"A Boston Herald reporter asked the 70-year-old conservative Roman Catholic if he faces much questioning over impartiality when it comes to issues separating church and state. "You know what I say to those people?" Scalia replied, making the obscene gesture and explaining "That's Sicilian." ...read on"

I'm Sicilian too, but I've never seen that in our handbook. I have witnessed many people "flipping the bird" when they are experiencing road rage though. Attending mass usually has a calming influence on many people just after they leave.

Scalia also has a problem with Gitmo detainees.

Update: There's some question about what gesture he made. The article's title is: "Justice Scalia flips the finger in church"

Saturday Miscellany

Blogospheric roundup:

Ezra Klein on the radical right's hypocrisy over the human papilloma vaccine
The Guardian Newsblog on a Gitmo detainee's testimony to Amnesty International
Scott Lemieux on the self-pity of the pro-life Democrat
Pro-choice Don on how he can't be bothered with Roe and Chris Clarke on how defending other people's rights gets tiresome.

--Lindsay Beyerstein of Majikthise

Penndit does a comprehensive Media News post every week. Excellent... Over at The Reaction, Michael explains how Harriet Miers is the right's Yoko Ono

Boo Fucking Hoo! They’re just not making “Sob Sisters” like they used to. the talking dog has an interview with the lawyer of a Gitmo detainee whose case may come up before the Supreme Court soon.

Facing South: Alarming gaps in public oversight... where's all that Katrina money going?

October 6, 2005, TD Blog Interview with Neal Katyal",0] ); D(["ce"]); D(["ms","10110"] ); //-->the talking dog has an interview with the lawyer of a Gitmo detainee whose case may come up before the Supreme Court soon.

Facing South: Alarming gaps in public oversight... where's all that Katrina money going? October 6, 2005, TD Blog Interview with Neal Katyal

Williams gave Bill a little on Thursday's show

O'REILLY (really loud): Juan, you don't know that! You don't know that at all!!

WILLIAMS (Loudly): Yes, I do, because Bill ...

O'REILLY: You're not privy to that!!

Video-WMP only

WILLIAMS: .... you're not doing the reporting. (points thumb at himself) I'm doing the reporting and I'm tellin' ya' intelligence people are sayin' we're not gettin' anything ..

O'REILLY (exasperated): Alright.

NewsHounds has the full transcripts: What a day! FOX News Contributor,Juan Williams, whose "liberal" voice has rarely been raised in anger to his FOX colleagues, gave as good as he got on last night's O'Reilly Factor on the topic of the Gitmo detainees. Bill did not like it one little bit. It was clear from his demeanor that he was extremely upset that the usually mild-mannered Williams suddenly seemed to have sprouted lion's claws and refused to be bullied...read on

I was emailed about this interchange and posted it in its entirety which includes Bill's "Talking Points."

via:Newshounds: Lawyer Runs Rings Around Bill O'Reilly on Subject of GITMO Detainees

Download | play -WMP

Download | play -QT

BROOKS: Bill, I'm actually kind of disappointed in you and in the L. A. Times. You're goin' soft here a little bit. This cutting the head off stuff. I kinda had you figured as a boiling in oil guy.

QT coming soon

For all his bluster and bravado, yesterday [5/24/05] Bill O'Reilly was bested by his guest, law professor Rosa Brooks, a feisty, strong, knowledgeable human rights attorney who did a wonderful job of driving Bill crazy! After his usual hateful Talking Points Memo, in which he tried to justify his inflammatory "beheading" statement about Michael Kinsley of the L. A. Times, the Bloviating Billster took on Ms. Brooks in a long segment on the topic of the Guantanamo detainees. They were still at it well into the "cut to commercial break" theme music. Bill was a mass of frustration by the end of this verbal sparring match. One wonders if Ms. Brooks will ever be asked back again!...read on

Newshounds has the full transcript available.

Talk Left delves deep into this issue at great depth: Detainees Should Have Lawyers so Innocents Can be Released

Gitmo Detainees Say Muslims Were Sold

They fed them well. The Pakistani tribesmen slaughtered a sheep in honor of their guests, Arabs and Chinese Muslims famished from fleeing U.S. bombing in the Afghan mountains. But their hosts had ulterior motives: to sell them to the Americans, said the men who are now prisoners at Guantanamo Bay...read on