What a big baby Silvio Berlusconi is!  Instead of gracefully accepting defeat, the long-time prime minister is threatening to bring the Italian government to a halt if his opponent does not agree to certain demands for a coalition government — demands Mr. Berlusconi himself would never accept if the roles were reveresed.  It seems Berlusconi has learned a few things from his good friend, Mr. Bush. 

South Dakota is a red state; they know it and we know it.  That’s why I find it interesting that the recent abortion law passed there is not having the intended affect.  The proponents of the law had hoped this would get the ball rolling on an eventual Supreme Court challenge to Roe v. Wade, but instead it seems to be energizing the people of South Dakota to fight the law themselves!  Regardless of the outcome, this is American democracy in action.

I’m sure the NRA crowd will be up in arms (pun intended) with Wal-Mart’s decision to stop carrying firearms in some of its stores.  They will see it as yet another liberal, un-American infringment on their God-given, constitutional right to bear arms.  That is, of course, bullshit.  I believe Wal-Mart when they say its a business decision.  Is that the only reason?  Probably not, but it’s a valid one.  Why on earth would they want to put up with the hassles that go along with selling firearms in cities where there’s no interest in them?  Oh, well, at least the NRA wackos will have something to fire up the base.

I have applaud Sci-Fi Channel for bring the first season of the new Doctor Who series to America. It’s been years since I watched Doctor Who. I first discovered the show on a local public television station — they were using it as part of their pledge drive. The seasons they were airing were those that featured Tom Baker who, to me, is the standard by which all Doctors are compared. I’ve seen some of the earlier episodes, and I will say that Jon Pertwee was one of the better early Doctors, but I never liked Peter Davison or Sylvester McCoy — far too campy for my tastes; and, infortunately, the TV movie that aired here in America on FOX was simply atrocious. Christopher Eccleston, on the other hand, is a joy to watch, and last night’s episode was one of the best so far. Instead of just painting the Daleks as the intergalactic version of al Quaeda, it takes a good look at what drives this human/machine hybrid to kill. The final scene with the Doctor, Rose, and the Dalek was damned good and damned emotional. Like Ron Moore with Battlestar Galactica, Russell Davies has re-imagined Doctor Who for the 21st century and done an excellent job. Granted, there are still some of those campy moments, but overall this is a much more dramatic Doctor, and I think that has a lot to do with Christopher Eccleston. It will be interesting to see how this changes with Davd Tennant, also a great actor, but who seems a bit more on the campy side.