News Summary
OK, so the Pope is sick again. What’s a non-Catholic supposed to write about that — a pre-post-mortem? Much as I admire the man for his moral stance against Communism, I despise his moral collapse when it came to covering up molestation in his own church. There ya go.
Think the next two stories are related? First, from the CSM:
“The shooting war is over, but … we’re engaged in a cultural war for the heart and soul of the South and for America, too,” says William Lathem, spokesman for the Southern Heritage PAC in Atlanta.
Second, from WOAI News:
From a newly established ‘capitol’ in the east Texas town of Overton, Daniel Miller, President of the Republic of Texas Interim Government, says a desire to be free, combined with ballooning concerns over rising taxes and property rights, will convince more Texans to support a ‘referendum’ on whether Texas should become an independent nation.
Mmmmm, could be.
It seems like Vlad the Bad is still a man we can do business with:
Russia and the United States signed a deal Thursday to control the spread of portable anti-aircraft missiles — a hot stock for militants around the world and a growing threat to civilian aircraft.
Washington has expressed worry over reports of planned sales of such Russian missiles to Syria.
Typing in your pajamas is a jailable offense:
An Iranian blogger accused of spying and counter-revolutionary activities has been jailed for 14 years. Newspaper editor Arash Sigarchi – whose blog criticised an Iranian crackdown on similar websites which has resulted in around 20 arrests – was himself cuffed in January on charges of “espionage, insulting the founder of Iran’s Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomenei, and current Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei”, the BBC reports.
One of these days, some dictator is going to drop all the pretense about the how distributing publically-available information is somehow akin to spying, and just tell the world, “Fuck it. We jail and kill people because we can.”
An iPod Photo for $350? That’s going on my Amazon Wish List.
There are no blacks on the Michael Jackson jury? What’s the big deal? It’s not like there’s a black man on trial. Next, someone will be upset because there aren’t enough men on the panel.
Speaking as a Southerner, that CSM article is pretty awful. It’s so badly written, I can’t quite make out what the writer is trying to get across, but at the very least, he’s making the (sadly) standard error of equating “Southern” with “Confederate.” It ain’t the same thing.
Santa Barbara County doesn’t exactly have a large black population. If Michael didn’t like that, he should have not moved into Santa Ynez.
By the way, Stephen, if you haven’t been there – Santa Ynez has a few vineyards.
Yeah, that Southern/Civil war article was crap. More people writing about something they don’t understand.
Most people I went to school with understood that The War was over…and had been for quite some time.
However, just as there is the identity of a New Englander, there is a strong Southern identity…that DOES include the HISTORY of the Civil War. That’s a past, not a present. Trying to ignore or cover that up is insulting. Plus, if you ask a lot of Southerners, the Civil War was a states’s rights issue, the topic of it just “happened” to be slavery.
In the opposite of the Texas story…ever wonder what would happen if the newly elected government of Iraq decided to petition for statehood?
It’s not as implausible as it sounds. What if they decided they would like permanent protection by the US military, a rather large say in electing our President, and instant free trade in the world’s most powerful economy?
That would be a little awkward, wouldn’t it?
They probably couldn’t find enough of Michael’s “peers” to be on the jury, they are all too young…
Nah, Ryan, the closest he has to peers are eccentric, wealthy white women.
“Santa Ynez has a few vineyards”
isn’t that where the movie Sideways was filmed?
santa ynez has a “few” vineyards… and yeah that’s where Sideways was filmed… there are some really really really cool wineries arond there… but I’ve only visited about 20
SB county wine map has a lot of operators, and there are obviously a lot more not on it… it isn’t quite Napa, but its a great place, and much closer to LA.
They tried to gather a jury of Michael’s peers, but it takes two years to mail jury summonses to Mars, and the return postage would have bankrupted the county.
"Help! Papal blogposts needed!"
I have been searching the Geneology sites to no avail. Can anyone tell me if Vlad Putin is a grandson of Ras Putin?
Someone needs to let them know about the color Orange, via Bros. Judd:
In a land where civil war is endemic but political protest is almost unknown, long-feuding Muslims, Christians and Druze are camping out just blocks from the parliament saying they will not leave until either Syrian troops leave their country or the government falls. [...]
Do you own a copy of Blood on the Dance Floor?
Yes
You’re on the jury!
That second item should have said “whether Texas should become an independent nation *AGAIN*.”
Yep, Texas was once a sovereign nation. You can see the old Texas Embassy in London near Trafalgar Square; the nation of Texas was recognized by the British Crown at one time.
It’s now a Tex-Mex restaurant now, by the way. Pretty good grub, except for the “Tuna Tacos”. Ick.