Note the lack of burned buildings, threats of beheading…

So Madonna’s going to be mock-crucified on stage in Rome, just a couple of miles from the Vatican. Oh, and just to make sure we all get the point, she’ll be wearing a crown of thorns. Nice. So, when is she planning on acting out Mohammed’s death scene?

Never. But she’ll have no issue with her little Christian-mocking. Know why? Because she knows that we don’t burn cars or buildings when someone is purposely rude about our religion. The Pope doesn’t issue a mandate calling for all Catholics to hunt her down and bring her head to Rome on a pike. I hope the rest of the world takes note of how a civilized people handle themselves when someone chooses to be a jerk in their presence. Madonna may also count her blessings.

Man claiming his pedophilia is a sacred ritual

You can’t make this kind of crap up:

A man accused of sexually assaulting nine boys with physical or mental disabilities told a judge that having sex with children is a sacred ritual protected by civil rights laws.

Phillip Distasio, who said he is the leader of a church called Arcadian Fields Ministries, represented himself at his pretrial hearing Wednesday. He is charged with 74 counts including rape, pandering obscenity to minors and corrupting another with drugs.

“I’m a pedophile. I’ve been a pedophile for 20 years,” he said in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Wednesday. “The only reason I’m charged with rape is that no one believes a child can consent to sex. The role of my ministry is to get these cases out of the courtrooms.”

No, the only reason you’re charged, you sick bastard, is that every state in the Union has laws very clearly defining your proudly-acknowledged perversion as illegal and punishable by law. (And please excuse me for misspeaking. He’s not a “sick” bastard, he’s an evil bastard. He knows full well what he’s doing.)

There’s some argument that the arbitrary age limitation we’ve set on adulthood at 18 might be a bit high for some people. There’s a number of kids (yeah, yeah – I’m old so I call ‘em “kids”) who, at 17, are far more mature than some of my co-workers who are in their 30′s and 40′s. For the most part, however, we’ve discovered through our trials and errors that the amount of experience a person has acquired below the age of 18 simply doesn’t have the diversity or depth to give them the judgement and rational thought processes to make mature, adult decisions. The further down you go from that line to 16 and on to 14 and so on, the worse that “problem” gets. No 13-year-old I have ever met in my entire life had what it takes to make the tough calls. That’s not their fault, it’s just the way time and the human experience works.

And knowing when to hop into the sack with someone is one of the tough calls. Everyone knows that. Everyone except people like Mr. Pedophile, there, whose only concern is getting his rocks off with targets too ill-informed and weak of body and willpower to put up any kind of fight. Or, rather, he does know it quite well and that’s why he puts these kids squarely in his sights. That he’s done that and wears the label proudly tells you everything you need to know about whether such a man is capable of being “reformed.” He’s not. He doesn’t want to be. He’s a danger to our society’s most fragile members and will remain so for as long as he draws breath.

Prisons are only as strong as the willpower of the people who build them and run them. The day will come, mark my words, when someone will be just a bit too squeamish about the conditions in the prison and also lack the fortitude to fix them. They’ll propose letting people out of there and they’ll suggest that anyone not guilty of murder should be considered for release. So long as this jerk and others like him are alive there’s a chance they’ll get out. And there’s no doubt that a man who considers his perversion a sacred right will get back in the saddle as soon as he clears the prison gates.

Do yourself and the rest of us a favor, Ohio. Convict this guy and then remove the need to worry about keeping him behind bars. His kind of contributions we don’t need. Virginia and Texas stand ready to assist you, if you find you need it.

Rightroots appears poised to accept Congressman Kingston’s check

Rightroots, the new initiative of the ABCPac, is working to assist 18 Republicans who are fighting their election battles in key states and areas around the county. Feel free to have a look at them to get the details. Reported on a number of sites in the past couple of days, such as Captain’s Quarters, is a challenge issued by Congressman Jack Kingston. Pulling a quick quote from his letter:

I’m going to make a pledge: If Rightroots raises a total of $26,000 by 11:59 PM (EST) on Friday, August 4, I will contribute a total of $14,000 directly to some of the candidates from my Leadership PAC in the name of our movement.

That was reported August 1. As of a few moments ago, around 10:25 am this morning, August 3rd (thank you very much), the total listed on the Rightroots site was $25,662.06.

Something tells me they’re going to make $26,000 a wee bit before midnight tomorrow. Should be fun!

Senate votes to fund border fence

This just in from the “It’s About Damn Time” department, the Senate has passed a funding bill to pay for the border fence they voted overwhelmingly to support back in May. What I apparently missed was their decision back in July to actually not fund it. I know I put in my 2 cents’ worth on the topic in no uncertain terms to my Senators but the bustle of my off-line life in July made me miss that. Seems they got it right this time.

The Senate did an abrupt about-face yesterday, voting overwhelmingly to begin paying for 370 miles of fencing and 500 miles of vehicle barriers on the U.S.-Mexico border, just three weeks after voting against the same spending.

The amendment’s sponsor said senators were so embarrassed by that July 13 vote that most felt they had to reverse course and vote for it this time — especially after so many were on record in May voting to build the fence in the first place. The amendment, which provides nearly $2 billion for the project, passed 94-3, with 66 senators switching from “no” to “yes” votes since last month.

“I think people wanted to get right,” said Sen. Jeff Sessions, Alabama Republican. “People heard from their constituents after they voted to authorize the fence in May and then voted against funding it a couple of weeks ago.”

Apparently I wasn’t alone in my letter-writing. When 66 out of 100 Senators change their votes on something in less than a month, that’s a sure sign of a serious national-level support on an issue. This bill is a good start and I would like to see them disburse the money and get construction started as soon as the next couple of months.

Minor Update: Glad to see I wasn’t the only one who missed the July vote.