Nutty Pat Robertson has claimed that the tragedy in Haiti is the result of the people of Haiti's pact with the devil to remove the occupying French years ago. Somebody has watched Damn Yankees once too many times. The disaster there does seems to be beyond imagination. If you want to help (rather than talk nonsense about the devil), see my post below about giving to Americares. They have very low administrative expenses, so 99 percent of the money donated goes to actually helping people (and fighting the work of the devil).
On a much lighter note, kudos to Conan O'Brien for not letting NBC kick him around. I think it is rotten that, because Jay Leno's show was a failure in prime time, he should be rewarded with another show that displaces The Tonight Show to the next day (12:05 a.m.). Jay had his time on the show and it is time for him to leave. I was never a fan. NBC sure eff this whole thing up. My suggestion is to keep Jay on at 10 p.m., but move him over to MSNBC. They just run a repeat of the 8 p.m. Countdown at 10 p.m. anyway. There ya go... problem solved.
Speaking of MSNBC and partisan politics, shameless idiot Sarah Palin is joining the "fair and balanced" team at Fox News. I personally can't wait to hear the crazy she cooks up in her walnut-sized brain and then hear it spew forth from her lipsticked pig mouth. She should feel right at home on Fox News. This is a gift from the Flying Spaghetti Monster to MSNBC. The endless supply of fodder for Rachel Maddow and Keith Olbermann will be a treat. Congrats MSNBC!
There was an article in the paper recently about bird-plane collisions and how incidents could top 10,000 for last year -- there are about 27 incidents a day. Though these birds sometimes do devastating damage to planes, I imagine the birds are not at all that pleased about this situation either. Though these collisions resulted in the destruction of three planes and a helicopter (including a US Air flight that landed in the Hudson River), it also resulted in the destruction of more than 10,000 birds.
Though Billy Joel claimed that the good die young, that isn't always true. Miep Gies died Monday in Amsterdam at 100. She was one of six non-Jewish helpers that hid Anne Frank, her family, and four other Jews for 2 years during World War II. Gies also gathered the pages of Anne's diary (unread) and kept them locked up for years until Frank's father returned to collect them after the war. Israeli President Shimon Peres said "Miep's selfless humanitarian deed inspires us to continue believing in the goodness and integrity of human beings in the face of unfathomable evil."
Gay marriage is on trial now in San Francisco with a group arguing that California's Prop 8 is unconstitutional. It looks as if, no matter what the ruling, the decision will eventually go to the U.S. Supreme Court, which makes me very nervous. If that court poo poos gay marriage, it could be many more years before it is legal nationally. It is a huge gamble with the current court, though it is hard to believe any court could justify denying such a basic civil right to a group of people, especially as it becomes legal in other countries around the world.
On the bright side of gay marriage, DC's Marriage Bill is on Capitol Hill. The countdown to legalized same-sex marriage in the District began yesterday. Congress has 30 legislative days to review it. Depending on how many days Congress is in session, the bill could become law in late February or early March. For it to be rejected, both the House and Senate would have to vote for a disapproval resolution and it would have to be signed by the President. Such a resolution has only happened three times in the last 30 years and is not likely with a Democratic majority. However, there is still a chance a court could require putting the issue before voters, which has never turned out well.
Speaking of not turning out well, poor old Sen. Harry Reid is having a bad week. Apparently, they haven't been told in Nevada about political correctness. His one saving grace is he only used the word "negro" rather than "colored" or worse terms he could have used. In recent polls, he is trailing all three Republicans running for his seat in 2010. Reid has always seemed a bit loony to me -- like that goofy old uncle who is always farting during Thanksgiving Dinner. Why can't the Democrats find an effective, sane leader in the Senate?
