[video-1] Joe the Plumber (and his cuz, Joe Six-Pack) have garnered more attention than Bill Ayers and Barack combined, but what do we really know about them? The Hustle investigates, waxing a debate recap (and John McCain's eyebrows) along the way.

As if we needed any more evidence that the gloves were off but good, you attack my beloved This American Life? Christ, man, have you no shame? I’m not going to linger too long on this, for one, because this isn’t RADIO Fight (but wouldn’t Terry Gross versus Click and Clack make a delicious kind of death match?), but also because I’m not sure you’ve ever actually listened to the program, otherwise you wouldn’t have just knee-jerkedly confused its listenership – which I reckon probably is mostly middle-class and white – with its content, which is far-ranging and far more substantial than the musings of the occasional self-deprecating contributor. (And what’s so wrong with self-deprecation? David Rakoff and Jonathan Goldstein do a crackerjack job of it.) Quiet desperation isn’t limited to “the charmingly insecure chattering classes” – and I think This American Life does a fine job of limning desperation of all class, color, and creed – but neither should the desperation of those so-called chatterers be shunted aside as meaningless. Jaysus, we’re all in the gutter – if that isn’t cause for unification in commiseration, I don’t know what is. And yet, to go back (and read back to know exactly what Josh is talking about): “They're tiny little demons, but they'll eventually eat you alive with imperceptible bites.” I think that’s beautifully put, Josh, and it made me stop in my tracks. Which, embarrassingly, doesn’t happen all that often – the rising to the surface of a stirring idea, an elegantly worded thought, one that puts a temporary brake-stop to the constant consumption – thanks, Internet! – of words, facts, figures, images, polemics, parodies, and icanhascheezburger forwards. Let’s go back to movies, okay? I’m starting to worry we’re leaving bruises here.

John Cornyn and Rick Noriega just finished their second debate in as many weeks, this time in Dallas. If you missed the debate – including KLRU viewers who missed about the first quarter of it because of technical difficulties – video of it is now available at texasdebates.com.

Well, that makes two of us who think I have a dumb philosophy on life. But I've been on this planet 32 years now, and it's all I've managed to come up with, so I think I'll stick with it until something better (and even more displeasing to you) comes along. Then I'll have two philosophies on life I can choose from depending on which better serves my purposes under any given circumstance. In the words of the immortal Groucho Marx (who, I don't know if I've mentioned yet, I'm a great fan of): "These are my principles; if you don't like them, I have others." Here's the great thing about movies. Try as we might to write off our affection for them as simply matters of aesthetic whim or tonal affection or adrenal response, when it comes right down to it, the films we love are the films that speak to us on a fundamental, philosophical level. Whether they introduce us to new ways of looking at the world or simply back up the ways we've already stumbled upon, the movies that move us are the movies that provide us the greatest understanding of ourselves. Either the selves we are or the selves we want to be. And, of course, what we want to be says as much about who we are as who we are does. Or not. Who am I to say? The same goes for books, plays, songs, poems, paintings, and radio shows. For example, This American Life, with its clever, self-deprecating little tales of white, middle-class foibles and monotone nostalgia, drives me nuts. All those hushed voices and ironic asides, all that self-effacing charm and opinion-free observation, all that asexualized sweetness, all that liberal delicacy and self-conscious quirkiness - makes me wanna holler. The older I get, the less patience I'm able to muster for the quiet desperation of the charmingly insecure chattering classes. What's wrong with being grabbed by the throat, or grabbing others by the throat? With giving voice to the devils inside rather than trying to miniaturize them with literary allusion and dispassion disguised as ironic post-modern affectation? With shouting our opinions to the sky? With grabbing our measly little socially acceptable worries and insecurities and shaking them around until they grow into enormous untamable beasts. At least then they'll provide us with some energy, some fuel, something of substance that we can use. Climbing into the ring and jabbing at our regrets and disappointments for 15 rounds strikes me as a self-destructive waste of time. They're tiny little demons, but they'll eventually eat you alive with imperceptible bites. You won't even realize you're dead until you wake up one day to find yourself writing your own precious little obituary for McSweeney's.

In a congressional district once considered unwinnable by Democrats, Dist. 10 challenger Larry Joe Doherty is still keeping pace with incumbent Republican Michael McCaul in fundraising. Doherty took in $212,795 in contributions from July 1 to Sept. 30, according to the latest federal campaign finance reports, compared to $219,766 for McCaul. The incumbent also loaned his campaign $60,000 from his own pocket during this period; that makes two consecutive reporting cycles that McCaul loaned himself $60K. Doherty made no loans to himself this period, but kick-started his campaign last year with $100,000 of his own cash. McCaul has taken in or loaned himself more than $1.3 million over the entire 2007-08 election cycle, and still has $597,740 cash on hand. Doherty has $1,018,316 in total receipts, and still has $220,675 available. Of Doherty’s total receipts, 83% have come from individuals, 7% from political action committees, and 10% from Doherty himself. Of McCaul’s money, 56% was from individuals, 34% from PACs, and 9% from McCaul. After the reporting deadline, Doherty was added to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's "Red to Blue" program, which is expected to bring him more financial support.

Hats off to the diligent folks at Save Austin Music. The local grassroots organization, led by veteran songsmith Troy Dillinger and working parallel to the City Council-appointed Live Music Task Force, recently gained non-profit status though sponsorship from the Austin Community Foundation. All donations to SAM are tax-deductible and will be used to promote its Public Service Announcement campaign, which premieres tomorrow night at One World Theatre, 7-11pm. With any luck the commercial will convince a few more average joes to go out and catch a show. The event includes performances by Dillinger, John Pointer, Dan Dyer, Neckbone, Nakia & His Southern Cousins, and Ian McLagan & the Bump Band, not to mention free food and an open bar. There’s also talk of an all-star jam featuring Ponty Bone and Murali Coryell. Tickets are $35 for the general public and only $20 for working musicians. In other Austin music happenings, the Bravery has canceled its performance next Saturday at the Backyard, but on the plus side, Direct Events has turned the all-day outing – featuring Del Castillo, the Boxing Lesson, White Ghost Shivers, Alpha Rev, and Driver F, among others – into a free show. Also, tickets for the Weezer show at the Frank Erwin Center Monday, Oct. 20 are available today for a mere $10.15

This endorsement was accidentally left out of today's print version of our endorsements. We regret the error. Congressional District 31: Brian Ruiz Incumbent Republican John Carter is an embarrassment to Austin and Texas. About the only thing good we can say – and it's a mixed blessing – is that he opposed the Wall Street bailout. Otherwise, he’s a staunch Iraq War supporter, even engaging in demagoguery by questioning the patriotism of those who oppose it. We suspect Ruiz, son of former AISD board member Abel Ruiz, has little hope in this very conservative district that includes the Williamson County portion of Austin, but his opposition to the war and support for renewable energy, and for health care for all children, deserves your vote.

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On the way to the Chron's annual "Best of Austin" party, HUST FM throws in a mashed-up mixtape of the City Hall Schmoozefest last weekend, featuring Laura Morrison and Randi Shade, potential mayoral candidates Bill Spelman and Jackie Goodman, and more. Hustlers around the world unite!