Read it and weep at the Washington Post.

Hey, at least this is a whole lot more honest. The typical tract is to leave loopholes only those who can afford it can find.

Posted so close together you’d figure these two are conspiring.

First read at the Washington Post what you already know, cultural critics deploy the same kinds of arguments again, and again, and again. A perfect how-to for you webloggers that want to get in the game!

And lo and behold the weblogosphere has started to link to this Benjamin J. Stein article on how our culture is slowly poisoning us.

Let me lay down a few links for you.

CNN: Trent Lott won’t step down. The Bush administration did a good job of distancing itself from him. Here’s the bottom line… if Bush/Rove wanted Lott to go, he’d be on the first Chevy Suburban out of town. All that’s come so far is brilliant political sidestepping. Keep that in mind the next time you blindly vote for a political party across the board – it’s your/our fault he’s in office in the first place.

dangerousmeta: Garret argues for zero tolerance and points to the latest unemployment rates. It’s damning. That’s what it is.

The Cardinal steps down. That’s not enough when this is as systematic as it appears. I’m surprised at how quiet the other Christian bloggers have been. Yes, statistically, the occurence of these crimes against humanity are similar to the population at large – but that is no excuse for the coverup. No excuse. No excuse. No excuse! It makes me sick, gets me angry, and depresses me all at the same time when I think about it.

In the cases of Law and Lott you have organizations that should have taken responsibility and done the right thing. Instead you have protection of the organization superceeding protection of those that are served by it.

In other, related news….

NYTimes: Kissinger Pulls Out of 9/11 Commision.

Oliver Willis: Whitman expected to resign from her EPA post. She was set up to fail IMHO. You can argue what you may about her, but she does inspire passion. Hopefully we will see her in the public service realm arena again.

Here is the story at KYW. Now why couldn’t there be a similar ‘do not e-mail’ list that spammers would need to check or be fined?

This is harsh. …

Have you ever wondered why sport utility vehicle drivers seem like such assholes? Surely it’s no coincidence that Terry McAuliffe, chairman of the Dem-ocratic National Committee, tours Washington in one of the biggest SUVs on the market, the Cadillac Escalade, or that Jesse Ventura loves the Lincoln Navigator. Well, according to New York Times reporter Keith Bradsher’s new book, High and Mighty, the connection between the two isn’t a coincidence. Unlike any other vehicle before it, the SUV is the car of choice for the nation’s most self-centered people; and the bigger the SUV, the more of a jerk its driver is likely to be.

According to market research conducted by the country’s leading automakers, Bradsher reports, SUV buyers tend to be “insecure and vain. They are frequently nervous about their marriages and uncomfortable about parenthood. They often lack confidence in their driving skills. Above all, they are apt to be self-centered and self-absorbed, with little interest in their neighbors and communities. They are more restless, more sybaritic, and less social than most Americans are. They tend to like fine restaurants a lot more than off-road driving, seldom go to church and have limited interest in doing volunteer work to help others.”

Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch! Read the rest of Stephanie Mencimer’s review of Keith Bradsher’s “High and Mighty: SUVs”.

“Father, in the name of Jesus,” Efrain Cotto prayed Wednesday, minutes before the first seating of a pre-Thanksgiving dinner for the homeless and hungry at the Salvation Army headquarters in North Philadelphia.

“We need your help. We can’t do this alone.”

Besides Jesus, Mr. Cotto, volunteer coordinator for the Salvation Army and a local pastor, could have used a couple of dozen more volunteers.

Read the rest in this Philadelphia Inquirer article.

Jeff Jarvis explains why Fox News, or Howard Stern, or certain blogs for that matter, are so popular.

More then a few bloggers dodged the real question when commenting on Rev. Jim Ball’s environmental campaign titled “What Would Jesus Drive?”.

Shame! You know that’s just a phrase to get people talking about moral responsibility and the cars they drive and not a true hypothetical question about SUVs!

The issue probably cuts too close to home.

We have a personal moral responsibility, a civic responsibility, a patriotic responsibility, to watch out for each other – by not wasting precious resources that each of us has to share. That’s not sacrifice. It’s not compulsion. It’s compassion.

To dodge that conversation and talk about priests molesting children (which is an outrage in and of itself) instead of engaging in the query at hand is disingenuous. It’s a technique to avoid critical thinking and discussion.

Morals, ethics, and patriotism. Religion or no religion. I give a salute to the Reverend for sticking is neck out on an unpopular subject.

Don’t you post in my comments on what car Jesus would drive! Think! What would you drive if you actually gave a shit about someone other then yourself? That is the question.

Please don’t confuse me as somekind of environmental radical. I realize there are people that actually need SUVs. And I gotta admit to being a bit of a car nut. Took auto mechanics in high school. My dream car is a Mustang GT-350. That doesn’t invalidate the conversation however. I am uncomfortable with it – as I am sure you are – it’s because of this discomfort that makes it something that should be talked about.