Shades of "Braveheart"

From the Sojourners' email-zine:

Should Christian Peacemaker Teams stay in Iraq?

"I would feel bad if something happened to you, but I would be angry if you disappear. If you care for us just in the good times, I will forget you. If you take care of us in the bad times, I will remember you. You die when you do nothing, but live when you do something. Everyone dies, but not everyone lives."

- An Iraqi Christian leader responding to CPT's question as to whether members should leave because their presence might make it unsafe for other Christians.

Say what?

Don't people get in trouble for saying this in public?

"This country was founded on the principle that individuals have certain personal liberties, and I will not support laws that tell women what to do with their bodies or tell people what they can and cannot do in the privacy of their bedroom."

- Connecticut State Senator Chris Murphy

Screw Cynthia McKinney (D-GA)

She got busted for being arrogant, and now she's proving how "ghetto" she is. I'm ashamed for her.

The most awkwardly worded sentence:

"Something that perhaps the average American just doesn't understand is that there is a heightened sense of a lack of appropriateness being there for members who are elected who happen to be of color," McKinney said, "and until this issue is addressed by the American public in a very substantive way, it won't be the last time."

What the heck does THAT mean?

From CNN.com

Should Capitol Police be able to recognize all members of Congress?
Yes		18%	6203 votes
No		82%	28437 votes
Total: 34640 votes

"REPULSIVE REPUBLICANS": written by a conservative!

Ramesh Ponnuru posted on the National Review Online:

1) Republicans are preparing to bring the Federal Marriage Amendment to a vote. So I guess the plan from now on is to do this in all even-numbered years, and then throw the idea aside in odd-numbered ones? I know a lot of people support the FMA for principled reasons, but a decisive number of Republicans are clearly just picking on gays for political profit.

2) Republicans are leading a charge to subject "527 groups" to onerous regulations. A minority of them, again, have sincere and above-board reasons for doing this. Most of them just want to shut down groups that are trying to beat them in elections. For a majority to restrict the freedom of others to try to boot them out is pretty much a textbook definition of the abuse of power, isn't it?

Lib'ruhl Pride.

Quote from The West Wing:

"Liberals got women the right to vote. Liberals got African-Americans the right to vote. Liberals created Social Security and lifted millions of elderly people out of poverty. Liberals ended segregation. Liberals passed the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act. Liberals created Medicare. Liberals passed the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act.

What did Conservatives do? They opposed them on every one of those things – every one. So when you try to hurl that label at my feet, ‘Liberal,’ as if it were something to be ashamed of, something dirty, something to run away from, it won’t work, Senator, because I will pick up that label and I will wear it as a badge of honor."

Dusty Baker Grins and Bears It.

From CNNSI.com:

In the Cubs' clubhouse today before throwing the first pitch in Cincinnati, Bush walked in and announced, "This is the year."

He went to manager Dusty Baker, grabbed his hand, and turned him to the cameras.

"Smile," Bush said, shaking Baker's hand with a broad grin. Baker did as instructed, saying, "I'll do what I got to do."

NL MLB "Burning Questions"

John Donovan of CNNSI.com asks "Burning Questions" of both the National and American League teams. My team's questions are:

Colorado: Can you ever have too much pitching in Coors Field? Is shortstop Clint Barmes closer to last April (.410) or post-injury last September (.209)? Nothing personal, but can anyone really trust Byung-Hyun Kim in a big spot? You realize this team has never won more than 83 games, don't you? Do you know they've never made the playoffs in a regulation season? Do you think they ever will?

Very depressing.