Catching Up Before The Winter Solstice Pagan-Influenced Festival.

Hola amigos,

Been a while since I blogged at youse, but I've been busy making preparations for the upcoming celebration of an ancient pagan tradition that has been hijacked by insane Christians. Oh yes, I've also been buried with work at my wage-slavery containment facility (in addition to having to put up with an extremely annoying stalker). So the six of you who read this blog (but somehow never seem to leave comments) now know what I've been doing for the past several days. Anyway, it seems I have some catching up to do.

I see that the world of politics has chosen to get even messier while I was busy.
Let's review:

1. George W. Bush, aka Preznit Flight Suit Fantasy (TM), has admitted that he is criminal scum by confirming the New York Times story that shows he has had the National Security Agency conduct illegal wiretaps of people he suspects of having ties to Al Qaida. In an interesting note, The Clueless One bitched that the Times was "reprehensible" in running a story it sat on FOR OVER A YEAR. The Moron added that such "reprehensible" behavior put America at risk, and he wants to know who leaked the story. And he's serious as hell because he certainly delivered justice in the Valerie Plame leak...

2. Prez FSF has also declared his undying love for former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R - Arrogant Shithead) by opining that the ugly little bastard is innocent of any wrongdoing in his corruption trial. Gee, nothing like staying on the sidelines and letting the prosecution and defense settle the matter, huh?

3. Harry Reid, Senate Minority Leader, is calling for an investigation into Bush's criminal acts. Russ Feingold is calling Bush what he is trying to be -- a petty little tyrant. It's good to see Democrats finally waking up to the fact that they are fighting a monster of the worst kind.

These stories have all been profiled and dissected all over these Internets, including by some of the sites listed on my blogroll, so rather than link to them myself, I'll take the lazy way out and refer you to my betters.

Getting away from the filthy world of politics, and into the escapist world of sports, Nomar Garciaparra, former Red Sox shortstop, has signed a one-year deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers to play first base. First base?!? I think this is a potentially dumb move by the Dodgers. Nomar, if healthy, has too much speed and too good a throwing arm to waste at first base. I could see him in the outfield. Hell, Robin Yount made the transition from shortstop to center field with the Brewers for the last half of his career, and I could see Nomar doing the same (he won't be at shortstop for LA since they signed Rafael Furcal away from the Braves). Anyway, Nomar joins former teammates Derek Lowe, Bill Mueller and manager Grady "Forrest" Little in Dodger blue. Go get 'em Nomar!

My fantasy football team season is over. After an 11-2 season I went 1-1 in the playoffs, losing this weekend in the semi-finals by five points. Hell, I rode Shaun Alexander, Drew Brees, Warrick Dunn, Reggie Wayne, Jay Feely and a pair of mediocre defensive units (Jets and Browns) to the best record I've ever posted in the Marlborough Football League (I usually end up 6-7 or 7-6), so I can't complain much. Besides, there is no money involved which makes the silly smack talk most of the participants engage in that much more entertaining for me.

On the international front, my friends in the Sydney, Austrailia area are coping with some Republican attitudes in the form of race riots that have recently broken out. My contacts assure me that they are safe, and that things are beginning to quiet down. But just in case, I'd better get back there soon to get involved in any diplomatic negotiations (Not so subtle hint to boss).

The one story I will link to is a victory in court for the people who think versus the knuckledraggers. Hint: It's another round in the evolution versus creationism (intelligent design) battle. Yahoo News AP wire excerpt:

HARRISBURG, Pa. - In one of the biggest courtroom clashes between faith and evolution since the 1925 Scopes Monkey Trial, a federal judge barred a Pennsylvania public school district Tuesday from teaching "intelligent design" in biology class, saying the concept is creationism in disguise.

U.S. District Judge John E. Jones delivered a stinging attack on the Dover Area School Board, saying its first-in-the-nation decision in October 2004 to insert intelligent design into the science curriculum violated the constitutional separation of church and state.

The ruling was a major setback to the intelligent design movement, which is also waging battles in Georgia and Kansas. Intelligent design holds that living organisms are so complex that they must have been created by some kind of higher force.

Jones decried the "breathtaking inanity" of the Dover policy and accused several board members of lying to conceal their true motive, which he said was to promote religion.

"Breathtaking inanity"?!? Holy shit! That's priceless! I'd have loved to have seen the faces of the IDers when Judge Jones uttered those words. Damn! Or DAYAMN! Now I have a new insult to hurl!

A six-week trial over the issue yielded "overwhelming evidence" establishing that intelligent design "is a religious view, a mere re-labeling of creationism, and not a scientific theory," said Jones, a Republican and a churchgoer appointed to the federal bench three years ago.

The school system said it will probably not appeal the ruling, because several members who backed intelligent design were ousted in November's elections and replaced with a new slate opposed to the policy.

Preznit Science Sucks also weighed in on the issue of intelligent design recently, saying schools should present the concept when teaching about the origins of life.


But wait. It gets better:

In his ruling, Jones said that while intelligent design, or ID, arguments "may be true, a proposition on which the court takes no position, ID is not science." Among other things, the judge said intelligent design "violates the centuries-old ground rules of science by invoking and permitting supernatural causation"; it relies on "flawed and illogical" arguments; and its attacks on evolution "have been refuted by the scientific community."

"The students, parents, and teachers of the Dover Area School District deserved better than to be dragged into this legal maelstrom, with its resulting utter waste of monetary and personal resources," he wrote. The judge also said: "It is ironic that several of these individuals, who so staunchly and proudly touted their religious convictions in public, would time and again lie to cover their tracks and disguise the real purpose behind the ID Policy."

Former school board member William Buckingham, who advanced the policy, said from his new home in Mount Airy, N.C., that he still feels the board did the right thing. "I'm still waiting for a judge or anyone to show me anywhere in the Constitution where there's a separation of church and state," he said. "We didn't lose; we were robbed."

Yo, Bucky baby, you can't be robbed of something you never had, namely a leg on which to stand. You and your movement have ZERO credibility, and for you to pretend you do either means the judge was correct in calling you a bunch of lying cheats, or you are severely deluded.

Full Story

I am grinning widely as I type this, even though it is not polite to gloat. Still, I can't help but rejoice that this ruling has bitch-slapped this regressively idiotic movement but good. The judge didn't mince his words, and neither should anyone else engaged in fighting this wave of stupidity. If this was an NBA game, the halftime score would be 248-7. Even the Harlem Globetrotters didn't beat other teams up THIS badly!

Well, since I want to end on I high note, I guess that's all for now. I'll be off finishing some wage-slavery projects and celebrating, in my agnostic way, the above-mentioned holiday, so the activity on this blog will likely remain at a minimum for the next few days.