News 6/18/10

(This image of the late Donald Goerke - who was not executed by firing squad - is property of the Campbell Soup Company and originally appeared in the NYT here.)

Guns don't kill people, bullets kill people. Murderer executed by firing squad to demonstrate that killing people is always wrong. Unless you're a murderer and the State wants to kill you...

Violence in Kyrgyzstan imperils as many as 1,000,000 people according to the UN.

Hillary Clinton speaks out against Arizona's new law against brown people who don't talk good English.

Ew, just... ew. Massive SpaghettiO's recall brings hope to weary populace.

Keep the cork on the fork, Ruprecht. Towleroad informs us that Tulsa, Oklahoma approves non-discrimination protection for LGBTQs.

Oklahoma! Oklahoma! Oklahoma!

• Thanks to all of you who have already voted! Go vote again for The Flaming Chef (Jason Zenobia) over at Freedom to Marry's blog contest. Not once, not twice, but once every 24 hours until and including the 25th. (I've set my phone to ring at 5:00pm every day to remind me.)

Morning News 3/25/10

Charges that the Catholic Church repeatedly chose to protect itself by silencing the victims of priestly sex abuse strike directly at Pope Benedict. You will recall that Pope Benedict's job before he became Popified, was as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith which was responsible for dealing with allegations of sex abuse by priests.
Even Sinead O'Conner is speaking up, not happy with the Pope's recent letter to Irish Catholics. "There should be a full criminal investigation of the Catholic hierarchy of any country in which this has been an issue. There should be a full criminal investigation of the Vatican."

"Could you rephrase that as an ethical question?"
"Yes. Is it right to buy an iphone app to help me plan for passover?"
There are apps to help you find kosher foods, pronounce the four questions correctly and the Washington Post reports that more than 11,000 people have signed up for "Tweet the Exodus" updates.
What a time to be alive.

The Dude does not mind.
Californians will vote this November on whether to legalize marijuana in that state.

Mullin and Gates announce that they will find a kinder, gentler way to enforce the disgusting and inexcusable Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy. They claim that this is a step in the right direction, designed to change the culture in advance of full repeal.
I know a way to really change the culture, get rid of DADT now.

Towleroad is reporting on a Public Policy Institute of California poll that now shows more people in that state support marriage equality than oppose it.

Add another to the stack. A possible new hominid species has been discovered in a cave in southern Siberia. Identified by its mitochondrial DNA as distinct from Neanderthals and modern humans, more study is required before the bone fragment leads to the designation of a new member of the human family.

(Photo of museum quality replica "Lucy" skull from Skulls Unlimited. Seriously, go to their site and have a look. You can buy anything there and it kicks ass!)