And now for the serious news. I blogged here long ago that the government won't have to outlaw abortion - they will pass bills like this that will simply make them impossible to obtain in a safe and affordable manner. But no need to worry if you're rich or well connected. They'll be available. Otherwise you're only choice will be a backstreet abortion - nah that's what happened in the 50s and 60s. Won't happen again, right? Right? God help the self-righteous. They deserve eternity in hell.

I've never understood why people who believe pre-marital sex is a sin or abortion is wrong actually think that people will stop engaging in that behavior - never have, never will. It's sort of like the "war" on drugs - the only reason there's a supply of drugs is because the demand is always there. Always has been - always will be. And I'm not saying we should ignore these issues, but don't you think after all this time, the old methods should stop and someone should actually propose a new way of addressing it. Crazy talk, I know.

I love this headline:House Overturns New Ethics Rule as Republican Leadership YieldsThe United States Congress is still the craziest game show on the planet. Five Democrats have brought the GOP to its knees. You gotta love a David and Goliath story, don't ya?

I haven't talked much about our new pope - or the expedited sainthood likely for the previous one. I'm against both to be succinct. Ratzinger's tale of being forced to join the Hitler Youth doesn't ring true - sounds like a plausible deniability thought up by a slick PR machine - and we know the Vatican has that.

And while J2P2 was a man to be admired, he did his job. Did it well most would say. But that's not what makes a saint in my opinion - I think the threshold is a bit higher.

And through all of this, I keep wondering Why I Am Still A Catholic. Common Dreams published an article yesterday that sums it up for me. One major difference between me and the writer? I was born in May 1962.

Trap-building ants torture prey. This sort of news keeps me up nights.

Have had trouble logging into blogger this week. And am frankly too tired to be outraged lately. The semester is winding down and my tenure as adjunct faculty will end next week. The full time job I asked for was given to someone else. So I'll be sticking to web sites for a bit longer. Which isn't really a bad thing. I've been much to scattered these past four months and I just want to focus on one or two things for a change. I need a rest.

But low and behold, I am reminded there is no rest for the outraged. Read this article on The Unregulated Offensive. (Thanks for the link Dad)

I'm not one for long web articles but if you don't get the Sunday NY Times, this is the next best thing. What I find most troubling is the absolute assurance of libertarians that deregulation will not lead to abuse - that somehow everything will be fair and balanced. I think of how much abuse occurs today WITH regulation and it makes my head spin. Not literally but it if the cliche fits...

I was too outraged over this to post the other day. Cat hunting may not have as good a chance of passing as I originally thought. Stay tuned.

I love the fact that Meridian Bioscience Inc. really can't pinpoint the origin of the "killer flu" virus in their possession - you know the one they shipped to labs all over the world. That one. Makes ya feel warm and tingly all over, don't it?

Yes Ellen. The federal government does go after 16-year-old girls. Specially if they praise Allah.

I've been a bit of a lollygagger on my blog lately - I've figured out why though. I've been under the impression that what stokes my outrage gene has diminished since Kevin died, 'cause as I've said, I now have experienced what will be the greatest outrage of my life: spending it without Kevin. So the stories about all the usual outrage suspects --DeLay and Congress, the Pope and religion, Bush II and the Executive branch, reality TV, the news media, our judicial system, to name a few -- just haven't been inspiring me to blog it out.

I realized last night what a mistake that is. If anything, I should be more outraged at the total waste, thoughtlessness, misanthropy, deceit...( I could go on but I think you get the idea), not less for gawd's sake. If Kevin's death has taught me anything it's don't waste the time you have. And I LOVE being outraged. Don't know why. Just know it's so. So for those of you who have stuck with me, I'm back. And believe me, there's plenty of outrage to go around.

All it takes for evil to suceed is for good people to do nothing, or so the saying goes. I'm not outraged by the fascist tendencies of GOP lawmakers, particularly Sensenbrenner and Stevens. They've got a long history of reactionary ideas.

What I am outraged about is that this anti-democractic notion is discussed as if it's a legitimate option, rather then derided for the nonsense it is. This is how Joe McCarthy rose to power, and yes, it's how Hitler rose to power. They may not have stayed in power for long, but long enough to do unimaginable harm. Time to do something, people.