Wedding Bells

I'm off to South Carolina, the heart of the Confederacy, for the wedding of a good friend. I wonder if I should wear my 'The South was WRONG' t-shirt. Hmmm..perhaps inappropriate.
See you next week, for the Supreme Court Confirmation fun!

Vice President Rove?

Def over at Roachblog posts a scary thought: what if Karl Rove is plotting to assume an elected office, even VP?

What if Rove's more public face has something to do with Rove's future? Is it possible that Rove might actually be contemplating a position of some sort? Elected perhaps? (They'd vote for him in his home state of Texas.)

What about an appointed post? And to be completely paranoid.....

... didn't they just take Dick Cheney to the hospital, *again*.

I shiver to think about it. Imagine Karl Rove in an elected position. Well, as a plus, the possibility of impeachment might arise. Or, (fingers crossed), Rove actually getting reamed in the press.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Theocrats

The dominionists over at Little Geneva continue to demonstrate what charming individuals they are. A sample of the most recent posts, word for word (PLEASE NOTE THAT THESE ARE NOT MY OWN THOUGHTS):

• The Jews get a taste of their own medicine as heroic Russians consider charging THEM with incitement. "Jerusalem sources following the affair said this is the first time since Stalin’s regime that Russian officials have described holy Jewish scriptures as prohibited incitement." (ed note: I blogged about this issue here).
• Jew Spielberg has signed his name to a piece of propaganda called "Into the West" that will air on the TNT channel of Jewish Fable Machines. As we all know, approving of - or better yet, participating in - interracial marriage is the only way to prove that you are not a racist, and you get bonus points for producing ugly children.
• Well, there’s history, and there’s JewTV, and never the twain shall meet. The trouble is that young imbeciles (too many of whom are Christians) think they are one and the same. Those of us who dare to dissent are vilified by those who pass non-vilification laws.
• "It might seem odd for an African American to join a faith that once supported slavery, but…" Odd? The only thing that sounds odd to me is the idea that barbarians and savages would not adopt the superior faith of the Christian planter class in the South.
• A huge victory for religious liberty is coming soon to North Carolina. This would be a good time for the Constitution Party to change the language of their platform, because as it now stands, they are encouraging this sort of thing. And when they revise the document, some explicit support for white Christians - the true Americans - would be nice. We kinists would be happy to send a delegation.

Such interesting people, these so-called 'kinists.' I wonder if they realize that Jesus was, in fact, Jewish and that slavery was actually NOT a positive thing. Oh, and that the South was actually fighting for slavery (read the secession declarations!) while the North was fighting for Union. I will continue to post parts of their posts here, just because I think they need to be read. Look at their blogroll; it's not small.

Anti-semitism in Russia: A Growth Industry

From Ha'aretz, by way of Eugene Volokh:

The Moscow district prosecutor has ordered an examination into the Shulhan Arukh - a code of Jewish halakhic law compiled in the 16th century - to ascertain whether it constitutes racist incitement and anti-Russian material.

The prosecutor ordered the probe against a Jewish umbrella organization in Russia for distributing a Russian translation of an abbreviation of the Shulhan Arukh.

(SNIP)

The inquiry was launched following a letter signed by 500 public figures, including some 20 members of the nationalist Rodina party, urging the district prosecutor to outlaw the Jewish religion and all the Jewish organizations operating in Russia.

On a positive note:

Rodina's leader, Dimitri Rogozin, sent a letter to Moscow Chief Rabbi Pinhas Goldschmidt over the weekend, criticizing the anti-Semitic displays in his party. "Theological sources cannot be subjected to judiciary procedures," he wrote.

Goldschmidt told Haaretz that he welcomed Rogozin's statement, but called on Rogozin to take firm steps against his party members who signed the letter.

I would like to take this opportunity to remind anyone that cares that the most referenced anti-Semitic document still in use today, The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, was created by the Czarist secret police as a method to incite pogroms against the potentially revolutionary Jews. This is not a positive for our friend the Russians.

Batman Begins: Best... Batman...EVER

I have now seen Batman Begins twice, and the second viewing was as good as the first. I thought I would post a review, because, well, I can. :) Note: Spoilers will be included and written in white, so highlight if you want to read them!

• First of all, I thought this Batman was most true to the origin and the character, at least the one that I grew up with. Joe Chill and his links to the mob, and (SPOILER) the implication that the Wayne murders were a mob hit (END SPOILER) was true to the comic origin of Batman.
• Ra's al Ghul was well played, and while I think it was silly that they changed the League of Assassins to the League of Shadows, the film character was a pretty good interpretation of the comic villian, right up to the (SPOILER) wanting Bruce Wayne to follow in his footsteps. (END SPOILER) No daughter for Ra's in the film, though! Perhaps good for Ra's, as in the comic, one of his two semi-immortal offspring kills him, in part to abandoning her during the Holocaust (part of his overall plan, we later learn).
• I thought that Gary Oldman did a fantastic Sgt./Lt. Gordon. I wonder, in the scene where he is taking out the trash, did we see a brief glimpse of his (superheroic but eventually tragic) niece?
• I hated the Batmobile. A bit too Dark Knight Returns for me.
• The cameo appearance of the Batman serial killer, Mr. Zsasz, who marks his totals on his own body. Note the scars on his neck.
• Michael Caine as Alfred: fantastic.
• Jonathan Crane, aka Scarecrow, was in the film just enough, and quite true to the comic!
• I thought the slight alteration to the role of bats in the life and mind of Bruce was acceptable.
• The interesting development of the Bat Signal.
• The way they discussed the potential escalation of the criminal element in manner and method thanks to the appearance of the Batman was well done and quite on point.
• Hmmm...the film closes with Gordon mentioning to Batman that they have a new criminal, a double murderer and bank robber who (SPOILER) leaves a rather interesting calling 'card' behind. (END SPOILER). Has me excited for the next film!

All in all, I enjoyed it quite a bit. As a huge DC buff, I hope that the new Superman film lives up to the standards of Batman Begins. I also hope my wife lets me start buying my comics again!

Speaking the Truth?

I found this image over at Robert A. George's Ragged Thots, though originally an AP photo. Says alot, I think, and speaks the truth, but I think that a different shirt might have served better at a Bill Clinton book signing!

The Boy Whose Skin Fell Off

I recently watched one of the most moving, funny, and sad documentaries on TLC that I have ever seen. It is about a young (mid-30's) Englishman named Jonny Kennedy who has one of the scariest genetic diseases ever, and one I had never heard of, dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa. Basically, his skin is so fragile that it cracks and comes off at barely a touch. I think I will be contributing to the research against this horrible disease. If you ever get a chance, see the film. If you don't cry, you are inhuman.
Check out Debra.org for more information.

Is It Okay If I Call You an Ass, or Would That Be Wrong?

Over at Florida Blues, we see that our eloquent Commander in Chief wonders if it is okay to call the President of the EU a 'piece of work' to his face:

In terms of your Prime Minister, he's a -- interesting guy. He's a lot of fun to be around. He promotes, uhh, serious business in a, in a, in a way that, uhh, endears himself to people. And so, uhh, I think his presidency has been an important presidency for the EU during difficult times, and he's handled it well. And, umm, I was gonna say he's a piece of work, but that might not translate too well. Is that all right, if I call you a piece of work?

As Gatorchick points out, calling someone a 'piece of work' is a bit undiplomatic in any language.

That's a nice exemption you have there...shame if something happened to it.

So now the Republicans are deciding who can or cannot own a Major League Baseball Team. From the DCCC Weblog, as reported in Roll Call:

While the Soros-Ledecky group is not seen as the frontrunner to win the bidding for the Nationals, who should be awarded to their new owner at the end of the 2005 season, the very prospect that Soros could have a stake in the team is enough to irritate Congressional Republicans.

"I think Major League Baseball understands the stakes," said Government Reform Chairman Tom Davis (R), the Northern Virginia lawmaker who recently convened high-profile steroid hearings. "I don't think they want to get involved in a political fight."

Davis, whose panel also oversees District of Columbia issues, said that if a Soros sale went through, "I don't think it's the Nats that get hurt. I think it's Major League Baseball that gets hurt. They enjoy all sorts of exemptions" from anti-trust laws.

But of course it is okay for, oh I don't know, George W. Bush to have owned the Texas Rangers. Fred Vincy points out more examples of Bush contributors owning baseball teams without fear of retribution. I would note that the Boston Red Sox ownership seems to lean towards the Democrats. Again, an example of the Team of Good prevailing over the Evil Empire!

Let's Just Tempt Fate, Shall We?

This is why I hate Dan Shaughnessy:

It's OK to say it. Don't worry about jinxing them. The 2005 Red Sox are going to win the American League East. By a landslide. Come late September, this is going to look like Secretariat at the Belmont in 1973.

After looking up at the Orioles for two frustrating months, the Sox moved into first place Friday night and they are there to stay. Stop worrying about the Yankees, Orioles, and Jays. It's not even going to be close.

Yeah, Dan, way to ask God to, you know, strike us down. Go write another stupid book about the curse. Geez.