The surprise, of course, is that I’m actually getting a Friday Notes out.

First, I apparently screwed up the first video in this post about Idiocracy (yes, I note the irony).  Since no one told me about it, that means no one looked at the videos.  I blame you.  You are hereby sentenced to go watch it.

~

Do Virginia Republicans do anything but whine about non-existent attacks on them?  Del. Bill Carrico was just on WAMU’s Politics Hour going on about how awful it is that the Fourth Circuit said a state employee can’t use his office to lead a mass prayer to Jesus Christ (in particular.  Non-denoms are okay).  You’d think that the Fourth Circuit was burning Christians at the stake.  More about the issue here (with a similarly overwrought tone) and here (which brings it back to reality).

~

A friend turned me on the Fratellis’ Flathead track last week.  Because Universal is still afraid of its customers, I can’t embed the video.  So check it out.  (Warning: this song came to me as a volley in an earworm war.)

~

CycleTo – a well-produced site run by a fellow with a lot of access in the sport – picked up some of my shots from last weekend’s ING Direct Capital Criterium.  CycleTo does a lot of original short video interviews (like this recent one with Levi Leipheimer at Worlds in Varese).  If you’re into pro cycling, give them a look.

~

Looks like the Associated Press lent the McCain campaign its time machine.

~

You’ve probably recieved one of those fear-mongering “don’t wear buttons to the polls!” email this week.  Vivian Paige lays out the law for Virginia residents, and Adam Bonin gives us a national view.

~

Sign war amusement.

~

It’s often easy to assume that all of humanity’s easy problems have been solved.  This is a reminder that simple ideas can still make a difference.

~

I somehow missed the recent skirmishes over the role of the US military personnel on American soil.  If you find it as interesting as I do, this is as good a place as any to jump in.

~

What are you do this weekend?  Depending on the weather, I’ll either be at Bike DC or the Charlottesville Vegetarian Festival.