VBVW for May 15, 2009: How the Mighty Do Fall
• The Very Best
An unnamed Spanish woman won the largest lottery in history: $166 million in the EuroMillions game. The way things are going in Europe, maybe she could use her winnings to buy Spain.
Queen + Paul Rodgers have decided to call it quits after releasing an ill-advised “new” Queen album last year. Finally, Freddie Mercury can stop spinning.
University of Notre Dame president Fr. John Jenkins stood by his decision to invite President Obama to speak at the school’s graduation. Ultraconservatives have been protesting Obama’s appearance due to his stand on stem-cell research and abortion. The protesters aren’t associated with the University, and — given their intolerance — probably never went to one, either.
• The Very Worst
Chrysler is closing one-quarter of all its dealerships. That means that we’ll have less opportunity to buy a LeBaron that we weren’t going to buy anyway.
Pope Benedict is trying to ease tensions between Israelis and Palestinians. If he’s successful, maybe he ought to try to ease tensions between the Vatican and the rest of the world.
House speaker Nancy Pelosi has been flip-flopping about when she learned the Bush administration was using torture techniques. Republicans expect to get the truth out of her this weekend when she’s waterboarded.