Alas, our hopes for rain here are starting to fade:

A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM MOVING SOUTHEAST ACROSS ARIZONA WAS RESULTING IN PARTLY TO MOSTLY CLOUDY SKIES OVER SOUTH-CENTRAL ARIZONA MAINLY NORTH AND EAST OF PHOENIX THIS MORNING. RADAR SHOWED SOME VIRGA FROM THESE CLOUDS…BUT NO REPORTS OF RAIN.

“Reports of virga“. Yeah, that’s what we need. A whole lotta virga….

Everyone in the blogsphere on the left and right are writing about this Washington Post story. Seems the Democrats are having trouble deciding on what they should stand for in this critical election year. This quote, courtesy of Hugh Hewitt, strikes me as an absolute scream:

On Feb. 27, Reid and Pelosi appeared before the Democratic Governors Association. At one point in the conversation, Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, noting that the two leaders had talked about a variety of themes and ideas, asked for help. Could they reduce the message to just two or three core ideas that governors could echo in the states?

According to multiple accounts from those in the room, Reid said they had narrowed the list to six and proceeded to talk about them. Pelosi then offered her six — not all the same as Reid’s. Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski said later: “One of the other governors said ‘What do you think?’ and I said ‘You know what I think? I don’t think we have a message.’ ”

I mean, you can’t make this stuff up, right?

There’s this story and this story. And now, we hear this. (Thanks, Free Republic!) So… might we expect gas prices to fall anytime soon – anyone want to take a piece of that action? I didn’t think so….

In a more serious vein, this post by National Review Online’s Andrew Stuttaford is utterly heartbreaking:

A vicar whose daughter was killed in the London bombings has resigned because she finds it hard to forgive the men who carried out the suicide attacks. The Rev Julie Nicholson, priest-in-charge of St Aidan with St George church, Bristol, said she was struggling to reconcile her feelings with her position. Mrs Nicholson has not returned to her post since July 7 when her 24-year-old daughter Jenny…was among more than 50 people killed…”I rage that a human being could choose to take another human’s life. I rage that someone should do this in the name of a God,” she said. “I find that utterly offensive. We have heard a lot about things causing certain groups of people offence and I would say that I am hugely offended that someone should take my daughter in the name of a religion or a God…I find that utterly offensive.

You can read the whole Daily Telegraph article from which Andrew’s post derives here. Please keep Julie and all those whose lives have been affected by similar acts of mindless evil in your prayers.

To close things out on a more upbeat note, this would be something to see:

Witches have returned to the German forests, dancing naked in groups under the full moon and calling to their gods. The covens vary in size and in how seriously they take their calling, but the numbers are rising, particularly amongst the young.

Their religious ideas are described as “pagan” rather than Satanist, and many of the older practitioners have a history in the environmental movement, where they learnt a passionate love of nature. In some cases this has led on to a belief in the natural powers of the forests. The women are convinced they can work magic.

“The witches’ scene is experiencing a powerful revival,” says Lutheran theologian Hansjoerg Hemminger. He says the covens range from “girlie witches” to the so-called “Wicca” covens. Wicca is an old Anglo-Saxon term for a group of witches.

Christian theologians are inclined to see the latter as a manifestation of a new heathen movement. The women tend to be members of associations like the Pagan Federation or the Stone Circle.

I know people and bloggers who take this kind of thing very seriously, so who am I to say? To each his/her own…

So, Sharon Stone says she “would kiss just about anybody” to end the Israel-Arab conflict. Does that include Goodboys? If so, “Cubby” would definitely qualify (since he’s Jewish, and single!) and I know he certainly wouldn’t mind!