Consider the following two political stickers, in the shape of the continental United States. These sticker maps are exactly the same, except for the words superimposed over them.

In one case, we see an Occupied Territory sticker.

In another case, we see an Occupy USA sticker.

What’s the difference? What is different about the political message that these two bumper stickers are trying to convey?

It’s free to the first person in Vermont who leaves a comment to this post with an e-mail address — the public won’t see your e-mail; I’ll use it to write to you and get your USPS address.

We’ve got more Sanders for Senate stuff for sale on our Vermont politics page.

They were wrong.

The Obama Administration failed to create new regulations on offshore drilling, and so we saw the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling rig, and the biggest oil spill in American history. The American people were outraged, but President Obama refused to institute a moratorium on the expansion of offshore drilling. Instead, Barack Obama responded to the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico by agreeing to expand deepwater offshore drilling even further, without any new safety regulations in place!

This week, the Obama White House has made the problem even worse. In the Arctic, the Obama Administration has approved a plan by Shell Oil to drill for oil in the Beaufort Sea, even though Shell Oil’s response plan for an oil spill in the Arctic waters relies upon untested technology.

On the very same day, the Obama Administration has opened up a large new area just off the coast of Virginia for exploration for offshore drilling. Imagine black sludge from these new oil wells brought on a high tide into the Chesapeake Bay.

If George W. Bush had made these decisions, environmentalists would be in an uproar. Will environmental organizations now let these dangerous favors to Big Oil slide, just because it’s Barack Obama who’s responsible?

“The death of Trayvon Martin is an American tragedy. Too often this violent act is repeated in the streets of our nation.

I applaud the young people across this nation who are making a statement about hoodies and the real hoodlums particularly those who tread on our laws wearing official or quasi-official cloaks.”

Then, U.S. Capitol Police escorted Congressman Rush away from the podium. His crime: Wearing a hooded sweatshirt.

Yes, you’re Governor of New Jersey, Mr. Christie. That means that you’re supposed to serve the people, not insult them and shout them down.

Chris Christie presents a terrible example of public behavior, too rude and crude to maintain respect for the office of Governor.

So, I have a suggestion: Chris Christie, why don’t YOU shut up for a second? While you’re at it, why don’t you step down from office, and allow someone more dignified and decent to represent the state of New Jersey?

I grew up in the Northeast, near the Great Lakes, so I know what it is to get a lot of snow. I thought I knew what it was to be cold, too, but I had never, until I moved to Iowa, experienced a truly extreme chill. I still remember the afternoon in late December when the temperature got up to minus 17, and I went outside in short sleeves because it felt so warm by comparison to the minus 30 it had been for the previous week.

That’s not the kind of winter Iowa is seeing this year. This afternoon in Council Bluffs, Iowa, the temperature almost reached 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Tomorrow, the weather will be the same.

As a result, the Winterfest Ice Fishing Derby that has been held every year in Council Bluffs has been canceled. For an ice fishing derby, after all, you need ice. As a consolation, they’re still going to hold a raffle, in which you can win a warm knit cap… but then, who needs a warm knit cap when it’s 60 degrees outside?

I’d say that this weather is unusual, except that this kind of winter warmth is becoming more common. It might be more accurate to call the weather unnatural.

For Iowans who remember what winter used to be like, and for Iowans who are concerned about the extreme imbalance that has been created in the climate, there’s this bumper sticker: Iowa Wants Action to Stop Global Warming… because the heartland is becoming the heatland.

Voters in Florida’s 22nd congressional district may now be hoping that they can get Allen West the hell out of the House of Representatives this November. But who would be his replacement?

There are two candidates running for the Democratic nomination to challenge Allen West in the general election this fall. Their names are Lois Frankel and Patrick Murphy.

Lois Frankel is a former state legislator and mayor of West Palm Beach. She pledges to protect Medicare and Social Security from Republican attempts to reduce benefits, saying, “Our seniors have spent their entire lives contributing to these programs and they deserve to know that Social Security and Medicare will be there for them when they retire. Lois will fight to protect these programs for current and future generations and will resist any efforts to cut benefits.”

Patrick Murphy is Vice President of Coastal Environmental Services, a Florida company that specializes in cleanup of industrial pollution. In 2010, Murphy took part in the cleanup of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. He hopes to bring insights from that experience to Congress, explaining, “Good environmental policy isn’t just morally correct. It’s good business for America, and especially good for Florida. It preserves the economy, creates jobs, and protects Florida’s fragile ecosystems and tourism industry.”

Either one of these Democrats would be a remarkable improvement over the erratic and extremist Allen West.

The possibilities for a new Gingrich campaign slogan are plentiful:

Gingrich 2012: “I’m Open, America”

I think maybe I should start seeing other candidates, Newt.

Gingrich-Edwards 2012: A Mistress in Every Pot

Gingrich-Ensign 2012: Traditional Marriage, heh heh.

Newt Gingrich for President, Carrot Top for Pope

Gingrich 2012: If We Let Lesbians Marry, Where Will I Pick Up Chicks?

Tawdry-Inappropriate 2012

Newt Gingrich: A New Era of Openness (OK with Callista)

Gingrich ’12: Traditional Values, Unless Your Name Rhymes with “Flute”

Newt ’12: Lookit what the Gays did to my marriages!

There must be more than this. Can you come up with the new Newt Gingrich presidential campaign slogan in this new era of Openness?

A new set of Ron Paul newsletters was discovered and posted by the New Republic. The newsletters include the promotion of a book called Big Sister is Watching You, which Ron Paul promises will disclose “the true and horrifying story of the witch-lesbo-feminists who are running America.”

Witch lesbo feminists are running America? Really, Ron Paul?

I’ve known a few feminist lesbian Wiccans over the years, and I have to say, they were not the types I could imagine secretly running America. They were too busy tracking the moon and making infusions of various obscure herbs.

If a cabal of witch lesbo feminists is really the secret political elite in the United States, then how come there isn’t a single open Wiccan in all of Congress? Why hasn’t there ever been a Wiccan prayer in the National Day of Prayer? How come our coins don’t say “In Goddess We Trust”? How come Christine O’Donnell was so desperate to convince everyone that she was not a witch?

Ron Paul is living in a weird world ruled by conspiracy theories. Americans just can’t trust a politician who really believes that lesbian feminist Wiccans have more power than anyone else in the USA.

If you’re a witch lesbo feminist, well, it’s time to commit to campaign against Ron Paul for President. We’ve made this bumper sticker just for you.