News Roundup for 4/27/09

Totally gay

-Headline of the day-
"'Probable' swine flu case in sixth state."

And that sixth state is Michigan. According to the report, "The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) were reviewing state laboratory results to confirm whether a 34-year-old woman was in fact infected with the dangerous disease."

Despite all the freaking out, the article tells us, "Most of the US victims have recovered fully after experiencing only mild symptoms," so I'm sure she'll be fine. In other words, it's the flu -- settle down. The only place it's actually been a problem is in Mexico, where the only deaths have been reported. This is probably due to intense poverty in that nation, which results in poor nutrition, and the lack of an effective health care infrastructure.

But here's the thing; you know how every time there's some big, scary disaster, the religious right are quick to say it's "God's punishment for ___?" Yeah, you're not hearing that this time.

Why? Well, the states now reporting cases are New York, California, Texas, Kansas, Ohio, and now Michigan. All states without legal same sex marriage. And today's the first day that gays can marry in Iowa. The message is clear; God is really gay and He's really pissed.

Repent and appease the wrath of the Almighty! Gay-marry someone right away.

It's your only hope... (Agence France-Presse)


-Cartoon time with Mark Fiore-
Hey kids, it's Fuzzy the Conciliation Caterpillar!


Click for animation

Like Fuzzy, our history of torture will one day turn into a beautiful butterfly. Or something like that...

Look, I don't pretend to understand this stuff, kids. I just play the cartoons. (MarkFiore.com)


-Oops!-
From Senator Susan Collins' (R-ME) website:


February 5, 2009

...Sen. Collins, a centrist with allies in both parties, was called to the White House Wednesday to meet with Mr. Obama. She envisions holding the cost of the stimulus package to $700 billion or less, well below the $819 billion package of tax cuts and spending the House approved last week.

[...]

After meeting with Mr. Obama, Sen. Collins expressed concern about a number of spending provisions, including $780 million for pandemic-flu preparedness. "I have no doubt that the president is willing to negotiate in good faith, that he wants to have a bipartisan bill," Sen. Collins said.


Collins succeeded. The flu-preparedness funding was stripped from the bill. Yay! In fact, she's so proud of this victory that the story's still on her site. Who foresaw a mutant bacon/Chicken McNuggets flu strain coming just months down the road?

With torture, Republicans have become soft on crime. Now, with flu creeping over our southern border, they're soft on national defense. Ironically, the GOP is slowly becoming everything they've accused Democrats of being for decades.

Why do Republicans hate America? (Office of Susan M. Collins, via reddit)