In six days, the continuing resolution to fund the government runs out. To avoid a government shutdown, the House and Senate will have to agree on some stopgap measure to allow the government to continue to run. Yet all the talk in Washington is over a completely separate budget process, the Super Committee deliberations, which must come to a resolution by November 23.

Institutions faced with allegations of criminal misconduct like the rape of children have a choice. The president of Penn State, following the model used by the bishops of the Roman Catholic church, backed his athletic director and VP for finance unconditionally when they were indicted. But the Board of Trustees took a different path, demanding openness to wherever the investigations by prosecutors takes them. That kind of institutional loyalty will, in the long run, help Penn State come to grips with what has happened in their midst — much more so than attempts to cover up, make excuses, and otherwise keep silent.

I’ve been a campus pastor, and my heart goes out to the campus pastors at Penn State. But one of them has a much tougher assignment than the others: Father Matthew Laffey. The Roman Catholic church in Philadelphia is facing a remarkably similar criminal indictment of Monsignor William Lynn, the former assistant to the former Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua. Lynn faces trial next March on charges that he protected priests he knew to be pedophiles, with the knowledge and support of his boss, the Cardinal. It doesn’t help matters for Father Matthew that Penn State’s Catholic campus ministry is in the middle of constructing the Suzanne Pohland Paterno Catholic Student Faith Center. (That’s Mrs. JoPa.)

Good luck with all that, Father Matthew.

Under the consent of Francis Slay, the Democratic Mayor of St. Louis, the police moved in to enforce the eviction of Occupy St. Louis from Kiener Plaza yesterday night. The occupiers attempted to stop the city from bringing an end to their peaceful assembly in downtown St. Louis by having lawyers file for an injunction against the city. The judge sided with Mayor Slay and within minutes of the decision the police began to make arrests and seize property.

Earlier this week, a few dozen students and others from the Harvard University community began an Occupation in Harvard Yard, setting up tents on the lawn inside the University’s main yards and remaining there. University officials did not move to expel the occupants, but they immediately closed the gates to Harvard Yard, allowing only persons with Harvard IDs to enter that area of the campus.

Good news: It looks like the year-and-a-half-plus delay mandated by President Obama last week might have killed the Keystone XL. Bad news: It’s not the only potential fuse to trigger the giant carbon bomb known as the Alberta Tar Sands. There is another pipeline proposal that also would allow for cost-effective large-scale supertanker exports of the stuff to overseas markets.

I own an ancient AAA Road Atlas that, while out of date by more than a couple of decades, has the most beautifully drawn road maps, supplemented by mileage charts and wonderful photos of some of the destinations that are highlighted inside.

Why Can’t We Be Friends from episode 401 of The Muppet Show.

We’ve always had music and musicians to propagandize war, mock war, cheer the troops, provide succor to the masses, cherish the lost, and remember all things “war.” Over the last century here’s a couple to notice – and undoubtedly you have more to offer in comments.

Not everyone in the 1% is a greedy selfish bastard. But the ones that are, really really are.

In what feels like a Friday news dump that goes to 11, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission has given its approval to restart Dominion Virginia Power’s North Anna nuclear power facility. The decision came late in the day on a holiday–Veterans Day, 11/11/11.