“A Jefferson County teacher picked the wrong example when he used assassinating President Barack Obama as a way to teach angles to his geometry students… The teacher was apparently teaching his geometry students about parallel lines and angles, officials said. He used the example of where to stand and aim if shooting Obama.” [Birmingham News]

The Palin family continues its quest to be the real-life version of The Aristocrats:

Bristol Palin is hitting the speakers’ circuit and will command between $15,000 and $30,000 for each appearance, Palin family attorney Thomas Van Flein said Monday.

Van Flein confirmed a report by celebrity news website RadarOnline that the daughter of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has signed with Single Source Speakers. He added her exact fees will depend on factors such as which group she’s addressing and what she must to do prepare.

Bristol Palin, 19, is listed on the speaking group’s website as available for conferences, fundraisers, special events and holidays, as well as women’s, youth, abstinence and “pro-life” programs.

Remember, kids, practice safe sex and wait until marriage, lest you end up like Bristol Palin, a wealthy celebrity who will never have to work a day in her life.

Bristol Palin to hit speakers’ circuit [AP, via Political Wire]

Michelle Malkin on the GOP Crapweasel Club: “Yep, it’s time again for my upside-down elephant again. Just when CT Democrat Attorney General Richard Blumenthal’s Vietnam fables should be front and center political news, here’s a creepy Republican to steal the ignominious spotlight… Seriously, can these losers stop yammering about God when they’re caught?”

We never cease to be amused at Christians who can’t conceive of how we survive without their deity watching over us. Surely we’re fooling ourselves, living an ersatz form of religion without the trappings. Surely we can’t maintain a coherent form of ethics without the Yahweh Seal of Approval. Surely we don’t mean it.

Actually, we don’t. Doesn’t come up that often, really. Only when we encounter proselytizers at our front door. Or when Sully decides to start a campaign:

If I may intrude, and ask a question I do not mean to be loaded, just curious: I wonder what Kevin thinks happens to him when he dies? And how does he feel about that — not just emotionally but existentially? These questions can be addressed without talking of God. And yet they reveal something about what it is to be human.

We won’t presume to speak for Kevin Drum, and as a rule we resent Professional Atheists, so we won’t presume to speak for the Godless Cabal either, although we’ll show you the secret handshake if you buy us a pint. But to address Sully’s first question, here’s what happens when you die:

You cease to exist.

We know, we know — fucking waste of an advanced philosophy degree.

Read more »

Apparently the universe doesn’t abhor a vacuum:

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) posed for a picture with Birther leader and California secretary of state candidate Orly Taitz at a tea party lunch event in California Friday, Taitz tells TPM.

Taitz and Bachmann both spoke at a lunch sponsored by the Tea Party Patriots, Taitz said in an email. But Birtherism did not come up at the event, according to Taitz…

Bachmann was in California for two days for a tour organized by Phyllis Schlafly’s Eagle Forum.

We were going to say something clever here, but we can’t get the Pixies out of our head.

Orly Taitz And Michele Bachmann Appear At Lunch Together [TPM]

A Conservative’s Case for Sarah Palin’s Genius: “I think liberals and those in the mainstream media fear her. Sure, they openly say she has no chance of beating President Obama — if she even runs, that is; but, inside, they must fear that she could very well beat President Obama in a one-on-one match-up.” [Tony Lee/Atlantic]

[NewScientist]