[December 5th, 2007]

106 He’s in the Palm of Your Hand

Even as his time in the Oval Office comes down to mere months, we still hear quotes from Georgie-Porgie that make us want to crush his miserable little head. Now, with Smush Bush ($5.95, Funny Bone, 617 SW Washington St., 241-0455) , you can! Pick up his palm-sized foam-rubber body. Feel its pleasant give. Now squeeze the life out of the petty son of a bitch! There. Don’t you feel better already?

107 Pundits by the Pound

There’s more than enough how-to for the political junkie this holiday season. Local yakker Thom Hartmann’s Cracking the Code: How to Win Hearts, Change Minds, and Restore America’s Original Vision ($24.95, Annie Bloom’s Books, 7834 SW Capitol Highway, 246-0053) hit shelves in November. Want something leftier? Grab Noam Chomsky’s What We Say Goes: Conversations on U.S. Power in a Changing World ($15, Laughing Horse Books, 12 NE 10th Ave., 236-2893) . Looking for a more practical guide? You want Stephen Colbert’s I Am America (And So Can You) ($18.89, Powell’s Books, 1005 W Burnside St., 228-4651) .

108 No Aerosol for Blood for Oil!

There’s something hilarious about watching American politicians desperately try to explain away their support of the obviously fraudulent invasion of Iraq. After all, every Sharpie-wielding “guerrilla artist” out there knew what was up. For proof, pick up Xavier Tapies’ Street Art and the War on Terror: How the Word’s Best Graffiti Artists Said No to the Iraq War ($35, powells.com) , a handsome collection of artistic dissent from across the globe. Then ask yourself why Banksy is smarter than Hillary Clinton.

109 City of Refuge

Portlander (and former WW contributor) Teresa Bergen knows a thing or two about censorship. She found herself at the center of an international controversy when she started receiving death threats from overseas for her paintings of cats as Hindu gods. Her new novel, Killing the President ($16.95, Powell’s Books on Hawthorne, 3723 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 238-1668), contains a little of that misunderstanding, as her protagonist is forced to go undercover after his offhand remark about killing the president with a golf ball is overheard by an FBI agent. Then life gets interesting.

110 You Can’t Fool the Fat Man

It’s hard to feel indifferent toward the oeuvre of Michael Moore—either you think he’s a manipulative hack, or you venerate his establishment-smashing investigative zeal. Either way, a copy of Sicko ($29.95, Watch This, 916 W Burnside St., 223-1791) , the waddling watchdog’s exposé of our miserable healthcare system, makes an excellent, button-pushing gift.

111 Who Needs Instructions?

We keep asking: How can 60 million Americans still think voting Republican is a good idea? For the die-hard progressive evangelist, Jack Huberman has compiled more arguments than you should need to convince anyone to vote Dem next year in The GOP Hater’s Handbook ($18, buzzflash.com) . Obsessively alphabetized and annotated, think of this as the Book of Common Prayer for party organizers.

112 Smells like Victory

For the political junkie who just can’t find enough ways to express his affiliation, here’s the next step towards total party branding: This Democratic air freshener ($3.95, Funny Bone, 617 SW Washington St., 241-0455) features Ms. Clinton’s cheerful mugshot with the slogan “I’m your man” and promises to eliminate “stinky Republican smell.” Lord, we hope so. What does victory in 2008 smell like? My Little Pony. Seriously.

113 Smells like Justice

Find out exactly what those blood-thirsty judges down San Antonio way are eating—and prepare them yourself—with The Texas Judicial Cookbook ($19.95, texasjudicialcookbook.com) . This “culinary tribute” to the historic courthouses of the Lone Star State contains—we kid you not—fifty-some recipes from deputies, bailiffs and George Bush. Damn, that guy gets around. Oh, and it looks like “President Bush’s Favorite Crab Cakes” are missing a key (sniff) ingredient.

114 Give the Gift of Sanity

Open your right-wing uncle’s eyes this year with a screening of No End in Sight ($19.99, amazon.com), Charles Ferguson’s stunning film about the Bush administration’s astonishing bungles in Iraq, which our own Aaron Mesh has called “the only documentary on the Iraq War worth the time it takes to watch it.” It’s shocking enough to open the eyes of even the most heartless hawk, and, at Christmas, your uncle won’t be able to escape.

Gimme More

The Cat-eating Soldier And Other Stories:

Military Misdemeanors by Terry Crowdy (Barnes&Noble, $16.95, 10206 SW Washington Square Road, Tigard, 598-9455) is a journey through the ages with some of the most corrupt and incompetent historical figures of all time.

Keep Oregon Red:

If you’ve ever lived in Portland, the Portland Red Guide: Sites and Stories From Our Radical Past by Michael Munk ($16.95, Powell’s City of Books, 1005 W Burnside St., 228-4651) is your kind of pamphlet.

Make Love Not War:

Nervous about overpopulating our effed-up country? Bush Condoms ($8 a pack, Lunar Boy Gallery, 1133 Commercial St., Astoria, 325-1566, lunarboygallery.com) can help. With quotes like “For shmucks who won’t pull out,” you’ll get a little chuckle before undoing that buckle.