Ben Wyatt

Via a scoop from Tim, Jim Pace, a pastor at the GCM church in Blacksburg, VA was on Larry King Live Monday evening. As follows is the segment:

KING: Joining us now in Blacksburg, Virginia, Pastor Jim Pace, the New Life Christian Fellowship. He ministers to the campus of the Virginia Tech, and the community, as well.

And in Dallas, Texas, our old friend, Dr. Phil McGraw, the host of TV's "Dr. Phil" and "New York Times" best-selling author. He has a Ph.D. of course, in clinical psychology.

Pastor Pace, what's the church doing with -- in regard to today's events?

PASTOR JIM PACE, NEW LIFE CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP: Well, I'd say, Larry, we're just trying to get our feet under us a little bit, just like everybody else is. Every time we seem to turn on the TV it gets worse.

But we're just trying to focus on giving some people a variety of different ways they can deal with this. We have some larger group things for people that want to process this with lots of people. And then we've got some smaller things for people that want to hole up in their -- in their dorm or in their apartment and just kind of try to sort this out with a few friends.

We're just trying to be as many places as we can. [emphasis addded -ed] We're helping out with what the university is doing, as well, and just trying to lend our support there.

KING: Where were you when it happened, Jim?

PACE: I was about 200 yards away at a coffee shop watching the feed on CNN as it went down.

And then, you know, the second thing that has to happen is they do have to talk about it. And God[sic] bless Pastor Pace for being on site and stepping up and providing a place for people to go to share their thoughts, share their feelings. You've got to give this a voice and get it out. But we cannot make hollow promises to the remaining students. And, you know, this happened at a wonderful institution, Virginia Tech. It didn't happen at Stanford or Texas Tech or the University of Miami.

It is foolish because one does not speak about healing the same day (or week or perhaps even month) that one is traumatized -- especially by evil. One must be allowed time for anger and grief. To speak of healing and "closure" before one goes through those other emotions is to speak not of healing but of suppression.

Not to allow people time to experience their natural, and noble, instincts to feel rage and grief actually deprives them of the ability to heal in the long run. After all, if there is no rage and grief, what is there to heal from?

The Jewish tradition, still observed even by non-Orthodox Jews, is to sit "shiva" (seven) days and do nothing but mourn and receive visitors after the death of an immediate relative. One does not have to be a religious Jew or even a Jew to appreciate this ancient wisdom.

Posted by Ben Wyatt at 12:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Hot off the presses ladies and gents, Pope Benedict has confirmed that heaven and hell are in fact really really real. Apparently, so is forgiveness of sins:

The Pope, who as cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was head of Catholic doctrine, noted that "forgiveness of sins" for those who repented was a cornerstone of Christian belief.

He recalled that Jesus had forgiven the "woman taken in adultery" and prevented her from being stoned to death, observing: "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her."

God had given men and women free will to choose whether "spontaneously to accept salvation...the Christian faith is not imposed on anyone, it is a gift, an offer to mankind".

What was news to me was the following:

In October, the Pope indicated that limbo, supposed since medieval times to be a "halfway house" between heaven and hell, was "only a theological hypothesis" and not a "definitive truth of the faith".

Posted by Ben Wyatt at 11:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

2345 CST - I officially call bedtime. Reactions on the 'morrow.

2340 CST - The House, in Brief - Fox News reports the house majority for the Dems at 7 seats. This is likely to grow. Whether this margin grows depends a lot on Arizona, New Mexico, and similar states. Either way, expect impeachment proceedings to gain momentum in February.

2304 CST - The Senate, in Brief. With about 98% certainty, the curent count is 48-47-1 to the Repubs (counting Lieberman as a Democrat, also assume the indie Jeffords votes with the Dems). Call it 90% Repub Corker will probably win in TN (I really wanted them to call TN for Corker, just so I could link to Harold Ford Jr. saying 'Repubs fear the Lord, but Demos fear and love the Lord'. Classic. It may deserve a separate post.) This means it's 49-47-1 Repubs. So, to win the senate, Dems must win Missouri (Talent over McCaskill, but much of the remaining polling to be done is in St. Louis and KC), Montana (Burns losing early in Dem-favors precincts, but capable of winning), Maryland (huge upet if Steele wins this one, nobody really knows where he would pick up the votes to win it), and Virginia (Webb ahead by 3000ish, out of millions, but a recount is coming). Overall, Dems are in a decent position to pull each of these off, but asking for all four is a tall order.

2253 CST - Fox News says the Senate will not be decided tonight. Ames Trib has many of the state races for the Dems, with a lone exception being Secretary of Agriculture, which is a dead heat.

2240 CST - Semi-back. Corker looks good, The WaPo uncalled Cardin in MD, but Fox has not. Allen's still tight (will probably go to a recount).

2200 CST - Gotta get Pokey Sticks. Later.

2155 CST - Harry Reid: "For six years, we've had no legislative branch of government." Ramblings about Halliburton. Mumbles about overtures to Repub leadership. And Heath Shuler is projected to win.

2150 CST - Fox just called Iowa's Gov race for Culver. Polling from the Register, the Trib, and KCCI.com corroborate this.

2132 CST - Fox News projected that Ohio and Missouri have voted to raise the minimum wage. Two words: price floors. Ridiculous. Ho hum.

2124 CST - Chris Wallace just interviewed John McCain, and asked the 'Journalists' Gold Star $16000 question': "are you part of the problem, or part of the solution?". Wowwy wowsa. I got nothing. I mean, what do they expect him to say? Excuse me sir, but are you in fact the worst Senator ever, and should you resign immediately?

2118 CST - The Ames Trib reports only a 27.1% turnout the hour before the polls closed. Weak.

UPDATE - This includes a 47% turnout at hyper-mega-super-awesome Stonebrook Community Church.

2114 CST - The Ames Tribune is reporting early Iowa returns. Not good for Nussle. Then again, it may be the precincts that are in. Consider: the results only show a 53-47 edge for Latham, which seems low. Wait and see.

UPDATE - A housemate just came in and argued that Nussle's place on the House Finance Commitee is what sank him. I countered that it was more his generic Washington connection (I remember seeing at least one ad to that effect). Good times

2104 CST - The Register is back, and has a couple of fun articles. In the first, Yepsen reports that 93% of absentee ballots received in Iowa will be valid, which is an improvement over the 75% of ballots voted in 2004. In the other, the Register reports that first time voters are greater in number than in previous years. In fact, "polls are swamped." There should be some kind of law about using the word 'swamped' to describe polls or the actions of voters. In fact, unless your car will not start and you're trapped in a swamp, do not use the word swamped. Please. It's quite swamptious. [New word alarm]

2100 CST - Corker, Talent ahead by margins. Allen still holds his tiny lead. Iowa just closed, too. I'm getting a "service unavailable" message from the Des Moines Register page. Just another average top of the hour.

2054 CST - Polls close in Iowa in 5 minutes. Just saying.

2046 CST - For something slightly different, much of the criticism of Republicans has been on he conduct of the Iraq War. For a different perspective, I submit a Bob Woodward interview of Donald Rumsfeld. I admit to have enough of a life to have read only half of it (it's loooong), but one gets a fair glimpse of why there are not 2 million US troops occupying Iraq a la post-Nazi Germany. In short, Rumsfeld feels that short term losses are offst by the building of Iraqi security forces and national spirit. This is a debatable point, but a least discussion of the issue with this intent in mind can possibly surpass, "Bush lied, people died". Is that too much to ask? Yes? Bummer.

2041 CST - Fox News called Maryland's Gov race for O'Malley over Ehrlich. This does not bode well for Michael Steele. Either that, or I already missed the networks call that Senate race for Cardin. Whoops. Also, Chafee appears to have lost in RI some time ago. As an act of contrition, I will continue blogging.

2039 CST - The White House is supposedly optimistic about the House. They see extra seats in play in Georgia. I see Reagan-esque optimism (not always a good thing).

UPDATE - Fox News calls the two Georgia House seats 'too close to call'. Also, note that Georgians are voting on an eminent domain resolution, which helps Repub turnout.

2035 CST - No real upsets so far. Dems won some House races in Indiana that may presage House gains of 20+ seats. It appears more unlikely that Dem House gains will exceed 30. Yawn.

2019 CST - Our floor is crazy civic. My roommate got a ride to Des Moines to vote today at the last minute (after I repeatedly told him he would not be able to vote in Story County without reregistering), and I have an exclusive report that Kirk Monnier just finished voting in Waterloo (ardent voter Andrew Teply helped drive him out there). I captured an exclusive interview with Mr. Monnier:

BMW - Do you realize that many consider driving from Ames to Waterloo to vote to be out of the mainstream?
Kirk - I suppose.
BMW - Did you foam at the mouth while voting?
Kirk - [laughs]
BMW - That's enough, crazy man. Does your fanaticism to vote ever drive you to pillage the homes of innocent nonvoters and drink their blood and drive to Waterloo?
Kirk - What?
BMW - I'll ask the questions here, psycho. When will you stop your endless tirade of casting votes for the most qualified candidates in each given race that has resulted in oh so much suffering and pain?
Kirk - Only on Thursdays.
BMW - Final question. Could God create a burrito so hot, he couldn't eat it.
Kirk - I dunno.

We report 'em skewered, you decide how you want 'em cooked.

2014 CST - Lieberman appears to win in Connecticut, and Ken Mehlman is on TV. Joy!

1939 CST - Back with food from Clyde's. Santorum loses, Menendez appears to win. I will say it one more time: until he finishes his current term, Rick Santorum is the best thing the US Senate had going for it. On a different note, Corker is up somewhat, as is Allen by a razor thin margin.

1912 CST - I'm off for food.

1904 CST - Steve Barnes is discussing the Heath Shuler candidacy on Fox News. In case you forgot Heath Shuler, he played QB for the Redskins fairly poorly, and is now running for Congress. He is of the rarest breed (a pro-life Dem) and has not commited to voting for Pelosi for Speaker. The humorous side is Stop Shuler, a blog dedicated to destroying Heath Shuler's campaign, all because of his NFL career. Admittedly, he did decline a debate challenge with the ludicrous excuse that he 'does not work on Sundays'

1858 CST - The Ames Tribune has decided that voters are 'swarming' to polls. Methinks 15.8% turnout at 3pm is not a swarm. Correct me if I'm mistaken. Despite that, props are sent to the hall at hyper-mega-super-awesome Stonebrook Community Church.

1853 CST - I tried. I switched to CNN to get a different perspective, but they now have Jack Cafferty and Lou Dobbs in a free-form discussion. Back to Fox News ... Maybe I'll try PBS when Iowa polls close.

1841 CST - Speaking of referenda and candidates, I wonder to what degree minimum wage referenda on ballots today will boost Dem candidates by encouraging turnout. I don't imagine the effect will be too significant, but I have otherwise come across no mention of such effect. FYI, proposals are on the ballot in stats with pivotal races like Arizona, Colorado, Missouri, Montana, and Ohio.

1832 CST - Fox may be calling the passage of the Virginia Marriage Amendment. Of course, this helps Allen, but only to a significant degree, considering Webb isn't too far left of center. This is where the idea that a focus on national issues helps Dems proves less than certain. People with national focus are more likely to vote 'the lesser of two evils', which favors the incumbent and encourages voters that come out for the vote more for referenda to vote for similar (otherwise unpopular) incumbents. This is generally regarded as a distinct function of Republican candidates.

1827 CST - My dad just sent me links to bowling videos. Some people just lack perspective;)

1822 CST - Nothing decided yet, but apparently the AARP is sponsering Fox News' coverage of the election. I don'tknow what that means.

1806 CST - I just got a call about the graduating class gift. Believe it or not, I said no.

1802 CST - Fox just called VA's senate race 'too close to call.' This is not a surprise. I've been pretty supportive of George Allen, even predicting that he would win the 2008 Republican presidential nod about a year ago. This possibility seems more remote, but I still think he is a solid candidate, and he is not a racist (That I have to say that is somewhat surreal to me).

1739 CST - Wow.

1731 CST - The Huffington Post publishes Nancy Pelosi's call for your vote. Wow. Wow. I don't know where to start, so let's be arbitrary: How does minimum wage legislation get linked to congressional pay raises? Seriously, they're two different things. There is nothing hipocritical about voting against forcing a price floor on labor while increasing incentives for public service. Wow. Cutting interest rates for student loans in half, is that on federal loans, or is that a mandate for all student loans. As a student reliant on loans for my education, I support neither. It just keeps going. Wow.

1722 CST - If you are concerned about the voting process in Iowa, check out IowaVoters.org. It sems kosher.

1717 CST - A sad story. Apparently, for those of you that get to my blog via PlanetRock, the top of this post does not update. Therefore, in the middle of the post, I will be including a 'last updated' label. Now you can be uber-nerdy in real time.

UPDATE: That doesn't appear to work. Oh well. [Sob]

1709 CST - A fun story. So Teply, Jacob, Kirk and I were having fun dreaming of all the things to do with Alka-Seltzer, and I decide that it would have been amazing to go vote, pop an Alka Seltzer in my mouth while voting a Democratic ticket, and come out foaming while asking for a new ballot. My suspicion is that nobody at the polling station would find that as funny as I would. The amazing thing about that conversation was that there were 5+ ideas even better than that one.

1704 CST - Exit polls out, and Fox News' seems to conform with prior polls. I know nothing (and I contend few others do) about what changed in exit polls today versus 2004, so I'm expecting a Dem skew. To what effect? [Cue cheesily dramatic music]. I was honestly hoping for anything that has not been said yet, but no luck. Maybe I should just go watch Simpsons instead ... no, that would be sane.

1652 CST - I'm back. To update events that I've neglected in favor of an oral progress report concerning ergonomic shortcomings in 1 Kildee Hall:
- Tim is jealous of this blog. Or at least that's how I read it. Anywho, he also posted on voting. I agree.
- I have yet to be rebuked for this blog post. Freedom in Christ, baby!! ;)
- Fox News may have Brit Hume on soon, but they aroused my ire by showing that Outback commercial that rips Of Montreal. Grrrr.
- The Story County Auditor's Office is reporting that 4000 people cast their votes before 1100. This is almost twice as much as last year., Whopee?
- The Register reports that they know of few voting machine troubles, and that there is concern over early posting of returns.

1515 CST - Class time. Hopefully, I'll be back after 1700, and stuff starts happening (besides voting, which rocks).

1505 CST - Neil Cavuto just got done interviewing my former congressman, Rep. Tom Tancredo. I can hardly think of a more inflammatory politician, but I think I still regret not actually getting to vote for him.

1454 CST - I've had a fairly hard time finding any local election coverage of note this last hour (I've never been really into the local scene, but I'm slightly upset). Of interest, however, is this WSJ loose schedule of events this evening. Big deal items include the extra security around exit polling data (to be released after 1700) and the closing of polls in Iowa at 10 pm.

1358 CST - Yet another ad,this one telling me to go to SaveDarfur.org. Being a sucker for that kind of thing, I complied. That may seem slightly off-topic, but this gives me yet another opportunity to say how much I REALLY REALLY want Rick Santorum to win, beacuse he rocks the universe on issues ranging from Darfur to educating Americans about Iraq's WMDs.

1348 CST - They just showed a political ad on TV. Good thing; I was going into withdrawl.

1346 CST - Supplementary election resource recommendation: Pajamas Media compiles news and opinions better than anyone. Warning: this site will show up on x3watch reports for those that use them. It's clean.

1328 CST - This blog got to conduct an exclusive interview with celebrity guest and ardent voter Andrew Teply:

BMW - How was voting at the UDCC?
Teply - It was good. The people at the polling place didn't like it when I joked that I was too old to vote with the computer.
BMW - So you did vote with the paper ballot?
Teply - Yes.
BMW - How was that?
Teply - Not enough fiber.
BMW - Any candidate you want to endorse for our readers?
Teply - Yes. I think all Americans should support Pat Blair for County Treasurer if they vote twice.
BMW - Final question: If Batman died, would the Joker be happy?
Teply - No.

Do they give Pulitzers for irrelevancy?

1321 CST - CCCPNN has an exclusive report that this election is more about Republicans than Democrats. I'm switching back to Fox.

UPDATE: Seriously!! Except the gem was that Julian Epstein (who?) seems to think that voters are turning from Repubs 'cuz they didn't get their agenda (social security reform, etc) passed through.

1314 CST - The online Des Moines Register carries two election day stories I actually tried to read. The first is a news story concerning "voting machine snags", which is really funny, since CCCPNN is concurrently showing a lady trying and failing to feed a ballot into a scanner. I normally don't condone frivilous lawsuits, but that lady should take CNN to court. The second is David Yepsin's report of high turnout so far. Also, I now dislike the Register because their blogs sort their comments in ascending order. Weak. Whatta buncha noobs.

1305 CST - File under flipping hilarious: SoCar Gov. (and very very darkhorse Prez candidate) Mark Sanford of Sanford and Son was turned away from the polls in his hometown becaus he lacked a voter registration card. He blamed eyestrain from lighting at campaign events, but came back to vote 90 minutes later. Go lighting.

1302 CST - That's right. In case you didn't notice, I am using military time. Gotta respect my roots.

1250 CST - From Fox News: Dems & Repubs have “more than 10,000 lawyers on guard.” (Sorry, no link)

1245 CST - Exclusive reporter Brett Michaels (my next door neighbor, not the Poison lead singer) is reporting that Harry Reid has conceded that the Dems will not win the House, and the election now comes down to the Senate. Color me skeptical. Harry Reid said it, so it's got to be wrong. Also, that appears counter-intuitive, since the Senate is perceived as safer for Repubs than the House.

UPDATE: I cannot at this time corroborate the report, but in a fit of silliness, decided to publish it anyway. File under prophecy.

UPDATE II: This item now appears to be an obvious bit of silliness. I apologize for being silly. It will happen repeatedly.

1242 CST - Somebody made a movie about Robert Kennedy. I'm speechless. Maybe it should be thrown out that movies about killing politicians have not done well recently.

1234 CST - So I'm often asked the question, "what are you smoking, man?", which I roughly translate as, "where do you get your inspiriation to semi-live blog something as mundane as a midterm election with trademark thuroughness and fairness?" Honestly, it's a little nerdiness, a little procrastinating, but mostly, it's Turner Classic Movies, which last night graced the television with a late showing of 1776, the greatest, and perhaps only, movie about the 2nd Continental Congress starring Mr. Feeny from Boy Meets World. For a native Brooklynite playing a Massachusettser (John Adams), Williams Daniels sings fairly well. Molasses to rum ... to SLAVES!!

1232 CST - What do President Bush and Megan Blair have in common? They really want you to vote. (The Prez's sentiments are courtesy of CCCPNN, or CNN to the moderates out there).

1227 CST - Pat Blair said a bunch of stuff. I agree.

1214 CST - Fox News just had Rick Santorum on the tube. He played on his national security credentials (decent enough), but I think that this is one of two cantidates outside of Iowa that I REALLY want to see win, as much as Rick looks to be out of reach of Bob Casey. Despite the fact that Casey, as far as I can tell, is the only pro-life Dem running for Senator, Santorum is the catalyst in the Senate for legislation aimed at reasonable solutions to poverty and AIDS globally.

1213 CST - So many people people enjoy my semi-live SOTU blog (I enjoyed it at least) that I decided to try it again for these Midterm elections. It is quasi-live in that while I will be posting as I write bulletins instead of all at once after the fact(the slower pace of the day as opposed to blogging an hour specch on all of US policy helps), I may be posting only sporadically depending upon the frequency of news releases and class.

Posted by Ben Wyatt at 12:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

As what can only be dubbed, " 'Christians Are Gullible Fools' Week " comes to a close, the New York Times brings word of a tribute to everyone's favorite treasurer, Judas Iscariot:

An early Christian manuscript, including the only known text of the Gospel of Judas, has surfaced after 1,700 years, and it portrays Judas Iscariot not as a betrayer of Jesus but as his favored disciple and willing collaborator.

The Gospel of Judas, found near these caves, may provide much material for Christian theologians to debate in the years ahead about the time before Jesus' death.

In this text, scholars reported yesterday, the account of events leading to the Crucifixion differs sharply from the four gospels in the New Testament. Here Jesus is said to entrust Judas with special knowledge and ask him to betray him to the Roman authorities. By doing so, he tells Judas, "you will exceed" the other disciples.

"These discoveries are exploding the myth of a monolithic religion and demonstrating how diverse � and fascinating � the early Christian movement really was," said Elaine Pagels, a professor of religion at Princeton who specializes in studies of the Gnostics.

The word "gospel" means "good news," and generally refers to accounts of Jesus' life. Though someone is named in each, the titles are not necessarily those of the true authors. The consensus of scholars is that the four canonical gospels � Matthew, Mark, Luke and John � were probably not written by any of the original disciples or first-person witnesses to the life of Jesus, although they were probably written within the first century.

Honestly, as much as it would be interesting to think that Judas was intentionally helping in his betrayal, and I had previously toyed with the idea, it makes little sense in light of Judas' recorded words and action in the rest of the Gospels. Plus, some of the stuff Jesus says therein ("But you [Judas] will exceed all of them. For you will sacrifice the man that clothes me.") sounds nothing like Jesus. Would he seriously refer to his body as "the man that clothes me"? It's not impossible, but honestly, there's a better chance Jesus walked on water.

Posted by Ben Wyatt at 02:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Ready to be blown away? Here it is: The Secret of Jesus' Miracles Finally Revealed. Cmdr. Riker or Robert Stack could host, or even Liam Neeson if I wanted to guarantee an Emmy. Fox couldn't stay away from this idea even if Melrose and The X-Files came back simultaneously and Rupert Murdoch acquired taste (that would be the day).

So what is the secret anyway? Perhaps he was the one true Son of God ... but that may not 'play in Peoria.' See, it's actually far more nefarious. Jesus' secret is that ... he's a cheater!!

Jesus Walked on Ice, Study Says

The New Testament story describes Jesus walking on water in the Sea of Galilee but according to a study led by Florida State University Professor of Oceanography Doron Nof, it's more likely that he walked on an isolated patch of floating ice.

The study points to a rare combination of optimal water and atmospheric conditions for development of a unique, localized freezing phenomenon that Nof and his co-authors call "springs ice."

In what is now northern Israel, such ice could have formed on the cold freshwater surface of the Sea of Galilee -- known as Lake Kinneret by modern-day Israelis -- when already chilly temperatures briefly plummeted during one of the two protracted cold periods between 2,500 and 1,500 years ago.

A frozen patch floating on the surface of the small lake would have been difficult to distinguish from the unfrozen water surrounding it. The unfrozen water was comprised of the plumes resulting from salty springs situated along the lake's western shore in Tabgha -- an area where many archeological findings related to Jesus have been documented.

"As natural scientists, we simply explain that unique freezing processes probably happened in that region only a handful of times during the last 12,000 years," Nof said. "We leave to others the question of whether or not our research explains the biblical account."

The great thing is, when I do win my Emmy, It'll be PC to thank Jesus.

PS: It's okay to call Jesus a cheater, since he did cheat death.

Posted by Ben Wyatt at 09:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

I'd never thought I would see the day ... my manager let me off 3 hours early today because there was neither work I was qualified to do nor people qualified to train me elsewhere, and she was apologizing ... this real world outside of school you all speak of intrigues and amuses me. In a fit of celebratory verboseness, I have decided to blog until my keyboard bleeds.

A number of newsworthy items have crossed my attention:

* Those praying for Abdul Rahman, the Afghani convert to Christianity who faces death, may be interested in the link between Rahman, and Rehmatullah Hashmi, a former Taliban official and current student at Yale. Apparently, Yale's so tolerant, they'll even tolerate the intolerant. I don't know if I should tolerate that.

* The Weekly Standard has a couple of articles out on topics that are sore to me. The first concerns South Dakota's abortion law, and the ultimate future of Roe v Wade. The points are made that:
- South Dakota's law will almost certainly not see the Supreme Court, but that's the best thing we can hope for, given that a reaffirmation of Roe would be the probable outcome. As much as I want to disagree (guns-blazing, intellectual warfare imagery abounds), realpolitik reels its ugly head.
- Roe will be overturned, eventually. It's just bad law.
- Abortions will see little decline Post-Roe. Demographics and whatnot. It's a reasonable point, but doesn't account for a long term shift of ideas.
- Roe was almost a good thing. Judicial tyranny on abortion is exclusive to the US. Elsewhere, a battle of popular opinion has been fought and lost. The US remains free of that. I wonder sometimes if that is providential

* The second deals with a increase in Italian monasticism, and projects long term trouble for European secularism. Color me skeptical, but hopeful.

* In a more personal triumph, I had the audacity this Fall to switch majors from electrical enginnering to economics, despite definite questions about how I would survive after school. Matthew 6 helped a lot. I ran across a recent Reuters news story highlighting the 'best job market in 5 years.' The best is yet to come:

The survey also found higher starting salaries this year. Graduates with economic or finance degrees will see the biggest gain with starting salaries up 11 percent to $45,191 ...

Posted by Ben Wyatt at 12:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Friggin Labour Party ... The classic 'Baa, Baa, Black Sheep,' a commentary on a British 17th century wool tax, has been altered to 'Baa, Baa, Rainbow Sheep' in an effort to successfully wipe the bourgeois scum from the planet and institute a classless society of prosperity and freedom from want. Benjamin Disraeli must be rolling in his grave.

Posted by Ben Wyatt at 11:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Bambi 2 will be available to own on Disney DVD and Video.

Spoiler #1: Dick Cheney shoots him.

Spoiler #2: He tastes delicious.

Posted by Ben Wyatt at 10:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Satire is hard because, 9 times out of 10, it isn't nearly as funny as real life.

Police advise against lying in the road

Mon Apr 18, 1:33 PM ET

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) - Police in a Vancouver suburb issued an unusual warning to drivers on Monday: If you run out fuel, do not lay down on the road to get assistance.

Police were alerted to a man's body laying along the Trans Canada Highway in the predawn darkness only to discover he was "quite alive", but that his car had run out of gas and he "wanted to attract someone's attention".

"Guess it worked, but police don't really recommend this method," the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Burnaby, British Columbia, said in a press release.

The man's car was towed, but no charges were filed.

Posted by Ben Wyatt at 10:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

This screenshot was taken from a April 2 NYTimes.com article on the Pope's death. Note the 2nd paragraph, where the Times is somehow unable to find a quote to support the contention that John Paul II's "views on the sanctity of all human life echoed unambiguously among Catholic and Christian evangelicals in the United States," which is certainly weird, considering I found 29,300 results on Google for Pope AND "sanctity of life". I bet some of those links are even genuine, and quite possibly (gasp!) quotable. Of course the article then quotes at length a dissenting opinion from an "eminent Swiss theologian," who is apparently so eminent, he is barred from teaching at Catholic schools.

The article was reposted some time later without the 'insert quote' line. I apologize as I am unable to post the article itself, since NYTimes.com requires free registration to view their content, and I'm so cheap, I e-mailed their home office to try and bargain them down. (Okay, I'm not THAT cheap, but is that all the more they value my registration?)

Props to Powerline for the scoop.

Posted by Ben Wyatt at 09:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Put it in bold: Bill Clinton admits wrongdoing. So what it's regarding Mideast peace?

I have a strong opinion about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but I'll keep it short, because any Mideast discussion is going to hit a brick wall at the point somebody ask, "So how are we going to fix this, anyway?" Basically, one side is willing to let people wage holy war to meet it ends (despite kind words and hint of 'moderation'), and the other side is defying international pressure to keep its peope as alive as possible (despite mistakes), and I'm glad the US has chosen to support the latter to an extent never before seen. Why do I feel like I'm gonna get ripped apart for saying that?

Posted by Ben Wyatt at 09:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (45)