Tell me this didn't send shivers down your spine.

This is Ashley Todd, a McCain volunteer who falsely claimed that she was assaulted by a black male who saw her McCain bumper sticker and that he claimed carved a B (for Barack Obama) on her face. The B was backwards. Brilliant.


This is a proud Republican supporter from Pennsylvania who attended a Palin rally with "Little Hussein," a Curious George doll with an Obama sticker fashioned into a crown around his head. Rather than be disgusted, the other attendees of the rally laughed and cheered him on.


Mike Lunsford hung this Barack Obama effigy on his front lawn because, well, Obama is black.


This sign that popped up in West Plains, MO speaks for itself in its implications.


Another sad display of the bigotry that exists in Pennsylvania.

Finally, a post like this would not be complete without a reference to Fox News. Here is a video of someone at Fox mistaking Obama for Osama and suggesting we kill them both.

Oh, and, people have actually been arrested already for plotting to kill Obama.

He was out at Chickie's all night last night, watching and celebrating the Phillies game.

First, let me start off by saying that Lily and Carrie both got sick this week and I'm coming down with a cold too. So, that all sucked. I think the good outweighed the bad, though. Here's why the past seven days have been so good:

1. The Phillies won the NLDS.
2. I got to play hockey for the first time in about a year.
3. It's Danny's birthday!
4. Someone from Style.com (the same people who make Vogue Magazine) contacted me because they might feature The Brown Bag Club on their site.
5. We had three new showings on our house and came up with a good plan for all of our possible housing scenarios.
6. The house we love just dropped $10k in price, which puts it more comfortably in our budget... as long as someone actually buys our house.
7. I had a day off and got good rest.
8. I had my final dentist appointment and I no longer have a giant cavity in my molar. Also my teeth and gums are both really healthy for the first time in forever.
9. Luca Sbisa has impressed the hell out of everyone and may make the Flyers' roster.
10. I don't have to go into work this weekend anymore.
11. Lily slept until 8:00 a.m. the other day (albeit because she was sick -- but she's better now.)
12. I've made good progress on my concurrent freelance projects and am really happy with the way the designs are turning out.
13. I got ROTD at Yelp, even though I haven't been active on there in a few months.
14. I've been cooking all week and, in turn, eating and feeling better.
15. I got an awesome bottle of Polish vodka from Matt's trip to Poland
16. I got my allergy prescriptions refilled. So, maybe I can start breathing a little better again.
17. Even though I'm unable to attend the short story sharing thing -- Is there an official name yet? -- I have a story idea that I'm really excited about and can't wait to use next month.
18. I submitted feature requests for two apps I use (Coda and Doomi) and the developers liked my suggestions.
19. The NHL season started.
20. The Phillies beat the Dodgers in game 1 of the NLCS!
21. The reporter on Fox keeps calling all the highlights from the Phillies' game a "money shot."

Believe it or not, this is just the short list. Yay, good week! Now, please, someone just buy our place!

Opportunity is knocking for the Philadelphia Phillies and I'm screaming from the couch, "Open the door! Open the door!"

When this season ends, the Phillies will not go through any drastic changes. The team will not disband and we here in Philly will be left with a shallow reflection of what could have been. Rather, the team may only lose a few people. It's not of huge concern that they lose anyone. THe concern is that we won't replace them.

1. Pat Burrell
Fat Burrell, Pat the Bat, whatever you want to call him, will likely pack his bags and head to the American League where he can rest on his laurels until his turn to bat arrives. We here in Philly have been wishing he'd leave for years. Personally, I'm OK with him no longer being a part of this ball club. This leaves a hole in left field, though, which won't get properly filled. While I'd love to see the Phillies be aggressive and make a move for Matt Holliday or even sign Manny Ramirez, they won't. They'll move Greg Dobbs into left field and, if they're lucky, convert Tad Iguchi to an outfielder and platoon them. OK, Iguchi probably won't play out there. Matt Stairs probably will, though.

Why is that a problem? The best pinch hitter in baseball will become a semi-regular outfielder. He may be an improvement over Burrell defensively, even though Dobbs has his defensive gaffes too, but the team's bench will suffer. It'll lose late inning depth that, no matter how hard they pretend to try, they won't be able to replenish.

2. Pat Gillick
We love him. We hate him. He makes awful moves. He makes awfully brilliant moves. From Wes Helms, Adam Eaton, and Rod Barajas to Greg Dobbs, Jayson Werth, and Jamie Moyer, Gillick's tenure has run the gamut. In some ways, we'll be happy to see him move on but we'll also miss him a ton. Philly hasn't had much luck with GMs and Gillick is the first to bring this team to the post season in 14 years -- and back-to-back since most of us were wearing diapers.

Gillick will probably be replaced by someone within the organization like Amaro Jr. or Arbuckle. Neither will be fully qualified and neither will do a good job. Either will have sizable tasks ahead of them, such as re-signing Howard and Hamels, and improving the pitching rotation.

3. Tadahito Iguchi
We didn't see much of him this year but he helped this ball club in immeasurable ways in 2007. I consider it to be imperative for the club to convince him to play a few spots off the bench. Chances are, he won't, though.

4. Brett Myers
Myers is signed through next season but he already admitted he wants to be a rock star closer, which won't happen in Philly. He's been mostly good since he's returned to the rotation after his stint in the minors, but I'm thoroughly convinced that the organization told him that, if he was to improve, buckle down, and hit certain goals they set for him as a starter, that they'd trade him to a team that needed a closer after the season's end. Unless he's wearing a World Series ring this October, I think he'll be traded.

I'd like to believe that the Phillies will go out and land a Brad Penny, I'm not going to hold my breath. If Myers go, the team may just consider the rotation to be: Hamels, Moyer, Blanton, Carrasco, Kendrick. Let's hope it doesn't come to that. Worse yet, they may not re-sign Blanton and consider Eaton the fifth starter. He's still under contract for one more year. Yikes.

5. Ryan Howard
What will be Howard's situation next year? Will he be here? How much will he be getting paid? If he's here, will we see the Howard from September that killed the ball and was defensively surprising, or will we see the Howard from the beginning of the year who was no better than if Charlie Manuel was playing first himself.

6. Jayson Werth
His contract ends this year. He needs to be re-sign but will probably command a buttload of money, considering the year he's had. I believe they will re-sign him but, if/when they do, will they trim the fat from somewhere else?

7. Cole Hamels, Shane Victorino, Greg Dobbs, Carlos Ruiz, Chad Durbin, Ryan Madson, Joe Blanton, Scott Eyre, Eric Bruntlett, Clay Condrey, Chris Coste, Rudy Saenez
I believe all of these players have contracts that expire this year. To retain them all, or even the top tier of these players, this stingy team's payroll will have to increase significantly. Who goes? Who stays? What does it mean for the team? Without Gillick, the scrap heap virtuoso that he is, at the helm, will the next GM be able to find adequate replacements for these players? Even if the next one could, I doubt it would happen quickly enough to ensure a third straight trip to the playoffs, especially with an angry and determined Mets team ready to finally prove that they are good. The Mets, unlike the Phillies, will open up their pockets and spend big money if they can land someone like Sabathia.

Despite the optimistic outlook any of us may have for the Phillies this postseason -- especially with the Cubs nearly eliminated! -- next year may leave a lot to be desired.