Susan Boyle Homesick, Anxious

This year's entertainment sensation, Susan Boyle, has checked into a London clinic for exhaustion. Reports the BBC:

The Scottish singing sensation is said to be drained after losing out to dance group Diversity on the ITV1 show.

Her brother, Gerry, told the BBC that Susan was "fine" but feeling homesick and "showing signs of anxiety".

Prime Minister Gordon Brown wished the star well. "I hope Susan Boyle is okay because she is a really, really nice person," he told GMTV.

Her 15 minutes finally caught up with her.

Catholics Vs. Obama

A lot of Catholics are up in arms because President Obama is scheduled to give the commencement address at Notre Dame.

Many Catholics are angered by Obama's planned appearance at the May 17 ceremony because of his decisions to provide federal funding for embryonic stem cell research and international family planning groups that provide abortions or educate about the procedure.

Bishop John D'Arcy of the Fort Wayne-South Bend Diocese, which includes Notre Dame, went so far as to say he will not attend the ceremony because of the president's policies.

Now, that's really following the teaching's of Jesus. But then again, the Catholic Church hardly has a history of tolerance. Think Spanish Inquisition.

Setting Free the 'Roos

Kangaroos Set Loose in France

TOULOUSE, France (AFP) – Vandals set loose 15 kangaroos from an Australian theme park in southern France, sparking a major search operation, with three marsupials still on the loose.

"When we arrived on Saturday morning, five pens had been broken open, their padlocks were smashed and the perimeter fence was torn in several places," said Carole Masson, owner of the nature reserve in southwestern Carcassonne.

"We had 15 missing kangaroos -- it was complete panic," she told AFP.

Firefighters, police and gendarmes were mobilised to track down the animals as they bounded through the woods.

Someone must have been reading John Irving.

All Georgians Must Be Allowed To Vote

Finally some sanity in the Georgia voting mess:

The state of Georgia must allow persons whose citizenship has been questioned in a new voter verification system the opportunity to cast a ballot in the Nov. 4 elections, a three-judge court ruled Monday.

The court also ordered Secretary of State Karen Handel to “make diligent and immediate efforts to notify, in a uniform manner, every person whose voter registration presently remains flagged.” Those voters must be told that they can vote by a “challenged ballot,” if necessary, and that there is a discrepancy in the voters’ registration information, the court said.

Help the homeowners

I am not a homeowner. I spent so much of my life moving around and was never in one spot long enough to put down any kind of roots. But that doesn't mean I don't have sympathy for those who have found themselves at the brink of losing it all.

When the big mortgage/credit/greed crisis slapped the American public in the face what did the White House and Congress do? Borrowed a butt load of money to bail out the bastards that got us in this mess in the first place.

How about help for the mortgage owners? It ain't happening, as Mike Colpitts points out in this interview posted at QuickCashForProperties.co.uk:

The federal government is absolutely not doing enough to help homeowners. So far more than 3 million families have lost their homes and our research indicates that 2011 another 3.4 million will also lose theirs.

This guy should know. He is a long-time real estate agent and editor of HousingPredictor.com. He adds this:

The federal government needs to so something to halt the huge surge of foreclosures. A good beginning is to freeze foreclosures to give them time to work out mortgages that are viable for homeowners.

Good common sense, but when did that ever matter in Washington?

No joy in Mudville

Last night was the finale for our beloved Yankee Stadium.

I stayed until several of the estimated 2,000 security guards not-so-politely told me to leave. ("Get the fuck out, man!" was what they said.)

There is no joy in Mudville. The Mighty Stadium has struck out.

Sarah Palin to raise funds, avoid media

John McCain plans to use his vice presidential nominee, Sarah Palin, to raise money for the Republican Party.

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin will appear at around 30 fund-raising events in the next two months leading up to Election Day – about one every two days on average, officials with Sen. John McCain’s presidential campaign said today.

“She is proving as much in demand as Sen. McCain,” said former Commerce Department Secretary Bob Mosbacher, general chairman of the McCain campaign and a top fundraiser.

But Palin will not be allowed to talk to the media.

According to Nicole Wallace of the McCain campaign, the American people don't care whether Sarah Palin can answer specific questions about foreign and domestic policy. According to Wallace -- in an appearance I did with her this morning on Joe Scarborough's show -- the American people will learn all they need to know (and all they deserve to know) from Palin's scripted speeches and choreographed appearances on the campaign trail and in campaign ads.

Why do you think that is?