I think the GOP has little intention of actually putting the Christian Right's full platform in place. The GOP raises a lot of money by promising to eliminate abortion and contraception, persecute gays and lesbians, and in general make conservative Christianity the law of the land. You'd think that with all three branches of government in Republican hands, we'd have seen more of this agenda actually enacted. But it's largely been put off. Republicans pay lip service to the Religious Right, say the right code words, nibble away at the margins of these issues, and even pass the occasional bit of red meat legislation. But when push comes to shove they haven't truly followed through, blaming liberals, Democrats, and the convenient bogeyman of "activist judges" for their own failure to get this agenda enacted into law.

This has been a successful strategy so far, getting religious bodies to the polls and money rolling into the GOP's coffers. And the GOP hasn't had to do much except spew toxic rhetoric and sponsor some bad legislation, which it would have done anyhow. More importantly, the Religious Right hasn't yet interfered with the GOP's true goal of enriching its leadership and maintaining itself in power.

But the Christianists may at last be waking up. Their agenda has not been put into place even after years of Republican dominance of government. Adding insult to injury, the ungrateful GOP won't even give the Christian Right's leaders the respect they so desperately crave. I don't think they'll stand for it much longer. The GOP will have to devote its resources to doing their bidding or lose their support. Either way, the delicate balancing act between the corporatist wing and the religious wing of the party will be upset. The resulting purge will be interesting indeed.

Our understanding of things is like a hand. The ways in which we understand -- through science, reason, art, music, literature, experience, ethics, philosophy, and yes, religion -- are the fingers of the hand. On its own, each finger can do a lot of things. But to fully use our hands, all of our fingers must work together. And to fully grasp the world in which we live, all of our mental fingers must work together.

Dawkins is using only a couple of his mental fingers, as are the religionists he despises. Like a fundamentalist believer who finds scientific investigation of the universe's origins to be irrelevant, Dawkins finds investigation of the human condition through any other lenses but the rational and scientific to be irrelevant. But each one is missing part of the picture. The true believer denies the insight of science into the physical world. Dawkins denies the insight of faith and belief into the human condition. Because of this, their understanding is diminished.

Science and reason are very powerful and useful tools for increasing our understanding and knowledge, but they don't tell the entire story. Things like faith, art, music, and literature also tell profound truths that should not be cavalierly dismissed.

I'm expecting more terrorist plots, maybe even bombings of the North Korean and/or Iranian reactors. Anything to scare people into voting for Big Brother's minions.

Purge the closeted gays from the Republican party. Kick out all the other RINOs (Republican In Name Only) while you're at it. You'll make the GOP into a permanent minority party, which will be great news for everyone else in America.

But do gently correct him about it. And don't feel that you have to lie for him, even by omission.

Many companies use screening firms to verify employment dates, college degrees and so forth, making it harder to lie about these things on your resume. However, I get the impression that lying about one's former position is a bit easier now in the aftermath of the Internet bubble. If the dot bomb you used to work for doesn't exist anymore, who's to say you weren't a manager?

Bush has been compared to Prince Hal, the wastrel heir who rejects his partying buddy Falstaff and rises to the kingship in part 2 of "Henry IV," then inspires his troops to win the battle of Agincourt in "Henry V."

Of course, conservatives who drape Bush in the robes of monarchy (perhaps expressing a wish for a king rather than a President?) overlook the dire predictions for the future in the play's epilogue. The defeat of the French at Agincourt encouraged the English to continue making war upon France, which bled both countries dry and ultimately resulted in England's defeat and expulsion from the continent.

Cheney strikes me as kind of a Richard III, manipulating people behind the scenes to gain power and quite gleeful in his evil.

And the Congress is a pack of Shakespearean fools that will soon be turned into donkeys.

Republicans project their own faults onto others, then whine about being called on it.

While it's true that my local party store has a lot of Slut-o-ween costumes, it also carries quite a few women's costumes that don't show extreme amounts of skin. The pirate, witch and vampire costumes even come in different versions depending on how revealing you want to be.

But why buy a store costume? It's much more fun to whip one up yourself. Costume stores carry wigs, makeup, masks, and accessories to build your own costume. Hit the thrift store, break out the sewing machine, or use stuff you have around the house. Plus there's always that old standby, the scarf costume. (Scarves + long skirt + jewelry = gypsy, scarves + pants + eyepatch = pirate, scarves + midriff baring top + gauzy skirt = belly dancer ... you get the picture.)

Warmongering, corruption, cronyism, hypocrisy, neglect, bigotry, pederasty ... and now threatening the disabled. The bar is now mere inches above the floor, but somehow they manage to slide under it. How low can they go?