The Orbis

"The Hammer" Gets Nailed

On Sept. 28, a Texas grand jury indicted House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R €" TX) on campaign finance fraud charges. In accordance with House Republican rules, DeLay stepped down from his post as Majority Leader following the indictment. DeLay stands accused of scheming to funnel illegal corporate campaign contributions to the Republican National Committee. While an indictment does not mean that DeLay is guilty, we hope it's not too early to say that it's refreshing to see a jack(abram)off like him get his comeuppance.

Bill Bennet on Reducing Crime: Just Abort Black Fetuses

Radio host Bill Bennett recently stirred controversy when he stated on his show that if, "you wanted to reduce crime ... if that were your sole purpose, you could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down." Bennett was responding to caller's claim that revenue lost by aborting fetuses during the past 30 years could have funded social security, apparently intending to illustrate the difficulties of making such "far-reaching, extensive extrapolations." Some critics have blasted Bennett for the apparent insensitivity of his remark, but his defenders point out that the statement is empirically true and that he has nothing to apologize for. Indeed, Bennett is factually correct. In fact, Orbis supports taking his comment to its logical extreme by advocating killing every human on the planet to ensure world peace and to end world hunger.

Schwarznegger Blocks Gay Marriage Bill

On Sept. 29, California governor Arnold Schwarznegger vetoed a bill that would have legalized gay marriage in his state. Although Schwarznegger claimed last year that he was indifferent on the issue of same-sex marriage, he blocked the bill because it would override a 2000 referendum in which 61% of voters chose to recognize marriage as being restricted to the union of a man and a woman. If he really believes that decisions pertaining to the rights of a minority should be left to the majority, then perhaps he should examine an August opinion poll that shows Californians evenly divided on the same-sex marriage issue. Tie goes to the legislature.

Bulging Typhoon "Long Wang" Grows in the Pacific

Earlier this week the curiously named Typhoon Long Wang caused trouble for Taiwan. The storm arced upward from the Pacific, spewing harsh rains on Taiwan and eventually penetrating into China. Orbis was curious to find out more about the origin of the name Long Wang, and it turns out, according to www.godchecker.com, that Long Wang are the dragons of Chinese mythology. Because they control the water and rain, Long Wang can apparently, "dribble themselves in dewdrops or come in floods."

Article Tools