Joe's For Jesus

"I get to go over there and let their 'Average Joes' share their story, what they think, how they feel, especially with world opinion, maybe get a real story out there," [Wurzelbacher] said.

"If given the opportunity to do some good however minute it may be, or could be something really good, you gotta take that chance. You have to do it," he added, heroically.

Is he scared that one of the Hamas rockets might have his name on it? Not really. After all, as he explained, he's a Christian so God will keep him safe.

"Being a Christian I'm pretty well protected by God I believe," he said.

JtP can convert a few of Israeli Joes to Christianity while he's on assignment, if only to save their lives. And when he gets back, he can baptize Roger L. Simon.

Spider-Man 3, a pro-American, pro-responsibility film with deeply Christian overtones topped the box office in 2007.

I'm glad I missed that one.

Other bloggers at the site include U.S. Representative Thaddeus McCotter, the Virgin Ben, a screenwriter using a pseudonym, an extra from Enterprise and not-Assrocket. Expect posts from Kirk Cameron, Victoria Jackson and Mickey Kaus in the near future, and a 404 message to soon follow.

The Al Franken Sexennial

Congratulations to Senator-Elect Al Franken on his defeat of bent incumbent Nor Loserman.

P.S. to Nor: Election attorneys are not the lawyers you should be spending time with right now.

Power Concedes Nothing Without A Demand

(link)

While we're all feeling satisfied with ourselves today, it wouldn't hurt to remember the children who were brutalized in our own lifetimes, and honor their lives. And also to remember the terrorists of the time, and their sympathizers, many of whom are still with us.

Over at VegetativeState, Oly Olafson takes the early lead in the race for the 2009 World's Stupidest Fucking Blogger Award (aka the Goldbergy). Says Oly:

Washington Post hires left-wing blogger. I guarantee they wouldn't hire someone from the right.

Well, we really don't need any reminder as to the liberal bias of the mainstream media, but I'll remind you anyway.

Greg Sargent was with the left-wing Talking Points Memo. Now he is with the Washington Post.

I'm sure Greg Sargent is good at what he does, but I'm also sure the Washington Post would not even consider hiring someone directly from the right-of-center blogosphere.

Not now, that's for damn sure.

After someone points out the 800-pound box turtle in the room, Oly yodel-simpers his response:

He was tossed quickly after lefty outrage — and let's be honest, it had more to do with the lefty outrage than later revelations. They weren't going to stand by him the minute the phones started wringing [sic!].

On March 24 2006, RedState contributor Erick (Erickson) called the plagiarism allegations "lies" and said that "permissions obtained" were not reflected in the online record.

Or is it more like this?

Domenech said he needed to research the examples but that he never used material without attribution and had complained about a college editor improperly adding language to some of his articles.

Bonus fun, from Oly's comments: "Where does anyone get off insulting the CO-FOUNDER of a blog on his own blog?"

(Story via Memeorandum, and seen on many other blogs -- see here and here.)

Love Changes Everything

I've come back from my break a more passionate and sensitive Roger, open to life's transformative possibilities and with a deep appreciation of intimacy in all its forms. Some might call it mood-swingy.

To reflect my changed outlook on life, I offer you a true story of Love and the Power of the Internet.

Enjoy.

The Defense of Marriage Bankruptcy Act

Now here are some victims of the Bush Recession I can really feel for:

When Marci Needle and her husband began to contemplate divorce in June, they thought they had enough money to go their separate ways. They owned a million-dollar [sic] home near Atlanta and another in Jacksonville, Fla., as well as investment properties.

Now the market for both houses has crashed, and the couple are left arguing about whether the homes are worth what they owe on them, and whether there are any assets left to divide, Ms. Needle said.

"We're really trying very hard to be amicable, but it puts a strain on us," said Ms. Needle," the friction audible in her voice. I want him to buy me out. It's in everybody's interest to settle quickly. That would be my only income. It's been incredibly stressful."

That just tears me up. If the Needles can't make do with two "million dollar" homes and their investment properties, what hope is there for the rest of us.

(It seems to me the article should have mentioned that the Needles are real estate pros, just for context. Apparently the commercial real estate market in Jacksonville is in the crapper too, but you'd think Dave would let Marci keep her job as General Manager if he was so amicable.)

It used to be that an ailing economy was good for Big Divorce:

High-finance marriages are crumbling along with the economy, divorce lawyers say, and because of it, couples who are splitting up are paying closer attention to the timing of bonus payouts and other economic trends in the hope of achieving the best possible settlement.

"A lot of couples who have been living the good life have begun the process of re-evaluating their lives together," said Jacalyn F. Barnett, a Manhattan divorce lawyer. "In the past year, I have seen how the dramatic changes in our economy have had a dramatic effect on married people, especially those who have been used to earning high salaries, and many of those couples can no longer handle the stress."

But now people can't afford to lose the old ball-and-chain, and can't even just scram in the middle of the night and let the bank take over the maintenance. Perhaps God will send us a depression so that traditional marriage can be restored to its former glory.

From The Department of People In Hell Want Ice Water

This just in:

"Some Conservatives Fear Obama Advisers Lean Too Far Left"

Obama's Team Rankles the Right
To Some Conservatives, Advisers Are Alarmingly Liberal

By Carol D. Leonnig
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, January 2, 2009; Page A13

To some staunch conservatives watching President Bush relinquish the reins of power to President-elect Barack Obama, a few too many ardent liberals are now crashing the gates.

Some well-known Democratic activists are advising Obama on how to steer federal agencies, including a few whom conservative Republicans fought hard to keep out of power in the Clinton administration. They include Roberta Achtenberg, a gay activist whose confirmation as an assistant housing secretary was famously held up by then-Sen. Jesse Helms (N.C.), and Bill Lann Lee, who was hotly opposed by foes of affirmative action and temporarily blocked from the government's top civil rights job.

The article doesn't quote a single conservative currently criticizing Ms. Achtenberg for being too liberal or the Obama transition team for using Ms. Achtenberg as an adviser. It does quote Jesse Helms, who now exists in the form of worm excrement. Perhaps the author has a beef with Ms. Achtenberg. In any event, conservative whining about liberalism, real or imagined, is about as newsworthy as the sunrise.

Roger, on the other hand, fears that Carol D. Leonnig is a piss-poor writer:

Besides Achtenberg and Lee, other transition advisers' past positions are sending off flares in the ultra-conservative wing of the Republican Party. None of them responded to requests for comment.

Nothing Changes On New Year's Day

I see some sort of unpleasantness took place in the Middle East while I was away. Fortunately many virtual dicks were swung throughout the blogosphere, thus solving the problem before I might have to offer an opinion on the matter.

And speaking of virtual dicks, this post from Marty "The Wedding Singer" Peretz shows why his wife keeps him on an allowance:

One of the ways you can keep up with the world is read all of your e-mails. I don't think I have bad credit. I do not have mortgages on my places of residence. [Of that I have no doubt -- RA] And my payments are up-to-date on my American Express and Visa cards. Still I get solicitations such as the one below at least once or twice a week.


Secured Credit
A Credit Card for People with Bad Credit

New Millenium Bank
2 Wisconsin Circle, Suite 700
Chevy Chase, MD 20815
Attn: Customer Care


I wonder whether the New Millenium Bank has applied for bail-out relief. Bad credit? Why don't you go and borrow from the bank?

Secured credit credit cards, of course, advance the borrower "credit" in the amount of his or her cash deposit with the lender, and carry outrageous origination fees, interest rates etc. for the privilege. (See here for a relatively mild example, if you've been living off your spouse for over a decade.)

Peretz might as well inveigh against those risk-taking rent-to-own and payday loan financiers. Opinion journalism's answer to Marion Davies sure lives a sheltered life.

Next week, Marty complains, "I can get it up whenever I want, but the makers of h3rba1 V1a9ra won't let me be!"