Happy Hour Discurso

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Today’s opining on the public discourse.

Have any of you seen Quantum of Solace? If not, save your funds. Unless, of course, you like your movies to contain nothing but exhausted cliches, fractured attempts at storytelling, and utterly predictable “twists” between explosions.

And the explosions weren’t even all that good.

I’d expected more out of this movie since Casino Royale actually turned out very well indeed. Unfortunately, Quantum seems to have been written during the writers’ strike by non-union writers who had, until that moment, been trusted with nothing more than fetching the coffee, and that only if they were closely supervised. Gah.

Quantum of Solace deserves your money just as much as Henry Paulson does:

Seriously, Paulson and the Treasury department are asking Obama for the rest of the TARP money, since they know that the Senate won’t agree without Obama’s ok.

Given how well they’ve spent the money so far—hiding who much of it is going to, getting lousy collateral in exchange for the money, not convincing banks to actually lend again or reduce interest rates (in fact some, Citi for example, are increasing credit card interest rates) and so on, it’s hard to imagine why Obama would be willing to give this crew the money.

Considering that all Paulson seems capable of is throwing wads of cash into black holes, I think Obama would be wise to reserve what’s left for his own presidency.

For those of you wondering if Bush will, once out of office, put his notoriety to good use to actually, you know, help the world instead of rape, pillage and then set fire to it, LithiumCola has a dare:

Name, I dare you, the last Republican ex-President from whom anyone had any interest in getting an opinion on world affairs, domestic policy, their view of the political landscape, or, you know, anything of substance at all.

If you said “Richard Nixon” you win a cookie, but eat it fast before his goons break into your psychiatrist’s office to steal info on your sugar addiction.

Bush Sr.? No. He attended some ceremonies and made some ads.

The former president continues to make many public appearances. He and Mrs. Bush attended the state funeral of Ronald Reagan in June 2004, and of Gerald Ford in January 2007. One month later, he was awarded the Ronald Reagan Freedom Award in Beverly Hills, California by former First Lady Nancy Reagan. Bush was also present in various ceremonies during the construction of the USS George H. W. Bush (CVN-77), which is the last Nimitz class supercarrier of the United States Navy, and one of the few that are named after persons that are living at the time of the vessel’s christening. Despite his political differences with Bill Clinton, it has been acknowledged that he and Clinton have managed to become friends.He and Clinton appeared together in television ads in 2005, encouraging aid for victims of Hurricane Katrina and the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

Reagan? “Surely,” and now I’ll quote Charles Emerson Winchester III, a fictional character who would no doubt have voted for him, “you jest.”

One begins to get the feeling that the oft-cited “tradition” of ex-Presidents not commenting publicly on world affairs in order to keep off the toes of the current President is in actuality a smoke screen to keep from everyone from noticing that Republican ex-Presidents tend to be too stupid or apathetic to have anything worth listening to. You’d have thought, wouldn’t you, their opinions would be uniquely informed and valuable; and it’s not as though in the further past ex-presidents haven’t done things of note — even Republican ex-presidents, before the party became an international intellectual joke.

Good for nothing in office, ditto out. Sounds about right.

Bush leaves us with an economy in tatters, two unwinnable wars, an international reputation so far in the toilet it’s already halfway to the sewage treatment plant, health care rules that make it far easier for religious fucktards to force their piety on their patients, and an environment without protections. But hey, at least the bears will be armed:

Today, the Department of Interior overturned a Reagan-era regulation, permitting loaded firearms at 388 of 391 national park sites. The decision allows guns in parks in “any states with concealed carry laws, not just those that allow guns in their state parks as originally proposed.” While the Department cited safety concerns as a factor, the National Park Conservation Association notes:

According to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report, there were 1.65 violent crimes per 100,000 national park visitors in 2006—making national parks some of the safest places in the United States. The new regulation could increase the risk for impulse shootings of wildlife, and risk the safety of visitors and rangers. Despite the potential affect on national park wildlife and resources, the Administration did not conduct an environmental review as required by law.

My goodness, they drummed up totally baseless fear and broke the law? You don’t say. What a shock. I am amazed. My sarcasm generator just broke down.

I’ll have to get it repaired again before today’s election in Louisiana’s over:

Louisiana Secretary of State early election results show Democrat Paul J. Carmouche and Republican John Fleming in a close race, 48.44%-R to 48.07%-D with 302 of 640 precincts reporting.

The race was delayed because of Hurricane Gustav. This district was +19 McCain so a victory would be especially sweet.

In any case we forced the Republicans to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to defend a “safe” district.

More like this please.

[snip]

Update 7:23 pacific: Fingers crossed, pups. 49.53-D, 46.44-R with 535/640.

So, ah… what was that about Republicons stealing the momentum back, again? I’m sorry, I can’t hear you over the schadenfreude.

Happy Hour Discurso
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Corporate Responsibility: BoA Gets It Right

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Sometimes, just sometimes, corporations do things that make me proud:

This summer, after months of conversations, some top executives from Bank of America agreed to accompany NRDC staff on a fact-finding trip to Appalachia. In July we flew them over moonscaped mine sites in West Virginia, took them to Kayford Mountain for a closer look at mountaintop mining, and introduced them to several local residents/activists who are fighting to save their beloved homeland from reckless coal mining companies.

Today, BofA released its revised coal policy, which will have the immediate effect of curtailing commercial lending to companies that mine coal by blowing off the top of mountains in Appalachia. The policy states, in part:

Bank of America is particularly concerned about surface mining conducted through mountain top removal in locations such as central Appalachia. We therefore will phase out financing of companies whose predominant method of extracting coal is through mountain top removal. While we acknowledge that surface mining is economically efficient and creates jobs, it can be conducted in a way that minimizes environmental impacts in certain geographies.

Why is this so important? Bank of America still stands as a pillar of our country’s shaky financial system. In fact, the trying economic crisis has only served to strengthen this behemoth bank unlike other once proud and stable institutions. All the more reason to engage BofA in using its investment power and influence to affect positive environmental change.

There are some corporations that realize you can run a successful company without being a total ratfucking bastard, who don’t believe that “good corporate citizen” is just a useful lie to tell the citizens you hope to suckerpunch. I saw that in action with Target, which does more charity work than I’ve ever seen another company do and also runs a forensics lab that helps out police agencies without charge:

Turns out Target has one of the most advanced crime labs in the country at its headquarters in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was initially set up to deal with things like theft, fraud, and personal injury cases in their stores. Now, Target also helps law enforcement agencies nationwide solve crimes, even murders. Target has worked with the Secret Service, the ATF, and the FBI, to name a few.

Target does the work for free, seeing it as a kind of community service. It doesn’t advertise its crime lab services, but word started spreading and law enforcement agencies started asking for help. Some government agency labs aren’t as well-equipped as Target’s. In other cases, Target can get results faster because of logjams in agency labs.

I’ve seen the pictures. The place is straight out of CSI, and if it wasn’t in a frozen, landlocked city like Minneapolis, I would’ve been getting my forensics degree and joining the lab. It was pure awesome. They also had safe communities programs running that had an enormous impact in some dangerous areas. I’ve had jobs I enjoyed more – taking phone calls from angry credit card customers isn’t fun no matter how great your company is – but I’ve never been prouder of the company I worked for than I was with them. They truly did put a huge effort into making a positive difference.

I’d love to see more of this. Most corporations do just enough community service to make themselves look nice, but it’s the rare few that actually devote substantial time, resources, and attention to doing right by the world.

Bank of America looks to be on its way to true good corporate citizenship. It’s much appreciated. Here’s hoping others will follow these companies’ leads.

Corporate Responsibility: BoA Gets It Right

"How to Talk to an Atheist" Coming to an In-Box Near You!

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At least, it is if you requested a copy. If you did, and it’s not there, email me at dhunterauthor at yahoo dot com so I can rectify the situation. My powers of organization, they sucketh mightily, so I may have missed a few folks.

If you didn’t request a copy and regret not getting a chance to join the demolition, let me know. The more Wise Readers, the merrier.

With all that said and done, I’m going to Discworld. Catch you later.

"How to Talk to an Atheist" Coming to an In-Box Near You!

Another Progressive Voice

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More signs progressives have nothing much to worry about when it comes to Obama’s administration:

To people worried about the seeming centrist tilt (um, wait, can you tilt to the center?) of many of president-elect Barack Obama’s appointees, this morning’s announcement that FDL Book Salon guest and progressive economist Jared Bernstein had been named VP Joe Biden’s top economic adviser should be good news.

Yes, I know that folks like Atrios, Matt Yglesias, and others have raised questions about just how much clout Bernstein will have as the vice president’s economic adviser, rather than one of the familiar posts formulating policy for the top guy, but I think that in some ways, this may be more of a feature than a bug.

It seems noteworthy that the Obama-Biden team created this position for Bernstein, apart from the established organizational chart. The strategy might be to keep Bernstein free of administrative responsibilities and turf battles, able to survey the whole range of economic policymaking and express his views as he sees fit.

Given that he’ll be able to do so not only directly in group sessions but via Biden as the latter meets individually with Obama, that could be a fairly influential role.

I hope it is, cuz I likes him a lot:

In May, Bernstein wrote on Huffington Post that it’s now time for progressives to govern after years of conservative failures:

Regarding the variables that matter most to working families, the neocon experiment was a particularly dramatic failure. Employment grew one third as fast as the average over the 2000s business cycle and the unemployment rate, though low on average, was higher at the end of the cycle than at the beginning. Perhaps the most damning indictment is this: for the first time on record, going back to the mid-1940s, the income of the typical, middle-income family was slightly lower last year than at the prior peak in 2000 (see their figure A). […]

The defenders of the status quo will howl in protest: the Democrats blocked us, the terrorist attacks and the war changed everything, we must stay the course to victory! But such rhetoric should be dismissed as what it is: the last, desperate gasps of a dying movement.

They’ve had their turn and they’ve failed. It is our turn now.

Hell to the yes!

Something tells me that I’m going to pretty thoroughly enjoy the next four years, despite the occasional annoyance.

Another Progressive Voice

Note to Obama: Geithner Needs a Spanking

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Occasionally, people whom you choose to do important things for you based on the fact that they’ve done well in the past gang aft agley when they get your nod. That’s when you either must smack some sense into them, or give them the old heave ho.

Tim Geithner is earning hisself a long walk off a short plank:

You’ve probably already read about this, but if not, here’s the new article saying that Obama’s choice for treasury, Tim Geithner, is trying to oust Republican regulator, FDIC chief Sheila Bair. When you see it put like that, it sounds good right? But actually, it’s downright politically bizarre. First, Geithner is saying she should be ousted because she isn’t a team player. Except that the media (and even unnamed members of the Obama team) have made a fetish out of the idea of having a “team of rivals” who will hash out ideas from all sides. “Team player” has almost become an insult in the last few weeks — after all in politics it’s often it’s another word for …. (gulp) partisan. Now, Bair is a Republican, which according to the conventional wisdom would make her a most coveted member of the post-partisan Obama administration, but which might explain why she isn’t considered a good team player. Except the complaint isn’t that she’s a loyal Bushie. It’s that she is overly concerned with main street and homeowners and demanding too much accountability from the financial sector. In other words, she’s behaving too much like you might wishfully expect a Democrat to behave. I don’t know the details of the “problems” obviously and perhaps there’s more to it than meets the eye. But the whole thing doesn’t scan politically any way you look at it.

No, it really doesn’t. I have to admit that the appellation “Republican” these days inspires an instinctive revulsion, but after I get done wincing, I take a closer look. And so far, I haven’t seen anything wrong with Bair aside from that pesky little R by her name. In fact, she’s doing what many Democrats have said we should do when it comes to the bailout.

Allow me to sum up a complicated post so I can get to Ian Welsh’s delightful analysis: Citigroup wanted to buy out Wachovia for $2.2 billion and needed FDIC aid. Wells Fargo offered $15 billion and didn’t need any help. Financial genius is not needed to understand which makes more sense to taxpayers. Citigroup stumbled badly, needed rescuing, and Bair was ready with the rope – on certain conditions:

Again, Bair held out for concessions as the Fed and Treasury sought to shield Citigroup from losses in its holdings of toxic assets. Bair insisted on getting preferred shares for the FDIC in the New York-based bank. She also demanded that Citigroup agree to implement mortgage modifications according to a model developed by her agency.

We’ll allow Ian to take over the commentary:

It’s hard to comment on this, because the cupidity and stupidity quotient is so high it’s turning into a black hole that sucks all reason out of the room.

First: This proves that Citi was not a good bank to buy Wachovia. You want strong banks to take over weak ones. Citi taking over a bank with impaired assets of its own would have been the lame helping the crippled and it would have still wound up needing a rescue.

Second: Bair held up the Citi deal (250 billion dollars of bailout) in an attempt to make sure that taxpayers got at least some collateral and to demand Citi helped ordinary people. That indicates Bair was doing her job, which is to protect ordinary people, not to give free money to corporations for nothing in return. The people not doing their jobs were Paulson and Geithner, who wanted to give money to a failed corporation without any meaningful protection for the taxpayer.

Geithner and Paulson: “Our job is to give banks as much money as they need to succeed, while leaving the same people in charge, and not asking for enough collateral so that taxpayers could ever recover their money”.

Bair “my job is to help banks, but at the same time to protect taxpayers and try and help ordinary Americans”

What this proves to me is that Geithner’s personal judgment is awful. He was on the wrong side of all of these arguments, the side that said “just throw money at the problem and don’t demand any meaningful change, any meaningful taxpayer protection or any meaningful help for homeowners”.

He was, simply, wrong. He wanted to do the wrong things.

Bair wanted to do the right things. Granted, she didn’t go as far as I’d like, but given she was in negotiation with “give away everything Hank and Tim”, I don’t think she can be blamed for that.

Bair’s judgment, in every case listed, was better than Geithners. EVERY SINGLE TIME.

If there is more to this story, and a damned good reason why Geithner should prevail, now would be the time to clue us in. Because from where I’m sitting, it looks like little Timmy is throwing a hysterical fit because he didn’t get his way, and we’ve had more than enough of that already.

I just want to point out a little something to Obama here, because I know he has an army of folks keeping up on what the blogs say, and it’s just possible they got this far:

When you have people at Firedoglake defending a Republican and calling for the Democrat to be thrown out on his ear, attention should be paid. Just sayin’.

I await further developments with interest.

Note to Obama: Geithner Needs a Spanking

I Get to Go Watch Things Blow Up

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There is life after NaNo.

Before I immerse myself once again in the world o’ writing, I’m taking some deserved time off. I’ve jumped offline for a good portion of today to read Terry Pratchett’s Making Money. This was written in 2007, but so far it seems like an up-to-the-minute analysis of our very own financial crisis. That is why Terry Pratchett is made of awesome.

Well, he’s hysterically funny, too. There’s that.

Tomorrow, I’ll be spending my afternoon watching the newish James Bond movie, Quantum of Solace. Happy Hour, therefore, will probably be late.

This is all merely an interlude. Since I managed to pull off a full book in one month whilst keeping on top of the blog and the day job, I have no excuse for not writing. Well, aside from the fact that when my roommate’s around, my Muse vacates the premises- they don’t like each other much. It’s a good thing the roomie’s a flight attendant, or I’d never see my Muse again. Let’s rephrase and say there’s no good excuse. That being so, I plan to enjoy this weekend to the hilt, because after that the free time ends.

My brain is already weeping…

On a different note, for those of you who like recipes, I whipped together a little something you might enjoy that’s super-simple to boot:

1-2 pork sirloin chops, thinly sliced
1 package frozen stir-fry veggies
several cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup white wine
dash o’ olive oil

Get the veggies simmering in a frying pan with about half the wine and the dash o’ olive oil. After they’ve mostly thawed, add the pork and the rest of the wine. Stir in the garlic after the pork’s mostly cooked. Enjoy over rice. It’s soooo yummy, and it takes about half an hour to make. If you want teriyaki instead, you can just swirl some teriyaki sauce in. How awesome is that?

I’ve just made myself hungry again….

I Get to Go Watch Things Blow Up

Happy Hour Discurso

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Today’s opining on the public discourse.

Try to contain your tears:

Bill O’Reilly’s baffling fans will, starting in a few months, just have to settle for his weekday television show, his books, and his weekly newspaper column. His radio show will be no more.

Bill O’Reilly has formally confirmed he’s giving up one of the most successful syndicated radio shows in the country, saying he has just run out of hours in the week.

O’Reilly said the radio show, which he launched in May 2002, will end “in the first quarter of next year.” Most of the time he saves, he said, will go into his top-rated Fox News Channel show.

“The media business is getting more and more intense,” O’Reilly said Thursday. “We’ve got to keep the TV show at the level we have it now, and that means more and more time to keep it competitive and fresh.”

Wait, does this mean Olbermann is actually making O’Reilly worried?

He just might be.

If any Seattle-area readers want to get together next weekend to toast the demise of O’Reilly’s radio career, I’m completely open to the idea.

Afterward, we should probably start thinking of what sort of broom to get Obama for Christmas. He’s going to need a fairly powerful one to clean out the Bushies:

Mary Beth Buchanan was appointed by President Bush to serve as U.S. attorney in Pittsburgh in Sept. 2001. Buchanan has held several significant posts within the Bush/Ashcroft/Gonzales Justice Department, most notably serving as director the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys.

Just last month, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that Buchanan’s reign was expected to end. Indeed, when a new president is elected, U.S. attorneys of both parties generally submit their resignations to make way for the new appointees. But Buchanan has other plans:

Despite a new administration coming into power, U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan said she plans to stick around.

“It doesn’t serve justice for all the U.S. attorneys to submit their resignations all at one time,” she said yesterday. […]

More than that, she said she would consider working in the Obama administration. She would not discuss what her future might hold beyond the U.S. attorney’s office.

“I am open to considering further service to the United States,” Ms. Buchanan said.

[snip]

During her tenure, Buchanan has been criticized for bringing politically-motivated investigations and charges against politicians in Western Pennsylvania, none more famous than the public corruption case against a local high-profile Democrat Dr. Cyril H. Wecht. Former Attorney General Dick Thornburgh told Congress that the Wecht prosecution is “not the type of case normally constituting a federal ‘corruption’ case brought against a local official.”

Buchanan hired Monica Goodling, and she hand-picked a Pittsburgh attorney to serve as the U.S. prosecutor in Alaska, going over the heads of Sens. Ted Stevens and Lisa Murkowski.

Her “further service to the United States” should consist of her leaving to spend more time with her family, although that’s a horrible thing to wish on a child. I can’t determine if she has any, so perhaps my conscience will be clear.

As Blackwater tries to reinvent itself as pirate-hunters, justice finally nips at their heels (h/t):

Five Blackwater guards have been told to surrender to the FBI by Monday to face federal manslaughter and assault charges connected to the shooting deaths of 17 civilians at an traffic circle in Iraq last year, ABC News has learned.

Law enforcement officials say the grand jury hearing the case was in session Thursday in Washington, D.C. and was expected to have voted on the indictments.

The federal investigation revealed that two of the Blackwater guards did most of the shooting and are expected to face either murder or manslaughter charges, law enforcement officials said.

Here’s hoping we finally get a chance to show that indiscriminate murder is not exactly an American value, at least when it’s mercenaries hired by our government doing the murdering.

I’m sure Greater Wingnuttia would have plenty of – ahem – insightful things to say about that, but they’re too busy chasing conspiracy theories to notice:

Some of the more unhinged factions of the far-right have been hyperventilating for months that Barack Obama, all evidence to the contrary notwithstanding, is not actually a natural-born U.S. citizen. The ridiculous conspiracy theories are pretty easy to ignore, but as long as one of the many right-wing lawsuits will get some Supreme Court attention today, it’s probably worth acknowledging the lunacy.

At the outset, let’s pause to note how wrong these conservative activists are. Obama was born in Hawaii in 1961. It’s been confirmed by Hawaiian officials, a 1961 birth notice in a Honolulu newspaper, and a certified document from the state his campaign obtained 18 months ago. This has not, however, stopped hysterical Republican activists from filing more than a dozen lawsuits, and launching an organized campaign to harass members of the electoral college.

Indeed, the unhinged detractors have even taken out full-page ads in major newspapers to demand “proof” — in addition to the existing proof, of cours
e — that Obama is constitutionally eligible for the presidency. For the activists, the co-conspirators include election officials, the judiciary, mainstream news outlets, Obama’s family (who apparently had the foresight to plant a bogus birth announcement 47 years ago), and officials in Hawaii, including its Republican governor.

The bizarre lawsuits haven’t gotten anywhere, but one will get at least perfunctory attention from the high court today.

Justice Clarence Thomas distributed to his colleagues a request that the high court weigh in before the Electoral College makes Obama’s victory official later this month. The justices may decide in a Friday conference whether to hear or cast away a lawsuit dismissed in a lower court and appealed by a retired New Jersey lawyer named Leo C. Donofrio, who also has his own Web site.

As for the definitive takedown of the whole mess, Reason’s David Weigel has a terrific piece in Slate, explaining in detail who’s driving this bizarre story.

I think Obama’s election broke what little was left of their minds. Ah, well, at least we have the comfort of knowing they’ll be spending their short supply of cash on useless endeavors, and it’ll be adorable to watch them litigate themselves into the poorhouse in battles they have no hope of winning.

Speaking of unhinged, delusional fuckwits, Newt Gingrich joins the growing chorus of voices singing “Bomb, Bomb Iran:“

Last night on Fox News, co-host Alan Colmes asked former House Speaker Newt Gingrich about a Jerusalem Post article yesterday reporting that Israel is preparing options to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities. At first Gingrich gave a measured response, saying “I don’t think we’re prepared to sanction an attack on Iran.” Yet just moments later, Gingrich said the Israelis should set a deadline for an attack on Iran:

GINGRICH: I think that the Israeli government probably would be best served if they created a deadline of sometime next fall and basically told the new American president that they’re willing to do anything they can to help him achieve a non-nuclear Iran prior, say, to September or October, but that there is a point at which they will not run the risk.

What is it about Iran that makes these fuckwits salivate for war, even if they have to let another country start it? This is ridiculous.

How fast do you think the war cries would stop if we made it a legal requirement that those who advocate for a particular war must fight on the front lines, regardless of age, health, or occupation? I get the sense that we’d hear a sudden, deafening silence. That, alone, would be worth passing such a law for.

Let’s end with our daily installment of “hypocrisy knows no bounds,” shall we?

A top homeland security official has been accused in federal court of hiring multiple illegal immigrants as cleaners for her home, reports the Associated Press.

Lorraine Henderson is the regional director of Homeland Security, Customs, and Border Protection. She is responsible for stopping illegal aliens from entering the U.S. through the port of Boston.

But, reports the AP:

[A]ccording to an affidavit, for several years Henderson employed a Brazilian housekeeper who was an illegal immigrant. She also allegedly hired two other illegal immigrants, even after fellow agents warned her it was against the law.

Henderson was arrested after one of the women wore a wire and recorded Henderson telling the woman to “be careful” because once you’re deported, “you will never be back.”

Magnificent. You almost have to admire the chutzpah.

Happy Hour Discurso

Friday Favorite Things About Writing This Blog

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I won’t lie: running the cantina is a gargantuan amount of work, and there are times when I think I should scale it back and focus on my fiction instead. That’s still the most important thing in my life. And I had little enough time for things like friends, family and fun before – I have far less now.

But after nearly a year of doing this, I’ve discovered too many reasons to keep going full speed ahead.

First and foremost, there’s you. Yes, you. Maybe I’m partial, but I believe I have some of the best commenters in the blogosphere. Your input and insights keep me going through the hard times. Your passion for issues and your willingness to hold substantive discussions have restored my faith in my fellow humans – something that was desperately lacking before I met you. And I can always rely on you for answers to thorny questions, encouragement on my crazy projects, and reality checks that never bounce. You make this worthwhile.

Another thing that delights me is when we have folks jump in to the conversation who see the world in a completely different way. We’ve had the occasional rare troll who’s just around to try to piss in everyone’s Wheaties (which is a whole other realm of fun). But most of the people here who don’t share the same views manage a dialogue rather than diatribe. I love watching that happen. It proves we don’t have to agree on every thing, or even most things, to have a good talk.

My wonderful readers are the main reason I keep doing this. But there’s plenty more to love. It gives me an excuse to keep up on the political news of the day, which in turn makes me a better citizen. I’ve never felt more engaged in my country, and the world. I would punk off my political reading if it wasn’t for the fact I know I have to feed this blog. And the thing I’ve discovered about democracy is, it goes a lot better when the citizens not only have a say, but are informed enough to speak well.

Politics is also rather endlessly fun. I didn’t expect that at all.

I enjoy coming up with creative little things, finding a narrative thread to string a post on, mixing pictures and music to enhance a theme. I’ve actually found it a little more difficult to write prose lately because of that – I keep wanting to insert hyperlinks, YouTube videos and LOL pics, especially when I’m writing non-fiction.

We could be here all weekend with my raving about all my favorite things. I’ll bring this to a merciful end, and turn the floor over to you. What’s your favorite thing about writing or reading blogs?

Friday Favorite Things About Writing This Blog

WWJB?

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Can we all stop pretending that Rick Warren is some sort of moderate, reasonable Christian leader now?

Pastor Rick Warren has a reputation for being far more stable and grounded than religious right leaders and TV preachers like Pat Robertson, but it’s worth remembering that he’s not exactly a moderate.

Last night, on Fox News, Sean Hannity insisted that United States needs to “take out” Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Warren said he agreed. Hannity asked, “Am I advocating something dark, evil or something righteous?” Warren responded, “Well, actually, the Bible says that evil cannot be negotiated with. It has to just be stopped…. In fact, that is the legitimate role of government. The Bible says that God puts government on earth to punish evildoers. Not good-doers. Evildoers.”

Matt Duss explained why Warren’s comments are problematic on a variety of levels.

Does Warren really consider it part of his ministry to sanctify the inch-deep theologizing-cum-warmongering of thugs like Sean Hannity? If so, who else does Warren think Jesus would bomb?

I contacted Pastor Warren’s office for clarification, specifically to find out where, exactly, the Bible says that “God puts government on earth to punish evildoers” like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. They said they’d get back to me. I’ll update if and when they do. I suspect Warren was referring to Romans 13, in which the Apostle Paul admonished Christians to submit to governing authorities (Hear that Hannity? Submit!), and also addressed the power of civil government to punish criminals. This has nothing to do, as far as I know, with invading foreign countries and killing their leaders, which is the context in which Warren is speaking.

In any case, if this were a conversation between an Iranian TV host and an ayatollah in which they discussed scriptural justifications for “taking out” high ranking members of the U.S. government, you’d probably see Sean Hannity running the clip on his show — while slowly shaking his head in pious disapproval — as evidence of what crazy extremists those Iranians are. As it is, they’ll probably be running this on Iranian TV as evidence of what crazy extremists those Americans are.

Any Christians in the audience who may have been wondering why atheists take such a jaundiced view of faith: let this be an answer.

Let’s add one more bit to the Breathtaking Hypocrisy file, shall we? Here’s what Rick Warren has to say about his PEACE Award:

WARREN: Well, the Peace Award was not about peace in domestic — or foreign policy.

And here’s what his press releases say:

According to a press release from the organization, however, the award was given in recognition of an “outstanding contribution toward alleviating the five global giants recognized by the Coalition including pandemic diseases, extreme poverty, illiteracy, self-centered leadership and spiritual emptiness.” The Coalition introduced its “P.E.A.C.E. plan” as a means to reduce the five “global giants.” The first tenet of that plan is to “promote reconciliation,” which cites the problem of international “war” and “conflict” specifically:

peaceplan.jpg

I think we’re done here.

WWJB?