Monday: Ben Barnes. Tuesday, John Sharp.

Which washed-up conservative Democrat (or DINO) will the TDP power brokers -- who have no actual power to broker -- float today as our 2008 Senate selection?

Take the poll (reg. req.) or cast your vote in the comments.

Lone Star Project reveals Dewhurst can't complete his paper work

Now this is the sort of thing I would like to see Matt Angle do a lot more of:

Millionaire “Lite” Governor berates and belittles uninsured families, yet failed to

complete and file simple business forms.

Texas Lt. Governor David Dewhurst is among the harshest hardliners insisting that families who qualify for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) must reapply every six months or see their children dropped from the program. He recently said,"I don't think most people in Texas have a lot of sympathy for someone that can't fill out a two-page application every six months.'' (Dewhurst, Austin American-Statesman, January 25, 2007)

Public records obtained by the Lone Star Project, however, show that David Dewhurst himself has repeatedly failed to complete and file routine forms needed to do business legally in Texas. At least six times, businesses directed by, or connected to, David Dewhurst failed to fill out required forms in a timely fashion. In fact, David Dewhurst Investment Partnership was issued a Notice of Cancellation by the Texas Secretary of State on December 6, 2006, for failing to file a periodic report that is required only once every four years.

Go read the details. This man wants to be Governor or Senator or Vice President or President one day, just like Hutchison and Cornyn and 39% and Greg Abbott and all the rest of them.

Dewhurst is one of the most benign of our GOP incompetents; he comes across as genial but his statements on CHIP belie his antagonism toward poor people. And now he's demonstrated his hypocrisy as well.

Congratulations Lt. Governor, you're busted.

Sunday Funnies (Happy Easter edition)

To be glued to the tube

The Sopranos wrap things up starting tomorrow evening:

The two episodes that open the final run are, as Sopranos episodes tend to be, masterful examples of the TV art — tense, terrifically acted, carefully observed one-hour plays that delve ever more deeply into the characters while pushing the story slightly forward. They set the concluding mood and the theme, that of family issues coming to a head. But they don't do much to move us toward the conclusion, and that may not sit well with viewers who have clamored, if not for the end, at least for the end to begin.

Still, Tony clearly feels some end approaching, as his oncoming 47th birthday has left him pondering his legacy and his mortality. He has cobbled together a peace agreement with the New York Mob, but it's no more stable than his family — as reflected by a chillingly amusing game of Monopoly that Tony and Carm play with Janice (Aida Turturro) and Bobby (Steven R. Schirripa). These are people, we are continually reminded, who believe in all the rules except the ones that would constrain them.

Looking forward to this almost as much as I am the premeire of the new season of Entourage. More on that:

As it begins the last half of its third season, there's another force to be reckoned with. Amanda, Vince's new agent, plays the Hollywood game as well as any man. She works all hours, knows how to make things happen and takes no guff. She's the type of woman who uses everything at her disposal, including her sexuality.

Carla Gugino plays the part masterfully, as if she knows this person.

Ari knows this person, too, which is why he's as manic as ever but in a way that's spiraling down and out of control. Bottom line: He misses Vince, and he's willing to work at getting him back.

This isn't the Ari with whom we are familiar. Though in charge of his own business now, he's lost his mojo. Worse, he's gone soft. He no longer can take pleasure in firing. He feels the need to protect his gay assistant. He cannot win an argument with his and his wife's marriage counselor.

But if he can win back Vince, he can right his boat. And when even attempting to win him back proves positive, Ari decides to go all-out. Early episodes suggest that will lead to the mother of all smackdowns, with no clear winner.

Piven's performance is a beauty, a step up from his much-heralded, Emmy-winning portrayal of the past. He brings to these episodes a nuanced Ari. He's as conniving and manic as ever, but there's a heightened desperation and a tell-tale sign of heart not often seen in his earlier episodes.

Grenier also steps up his game. In previous years, he played at being cool. In these new episodes, he is cool. Some of E's smartness is rubbing off. Vince still needs E, but you get the impression he might do OK without him.

It's a testament to its makers that the show is growing. As sexy and funny as ever, Entourage is becoming television you don't want to go without.

And I don't.