The Murfreesboro, Tennessee mosque is in the news again:

Federal officials are investigating a fire that started overnight at the site of a new Islamic center in a Nashville suburb.

Ben Goodwin of the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Department confirmed to CBS Affiliate WTVF that the fire, which burned construction equipment at the future site of the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro, is being ruled as arson.

Special Agent Andy Anderson of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives told CBS News that the fire destroyed one piece of construction equipment and damaged three others. Gas was poured over the equipment to start the fire, Anderson said.

American-style terrorism, plain and simple. Thankfully, no one was injured, except for the construction business that has to buy new equipment (and which was statistically likely to be owned by a white, male, Christian). Mark my words, this crap won’t be stopping soon. It’ll just keep happening and escalating, because approximately 20% of Americans are stupid, hateful bigots.

I think Rev. Richardson, pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Murfreesboro (the church next door to the new mosque location) said it best:

If we infringe their freedom, we infringe our freedom.

Last night, The Daily Show covered Glenn Beck’s upcoming rally on Martin Luther King Day by showing clips of Beck at his finest contradicting himself and being an egotistical ass. Definitely must-see TV.

And tomorrow should be an interesting day in Washington, D.C. don’t you think? I can’t wait to see what happens at Beck’s rally.

The Daily Show has saved me from having to write a thousand word post griping about the idiocy surrounding the building of a mosque. No, not THAT one –the non-mosque mosque in NYC– but one in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

The anti-Islam woman interviewed in the clip –Laurie Cardoza-Moore– is for real, by the way. She’s not an actress or comedian putting on an skit or reading a script. She actually believes the ridiculous things coming out of her mouth. For that alone, it’s worth watching. It’s important to see hatred and stupidity on display … and to point and laugh at it.

A prime example:

Cardoza-Moore: “You believe that the Jews and Christians are the infidels and they are, according to the Koranic teachings, supposed to be killed.”

This is, in fact, one of the HUGE lies being told by Anti-Islam morons. Unlike in Christianity, where anyone who is not an actual Christian is an infidel, Islam recognizes both Christians and Jews as Brothers of the Book … since they do, in fact, all worship the same god (the god of Abraham). Infidel in Islam means someone who doesn’t believe in god (i.e. agnostics and atheists). So, no plans to kill all the Christians and Jews. The argument that is usually shot back after I make a statement like that is that radical Islamist terrorists think anyone who isn’t Muslim is an infidel, but I’d counter that just like many crazy fundamental Christians, these radical followers of Islam are not following the tenets of their religion.

If there was just one thing I could pound into the heads of the anti-Islam Christians, it’s that Islam isn’t out to kill you. You aren’t an infidel. You are all brothers (and sisters). But alas, too many Christians just want to hate someone … like anyone who isn’t Christian (or even anyone who isn’t their particular flavor of Christian).

Another laugh riot from the mouth of Laurie:

Cardoza-Moore: “Pork is not served on any entree.”

This would make them evil why exactly? She does know Jews don’t eat pork either, right?

Anyway, the clip must be watched for her interview, because it’s not even just what she was saying, it was how she was saying it. Such haughty smugness … while sitting there talking to Aasif Mandvi who is an actual Muslim. I mean, I’d be embarrassed to say the things she was saying directly to someone of that faith, but not her! She’s got the righteousness of Jesus behind her! Facts be damned!

What a disgusting, small-minded, and ignorant human being.

This just deserves a post of its own…

Government agents can sneak onto your property in the middle of the night, put a GPS device on the bottom of your car and keep track of everywhere you go. This doesn’t violate your Fourth Amendment rights, because you do not have any reasonable expectation of privacy in your own driveway — and no reasonable expectation that the government isn’t tracking your movements.

Wow. Just … wow. Un-freaking-believable. I can’t even rant about it, and I shouldn’t have to. Any adult human with minimal reasoning capabilities should be able to see that this is a very, very bad idea and total ridiculous. I can’t even fathom how it can be considered OK for any governmental body from any level of government, including police, to track someone’s every movement without having to show some reasonable suspicion in order to get a warrant. What’s next? Being able to listen to all our phone calls whenever they like? Oh, wait … they can already do that.

I hadn’t really wanted a fence around the front yard, but seeing as what differentiates between my driveway, on my property, being considered a place I can expect some measure of freedom and privacy or not is the existence of a fence, well … guess I want a fence now. Though I’ll tell you that anyone caught fussing around my truck under cover of night on my property is liable to get injured. Perhaps I need to staple a Trespassers Will Be Shot sign to the pecan tree by the street.

See, nothing’s really changed in the USA. We’re still jumping off the cliff into becoming a police state as quickly as we can.

Full-Body Scan Technology Deployed In Street-Roving Vans

“It’s no surprise that governments and vendors are very enthusiastic about [the vans],” says Marc Rotenberg, executive director of EPIC [Electronic Privacy Information Center]. “But from a privacy perspective, it’s one of the most intrusive technologies conceivable.”

“From a privacy standpoint, I’m hard-pressed to see what the concern or objection could be,” he [AS&E’s Joe Reiss] says.

Well, I can think of a few objections, most of them having to do with my right not to have my home, car, or person searched without a warrant or at least reasonable suspicion. In short, I do NOT approve of roving xray vans. Nope, not at all.

Software Predicts Criminal Behavior

Developed by Richard Berk, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, the software is already used in Baltimore and Philadelphia to predict which individuals on probation or parole are most likely to murder and to be murdered.

In his latest version, the one being implemented in D.C., Berk goes even further, identifying the individuals most likely to commit crimes other than murder.

If the software proves successful, it could influence sentencing recommendations and bail amounts.

Emphasis above is mine. Didn’t really approve of the idea of this kind of software in the first place, because I don’t trust any software THAT much. Having it influencing sentencing and bail amounts? Definitely don’t approve. Feels a bit too much like punishing someone for a crime they have not yet committed.

Egg Kingpin Linked to Salmonella Scare Has History of Violations

The egg mogul linked to the widespread salmonella outbreak is considered by government officials a repeat offender, and the allegations and violations at his farms go far beyond sanitation to illegal immigration, unsafe workplace conditions and sexual abuse of female employees.

The whole story needs to be read. I can’t possibly quote all the sickening things in it without just copying the whole story. Then everyone needs to sit down and think about where their food comes from … and why people like this are still in business. Well, I can answer that last question: fines for infractions are too low. If a fine isn’t prohibitive –if it doesn’t hurt at all to pay it– and there are no other repercussions but the fine, fat cats will pay the fine and press on with business as usual. For example, if the fine for illegal parking was on $5 or so, I would be far more likely to park illegally when I can’t find a parking space, pay the fine, and press on with life. Three million dollars is a drop in the bucket to this guy. He won’t really even feel it’s loss, just like I wouldn’t really feel the loss of $5 if I got to park right in front of the door I wanted to enter.

And really … wow … this guy runs a disgusting business, for both people and chickens.

Gene Weingarten column mentions Lady Gaga.

My biggest beef with the New Newsroom, though, is what has happened to headlines. In old newsrooms, headline writing was considered an art. This might seem like a stretch to you, but not to copy editors, who graduated from college with a degree in English literature, did their master’s thesis on intimations of mortality in the early works of Molière, and then spent the next 20 years making sure to change commas to semicolons in the absence of a conjunction.

Funny story about the change in newspaper life with the onset of the internet. Well worth a read, and he’s right … as a former copy editor, I too bemoan the lost art of headline writing.

Police: NY cabbie is asked if he’s Muslim, stabbed

A drunken passenger riding in a New York City taxi cab attacked the driver after asking him if he was Muslim, police said Wednesday. The driver told police that when he answered yes, Michael Enright pulled out a folding hand tool, reached into the front seat and slashed him.

This is what I was talking about yesterday, and this isn’t going to get any better until Americans start acting less like bigots and more like the Americans we are expected to be. I’d like to go on more about this story, but don’t have the time right now. Find and read some other stories on it, or you can wait until I write my rant in the morning. There is a LOT more to this story. It hasn’t completely unfolded yet.

And I just want to point out this editorial cartoon as being the most disgusting piece of cartoon art I’ve seen in a long time. Truly appalling. I’d love to rant about it, but there really isn’t much else to say than … shut the f*ck up, Mr. Farrington.

Fox & Friends: “The Kingdom Foundation, which has been a funder of Imam Rauf in the past … The Kingdom Foundation, so you know, is this Saudi organization headed up by this guy who tried to give Rudi Guliani ten million dollars after 9/11 that was sent back … he funds radical madrassas all over the world … and he funds this Imam.”

Jon Stewart: “The terror funder is Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp partner! That’s right, the guy they’re painting as a sinister money force owns part of Fox News. If we want to cut off funding to the terror-mosque, we must –together as a nation– stop watching Fox. Using their reasoning, it’s the only way to cut off the revenue stream to these ‘bad dudes.’ Here’s the most curious part of this entire report. Fox tells us the terrible thing about this Kingdom Foundation is what they funded. He’s a very bad guy, but they never mention this guy’s name, and they never showed this fellow’s picture, and they certainly never mentioned that this fellow they are talking about is part owner of their company. Did the gang at Fox and Friends genuinely not know the head of The Kingdom Foundation’s name and the fact that he is one of their part owners, or were they purposely covering it up their fear-driven narrative?”

The entire video is very informative and entertaining in that sad way modern political comedy is, because the truth they are exposing and the lies they are skewering are indeed truly, truly sad.

It’s hard to laugh about it.

I am just old enough to remember growing up in the aftermath of the Civil Rights Movement, and there was an aftermath. It’s not like the Civil Rights Act was signed into law, equality was achieved, and everything was hunky-dory. Institutional –as well as personal– racism doesn’t die that easily or quickly. The immense amount of hatred of “the other” took time to cool down. Time to be hidden away, though never entirely wiped out. Throughout my life, I have seen racism, bigotry, and hatred beginning to give up its grip on this country, slowly. We’re far from perfect, but things have been generally proceeding in the right direction.

Until now.

I am thoroughly disgusted by the behavior of the anti-mosque, anti-Islam (and anti-immigrant) mobs. Disgusted doesn’t even begin to cover it, really. Not by a long shot. I just can’t find a word to adequately convey how I feel about so many of my fellow Americans and their thoroughly revolting and anti-American views. Yes, anti-American. Un-American. If an American doesn’t agree that our founding documents and principles are worth abiding by, then they are anti-American. There’s some percentage of Americans right now who don’t agree with our founding documents and principles –or at least with some parts of them which grant some of our most profound freedoms. I am incapable of comprehending how they balance their supposed overwhelming love of The Constitution of The United States of America, which they also champion loudly as being perfect in all ways, with their attempts to thwart the very ideals for which it stands.

Seems to me, they don’t think our founding principles of freedom and equality for all are a good idea, or maybe they simply have never read the words upon which our country was founded and don’t know, for example, about the principles of separation of church and state and freedom of religion encoded in those very founding documents. They do seem to have a firm grasp of their First Amendment right of free speech and redress of grievances, so it’s odd they can’t seem to grasp the meaning of the rest of that particular amendment. Though I am glad they do get on their soapboxes and feel free to spout their hatred and bigotry loudly in the streets for all to hear and plaster it all over the TV, internet, and radio. Informs me who to be careful of and who to avoid, as well as informing me which businesses do not deserve my business. As far as I am concerned, they are the enemies of freedom and equality. They are a threat to my nation and its founding principles … as much as any terrorist could be. Perhaps more so.

I don’t see good things on the horizon. So many people fractured into so many groups, many of them filled with nothing but hate for the others others unlike them (though all the same Americans) … and willing to show it publicly … to the point of physical confrontation and violence … well, what can we expect that to spawn? Peace, equality, and unicorns farting rainbows and pots of gold? It won’t. Hate only begets more hate. Violence only begets more violence. America is on a course now I fear we won’t be getting off until something so ugly –so horrifying– happens that no one can believe it. Something so wrong and evil that everyone is sickened by it. We’ve come close to that point before during the Civil Rights Movement (more than once to be sure). Things improved, but at a high cost. People died. We’ve come to that point before and stuffed the hatred and ugliness back down, which has lead to it bursting forth again now. This isn’t new hatred. This is old hatred reignited and allowed outside for some sunshine and fresh air. And it will keep rearing its hideous head until we as a country face our issues and agree to live by the ideals we claim to hold up as right and good.

We’d do better to educate it away peacefully, but how to do that when the ones needing the education refuse to listen? How to do that when instead of words, they want to use fists and guns to prove their points correct? How to do that when those who hate have formed a mob and are reveling in the righteousness of group-think? Something ugly and horrifying has to happen to wake them up, I guess. I’d think a crowd of anti-mosque protesters mobbing a man for no other reason than he was there and had dark skin would be ugly and horrifying enough, but it won’t be. If this nightmare of full-moon-mad hatred and anger doesn’t subside –isn’t put away for good properly and peacefully– there can only be one outcome: something ugly and horrifying that no one will believe could happen in America in the 21st Century. Something worse than an angry mob threatening a man minding his own business.

I hope I am wrong, but if it doesn’t happen now, it’ll happen the next time the angry mob finds someone new to hate or revisits an old hatred from days past. History repeats itself over and over and over, sometimes with the same actors, sometimes with new participants. No one ever learns from it, at least not enough people to make any kind of real difference. America is a powder keg. It’s been a powder keg for a long time, and it wants to explode. As far as I am concerned, there are really only two options: follow our founding principles and the laws of our land and yank the fuse out of the bomb, or go ahead and explode. I’d prefer a peaceful resolution to America’s hateful woes, but … I will fight just as angrily as they do for The Constitution of the United States of America and for the guiding principles of right and wrong our country was (and is) built upon. I would never throw the first punch –I’m not much for starting fights– but I am for finishing them once someone else starts the brawl and the side of good can be identified.

Hope for peace, prepare for war.

That’s what Americans do, isn’t it? Fight for the rights and freedoms we have been granted. Maintain our rights and freedoms for future generations of Americans. We even fight for the right of others in foreign lands to enjoy our collective freedoms as we do. I would expect the vast majority of Americans to stand beside me in this regard … in my desire to see our constitutional rights upheld and for racism, bigotry, and hatred of “the other” to be wiped from our collective American consciousness. Freedom and equality for all, no matter their skin color, gender, religion (and for that matter, choice in mates). That’s what our country was built upon, and those are the ideals we should live by, if we want to be Americans.

Other defenders of the things that make America great would have us negotiate, back down, give in, avoid confrontation, appease the haters as much as possible, merely to bring about a somewhat peaceful resolution. I say NO. I will not back down. I will not avoid confrontation. I will not give in. I will not negotiate on the rights afforded all Americans by our founding documents. I will not allow the wrong-headed, the hateful, the racist, the bigoted, or the ignorant dictate to me or anyone else what our rights are or attempt to change those rights encoded into our system in either meaning or word. To do anything less would make me less American. I may never have joined the military and never taken an oath to protect The Constitution, but in my heart, I have. I feel lucky to have been born in this great nation, and I will do what is necessary –what is asked of me– to protect her, her citizens, and their rights from all threats, both foreign and domestic.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Those are things worth fighting for and protecting. I continue to hope this ugliness and hatred resolves itself peacefully, that people eventually open their eyes, are embarrassed by their own actions and words, and learn and grow from the experience, but even in my most optimistic of hearts, I fear the fuse on this powder keg has been burning too long and too hot, and that no one can stop whatever explosion of true horror is to come. If we as a country don’t fix this peacefully, it will eventually fix itself violently. Maybe not this week, or month, or year, but at some point in the future, that fuse will ignite the explosion of mind-bogglingly stupid hatred coursing through the veins of America. It’s happened before (many times), and I don’t doubt it can happen again. We’ve come a long way, but obviously not far enough. As a nation, we continue to forget the lessons we learned in the past and fail apply them to new situations … dooming us to continue repeating the nightmares of the past. The same tired hatred brought out, dusted off, and given a new fresh face. A new round of ugliness for the new generation to endure.

We’re back-sliding all the way back to the 50’s and 60’s (and earlier), having learned nothing at all from all the pain and suffering of the Civil Rights Movement … or any other dark period in our history. Are we ignorant barbarians, or are we modern freedom-loving Americans? I suppose time will tell, but I feel something wicked this way comes, and we will all be sorry when it arrives and fully reveals itself. I just hope we wake up before there are more than just ugly words and a fist or two being thrown around. Meanwhile, we are all stuck in this hell-pit of rancid bile being spewed by those who call themselves “Real Americans” while utterly ignoring what being an American means, what we stand for, what our national values have always been or at least aspired to be.

So I am disgusted … and weeping for my country and its citizens. May we one day find the strength and moral fiber to live up to the highest expectations of our founders. I’d always imagined this would happen in my lifetime –that we would truly be the shining city on the hill, a beacon of hope and and guiding light to freedom-loving people everywhere– but today it feels further away than ever. In fact, today it feels like we’ll never really achieve the freedom and equality for all we were promised by our forefathers. I hope there are more people who agree with me that the rights granted to all Americans are worth fighting for –tooth and nail, if necessary– than there are people who believe our rights are malleable, changeable on a whim, and only applicable as they would like to them to apply and to whom they wish to apply them. These are dark days though, full of anger and hatred, and the screaming throng of loud barbarians seem to be not only at the gate but everywhere.

But it doesn’t take a hoard of barbarians to bring down a great society, and from what I can tell, 20% or more of my fellow Americans believe rather strongly that our rights are malleable and should only apply as they see fit, and that’s more than enough barbarians to make America a living hellhole of a country. We cannot allow them to have their way. Not if we want to continue calling ourselves Americans with any amount of dignity or pride. So … no, I won’t back down, give in, negotiate, or appease this mindless mob who has declared themselves the arbiters of our rights, because they are wrong. They are anti-American. They are Un-American. They are expressing ideas which are in opposition to our founding principles. I am willing to fight them to the extent they are willing to take the fight, up to and including their “Second Amendment solutions”. I didn’t start this fight, and I won’t escalate it, but I will damn sure be a part of ending it. Some things truly are worth fighting for, and two of the ones at the top of my list are freedom and equality … for ALL.

To use their own vernacular, I am locked, loaded, and ready to roll.

Bring it on.

“It does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are 20 gods or no god. It neither picks my pocket, nor breaks my leg.”
– Thomas Jefferson, “Notes on Virginia”

I have been collecting links and writing a post all week on the “Ground Zero Mosque” insanity, but it doesn’t even deserve that much attention. If one is an American, one must believe in the right of private property owners to do what they want on their own property within the laws of their locality, the right of people to assemble and worship (and build places of worship) as they like, and in the separation of church and state. These are fundamental rights in our country –rights which anyone who loves the constitution would fight tooth and nail to uphold. There is simply no argument to be had on this matter.

Quite frankly, I am sick to death of hearing about it. I have family members and friends who are beside themselves –completely freaked the hell out– by the fact that somewhere in a state and city they have never been and will never go, there are “terrorists” building “a radical Islamic mosque” on “Ground Zero.” I have tried explaining to them it is no more a mosque than a YMCA is a church … or, for that matter, the Pentagon (which also contains a room designated for Muslim prayer) is a mosque. I have explained the constitutional ramifications of this situation until I was blue in the face. My protestations have fallen entirely on deaf ears, because “Those people are different,” and I “just don’t understand.”

It’s just not possible to have a rational discussion on this matter. There’s only one rational position: the community center can and should be built wherever its builders can legally put it and want to build it. Any other position taken is going to be an irrational one based on fear, prejudice, racism, and ignorance (if not flat out willful stupidity). That the 24 hour “news” media continue to present the story as though there are two sides to the debate merely shows how ridiculous modern American “news” media has become. Since I lack the clout and budget of Fox News, CNN, or MSNBC –and don’t have my own talk radio program– there is no way I can possibly convince anyone holding a view in opposition of the foundational rights America was built upon that they are wrong. They either understand and believe in our constitutional rights (and that they apply equally to everyone) or they will go on watching the talking heads and believing there are two sides to this argument. I’m done being called “closed minded” and “stupid” and “too young to understand.”^†

Though I am somewhat glad this ugliness is coming out into the open. It’s been an excellent way to sift through all my friends, family, acquaintances, and work associates and decide who is or is not someone I need to have in my life. There are a number of things I do not tolerate from people in my immediate circle, and racism and willful freaking stupidity are two of them. Excessive hypocrisy is another one, and there is nothing more hypocritical than saying one stands by the correctness and awesomeness of the American Constitution while simultaneously saying someone needs to stop a community center being built in Manhattan because the people building it are Muslim. That would be a perfect example of excessive hypocrisy. So I encourage everyone to keep flapping their jaws about the “Ground Zero Mosque.” It’s definitely helping me separate the wheat from the chaff in my life … and the chaff will be tossed on the compost pile like the trash it is.

1. † This “too young” thing is getting old. At 45 years of age, there really isn’t much I am too young to understand anymore, and there hasn’t been anything I have been too young to understand for quite some time. I am a well-educated adult who has enjoyed a very full life. I understand a great many things. Anyone who thinks using my age will against me in an argument will shut me up obviously doesn’t know me very well, and it’s especially sad when people who have known me for 45 years believe the “too young” argument ender is going to end an argument with me. It won’t, and they should definitely be aware of that fact. [↩]

Anderson Cooper: “You told my producer pregnant women are coming here as tourists, having babies, and then going back home ‘with the nefarious purpose of turning them into little terrorists, who will then come back to the U.S. to do us harm.’ You said it’s part of an organized terrorist element and could cost us lives. Where did you hear that?”

Debbie Riddle^†: “That is information that is coming to my office from former FBI officials.”

Cooper then asks what evidence she has this is happening, and, no surprise, she “doesn’t have the hard evidence” right in front of her. Then she launches into her talking points diatribe about “anchor babies.” Finally, he presses her again for any evidence she has of terrorist anchor babies:

Cooper: “Have they given your office actual facts … or proof?”

Riddle: “That information we are still gathering.”

It’s actually an interesting interview, if only because Cooper does keep trying to get her to show she has some kind of actual evidence for the somewhat crazy things she says, and Rafael Anchia^††, state representative from the Dallas Area, appears to be pleasantly sane.

She never really answers any questions. Most of the people saying outrageous things and making crazy claims rarely do. She does seem to have a bee in her bonnet over illegal immigrants though, and she’s got her talking points down to a flawless performance … almost as flawless as her 61 year old wrinkle-free and apparently immovable facial skin.

I guess pregnant women are now the new enemy. Awesome! Someone else to be afraid of!

1. † Texas House of Representatives, Republican, HD150 [↩]
2. †† Texas House of Representatives, Democrat, HD103 [↩]

The Daily Show on the Islamic cultural center being built in New York:

The Colbert Report on Constitution-loving Republicans wanting to ditch the 14th Amendment:

Perry said Tuesday he declined a border-security briefing from the NSC, a high-level panel chaired by President Barack Obama and key Cabinet members, because he “doesn’t need to meet with some more down-level staff people.”

Is Governor Perry not aware of who sits on the the National Security Council? I have to guess he doesn’t, because I can’t imagine anyone calling a single person on it ” down-level staff” of any sort. Every one of the members is a somebody in the US Government, like the chairman of the council … President Obama.

He complains because Obama, Nopalitano, and others won’t sit down and talk with him about border control issues, but then when Obama , Nopalitano, and others want to sit down and talk about border control issues with him, he can’t be bothered with them. Fact is, he doesn’t really want to talk to them about anything at all. He just wants to win the upcoming election, and he seems to think bashing the current US administration –no matter what they do or don’t do– will get him what he wants.

And poor Perry has to be in a bad mood about this as well:

Texas Democrats, led by Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Austin and backed by Houston-area Democratic lawmakers, inserted 287 words in the 52-page legislation requiring Perry to use the education aid “to supplement and not supplant” existing state funding for public education.

Democrats said they sought the binding legislative instructions to prevent Perry and the Texas Legislature from repeating their move last year when they used $3.2 billion in federal stimulus funds to balance the state budget and avoid depleting the state’s so-called “rainy day fund” rather than bolstering education.

Yes, heaven forbid anyone force the Texas government to use funding set aside for education on everything but education, as they have done time and time again in the past. Our schools didn’t get as crappy magically. They got that way because they have always gotten the short end of the stick on funding, even when the federal government gives us a pile of cash to help fix the problems.

In the latest skirmish over a contested Waco-area state Senate seat, Texas Democrats filed a lawsuit today to challenge new GOP state Sen. Brian Birdwell’s eligibility to run in the November general election.

There seems to be a problem with Birdwell having registered to vote and voting in Virginia for some years while getting post-military treatments for an injury he got during the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon, which would mean he hasn’t been a Texas resident for the five required years before running for office. I hope the facts get sorted out, but I have to say that even in Birdwell’s own words, something smells fishy.

Every weekend for the last four years, Dunfee and members of his ministry have stood watch over George’s joint, taking up residence in the right of way with signs, video cameras and bullhorns in hand. They videotape customers’ license plates and post them online, and they try to save the souls of anyone who comes and goes.

Now, the dancers have turned the tables, so to speak. Fed up with the tactics of Dunfee and his flock, they say they have finally accepted his constant invitation to come to church.

The strippers are protesting outside the church, and I say more power to them. The church could just live and let live, but no, they wanted to act like asses at the strip club … so now they have strippers hanging out around their front door. Serves them right.

Now some scientists are willing to venture into the once forbidden territory of the soul, attempting to extract a theory that will allow for its existence. Redefined by the new field of quantum biology, the soul could be the link that connects individuals to the universe, a dynamic connection that could explain how consciousness came about, and why the cosmos itself seems to mirror our own intelligence and creativity.

Sounds interesting, and I look forward to seeing where this research goes. I’m pretty much of the belief that all things will eventually be explained by science, even consciousness and the soul. Though I do have to admit to not being much of a fan of Deepak Chopra, so anything he’s too involved in always requires further study.

One idiot’s reaction to the recent ruling on Prop 8 in California:

If this ruling is upheld, millions of Americans will face for the first time a legal system that is committed to the view that our deeply held moral views on sex and marriage are unacceptable in the public square, the fruit of bigotry that should be discredited, stigmatized and repressed. Parents will find that, almost Soviet-style, their own children will be re-educated using their own tax dollars to disrespect their parents’ views and values.

A Houston TV station is planning to switch to an “anchorless news” format, which sounds to me like a heaping pile of stupid.

According to people who have seen the pilot of the NewsFix format produced at Tribune’s WPIX New York under the directon of Chief Innovation Officer Lee Abrams, it casts off the familiar anchor-reporter paradigm and replaces it with a lot of animated graphics and man-on-the-street sound bites.

In one story, the narrator refers to terrorists as “bozos.” In another, a clip of fictional boxer Ivan Drago from Rocky IV is mixed into a story about the West getting tough with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. There are even clips from cartoon shows like Ren and Stimpy and animations from the JibJab website.

The pilot starts with a map of the Houston area with scattered icons representing the news stories to come. As the narrator introduces a story, an icon animates to reveal a series of clips with natural sound and sound bites to tell it. The video then squeezes back to a graphic screen, the narrator introduces the next clip and another icon comes to life.

Yup, short attention span theater and a heaping pile of stupid on top. Certainly doesn’t sound very informative (or factual). Can’t wait to see it in action! The dumbing down of everything continues!

There was some shooting on MOPAC recently:

Smith said a man in a pickup truck was tailgating, so he tapped on his brakes and turned on his hazards. The other driver started cutting him off and swerving dangerously close, he said.

Smith said he thought his life was in danger and that the Castle Doctrine applied. But police say that’s not the case.

“We don’t feel that… the Castle Doctrine applies in this situation,” Austin Police Cpl. Scott Perry said. “The Castle Doctrine protects you when you’re in your house, in you business, or when you’re in your vehicle. It protects you when someone is forcibly entering your property.”

He tried to shoot the driver and failed, hitting a tire. This guy definitely gets a failing grade on how to handle asshole drivers by being the biggest and most dangerous kind of asshole driver possible. There are certainly better ways to deal with issues with idiots on the highway than shooting them. Here’s hoping he loses his concealed carry permit, though I doubt that would stop someone like this from carrying anyway.

The best ten minutes of TV in quite a while. Jon explains in much kinder words than I would have how Congress has made sure people’s guns won’t be sold off when they enter bankruptcy, but we can’t close a corporate tax loophole to pay for medical care for ailing 9/11 rescuers. Yes, protect those tax havens and guns! Just watch it … it’s worth it.

And yes, Republicans are assholes and Democrats are pussies. Send them all packing, and let’s put some fresh blood into our governmental system.