News Roundup for 1/11/11

Cindy Jacobs?

-Headline of the Day-
"'Gay demon' exorcist claims mass animal deaths due to 'don't ask' repeal."

I'm a little lost on why they let gay demons be exorcists, but there ya go. Affirmative action run amok, I guess.

Anyway, evangelist Cindy Jacobs, who exorcises "gay demons" (oh, now I get it), says that the recent mass deaths of birds and fish are expressions of God's anger of the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell." The fact that birds and fish had jack to do with it is beside the point, I guess.

And her reasoning is rock solid. "Let's talk about this Arkansas pattern and say, could it be a pattern?" she asks. Well, since she just called it a pattern, I'd have to say yes. Thus it is proven.

"[T]he blackbirds fell to the ground in Beebe, Arkansas," she goes on. "Well the Governor of Arkansas' name is Beebe. And also, there was something put out of Arkansas called 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' by a former Governor, this was proposed, Bill Clinton." Wheels within wheels, man. Wheels within wheels.

There is a slight problem here, however. The report tells us, "The mass death of wildlife is a fairly common occurrence, according to the US Geological Survey (USGC) scientists. The agency said the deaths were probably caused by loud noises, such as fireworks, that startled the birds and caused them to fly into objects such as houses or trees during the night."

I guess the moral of this story is that we shouldn't pay a lot of attention to "gay demon" exorcists. (Raw Story, with video)


-Death panels are real...-
...it's just that they've been established by Republicans. Since this is the case, Republicans, 'baggers, and Sarah Palin are apparently fine with them.

According to the report, "at least two Arizonans have died because they were denied funding for organ transplants that they were promised following Medicaid budget cuts championed by Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R). The governor called the transplants 'optional' and has ignored those who have proposed possible solutions that would fully fund the transplants without requiring any additional revenue." Now a third faces the same death panel deciding how much her life is worth to taxpayers.

Karen Brianin was told "that without a new liver, she's going to die." The state has told her that she's probably not going to get that liver, because the transplant wouldn't be "cost-effective." Brianin says she's leaving Arizona for Colorado, because she'd "rather roll the dice in another state, than be at the mercy of lawmakers in Arizona."

You know what's especially fun about all this? It's exactly what Sarah Palin envisioned when she cooked up her "death panel" idea -- government bureaucrats making medical decisions based on cost. Hearing Sarah making a lot of noise that GOP Gov. Jan Brewer has brought her fears to life?

Yeah, me neither. (Think Progress)


-Bonus HotD-
"1/11/11: Significantly Insignificant?"

Today is 1/11/11, a date which won't happen again for 100 years!

And them tomorrow, it's back to the same old same old, with boring 1/12/11 -- a date which won't happen again for 100 years! (Huffington Post)