Two new items for y’all, via the mighty Konchog Norbu. (Shocker!):

First, he writes: “OK, dude, this is def one for the Horse. You ain’t seen nothing until you’ve seen the Dalai Lama and Obama, holding a pie around which it says, “Give Peace a Pie, eat it up every day,” rendered…in an art quilt. Yes. Swear. Behold “Olama: Two Guys and a Pie,” courtesy of my vajra sister and enthusiastic quilter Ani Dara.

Secondly, he sends on this report from a sacred hog ceremony in Taipei. Who knew?

Apparently, being “on a mission to sweeten the world” has worked for the makers of Good Karmal, who are out of stock and not shipping any product again until January rolls around. The candies they make are “all natural flavored caramels, wrapped in positive quotations.” Though the quotations are not necessarily Buddhist, at least the company is contributing to “good karma” by donating proceeds to various charities concerned with preserving the environment.

And here’s one from the mighty (and apparently, slightly Scrooge-like ) Konchog Norbu. He writes:

“…yet another hokey use of meditation imagery. Because, really, nothing says Eco-Christmas like fake meditation postures in rainbow toe socks. Bah.”

Thanks as always, Konchog!

And while we’re talking Dharmic dubiosity: you may or may not have seen yesterday’s New York Times piece, “Obama’s Zen State, Well, It’s Hawaiian.” What did it have to do with Zen? You guessed it, but Elephant’s Waylon Lewis gives a breakdown here.

A fascinating discussion from HuffPost; scroll down to Professor Carol Cox’s interpretation to get to the mandala bit — though the whole piece, and the accompanying videos, are totally worthwhile if you’re into this sort of thing.

First there was the “Dali [sic] Obama Lama” button and the “Dalai Bama” shirt at CafePresscom.

Then there was the “Obama-Lama-Ding-Dong” graphic from Zippy the Pinhead creator Bill Griffith.

And now, there’s this.

Four years is a long time, people. I’m just sayin’. (And who, really, is this for?)

Thanks to the fantastic Philip Ryan for passing this one on.

OK. So some people would rather the Horse didn’t get too political.

But this one’s too good not to share: you can get a free “Yes We Did!” sticker, designed by Shepard Fairey, here.

Thanks to the mighty JB for the tip.

Legendary singer-songwriter (and Buddhist) Joan Baez gets down to brass tacks in a new interview with CNN. She talks about Barack Obama, her new music, and finally, happiness:

“[In] Buddhism there’s no real happiness without the struggle. But the struggle has to defeat you in a way [before] you get to be like the Dalai Lama. You know those monks all giggle? All the time! They’ve got it figured out. Because things are what they are on Earth, and you be as good as you can, and you die, it’s the next life. So what’s the big f****** deal?”

Seems sensible enough, right?

See the whole interview here. (Link updated.)

That’s right, folks. CNN just called it at 11 pm.

How can you not like this guy?

And if you’re not sure that an Obama presidency dovetails with a Buddhist’s concerns, consider this comment by civil rights leader John Lewis.

The Religion News Service has a nice little article about how Buddhists are looking at the Big Day. Pro-Obama and Pro-McCain views are both represented, and there are cameos by Sharon Salzberg and the Horse’s go-to guy for Buddhist politics, David R. Loy. Venerable Cang Kim, who sits with a sign that says “I Trust and Pray for George W. Bush,” is pictured here. See it all here.

…here. Just copy, save, and post. (And, vote.)

If you visit the Senator’s site, you’ll see bumper stickers for “Catholics for Obama,” “Latinos for Obama,” and more. And this ridiculous but kinda fun website seems to have a button for everyone; I’ve

seen friends with ones that read “Scooters for Obama,” and even “Moustaches for Obama.” Those friends, it turns out, are Buddhists. So why aren’t there “Buddhists for Obama” or “Meditators for Obama” bumper stickers?

Well, now there are.

Okay, they don’t actually exist as stickers. So we thought we’d go ahead and make them (in a way), as “virtual” bumper stickers for your website or blog. Feel free to swipe them; essentially, we did!

Not that there aren’t “Buddhists for Obama” groups out there. There are. For example: here.

And you’ve certainly noticed a good deal of Buddhist blogs talking about Obama. And, yes, there actually are stickers you can order,

but those have a different typographical sense and so of course don’t feel like part of the official campaign. And let’s face it: Obama’s campaign materials do look pretty damned good.

They’ve just been missing a niche or two, that’s all. (And it’s probably safe to say we won’t be seeing the McCain/Palin ticket producing Buddhist-friendly merch, either…)