THIS Type Of Catholic Politics I Like!

But I suspect that this is not popular among Catholics like Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich.  So, Rick and Newt, who's a moral relativist now?

Why Isn't THIS Un-Constitutional?

The text of the Constitution allows Congress to protect intellectual property "for a limited time."

For a limited time.  Not forever.  Even a dictionary tells you that this is wrong.

But an imperial economy begets an imperial culture, one in which there are neither new fortunes nor ideas.  Just a society entering a death spiral, thanks to conservatives who know how to tilt the playing field in their favor.

In Fact, Here's A Giant Crack

It's as big as General Motors.

On The Other Hand, Perhaps There Are Cracks Among The Deniers

This gives me some hope along those lines.  Hopefully, he will soon be followed by many others.

Cracks In "The Hoax"

Maybe somebody should fly Rick Santorum down to Antarctica.  It might drag his world view out of the 18th century.

Unfortunately, his ignorance simply reflects the unwillingness of a large number of people who have neither the intellect nor the temperament to face even this level of evidence.  Sadly, this remains a country in which the only "class warfare" that is truly acceptable is warfare against those who are both educated and honest.

Hoax! Hoax! Hoax! Hoax! Hoax! Hoax! Hoax! Hoax!

Keep on chanting, deniers.  Science doesn't care, because neither it nor Mother Nature give a damn.  They don't have to; the facts are on their side, and totally against you.

But, thanks to your success, they're against all of us.

An Urban Fantasy, Thirty-Five Years Ago

But a reality today.  If even the Bronx can stop burning, there may be hope for the rest of America's cities.

Racism: The Next Generation

I would like to think that racism in this country dies a little bit each time one generation passes and a new one emerges.  Perhaps, in fact it does.  But, as the racism found in tweets from "Hunger Games" fans shows, it does not die fast enough.

Shame on them and the families that allow or even encourage this.

A Heart Transplant For Dick Cheney?

I didn't know that he had a heart to replace.  In any case, I think it's a waste of a perfectly good heart, considering that Cheney should really be put in a glass booth and shipped off to the Hague for a war-crimes trial.  Frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if the heart rejects him.

Sorry to sound unsympathetic, but this is one of those situations where the straight lines can't help but write themselves.  Actually, I'm not sorry.  Dick Cheney deserves our condemnation, not our sympathy.  Just ask anyone killed in the Iraq war.  On either side.

From Gabby Giffords To Treyvon Martin ...

... that's where the 2010 election results have taken us in less than 15 months.  To the best of everyone's knowledge, no jobs were created as a result.

I'll be bipartisan and paraphrase Newt Gingrich on the subject of Susan Smith and her children:  There's a sickness in this country right now, and the only cure for that sickness is to vote Democratic.

More On "The Hunger Games" And The Green Angle

Panem, it turns out, was not only largely created by environmental catastrophe, but thrives in part on furthering it.  And, as the article points out, this is not pure futurism.  It's not uncommon for nations with extraction-based economies to be authoritarian or worse; Saudi Arabia is a prime example.

As are, by the way, red states like Wyoming and West Virginia.  Coincidence?  I think not.

Live By The Sword, Die By The Sword

That's what may happen to Rush Limbaugh.  Couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

Why The "Etch-A-Sketch" Gaffe Will Stick

I said I would have more to say about this.  But, on second thought, I'll just let Joe Klein do my speaking for me.  Let's just say I think he's spot-on here, and I don't always agree with him.  But he's definitely got Romney's number as a guy who thinks he can talk his way in and out of anything.  Trouble is, to paraphrase Al Pacino in "Godfather III," just when he talks himself out, he talks himself back in. 

Found: Two Honest Men In The Republican Party

Women should donate to Democrats.  And the Solandra investigation is motivated by politics.

Hmm ... maybe this should be Part 2 of "Why I'm Confident That There Will Be A Democratic Landslide."

On A Brighter Note ...

Never let it be said that something that is necessary is impossible.  Here's proof.  We really can solve our problems, even energy-related problems, if we are just willing to face them.