Man, wish _I'd_ thought of that.

Buddy Christ in Iraq. Iraqi troops backed by American military advisers arrested a suspected Shiite militiaman believed to have carried out kidnappings and killings. A gunbattle broke out at the suspect's house in Baghdad's Shiite stronghold of Sadr City, leaving a woman and a young girl dead, Iraqi police said.

Afterward, angry men at the scene held up a color photo of a smiling, winking Jesus giving a "thumbs up" sign that they said was left by troops at the raided house — an allegation denied by U.S. and Iraqi officials.

The photo, known as the "Buddy Christ," is from the movie "Dogma," a 1999 religious satire in which "Buddy Christ" is part of a church campaign to improve Jesus' image.

U.S. military spokesman Lt. Col. Barry Johnson said the photo was a "rather ridiculous attempt" to discredit the raid. It was unclear how it ended up at the site.

Oh, Bullshit. You KNOW they did it. While I must condemn such irresponsible behavior, I must also salute their audacity. Here's hoping their Article 15 punishment isn't too severe.

The funnest holiday of the year.

Weasel Stomping Day! Wish we had an Idiot Stomping Day too, so we could take care of the parents from this article:Art Teacher Loses Job After Kids See Nude Sculpture
Children Were On School-Approved Field Trip
An award-winning Texas art teacher who was reprimanded after one of her fifth-grade students saw a nude sculpture during a trip to a museum has lost her job.
The principle deserves a good stomping too, for being the sort of spineless bastard who will sell out a trusting subordinate. Metaphorically, of course.

Why does this not surprise me?

Hastert in a letter sent Sunday to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, asked the Justice Department to "conduct an investigation of Mr. Foley's conduct with current and former House pages," including "any sexually explicit communications between Mr. Foley and any former or current House pages and what actions such individuals took, if any, to provide them to law enforcement." In other words, it's them boy-whores' fault fer not callin' the police. They musta bin leadin' that poor man on. In a way, this is very refreshing, and a positive sign of increased gender equality. :-P

On another note, boy am I getting fricking annoyed with people referring to him as a "pedophile". A pedophile, BY M0 #*$~(%ING DEFINITION, lusts after preadolescents. Foley's "little studs" were all almost-mature late-teenagers, which makes him a would-be statutory rapist. Legally, socially, and psychologically, there's a big difference. Hell, if this sordid affair took place in a state where the age of consent was 16 across the board, and didn't involve the internet, he wouldn't even be that. IMO, this underscores the need for us to have one flat Age of Majority throughout the entire country, after which it's legal to drink, smoke, enter into legal contracts, and engage in nauseating may-december romances over the internet. Coincidentally, I would set that age at sixteen, because I firmly believe that most 16-year olds could function as adults, if we didn't coddle them. Alas, our culture insists on treating teenagers like overgrown children, so naturally they act like overgrown children, so we have to give them legal protections as if they really were children. Maybe someday, we'll stop deliberately retarding our adolescents' intellectual and emotional development, and aged lechers will be able to hook up with 16 year-old trophy-brides/studs instead of 18 year old ones. (What's a good emoticon that connotes universal scorn? :-P doesn't seem strong enough.)

Which isn't to say I don't think Foley should be punished, he _did_ violate the law he helped write, after all. And he is a creepy chicken-hawk/sexual predator. But he's not a pedophile.

Also, while we're on the subject of jailbait, I think I'm going to start a petition to require mandatory burqas for all Dragon-Con (Or any other con, really) attendees who are under the age of 18. OK, maybe not burgas, but at least distinctive badges and a restrictive dress code, because 12 year-olds SHOULD NOT WEAR CHAIN MAIL BIKINIS. It seriously detracts from my con-going enjoyment if I have to worry that the cosplayer I want to leer at might be too young to drive. In the past, you could assume that tattoos and body piercings were reliable indicators of non-jailbaitness, but parents are too damned permissive these days. Which is the problem, what with them letting their kids dress up like strippers. Bah... (Shakes cane at the state of the world)

Quote of the day :-)

"(W)hen you work for, and identify yourself with, a bunch of homo-hatin', sex-averse moral scolds, it's freaking hilarious when you're caught stroking it to male teeny talk. That's why the "B-b-b-b-but Gerry Studds" rejoinder doesn't work. We're Democrats -- we have to get laid constantly, by whomever or whatever is available. It's in our DNA, like treason." :-D

Humor aside, it's completely PATHETIC that this little farce is actually getting more attention than the preemptive War Crimes Pardon that Congress just approved. Not that there ever were any War Crimes to pardon, of course, but just in case there are some now, they won't be crimes either... But the grey-haired lothario is the _real_ scandal.

Once again, the Democratic Party prepares to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Even if they get the votes, most of them will still be counted on machines that have been proven to be easily hacked, yet that little fact gets no attention at all. Not to mention the fact that, due to Gerrymandering, for there to ever be a Democratic majority again, literally EVERY "competetive" seat would have to be won. I'm starting to think that the only reasonable course of action is to get a cabin in the mountains and inscribe my memoirs on gold-plated disks for alien archeologists to puzzle over some day. Nah, they'll probably decide that the World of Stupidity I'd describe was obvious fiction. At least it's five o'clock, so I can start drinking and stop caring. :-P

Update: Only three beers down, and I've got religion! I have figured out God's Divine Plan for the past six years! See, the Religious Right believes that America is God's Chosen Nation, and Bush is God's Chosen Leader. Foolish superstition! It has been Revealed Unto Me that God has _actually_ been engaged in HUMBLING America. In the yeat 2000, he saw that America was too powerful and prosperous, arrogant even. So, to protect the world from our Proud Nation, He sent Saint George to lead us into ruin! Soon, our economy shall be completely destroyed, along with our international prestige and military power. Only when America is a wholy owned subsidiary of the True Chosen Nation, China, shall Saint Geroge's mission be accomplished.