NIGHTSHIFT: So, because I am awesome, I had a nightmare in which I was romantically rejected by (wait for it) the Virgin Mary. Our Lady. I hate you all! Read more

PUTTING THE RAT BACK IN “LITERATE”: I’ve been meaning for awhile now to do a series of short posts about–to pick an arbitrary number–21 writers or works that are very personal to me; the idea would be to try and encapsulate why, for each, using somewhere between 10 and 450 words. It having finally dawned on me that there’s never going to be a time when doing this is actually convenient, I’ve decided to just do it in dribs and... Read more

A SMALL THOUGHT. It seems we’re now in the part of the argument where people want to draw distinctions between “real torture” and, you know, just a little smacky-face. So it might be useful to link again to this excellent Washington Post op-ed from a Soviet dissident, on “cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment” as (not) opposed to torture: …As someone who has been on the receiving end of the “treatment” under discussion, let me tell you that trying to make... Read more

There was whiskey on Blogwatch and tears on our cheeks… Disputations: Christ’s scars as “a source of recognition.” And more. So profound and powerful. Very helpful in something I’m writing. Mark Shea: …I became Catholic because I came to see that the Faith was beautiful and fulfilling, the desire of my heart. The notion “I better do this or the Great and Terrible Oz will damn me to Hell” was about as far from my mind as the thought that... Read more

YOUR DEADPAN HEADLINE OF THE DAY. Read more

WAR: …President Bush pointedly cited the capture and interrogation of Mr. Zubaydah in his speech last Wednesday announcing the transfer of Mr. Zubaydah and 13 others to the American detention center in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. And he used it to call for ratification of the tough techniques employed in the questioning. But rather than the smooth process depicted by Mr. Bush, interviews with nearly a dozen current and former law enforcement and intelligence officials briefed on the process show, the... Read more

We care a lot about Blogwatchers, yeah they’re more than meets the eye… The Agitator: “The TV show Cops has actually sent cameras on several raids that ended up targeting the wrong address. At the request of police, each time they’ve decided not to air the footage.” Hit & Run: US longevity stats: …A new study out from the online journal of the Public Library of Science has some unexpected findings on longevity. Race remains relevant (blacks and Indians are... Read more

Blogwatchers are there,The smell of blog is everywhere… Hit & Run: Are Gypsies still being targeted for sterilization? The post recalls a lot of the points I made here–even without a policy of racist sterilization, there are a lot of reasons to think the dominant groups will get there anyway. The Rat: ?!?!? (or, philosophie dans le boardroom.) And from the Telegraph: The notorious Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad is at the centre of fresh abuse allegations just a week... Read more

JUST CONDUCT IN WAR: A bunch of links. “Mixed messages on torture”: …Meanwhile, across the Potomac, an Army general unveiled a new Army interrogations manual designed to fit squarely within the protections of the Geneva Conventions. That new manual specifically bars hooding, forced nudity, sexual humiliation, mock executions and many of the other “tough” techniques allegedly practiced in Iraq, Afghanistan, Guantánamo and the black sites. The new manual was presented by Lt. Gen. John Kimmons, the Army deputy chief of... Read more

ANTI-CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM ROUNDUP. There’s a lot to like about John McCain, but McCain-Feingold was stupid and wrong. Read more