Right? With the hanging with and healing the downtrodden, and busting the Pharisees, and putting up with the apostles' being generally annoying and bickering among themselves about which one of them was the greatest (srsly? I'm not surprised Jesus went up on the Mount of Olives to get a break from them).

Catechism class would've been so much more fun with Steph in it. I used to get in trouble with the nuns questioning stuff like this.

I love that Chuck Mangione is on KOTH. I wonder why they picked him.

Because saving money feeeeels soooo goooood.

I used to get in trouble with the nuns questioning stuff like this.

Oh, me too. Actually, a lot of my interpretation of the bible comes from the Freak-Ass Church. They're a very odd lot -- heavily bible-based, with a very strong emphasis on studying the nuances of the original languages the books were written in, as well as the historical/social/cultural context, and yet *rigidly* literal in their interpretation -- and with a sense of humor about the things that are, frankly, funny.

Like the prophet Elisha calling bears to maul the shit out of 2 kids who mocked him for -- IIRC -- having a big bushy beard. Because, WTF is that?

Like the prophet Elisha calling bears to maul the shit out of 2 kids who mocked him for -- IIRC -- having a big bushy beard.

I think they were mocking his bald head. Which makes the bears totally justifiable, of course.

ETA: It occurs to me that if Elisha had called in the bears, killed one with his bare (sorry) hands, and turned its fur into a cunning head piece, it would have made a pretty cool story. And the kids would probably have stopped with the mockage, because Elisha still = hardcore.

Oh, that's right -- his bald head!

Why was I thinking beard? Possibly Jeff Bridges in Iron Man.

And the kids would probably have stopped with the mockage, because Elisha still = hardcore.

You totally know he made some quip about having to grin and 'bear' it, sounding suspiciously like McBain.

Shir, I'm sorry about your job loss.

There's a new Vanity Fair article on the Bush years - her's a preview of it....

Ex-aides say Bush never recovered from Katrina

WASHINGTON — Hurricane Katrina not only pulverized the Gulf Coast in 2005, it knocked the bully pulpit out from under President George W. Bush, according to two former advisers who spoke candidly about the political impact of the government's poor handling of the natural disaster.

"Katrina to me was the tipping point," said Matthew Dowd, Bush's pollster and chief strategist for the 2004 presidential campaign. "The president broke his bond with the public. Once that bond was broken, he no longer had the capacity to talk to the American public. State of the Union addresses? It didn't matter. Legislative initiatives? It didn't matter. P.R.? It didn't matter. Travel? It didn't matter."

Dan Bartlett, former White House communications director and later counselor to the president, said: "Politically, it was the final nail in the coffin."

...

Lawrence Wilkerson, top aide and later chief of staff to former Secretary of State Colin Powell, said that as a new president, Bush was like Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee whom critics said lacked knowledge about foreign affairs. When Bush first came into office, he was surrounded by experienced advisers like Vice President Dick Cheney and Powell, who Wilkerson said ended up playing damage control for the president.

"It allowed everybody to believe that this Sarah Palin-like president _ because, let's face it, that's what he was _ was going to be protected by this national-security elite, tested in the cauldrons of fire," Wilkerson said, adding that he considered Cheney probably the "most astute, bureaucratic entrepreneur" he'd ever met.

Now they tell us. (But of course, back then no one knew who Palin was, so they lacked the basis of comparison.)

Oh Jen, what a drag. Wallet losing is so unsettling. As previously reported, the last time I lost mine, I highly recommend including something that looks like a minister's id in your wallet. There is no other reason I got mine back last time with all card intact and no fishy business. No cash of course, but that was my own damn fault.

Thanks for the wiki link Steph. I'm loving Chuck more every minute.

As for Katrina doing Shrub in...I honestly believe that administration was never righted (no pun intended) after 9/11.

"Katrina to me was the tipping point," said Matthew Dowd, Bush's pollster and chief strategist for the 2004 presidential campaign. "The president broke his bond with the public. Once that bond was broken, he no longer had the capacity to talk to the American public. State of the Union addresses? It didn't matter. Legislative initiatives? It didn't matter. P.R.? It didn't matter. Travel? It didn't matter."

I wouldn't call it "breaking a bond," but I agree that Katrina was a tipping point. It wasn't so much a lack of capacity to talk to the American public -- more that, after Katrina, America no longer wanted to hear what he had to say.

Puppy picspam. [link]

This is how they're currently sitting. By my desk. My foot is under there somewhere.