Perhaps you've heard something about a rather large event a couple of comedians whipped up yesterday in Washington, DC? By some estimates the Rally to Restore Sanity And/Or Fear, hosted by cable TV personalities Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert drew more than 200,000 people to the National Mall. Fox News' take is right here. A hometown rally, one of a bunch around the country, drew hundreds. A lot of 'em came over from the Mission Theater, at a viewing party thrown by the Mercury and the Bus Project.

A case when the rules don't always apply...The Portland Development Commission's $8.1 million loan to green energy firm Vestas contains several unusual incentives not normally offered to the PDC's business partners.

A pair of would-be bombs air-mailed to the United States were probably supposed to have detonated in mid-air, counter-terrorism officials now say. And—surprise!—there appears to be an Al-Qaida connection.

It's not just your smartphone. Also "made in China"? The plague.

The NYT's Frank Rich explains why GOP country clubs and backrooms still won't be serving much tea after Tuesday's election. It's not the beverage of choice for the lobbyists, bankers, energy barons, and CEOs who still pull the levers of Republican power.

Now God is even more pissed off at Haiti.
Still wrecked by this year's earthquake, still sucking air amid a wave of cholera deaths, the economically disadvantaged island nation is now bracing for a hurricane.

Free birth control pills!
Not that there won't be a HUGE EFFIN' FIGHT over this, probably rendering this all moot, but the new health care overhaul apparently paves the way for effective, sane family planning.

Here's what a real sex scandal looks like:
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is accused of pressuring police to get a 17-year-old belly dancer sprung from custody. The girl was arrested previously on theft charges, and began to sing about her time spent entertaining at parties held in Berlusconi's mansion. Some reports say the two had... sex for money. Not the first time he's been so accused.

“I love the position that I’m in now,” Sarah Palin says about running for president in 2012. That position being, essentially, getting paid lots of money to tour the country and appear on television while inflaming jingoists and ignoramuses and hillbillies. But she'll leap in if needed!

On that incredibly frightening note, Happy Halloween.