42 military deaths in Iraq since Bush declared the war over, but, hey, who’s counting?

Not Vice President Dick Cheney who is busy repaying Halliburton shareholders for his Napoleonic stewardship of the oil services firm. The administration has ignored the Senate’s demand for competitive bidding on Iraqi contracts and has more than doubled the amount paid to Halliburton. But how far can $200 million go when pesky asbestos claims take $4 billion out of your hide and shareholders need $6 million more to stop complaining about deceptive accounting. By virtue of some Enron bookkeeping, the Veep claims no ongoing relation to the company even though he still owns a boatload of stock. These, mind you, are the same kind of no relations that Bill Clinton had with Monica Lewinsky.

No relations are more repugnant than those between the Catholic Church and the unfortunate children in its care. The latest scandal involves Phoenix Bishop Thomas O’Brien, who ran over a 43-year old man and left him to die. Despite a caved in windshield, the Bishop thought he had merely hit a dog or perhaps had been struck by a thrown rock. The deceased pedestrian weighed well over 200 pounds and so the question begs, how drunk was the cleric? Moreover, how did he keep the car on the road with a bottle of whiskey in one hand and an alter boy’s genitals in the other.

Ironically, the Prelate had just struck a deal with authorities to avoid prosecution by admitting he allowed priests accused of child molestation to work with minors. Why that kind of admission would get you a hall pass is beyond me. But no matter: In the end it’s goodbye to wine and crackers because Monsignor will now wind up behind bars where daily communion involves dirty bed sheets and hair gel. Amen to that.