Sometimes I do trust in the judicial system! A conservative Christian group has asked a federal judge to void Vaughn R. Walker’s ruling against Proposition 8 because he is gay and “did not publicly confirm it or disclose his long-term relationship until after he retired from the bench in February.”

But the LA Times reports that California Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris has already argued that courts have rejected “every single one of the attempts to disqualify judges on the basis of their race, gender or religious affiliation,” and legal scholars—even those who disagree with the original ruling—”predict that the effort by Proposition 8 sponsor ProtectMarriage will fail.”

They “took over everything”: Al Qaeda invaded the coastal town of Zinjibar in Yemen, amid suspicion that Al Qaeda of the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), based in Yemen, will take advantage of the country’s political instability to plot new bombing attacks.

Fun with disenfranchisement, 2012 edition: Republicans in state houses across the country are imposing new rules on voters under the pretense of “weeding out fraudulent votes,” reports the New York Times. Especially, it seems, fraudulent votes cast by women and minorities.

Today, in chemical accidents: A mysterious explosion at a North Carolina chemical plant that manufactures aerosols and “other coating products” triggered a fire last night and forced residents within one mile of the plant to evacuate—750 people in total. Extra comforting: no one knows what caused it.

I know it’s shocking, but: Dominique Strauss-Kahn is a bad tipper.

President Obama: Headed to Joplin, Missouri to survey the damage and attend a memorial service for the people who were killed in last week’s tornado.

Today, in improvised weaponry: A Florida woman was arrested yesterday for allegedly buttering her roommate.

Breaking! The Pope addresses the existence of Nazis: Uncharacteristically, the Pope opened up about life under Nazi rule while speaking to a Catholic group in Regensburg, Germany yesterday. Characteristically, he made no mention of his own involvement in the Nazi youth. “It looked like the continent was in the hands of [Nazi] power, which put the future on Christianity in doubt,” he said.

Nervous flyer trigger warning! A Delta jet’s landing gear caught fire upon landing in Atlanta yesterday. Only four people were injured, and the passengers and crew were evacuated safely.

Awful: Two people were killed traveling from Saturday’s soccer game when their tour bus hit a pickup truck on I-90 and rolled onto its side. 15 other people were injured, including two drivers who swerved to avoid hitting the bus. I-90 Eastbound was closed at 10 p.m. and traffic was rerouted through Cle Elum while officers investigated the accident.

Finally, this was already on Line Out, but Gil Scott-Heron died on Friday. This is how Chuck D described him: “You can go into Ginsberg and the Beat poets and Dylan, but Gil Scott-Heron is the manifestation of the modern word. He and the Last Poets set the stage for everyone else.” (via Slate).

“The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” is all over the internet right now, so here’s LCD Soundsystem’s “Losing My Edge,” which name-checks Scott-Heron in the “But have you seen my records?” section (around 3:29). Happy Sunday, or, since tomorrow is Memorial Day, Saturday.5!

24 replies on “Morning News”

  1. Everybody knows that groping someone’s ass –such a simple gesture, really– makes them feel appreciated in a way that a few lousy dollars can’t hope to duplicate.

  2. I love butter. I am horrified by the waste of butter and butter related resources. At first I had high hopes that this buttering was sexual in nature, but it was not to be.

  3. I understand that youth in Germany in the thirties were pressured into joining Nazi activities and programs, whether or not they really understood what was going on.

  4. @3: Yes, and the guards at the concentration camps who were tasked with shuffling people into ovens were only doing their jobs. Can we leave the Nazi apologists at the door?

  5. Remember Lori Sotelo, the local Republican who filed residency challenges against a number of Seattle residents whom she’d never met and knew nothing about in order of fuck them up on election day when they tried to vote?

    Just keeping her name out there.

  9. @4, you live in a country that condones torture, approves spying on its own citizens, and doesn’t believe in equality for gays. What’s your excuse?

  10. Getting in late to the party here, but @4, you’re a fucking stupid asshole. Comparing children forced into something they can’t possibly understand to concentration camp guards. Really?!?!?

  11. “It looked like the continent was in the hands of [Nazi] power, which put the future of Christianity in doubt,” he said.

    Hitler was Catholic. Fuck you, Ratzi.

  12. Zinjibar is in Yemen, not Libya. I assume this to be a typo b/c otherwise your next line about AQAP doesn’t make sense.

  13. Fifty-two-eighty, you’re still around after having your ass laughed off of Slog barely a day ago? Wow.

    You know, I used to respect your cranky right-wing-ish views on things, except for the gun nut bullshit. Then you went off the deep end and got your ass handed to you on a platter but good. Seeing your cowardly defense of the cops against a fellow gun-nut and in the face of reason showed what a man you are(n’t).

    And so I figured you’d hide like a whipped puppy for a good long time. Surprised to see you still here.

  17. @11 That’s what I was thinking! The Nazis were all raised in “good” Christian homes. But I take issue with the children being just more innocent victims. Some were, yes, but a great many were given machine guns and mortars at the end of the war and they were using them to kill. The real issue is what mankind is capable of at even an early age. And the truth is, murder. Mankind can murder most efficiently at any age he can hold a gun. Just more proof that we are not divine as the Catholic Church teaches (ironically), just animals with big brains that can be manipulated into believing and doing anything. If there were ever an argument against religion it has all it’s manifestations in World War 2. Unfortunately, this pope takes none of those lessons from his experience. He just tries to get pity for himself.

  19. @18: The INS ceased to exist in 2003. And in any event, I’d be awfully surprised to hear if there were any documented cases of illegal immigrants voting. They tend to be people who avoided places of authority.

    Also, and I know I’m stating the obvious here, you’re a hateful troll with the punctuation skills of a below-average second grader. Que se vaya al infierno, comemierda. Tal vez allá aprenda a puntuar.

  20. Slog admins – can you just delete accounts for ppl like 18 who use slurs in a hateful way? They can hate whoever they want unregistered.

  23. @8 You called it LJM. No, they’re too busy smearing folks like Kucinich and celebrating America’s illegal imperialism to give a shit. But if it’s done in the name of a Democrat, it’s A-OK! Look, Palin!

  24. @3 If only there were some long term case studies about these kids, and how many of them grew up to be child molesting priests.

    I also understand that some youth in Poland around the same time resisted an evil authoritarian regime, with its “activities and programs.” If only there were some long term case studies about those kids, and how many of them grew up to be unifying & credible world leaders.

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