I heard a news report today about PBS' ratings going up quite a bit over the last two years as more and more people get burned out on reality shows.

At least you got to go on the weekends. Mine was Wednesday after school. Which meant I basically couldn't do ANY team sports. THANKS MOM!

SNL Cast Members Breaking Character Is Delightful

I want mine to come with a salt lick, Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Therapy ice cream, and an ounce of pot. Please and thank you.

I want this for adults. Except instead of candy, you get tiny bottles of vodka and other assorted 'encouragements'.

Hmmm. That headline..... I mean it's not incorrect, in the sense that those two things happened in that order..... But it's a little misleading.

So, hating Olds, napping in the truck, stealing mail (a federal offense), and the general "I have no idea what I'm talking about statement" were not the biggest deal? The bra thing was?

Your patience is astounding.

*bows; clasps hands together in a display of faux humility*

Shut it down! This wins the Internet today!

No, it isn't. It's not a power that can be used unilaterally. That's just not how the structure of the Church works. Why are you so invested in pretending this isn't true?

No, they can issue infallible statements on behalf 0f the church. Saying that the Pope himself is infallible is like saying the President of the United States is a dictator because he's the only one who can sign legislation in to law.

Right! Exactly. It's funny, as a nonbeliever I spend more time defending/clarifying aspects of Catholicism to other nonbelievers than actually being critical — among Catholics I'm more immediately critical because I know we're on the same page as far as what doctrines, practices, etc. mean.

I think that the blackface of Robert Downey Jr. in Tropic Thunder was making fun of the practice, making it as offensive and ridiculous as it actually is. Otherwise, yes.

But this pandering matters. Everything he says matters to millions of people. Even if it isn't genuine, it's hugely important to his followers, so it's important to everyone else.

...but they are still breakin' the law.

Those years of CCD finally come in handy! ;-)

Nope. The Pope is only (supposedly) infallible when he's speaking ex cathedra, which isn't all of the time. Many popes have spoken about how they are not, actually, infallible. More than one has refused to issue any ex cathedra doctrine.

Here's the thing. The Catholic Church (along with the Eastern Orthodox Church) has never claimed to be progressive. Ever.

Gay priests are really nothing new.