Weekend Round-up

Since I used my earlier post to wax teary-eyed about my wonderfully indulgent weekend, I figure it's time right about now to let you know what's keeping the newshound in me glued to the screen.

Deadliest Shooting Rampage in American History: Today, at Virginia Tech, 31 people were killed by a lone gunman; another 22 were injured, at last count. According to the NY Times, today's shooting comes just a few days shy of the eighth anniversary of the school shooting at Columbine, which left 12 students dead.

Kidneys for Sale: Should people be allowed to sell their own organs? William Saletan asks the question and here's my answer: Hell, no. I understand that there are people out there who are dying for need of an organ, but, like Saletan, I believe that issue it best addressed by encouraging more folks to become organ donors at the time of their death, not by putting people who are already vulnerable (read: poor) under increasing pressure to make a buck by selling off their inner goods. Enough already.

Another Sanchez Backs Away From Hispanic Caucus: Just a few months after her sister, Rep. Loretta Sanchez, resigned from the National Hispanic Caucus after accusing the chair of calling her a "whore", Rep. Linda Sanchez has now also cut her ties with the group. Though she says her resignation has nothing to do with the "whore" issue--and is instead about "structural issues"--I hope that's not entirely true. Anybody (or association) that called my sister names wouldn't be getting my support either.