Today, we've discovered that Al Franken has finally pulled out ahead of Norm Coleman in the eternal battle for Minnesota's up-in-the-air senate seat. And not by a mere 11 or so votes, but by more than 250, which, in this race, might as well be 70 billion…

The intense scrutiny of "voter intent" resumed this morning by the five-member board charged with directing Minnesota's recount in the U.S. Senate race between incumbent Republican Norm Coleman and Democratic rival Al Franken, and the first 90 minutes of ballot rulings turned the challenger's slight deficit into a growing triple-digit lead.

Also this morning, the State Canvassing Board sidestepped the Coleman team's proposal to prevent as many as 150 ballots from being counted twice. Talking about instances when a ballot couldn't be run through a voting machine, requiring a duplicate to be made, the Coleman camp said that such ballots should be counted only if an original could be matched with its copy.

If you've somehow managed to keep yourself from slipping into a coma while reading that, here's your ice cream for diligent tenacity in matters tedious minutiae.

It's the Minnesota state canvassing board arguing over the veracity of "candidates" like "Lizard People" and "The Flying Spaghetti Monster." Riveting stuff…

That's maybe the best piece of sketch comedy I've seen in months.

(via Wonkette)