I'm sure there's a story behind this...

But I'm equally sure I don't want to know what it is.

Man has operation to remove light bulb from his hiney.

Seems the Sioux don't think so highly of genocide after all

Back in March, the president of South Dakota's Oglala Sioux promised to open an abortuary on the Pine Ridge Reservation to make sure that the slaughter of innocents wouldn't be slowed down by the state's ban on it. Apparently this was a bit too much for the descendants of genocide victims.

PORCUPINE, S.D. - The Oglala Sioux Tribal Council voted 9-5 Thursday to impeach the tribal president for proposing an abortion clinic on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation...

Will Peters, a tribal council member who filed the impeachment complaint, said Fire Thunder didn't have the tribal council's approval to pursue the project.

"The bottom line is the Lakota people were adamantly opposed to abortion on our homelands. The president was involved in unauthorized political actions," he said after the vote, which came after two hours of private deliberation...

Lakota values teach that abortion is wrong and life is sacred, Peters told the tribal council and the dozens of others gathered in the community center, many of whom fanned themselves in the summer heat.

"Abortion is what has drawn our tribe into the national spotlight," he said. "She basically took the whole tribe into this with her.

"We sat back and it was like watching a train wreck."

Eddie the dog, R.I.P.

I often thought Eddie was the funniest part of "Frasier."

"Does this crown of thorns make me look fat?"

Priceless! Episcopal priestess by day, Victorian novelist by night. And honestly, I find her alter ego more believable than her altar ego.

Thus far, four days into the legislative session, we’ve been so polite. So veddy Episcopalian. So erudite and cultured and above-it-all. Very meet, right and oh, so proper.

But, the signs are all there. The explosion is about to happen. It’s like walking around and feeling the earth tremble before the earthquake strikes or the volcano erupts.

Tremble, as an explosive story of volcanic passion shakes the screen!

Emotions are running very high on all sides. At the Integrity Eucharist tonight, Gene Robinson gave a humdinger of a sermon. He could barely finish it, so chocked as he was on his tears.

A man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief, I perceive.

We were all sobbing with him – that entire church knew and understood his story, his pain – the love he has of God and Jesus and his absolute trust in the chaos of the Holy Spirit to do a new thing – all of which was his answer to the question he is most frequently asked: How can you do this? How can you do this with such grace and calm assurance?

Oh, truly, it is the voice of a god, and not of a man!

I came home after the Eucharist. I couldn’t go to the festivities afterward. I started off ready to attend, but I found myself walking the 9 blocks home to my hotel.
No, common diversions are not for such a sensitive soul as I...

Put down your beverage and go read the whole thing.

Ah, true love!

Can't imagine how any woman could let this guy get away.

CORPUS CHRISTI - A woman received a severed human finger in the mail along with a threatening letter from her ex-boyfriend that said, "This is my last chance to touch you," police said.

Corpus Christi Police Capt. John Houston said police were not sure which finger was removed or how but that it appeared to have been washed before it was mailed Friday.

He even washed it before popping it in the mail. Isn't that thoughty of him? Inexplicably, ladies, he's single!

How about a pill to cure bigotry?

Ever wonder how much they hate you?

This is an actual flyer being offered at Plan B Olympia to pass out in front of Ralph's Thriftway. If you recall, Ralph's is the store in Olympia that believes it has the right to determine its own inventory, even if that means not selling abortifacients. Naturally, the uterofascists have descended on Ralph's in an organized attempt to bend its owners to their will. (It won't work, though. Ralph's owner Kevin Stormans has already said he'll stick with his stance, no matter what it costs. I'm betting he will, boycott be damned.)

I knew the pro-death crowd held religious people in contempt, but this really brings home how much. This isn't about contraception, or even about abortion. These people just pure down hate Christians. Everything else is just an excuse.

Seriously cool!

A 1/5 scale Sherman tank!

I know it's meant for the kids, but I want one myself! Maybe I'll let them play with it when I'm done. Maybe.

Thanks to Rempelia Prime.

How's that for classy?

Nothing inspires faith in the American judiciary like the sight of Hizzonner shaving his nuts on the bench. How on earth do these guys get into office in the first place? Did nobody see this coming?

A/T to Jim Romanesko.

Update: Apparently the trial is a bit of a hoot. Why don't I ever get picked for juries like this?

Dang!

How come when things like this happen, I'm always somewhere else?

People in Aberystwyth had an unexpected windfall when a man showered what is thought to be thousands of pounds into the air at a pedestrian crossing.

The man was heard to shout: "Who wants free money?" seconds before hurling the cash into the air in Alexandra Road.

H/T to A Welsh View.

"Support the Troops" when they get home, too

A reminder that returned soldiers need support as much as the ones still in the field. From OlyBlog:

In the last three years since the start of the Iraq War, it has become common to see anti-war protesters standing on opposing street corners from pro-war activists. Sometimes there are visible differences of clothing and hairstyles. Generally the differing worldviews, above and beyond opinions on the war, are strong enough that you can taste them.

Both sides, however, have latched onto one common slogan: “Support Our Troops!”

This slogan is bandied about on either side of the street as though the other side somehow doesn’t get it. In spite of their fervor many of the rally attendees have, no doubt, stepped over the bodies of disabled veterans while walking to the rallies.

I got a call the other day from the Ranger newspaper asking if Bread & Roses had seen any veterans from the Iraq War yet. We haven't. I had to be honest with the reporter. I told her that it takes time for troops' families to give up on them.

Read the rest. May we ask God to preserve the men and women who have already done their bit as much as we do for those still under fire.

A tip of the ol' Akubra to Carl Ballard.

Jim Baen in failing health

Sandra Miesel is asking for prayers for sci-fi publisher James Baen, who apparently has suffered a stroke and is not looking hopeful. I don't know Jim, but anybody who reads sci-fi has benefitted from his work.

Yes! Yes! Yes!

Store owner sprouts testicles; uterofascists furious.

Owners of Ralph's Thriftway, which has a pharmacy in its east-side location, say flatly they won't stock the Plan B morning-after pill on moral grounds.

"I don't want to get into a detailed debate," Kevin Stormans, one of the co-owners of Ralph's and Bayview Thriftways, said in an interview Tuesday. "I just think people have to choose when they believe life begins. There are questions about this drug on that issue."

[...]

Keylee Marineau, a boycott co-organizer with Blanding, said two-hour protests with pickets would begin at 5 p.m. June 28 at the Ralph's supermarket, and continue for three days. On July 1, the group plans to launch its monthlong July boycott of Ralph's and Bayview.

The protests won't change the policy, Kevin Stormans said.

"Obviously it's not something we would like to have happen. But it's not going to change our position. We've made our decision, and it's what we have determined. We're not going to change our position based on what happens. It's not a negotiable issue," he said.

"They certainly may have an effect on our business. If that happens, that's OK. People can make their choice. We've made our choice."

Choice? What choice do you have? Choice means doing as you're damn well told!

If Olympia weren't four hours away, I'd drive over there just to shop at Ralph's Thriftway. If anybody in Thurston County reads this, here's a list of other businesses owned by Storman's. Let's back these guys up!

A/T to The Godfather of St. Blog's parish.

Drive-by quote for the week

This weekend is Father's Day, and while I fully intend to write a long, thoughful piece on fatherhood before then, today's quote from P. J. O'Rourke makes a much more succinct point about a parenting style I lean toward myself:

Children from the age of five to ten should watch more television. Television depicts adults as rotten SOB's, given to fistfights, gunplay, and other mayhem. Kids who believe this about grownups aren't likely to argue about bedtime.

Preach it, P.J.!

Create your own Dan Brown novel

Go here to see the next few sequels. If you don't like one, hit refresh for another.

A/T to Catholic Überblogger Mark Shea.

Friday drive-by quote

The most common reaction when people find out I speak Welsh is to ask "How do you pronounce that really long village name?" (I assume they're referring to Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch and not, say, Mold, the village named for the local weather.) So I particularly enjoyed this quote my wife sent me from Blackadder:

Blackadder: Have you ever been to Wales, Baldrick?
Baldrick: No, but I've often thought I'd like to.
Blackadder: Well, don't. It's a ghastly place. Huge gangs of tough, sinewy men roam the valleys, terrifying people with their close-harmony singing. You need half a pint of phlegm in your throat just to pronounce the place names. Never ask for directions in Wales, Baldrick. You'll be washing spit out of your hair for a fortnight.

A veritable buttload of Blackadder quotes here.

A website for the rest of us

Anybody who has followed the Adventures of Hypertot knows we're doing our level best. However, every parent is subject to the judgmental sniffs of the Cat Brigade, the mothers of other kids who wait to pounce on our every slip. (Oddly enough, other kids' fathers tend not to be so competitive. I've been a single dad myself, and I understand why.)

Let's face it, we're imperfect parents. So are most parents, despite their insecure efforts to make us feel like our license to reproduce ought to be revoked. (News flash: we're Catholic! We're on a procreative mission from God!) The Imperfect Parent was created for us. Start off with this and count your blessings that it doesn't get this bad very often.

A letter to the governor

Dear Governor Gregoire,

On Memorial Day of this year, I went to our local walk-in clinic with heart palpitations. The condition turned out not to be life-threatening (at least for the time being), but the attending physician gave me a prescription anyway, just to make sure.

Here in Moses Lake, we have eight pharmacies, yet only one of those was open on Memorial Day, and that one didn't have my prescription in stock. I was forced to wait until the following afternoon when a special order could be delivered. Although the pharmacist was willing to refer me to another provider, her help was of no use, with other pharmacies not open.

Governor, you are currently emerging as a strong advocate for patients' rights vis-a-vis pharmacies, and so this seems like a situation in which you can be counted on to speak up. It is intolerable that although my doctor had prescribed me a medication, the pharmacists in Moses Lake took it upon themselves to make my health care decisions for me, by denying me my medication until they saw fit to open for business. I respectfully request that, as you consider what course of action to take regarding recalcitrant pharmacists, you include a proviso that all pharmacies must be open for business at any time of the day or night, every day of the year; and must stock any medication that a doctor might prescribe, no matter what it may be. For too long, patients and consumers have been at the mercy of arrogant pharmacists who decide unilaterally what hours they will work and what medications they will have available. This time it was heart medicine, but next time, it could be pain relievers, or hemorrhoid cream, or even Viagra. This tyranny of the so-called "pharmaceutical professionals" must be stopped now, before it gets out of hand. My health care decisions are between me and my doctor, and the pharmacist's job is to comply with that.

I was heartened to see how seriously you take this issue, as evidenced by your opposition to pharmacists whose religion prohibits them from dispensing the "morning-after pill." However, there are other reasons beside religion that a pharmacist might deny medication to a patient, as exemplified by my own case. Therefore, I am certain that while you are bringing Washington's pharmacists to heel and squelching religious exemptions, you will do the fair and even-handed thing by prohibiting them from closing or running out of medications as well. This way, nobody will ever be able to say that you made a special case under pressure from Planned Parenthood or NARAL.

(Edited and sent. Via Wshington State Political Report.)

How do you spell "ballsy?"

Apparently, it's spelled "H-A-R-V-E-Y."

I can't possibly add anything to this. Just read it. With a few more of these people, we might be able to do more than just slow our culture's descent into hell.

Thanks for posting this, Tim!

Could we stop doing this, please?

It's getting old. I know it's standard for news media to use photos that communicate a subconscious impression, but some of them have been repeated so many times that, frankly, it's not subconscious any more. All right, so Condi looks like a ranting demagogue and the president looks like a chimp. Whatever. You've made your immature little point. Now use a photo that doesn't make you look like seventh-graders penciling in mustaches and glasses.

Who told you you could practice your religion?

Washington's in serious danger of allowing Catholics to continue to be pharmacists. Naturally, the neo-Know-Nothings are ready with their axe handles and fire hoses.

Remember: "Freedom of Choice" means doing as you're damn well told.