Open thread

Ok, after a few more hours of work I finally got the comments to work, and then some.

1. You'll note they open in a nicely-sized box, not too wide, not too skinny.
2. You'll note the comments link is now an html link and NOT a java link, so you right-click on it, or shift-click it, and not get an error message.

I'm honestly afraid to touch anything else, though I may take the AMERICAblog banner off the top of the comments, less noise that way.

Chat away. Read the rest of this post...

Police at Vatican push molestation victim and press off Vatican property

Yes, the child-rapists and their enablers are not just permitted into the Vatican, they're welcome with open arms and given even more important responsibilities. But people who have been raped by Catholic priests while senior Catholic officials overlooked the crimes and actually helped the criminals get away with it while they went on to rape even more children - well, we certainly can't have them on Vatican property, those impure Christ-haters.

Nice way to honor the memory of the Pope - shove a sex victim for Christ. Read the rest of this post...

Best email spam in a long time

Just got this. It's one of the better I've received - thought I'd share.

Date: Mon, 11 Apr 2005 18:55:50 -0700 (PDT)
From: claude dennis claude_dennis001@yahoo.com
Subject: SEARCHING FOR HUSBAND ANYWHERE
To: AMERICAblog

"GOOD DAY"
how is everything,how is your day,i hope nothing serious is affecting you there,if so glory be to almighty god (AMEN).
you may be be wonder how we manage to know your mail address,mind you we search for it ok.you know what, i am the manager of nicholas robbinson gruop of company i am here to tell you that he has one daughter bearing ANA,yet she never married till his father death.
his father died in march 22nd 2005,this year this girl was searching for a husband, not an ordinary man without money ok,her mother want her to marry very rich and healthy man with a money so that he will handle the property of his father,mean while he want a serious man that will really care for her till his death,i you really want to know more about this girl i will explain to you,his father has a large oil companyin dovers ohio in UNITED STATE, and he had a gas company in london, that was in UNITED KINGDO! M,mean while ifyou really know you are intrested in this girl i want you to mail me back OK. let me describe the girl for you, she was white in complexion and had a black hair and very moderate in stature,if you really intrested in marrying this girl i will mail you the photo of this girl and you will know how she look like.The father of this girl had a sum of $22 million dollars in the bank,and she promise that whoever she marry to will surely take over the money running everything and the company.
if you really intrested in marry this girl quickly mail me back for the detail of flight fare to meet the girl and try to mail me back for the details.

thanks
mr johnson williams

Anyone want to email and ask for her photo? I'll post it. Read the rest of this post...

Drudge invents story to help DeLay

When in doubt, we can always count on the self-loathing to do their part. Read the rest of this post...

Open thread

I have been messing with the damn comments code for a good 3 hours. It worked, then magically stopped working, so now we're stuck again with the windows opening at only 75% rather than 100% open. What's really weird is that it did open 100% for a short window. Part of the problem in deciphering this, for you geeks out there, is that Haloscan, the company hosting the comments, has some of its own interface as well, which I think might be conflicting with the comments code itself. Argh. Read the rest of this post...

"Full Scale Feeding Frenzy"

CNN's Ed Henry just reported that a Republican aide on the Hill told him the DeLay scandal had become a "full scale feeding frenzy."

Last week, the GOP leaders and the right wingers were blaming partisan politics for the attacks on DeLay. Well, that's all changed. CNN's Hill source attributed the frenzy to the comments by Rep. Chris Shays (R-CT) who told the Associated Press, "Tom's conduct is hurting the Republican Party, is hurting this Republican majority and it is hurting any Republican who is up for re-election."

So, it's a feeding frenzy where the Republicans eat their own. That works. Read the rest of this post...

Another open thread

Off to a rather interesting lunch, more on that when I return. Read the rest of this post...

Open thread - experimenting with comments

Ok, since folks didn't like the pop-up windows with ads, since they opened funny, I'm trying the comments where they open another Web page instead. What I want is the ads on the comments page too, as they helps us sell ads and that helps AMERICAblog eat and pay rent. See how this works. I could try blogger's version of comments as well, if we want - that one puts the comments on a new page as well, right below the original post. Read the rest of this post...

Cardinal Law given honor of mass at St. Peter's Basilica

In yet another firm "fuck you" to those who dared criticize the Catholic Church, Law will be celebrating mass today in the big house. If there is anyone left out there that is not quite sure whether or not the new pope will be similar to the old pope, this ought to answer your question. I expect this from the European group because they've always considered Law the victim of "an American problem" (despite evidence that says otherwise) but it's too bad the rest of the US bishops will probably run away from this scandal and refuse to speak out. Read the rest of this post...

Anti-Japanese protests in China

It's all very strange that this past weekend we saw protests in China against Japan for issues related to almost 70 years ago. Sure there's no love between the countries but this nationalistic chest beating from China really gets old. I've worked with the Japanese and have traveled numerous times to Japan and yes, they do a pretty poor job of addressing that period of their own history but I have also witnessed first hand many of the aid projects sponsored by Japan in the developing world.

I don't know why, but from what I have seen in neighboring countries along the Chinese border, the Chinese receive a free pass from the world media and governments. Maybe it's time for Japan to be more open about their history but then again, it might be time for China to talk a little more about it's extensive support for the likes of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge not to mention the military junta in Myanmar, among other dictatorships. Read the rest of this post...