Noon Snippet Fest, Part 3

The NYT says: "Morgan Stanley gave its chief executive, John J. Mack, $40 million in stock and options for 2006, the largest bonus ever awarded to a Wall Street chief. But the record may be short-lived as press reports and analysts are predicting even bigger rewards for the C.E.O.s of rival investment banks. . ." Well, ain't that just special. Starving kids, failing schools, body armor. . . sigh.

Would Jesus surf at AOL (via AP) ?' Group Enlists Pastor in New Anti-Wal-Mart Ad LITTLE ROCK (Dec. 14) - A new television ad by the union-backed group WakeUpWalMart.com features a pastor asking, "Would Jesus shop at Wal-Mart? Should you?"'

Left Behind Killer Video Games flayed at FireDogLake: ". . .Since we now have a President whose desire to measure wartime success by body count is indicative of someone who has probably spent more time playing Ultimate Doom than reading French existential literature (despite protestations to the contrary), I think we can all see the potential danger here. Which is why it is such a shock that WalMart, who wouldn't carry John Stewart's America: The Book because John Paul Stevens' dong was too long, ignores continued cries to stop peddling religious violence for Christmas.

As a former member of WalMart's board , Hillary Clinton is in a particularly good position to get the ears of those who could save the children and stop the madness. We await her critical foray into this terrible, terrible problem."

Civil liberties! You don't need no steenking civil liberties (from AMERICABlog):"Not that this should surprise anyone. From Wired:

The first public meeting of a Bush administration "civil liberties protection panel" had a surreal quality to it, as the five-member board refused to answer any questions from the press, and stonewalled privacy advocates and academics on key questions about domestic spying.

The Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, which met Tuesday, was created by Congress in 2004 on the recommendation of the 9/11 Commission, but is part of the White House, which handpicked all the members. Though mandated by law in late 2004, the board was not sworn in until March 2006, due to inaction on the part of the White House and Congress. . ."

Unions are the future. Taylor Marsh talks about my favorite: ". . .John Edwards is talking about something that matters, not only to people struggling, but to the entire American way of life. As the middle class goes so goes this country. With the new Congress elected and so many populists now in office, John Edwards is telling a tale that will have many people jumping on board; mainly because they're already waiting for that train to visit their state."

Tuning out. Back to work.