CapitalistImperialistPig

There is a common thread among the sex scandals of the Catholic Church, Penn State, and Herman Cain - those with power become heroes to some, and when they abuse that power, the hero worshippers rush to defend the indefensible. It's actually more complicated than that, I suppose. Why did popes cover up the Church's scandals? Why did Paterno and the Penn State administrators cover up terrible crimes in which they had no direct part? Why do Herman Cain's supporters rush to throw money at him now that it's all but certain that he is finished? An attempt to defend a legend that's already a lie? Denial so strong that it trumps every evidence of reality? It's pretty clear that we humans indeed have powerful tools for fooling ourselves. Why it should be so is harder to explain.

Adam Sorenson via Andrew Sullivan , Watching Rick Perry fail to recall the third part of his own answer in tonight’s debate was like watching a thoroughbred get euthanized on the track. It was shocking, grisly and impossible to look away.

The Hermanator : Cain explains: For every woman who says I harassed them, “thousands” say I didn’t. Video at the link.

Tonight's episode of Vietnam in HD focussed on the battle for Hamburger Hill in the A Shau valley. What a damnable waste. Worth watching for those who remember and those who don't.

Paul Krugman isn't the only one singing a dirge for the Euro today. Others seem to think that Germany and France are planning a mini-Euro, minus the Southern weakies . One senior German government official said it was a case of pruning the euro zone to make it stronger. "You'll still call it the euro, but it will be fewer countries," he said, without identifying those that would have to drop out. "We won't be able to speak with one voice and make the tough decisions in the euro zone as it is today. You can't have one country, one vote," he said, referring to rules that have made decision-making complex and slow, exacerbating the crisis. Speaking in Berlin, Merkel reiterated a call for changes to be made to the EU treaty -- the laws which govern the European Union -- saying the situation was now so unpleasant that a rapid breakthrough was needed. I predict that it won't happen. The Euro will undergo spontaneous deflagration before the sl...

Sometimes, when I'm driving to work, I listen to Fox News on my XM-radio. Don't ask me why - I'm not an expert on how the brain works. Anyway, today's subject was the latest elimination on Dancing With The Stars . "Our Nancy Grace was eliminated," they said. Not to be bitter, they added, "we got to see another side of Nancy." Shoot. Now *I* can't recall. Which side was it? Left boob or right ?

You say you'll take the lie detector test Herman . Do it. And make sure a neutral expert administers it. Yes. I absolutely would," Cain said when asked about taking a test. "But I'm not going to do that unless I have a good reason to do that. Of course I would be willing to do a lie detector test Not that lie detectors are infallible, but you do need to be pretty good liar to fool an expert, I think.