In the Loop

I had it written down somewhere, but what we have above -- click to enlarge -- is either the GOP 2016 presidential field or the composite of the Waco biker-brawl suspects. It may be that the scrap of paper on which I wrote it down will yet surface, but if not, does it really matter?

by KenWhy, who'd-a thunk it? As the Washington Post's Colby Itkowitz sums up her "In the Loop" report (which ran under the head I've put in the title of this post): "Seems even the toughest guys have a sensitive side.""The Secret Service has received a lot of bad press lately," Colby begins that report.

The link in Mark Ruffalo's tweet is to the above-referenced petition, organized by a new outfit called The Natural History Museum, which "is free from ties to the fossil fuel industry, calls out climate science deniers and culprits obstructing a

Head House GOP Benghazi witch-hunter Rep. Trey Gowdy makes good his pledge not to fund-raise off Benghazi. If only somebody'd told the Virginia GOP fund-raisers who booked him for their "Beyond Benghazi" event!by KenPeople think it's a piece of cake being a pile of right-wing pondscum. You just lie your putrid guts out and then sing and dance, tra-la!If they only knew!

You can watch 1999 Benjamin talk about " 'saving' Jews" here.by KenIn my Wednesday "Daily Schockpost," "What do you suppose the "fabulous" Aaron Schock is making of the horrific efforts of Downton Abbey under-butler Barrow to purge himself of Teh Ga

by KenIt's Friday, and I realize many of you were probably in such a hurry to get wherever you were going for the weekend -- and possibly beyond, with those two skeletal work weeks coming up surrounding the holidays -- that you missed this news. So as a public service, DWT wants to be sure you've heard the latest from your State Dept., courtesy of the Washington Post "In the Loop" team:

Yes, the tireless David Sipress is still manning The New Yorker's "Daily Cartoon" beat. (You can click on today's offering to enlarge it.)by KenI know I'm taking a certain liberty in tacking David Sipress's New Yorker "Daily Cartoon" for today onto a post that's actually concerned with getting tough on ebola. But really, terrorism, ebola, it's all the same thing, isn't it?

Isn't it just like us to be trotting out -- yet again -- these ancient beefcake pictures? Sure, but ask yourself whether they aren't still the most noteworthy thing about our Scott.by KenBefore we get to the, er, meat of this story, could we pause for a bit of, er, dressing? Namely, Cosmo is now doing political endorsements? Huh?It might be useful here to have some political strategists to poll on the expected impact of a Cosmo endorsement.

Former Clinton administration deputy chief of staff Maria Echaveste was named yesterday by President Obama to be our new ambassador to Mexico. The good news for her is that -- as a nonjudicial appointee, not subject to post-"nuclear option" majority vote -- she shouldn't feel any rush about packing.by KenGoodness knows, most Democratic pols aren't good for much, but set them alongside their Republican counterparts and, well, we're looking into an absolute void.

Leon Panetta (CIA director, 2009-11) and Bravo in their official CIA portrait, by Steven Polson, unveiled last week in the agency’s Directors’ Gallery."I brought him to work with me in the director's office, and he sat in on a lot of the briefings on the bin Laden raid and never leaked a word about what was going on."-- Leon Panetta, to the Washington Post's