By now, you’ve probably heard of RealDolls. They’re those lifelike, anatomically correct silicone sex dolls that costs thousands of dollars. They’ve appeared in movies (“Lars and the Real Girl”), on TV (Howard Stern, natch), and in books (Still Lovers). These days, though, it seems the love doll industry is taking a hit. In these tough economic times, not every guy who longs for a synthetic lover with a fully articulated internal armature has the means to buy one. Sniff. The man who dreamed of spending $6,499 on a life partner with a choice of vagina attachments may be S.O.L. Thankfully, the folks at RealDoll.com are offering some unique deals. “Order a RealDoll, RealDoll2 or Male RealDoll2 and get a FREE FACE!!” the website advertises. “Order a Female Flat Back Torso get the Head Kit FREE!” You know, this 21st century depression might not be such a bad thing if it means free faces and head kits for lonely guys looking for women with removable visages.

Welcome to Monday, people. Let’s get this week started right—with a fun-loving video in which armed women shoot inflatable love dolls out of the sky. Now you know what you wish you were doing if you weren’t at work, don’t you? Making a feminist statement by annihilating that which represents the patriarchal objectification of women! Or, you know, maybe it’s just some wacky Japanese TV show. However you want to see it, it looks like a good time to me. Do you think that maybe for the next episode they could send up a squadron of those inflatable Sarah Palin love dolls? That would be a great opportunity for making an awesome political statement, indeed.

Considering how obsessed the nation is with Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, it was only a matter of time before someone created a love doll in her likeness. After the jump, all the details on what may be America’s first political sex doll.

A long time ago, I dated this guy who was a celebrity. He had his own TV show. You probably know who he is. But let’s not go there, shall we? At the end of our first date, he took me to his house in the Hollywood Hills. When I walked in the door, I found there were four life-sized, anatomically correct sex dolls sitting around on the furniture. They were RealDolls. They cost several thousand dollars a piece. Some of them were dressed. Some of them were not. It was kind of awkward. While he went in the kitchen to get a beer, I sat next to one of the dolls. She was cold and clammy. I pulled at her tongue, and it came out in my hand. I wondered what he saw in them. Ultimately, our relationship was short-lived. Maybe he preferred inanimate objects to me. Today, after I read this report about a sex doll who was thrown away by the side of the road, I wondered whatever happened to those love dolls.