MOsanthrope

Our two boys love Magnetix magnetic building sets — especially our three year old, who must be continuously told not to place the tiny pieces in his mouth. Here’s why:

WASHINGTON - One child died and four others suffered serious injuries after swallowing tiny magnets found in building sets sold nationwide, the Consumer Product Safety […]

Filed under: Children, Games, Health

(AFP/Yahoo! News)
 
The thirteen digits available on Times Square’s famous national debt clock will soon be inadequate to tally our rapidly increasing national debt:

So rapid is the rise of the US national debt, that the last four digits of a giant digital signboard counting the moving total near New York’s Times Square move in seemingly random […]

Filed under: Politics, U.S., Economy

St. Louis based Anheuser-Busch Cos. has purchased the naming rights to the bleacher section at Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs:

The stands beyond the ballpark’s ivy-covered brick outfield wall are undergoing a $13.5 million renovation to add about 1,800 seats and a 100-person private lounge and will be called the “Bud Light Bleachers” under […]

Filed under: St. Louis, Sports, Business

A MOsanthrope tradition since February!
As always, if you’re looking for obtuse political commentary and trite observation, I suggest that you skip to the next post using the scroll bar at right. There’s no one here but us shenanigans.
Building a modest automobile manufacturing company into one of the largest corporations on the planet with a […]

Filed under: Humor

The DNC recently hosted a fundraising event for Rep. William Jefferson (D - LA) at its Washington D.C. headquarters.
MyDD observed that Jefferson is one of two Democrats listed among CREW’s 13 most corrupt members of Congress, a who’s who of political rotten apples which includes the likes of Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) […]

Filed under: Politics, U.S.

Updated on March 30, 2006 at 2:48 pm.
Lord knows I’ve tried, but after reading this I honestly can’t think of anything to add which won’t sound incredibly puerile and get me into big trouble with my wife.
It’s worth a read.
However, I will emphatically state that I am staunchly opposed to any revision to the definition […]

Filed under: Culture, Humor, Beer, Wine, Spirits

Even French police departments have given up on Peugeot and Renault:

PARIS (Reuters) - The next time a criminal in a getaway car in France looks in the rear window the chances are that the vehicle in pursuit will be a blue French police Subaru.
* * *
The Subaru Impreza WRX cars will replace Peugeot’s 306 S16 […]

Filed under: Business, Humor, World

I’ll leave it at that.

Filed under: Politics, U.S., Law

Atrios:

My videotape diagnosis tells me that Frist’s presidential campaign is brain dead and should have its feeding tube removed.

Filed under: Politics, U.S., Humor

While it lacks the sort of car wreck appeal of the Simpson trial or the latest infanticide prosecution, the trial of a former federal prosecutor accused of excessive zealousness in his attempt to convict four alleged terrorist conspirators will be one to watch:

WASHINGTON, March 29 - A grand jury charged Wednesday that a former […]

Filed under: Politics, U.S., Law

Updated on March 29, 2006 at 3:11 pm.
CNN is reporting that Jack Abramoff was sentenced to five years and ten months in prison.
Hopefully, we’ll see a few Congressmen with microphones held to their lips on tonight’s newscasts.UPDATE: CNN now has a story up and reports that the lobbyist was also ordered to pay $21M […]

Filed under: Politics, U.S., Law

Afghani Christian convert, Abdul Rahman, has arrived in Italy and requested asylum:

Italy agreed to grant asylum for Rahman days after Pope Benedict XVI personally appealed to Afghan President Hamid Karzai to show clemency. In the letter, the Roman Catholic leader said if Karzai released Rahman, it would foster mutual understanding and respect among the world’s […]

Filed under: Politics, Religion, U.S., World

Over at Centerfield, an interesting discussion about centrism and partisanship is occurring. I’ve offered my $0.06.
It’s worth a trip, if only to remind yourselves why blogs have comment sections: A post’s comments are frequently more engaging than the post itself.
↓ {hint, hint} ↓

Filed under: Politics, Blogs, U.S.

Look no further!
All that’s missing is a “heh” or two and maybe a “wtf”:

It’s hard to figure out what unmet need this change is supposed to fill. There’s been a lot of talk about how exhausted the original Bush team is. But Mr. Bolten ought to be as pooped as everybody else. It takes […]

Filed under: Politics, U.S., Humor

The Debate Link’s David Schraub reminds us that although the Founding Fathers were quite religious, they were also absolutely serious about the whole separation of church and state thing.
It’s worth a read.

Filed under: Politics, U.S.

Reason #4,356.

Filed under: Culture, U.S., Television

Updated on March 28, 2006 at 11:13 am.
Andrew Card, who had hoped to win the Presidential Chief of Staff iron man award, has resigned. Card has a reputation for hard work and long hours.
Neither Card nor the President have so far revealed the reason for Card’s resignation; however, CNN offered the following observation in […]

Filed under: Politics, U.S.

The fact that the armed forces are blocking our troops’ access to liberal political web sites has been widely reported elsewhere in the blogosphere. Mike Stark over at Calling All Wingnuts offered the following observations:

So, what sites are restricted? Which ones aren’t? More from the Marine:
Unfortunately anonomizers don’t work out here (never have). Anyway, […]

Filed under: Politics, U.S., Media

Several months ago, the blogosphere was abuzz with rumors that Plamegate would finally provide Karl Rove his comeuppance for a lifetime spent deceitfully orchestrating sleazy attack politics. Fitzgerald’s investigation is shaping up to be a battle between advisors to the President and the Vice President, and Rove might be naming names.
From The Raw Story […]

Filed under: Politics, U.S., Law

Updated on March 27, 2006 at 6:04 pm (I) and on March 30, 2006 at 10:38 am (II).
While attending mass yesterday, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia made a photographer an offer he apparently could refuse:

Minutes after receiving the Eucharist at a special Mass for lawyers and politicians at Cathedral of the Holy Cross, […]

Filed under: Politics, U.S., Law

Sadly, No! suggests possible replacements for serial plagiarist Ben Domenech as Post “conservative blogger.”
It’s very funny stuff; however, Brad’s self-nomination has nothing on The General’s.

Filed under: Politics, U.S., Humor

We get it. In fact, we got it about five newly-declassified confidential memos, three revealing magazine exposés and two earth-shattering hardcovers ago:

LONDON - In the weeks before the United States-led invasion of Iraq, as the United States and Britain pressed for a second United Nations resolution condemning Iraq, President Bush’s public ultimatum to […]

Filed under: Politics, U.S.

The Vice President said on Friday that he objects to Democrats’ use of the moniker “dangerously incompetent” to describe his administration:

“The leaders of the Democratic Party have stepped into the debate — not with a positive message, but with a slogan proclaiming that our administration is ‘dangerously incompetent,’” Cheney said at a Florida campaign event.

Holy […]

Filed under: Politics, U.S.

From The Boston Globe via No Capital:

WASHINGTON — When President Bush signed the reauthorization of the USA Patriot Act this month, he included an addendum saying that he did not feel obliged to obey requirements that he inform Congress about how the FBI was using the act’s expanded police powers.
The bill contained several oversight provisions […]

Filed under: Politics, U.S., Law

Liberals do.

Filed under: Politics, U.S.

Another glimpse at the sleazy underbelly of Missouri GOP politics:

The Missouri Insurance Department sent out press releases this week announcing it had found a way to save $67,584 and follow Gov. Matt Blunt’s orders to improve efficiency.
Here’s what the press release doesn’t make clear: The state is getting rid of the employee in the […]

Filed under: Politics, Missouri

I’m confident that this constitutes an adequate ground for disbarment:

A federal indictment of Glen Carbon attorney Gary Peel, made public Thursday, accuses him of trying to coerce his ex-wife with sexually explicit photos he snapped in 1974 of her 16-year-old sister.
Peel, 62, is charged with bankruptcy fraud, obstruction of justice and possession of child pornography, […]

Filed under: Law

Updated on March 24, 2006 at 8:54 pm.
It’s regrettable that posts like this are appropriately filed under both the “environment” and “politics” categories.
Rorschach:

(Reuters)
 
According to two recent studies, the rate of global warming is worse than previously thought:

Researchers from the University of Arizona and the National Center for Atmospheric Research noted that sea levels rose […]

Filed under: Politics, Science, Environment, World

The Washington Post’s new “conservative blogger” has apparently never written anything which he did not plagiarize.
Seriously.
You can’t make this stuff up. {rimshot}UPDATE: WaPo.com Executive Editor, Jim Brady: He’s outta’ here.UPDATE II: Domenech’s rebuttal is here; surrebuttals are here, here and here. Point of procedure: What is the term […]

Filed under: Politics, Blogs, U.S., Media

Reason #247:

Cafferty:..You know, I just have a question. I mean, part of the coverage, they don’t like the coverage, maybe because we were sold a different ending to this story three years ago. We were told that we’d be embraced as conquering heroes, flower pedals strewn in the soldiers’ paths, a unity government would be […]

Filed under: Politics, U.S., Media