Oh, good we're quoting verses with no context!

Psalm 137:8-9 (NIV): O Daughter of Babylon, doomed to destruction, happy is he who repays you for what you have done to us - he who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks.

Keep in mind that Babylon became the symbol of the pagan (Gentile and eventually non-Christian) world, so this statement could apply to anyone. And I say this as a conservative Christian. There are parts of the Bible that, taken in isolation and without understanding the big picture, offend the conscience. All of this can be explained given enough time, but a letters board on the internet is no place for it. What is important is that Islam, like Christianity, has peaceful adherents that are able to explain the bellicose portions of the texts.

This is my point -- It is prideful beyond belief to pick up a text, presumably not in the original language and without the benefit of theological tradition, and pretend to be an authority. It is no different from what Bill Maher does when he criticizes Christianity.

My criticism of Islam is more basic - it appears to reinstate salvation based on works (the five pillars and such), while the Bible teaches that salvation is a gift. But I am not an expert on Islam, so I don't pretend to be.

Maybe you should read Glenn Greenwald, one of Obama's biggest critics thus far. From the left. I voted for Obama and I'm unhappy with a number of decisions he has made. Most of the criticism of Camille is coming from people who are pointing out how little sense she makes. A substantial minority of the criticism is also coming from the right.

Anyways, I'm done here.

The better it will be for Letterman and worse for the Palins. And I should point out that Letterman never brought anybody's "children" into the situation. Bristol is an adult and a mother. If she doesn't want to be a prop or a talking point that is her decision. The joke was clearly about her -- you know, pregnancy jokes about the daughter who got pregnant. It was the Palins who made it about children. Because they love controversy, and the spotlight. Unfortunately all publicity is not good publicity when you're a politician.

Obama personally guarantees the photos will never be released.

Good to know I can go back to staying home in 2012. Voting took a valuable hour of my time last year.

I hope you're equally angry with BillO for supporting the previous administration's torture program, since the Catholic Church unequivocally condemns torture. If not, maybe you're not actually Catholic.

In the poll in "support" of Ahmadinejad, 34% said they would vote for him and 14% for Mousavi, leaving 52% of those polled unaccounted for. And the poll was taken weeks ago and is contradicted by more recent polls. This information comes from Andrew Sullivan, who has been covering the election nonstop over at his blog. Apparently the site has been the target of some kind of "digital attack" - it is loading slowly and sometimes refuses to load at all, but it has a great deal of information. It seems to me that the only people making the case that Ahmadinejad actually won are neocons desperate for enemies.

He is the artist formerly known as Electro Robot. He posts ridiculous stuff, gets banned, and creates a new name to post under. He also hates Arabs and Persians with a passion.

Oh and Farragut: Bush had nothing to do with this. Give credit to the men and women getting shot and stabbed because they want freedom, not the dude chilling at his ranch in Texas.

An attack during the Obama presidency is the only thing that can rehabilitate Cheney's legacy, and possibly one of the only things that will quiet the calls for investigations and prosecutions. Of course there will be another attack eventually. Terror attacks will never cease altogether. This is why Cheney's rhetoric is so powerful, and why there needs to be an exhaustive truth commission to reveal as mch as possible about the methods and results of the program. Because nevermind that Cheney was vice-president during the largest terror attack in the history of the world and failed to stop it -- if so much as ten people die on US soil under Obama, Cheney is vindicated.

When she had a one-night stand with a dog.

Yeah, I just made a Family Guy reference in the Salon letters. Sue me.

"Religion makes many people weak and spineless - it justifies hatred of out-groups and provides easy justifications for failures like this republican asshole."

Galatians 5:19-23 (NIV):

"The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law."

Easy justifications, indeed.

I say hopefully more films that were released earlier in the year will have a shot now, instead of all November / December prestige releases. Some films that have a special place in my heart were largely ignored by the academy because of their release dates. Off the top of my head I can think of movies from the last two years that probably wouldn't have been nominated in any event, but deserved more recognition than they got: "Adventureland" this year, which is funny, touching, and fairly well-acted (despite the prominent presence of one "Bella"), and "Be Kind, Rewind" from last year, which was simultaneously a tearjerker and a whole lot of fun. I dunno, maybe I'm the only person who cries every time I watch it.