night Music Clubs, and I didn't want the brilliant photoshopping at his own fine blog to fall below the fold before everyone got a chance to see it. Get Smirk and The Cone of Dissemblance.

Open thread below...

One of my favorite comedy bits on Late Night with David Letterman is the Great Moments in Presidential Speeches:

While it is a somewhat cheap shot to make fun of Bush's difficulty in speaking coherently (but oh-so-easy, given the wealth of examples), there is something so incredibly sad in finding no wit and certainly no wisdom from our current President, especially with a whole office of speechwriters at his disposal. And it's not an ideological thing either, because there are some people with whom I completely disagree, but I at least acknowledge their ability to convey their beliefs in a smart and thoughtful manner.

It made me think about this quote by Abraham Lincoln that my father had framed in his office for many years:

"It is better to remain silent and thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt."

So I went on the hunt for other quotes from Lincoln, ones that I wish I could somehow implant in the brain of George Bush. BrainyQuote provided just what I was looking for. If only our current Republican in office could be as sage as the first Republican:

Continue reading »

Late Night Open Thread

C&L had its biggest day ever. 538,595 page loads and 392,113 unique visitors via Statcounter. Major props to the comment monitors and everyone helping out.

Late Night Open Thread

More on Huckabee...

Late Night Open Thread

"House conservatives just passed their lobbying reform bill by a narrow 217-214 vote. The Washington Post called the legislation a "sham," "diluted snake oil" and "an insult to voters." Instead of the comprehensive reform promised by lawmakers in early 2006, this bill fails to reform parts of the system most in need....read on"

Rep. Christopher Shays (R-Conn.), who is helping lead the opposition to the legislation, told his colleagues last week, "I happen to believe we are losing our moral authority to lead this place." I'd say it's already happened.

Late Night Open Thread

Don't forget about that 29 % approval rating for Bush.

Tomorrow, I'll have the Joe Scarborough rant and maybe a little Gingrich on H&C.