Huh. The Dow plunged below 8,000 today. Consumer prices and home starts are tanking. And Congress is refusing to bail out the big three automakers, which may be defensible on philosophical grounds but I shudder to think of what will happen to our economy if one of those corporate behemoths actually fails.

Perhaps I should slow down with the drawing. I may need to hold back some pencils so I can put them in a tin cup, and sell them on a busy street corner.

I had expected to write a very different post than the one you’re about to read. I’ll write that other post, perhaps even tonight. But first, I would like to say a word about Tim Russert. (more…)

Benazir Bhutto has been assassinated. Given Pakistan’s possession of nuclear arms, I’m forced to wonder what the implications of instability in that country will be for the surrounding region and, frankly, the world. (more…)

This one may be a little less than timely, but I wanted some time to really think about this before writing it. My mind, as it is wont to do, recently drew a connection between what to some might seem to be disparate and unrelated events: Mitt Romney’s “freedom requires religion” speech, and an attack on some Jewish youngsters by some putative Christians. (more…)

On Monday, former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick was sentenced to 23 months in prison for running an illegal dogfighting ring. Hours later, the owner of the Atlanta Falcons, Arthur Blank, along with commentators on ESPN, were already talking about Vick deserving a second chance.

The man was just convicted! Maybe we could, y’know, let him pay the piper for blowing his first chance before we talk about whether he deserves a second one?

OK, let me get this straight: current intelligence suggests Iran abandoned its nuclear weapons program, but this doesn’t contradict Bush’s dire warnings about the danger posed by Iran because it proves they could do it if they wanted to.

Good Christ, here we go again. (more…)

The Rome News-Tribune in Rome, GA, has posted an editorial mocking Floyd County D.A. Leigh Patterson and State Prosecutor John Tully, for continuing their obscene prosecution of comics retailer Gordon Lee.

Lee is being prosecuted for accidentally distributing to a minor a comic-book containing coarse language and a depiction of the artist Picasso in the nude. And yet, there is this statue sitting right in front of City Hall in Rome: (more…)

The latest news about the WGA writers’ strike is that formal talks with the producers are to resume on Nov. 26th. I thought I’d take this opportunity, however, not to provide the latest updates, but instead a little historical context. (more…)

Update: an eagle-eyed reader, Jerry Chandler, pointed out that it was Rudy Guiliani who received an endorsement from the Rev. Pat Robertson, not John McCain. I have edited this entry accordingly. 

Rudy Giuliani decided to cast aside his moderate street creds and accept an endorsement from the Rev. Pat Robertson, while McCain was busy brown-nosing Sam Brownback. Both Robertson and Brownback represent a Christian evangelical movement that promotes bigotry and immorality. (more…)

Okay, folks, I gotta tell you – I’m siding with U.S. Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho. His only crime, if he even committed one, was to break the law. I don’t believe we should be criminalizing criminal behavior.

I mean, good Lord, no one who goes into an airport bathroom looking to pay for gay sex expects the bloody Spanish Inquisition, now, do they?