Obama Starts Playing Hardball

The Atlantic's Andrew Sullivan points out the first Obama ad that plays hardball with the fact that McCain has lied, and continues to lie, in McCain's Dishonor. While John Scalzi addresses the issue in his usual trenchant manner with Lie to Me.

Come on, folks. Obama was a Chicago pol before anything else. Did the Republicans really think he couldn't spell "hardball" ? I hope this is the start of Obama trusting his gut again, instead of listening to some of the people of questionable competence working in his campaign...

Hurricane Ike

Bp. Lambert of the Diocese of Dallas has heard from Bp. Dena Harrison, Suffragan of the Diocese of Texas, that:

- Their offices in Houston do have power.
- They assume their church in Orange, TX is under water at this time, but have had no official report.
- Trinity Church, Galveston has extensive damage including a hole in the Tiffany window above the altar.

Bp. Lambert is still awaiting a call back from Bp. Macpherson from Western Louisiana to get an assessment of their needs. They did have evacuees at their camp over the weekend, but many have left.

He asks that anyone who wishes can contribute to the “Hurricane Ike Fund,” making your contributions payable to the Diocese of Dallas. They will forward those funds to the bishops of the diocese of Texas and Western Louisiana so they may address the needs of the people in the diocese who're affected. Donations can also be sent via Episcopal Relief & Development.

Lipstick on a Pig

The last word on that "Lipstick on a Pig" nonsense can be found in today's Sinfest comic.

'Nuff said ;)

QotD for 14 Sep., 2008

Likewise, in the particularly contentious ranks of theologically minded Catholics, or perhaps in the polemic-weary ranks of mainline Protestantism, there are those who have surrendered the label of orthodoxy to conservatives, either because they no longer have the energy to protest or because they have concluded that the whole idea of orthodoxy — correct doctrine or right belief — is too encrusted with questionable notions to be worth defending. --- Peter Steinfels, The Audacity of Claiming the Last Word on This Word, the New York Times, 13 Sep., 2008

[hat tip to The Mad Priest]

McCain's Ads are Lies.

In the last few days we have seen a disgusting descent into the worst sort of sleazy "Swiftboat" politics. Isn't it time for campaigns to get called on this kind of garbage ?

watch on YouTube | digg story

What a Doll!

Hey look, there's even a Caribou Barbie doll out now! ;)

More Palin fun here.

The Loving Mallet of Correction

Scalzi applies the Loving Mallet of Correction to some of the more hysterical Democrats who're freakin' out over Sarah Palin and the post-convention bounce in the polls for the GOP:

Take a nice, deep cleansing breath, center yourself, have some tea, and get a g*ddamn grip. It’s going to be a long two months and if you’re all going off the rails at the slightest hint that this election is not, in fact, a pro forma coronation, it’s going to be even longer still. And you know what? As long as the next two months will be for you, it’ll be nothing like what the next four years will be like if you don’t calm down, get your sh*t together, and fight like you mean it. So settle down. Get some perspective. Focus. ---John Scalzi in A Previous Message Repeated, Slightly More Forcefully