Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has resigned, but says he will soon put together a new coalition. He told the upper house of parliament that his party had a mandate to lead until 2006 and it would do so. President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi asked him to stay on as caretaker prime minister, urging talks with allies. Mr Berlusconi’s centre-right coalition – Italy’s longest serving post-war government – was rocked by

And Bill, bless his hard-hitting journalistic heart, will bring us the graphic video of these gyrating, hyper-sexualized minors in their skimpy cheerleader outfits, their perky breasts and taut little cheerleading asses all sweaty and glistening, their welcoming hips undulating to bass-heavy, sex-drenched rap music, their full, wet-n-wild lips spread nastily to reveal sparkling, vaseline-slathered teeth. All of this for news purposes, of course.  Y’know:  proof of the outrage. Because remember:

Good (if heated) discussion over the private property rights of pharmacy owners—when weighed against their licensed responsibilities—here and here, here, and here.  For those unfamiliar with the grounds of the debate, the story centers on an Illinois pharmacy, a state senator, a governor, and the so-called “morning after” pill A fourth-generation pharmacist whose drugstore still sits on the courthouse square of his conservative small town downstate, State Senator Frank Watson

Mort Kondracke and Andrew Sullivan are among the pundits I’ve heard express outrage today that new Pope Benedict XVI actually believes his religion enough both to profess it’s truth and condemn those who stray from its teachings. Essentially, both Kondracke and Sullivan would like their religion inclusive — and so each eschews orthodoxy in favor of a, well, a…living Bible.  One that isn’t so picky about who it excludes. Now,

Jawa Report has posted the first part of his 4 part interview with the family of Roy Hallums, a civilian contractor held hostage in Iraq since November.  As Rusty notes in his email, “the Hallums family has asked that we not forget the plight of Roy and other civilian hostages in Iraq.” So if you can tear yourself away from the week-long televised excitement of Pope-a-palooza—or the blogging spectacle of

‘Microwave on high for 4 minutes’?  Why, even I can do that, he thought. And so it happened that for the first time since she left him, the wheels of her suitcase tracing a trail of broken black scuffs to the lip of the foyer, he enjoyed a nice hot lunch—in this case, low-carb roasted turkey breast with mushroom gravy and a good-sized serving of cut green beans.

Q: How many Pope Benedict XVIs does it take to change a lightbulb? A: Yeah, right.  God didn’t invent Bishops for nothing, you know.

Takes the name Benedict XVI; immediately blesses Norm’s barstool. Huh?

Which, for the benefit of you non-Catholics, means six more weeks of winter.* update:  “Papalphobe!”

Garrett:  “Dude.  Here.  Take a hit off this.” update: “Like sucking a nice, long nap into your lungs, ain’t it…?”