Hot news flashes

Checking today's headlines, I saw a report that two research teams have discovered a method of "reprogramming" human skin cells to make them behave like embryonic stem cells. I have a casual interest in the stem cell controversy since it's another example of public policy being dictated by hardcore religious conservatives, one of my pet peeves. I'm reasonably sure there are many Americans who, deep down in their hearts, would prefer the country be an outright theocracy. If the rest of us don't start paying attention, they might get their way.

Another report says that Hucklebuck has soared into second place in the polls in Iowa, with about 24 percent of the potential GOP caucus vote. He's still a little behind Mormon Mitt Romney, who's getting 28 percent. Hucklebuck lost 100 pounds, an accomplishment to be admired, but something about the idea of a Southern Baptist preacher controlling the entire US armed forces and intelligence apparatus bothers me.

The Supreme Court has decided to hear a case involving the ban on handguns in Washington DC. The NRA types are in a near-orgasmic frenzy since it's assumed the current court will toss the whole idea of gun control. That might be a good thing, since it would take one of the three big Republican wedge issues off the table. If all the voters whose single issue is gun control stay home on election day, the country will be better off in the long run. People who think life is one big Clint Eastwood/Bruce Willis movie shouldn't get to choose presidents.

Finally, former press secretary Scott McClellan is in the headlines. He has a book coming out next spring about his White House experiences, some of which involve the Valerie Plame matter. To stimulate interest and potential sales, McClellan is hinting that Bush and Cheney were responsible for his lies to the news media about the Plame leaks. I'm not sure why an allegation that Bush and Cheney lied would be considered news, but apparently it is. Somewhere, there'll be somebody who's stunned to learn that Cheney and Bush might have said something untrue.

2:46 PM same day: I was out driving around, listening to the RW talk radio station as I sometimes do when I'm in the car. One of the topics being discussed was a speech Barack Obama gave during a campaign stop at a New Hampshire high school. During his speech, Obama was asked what his own high school years were like. He told the audience he'd done a lot of drinking, drugs, screwing around, and generally pissing his life away. He's apparently written about this in a book, so it's not exactly brand new information and I'm not even sure why it's being talked about on the radio.

Anyway, the news media decided they'd run this by the other presidential candidates to see if they could stir the chumbucket. I thought Rudy Giuliani had the best comeback: he said America needed to get over the idea its candidates for elected office will be perfect. In fact, people shouldn't vote for anybody who claims to be mistake-free, because that person is overdue for a BIG one.

He might have been referring to Mormon Mitt Romney, whose "Mr. Clean" act is one of his least appealing features among several. It comes across as holier-than-thou to me, and wears me down. The politicians who are dirtbags don't piss me off as much as the ones who pretend they're not.