You spoke too soon 'anonymous'. This is from today's headlines in Salon.

"Nov 12th, 2007 | MILWAUKEE -- A 79-year-old Roman Catholic nun pleaded no contest Monday to indecent behavior with a child for alleged sexual encounters with two male students at a church convent and school where she was principal during the 1960s.

The nun, Norma Giannini, and her attorney left the courthouse without comment after entering the pleas in Milwaukee County Circuit Court on the day her trial was to begin.

Giannini faces a maximum 10 years on each of two counts when sentenced Feb. 1.

"She decided to do the right thing," said her attorney, Nikola Kostich. "She didn't put the victims through a trial.""

Giuliani couldn't stand the scrutiny that Hillary has had to endure for twenty years. The problem is that he'll never get it because the media has made it painfully clear that the Clintons get a different treatment than the other political animals out there.

Imagine on a slow news day that Hillary is caught on camera calling a prominent Republican a "fucker".On the same day Rudy is caught in flagrante delicto with an underage Hooters girl. Which story would get the most airtime?

The following letter is from August 29, 1922.

“Dear Professor Curtiss:

May it not suffice for me to say in reply to your letter of August 25th, that, of course, like every other man of intelligence and education, I do believe in organic evolution. It surprises me that at this late date such questions should still be raised.

Sincerely yours,

Woodrow Wilson”

That a former President of the United States could curtly dismiss anyone who questioned evolution 85 years ago while a sitting President today can say that the “the jury is still out” tells us something about the state of critical thinking in the United States today.

The question is whether this an argument for or against evolution?

You said: "But I would encourage a little more engagement of True Believers. They might just teach us something."

What? Name one thing (And please don't use the words tolerance or understanding in your reply- I've already been sick this week).

Camille Paglia

Inconsequential blather

Please give her the axe

Camille Paglia

Pretentious bloviator

Make it go away

Narcissistic hack

Same shit every bloody month

Camille Paglia

I’m sure many of you are much better poets so please feel free to add your Haikus!

“Salon's writers and editors have handpicked tasteful, sure-to-please holiday gifts …And they are all gifts we feel good about recommending to you.”

The one thread that seems to tie all of your picks together is that everything is crap that no sane person would ever possibly need. I think that the editors of Salon and I have a very different idea of what ‘tasteful’ means.

You’re absolutely right Michael, with this kind of candy assed tripe coming from Salon (as the lead story no less) anyone truly can be a campaign reporter.

"Many of you seem to grasp that this article is satire, so… Calm yourselves!"

Satire is generaly funny, ironic, has a bite or makes a point. This article fails on all accounts.

Sure Trainman, Bush exported our industrial base to China thereby lowering our greenhouse gas emissions. Now China will suffer the ill effects of global warming while we remain a pristine paradise.

Problem solved!

"Today, you watch your Roomba scurrying around your filthy floor, digging its nose into your grime, and you hardly pause to consider its soul; the robot vacuum is a slave, and you are its master."

No Mr. Levy. It is a tool and you are the person who bought it and plugged it in--that's all!

Thanks again to Michael for his trenchant insight into the minds and motives of the candidates. Clearly Mitt is unfit to rule becaue he flubbed a stupid stat (Sorry Sox fans, it just doesn't really matter!).

Of course, I would rather die than cast a vote for Mitt Romney but my reasons have more to do with his stance on health care, privatization, military spending, Iraq and a number of other concerns.

I wish Salon would send a reporter on the road that had more of an interest in substantive policy positions and less facination with trivial matters.

You said: “The evidence that Joseph Smith, and by extension, the Book of Mormon, is a fraud is overwhelming. Why should the American public elect a candidate who believes in a religion that is based on demonstrable fraud?"

I think that singling out Mormonism as fraudulent is unfair cherry picking. Catholicism, Evangelicalism, Islam, Judaism and all the rest of them are equally ridiculous. I challenge you to show me how the tenets of Mormonism are any more silly or fraudulent than those of Catholicism or any of the others I mentioned.

NicoleM said: “I don't believe that all religious people are delusional or idiotic. But anyone who truly, honestly buys the load of crap that Joseph Smith was selling, yeah. Delusional and/or idiotic.”

Again, cherry picking Nicole. Yes they have some whacky beliefs but is it any whackier than speaking in tongues, believing the earth is 6000 years old, drinking what some people think is literaly the blood of Christ, sacrificing animals or dancing around a holy rock seven times or any of the other nutty supersticious beliefs held by the oddly named ‘mainstream’ religions.

I don’t want to be cast as a defender of Mormonism but I don’t think you would speak of Jews the same way you speak of Mormons and there ain't a whole lot of difference in their wackiness factor.

Imagine that— a theologian dishes atheism! Did you really expect anything else? It reminds me of that old saying about how you can’t expect someone to understand something when their livelihood is contingent on them not understanding it.