As promised, a roundup of the latest on the buzz surrounding Hollywood’s favorite rapist.

From the Horse’s Ass… er, Mouth:
We’ll start with the man himself. This gem of a quote from 1979 (right after he fled the country) resurfaced today. You see, he’s not a bad guy. Everyone likes little girls.

“If I had killed somebody, it wouldn’t have had so much appeal to the press, you see? But… f—ing, you see, and the young girls. Judges want to f— young girls. Juries want to f— young girls. Everyone wants to f— young girls!”

Uh, speak for yourself you sick bastard.

The Petition:
Z already covered the list of the morally challenged who signed this ridiculous petition. The only thing I’ll note is that child rape advocate Wes Anderson has a kids movie, The Adventures of the Fantastic Mr. Fox and his Quaaludes, coming out soon. So, probably avoid that.

Oh, Whoopi:
Whoopi Goldberg, T-Mobile Spokesman, tries to explain that Polanski didn’t really commit “Rape Rape” (no really, she did!) leading Jim Geraghty to suggest a new slogan, of sorts:

“Because in a head-to-head matchup against other phones, your product rapes the competition, but it doesn’t rape-rape the competition.

What if?
Over at ABC, a Jesuit priest reminds you that if it were Father Polanski that we were discussing, things would be different:

“Imagine if the Knights of Columbus decided to give an award to a pedophile priest who had fled the country to avoid prison,” Father Tom Reese, S.J., points out. “The outcry would be universal.”

A Rare Moment of Sanity:
Kirstie Alley wants to make sure that we know that not everyone is Hollywood is morally bankrupt. Noted.

R.I.P. Anne Applebaum’s Career:
Despicable Washington Post columnist Anne Applebaum has apparently decided that career suicide is the way to go. Start here (or here) and follow the links for a round up of her reprehensible behavior.

The 3 second version: Her husband works for the Polish government and has lobbied on behalf of Polanski. She failed to disclose this conflict of interest, and instead of apologizing and moving on, she traded her spade for a steam shovel and just kept on digging.

Credit Where Credit is Due:
The commenters over at The Huffington Post aren’t buying it.

And… (is the world ending?) I agree with an editorial in the New York Times!

That’s as much as I can stomach for now.

It’s over.

General Motors said today it would shut down Saturn after respected Detroit businessman Roger Penske shocked GM and 350 Saturn dealers by saying that his plans to buy the storied brand had fallen apart.

The announcement came a day before GM and its dealers expected the deal to be finalized. The failure could cost as many as 13,000 jobs at dealerships nationwide and GM.

A few years ago I’d have felt bad. Today the news hits me as a solid Meh.

For the record, 5/8 of the cars The Wife^® and I have owned were Saturns.

More specifically, the mouse cursor.

I know this, as the new cat, known as “Orange Cat”, was chasing the arrow around the screen today.

Catnip, technically called Nepeta, is a genus of about 250 plants. It is related to mint. Nepeta is known better as catnip because of the effect it has on cats.

While the effects can vary, catnip is said to affect about 2/3 of all cats. Some cats get aggressive, some get mellow, and other get goofy. One of my cats is not affected at all. The other gets goofy.

The effect is hereditary. As an interesting aside, most Australian cats are not affected, as the effectiveness has been (unintentionally) bred out of the cats there.

In the cats that are affected, the cause is the smell. It interacts with their brains to cause a euphoric sensation. After a few minutes, the smell wears off (almost like a temporary tolerance is built up) and the cat goes back to normal. After a few hours the tolerance is gone and the fun can begin again.

Source: here and here.

Yeah, this sounds like a good idea…

A Swedish couple believe so strongly that gender is a social construction that they do not reveal whether their 2.5-year-old is a boy or a girl.

Only those who have changed the toddler’s diapers know if “Pop,” which is not the child’s real name, is male or female. “We want Pop to grow up more freely and avoid being forced into a specific gender mold from the outset,” the tot’s 24-year-old mother told the newspaper Svenska Dagbladet. “It’s cruel to bring a child into the world with a blue or pink stamp on their forehead.”

No, moron. What’s cruel is that this poor kid will have to grow up with you as parents.

OK, I admit, I knew that part before today. The part I did not know was that he pled guilty to said offense before fleeing the US.

Roman Polanski, for the blissfully uninformed, is a douchebag Hollywood director that has not been allowed in Hollywood since 1977, when he fled the country.

He was arrested in Switzerland the other day, and if there is any justice in the world will be extradited to the US ASAP. Predictably, the “Roman Polanski is a victim”, “Roman Polanski is a misunderstood genius”, and “Roman Polanski should not be held to account for raping a child because he is famous/talented” crowds have been out in full force since then.

If you are interested in the details of the story, Salon has them. But all you really need to know is the simple fact that Roman Polanski raped, drugged, and sodomized a 13 year old girl.

And the fact that we can’t get unanimous agreement that this worthless pile of shit should be rotting in prison instead of receiving lifetime achievement awards is a sad commentary on how far off track our society has become.

I guess this can happen:

It’s a half-red / half-green Golden Delicious off a farm in England.

Scientists and Fruit Experts are calling it a “million to one” “genetic mutation”.

I prefer to think it’s an apocalyptic sign, or a conspiracy of some type.

Not a smart thing to do….

At least 11. Because that’s how many are listed here. And I’m going with NSFW on that link, since some include instructional pictures. But all include puns.

One includes a video, but I wasn’t brave enough to click on it.

TNT up the keester is not a good option.

A SUICIDE bomber tried to kill a Saudi prince by detonating TNT hidden up his BACKSIDE.

Fanatic Abdullah Hassan Tali al-Asiri, 23, blew himself up – but his intended victim escaped with minor injuries.

Ah, Al-Qaeda.

Al-Qaeda then named the bomber and released his photograph together with a statement claiming responsibility for the attack.

Really guys? You claimed this dude? He blew his own ass up and did no damage to the intended target. If there was ever a time to go with the “uh… Abdullah you say? Never heard of him…” it’s with this guy.