Various sources reveal that Poland is preparing for a visit by Papa Ratfinger by outlawing advertisements for sundry "inappropriate" products, such as lingerie, tampons, and beer. I guess the lingerie and the tampons make sense, given that women are such dirty, fleshly things, but the beer? I thought monks made beer! And aren't Catholics required to like alcohol, given that Jesus sort of made himself into it?

Or maybe it's just that the beer commercials feature those naughty people, women. Ew! Girls! They are so totally icky!

On the Catholics and tampons front, another current controversy involves the growing popularity of birth control methods that render women period-free. Something I didn't know is that even when you're on regular old birth-control pills, with the one-week-a-month placebo, you don't have a period. You just sort of randomly bleed. Mmm!

Apparently, the choice was made, when the pill was developed, to build in this week-o-bleeding because it would seem "more natural" and make the pill more acceptable to Catholics. Kind of didn't work, I'd say, but you can't please those Catholics. Bleed and the Pope withdraws in terror. Don't bleed and suffer the horrific "unnaturalness" of your choice. All in a day's work for the wacky misogyny of organized religion!