The Deets

An interesting comparison of the opportunity costs associated with the wasteful spending on the needless war started by President Bush without justification:

Crooks and Liars » The Cost of “Staying the Course�?

Taxpayers in California will pay $40.3 billion for the cost of war in Iraq. For the same amount of money, the following could have been provided:

* 16,733,296 People with Health Care or
* 627,551 Elementary School Teachers or
* 4,767,634 Head Start Places for Children or
* 25,168,314 Children with Health Care or
* 235,246 Affordable Housing Units or
* 4,390 New Elementary Schools or
* 7,685,109 Scholarships for University Students or
* 616,017 Music and Arts Teachers or
* 741,482 Public Safety Officers or
* 117,140,845 Homes with Renewable Electricity or
* 601,790 Port Container Inspectors

Go check out what the trade-offs are for your state.

Crooks and Liars » Comment Of The Day

Yesterday, they said life begins with conception.

Today, they say life begins with intercourse.

Tomorrow, they will tell us life begins with dinner and a movie.

Go go go Coleen Rowley!

MN Publius

Have you had enough?

Interesting history of the Town & Country Golf Club in St. Paul, Minnesota. The author has a great sense of humor.

Town And Country Club - Club History

1893: “Golf did not burst into its full glory for several years, not more than a dozen played that first summer nor more than two or three dozen the second and they did not brag about it for more robust sports like rowing on the river, tennis, horseback riding, fishing and shooting, which we could then do almost in the suburbs of St. Paul, were then the vogue and it took some mental courage for a real heman to chase a little white ball in the course of a very sissified game. But we the beginners teased one man after another to try it out and one lesson was all that was needed to make a convert even then, as now.”

and:

“Frank Cutcheon who was no athlete and of poor physique but became a first rate golfer teaching us incidentally that trained muscles were not necessary for golf.“

Minnesota’s Catholic police are looking for feedback on how they can scold people for having different religious beliefs than them. Here’s an excerpt from a recent email:

We Need Your Input:

CPO TV begins it’s new season next month! I will host the first show entitled: “Simple Answers to Tough Questions�? with our guest Fr. Robert Altier. We’d be very grateful if you could help with this show by sending us any questions that you or family members may struggling with or just don’t know the answer? For example:

How does a Catholic respond when they receive a wedding invitation from a Catholic relative who is getting married in a non-Catholic Church?

What do you say if you have out of town relatives staying at your house, who are not practicing Catholics, and while on your way to attending Sunday Mass they inform you that they think it’s okay to receive Holy Communion even if a person attends Mass occasionally?

Do you say anything or even attend the baby shower if the mom-to-be has undergone in-vetro fertilization?

We’d truly appreciate your input! Remember there is no such thing as a stupid question.

From the tone of the questions, it seems pretty clear that tolerance and understanding of people with different life views is not acceptible. Does Colleen Perfect feel that her faith is somehow threatened by the choices made by others regarding receiving Holy Communion?

Does Colleen Perfect really think she has something to gain from judging the wedding ceremony choices of relatives?

Does marrying in a non-Catholic church make Mrs. Perfect less perfectly Catholic?

Does Mrs. Perfect believe that people who can’t conceive without use of in-vetro fertilization don’t deserve to raise children of their own?

Would Mrs. Perfect be able to love a child conceived through in-vitro fertilization?

What if she didn’t know the child was the product of petri dishes, stem cell research, and masturbation?

Who - in God’s name - feels the need to give such a shit about the personal and private behavior of others?

Carly and I drove to Mora, Minneaota this morning so Carly could run the Mora 1/2 Marathon as part of her Twin Cities Marathon training. Around Forest Lake, the low fuel light came on, but we were running a bit late after a slow start to the day, so we pushed on. There was a gas station at the Hwy 70 exit from I-35 we had to take (British Polluters), but with less than 30 to race start, we pushed on. By the time we turned North on Hwy 65 for the last few miles to Mora the needle was below empty. A gas station sat on the edge of town, but Carly made me keep friving so she would?lt miss her start. I reminded her that her bike was in the car, should we run out of gas. Luckily, we made it, but not without some stress. I put 15.8 gallons in the 16 gallon tank. In the past, I’ve joked with Carly about being low on fuel, saying that we have enpugh gas to get to Hinckley when the gas light comes in. Well, it turns out that’s true.

You’re on the wrong side of history when you have to make anonymous videos attacking movies based on the best scientific evidence of the day. Exxon Mobil should have its tail between its legs over this crap.

Where did that video spoofing Gore’s film come from?

In an email exchange with The Wall Street Journal, Toutsmith didn’t answer when asked who he was or why he made the video, which has just over 59,000 views on YouTube. However, computer routing information contained in an email sent from Toutsmith’s Yahoo account indicate it didn’t come from an amateur working out of his basement. Instead, the email originated from a computer registered to DCI Group, a Washington, D.C., public relations and lobbying firm whose clients include oil company Exxon Mobil Corp.

A DCI Group spokesman declines to say whether or not DCI made the anti-Gore penguin video, or to explain why Toutsmith appeared to be sending email from DCI’s computers.

 ”DCI Group does not disclose the names of its clients, nor do we discuss the work that we do on our clients’ behalf,” says Matt Triaca, who heads DCI’s media relations shop.

Amazing. Sean Hannity kicked people out of his event for being . . . Americans. At least, that seems to be the case since they didn’t do anything to justify being removed as far as I can tell. Why is Sean Hannity afraid of debate? If he truly believes the crap he spews, wouldn’t he welcome a debate?

Be sure to watch the video at the link below.

AlterNet: Blogs: PEEK: AlterNet Original: Kicked out of the Hannity ‘Freedom Concert’

But don’t read, watch what ‘Freedom” means to Sean Hannity and his ilk…