After the terrible events in Colorado, where a young man with serious problems acted out by killing the people he felt caused those problems, and then himself, I really didn’t want to hear the leader of the church at the center of this say, that the problem was all of the people who attack Christians.

When people destroy a Wiccan symbol in Olean, New York and leave a Crèche near it untouched, you have to assume the culprits are Christian.

When people on a subway car attack Jews, because the Jews responded “Happy Hanukkah” to the other group’s “Merry Christmas,” you have to assume that the attackers are Christians.

When the House of Representatives is tied up with a resolution on Christians and Christmas, you are hard pressed to call it an attack on Christians.

[Read more →]

Via PZ Myers at Pharyngula I learned that one of my favorite authors, Terry Pratchett of the Discworld series, announced: “I have been diagnosed with a very rare form of early onset Alzheimer’s, which lay behind this year’s phantom ‘stroke’.”

He is still working and has been prolific, but picking up a Discworld novel is one of the best forms of relaxation anyone can have. The thought of this illness robbing the world of stories untold, is a definite “downer,” but there are still a lot of his words to enjoy.

The Associated Press reports Putin’s chosen successor calls for him to be PM

MOSCOW – Dmitry Medvedev, the hand-picked candidate to succeed President Vladimir Putin, called Tuesday for Putin become prime minister after the March 2 election.

Putin is prohibited by law for running for a third consecutive term, but clearly wants to retain a powerful role once he steps down. Medvedev’s proposal would provide such a role, especially if the constitution were amended to increase the prime minister’s powers — which could be done readily with the new parliament dominated by pro-Putin politicians.

Medvedev, 42, has spent most of his career as a loyal comrade of Putin, and his proposal for him to become prime minister almost certainly was made with prior consultation with the president.

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Position: 19.0 N 76.0 W. [Noon CDT]
Movement: West [270°] near 23 mph.
Maximum sustained winds: 40 mph.
Wind Gusts: 50 mph.
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 345 miles.
Minimum central pressure: 1009 mb.

Because of conditions Olga is expected to dissipate as a tropical storm later today and become a garden variety low pressure system.