Sounds like UNC law professor Eric Muller is having a lot of fun, and I’m a bit envious. He is at the National Archives in D.C., doing research for his book about internment of Japanese-Americans during WWII. In this very recent blog post, he notes that back in the 1940s, the War Department (that’s the "Department of Defense" for all … Read More
As Predicted
Last week, I made brief mention that the White House Christmas Card this year avoids the use of the word "Christmas", and merely says "best wishes for a holiday season of hope and happiness". I predicted that the wingers would go nuts. I was right. WaPo covers the story: This month, as in every December since he took office, President … Read More
Finally! She’s Become Available!
Valerie Bertinelli to divorce Van Halen. Psst. Valarie . . . call me!
Wait! What?!?
There exists a never-been-aired 13th episode of Faulty Towers?
University of Kansas Course Cancelled
Back here, I wrote that a religion professor at the University of Kansas (the state where the intelligent design debate is taking place) was planning to offer a course entitled "Special Topics in Religion: Intelligent Design, Creationism and other Religious Mythologies.” According to this article, the professor decided to cancel the course yesterday. Oh, and somethng else happened yesterday, too: … Read More
SCOTUS Update: Rumsfeld v FAIR
This is arguably one of the most important cases of this term, and I simply didn’t have time to summarize it before oral arguments today. Below is a summary from the folks at SCOTUSblog. Before I begin, I want to make a prediction that the Solomon Amendment will survive this case. The Court is simply too conservative to let it … Read More
I Don’t Get Art, I Guess
A guy takes a car engine, puts it in an art gallery, runs it continuously. Why? So that a cactus nearby can thrive. The same guy takes a shed, dismantles it, builds a boat out of it, sails down a river, and then rebuilds the shed. He takes a replica of a sculpture, throws it into a lake, and then … Read More
Jesus Sightings Getting Even More Ridiculous
Where’s Jesus now? It was only a matter of time… LAREDO, Texas — An image on a truck tailgate has sparked a new wave of religious pilgrims in Texas. Portraits of Jesus Christ and a table full of candles surround what some are calling a miraculous image. Believers say the face of Jesus is visible in the dirt on the … Read More
Explorer Robert Ballard Gets Snippy
I’ve been a Titanic aficionado since as long as I can remember. So this story peaked my interest: Scientists Unveil New Titanic Discoveries Undersea explorers said Monday that the discovery of more wreckage from the Titanic suggests that the luxury liner broke into three sections — not two, as commonly thought — and thus sank faster than previously believed. "The … Read More
The War On Christmas – A Bat Boy Perspective
Brian Flemming was once a fundamentalist Christian; now he is an atheist activist. He is also the co-author of Bat Boy – The Musical. Sick and tired of hearing about the phony "war on Christmas", he decided to do something about it: he decided to actually declare war on Christmas. Read more.
The War On Christmas – An Historical Perspective
Think Progress says the whole thing is old whine in new bottles: The right-wing’s “War on Christmas” conspiracy rhetoric isn’t at all new, though the scapegoats have changed some. In the 1921 screed “The International Jew: The World’s Foremost Problem,” automaker and notorious anti-Semite Henry Ford observed that “most people had a hard time finding Christmas cards that indicated in … Read More
Carnival Of The War On Christmas
The World O’Crap folks have done a nice run-down of some of the recent commentaries from conservatives who are fighting against the so-called "War on Christmas". It’s a very funny piece, so read it. Here’s an excerpt: And wrapping up our carnival will be Mr. "Somewhere, Baby Jesus Is Weeping Because Everybody Keeps Picking on Me for Defending Christmas" O’Reilly … Read More
Rape Victim Found Guilty
Yes, you read that write: rape victim found guilty. Shakespeare’s Sister has been sounding the call on this story, and with good reason. Here’s what happened, as reported here in the Oregonian: BEAVERTON — A municipal judge found a 19-year-old woman guilty Friday of filing a false police report after she said she was raped by three young men. Even … Read More
Washington Interns
There’s a new breed of them, and they ain’t no bunch of Monica Lewinskys. Nope. They’re far creepier.
Setting The Record Straight
I’m getting a little tired of wingers saying, with no evidence whatsoever, that the ACLU is trying to remove religion from our lives. Have these people ever bothered to find out what the ACLU position is on religious liberty? It’s quite simple: the ACLU believes that the right to practice religion, or not to practice religion, is one of … Read More