If you’ve never read terrorism expert Richard Clarke’s novel, The Scorpion’s Gate, you should.  Once again, fiction is looking too much like real life.

Calling South Dakota’s recent abortion bill a Rapist Rights Bill might be pushing the limits, but this bill is so heinous that I see no problem with doing that.  It’s most astonishing to me that so many "pro-life" women embrace laws like this.  Laws which make them second class citizens and little more than breeding stock.  Laws that actually require they die in order to bring a fetus to term.  I understand their desire to stop abortions based on the religious beliefs, but is this the answer?  This law basically reduces them to baby-making machines under the control of the state, their husbands, their fathers, and their ministers.  This is wrong on so many levels, and yes the law actually elevates the rights of a rapist above those of the victim.  Again, making women into little more than chattel.

Via firedoglake.

Battlestar Galactica returned to its former greatness with last night’s episode.  So much happened that it’s almost impossible to relate all of it. 

***SPOILERS***

Let’s start with the Cylon POV.  This was great.  At last, we get to see what life is like on Cylon-occupied Caprica, what the process is for a consciousness to be downloaded into a new body, what that means for the Cylon waking up with all those memories of death.  Even more interesting to me was the idea that each Cylon can have its own life existence that will then be downloaded and share with all future models.  For some reason, and I don’t know why, I thought it was some sort of shared consciousness.  I think the writers have taken an interesting turn with the Caprica Six and Sharon.  Because of their experiences with humans they have a different understanding of their "enemy" than the others, like Lucy Lawless’ Number Three, D’Anna.  While Six and Sharon have developed feelings for their respective human partners, D’Anna still sees them as the enemy and still believes in God’s plan to cleanse the universe of all humans.  Tricia Helfer, Grace Park, and Lucy Lawless were absolutely fantastic in this episode. 

In an even more interesting turn of events.  Number Six is saddled with a psychological version Baltar doppelganger.  Like Baltar’s Number Six on Galactica, the Caprica Six’s Baltar is the voice of reason, the voice that cuts through the bullshit around her, the voices that urges Caprica Six to become more compassionate, more human in nature.  Done incorrectly, this could have been a disaster, but I think the writers played it well and gave James Callis an opportunity to show a different side from his usual psychotic role.

Then there is the birth of Helo and Galactica Sharon’s baby.  Once again, the writers of the show have played fast and loose with the political shenanigans of the show.  It says something about these writers that I am often dismayed at the choices contemplated by these fictional characters and their complete disregard for Cylon life.  Cylons are referred to as "toasters" and "machines."  The rape and torture of them is looked upon as something OK.  The Cylon-hybrid baby is referred to as a "thing" and "it," while Roslin and Adama actually consider killing the child!  As often happens with this show, my liberal sensibilities are offended. The very idea of murdering a child, the cold-heartedness of their willingness to even contemplate the idea.  Then again, that’s a hallmark of the show.  Roslin has been making tough decisions like this from the beginning, and while I have often disliked them on a personal level, it has kept me riveted to the show from the beginning; allowing me to forgive the writers for their mediocre scripts over the last few episodes.

This was a return to greatness for Battlestar Galactica.  Since its return for the second half of season two, the show has really seemed lost. Not sure what direction to take the main story. "Downloaded” was a good start to what looks to be exciting final two episodes leading into a twist that could have far-reaching consequences.

If there is one great disappointing athlete coming out of the 2006 Winter Olympics it has to be Bode Miller.  After all the hype Miller will leave Turin, Italy with zero medals.  Maybe I just don’t like cocksure jackasses, but I just can’t feel sorry for the man.  After boasting that he skied while drunk you have to wonder if Miller is really in the sport for the right reasons.  Granted, I understand these players are not in these games for the love of sportsmanship alone, but Miller has always struck me as a loner, someone who cannot be counted upon to put the team first, a glory hound.  So he gets little sympathy from me.