Via Shakespeare’s Sister, we learn of an Ohio State Senator who has discovered the power of satire as a legislative tool: Lawmaker’s proposal: Bar Republicans from adopting If an Ohio lawmaker’s proposal becomes state law, Republicans would be barred from being adoptive parents. State Sen. Robert Hagan sent out e-mails to fellow lawmakers late Wednesday night, stating that he intends … Read More
Sex Offender Map
Go here, type in your address, and get a map of the registered sex offenders in your neighborhood. While it is good to know that I am within a stone’s throw of a couple of perverts, I have misgivings about the sex offender registry in general. Mostly this: any chance there could be mistakes made? Remember, the people who compile … Read More
The Results Are In
Conservative blogger (and Penn U. cultural studies professor) Michael Berube constantly rails against supposed "liberal bias" on college campuses. Here’s his post from yesterday, for example. Conservative online mag Frontpagemag.com picks up Michael Berube’s meme, and asks readers to vote for the "worst professor in America". Berube has encouraged his blog readers to vote. Here are the top five results … Read More
Idol Update
Well, I have to say that I agree with America. They booted four Idol contestants that really were not very good. Bobby Bennett, while a pleasant fellow, really was out of his league. And I have a confession — I like Barry Manilow and "Copacabana". But Bennett really made it painful. The saddest departure of the four (for me) was … Read More
For Sudoku Fans
Puzzlemaster Will Shortz gives an interview explaining the lure of Sudoku. What makes it so addictive?It’s the appeal of the empty squares to be filled in, which is a quality it shares with crosswords, and it has very simple rules. You can learn it in 10 seconds, and yet the logic needed to solve Sudoku is challenging. It’s a perfect … Read More
Digitial “Black Like Me”
Erika Thereian is blonde and sports a California tan. When playing online in Second Life, her avatar is a Pamela Anderson look-alike. But for a lark, she recently remodelled her skin so that she looked more like Serena Williams, and spent three months in the digital world that way: Some of her friends shied away, she believes. Then there were … Read More
South Dakota Bans Abortion
The law is clearly unconstitutional, and South Dakota legislators know it. There isn’t even an exception for the health of the mother. The only reason South Dakota passed it was to give the U.S. Supreme Court the opportunity to overturn Roe v. Wade. Full story here. I think that South Dakota is going to be disappointed in the end. If … Read More
Brokeback Mountain
So I saw it the other night. It was okay. Beautifully shot. A bit plodding at times. Good acting, but on the whole, pretty forgettable for me. Too many words have been written about the whole "gay" thing, and nothing I could say could add or detract. It doesn’t have, as rightwing homophobes suggest, a "gay agenda"; it’s just about … Read More
American Idol
Four of the 24 American Idol contestants are from North Carolina. Two of them are guys dudes; two are girls. The two girls suck.
Steves Still Winning
The Discovery Institute has updated its list of supposedly "eminent" scientists who have signed a statement disagreeing with "Darwinism". The list now has over 500 names. One of them is not Robert Davidson, who I wrote about back here: Davidson was a scientist and Christian who felt that he was bamboozled into signing the lilst, especially since he believes in … Read More
Roberts Court And Religious Freedom
SCOTUS addressed its first religious freedom case today under Roberts’ stewardship. The vote was unanimous (with Alito not participating since oral arguments took place before he was sworn in). It was actually a no-brainer in my view, and the Bush Administration rightfully lost. A small Brazilian-based religious sect in New Mexico uses hallucinogenic tea as part of a four-hour ritual … Read More
Church And Politics
Oy. They’re are it again. And right down the street from me: The North Carolina Republican Party asked its members this week to send their church directories to the party, drawing furious protests from local and national religious leaders. "Such a request is completely beyond the pale of what is acceptable," said the Rev. Richard Land, head of the Ethics … Read More
Promises, Promises
Bush, 1/14/05: We want to increase the Pell Grants by $100 a year over — $100 per year over the next five years. Bush, 2/2/05: [W]e’ll make it easier for Americans to afford a college education, by increasing the size of Pell Grants. A year later, the president has completely backed away from his promises. The President’s FY ‘07 budget … Read More
The War On St. Valentine’s Day
Shit, I missed it. No, not Valentine’s Day itself, but the War On St. Valentine’s Day. It seems that CYA (Catholic Youths Abstaining) wants to put the "Saint" back in St. Valentine’s Day, arguing that the holiday is being besmirched by oversexualization and commercialization. Pictured here, courtesy of The Stranger, is a massive CYA Seattle demonstration in which four CYA … Read More
“Intelligent” Design Loses Again
This time in Ohio: The Ohio Board of Education voted 11 to 4 Tuesday to toss out a mandate that 10th-grade biology classes include critical analysis of evolution and an accompanying model lesson plan, dealing the intelligent design movement its second serious defeat in two months. The board, which became the first in the nation to single out evolution for … Read More