Today, as everybody who's ever lived in Boston knows, is Patriots' Day, the anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord. That means that it's a holiday in Massachusetts and Maine, and it means that today is Boston Marathon day. (Go, Meb and Ryan! Go!) My beloved Red Sox are playing a morning game in Fenway, and all is right with my world.

This is an email I’m planning to send to this guy who we will call “Phil” who sent me a friendship request on Facebook.  If you have any suggestions on a better way to word my displeasure, do share - you’ll have to trust me that this guy deserves to be talked to like this.

Dear Phil,

Every month, every week, the Catholic Church's scandal seems to deepen. Andrew Sullivan wants the Pope to resign. Christopher Hitchens wants the Pope arrested. Peggy Noonan has a brilliant column detailing the Catholic hierarchy's inability to grasp the problem and calling for "new blood" in the leadership. These are all reasonable desires. But none of that will happen.

Rep. Michele Bachmann’s (R-MN), known for her invented attacks on President Barack Obama, today announced that Hollywood is one big Hitler, that adorable little dogs are demons and that Jesus Christ does her hair.

"He is just so good," said Bachmann.

Thus will all be discussed next week, along with an exclusive 20-minute interview with John McCain while he bottle feeds a baby deer, next week on Meet the Press.

--WKW

It is astounding that in the Year 2010, so many people still treat the word rape as if it’s a clever description from everything from taxes to actions at sporting events. The pictured cartoon made the rounds on the heels of the passage of health care reform. At seemingly all levels in the world of politics, many consider “rape” to be a true conversational gem:

When Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman recently stated that President Barack Obama needed to nominate a more conservative justice to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Justice John Paul Stevens, many liberals blanched. After all, the U.S.

Who loves a Tea Party? A recent NYT/CBS poll punctured a couple of myths about the makeup of today's paranoid right-wing activists.

Myth #1. Tea Party supporters are motivated by economic anxiety

NEW ORLEANS – Republican National Committee chair Michael Steele closed the Southern Republican Leadership Conference with a speech that he hoped would help him mute recent criticisms of his leadership, as well as calls for his resignation.

Today's New York Times explored the topic of trash incineration, an increasingly popular method of waste disposal in Europe. These are not your daddy's incinerators. The new "waste-to-energy" plants filter pollutants and produce electricity. Cities can save landfill space, avoid expensive trash transport, and produce alternative energy at the same time.

Julian Sanchez has a very smart argument about epistemic closure among conservatives, and folks around the blogosphere have been linking to it.

WASHINGTON – In a bold effort to try and combat the far-right conservatives George W. Bush nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court, President Barack Obama today announced that he is nominating actor Sean Penn to the SCOTUS seat soon to be vacated by Justice Paul Stevens.

“Over the past decade we have seen the Supreme Court move decidedly right of center,” said Obama. “We feel that Justice Sean Penn will help even things out.”

Via Ed Morrissey at Hot Air, it seems that’s Sarah Palin’s decision to ditch the paltry-paying Alaska Governorship has reaped a whirlwind of financial riches – to the tune of $12 million thus far:

AUGUSTA – Following a thrilling Masters tournament that saw Phil Mickelson win his third Green Jacket, Masters Chairman Billy Payne spoke out about U.S. Senator John McCain.

Showcasing a superb sense of humor to those that have made jokes about him in the past, Alan Colmes of Fox News has signed up yours truly as a contributor at his Web site, Liberaland (www.alan.com).

While my first post for Colmes (“Why on Earth does Fox News pay Alan Colmes?”) was rejected, my first two official posts are up:

As speculation grows about a potential 2012 Presidential run, ex-Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich has teamed up with Nike to produce an advertisement meant to both soften the controversial Republican’s image, as well as sell his new line of products, available at Nike.

LAS VEGAS – The golfing world is buzzing as two of the world’s most important golfers – Tiger Woods and William K. Wolfrum returned to the game of golf on Thursday. Woods shot a first-round 68 at the Masters in Augusta, Ga., while Wolfrum shot a 99 at Arroyo Golf Club at Red Rock in Las Vegas.

The public shaming of Tiger Woods is apparently never going to end. Too many people are drunk on the feeling of moral authority they get by scolding him.

Norman Leboon, who has threatened to kill Congressman Eric Cantor, has been found unfit to stand trial for psychiatric reasons. This is not a big surprise; last year Leboon was arrested for threatening to have the Archangel Gabriel kill his roommate.

If you thought the movie “Avatar” wasn’t enough of a trite rehash, just wait until “Avatar 2: The Tax Revoltening.” Coming April 15, this new epic will feature a new Dick Armey led brigade marching on Washington – but this time, they’re doing it virtually*.

Yes, tapping into the Tea Party’s overwhelming desire to stay at home and grunt loudly while wearing their underwear, this march promises to do to the Internet what the Tea Party has done to National Politics – absolutely nothing.

In my last post, I was worrying aloud about politicians who just couldn't seem to get it together to denounce violence and generally encourage the lunatic fringe to chill out. The intervening days, with the arrests of the "Hutaree army" and of the lunatic who threatened Eric Cantor on YouTube, make the question even more pressing.