From The Week:

Happy new year—not: A top Iranian soccer official has resigned in disgrace after accidentally sending a New Year’s greeting to Israel’s soccer federation. Mohammad Mansour Azimzadeh Ardebili, head of foreign relations for the Iranian Football Federation, sent the e-mail through FIFA, soccer’s international governing body. It was meant to go to every FIFA member except Israel, but was evidently forwarded to Israel. Iran does not acknowledge the sovereignty of Israel, which it calls the “Zionist entity,” and Iranian athletes refuse to compete against Israelis—even at the Olympics. Israeli soccer officials sent a reply wishing a “happy new year to all the good people of Iran”—and added the emoticon for a wink.

An excerpt from a letter to the editor in today's Midland Daily News:

Ultimately I would say this (and I have said this to law enforcement officials and politicians alike): do you really think that once gay marriage is the law in every state, once the border has been opened to anyone and everyone who wants to come here, once boom boxes and loud motorcycles and gangster rap music are ubiquitous across the land — do you really think this country will be a better place to live?

link

Previous installments in this series:

• The Most Bizarre Letter to the Editor Ever

» While conservatives understandably are exercised about the apparent double standard of Wanda Sykes filleting Limbaugh while Obama sat by grinning (what if it had been a Republican president and a liberal being attacked?), we should also try to imagine how conservatives would react to a liberal former VP enjoying his retirement by attacking the sitting conservative president.  Well, we don't have to imagine.  In today's article skewering Cheney, Dowd gives several examples of how conservatives responded in similar situations when the tables were turned.  So, which way do I prefer it?  I guess I'd lean towards everyone feeling free to speak their minds...but let's have some consistency.  Don't freak out over a conservative making a joke in poor taste if you don't do the same when a liberal does it.  Don't freak out about a liberal ex-leader criticizing the actions of a sitting president if you don't do the same when a conservative does it.

» Timothy Noah makes the case for why he thinks Republicans are sore losers in presidential politics.

» Real Life Twitter (h/t Mike Todd)

» Stewart impales Pelosi:

... of Sen. Chuck Grassley.

First he told an Iowa radio station that AIG executives ought to

...follow the Japanese model and come before the American people and take that deep bow and say I’m sorry, and then either do one of two things — resign, or go commit suicide.

Then he breaks out "that's what she said" during senate budget debate.  Here is the video:

(h/t HuffPo)