Faith-based—We’re late in reporting this. In mid-April, the Army’s chief of chaplains announced an inquiry into reports that a Southern Baptist chaplain in Iraq was offering GIs baths in exchange for baptisms. Applicants were required to listen to a 90-minute sermon prior to a one-hour baptismal bath. “It’s simple,” the chaplain said. “They want water. I have it—as long as they get baptized.”

Can’t fight Mother Nature—In the spiffy California beach town of Santa Barbara, environmentalists are pressing city officials to replace aging sewer pipes, some more than 100 years old. This year, three spills spewed nearly 10,000 gallons of sewage into the street and ocean. Regional water quality control officials said the city acted responsibly in cleaning up some of the mess, but not all the spills could be avoided.

Own a house and be free—“Mortgages should come with a public health warning because the struggle to keep up with payments is making millions of people sick, the British Medical Association said,”—The Times, London.

How about better wages—The association of England’s train companies slammed the proposal for a new royal train as a waste of money better used elsewhere. They declared the Queen could travel with “her subjects” or, if need be, reserve an entire car for her entourage on any scheduled run.

No ‘free trade’?—The governor of Illinois is pressing to get Hollywood to make more films in Chicago, once the backdrop for a good number of films. He said that in two years, 18 movies set in Chicago were actually filmed in Canada, where production costs are lower.

What price imperialism—More than 300,000 Iraqi children face death from acute malnutrition, twice as many as before U.S. forces invaded the country, the United Nations Children’s Fund warned. The agency said a survey of Baghdad indicated that seven percent of children under five in the urban center suffered from acute malnutrition.”—Los Angeles Times, May 15

No comment—With increasing scarcity of lower cost homes, Los Angeles housing jumped 19 percent in a year. The median price—half above, half below—now stands at $300,000 plus.

And the shredder was color-blind—In Flagstaff, Arizona, a federal judge threw out a suit charging that area cops stopped drivers on the basis of skin profiling. He advised that Arizona had lost or destroyed relevant records; therefore there was no proof. However, he assured, if the plaintiffs wished they could refile the suit.  
 
 
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