Why do any of us persist in the charade that we think anything else matters?

Lucinda Williams, Iris Dement, Laura Cantrell, Drive-By Truckers (Isbell, Hood, Cooley), Angaleena Presley, Miranda Lambert, Jimmie Dale Gilmore.

It's just like in normal personal relationships: When your friends disagree on one or two things, you denounce them as traitors and cowards. When they seem to agree again, you welcome them back.

I don't accept being anti-Islamic is the equivalent to being racist: You choose to adopt Islam as a set of beliefs. Still, I'm of the view that even bigotry should be protected speech. That doesn't mean I have to like it, endorse it, or think it's helpful. But that means exercising a choice not to consume it,…

"Over-promise"?

Emmeline Pankhurst's dream finally realized.

I've repeatedly offered to write a poetry review column here. But I guess bringing in readers doesn't mean that much to them.

I was about to say he could be far, far worse, and here you are, ever a man after my own heart, to illustrate my point.

He's smart but I think the sense that he is is inflated by his megalomania and celebrity. If he was just some guy, I'd say he was a very smart guy, but I wouldn't say he was a genius whose ideas the world desperately needed.

Despite his deportment, he's like 60, right?

They do do this, but it naturally receives less attention that the ones who are supporting it.

Well said. Totalitarianism is idolatrous by definition; it seeks the subsumption of everything under state ideology, hence the Reich Church.

His point is that they want more pictures of Muhammad published to offend and radicalize more Muslims.

Hitler said a lot of shit. And I bet it made a big difference when and to who he was speaking. He was quite pro-S.A. and undoubtdly made impassioned speeches in their honour before he had them massacred. I don't think their efforts to, say, murder thousands of priests, defy Vatican encyclicals, and turn Christmas…

You make a good point. I don't see the Muslim terrorist efforts leading anywhere but a dead end, but they can obviously cause havoc in the process.

That's entirely fair and, to be clear, I'm not suggesting subsequent victims shouldn't he heard and this shouldn't continue to be reported on; that would make me a monster, which I'm not. I'm saying, evidently inarticulately, that it's hugely depressing and my impression of this site is not that it's a place for…

Good point. The Scylla and Charybdis is definitely the Muslim fanatics themselves on the one hand, and the hard right, national security state power grabs on the other. Still, as paralyzing as the threat of terrorism can be, Western Europe isn't that fragile and it's not a question of an existential threat. And,…

I did not welcome his presence in the otherwise fetching 'Anaconda' video.

Fortunately in Greece, where there is prominent and outright neofascism, the left has become the dominant popular force. But yes, there's a growing anti-immigrant movement across the continent. There was a poll recently projecting Le Pen to win the presidency. I assume there would be such a reaction if that become…

Oh for god's sake. I was just expressing frustration at how depressing I find it. O'Neal did the same in his article. I'd prefer not to read a report here on every single new detail. Not even saying it doesn't make sense, just saying it's a downer. You do prefer it, more power to you.