Listen to this, and try not to slap your computer.

Bishop Explains Vatican’s Criticism of U.S. Nuns, on Terry Gross’s “Fresh Air,” on NPR. Guess this particular Christian Quality Control Board needs a run through of the Overboard.

And thanks, DickG., for the link.

Rape victim fights back, faced jail time, but no more.

Savannah Dietrich, a 17-year old Kentuckian, got drunk at a party last August, fell asleep, was raped by two teen boys she knew, who took pictures of their crime and shared those photos.

Her attackers accepted a plea deal Dietrich thought was too lenient, so she named them on Twitter, and for a while there, she faced jail time (up to six months) and a potential fine for violating the confidentiality of juvenile court. She has waived confidentiality.

Sherry sends this, an update: Assault Victim Won’t Face Fine, Jail Time for Tweeting  Names. I should hope not.

And thanks, DickG., for the link.

And thanks, Cynical, for the musical accompaniment:

Has Penn State been punished enough?

The NCAA handed down what some of the media is calling some pretty severe punishments for the football hierarchy looking the other way while a serial child sex abuser ran roughshod through the childhoods of…well, we don’t know how many children he hurt, do we?

The NCAA, as punishment:

• Fined the school $60 million.
• Imposed a four-year postseason ban on Penn State football.
• Erased former coach Joe Paterno’s wins from 1998 to 2011.

This in addition to the school voluntarily removing a statue of Paterno, who died in January.

Was that enough? Nothing gives those young men their childhoods back, and, save for the fine, the punishment seems centered on the football program. The attitude that allowed Jerry Sandusky to rape little boys is something that went beyond the football program, and I wish for people who worry about Paterno’s legacy that this goes far, far beyond that, as well.

Of course, not everyone agrees that this was too light a punishment. Perhaps we can agree on this: The whole thing makes us queasy, and the best way to avoid that sick feeling in your stomach is to report to the proper authorities — and follow up on those reports — if you see or suspect child abuse.

Republican Jesus!

And thanks, DickG., for the link.

Mark Greenberg did not just say that, did he?

Because you have to worry about the 5th district’s congressional candidate’s ability to process information when he goes on WNPR’s Where We Live and calls Islam “a cult in many respects.”

Look! Here’s proof that he really did just say that, along with some random nonsense about health care.

Here‘s an update.

In the meantime, we are officially adding Bro. Mark’s name to the 24-7 All-Girl Meditation and Prayer Circle.

The Republicans’ war on sanity

Republican lawmakers are targeting NPR,  Planned Parenthood, and AmeriCorps. NPR and Planned Parenthood have long been popular targets for the Party of Lincoln (can’t have an informed populace, and you dare not let women take their health into their own hands) but AmeriCorps?

And on Friday, they’ll kill Santa. You heard it here first.

Cretins.

Let’s cut off those corporate welfare queens

Think By Numbers says:

There’s so much suffering in the world. It can all get pretty overwhelming sometimes. Consider, for a moment the sorrow in the eyes of a CEO who’s just found out that his end-of-year bonus is only going to be a paltry $2.3 million.

“It felt like a slap in the face. Imagine what it would feel like just before Christmas to find out that you’re going to be forced to scrape by on your standard $8.4 million compensation package alone. Imagine what is was like to have to look into my daughter’s face and tell her that I couldn’t afford to both buy her a dollar sign shaped island and hire someone to chew her food from now on, too. To put her in that situation of having to choose… She’s only a child for God’s sake.”

It doesn’t have to be this way. Thanks to federal subsidies from taxpayers like you, CEO’s like G. Allen Andreas of Archer Daniels Midland was able to take home almost $14 million in executive compensation last year. But he’s one of the lucky ones. There are still corporations out there that actually have to provide goods and services to their consumers in order to survive. They need your help.

This is a tale of woe, but I’ll keep it short

I have had a tooth that has pained me for months, and, like any good American, I put off having it looked at until things got so bad that I must now bid farewell to that that tooth, and either get an implant [insert implant joke here] or become accustomed to a blended diet.

I have now visited three different dentists/specialists and am to see an oral surgeon on Friday, whom I really really really hope yanks that sucker out so I can stop going to dentists’ offices for a few months.

(Yes, I know implants take months, but at least I’ll have a Purpose.)

Why do I want to stop going to dentist offices? Because they’re sad. The offices I’ve been going to are largely peopled by folks without insurance and you can tell they’re in pain and they’ve put this visit off not because they’re chicken like me, but because they can’t afford decent dental care. So things head south and they suck on ice or they suck it up because they’re broke.

I once sat in on a lecture by a dentist who talked about all the things a dentist can detect, just from peering into your mouth. It was stunning to me, and it’s stunning that so many people go without care.

I sat in an office yesterday waiting for yet more bad news, and in the chair next to me sat an older woman, who listened — bewildered — as a dentist was saying that her teeth are riddled with cavities and that she would probably lose all or most of them. She tried to explain to him that when she was growing up, you only went to the dentist when something hurt and she was doing alright but things started to hurt. The dentist acted surprised that she’d held up under the pain as well as she had. I don’t know her insurance situation, but I’m guessing it’s crappy. He walked her out into the waiting room where she started making appointments to lose her teeth. She seemed very matter-of-fact about it. Me? I was angry for her.

The DISCLOSE Act died on Monday.

Think it will be revived today?

And why shouldn‘t we know who’s giving and who’s getting political donations?

Dennis Kucinich explains LIBOR

You can read more here.

And thanks, DickG., for the link.