God's punishment or obvious evolution

Methicillin-resistant staph is killing people. Fundamentalists are in the brain-blowing position of having to assert that their God is taking lives randomly to send us a vague message of ... what exactly? Is that moral? Wouldn't they be better off blaming this on evolution and the effects of antibiotic abuse? Then God could still be a good guy.

But they don't actually want that. They want, in best Old Testament fashion, to have the biggest, baddest tribe-defending fearsome God in greater Palestine.

Safe harbor

Nothing like regular payments to ensure loyalty. You can always count on conservatives to take care of their own, and Judy Miller is certainly one of their own. This is one reason they're so likely to fall on their swords if necessary - they know it won't cost them their cushy lifestyle. They'll probably even quietly take care of Larry Craig. And Scooter Libby is set for life, bet on it.