Pre-Weekend Update - Stupider Edition

(The family is leaving town for the Memorial Day weekend, attending birthday parties and going shopping on the Oregon Coast, so here's your Weekend Update in advance.  See you Monday!)

• I've visited several states in the South, I even lived in Texas for a year or so, and I found that for the most part the people who are raised there and stay there all their lives are decent, polite, and charming people.  But I also noticed that under all the "y'all's" and the "ahm fixin' to's" was the constant hum of racism.  Back in the sixties I asked a white haired gentleman what he thought of the marching and the protests that were going strong at the time.  He told me he couldn't figure out what all the fuss was about because "we've always treated our negroes good."  He figured all the fuss was being caused by "northern agitators from Chicago."  I, of course, was appalled, and determined to get back to the sanity of Oregon as soon as possible.  Forty five years later I've begun to realize that racism, as well as other forms of intolerance, are spreading across America.  Mark Morford reports on "All the States That Hate You."
• How much would YOU pay for a vial of Ronald Reagan's blood?  Would you pay $30,000?  Of course you would.  However, I must sadly inform you the auction has been cancelled, for some silly reason.  I guess some people just don't have a sense of humor.
• Arizona's  Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is undoubtedly feeling better now that the State of Hawaii has verified President Obama's birth certificate.  If anyone an come up with an intelligent reason why Arizona has become the weirdest state in the union, I'd love to hear it.
• Ever paid an enormous amount for movie tickets to see a movie you really really want to see and some parent with two or three kids sit right behind you and talk and talk and throw popcorn at you and your date?  No?  Well, if it does happen, here's what you do.  First, jump up and hit the 10-year-old in the face.  A hero is born ...
• "This week’s NATO summit on the future of the war in Afghanistan probably did not get to the matter of burn pits or abandoned latrines. These are the details of hell."  The war in Afghanistan continues.  It's time to end this nonsense (Where's that "Mission Accomplished" sign?) once and for all and bring our troops home.  Robert Koehler gives us "The Pits of Hell."
• Did you know that Americans currently pay just about the lowest taxes in the entire world?  So just what exactly is the Republicans problem?  Oh, you know.  Timothy Geithner takes a moment to carefully explain why they are so stupid.
• It's official:  Watching FOX News makes you stupider.  Well, we told you that years ago, so just consider this a reminder.