Christopher Hitchens on Real Time w Bill Maher, March 26, 2010.

"Suffer the little children to come unto me."

Great column by Frank Rich

Frank Rich's column from yesterday exactly characterizes the Tea Party opposition to the new health care law:

The Rage Is Not About Health Care

It’s not happenstance that Frank, Lewis and Cleaver — none of them major Democratic players in the health care push — received a major share of last weekend’s abuse. When you hear demonstrators chant the slogan “Take our country back!,” these are the people they want to take the country back from.

You should read the whole thing.

National Catholic Reporter vs. Ratzinger

Who would have thought?

I'm told that tomorrow's Palm Sunday (actually, someone told me yesterday that Easter is a week from tomorrow, so I just figured the Palm Sunday thing out), and even Catholics are starting to challenge Ratzinger to come clean on the child rape story.

The Holy Father needs to directly answer questions, in a credible forum, about his role -- as archbishop of Munich (1977-82), as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (1982-2005), and as pope (2005-present) -- in the mismanagement of the clergy sex abuse crisis.

We urge this not primarily as journalists seeking a story, but as Catholics who appreciate that extraordinary circumstances require an extraordinary response. Nothing less than a full, personal and public accounting will begin to address the crisis that is engulfing the worldwide church. It is that serious.

They go on:

Like it or not, this new focus on the pope and his actions as an archbishop and Vatican official fits the distressing logic of this scandal. For those who have followed this tragedy over the years, the whole episode seems familiar: accusation, revelation, denial and obfuscation, with no bishop held accountable for actions taken on their watch. Yes, there is a depressing madness to this story. Time after time, this is a story of institutional failure of the deepest kind, a failure to defend the Gospel of Jesus Christ, a failure to put compassion ahead of institutional decisions aimed at short-term benefits and avoiding public scandal.

The strategies employed so far -- taking the legal path, obscuring the truth, and doing everything possible to protect perpetrators as well as the church's reputation and treasury -- have failed miserably.

It's high time that people within the church are taking this issue seriously, and holding the church management responsible for their crimes.

That Evil Federal Government!

Did you hear this? You know that anti-government nut who's been telling people to throw bricks through their Congressmen's windows?

You know what he does for a living?

Nothing.

Vanderboegh said he once worked as a warehouse manager but now lives on government disability checks. He said he receives $1,300 a month because of his congestive heart failure, diabetes and hypertension.

Pretty rich, isn't it? Not only is this guy a sworn enemy of the federal government, but he is living on what may be the biggest anathema for these guys: Social Security.

You'd call me a liar if I made it up, wouldn't you?

Mr. Deity And The Equation

It's a god eat god world out there!

Biden Drops The F-Bomb?

He's right. This is a big fucking deal.

What is he, kidding?

Did you see what McCain said today?

Democrats shouldn't expect much cooperation from Republicans the rest of this year, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) warned Monday.

"There will be no cooperation for the rest of the year," McCain said during an interview Monday on an Arizona radio affiliate. "They have poisoned the well in what they've done and how they've done it."

Can anyone else think of any bipartisanship or cooperation the Republicans have shown in this Congress?

Anyone?

Bueller?

Congressman Ryan Denounces Protester Behavior

To this moment I haven't heard of a single Republican criticizing these racist, homophobic attacks. Have you?

UPDATE: Two hours of speeches by Republicans, not one word against these bigoted attacks.

"Bipartisanship, my butt!"

Dean and Weiner have it right here. What more is there to say about the disingenuous complaints from the R's about bipartisanship?

And calling Peggy Noonan on her bullshit? Priceless.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

DADT=Institutionalized Discrimination

It's way past time to get rid of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell", and this latest story illustrates why.

In this case, the police in Rapid City, South Dakota, were searching for someone they had charges against. When they got to her home they were pissed off that her wife, an Air Force sergeant, wouldn't drop everything to rush home and help them arrest her wife. While they were snooping around they saw the couple's Iowa marriage certificate through the window.

So what do they do? They call the Air Force base, rat out the sergeant to her superiors, and get her discharged.

This raises a couple of serious questions:

1. What conceivable law enforcement purpose, other than harassing someone they didn't like, was served by the Rapid City police department outing this person?

2. What conceivable national defense purpose was served by discharging someone who had strictly complied with the requirements of DADT, and had neither outed herself nor been interrogated by anyone in the military about her sexual orientation?

3. Have you contacted your representatives in Congress to get them to cosponsor and support the repeal of DADT?

Crazy right-wing dentist vs. Thomas Jefferson

And the crazy right-wing dentist wins.

Who the hell does that Jefferson guy think he is, talking about the values of the American republic and the Bill of Rights, anyway?

Don't let the door hit you on the ass!

Rush Limbaugh is now threatening to leave the country if health care reform to pass.

Now's your chance to do two great things for your country: try to get health care reform passed, and get rid of that bloated gasbag. Sign the petition at MoveOn.org.

Venture by Darlene McCullough

Venture by Darlene McCullough


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
In this first novel, Darlene McCullough has created a believable main character who, in a preindustrial world of gods, strange creatures and species, and magic, is forced to confront universal questions of who she is and how she should live her life. She was strong enough to leave her village and her loving husband, but will she have the strength to follow her destiny and use the gifts that set her apart from the world around her?

Venture is a well paced and lively adventure. Its plot lines and devices will be familiar to RPG aficionados, but it will appeal even to those who don't know their Lawful Evil from their Chaotic Good.

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