Despite the continued success of George Mason in the NCAA tournament, our computer troubles today have left us in a pretty foul mood. Not even that cute panda can lift our spirits. So please forgive the grumpiness. MORE »

Today our coverage of China-Taiwan relations converges with our continuing panda coverage. The L.A. Times reports: MORE »

Just a very brief reminder: we are still soliciting more questions for our Anonymous Hill Staffer to answer. So if you have one, lay it on us. That out of the way, let’s look at our favorite comments from this week — click on ‘em for context. MORE »

This weekend, we received a plaintive email from a dear friend of ours, which we’ve excerpted, below: MORE »

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This week has been a good one for celebrity-obsessed Washingtonians. A handful of “famous-for-famous” people, and a slew of “famous-for-DC” people, showed up at the Congressional Correspondents dinner on Wednesday night. And, of course, let’s not forget the camel sighting on Monday. (As for Butterstick, sufferers of panda withdrawal syndrome should check out this site or this one.)

After the jump, still more celebrity sightings. You’ve been doing a nice job of keeping us well-supplied; keep ‘em coming! (If you remember to do so, please include the word “Wonk’d” or “Sighting” in the subject of your message, so we can separate your message from the never-ending stream of offers for Cialis, OEM software, and mortgage refinancing.)

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•Su Lin and Butterstick battle for cute supremacy. [Pandafix]
•“I don’t really understand the need to have a giant creche in front of the courthouse. Is that the cradle of the holiday spirit? You’re like, ‘Boy, it sucks that I got that DUI, but look! The manger!’” [What Would J. Crew Do?]
•Someone in Tompkins Square Park is overheard to exclaim “It was so lame! It was full of bloggers!” Check out who overheard it! A hint: At one point, she was a BLOGGER that was FULL. Of semen. [Overheard in New York]
•The tale of two Bushes, scored side by side. [Boi From Troy]— DCEIVER MORE »

It’s been brought to our attention that the Sichuan Wolong Panda Protection and Breed Center now has SIXTEEN BABY PANDAS. To be sure, they all probably have dumb Chinese panda cub names, like “Happy Fuzzy Cat-Bear,” and “Gurgling Mammal” and “A Little Piece of Something Very Black and White,” and none of them is the Stick, but it begs the question: WHY DO THEY WANT HIM BACK? We have one baby panda. His name is Butterstick. Not only do the Chinese clearly have more than they need, but in two years, the Stick will be an xBox-playing panda teen (Six fingers! He’ll totally dominate.) in baggy shorts, playing the Strokes on his iPod so loud he won’t listen to instructions on how to use chopsticks or honor his mother and father. Keep the American panda in America. Already he complains that “no one gets my Arcade Fire references.” Imagine how lonely he’ll feel if no one else around can quote the first season of “Arrested Development.” MORE »

AP reports that the National Zoo’s baby panda “his displeasure clear Friday during his ninth medical exam,” but assumes that the source of his ire was a distemper shot. Fuck that, it’s his new name he’s pissed about: “Tai Shan,” or “peaceful mountain.” All wrong. Not even a good name for a drag queen. “Peaceful mountain of butter,” maybe. Who’s selling the “Butterstick” t-shirts and where can we get one? MORE »

Vote early, vote often, vote for the only panda name worth having: “Dragon Mountain”? “Magnificent”? Great monikers– for a Chinese drag queen. Our little bundle of fuzz deserves better — I mean, “butter.” Tom at Unrequited Narcissism has hacked a way to bring American-style democracy to the National Zoo, allowing anyone who believes in justice to write in “Butterstick.” Rigged ballots, racism, illegal voter intimidation! It’s like Florida all over again — maybe we can trick the old people into voting for the fatty food, too… MORE »

We’re hopping on another gay-friendly blogger campaign: Name that panda “Butterstick”! Unrequited Narcissism goes through the outstanding reasons for christening the little fella after our favorite fatty spread, the best being, “We’ve got a graphic, which means that soon CafePress will be disgorging butterstick promotional gear by the truckload.” (Heh. “Disgorging buttesticks.” I think have the first Disgorging Buttersticks 7-inch.) MORE »