Does the pope shit in the woods?

Apparently, if there are plenty of gays in it, he does.

Pope Benedict just promoted Rev. Gerhard Maria Wagner, an Austrian anti-gay pastor, to the wildly mystical position of auxiliary bishop. And the guy that he's elevating… well, to put it bluntly: He's a hater.

In 2005, Wagner was quoted saying that Hurricane Katrina was "God's punishment for the sins of New Orleans," specifically calling attention to the city's annual gay pride parade, Southern Decadence, which, in '05, was scheduled to take place just days after the storm hit. (Wait, there's more.)

Wagner also said in reference to the ol' SD, that the “gates of the city were wide open to celebrate sin." And more cruelly that he was "glad that the hurricane destroyed not only the nightclubs and brothels in the city, but also five abortion clinics."

Actually, the majority of the devastation occurred in neighborhoods and to private dwellings, where over 1,400 people lost their lives and untold numbers lost homes and livelihood. Also, ironically and totally ignored by the myopic "man of God," New Orleans is home to the second-oldest diocese in the United States, housing the oldest continuously operating cathedral in the U.S., and boasting one of the largest concentrations of Roman Catholics in the American South (36% of the city's population, compared to the national average of 24.5%).

Wow. This guy sure sounds like a winner.

It often sounds like hyperbole, but homes were literally rocked tonight in Hyde Park around 8pm when a house exploded after a gas leak. According to Austin Fire Department, its personnel had been called to the home on Evans Street after reports of a gas leak. After evacuating the residents from the building, firefighters were knocked flat by the sudden explosion which caused buildings to shake as far away as Red River. One firefighter was taken to hospital with a knee injury incurred during the blast.

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and Speaker Joe Straus have asked all state agencies to find cuts from their current budgets so the state can slice 2.5% from General Revenue and General Revenue-Dedicated appropriations. Dewhurst said as much when he addressed the Texas Public Policy Foundation, but this solidifies it: The budget has a hole in it, and as per usual the only solution he offers is further slashing of agency funding. The letter was sent out on Friday, but was only released to the press this afternoon. Dewhurst and Straus do say that they will try to protect "funding for essential programs, including but not limited to the Foundation School Program, acute care Medicaid, CHIP and debt service for previously issued debt." See below the fold for the full text of the letter.

I just finished watching today's brief Texas Senate session on Cable Channel 22. And now I've switched it over to Channel 6 to watch the House. I've taken this for granted for some time now, and didn't realize that residents of other Texas cities don't have this service available to them. Today, 97 House members sent a letter to Texas cable and satellite providers to step up and make this available to their customers. Press release from the House after the jump:

Having been a fan of the 1970s Steelers, they were naturally my pick in the Superbowl, so I’m feeling pretty smug. I even watched Bruce Springsteen during halftime and came away from it thinking, “Not bad, Bruce – ya stuffed your career into a 12-minute medley. That’s a good trick.” How big a Bruce fan am I? I saw his early shows here at the Armadillo but only own The River and a few downloads of his. A 15-year-old friend of mine does not share my comparatively generous take on the Boss’ performance. The kid hates Springsteen and everything Springsteen stands for. I remember being about the kid’s age and watching Perry Como on TV, thinking he was the most useless performer that ever lived. “Why fireworks for this? This is old man stuff,” the kid sneered as Springsteen sprang around the stage. “He’s instinctively right,” commented the kid’s father, and it was true. This teen was right in that instinctive way, though he is wrong in others. I now know that Perry Como has an outstanding voice but his MOR music said nothing to me. What was this “Hot diggity dog ziggity” stuff? I was listening to Frank Zappa sing, “Only 13 and she knows how to nasty.” Watching Springsteen sing “Tramps like us, baby, we were born to run” meant nothing to the kid who knows "From the window, to the walls, to the sweat drip off my balls." Maybe it will never mean anything to him or maybe, 40 years down the way, he’ll find that Springsteen was a great showman but the songs are formulaic American rock, the working man’s truth sold in Wal-Mart. One thing did have the kid’s attention. “Who’s the freaky old dude in the bandanna?” Told it was Little Steven, better known as Silvio from The Sopranos, the kid nodded in approval. “Oh yeah. Cool.”

We had a little bit of the Christmas morning feeling when the complete lineup for the South by Southwest Film Festival popped up in our in-box. Sure, the fest doesn’t kick off until March 13, but you might as well start planning now – you’ve got 108 features to choose from, not to mention a whole host of shorts and music videos. In addition to previously announced films like opening night comedy I Love You, Man (the cast of which – including Paul Rudd, Jason Segel, and Rashida Jones – will all be in attendance at the festival), SXSW 09 has some big-buzz films, like Spike Lee’s Passing Strange, Cary Fukunaga’s Sin Nombre, and the locally made Beeswax from Andrew Bujalski. You got return trips from SXSW alums Ry Russo-Young (You Won't Miss Me), Lynn Shelton (Humpday), and Alex Karpovsky (Trust Us, This Is All Made Up), plus you’ll-never-believe-this docs like Ben Steinbauer’s Winnebago Man and Michael Paul Stephenson’s Best Worst Movie (it’s Troll 2, in case you were wondering)… Not to mention the world premiere of Women in Trouble, written and directed by Sebastian “Snakes on a Muthafuckin’ Plane” Gutierrez. And that’s just off the top of our heads. Crazy long lineup after the jump.

The inductees, presenters, and emcee for the ninth annual Texas Film Hall of Fame Awards are now locked for the March 12th ceremony. Actor Billy Bob Thornton joins previously announced inductees Larry Hagman, Powers Boothe, and Catherine Hardwicke; new presenters include John Cusack, Dennis Quaid, and Keith Caradine. Thomas Haden Church will emcee the event, which will be held at the newly renovated Austin Studios. For more info, check out the Austin Film Society website. Press release after the jump.

Perhaps you've heard a little something about the recent anti-evolution lunacy on the State Board of Education. Or perhaps you didn't realize we even have an SBOE. Or what it does. Or that it's an elected body. Or who your representative is. Don't feel too embarrassed … you'd hardly be alone in that regard. But you can fix that in a couple of upcoming forums, one of which is coming up tomorrow (Sunday) morning. (And hey, if you're willing to fix your ignorance and evolve, that puts you way ahead of several of the SBOE members.) Details after the jump:

With little fanfare, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst quietly released the list of Senate Committees for the 81st Session. Comparing the list to last session, there's a series of small but potentially significant changes. After languishing as a sub-committee, Higher Education becomes a full-fledged committee under Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, who gives up her Education seat and her vice-chairmanship on Finance. She gets Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, as her vice-chair (observers of the conservative Patrick may note he also becomes vice-chair of education and replaces the more moderate Sen. Robert Deuell, R-Greenville, on Criminal Justice.) Sen. Craig Estes, R-Wichita Falls, gets to chair the new full Agriculture and Rural Affairs committee. There's also very little tweaking on the membership front. With Kim Brimer and Kyle Janek gone, their replacements (Sens. Wendy Davis, D-Dallas, and Joan Huffman, R-Houston) both get a smattering of appointments. As for the Travis County delegation, there's no change. Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, keeps his vice-chairmanship of Transportation & Homeland Security, plus seats on Business & Commerce, Economic Development, Jurisprudence and Nominations. Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, remains chair of Jurisprudence and stays on Administration, Transportation & Homeland Security, and Intergovernmental Relations. See below the fold for the full list of new members and who lost what.