Its timeliness is uncanny.

Hitler and Lenin used fear to manipulate their followers into granting them unchecked power. That Bush would cite these men as examples in order to convince Americans to give up more of our civil liberties is beyond ironic.

Joe Biden said “Christ’s Warning of the Pharisees.”

I thought this was an interesting answer, so I did some research this morning. While there are different interpretations of what Biden may have meant by this, I really like the explanation given by Ann Althouse:

If you understand the reference, it actually is a subtle way to imply that religion should not be used publicly for the purpose of achieving worldly goals. It’s good to remind religious people — especially religious people who crave more religion in their politics — that Jesus set his religion apart from politics and gives Christians a religious basis for the separation of church and state.

It’s more than a bit strange that this question was even asked in a Presidential debate in a country built on a foundation one of the cornerstones of which is the separation of Church and State.

There is lots of good discussion of this particular question on Ann Althouse’s Blog. It’s also a great look at some of the answers that could have been, including Samuel L Jackson’s recitation of Ezekiel 25:17 from Pulp Fiction.

It’s about renting your music vs. buying it. iTunes charges 99 cents per track for music downloads. Once you have downloaded the music, you may burn it to a CD or transfer it to your iPod or up to 3 other computers. Napster to Go (Named for the infamous Napster P2P system, though not closely related) charges a flat rate of $14.95 per month for unlimited downloads. If you download more than a dozen songs a month, well, do the math.

What’s the catch? First of all, it won’t work with your iPod. There are a lot of compatible mp3 players out there (You even get a free one when you sign up for a 1 year membership). When you download a track, it is rented with a 30 day license. These licenses are renewed on your PC every time you connect to Napster. You have to connect your mp3 player to your machine at least once a month to renew the portable licensing. Also, it will not work on a Mac and does not do movies.

Despite these limitations, the Napster system is still the best. Let’s say for example’s sake, that I downloaded 100 songs last month, they were downloaded practically instantly, and have been on my iRiver ever since. The cost? about $15. On iTunes, I would have paid $100. This is what I pay for 6+ months of Napster service, in which time I will have accumulated 600 or more songs. Remember you can always buy the songs too if you want to keep them forever. Think of it like iTunes but with an additional unlimited music rental option.

When I hear a new song I like on the radio, I download the entire album, legally, for what feels like free. If I really like the album and want to burn a CD of it, it’s 99 cents a track. But who uses CDs anymore?

Of course if you steal your music, the point is moot.

Is this worse than the other stuff that passes for news (Lindsay, Paris) these days?

Perhaps I’m a little behind on this issue. According to Urban Dictionary, this phrase was voted the #1 cliché of 2004. Apparently, it’s supposed to mean something to the effect of “The situation is not good, but we’ll just accept it and move on.” It’s really an expression of regret thinly veiled as acceptance. People say something is what it is when they want to avoid saying anything at all.

I suppose the phrase is what it is though, so maybe I should quit complaining.