Los Angeles Times: Bringin' In The Snark

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I am delighted to report that the stodgy Los Angeles Times is beginning to loosen up a bit, well, at least some of its political and op-ed columnists are. Yesterday I burst out laughing twice: one simply because of the headline, the other for the entire column.

First, the headline:

For GOP, storm's timing makes it harder to be anti-government

The story appended to the headline is actually pretty straightforward, but it does make the point that the GOP regulars were going to have a hard time decrying government involvement when several states were going to need all sorts of government assistance as Isaac finishes its run.

And then there's David Horsey's column from yesterday, again about the impact of Isaac.

Could God be irritated because some of the Republicans who claim to speak for him are breaking his commandments?

On Monday, while the convention delegates had plenty of time on their hands, many of them attended the Faith and Freedom rally featuring Eagle Forum founder Phyllis Schlafly. At the event, the 88-year-old firebrand of Christian conservatism tore into President Obama for waging war on religion. She went way beyond the usual complaints about his support for abortion rights and access to contraceptives for women working at church-supported institutions. She repeated a series of myths that have been debunked repeatedly, such as the one that claims Obama always excises the words "endowed by their Creator" whenever he quotes the Declaration of Independence.

Maybe, unlike Schlafly, the Lord checked out YouTube and found Obama has used that phrase on many occasions. Could it be that God is sick of so-called Christian leaders lying and bearing false witness by repeating falsehoods churned up from the far edges of right-wing media?

Naw, probably not. Tropical Storm Issac was likely always intended as another blast at New Orleans for continuing to give shelter to gay poets, jazz musicians and drunk college women who flash their breasts for a string of Mardi Gras beads. The rain and wind in Tampa are mere collateral damage that faithful Republicans should recognize as a blessing.

After all, the storm forced Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal to rush back home, thus saving the delegates from another disappointing speech by a onetime GOP golden boy who has failed to develop the knack of fervently lying for the Lord.

And that's just the last section of the column!

Now if the paper's news pages would just get with the program ...