Baptist bigots break with national church

Good, and good riddance. Who needs you? Why does any church need people who think the most important thing about being a good Christian, in being Christ like, is hate? These people aren't Christian. I don't know what they are - though the result of a lot of hard work by Satan certainly comes to mind - but Christians? Hardly.

If it were my church, I'd let them walk, gladly.

There are many answers to the question "What would Jesus do?" But the only answer you'll never hear is "hate." Read the rest of this post...

Open thread

In with the good air... Read the rest of this post...

Wash Post: Ned Lamont giving Lieberman a real challenge in primary

Good. It's time Connecticut chose an actual Democrat to be its Democratic senator.

"Some of the party brass said, 'Ned, don't jeopardize a safe seat,' " Lamont recently told students at Southern Connecticut State University, who gathered for a meet-and-greet session. "But you're not going to lose a senator. You're going to gain a Democrat."

Read the rest of this post...

Open thread

Bush is down the block at the White House Correspondents Dinner. Joe saw Judy Woodruff on the street. Security is everywhere because the un-President is going to be there. Read the rest of this post...

US claims it can't release Gitmo detainees because then other governments would oppress them

Uh huh. Yeah, I'm sure George Bush and Donald Rumsfeld are really, REALLY concerned about the human rights of the detainees at Gitmo and THAT'S why they can't release them, because they're SO concerned about their human rights.

Somewhere a Soviet propagandist is smiling. Read the rest of this post...

Another open thread

It's just too beautiful out in DC to get angry. Read the rest of this post...

New Battlestar Galactica spin-off announced

I had to find out from a reader because the Sci-Fi channel isn't reaching out to bloggers (even though Duncan, Markos and I are all Sci-Fi freaks - tsk, tsk).

Anyway, too fracking cool!

SCI FI Channel announced the development of Caprica, a spinoff prequel of its hit Battlestar Galactica, in presentations to advertisers in New York on April 26. Caprica would come from Galactica executive producers Ronald D. Moore and David Eick, writer Remi Aubuchon (24) and NBC Universal Television Studio.

Caprica would take place more than half a century before the events that play out in Battlestar Galactica. The people of the Twelve Colonies are at peace and living in a society not unlike our own, but where high technology has changed the lives of virtually everyone for the better.

But a startling breakthrough in robotics is about to occur, one that will bring to life the age-old dream of marrying artificial intelligence with a mechanical body to create the first living robot: a Cylon. Following the lives of two families, the Graystones and the Adamas (the family of William Adama, who will one day become the commander of the Battlestar Galactica), Caprica will weave together corporate intrigue, techno-action and sexual politics into television's first science fiction family saga, the channel announced.

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Open thread

Sunny and gorgeous today in DC Read the rest of this post...

Bush wants to prosecute reporters as spies

This president is destroying American values in every way he can. Now he's absolutely intent on stifling and undermining the free press. Prosecuting reporters as spies is downright Soviet:

But the Bush administration is exploring a more radical measure to protect information it says is vital to national security: the criminal prosecution of reporters under the espionage laws.

Stalin would be so proud. Read the rest of this post...

Bush: We're on the "March to Victory"

Victory, he says, again. The spin:

"Yet, the enemies of freedom have suffered a real blow in recent days, and we have taken great strides on the march to victory."

The reality:

As of late Thursday, at least 69 Americans had died in Iraq in April. The toll was 31 in March, 55 in February and 62 in January.

Is this the same victory as the National Strategy for Victory in Iraq from November 25, 2005?



Or the same victory as "Mission Accomplished" on May 1, 2003?
Read the rest of this post...

The Wash. Post is on the GOP hooker scandal

This is getting really fun:

Federal authorities are investigating allegations that a California defense contractor arranged for a Washington area limousine company to provide prostitutes to convicted former congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-Calif.) and possibly other lawmakers, sources familiar with the probe said yesterday.

In recent weeks, investigators have focused on possible dealings between Christopher D. Baker, president of Shirlington Limousine and Transportation Inc., and Brent R. Wilkes, a San Diego businessman who is under investigation for bribing Cunningham in return for millions of dollars in federal contracts, said one source, who requested anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.

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Saturday Morning Open Thread

Rove, Rush and a GOP hooker scandal. What a week. Read the rest of this post...

Battle for next President of France turns ugly - Chirac/Villepin in a panic

It's no secret that Chirac/Villepin detest Sarkozy. With Chirac/Villepin offering more of the same (i.e. no change) a lot of people have been attracted to Sarkozy who seems to be serious about making bold changes in France. Plenty of people on the French left also despise Sarko, believing that he is too heavy handed and dictatorial. Be that as it may, Sarko used to be Chirac's right hand man but was tossed aside by Chirac like so many others before and after him, with Villepin being the most recent case. After that incident Sarko moved away from Chirac and set out his own course and has a very strong and loyal following. Chirac is meanwhile nearing the end of long career and may have to face very serious allegations of corruption which could lead to jail or financial problems so having close friends in high places will be important for him when his term ends next year.

In that context, a real bombshell landed yesterday when a retired senior intelligence official revealed that Villepin, on the order of Chirac, had organized a brutal smear campaign against Sarko to discredit him and send him into legal quagmire. An judge had received documents and a CD with bank details that was suggesting Sarko had offshore bank accounts where he hid money. Previous reports have suggested connections to Villepin and the bogus information and yesterdays evidence in court seems to point in that direction. And to think that these guys are all in the same political party.

General Philippe Rondot says M. Villepin - on Jacques Chirac's orders - asked him to conduct an investigation in January 2004 into allegations of financial corruption against his fellow minister, M. Sarkozy. The allegations turned out to be a crude forgery.

The only part of this that is truly shocking is that they still have not raided Villepin's office and have only suggested that the raid is coming within a few days. The rumors of Villepin's involvement in the offshore bank information have been there for a long time so why are they are giving him a heads up and why has it not already happened? Hmmmmm. Read the rest of this post...

Prodi government trips coming out of the gate

In order to win this most recent election in Italy, Prodi had to round up a broad coalition of the left that included everything from Catholics to communists. The talk has been that holding it all together would be challenging, making any chances of actually governing nearly impossible. Add to that thin majorities and you are looking at more stagnation in Italian politics. Berlusconi had somehow stayed in office for the full term, a rarity in modern Italian politics, though his results hardly lived up to his promises.

Italian friends of mine tell me that making changes of any kind in Italy is not possible without major structural reform and anyone who even tries to reform won't last. With all of that in mind, Prodi can't even assign key roles in his new government so it might just be time to start watching the clock and seeing if he can hold on for six months.

The parliament, meeting for the first time since Prodi's Union coalition won a hotly-contested elections earlier this month, failed to elect Speakers for either the lower house Chamber of Deputies or the upper house Senate.

Read the rest of this post...

Okay, I think someone messed with Santa

I'm having a debate online with my friend Dave in San Francisco. We both remember the Rudolph cartoon containing the line "Eat, Papa, eat. Nobody likes a skinny Santa."

But when watch the cartoon now, it's not there. What they say is:

Mrs. Claus: Eat, Poppa, eat.
Santa Claus: How can I eat? That silly elf song is driving me crazy.
Mrs. Claus: You're gonna disappoint the children. They expect a fat Santa.

So why is it that I, Dave, and the entire Internet seem to remember the other line? There are TONS of links to it on Google, and even lots of collectible Christmas thingies based on that phrase?

I have a theory, and I'm not kidding. I think they changed the dialogue. It used to say nobody likes a skinny Santa and the PC police got upset. There are a number of sites complaining about how the line promotes bulimia.

Either that, or we're all suffering from some mass delusion.

Tell me my childhood wasn't a mass delusion.

So, find me the answer, damnit. Read the rest of this post...