Fruits and Nuts

From the floor of the House of Representatives a full five days ago:
"You don't have money to fund the war or children. But you're going to spend it to blow up innocent people if we can get enough kids to grow old enough for you to send to Iraq to get their heads blown off for the president's amusement," Rep. Pete Stark D-CA said during the S-CHIP debate.

From the floor of the House of Representatives today, a full five days later:
"I want to apologize first of all to my colleagues, many of whom I have offended, to the president, his family, to the troops that may have found offense in my remarks as were suggested in the motion that we just voted on, and I do apologize...With this apology I will become as insignificant as I should be and we can return to the issues that do divide us but that we can resolve." - Rep. Pete Stark, D-CA after a vote to censure him was defeated by a mere 23 votes, with 8 voting 'present'.

Then Rep. Pete Stark, D-CA, left the floor and cried for a full five minutes as his Democrat colleagues surrounded him.

So, why'd he apologize today after he defiantly refused to do so the past five days? I'm guessing because House Majority Leader, Nancy Pelosi, D-CA, finally said the remarks were "inappropriate" and because the House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-OH, brought the resolution to censure today. Just a guess.

This is not the first time Rep. Pete Stark, D-CA has used abhorrent language, personally attacking those with whom he debates on the floor of the House. So, while the far left rejoiced in his nastiness and probably actually believe there is truth in the remarks because they are so deranged, Rep. Pete Stark, D-CA has given the Republicans a choice sound bite for the upcoming 2008 elections. The scheming class in D.C. figured that tidbit out and knew they had to let Pelosi appear to throw him under the bus.

He is a pitiful old man.

It's reported in today's Houston Chronicle that Nobel laureate Doris Lessing 'Said the Sept. 11 attacks were not that terrible compared to IRA attacks in the United Kingdom". There is one distinct difference Doris doesn't bother to note, though. The almost 3,000 innocent lives lost on a single day in four attacks overwhelm the 30 years it took for that many to be lost in the violence of Northern Ireland.

"Some Americans will think I'm crazy. Many people died, two prominent buildings fell, but it was neither as terrible nor as extraordinary as they think. They're a very naive people, or they pretend to be". she said. She went on to bash Tony Blair and President Bush, of course. Predictable.

She is a pitiful old woman.

I bet Rep. Pete Stark, D-CA and Nobel laureate Doris Lessing could have a fabulous visit together.

And then there's the revelation about Professor Dumbledore. JK Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series of books, decided to out Professor Dumbledore. Why, after 10 years of books and more recognition and publicity than any author in recent times, she decided to out Professor Dumbledore and chat about his sexuality at this point is curious. It's fiction, for one thing. For another, who cares? And this fuels the fire of all those religious fundamentalists who bellyached about the evils of the book series with the wizardry and all certain that children across the country would promptly go to the dark side. Now they are convinced, according to the local radio talk show I heard this morning, that the young readers are scarred for life. They'll probably all become gay now. Every reader loved Professor Dumbledore, before his timely demise, and now they'll just want to copy him, you know.

Help me. Please.

I told my son and husband about JK Rowling's answer to the question posed by a young adult reader. My son, who has literally grown up with Harry Potter and the gang wasn't phased in the least. He ho-hummed the talk and said, sure, he's gay. Then the husband chimed in. Of course he's gay, he's a wizard, the husband declared. What? Did I miss that memo, too? Bad enough I had to be clued into the bathroom etiquette of gay rendezvouses by Senator Larry Craig, R-ID, recently. The husband was teasingly saying all wizards are gay.

At least I think he was kidding.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.