Tom Toles’s Dec. 23, 2005 cartoon:
The tagline “Maybe a new name…” at the bottom is perfect, because that’s exactly what Bill Dembski was advocating on his weblog:
I therefore offer the following proposal if ID gets outlawed from our public schools: retitle it Intelligent Evolution (IE).
I wrote about this earlier, but I’m glad the creationists’ tactics have entered the public consciousness enough that a mainstream cartoonist like Toles figures his readers will get it.
After his call to assassinate Hugo Chavez and his claim that the residents of Dover, PA rejected God, now Pat Robertson is saying that God caused Ariel Sharon’s stroke. Which, I think, puts him in the same category as Howard Stern, Marilyn Manson, and Bill O’Reilly, since it’s obvious he’s just saying whatever will rile people up and get him some attention.
But on the off chance that he’s off his meds and really means what he says, what kind of god is this? A being who created cubic megarparsecs of space and billions of years of time, yet is petty enough to care about a few square miles of desert on our planet. One who’s vindictive enough to cause a man grievous bodily harm instead of explaining his position rationally. And finally, he’s a pussy who won’t come out and show himself.
I’m sorry, but that’s not a being worthy of worship.
Think Progress has a succinct summary of the unraveling Abramoff scandal.
What struck me is not the extent of the corruption, but how low some of the bribes were: $1,000 each for Conrad Burns and John Doolittle to write a letter to the Secretary of the Interior to try to sway her. $5,000 for Burns, again, to change his mind and vote in favor of sweatshops and sex trade. $1,000 to John Cornyn to shut down a casino that Abramoff wanted closed. And so on.
What surprised me is not that they’re whores, but that they’re cheap whores. Then again, influence-peddling is a buyer’s market. It’s also a good investment, since the dot-com and housing bubbles broke.
I should write these people letters:
Dear Senator/Representative Trollop:
I didn’t realize your rates were so low. Please send me a catalog of your services.
Sincerely, etc.
PS: Do you accept your competitors’ coupons?