Hey, "God" wrote another book!

Well, it looks like the Pope has just okayed a new wave of hate crimes.

Somebody told me the other day that since I was baptized Catholic, then I'm a Catholic for life, whether I like it or not. Is there anyone who knows this for sure? Is there some kind of soap I can get to wash this off?

Bush Square to Open in Baghdad... Sometime

Richard Perle had a shoe thrown at him during a debate with Howard Dean yesterday. The assailant was dragged out of the auditorium screaming "liar, liar." No word on whether he thought Perle's pants were on fire.

As for the debate, both sides made somewhat childish remarks that did little to move the conversation forward.

Dean used a tough line about defense being "a lot broader than swaggering around saying you're going to kick Saddam's butt," and Perle countered with an observation about the Democrats choosing "a physician to lead them."

As is usually the case, the best line came near the end of the story, mere inches away from the chopping block:

Perle added, "I will be surprised, yet again, if we do not see a square in Baghdad named after this president." He did not specify a time.

Perle, of course, was the one who promised the war in Iraq would be a cakewalk, in which the Iraqi people welcomed us with open arms and that the cost would be under $2 billion for the U.S. As such, he has learned to stop specifying timelines.

Is it just me...

Or has our administration stopped even trying to be deceptive?

"The next steps are in the offing."

So says Condoleezza Rice. She follows that with "And I think everyboyd understands what the 'next steps' mean."

I... um... wow....

Bushism of the Day

I know it's unfair to expect our president to speak straight to us, but this is a little ridiculous. I mean, has he even read his own plan on Social Security?

The State of the Union

I'll leave the more in-depth commentary to people who know what they're talking about. (I'm a big fan of Slate's coverage)

For my own thoughts, two things stick out.

1. We are going to war with Iran. I think most of us with functioning brain stems have been aware of this for a while now, but Bush called them out pretty specifically last night. I'll say it over and over again, and I am 99.9% sure I won't be proven wrong: We are going to war with Iran. I just hope the President means it when he talks about building a coalition this time.
2. This line caught my fancy: "Taxpayer dollars must be spent wisely, or not at all." Of course, he used it when talking about cutting government programs that aren't getting results (how that's measured is anybody's guess) and just before he suggested pumping more money into those "faith-based" organizations that do so well.

   The thing that struck me about that line, though, was the whole "or not at all" concept. Maybe it's just me, but isn't that the kind of "lockbox" mentality that would have kept us out of this deficit in the first place?

And we wonder why they make fun of us in France

Remind me to stay out of South Dakota.

CNN has an article about the many innovative ways a strip club owner has managed to continue providing service to his patrons.

It never ceases to amaze me how much energy people will put into controlling what happens between consenting adults behind closed doors instead of looking into problems like unemployment, health care and education.

My thoughts: Covered windows and a doorman to keep minors out = more than reasonable request / harassing adults who just want to relax and look at a few pretty girls when it's negative ten degrees outside = misplaced priorities.