CBC: I think there’s been a couple of studies done about Canadians and this evangelical movement never got hold in Canada. We were just never, never, religion plays a very very small part –

Maher: To me, to me it’s a real dividing line between people of intelligence and – not that there haven’t been some intelligent people who are religious. I mean, T.S. Elliott was a great poet and he became a very devout Catholic… But I always call religion a neurological disorder. I really do believe that. I mean it’s not criticizing. I’m just saying if you took religion out of it and somebody went to a psychiatrist and said you know I believe in you know this crazy, illogical thing, the shrink would say, well you have a neurological disorder. And you need to really get therapy or take a pill.

Either I’m reading into this too deeply or this is a confirmation on why I don’t take political pundits like Maher very seriously. Political bloggers, on the other hand…

From Wednesday’s debate:
The candidates were asked if they believe homosexuality is a choice, and President Bush did not mention Mary Cheney. Then Kerry said, “If you were to talk to Dick Cheney’s daughter, who is a lesbian, she would tell you that she’s being who she was, she’s being who she was born as.”

Lynne Cheney:
“The only thing I can conclude is he is not a good man. I’m speaking as a mom. What a cheap and tawdry political trick.”

Elizabeth Edwards:
“She’s overreacted to this and treated it as if it’s shameful to have this discussion. I think that’s a very sad state of affairs… I think that it indicates a certain degree of shame with respect to her daughter’s sexual preferences… It makes me really sad that that’s Lynne’s response.”

Dick Cheney:
“You saw a man who will say and do anything in order to get elected. And I am not speaking just as a father here, though I am a pretty angry father, but as a citizen.”

John Kerry:
“I love my daughters. They love their daughter. I was trying to say something positive about the way strong families deal with this issue.”

More here.

So - was this bad form on Kerry’s part or are Republicans overreacting?

Ray Charles passed away today.

I had to laugh when I read this story in the NYT today. (If the website requires a log-in, use “laexaminer/laexaminer.")

Republicans in the House of Representatives have quietly introduced a measure to make it easier for churches to support political candidates, just days after the Bush campaign came under fire from liberal groups for inviting church members to distribute campaign information at their houses of worship.

Representative Bill Thomas of California, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, added the measure to a much larger bill, introduced in the committee on Friday, that centers on revising certain corporate taxes. The provision, called Safe Harbor for Churches, would allow religious organizations a limited number of violations of the existing rules against political endorsements without jeopardizing their tax-exempt status.

Some would probably ask why I find this funny, and it’s because churches already do this. Can you say “subliminal messages"? Yeah, me too.

In a 117-page decision, the judge, Phyllis Hamilton, ruled that the law is unconstitutional in three ways. She said that it placed an undue burden on women seeking abortions, that its language was dangerously vague and that it lacked a required exception for medical actions needed to preserve the woman’s health.

The decision was the first ruling on the merits of the law. Two other cases, in Nebraska and New York, are pending. All three judges had halted enforcement of the law while they conducted trials.

Rev. Sensing has additional commentary.

WARNING: Do not use this ruling to call for California to slide into the sea or something simply because people like Hamilton live here. That upsets me more than you probably realize, mkay?

Subheader: “Bush acknowledges mistakes but offers no apology on Arab TV for abuse of Iraqi prisoners.”

What a bunch of tripe.

Acknowledging mistakes but stopping short of an apology, President Bush told the Arab world on Wednesday that Americans are appalled by the abuse and deaths of Iraqi prisoners at the hands of U.S. soldiers. He promised that “justice will be delivered.”

…over a grisly murder story. Well-known authors and other concerned individuals have protested the decision.

I’ve murdered characters in my stories and submitted them to writers’ workshops, but I ain’t into slasher fiction and I’ve never been reprimanded for writing about killing somebody. Maybe ‘cause my stuff isn’t grisly enough.

Some lessons here about what is and isn’t acceptable in material where writing classes are concerned nowadays. That sounds strange but it’s still true. Take heed.

(via Critical Mass)

I wish he’d hold more press conferences - it would probably do wonders for his poll numbers, but more importantly, people would get answers directly from him.

Bush’s central focus, even during the Q&A session, was about the War on Terror. For the most part, his answers were pretty straightforward and honest. (I am not a member of the “Bush lied” camp, so he came across as honest to me, as honest as a president can be when asked about his own administration’s policies - and sometimes they ain’t honest period, they just come across as charismatic.) Now if only the members of the press had been able to come up with more original questions instead of rehashing the same ones every few minutes.

The press conference routine isn’t one of the President’s strong points, but he didn’t do too bad tonight.

I wish you’d left sooner.

The only question I have now is when is that troublesome Fagan Jr. getting the boot, too?

Reverend Donald Sensing has a fantastic op-ed in the Wall Street Journal about the same-sex marriage debate. If you’ve read his other posts concerning this issue, the article might look familiar.

The theatre version of Return of the King is being released on video/DVD on MAY 25.

Nice way to complete a day, if you ask me.

(via Stephen Green)

This is just greeat.

A motorist was injured Friday when a window of her car exploded as she drove on a stretch of Interstate 580 in the East Bay where a sniper is suspected of firing shots at five other vehicles this week, the California Highway Patrol said.

Oh, yeah. “Damned if you do and damned if you don’t.”

I’d say that’s appropriate for this occasion, no?

As Michael Totten put it, “It would not be an improvement if only Democrats paid respects to Martin Luther King Jr. I don’t want to live in a country where that’s how it is, and I’m glad I don’t.”

‘Nuff said.

And now that bad idea’s been repealed by the State Assembly.

Good show.

This seems rather harsh, but it does remind me of one thing: that scene in Patton where the general slaps a soldier in the med tent for crying out of fear. Well, it was more than one slap, but he was reprimanded and told to apologize by Gen. Eisenhower for that…

By the way, that cowardice charge has been dropped. However, the staff sergeant’s commander has filed “dereliction of duty” charges.

This story came via Tacitus, who has his own story to tell. No cowardice at all in that tale, either.

…and I will not start the day off by cussing.

Though the people responsible for this make that temptation rather difficult to avoid.

Nope. Won’t do it.

Grrr.

…And I didn’t realize it till I went to the S.F. waterfront today. I think I’ll make another trip down there early tomorrow. Woohoo!

UPDATE: Looks like I won’t be able to go after all, but I watched them practice at Pier 39 yesterday afternoon. I guess that’s good enough till next year. I watched ‘em! The Blue Angels totally rock!

Glenn Reynolds has a couple posts up on our media’s portrayal of how things are going in Iraq right now. The clear slant of most news reports makes the situation look pretty depressing (I keep hearing the word “quagmire” in some corners), but independent reports from individuals who’ve visited Iraq during the last several months give more optimistic views.

It’s not the slant that made me switch majors from Journalism to English, but I wonder what would’ve happened if I’d stayed the course and actually become a journo. Would my articles have read just as bleak? Where does the fault lie - with the reporters or their editors?

At any rate, can someone slap some sense into these folks? Their bias is so clear that it’s almost as disgusting as watching some drunk idiot expose himself to a few kiddies in a playground.

The Washington Times is running a thoroughly fascinating three-part series on the attendance boom in some Christian colleges. Check it out.

“Unaware that a live microphone was broadcasting their words around the Capitol, Assembly Democrats meeting behind closed doors debated prolonging California’s budget crisis for political gain.”

I’m glad I ain’t a politician…

Qusay and Uday Hussein are dead.

Good riddance.

The jury’s still out on Liberia, it seems. I found an interesting op/ed in yesterday’s S.F. Chronicle about U.S. interests in Africa - or the lack thereof. Check it out.

Interesting things are happening in London. And they say real life is stranger than fiction.

Oh, of course - that’s because it is.

I’ve been mostly opposed to landing troops in Liberia. I don’t see U.S. intervention there as being of any strategic interest to us, but Michael Totten points to others who say that it is. Interesting stuff there.

In the meantime, Pat Robertson has been blasting Pres. Bush on the same issue.

UPDATE: Ted Olsen from Christianity Today has more on Pat Robertson’s support for Charles Taylor. (link via Josh Claybourn)

Student leaders in Tehran have reportedly canceled plans to hold protests on the anniversary of the ‘99 student uprising, but this hasn’t stopped people in other countries from holding their own protests to show support for those students.

Courtesy of Oxblog, here is a list of planned demonstrations taking place today in the U.S.:

New York: from 11-2 at the Ralph Bunche Park and Dag Hammarksjold Plaza, at 47th and 1st Avenue

Washington, D.C.: 10:00 am at the West Front of the Capitol (with the participation of several Senators and administration officials)

Los Angeles: 5:00 pm, times outside the Federal Building in Westwood.

London: 2:30-4:30 Wednesday, in front of Number 10

Austin: 6 pm in front of the Capitol

Dallas, 5 pm on July 13th, at the Intercontinental Hotel

Houston: 5 pm on July 13th, at the Hilton on Westheimer Road.

It’s very likely that bloggers and others attending the demonstrations will report back on what’s going on.

This isn’t D-Day, per se, for the Iranians, but those mullahs are right to be nervous. Extremely nervous.

As for the students… Well, in the words of Ah-nuld, “They’ll be back.”

Now here’s an interesting shift - it’s a bit subtle and perhaps rather telling as well about a swath of opinions and support regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict here in the States, but it’s there all the same: Jewish voters, a bloc that’s usually sided with the Democrats in every election, are regarding the Republicans more favorably because of their pro-Israel stance.

This should make the 2004 elections fun to watch, considering there’s a Democratic presidential candidate who’s Jewish - and it seems like he’s not making any headway among American Jews at the moment.

(first link via Tim Blair)

Just don’t take a cue from these fellows.

This is What Not To Say As A Presidential Candidate 101. I can understand wanting to make an impression with potential voters, but I don’t think some things said at this gathering will go over well…unless you really really want to see Bush kicked out of office next year. In that case, you should go to How To Lose The 2004 Election 101.

“When I’m president, we’ll do executive orders to overcome any wrong thing the Supreme Court does tomorrow or any other day,” said Rep. Dick Gephardt of Missouri.

This guy’s heard of the system of checks and balances before, right?

And in case you think this is a misquote, you can fact-check me and the CNN article I linked to above and watch the C-SPAN video to hear Gephardt make this idiotic comment for yourself. (Fast forward to 45:50)

Hatred begets violence.

After the Jerusalem bombing, Rantisi told The Associated Press from his hospital bed: “The Zionists will pay an expensive price for all of their crimes.” The bus attack “took place at a time when the Zionists were on utmost alert, more evidence that our people will not be defeated,” he said.

Jamil Hamdia cried as he carried his 11-year-old wounded cousin through Shifa Hospital and denounced Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, who has called for Palestinians to stop attacking Israelis.

“Where is Abu Mazen to come and see?” wailed Hamdia. “Are we cheap, to be killed like this? If that makes him a good leader I think his place is not among us.”

I can see it now, folks: CHP officers stationed at the state borders will have to start checking cars coming into California to make sure they aren’t smuggling in Oreos.

All of this because an attorney wants them to be banned from the state. There’s too much trans fat present in these sweets - therefore, they are too dangerous for kids to eat.

Hello? Hasn’t he ever heard of regular exercise? Bet you anything the kids he wants to protect get more exercise than he does.

“My name is Park. Daphne Park.”

James Bond has nothing on this gal:

“It’s been a huge advantage during my professional career that I’ve always looked like a cheerful, fat missionary,” she says, fondling her onyx pendant. “It wouldn’t be any use if you went around looking sinister, would it?”

I finally got around to seeing The Matrix last week, if only because I wanted to see it before Reloaded came out. It’s a great film, and I hear the sequel is even better, but we’ll see.

Here is a look at what actor Keanu Reeves had to do in preparation for his role in the Matrix sequel. Enjoy.

(Day by Day)

I really have to hand it to the Iraqi information minister: this dude knows how to stick to the party line all the way…

Even when American GIs are waving and grinning at him right outside his window.

I think he’s been in his stuffy classroom too long. All that dust flying around can really affect someone, especially someone with a weak constitution. (Weak constitution? Sheesh, I’ve been in college too long!)

Nearly a week after Columbia University professor Nicholas De Genova called for the mass slaughter of U.S. troops, the man who wants “a million Mogadishus” fears so much for his own life he is refusing to go to class.

De Genova claimed death threats forced him to skip his 2:40 p.m. Latino History course at the university’s Hamilton Hall - the first lecture he had scheduled since the March 26 anti-war “teach in” in which he referred to the 1993 “Black Hawk Down” incident in which 18 GIs were slain.

(via G. Reynolds)

The town of Srebrenica has laid the first identified victims of the Serbian massacre to rest.

May grief become hope, may revenge become justice, may mothers’ tears become prayers, that Srebrenica never happens again, to anyone, anywhere. (Reis Mustafa Ceric)

UPDATE: The ABC Online link wasn’t working, so I’ve replaced it with a link to another news site.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Okay, found the link again. Proceed.

I surfed over to The Volokh Conspiracy a couple minutes ago and nearly blanketed my monitor with lukewarm tea when I read this:

If Saddam loses a leg, but survives the U.S. bombing, how upset will his body doubles be?

(courtesy of by sand and sea - snitch it if you’d like for your own site)

…but these people are complete IDIOTS.

How does tying up traffic in the middle of downtown help their cause?

Good thing I don’t have any reasons to head into the City today.

In May, a group of a hundred Israeli Arabs will be visiting Auschwitz in an effort to better understand Jewish suffering.

Even small steps towards making a difference are worth noting.

A U.S. Representative is attempting to resurrect the military draft by promoting a bill in Congress that would call for compulsory service by men and women between the ages of 18 and 26, with no college deferments. Rep. Pete Stark and his supporters “say they are trying to put the brakes on war with Iraq by arguing that the risks of combat are disproportionately borne by members of minority groups and others who enlisted because they lack economic alternatives.”

This bill won’t pass, of course - it’s been rejected by conservatives and liberals alike. I also don’t buy Stark’s argument that people who enlist in the armed forces do so because of economic hardship or other such nonsense. People join the army for a variety of reasons, not just because they lack the means to get a job anywhere.

Ten San Francisco police officers have been indicted by a grand jury on charges of conspiring to obstruct justice in a case involving three off-duty officers in a scuffle outside a bar last November. The officers indicted include Police Chief Earl Sanders, Deputy Chief David Robinson, Assistant Chief Alex Fagan Sr. and his son, officer Alex Fagan Jr., one of the officers originally involved in the scuffle.

According to the SF Chronicle,

“You just had a grand jury that ran away,” one source said. “It can happen where you say, ‘I would like to indict A and B for crimes 1, 2 and 3,’ and the grand jury comes back and says, ‘We also want to indict C, D, E and F on 4, 5 and 6.’”

This article has been floating around the pundit circles in the Blogosphere for the last day or so. This part in particular stood out to me:

French President Jacques Chirac launched a withering attack Monday on eastern European nations who signed letters backing the U.S. position on Iraq, warning it could jeopardize their chances of joining the European Union.

“It is really not responsible behavior,” he told a news conference. “It is not well brought up behavior. They missed a good opportunity to keep quiet.”

Right, Chirac. Whatever.

Gregory Benford expresses his thoughts regarding a simpler rocket model to replace the expensive shuttle fleet that has so far cost us two separate crews. He also questions the usefulness of the Int’l Space Station and advocates a mission to Mars. The last part isn’t too surprising, considering he wrote The Martian Race. That would be beyond koo-el!

(via G. Reynolds)

“Columbia shuttle breaks up over Texas”:

The space shuttle Columbia, with seven astronauts aboard, broke up as it descended over central Texas Saturday toward a planned landing at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

…

Shuttle commander Rick D. Husband, pilot William C. McCool, payload commander Michael P. Anderson, mission specialists David M. Brown, Kalpana Chawla and Laurel Clark and Israel’s first astronaut, Ilan Ramon, were on board.

UPDATE: Since this is plastered all over the news, I’m sure you’ve heard that there were no survivors. Rest in peace.

“Forum called off after poets plan to protest”:

The White House has called off a poetry symposium to have been hosted by first lady Laura Bush after one poet sought to use the event to protest military action against Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

The event, scheduled for Feb. 12, was to celebrate the works of Walt Whitman, Langston Hughes and Emily Dickinson. But one poet who declined the White House’s invitation sent an e-mail to other invitees and poets asking them to “make February 12 a day of Poetry Against the War.”

A federal judge has ordered Verizon “to identify one of its Internet subscribers who was suspected of illegally trading music or movies online.” Verizon says it will appeal the decision and withhold the user’s name for now.

When it comes to online file-sharing, I have to wonder sometimes what “sharing” actually means. If you use Kazaa or other P2P programs, be aware of what this decision could mean for you.

The New York Times has a profile on Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit fame. I wouldn’t exactly call him a prolific blogger (trust me, it goes way beyond being merely prolific), but he’s not an Internet addict, either. I think I’ll stick with “online pundit.”

Meanwhile, the Christian Science Monitor has a great article on urban warfare training for U.S. soldiers being deployed to the Persian Gulf. What do you get when you cross a swamp with pyrotechnics and fake bodies? The realistic version of “Street Fighter XX.”

Am I the only one who thinks willfully using one’s body as a human shield in a war is the epitome of sheer stupidity? Who is this person trying to defend, an Iraqi civilian or soldier?

The next thing I expect to hear is that the families of these people, especially if they actually get killed, will be filing wrongful death lawsuits en masse against the U.S. government.

Caught wind of this short blurb in today’s SF Chronicle:

Adam Ashton, a student at San Francisco State University, received special honors from the Northern California chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists for his work on the student newspaper the Golden Gate [X]press.

Ashton was chosen for the Outstanding Student Journalist award for his coverage of student government in the spring and his work on the [X]press throughout the year. He wrote about student elections, university health-care fees and a dispute over restaurants on campus.

“My two years on the [X]press taught me how to dig up information for a tense investigation, how to build good relationships with reliable sources, and how to encourage my colleagues to do the same,” Ashton said. “I hope my stories reflected a campus with a sense of community.”

Ashton, a Livermore resident and a geography and English literature major, also edited the [X]press in the fall of 2001 after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The paper’s coverage earned the national Best of Show prize at the 2001 Associated Collegiate Press convention.

I just love CNN.

News headline: “Bush will get vaccinated.”

That says a lot, dontcha think?

Blurb: “President Bush announced Friday that he is ordering 500,000 military personnel and others in high-risk parts of the world receive the smallpox vaccine. He said he will also receive the vaccine. ‘As commander-in-chief, I do not believe I can ask others to accept this risk unless I am willing to do the same,’ Bush said.”

So now taking a vaccine is a risk. Well, don’t that beat all!

And I thought the LAPD had had enough corruption problems…now it’s the SFPD’s turn.

Newsflash: The Prez has named Henry Kissinger to head an investigative commission charged with looking into the 9/11 attacks. I won’t read much into this until I find out more ’bout Mr. Kissinger, but I wonder what this commission could uncover that we don’t know already.

Here’s a nice in-depth piece from the Jerusalem Post’s Bret Stephens on the upcoming UN inspections - and everything that could happen afterwards.

Okay, okay, now I’m really gone for the weekend! Until Monday.

Before I “lose” this, here’s an update on the youngest victim of the recent D.C. sniper spree. A rather heartwarming tale, I assure you. (link via Unqualified Offerings)

This film has been generating a lot of publicity lately…

Anybody know who April Glaspie is?

*pause*

Well, now you know. (via kuro5hin)

November, November! Sweet November. Now if only your lovely reds and golds weren’t discolored by escalating political campaigns and changes to prep for next Tuesday…

Here is an interesting (if not entertaining) reply to the Not In Our Name campaign. (via InstaPundit)

Also, “Brazil’s Lula: A Challenge to Washington?”