We got another Catholic Bishop mixing it up. Most Rev. Joseph Martino of Scranton…. go!

At the direction of the Most Reverend Bishop, this letter is to be read by the celebrant at all Masses of Obligation on Respect Life Weekend, Saturday, October 4, and Sunday, October 5, at the time of and instead of the homily. Moreover, a copy of the letter should be circulated with all parish bulletins on this same weekend.

[Except at Masses where IRS agents are in attendance. Wink. Fast-forward to operative bit. (Ed.)]

Another argument goes like this: “As wrong as abortion is, I don’t think it is the only relevant ‘life’ issue that should be considered when deciding for whom to vote.” This reasoning is sound only if other issues carry the same moral weight as abortion does, such as in the case of euthanasia and destruction of embryos for research purposes. Health care, education, economic security, immigration, and taxes are very important concerns. Neglect of any one of them has dire consequences as the recent financial crisis demonstrates. However, the solutions to problems in these areas do not usually involve a rejection of the sanctity of human life in the way that abortion does. Being “right” on taxes, education, health care, immigration, and the economy fails to make up for the error of disregarding the value of a human life.

OK. As soon as the Catholic Church hierarchy actually owns up to all of the coverups they’ve engaged in over the past 30 or 40 years, I’ll get back to them on this thing. Until then, I could be bothered.

[Note: this is a standard thing now. I recall that the Bishop of Madison required all priests, the Sunday before Election 2006, to play a CD of a rant against gay marriage, with sanctions for non-compliant priests.]

Blogenfreude said yesterday that he doesn’t have the stomach for Free Republic. (Manchu said so too, as did everyone with a brain.) There’s a reason for this, per a posting on the “Obama’s Grandma Isn’t Really Sick” thread:

He has no birth certificate. And his grandmother will mysteriously die while he is there. You know she holds secrets that cannot be revealed……

“Here, Grandma, let me put this pillow over your head. Nice grandma”

And the whole “Andy Martin Knows Everything” train of thought(?) is present, as is the idea that he is just doing this to prevent criticism.

Oh dear. Looks like there will be another card-table with literature outside Geezer’s rallies. If you go, tell the “she’s totally faking it” crew that Chicago Bureau says (a) “hi” and (b) “fuck you.”

Since none of you bothered to bid, it looks like Iceland is officially bankrupt:

The credit crunch claimed its first sovereign scalp last night as Iceland readied itself to accept an International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout. … The IMF may provide about $1 billion in emergency cash for Iceland with the balance lent by Norway, Sweden and Denmark and additional money possibly coming from Russia and Japan.
…
The IMF is likely to attach stringent conditions to the loan, including the stipulation that Iceland quickly deleverage its three nationalised banks Kaupthing, Landsbanki and Glitner.

Who’s next?  Pakistan? California? Did you forget Poland?

Report: Iceland to Accept IMF Bailout [Calculated Risk]

Shocking news from the paper of record:

On Sunday night, [Sarah Palin] twice took questions from reporters, the first time on an airport tarmac without her press staff’s knowledge.

You can imagine the chaos that ensued, but we’ll spare you the trouble: an operative barking “Get Tracey” into his headset, handler Tracey Schmitt rushing to the scene of the outbreak to contain the beast, shouts of “Thank you!” in a vain attempt to prevent further answers from contaminating the campaign.

Reports of dart guns, weighted nets and biplanes are unconfirmed. McCain spokesdouche Tucker Bounds later denied the incident, saying it’s unproven that Palin is even capable of speaking in her own words.

Palin Breaking Out of Cocoon [NYT]

Well, it’s come to this. Nightly Special Comments from KO for the duration.

1. If they are nightly, they properly can’t be called “special” anymore, really.

2. I fear for this man’s health. Perhaps this would prevent him from having an aneurysm, in that he can vent the energy. But him blowing a gasket on national teevee is now a possibility. Pray for him.

Sorry for the lack of a Sunday Night post.  (I’m sure y’all were just crestfallen.)  But, as I was working for Hope all weekend and watching the Red Sox finally implode, I was exhausted.

But here’s something for everyone to ponder: Where the hell is Al Gore? Seriously, now.  The DRILL BABY DRILL caucus has been bleating for three or four months now, and I haven’t seen him since the convention.  Did Bill Clinton get to him?  All signs point to yes.

[P.S.: we have to get an OBL-video pool going.  This will happen, of course, and it will be spun against Black Eagle.  Barry or Joe or some high-level surrogate could point out that Bush has failed to catch this guy, after seven years, and that this TRUE FACT could actually, you know, stick.  But, as I have said, my Hope reserves are running a bit low.]

We’re not in the habit of indulging ourselves with optimism, but whatever happens in the next two weeks, the sight of a hundred thousand people cheering on a man who isn’t (a) throwing a football, (b) driving a racecar, or (c) inciting them to invade France, does tend to weaken our cynical resolve.

Obama Draws 100,000 in Missouri [WaPo]