Les Misbarack

Some silliness to cheer you up during these dark days of the campaign, when it appears the U.S. is on the verge of electing a V.P. who believes the Iraq war is "God's work" and who wants to deny women control over their bodies. (For some reason Sarah Palin makes me think of Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tail"... I wonder what Ms. Boswell thinks. I think she's the one put the book on the "Identity & Culture" reading list!)

Go Obama! Please.

The evolutionary evangelist

You'll love this: a pastor who calls himself an evolutionary evangelist.

For the last six years, he has traveled across North America with his wife, Connie Barlow, in a van that displays an image of two fish kissing each other — one labeled Jesus, the other Darwin — explaining to conservative and liberal congregations why understanding and accepting evolution will bring them closer to spiritual fulfillment.

He thinks evolution will help us "understand our sinful ways" (To use the reporter's words.) I'm not sure this way of thinking really harms anyone - so long as school boards don't force teachers to teach it in science class. But the article quotes a scientist saying it could encourage society to think less rigorously about evolution.