I would like to agree with Joan about the grace to deal with people like Barry Bonds and Nut Gingrich, but if grace means giving them a pass for the things they do that are clearly immature and self-centered (Bonds' chronic surliness), or outright disgusting and hypocritical (short definition of Gingrich, the Republican Party, and the devil they serve, namely the Christian Right), then screw grace. Waterboard Gingrich. Indict Bonds, and revoke Alberto Gonzales' citizenship and put his punk ass on the other side of the fence. It's not like they need us to see God in them. God knows we've tried to. It's about goddamned time they showed God to us! If they were acting in a godly manner, Gingrich would drop out of politics entirely and work on the nasty business in Darfur, Bonds would shut up about the "cream" or the "clear" for his arthritis, and just play baseball, and Alberto Gonzales would resign as AG after telling the truth about his role in not only the US Attorney firings, but EVERYTHING ILLEGAL he did in the Bush Administration, and naming names before the Senate Judiciary Committee. That would be truthful, humble, and just. For all of us. While we're at it, let's give thanks that the Democrats have grown a spine and are telling Bush what he and his war can go do with each other. Let's also give thanks that the SF Giants didn't re-sign Moises Alou but allowed him to leave as a free agent and sign with the New York Mets which has the most terrifying line-up in the National League.

Yes. Shameless Mets plug here. What do you want? I live in the Northeast.

Priceless!

Absolutely priceless.

It may be that Don Imus is merely clueless about race, which makes him ignorant but not necessarily a racist. I don't think Don Imus necessarily hates black people or gay people or Jewish people or Middle Eastern people. But it's pretty darn clear he doesn't understand where all these people are coming from and he could care less. What he said about the Rutgers team? Not cool. Calling Sharpton and the Congresswoman "you people"? Very not cool. All of the comments here and elsewhere about Imus's free speech rights I think sort of miss the point. It's not about free speech. It's about our own tolerance for willfully ignorant, ill-informed people blathering on about whatever the hell they want and grinding their ax at the expense of rational, civil debate about the issues of the day. No one's suggesting we will agree on everything, but my God, why are completely STUPID people getting all the air time and all the press? Why is anyone surprised that if you give these wingnuts a forum, they're going to shoot themselves in the foot after having put it in their mouths? Left, right or in-between, it's not about "free" speech. It's about responsibility and some measure of maturity. Someone here mentioned Amanda Marcotte and I wasn't thrilled to hear her comments about Mary and the Holy Spirit and so on. I won't repeat them here because I just don't see the need. But some might suggest she exercise a little self-censorship going forward. That's one example that I can think of where a bit of judgement and common courtesy is indicated. That requires intelligence. Something we as Americans don't seem to value as we once did. That is the real tragedy. And yes, I think Imus should get the boot along with O'Reilly, Glenn Beck, Ann Coulter, Hannity and Colmes and the like because they continually feed the trough of what I've called "sewer grade mind candy" that too many of us are consuming, which is in fact the reason, or at least one big reason for the coarsening of the dialogue in the nation. If Joan would like to respond to this post, assuming she even has the time, I would welcome her comments.

After watching "Planet Earth", it's clear to me that the earth is a constantly evolving life form just as we are who live on it. But Camille Paglia's skepticism with the idea that the planet is warming faster than it should is shocking in light of scientific consensus around the issue. It's hard to believe that the best minds on the planet were all drinking the same spiked Kool-Aid. People have been studying this for decades. Al Gore is at best, a lay messenger to the cause. What I find interesting is that while she questions global warming, she seems to champion government intervention to regulate pollution and other substances affecting our environment. Unless I read her comments entirely incorrectly, it seems to me that you can't have it both ways. She says we are "too small" to affect the planet's natural evolution in any significant way, yet she mourns the possible toxic effects of mercury on a community of children. Which the hell is it? Either we are interacting with the planet or we're not. Either our actions have a measurable effect or they don't. All the data seems to suggest that we are and they do, which makes sense to me. Camille needs to make up her damned mind. Something is out of whack when the grass is still green two days before Christmas and it's as mild as a day in April.

I was saying that something is really out of whack when the grass is green two days before Christmas and it's as mild as a day in April IN MASSACHUSETTS.