"Why Should We Care?" -- Hark, the petulant cry of the indifferent First World. The NYTimes' resident crusading columnist, Nicholas Kristof, published a letter from a reader today, one asking why "liberal twits" keep pushing the U.S. to "care" about the rest of the world, e.g. the refugees of Darfur, when the U.S. needs to "take care of its own." In answer, Kristof gives a firsthand report from a refugee camp -- see also the nearly unbearable video feature on the woman he wrote about.

This last bit says it all: "When Americans see suffering abroad on their television screens, as they did after the tsunami, they respond. I wish we had the Magboula Channel, showing her daily struggle to forge ahead through humiliation and hunger, struggling above all to keep her remaining children alive. If you multiply Magboula by 2.2 million, you get the reasons why we should care." True, there are people suffering right here in America too, but something tells me the dickweed who wrote that letter doesn't give a shit about them, either. You, on the other hand, may indeed care -- and there are simple things you can do to help.

While I'm up on my Liberal Twit Soapbox, allow me to Support the Troops™ in a refreshingly bipartisan fashion. I'm sure everyone who's ever bought a tasteful magnetic ribbon for their bumper spent Memorial Day helping out a military family, packing up a box of goodies for the grunts overseas, or saluting those who gave all, right? No? Just barbecuing and guzzling brewskis? Aw, don't fret, there's still time. This concludes our Bitter Public Service message for today.

"Ignorance is God's gift to Kansas." -- Ouch! Irritable Oxford prof Richard Dawkins gives the what-for to the latest gaggle of Creationists. For a slightly more nuanced response, see Scientific American's "15 Answers To Creationist Nonsense." Or cross over completely to the dark side and visit the Creation Musem online!

The Boss, indeed. I spotted this shirt in Vegas, the spitting image of my own bossy kitty, Minerva. For some reason, it's cat web zen day today -- first, head over to KITTENWAR for hours of fuzzy procrastination. Then stop by the Tuxedo Cat Club for trivia, a genetics lession, and of course a gallery of fellow tux kitties. I think the gloomy weather may finally be getting to me, what can I say? Kitty kitty kitty kitty...

"In essence I am being asked what social class I belong to. What kind of Latino I am." -- Thoughtful piece from Salon by writer Daniel Alarcon, who grew up comfy in the suburbs, not on the run from the INS as some folks would love to assume.

Apparently, Star Wars is a tool of Satan. -- Also, Jesus is the Force! Who knew?