Separation of Church and State, Alaska-style

As you can see in New York Times's interactive map of the language Republican used during the Convention, there was much talk about "God" and about "Business" in St. Paul, which is not surprising.
Mainstream media, however, failed to notice that Gov. Palin has an habit of mixing God and Mammon even more thoroughly than the average George F. Babbitt. A few months ago - as reported in the Anchorage Daily News - she flew from Juneau to her hometown of Wasilla (courtesy of taxpayers) to meet a religious group and deliver the following remarks "I can do my part in doing things like working really, really hard to get a natural gas pipeline." Palin said. "Pray about that also. I think God's will has to be done, in unifying people and companies to get that gas line built, so pray for that."

Praying for a pipeline... wow!, not even George W. Bush had thought something like that, so far.

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Palin's 15 Minutes of Fame/2

McCain's campaign released today a statement to let the world know that Bristol Palin, the 17-year-old daughter of John McCain’s running mate, is five months pregnant, but has "the love and support of her family." No less. The statement goes on saying that "Bristol and the young man she will marry are going to realize very quickly the difficulties of raising a child, which is why they will have the love and support of our entire family." The young man is not even named, and the text convey a certain lack of enthusiasm.

It seems fair to report that, in answering to a 2006 Gubernatorial Candidate Questionnaire, Palin stated that she didn't support "explicit sex-education programs." Too bad. Maybe now Governor Palin will change her mind about what 17-year-old girls should learn in high-school.

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George W. Bush's Fin de Règne

While Dubya travels the Middle East and gives nonsensical speeches to the Israeli Parliament, Congress has sent him a farm bill that includes a lot of money for food stamps amid rising grocery prices (and a boost in farm subsidies in order to create a veto-proof majority). The Senate passed the bill 81-15 Thursday, a day after the House approved it with 318 "yes" votes, that means enough votes to override a presidential veto in both houses of Congress. Bush had threatened to veto the $290 billion bill, saying with a straight face that it is fiscally irresponsible. What is remarkable is that this is the very first time in seven and a half years that a number of Republicans rebel against the White House.

Obama Two Steps Closer to The Nomination

In the end, Barack Obama remained barely 13,000 votes behind Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton in the hard-fought primary in Indiana, where the outcome was clear only after counting the very last vote. As Indiana has been a draw, and not the large vicotry Clinton needed, Obama is now much closer to the nomination: on Tuesday the Illinois senator won a commanding victory in the North Carolina primary, too. He has now enough momentum to widen his lead in pledged delegates, and new ammunition in seeking to persuade Democratic leaders to rally around his campaign.

For those who thought the crisis was over...

US employers shed 80,000 jobs in March, in the latest sign that the US economy may be falling into recession, announced the BBC, quoting US Labor Department figures. The decline was the third consecutive monthly drop, and worse than market expectations of a 60,000 reduction.The jobless rate rose to 5.1% in March, the highest level since September 2005, and a rise from February's 4.8%. Federal Reserve boss Ben Bernanke warned earlier this week that the US economy faced the risk of recession. While the Labor Department said March's job losses were spread across the economy, the biggest cuts came in the construction sector, badly hit by the free fall in houses' prices.

In fact, the US housing downturn shows no sign of slowing: US house prices fell at an annual rate of 11.4% in January, according to the latest monthly Standard & Poor's/Case-Schiller index, the biggest decline in 21 years. This latest snapshot of the slump in the US property market was confirmed by the main US estate agents body, which said that prices fell 8.2% in February. 

Black Militant Mumia Abu Jamal Has Right to New Hearing

Mumia Abu Jamal, on death row for a quarter of century, must be sentenced again during a new hearing within 90 days, or his death sentence will be automatically commuted in a sentence of life in prison. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Abu-Jamal's conviction for killing a police officer should stand, but that he should get a new sentencing hearing because of flawed jury instructions. Here, a long video interview recorded in jail.