Play "Taps": The once-mighty Christian Coalition, founded 17 years ago by the Rev. Pat Robertson as the political fundraising and lobbying engine of the Christian right, is more than $2 million in debt, beset by creditors’ lawsuits and struggling to hold on to some of its state chapters. The once-mighty Christian Coalition, founded 17 years ago by the Rev. Pat … Read More
Yeah, Whatever
Pseudo-science from a creationist website: "There is no evidence in the fossil record of one kind of creature becoming another kind. No transitional links or intermediate forms between various kinds of creatures have ever been found." For example, "the evolutionist claims that it took perhaps fifty million years for a fish to evolve into an amphibian. But, again, there are … Read More
Idol Update: And Then There Were Eight
Bit of a surprise last night, as Mandisa was knocked off way before her time. I think there may have been a little bit of obese-ism behind the votes (on the other hand, I’m reminded that Ruben Studdard a couple of years ago). The bottom three were Mandisa, Elliot, and Paris. Yup, the two blacks and the Jew. C’mon, America. … Read More
What She Said
Shakespeare’s Sister: They say that condoms can be made available as a last resort. But fuck that. Condoms should be flowing like rivers, falling from the skies like rain, in every country where AIDS is wreaking havoc upon its population. Not another single dime should be spent on a billboard, a pamphlet, a button, advocating abstinence until we have made … Read More
Easter For All
This isn’t going to go down well with the Religious Right: And, thanks to some pretty impressive advance planning by her two mommies, Colleen Gillespie and Alisa Surkis of Brooklyn, N.Y., Ella won’t be the only child with gay parents who’ll be scooting a colorful egg with a spoon on the White House lawn. "As a parent, you want everything … Read More
You Know The Department Of Homeland Security Is Bad When…
…its Deputy Press Secretary gets busted for using DHS computers to solicit a 14 year old girl, with whom he subsequently engages in phone sex. [Yes, yes, I know it wasn’t really a 14 year old girl, but an undercover cop posing as a 14 year old girl. But that’s pretty much beside the point, isn’t it?] UPDATE: More from … Read More
Okay, I’m Not Impressed Anymore
An oceanographer from the University of Florida explains (PDF format) that Jesus may have actually not walked on liquid water, but on a patch of frozen water — i.e., ice.
American Idol Update: The Remaining Nine
All I can say is: thank God for TIVO. I’m with Simon — I don’t like country music. And what little of it I do like, doesn’t involve Kenny Rogers (who looked like death warmed over). It was the country constestent’s night to shine, and my girl Kellie did very good. Bucky, the other country boy, probably saved his neck … Read More
Staging The News?
Michelle Malkin is up in arms because (according to her sources) NBC’s Dateline is looking for Muslim men to show up at public events with hidden cameras. It’s all for a story about anti-Muslim sentiments in America. Michelle writes: The apparent "sting" involves targeting Nascar and other sporting events. ‘Cause that’s presumably where the fair and balanced NBC news staff … Read More
The Power Of Prayer – Part Two
Yesterday, I wrote about a scientific study showing that being the subject of other’s prayers does not help you, especially if you know that you are being prayed for. In the interest of "balance", here’s another study which shows that regular church attendance can extend your life an additional 1.8 to 3.1 years. Two points: (1) By comparison, regular physical … Read More
“Jesus Is Intolerant”
Bet you didn’t know that, but that’s what the religious right is saying. Via Carpetbagger, we learn of an excellent report from the People For The American Way, discussing some of the incindiary rhetoric coming from the "War Against Christians" conference held last week. People of faith, take note. These people claim to be your leaders. For those who are … Read More
The Power Of Prayer
It’s not as strong as you might think: The largest study of the medical power of prayer found secret prayers on patients’ behalf didn’t reduce complications in heart surgery and there was a 14 percent higher chance of problems when patients were aware of the prayers. The research, appearing in the April issue of the American Heart Journal, followed 1,802 … Read More
Bob Ross: The Video Game
No, this isn’t a belated April Fool’s Day Joke. PBS "Joy of Painting" host and walking sleeping pill, Bob Ross, is planning to make a video game based on — well — Bob Ross. Now, a painting program I can understand. But a video game? Maybe you score points based on the number of "happy trees" that you make. Or … Read More
Castration Shop Closed
Just down the road from me in Waynesville (NC): Investigators shut down a sadomasochistic dungeon where they say, its owners illegally performed castrations. . . . It’s not just castrations. Detectives tell us the trio who lived in the house above the dungeon also performed other operations for men including replacing certain private parts or completely removing them. Don’t let … Read More
American Idol – The Latest Victim
I was right. It was Lisa. Katharine McPhee really shouldn’t have been second-to-last.