PINKO DAILY BRIEFS: Remember what Sarah Palin told us in October? That ACORN was going to kill babies while doing 9-11 steal the election and widespread voter fraud was going to turn Ohio evil, socialist blue? SHE WAS RIGHT! The Cincinnati Enquirer is reporting that a special prosecutor appointed to look into the allegations has in fact proven voter fraud. As in, "voter." As in, one of them: 

“Ultimately,” Special Prosecutor Michael O’Neill wrote in a report, “the investigators discovered ‘get-out-the-vote’ practices, sponsored by community organizations, which took full advantage of [Ohio's] unique absentee-voting period, but no evidence these practices violated Ohio law.”

That one evildoer? A 24-year old student from Connecticut, who turned himself in. Kevin Duffy, 24, was visiting friends and registered to vote, then voted on the same day. "A week later, Duffy felt guilty and called Hamilton County elections officials to tell them what he did and ask that his vote not be counted. It wasn’t." Shocking.  A little more in politics today: 

• The stimulus/recovery bill should up for a vote in Congress this afternoon. The Nation's Ari Berman parses the political debate and argues that while it's smart politics for Obama to listen to the GOP, it's bad policy to let them dictate his legislative agenda. Democrats won. By a lot. Also, about the GOP argument that there is too much "pork" in the stimulus? How about the $23 billion in Republican pork - can we talk about that? Assholes. Also? Summer pork salad. Organic! Mmmm. 
• On Friday the Republicans will choose a new chairpersonman to run their national committee. The contenders: (a) the only two living black Republicans in America; (b) The guy who sent fellow Republicans a CD of that "Barack the Magic Negro" song as a joke. Ha? Here he is being excoriated by Contessa Brewer on MSNBC; (c) the guy who ran the party in 2008; or (d) South Carolina State KlansChairman Katon Dawson, who openly admits that school desegregation inspired his involvement in politics, and not in a Freedom Rider kind of way. Nice. One of them will lead former Idaho Governor Dirk Kempthorne to a stunning victory over Barack Obama in 2012. 

Two briefs on the environment today:  

• Grist explores the relationship between public art and environmentalism. Even though that red pinwheel isn't my cup of tea, I'm glad it's there. 
• What do you think of these mini-cars? Are they awesome or silly? In New York shouldn't you just ride a bike? These are just $2/hour, which is pretty amazing. 

Also? Holy fuck! The Slumdog Millionaire director may be a slumlord! Or a child abuser! CALL MARISKA HARGITAY. The parents of the child stars inthe Oscar contending film are claiming exploitation: 

Their roles in Slumdog Millionaire have won them international acclaim and seen them rub shoulders with the film’s glamorous stars and its British director. But the reality of life for Rubina Ali and Azharuddin Ismail is far closer to that of the characters they play in the story of love, violent crime and extreme poverty in India. The child actors’ parents have accused the hit film’s producers of exploiting and underpaying the eight-year-olds, disclosing that both face uncertain futures in one of Mumbai’s most squalid slums.

Finally, Rod Blagoievich is crazy. He has wild hair. He's an asshole. But did he actually do anything illegal?  Oh! Also? Watch this video: Aww!