Thanks to sites like Fark, Metafiler, and CNN, one never has to look far for a moronic write-up on the stupidity of our fellow man. Join me, won't you, as we explore just a few of the News Items That Pissed Me Off Today.

Let there be a lighted cross, court says

"Twenty-three years ago, Noel Dube said, the Virgin Mary urged him to erect a shrine to God. Now a [the Middlesex Superior Court] has ruled that it can stay.

Dube, an 85-year-old World War II veteran who lost a leg sweeping mines in Germany, said he began building the shrine after the Virgin Mary spoke to him during his morning prayers on May 28, 1982.

After a neighbor complained about the shrine's size and the visitors it attracted, the town asked Dube to remove it in 1999. Instead, he expanded it, adding a 30-foot painting of Jesus and a 24-foot illuminated cross to a 20-foot mural of Our Lady of Fatima."

Toilet brush wins wacky bowl

"A toilet brush with a tag that says Do not use for personal hygiene has taken top prize for the wackiest consumer warning label of the year, according to an anti-lawsuit group.

The Michigan Lawsuit Abuse Watch, M-LAW, whose main mission is to reveal how lawsuits and anxiety over lawsuits have created a need for overly obvious warnings on products, sponsors The Wacky Warning Label Contest each year.

Other top finishers this year include:

-- A scooter with the warning This product moves when used.
-- A digital thermometer with the advice Once used rectally, the thermometer should not be used orally.
-- An electric blender used for chopping and dicing that reminds users to Never remove food or other items from the blades while the product is operating.
-- And a three-inch bag of air used for packaging that read Do not use this product as a toy, pillow, or flotation device.'"

Stardom is a gas for Brad and Leo

"Pitt has just given $10,000 to have a forest planted in his name in the tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan. Its trees will absorb carbon dioxide, compensating for the tonnes that the star has been responsible for releasing into the atmosphere: burning aviation fuel as he jets around the world, using up petrol in his limousines and running air-conditioning in hotel rooms. Gyllenhaal has spent similar sums, although his trees are to be planted in Mozambique."