Survey finds church-going Americans less tolerant

Big surprise there. Read More......

Snowy evening open thread

How's the weather in your neck of the woods. We only got about 4.5 inches here. Read More......

Afternoon open thread

Off to get a warm brownie and ice cream. MMMMMM Read More......

Techie question - Why is Yahoo showing "no new posts" with my RSS feed?

I just checked, and the last post it shows is the one I posted before the blog died last weekend. It's as if Yahoo stopped getting updates from my site at that time. Anyone up on this enough to know why Yahoo now isn't getting the new updates from my site? Are folks who subscribe to my RSS feed getting updates? Read More......

Christian tsunami aid group REFUSES to give food to starving Indians because they wouldn't convert

I hope those nuns have seen the move Midnight Express. They're about to get an up close and personal look at how other countries' judicial systems handle idiot.

George Bush's friends are setting us back DECADES in terms of world public opinion, not to mention this is the kind of arrogance and filth that breeds terrorism. Letting people starve because they don't want to convert to Christianity? Oh, and yes, we don't know if the Christian group is American. But please, I'll bet you if they aren't American, they're connected to an American evangelical group.

Rage and fury has gripped this tsunami-hit tiny Hindu village in India's southern Tamil Nadu after a group of Christian missionaries allegedly refused them aid for not agreeing to follow their religion.

Samanthapettai, near the temple town of Madurai, faced near devastation on the December 26 when massive tidal waves wiped it clean of homes and lives.

Most of the 200 people here are homeless or displaced , battling to rebuild lives and locating lost family members besides facing risks of epidemic,disease and trauma.

Jubilant at seeing the relief trucks loaded with food, clothes and the much-needed medicines the villagers, many of who have not had a square meal in days, were shocked when the nuns asked them to convert before distributing biscuits and water.

Read More......

Open thread

Go at it. Read More......

US Special Ops troops could received up to $150,000 in bonuses

In an era of budget cuts, this is pretty shocking. Sure I understand that they've lost a lot of troops to the outsourced military, but that is a problem that the Pentagon brought on themselves so don't come crying to me with an open hand looking for money. This also plays right into the half-baked theory by the right (and maybe more) that the military is why we have freedom of speech and are free, blah, blah, blah. My answer to that is a simple "hell no." What about those who marched for civil rights and did so without guns against hostile environments? There are a lot of people who have acted in the US and helped maintain freedom, the military being but one piece of that puzzle. Unfortunately, those freedoms just aren't what they used to be thanks in part to the Pentagon.
Read More......

Doctors overprescribed Vioxx & Celebrex

Who would have guessed that doctors were over prescribing drugs that were 10-15 times the cost of previously used drugs? Now where on earth would doctors ever get such an idea that these drugs could be prescribed as "super-aspirin?" Surely the doctors weren't treated to perks that would be known as bribery in most other industries because that would go against their code of ethics. The next thing you know we're going to find out that the FDA is but a tool of the pharmaceutical industry that simply rubber-stamps what the industry wants.
Read More......

Bush to cut Medicaid

Wow, I'm so surprised. Apparently a few weak-kneed Republicans in Congress are afraid of taking this one one because pissing off voters plus doctors somehow has lost them votes in the past. Go ahead, give it a try and see what happens. There was a mandate in November, right?
Read More......

Try Bob Novak for Treason

Read the Washington Times editorial carefully, particularly when you get to the parts about persons communicating information pertaining to the national defense during a time of war. If it covers Seymour Hersh, as the Wash Times contends, then it equally covers Bob Novak and his little Valerie Plame whoopsi.

I'm undecided on seeing Novak publicly shot, but life imprisonment sounds good. Thanks, Washington Times, for showing us the way. Read More......

Late night open thread

I have so many ideas for our pal Ken, my head is bursting. (Evil snicker) Read More......