I don't really want to post too much tonight, but this Ted Rall cartoon is absolutely sickening. (Hat Tip: Wizbang)

Seriously, Ted?

For those of you that don't know what to think about the death of Yasser Arafat (I am looking at you, Ginger. And though she hasn't said anything to me, I am sure you are in that boat too, Krystle. :]), here are some helpful stories:

From the Boston Globe:

God bless his soul? What a grotesque idea! Bless the soul of the man who brought modern terrorism to the world? Who sent his agents to slaughter athletes at the Olympics, blow airliners out of the sky, bomb schools and pizzerias, machine-gun passengers in airline terminals? Who lied, cheated, and stole without compunction? Who inculcated the vilest culture of Jew-hatred since the Third Reich? Human beings might stoop to bless a creature so evil -- as indeed Arafat was blessed, with money, deference, even a Nobel Prize -- but God, I am quite sure, will damn him for eternity.

And from the Wall Street Journal:

As the world waits to see whether the current, fragile cease-fire will put an end to nine months of low-level warfare between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, the past may prove instructive. For, in essence, we've been here before. And regardless of what one thinks of Mr. Arafat from a moral standpoint--is he simply a terrorist, or does he come, as he famously told the United Nations in 1974, "bearing an olive branch and a freedom fighter's gun"?--his history, wherever he has gained a territorial foothold, has not been that of a reliable or even rational partner, even with potential Arab allies. His history is one of pushing too far.

Read both. Hat tip to Dean Esmay for the links.

Also, for a background on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, go check out QWERTY.

THIS is the least surprising thing to happen in quite awhile. Any legitimate baseball fan knew this was coming, given his astounding year:

Santana, who went 20-6 and led the AL with a 2.61 ERA and 265 strikeouts, became the first unanimous Cy Young winner since Arizona's Randy Johnson two years ago and the first in the AL since Boston's Pedro Martinez in 2000. He is the 18th unanimous winner overall, the seventh in the AL.

Santana was 13-0 with a 1.21 ERA in 15 starts after the All-Star break, mastering his changeup.

That's tough to argue with. Even runner-up Curt Schilling endorsed him. I wish I could find the story, but after a lot of Googling I still had no luck. Maybe somebody else out there will have more luck.

Anyway, congrats to Johan. I knew this guy was special from the first time I saw him pitch, which was a spot-start about four years ago, and I made sure I told everyone I knew. I just wish I would've bought a Santana jersey before he became such a massive star. Ah, well; life goes on.

It's finally over. After a couple of weeks of controversy regarding his health, the Palestinian Authority has formally announced the death of Yasser Arafat.

It's surprising how many people overlook this man with respect to terrorism. I'd say "rest in peace," but it's more like "good riddance."

Update: Glenn Reynolds echos my view.

Update 2: Deacon over at Power Line asks a legitimate question. The sad thing? Talk radio and blogs are likely the only places it will be asked.

Update 3: Dean Esmay is a little more vindictive than I am:

By the way, why are they worried about where to bury him? Why don't they just strap a bunch of bombs to him and throw him out the window? That way he can go to Heaven as a martyr.

Arafat in Heaven? Haha! Good one!

Update 4: Chadster has a recap of what the blogosphere is saying about Arafat's death. He even linked to me!