If this religion were a political power it would be part of our "axis of evil." Anti-democratic, misogynistic, and apparently anti-Semitic, it bilks its misguided followers along a path of repression dating to the Nicene Creed, failed to respond to the changes during the Protestant Reformation, and now lives in a world of delusion, its stock of priests deteriorating due to age or removal after sex scandal after sex scandal. Its obsession with sexual behavior borders on the pathological. I've seen many a loved one spend their spiritual and financial energy on this bloated throwback, trying desperately to justify their programming from the earliest days of CCC with their everyday experiences and lives. It's a painful thing to watch.

Of course, Vatican City IS a country, so perhaps sanctions ARE in order.

In 25 years, will the Tesla be a curiosity tinged with nostalgia much like the DMC-12 is now? I continuously hope for the next great American car innovator, but perhaps we have simply run out of the next great car ideas. And in the end, are we truly in love with our cars and driving like we once were? Or perhaps is our relationship maturing as we fully acknowledge that a car is merely a tool, a means from Point A to Point B?

I knew I was coming rapidly to a time where I would have to replace my old Mac with a new one, and I had always planned to get a laptop next. Why? I wanted a good way to catch up on the internet, check my email, listen to music, etc. on the go. But then I got an iPhone, and it frankly does 80 to 90 percent of what I wanted a laptop to do. Instead I got a closeout on an iMac on Black Friday and haven't regretted it - or the significant savings I gleaned as a result.

(I should also add that I depend on Firewire peripherals, and the MacBook's lack of any FW connection officially sealed the deal for me.)

Your post made me snort coffee. Thanks for that bit of snark. Just awesome.

Chrylser and GM have shut down, oil prices are collapsing, the traditional media is imploding all around us, and Mike and Joan can only talk about preacher at an inauguration? Us folks on the left have become as nuts as the ones I've railed against on the right.

Obama said over and over and over and over and over (ad nauseam) that he wanted to reach out to people from all over the sociological and political spectrum. And this is what he is doing. Not a bad thing at an inauguration, which is flash and not substance.

But the left is increasingly becoming a single-issue group. We got a black man into the White House, so it's all about payback for Prop 8. I haven't seen this much carp since I was down at the docks by the fish markets. You want to fix it? Then we talk to the damned voters in a way that appeals to them, not the endless clusterfuck that we put together for our cause. We can be pissed at the religious groups that won, but they had their shit together. We didn't.

Obama has also made other choices, such as Stephen Chu to head energy policy, possibly the most important selection he can make right now, and possibly the most brilliant one in the history of that position.

I'm still plenty happy with this guy. When he promotes Warren to head a new Faith-based science position, let me know and I'll be the first shaking my fists on Pennsylvania Avenue. Until then, this is a tempest in a teapot. Because guess what, liberal left? Not everyone in the good ol' US of A agrees with us. And unless we do a better job of advancing our cause, it'll continue to be this way. Stop blaming everyone else and look in the mirror. Sucks, doesn't it?

Priuses and any other cars continue to facilitate sprawl. We need trains like mad. I live in Maine, which is littered with the bones of former rail lines. The state and local groups are trying to resuscitate some of these, but Uncle Sam could make a real difference.

How about NO government-sanctioned marriage, and civil unions for benefit purposes? Leave marriage for churches to fight about - the Episcopal Church alone is a fair amount of entertainment.

Is not the Muslim population comparable to the Jewish population at this point in the US? And yet, the political elite all fall to their knees to speak of the wonders of Israel, while using the idea of being a Muslim to discredit a presidential candidate.

Don't get me wrong - if Clinton's arguments get Obama the White House, then it must be done, but I have to wonder if there will be a day, and one soon, where maligning the Muslim voters in this country will be a mistake. Where I live in Maine, I can all but guarantee there will be more Muslims casting ballots than Jews. An engaged Muslim population is our best bulwark against terrorist insurgencies, but we sure as hell aren't doing a good job of it.

(As an aside, I hope this comment doesn't get me barred from the annual Hanukkah party on my street!)