What Caught My Eye Today

Chile - A major earthquake crushed cars, damaged hundreds of houses and terrified people for hundreds of miles around. Authorities reported at least two deaths and more than 100 injuries. The quake shook the Chilean capital 780 miles to the south of the epicenter, and was felt as far away as the other side of the continent — in Sao Paulo, Brazil, 1,400 miles to the east. The U.S. Geological Survey calculated the magnitude at 7.7. It was followed by several aftershocks, including three larger than magnitude 5. The quake occurred in one of the most seismically active regions in the world, where the Nazca tectonic plate is shoving itself beneath the South American plate. Scientists in Chile and the United States were trying to determine why such an intense quake apparently did not cause more damage. Honestly, guys how about you thank your lucky stars that it wasn't worse. My goodness.

Congress - House Democrats defiantly pushed ahead with a $50 billion war spending bill that calls for troops to leave Iraq, despite concerns raised by some party members and a veto threat issued by the White House. The bill would require that the U.S. initiate troop withdrawals within 30 days of its passage and agree to the goal of bringing home most soldiers and Marines by Dec. 15, 2008. It is largely a symbolic jab at President Bush, who already has ordered some troop withdrawals from Iraq in coming weeks but opposes a Congressionally mandated timetable. Yes, yes, I know. How about some Congressional news that we haven't heard before. I'm coming to that part. Similar legislation has passed repeatedly along party lines in the House only to sink in the Senate, where Democrats hold a razor-thin majority and 60 votes are needed to overcome procedural hurdles. Wait for it...Wait for it...Okay here it is... It is expected that if the measure fails in the Senate, Democrats will not consider Bush's war spending request until next year. Democrats say the military won't need the money until early next year. Until then, the Pentagon can transfer money from less urgent accounts or fourth quarter spending to cover costs, they say. The Pentagon says moving money around is a bureaucratic nightmare that costs more in the long run. And if taken to the extreme, the military would eventually have to freeze contracts or lay off civilian workers to ensure troops in combat have what they need. Okay, so now we finally have Congress messing with the Pentagon's purse strings without technically withholding money for the troops. For this Congress, that is rather clever. Let's see if it forces Bush's hand.

2008 Presidential Campaign - Barack Obama, who's been scolding Hillary Rodham Clinton for not hastening the release of records from her time as first lady, says he can't step up and produce his own records from his days in the Illinois state Senate. He says he hasn't got any. "I don't have — I don't maintain — a file of eight years of work in the state Senate because I didn't have the resources available to maintain those kinds of records," he said. Obama's statement that he has no papers from his time in the Illinois statehouse — he left in 2004 — stands in stark contrast to the massive Clinton file stored at the National Archives: an estimated 78 million pages of documents, plus 20 million e-mail messages, packed into 36,000 boxes. While any file from Obama's time in the state Senate would be far smaller, the idea that no papers exist at all is questioned by some historians. No you all aren't imagining anything. I, too, can smell the load of crap Obama is shoveling. If I didn't know better I'd say that Obama's strategy to blast Clinton's reluctance to disclose records is about to blow up in his face.

Catholic Bishops - Roman Catholic voters and lawmakers must heed church teaching on issues ranging from racism to abortion or risk their eternal salvation, U.S. Conference of Bishops said. The bishops didn't recommend specific policies or candidates in the 2008 election, and emphasized that "principled debate" is needed to decide what bests promotes the common good. But they warned Catholics that their votes for politicians and laws affect more than just civic life. "Political choices faced by citizens have an impact on general peace and prosperity and also may affect the individual's salvation," the bishops said. The bishops said that voting for a candidate specifically because he or she supports "an intrinsic evil, such as abortion or racism" amounts to "formal cooperation in grave evil." Any they wonder why there is a decline in Catholics in the United States. Let me ask you something, your Excellencies (I checked, this is the proper etiquette)? Does the concept of 'separation between church and state' mean that little to you that you've stooped to damning us Catholics to hell if we vote our consciences rather than how Catholic doctrine tells us to vote. This is why I'm one of those disenfranchised Catholics that Church is wondering how to bring back into the fold.

And finally...

Television - TV Icons - Here are the the top 20 TV icons as determined by TV Land and Entertainment Weekly magazine (along with select commentary from yours truly):

20. CARROLL O'CONNOR - One of the all time most beloved bigots--Archie Bunker. You da man
19. ANDY GRIFFITH - One assume this is for his role as Sheriff Andy Taylor...not Matlock
18. WILLIAM SHATNER - This has got to be for his role as TJ Hooker. That Star Trek role was nothing.
17. BOB NEWHART - Good actor, great comedian.
16. DAVID LETTERMAN
15. NOT READY FOR PRIME TIME PLAYERS - Dude, pick a character not the whole flipping cast.
14. ED SULLIVAN - Anyone imitated as much as him, has to be good.
13. JACKIE GLEASON
12. DICK VAN DYKE
11. ROSEANNE BARR - Good actor, horrible everything else.
10. DICK CLARK - New Years Eve wouldn't be the same without him.
9. HOMER SIMPSON
8. JERRY SEINFELD
7. MARY TYLER MOORE
6. CAROL BURNETT
5. WALTER CRONKITE - And that's the way it is...
4. BILL COSBY - Double kudos for Fat Albert and the Huxtables. But dude, those sweaters--what up with that?
3. OPRAH WINFREY
2. LUCILLE BALL
1. JOHNNY CARSON - No argument from me.