corrente

A veritable cavalcade of weirdness this morning, and one need look no further than the NYTimes to find it. First to smack one in the eye like the proverbial cream pie is the heartwarming tale of discarded cells rescued from the sink by nice white people in search of nice, perfect white children of a suitably malleable age:

"...to protest a bill supporting the use of embryos for stem cell research, President Bush appeared with the McClures and 20 other Snowflakes families, kissing the babies, some of whom wore T-shirts that said "former embryo," or "this embryo was not discarded." Federal and state lawmakers have held similar appearances.
People on this part of the political spectrum have begun calling the process "embryo adoption," echoing the phrase that Snowflakes uses instead of "embryo donation." The Health and Human Services Department has termed the process embryo adoption in certain grants. Bills that would formally call it "embryo adoption" have begun to filter into statehouses in California, New Jersey and Massachusetts, states that, not coincidentally, are at the forefront of legalizing and encouraging embryonic stem cell research...
"I think appearing with Snowflakes kids is a potent symbol, and I think it illustrates the truth, which is that the embryo is just that child at an earlier stage of development," said Bill Saunders, director of the Family Research Council's Center for Human Life and Bioethics."

"Snowflakes" being an organization of people dedicated to saving frozen embryos from the near extinction threatened by the immminent collapse of the in vitro fertilization industry. As real, live children (with heads and arms and legs and everything) die brutal deaths under the watchful eye of child protective services here at home and in bogus wars everywhere else, this touching display of pro-life angst feels more than a tad misplaced. But what do I know? I'm just a kid who was actually adopted after I was born.

Meanwhile, our Culture of Life president is coming up with reasons why we can't give more money to Africa, in addition to the previously promised $15 billion we never gave:

"Asked Wednesday about the issue, Mr. Bush said, "It doesn't fit our budgetary process."

So there, you 4 million dead Congolese! Bush did actually raise the issue of genocide in the Sudan, but only in a spirit of political efficacy. You see, the lack of frozen embyros in that country, combined with its lack of oil or other useful resources, make it all but impossible for him to commit to any kind of humanitarian intervention.