End of the Weekend Open Thread

Okay, fresh thread to get you through the night.

Enjoy. Read More......

Ron Paul on homosexuality, sin and 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'

GOP Presidential candidate Ron Paul sat down with "Recovering Republican" and former Constitution Party presidential candidate John Lofton to talk about abortion, gays in the military, and other hot button issues on Lofton's radio show, The American View. You can listen to the interview here (head about 24:30).

LOFTON: Do you believe it [homosexuality] is a sin?

PAUL: I have not...I'm not as judgmental about that probably because of my medical background, so I don't see it in those simplistic terms; I think it's a complex issue to decide whether it's sin or other problems with the way people are born. It's to me too complex to give an answer as simple as that.

LOFTON: Do you believe that God says it is a sin?

PAUL: Well, I believe a lot of people understand it that way, but I think everybody's God's child too, so I have, you know, trouble with that.

LOFTON: Well, actually everyone's made in the image of God, but not everyone's a child of God. Some of them are children of the devil...

Paul is then asked about Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Lofton first goes into a fairly lengthy diatribe about how all sinners need to be booted from the military.

LOFTON: We'll try to stop anyone from getting in the military who is a homosexual, who is an adulterer, who is a fornicator, and then other categories that indicate a character flaw. Why we shouldn't try to do that?"

PAUL: Looking it in protecting the military if they are going to perform the services, and they are imperfect -- because we're all imperfect and we all sin. If a heterosexual or homosexual sins, that to me is the category of dealing with their own soul. Since we cannot have only perfect people going in the military I want to separate the two because I don't want to know the heterosexual flaws, nor the homosexual flaws and that's why I got in some trouble with some of the civil libertarians because I don't have any problem with Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Because I don't think that, for the practicality of running a military, I'd just as soon not know every serious thing that any heterosexual or homosexual did, and those flaws have to do with all our flaws because each and everyone one of us has those imperfections.

This is ridiculous. Again, heteronormativity blinds Paul to the fact that gays don't want the repeal of DADT to have sex in the barracks -- gays and lesbians simply do not want to hide their orientation. Heterosexuals serving our country are able to speak openly about their lives -- a partner back home, for instance, without fearing that they will be kicked out of the military. Heterosexuality, and the culture that surrounds it, is everywhere, presumed and affirmed.

BTW, Lofton goes on to say that "God will not bless an army or a military that is full of unrepentent, practicing homosexuals, and adulterers and fornicators."

Hat tip, Nick S. Read More......

Washington Whispers: Chertoff to replace Gonzales?

Any rumor of master-of-Katrina-disaster Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff taking over for Gonzo represents Bush Admin high comedy at this point. (US News & World Report):

Why Chertoff? Officials say he's got fans on Capitol Hill, is untouched by the Justice prosecutor scandal, and has more experience than Gonzales did, having served as a federal judge and assistant attorney general.

Perhaps it's a better job fit, huh? Read More......

More Broder Banality

Today's column by Dean David Broder is more of the same. Broder hates partisanship, and loves him some independents.

The essence of the column was that there is room for an independent bid, especially if Sen. Chuck Hagel and Mike Bloomberg join forces. I also believe its a distinct possibility.

On the other hand, it's laughable to suggest that Bloomberg is some kind of post-partisan independent.

On the contrary, while Washington is gridlocked in partisan battle between two equally spent parties, the country is moving rapidly, he thinks, to the conclusion that neither Republicans nor Democrats have the answers to the problems people see.

The war in Iraq is the prime example, a war on which Hagel was perhaps the first prominent Republican to break with the president. Credit problems that have shaken the mortgage markets and fed the decline in housing add to the sense of anxiety. And the abject failure of Washington to deal with the issue of illegal immigration is fueling further frustration.

The common thread to all these problems, he says, is leadership -- and leadership is precisely what Bloomberg demonstrates every day as mayor of New York, following his success as a financial publisher. "A guy like Bloomberg could have deep credibility as a candidate," Hagel said. "He's a fresh face and a proven leader. It could be he'd release a dynamic that would be an answer for many people."

Bloomberg has been a fine Mayor for New York. But in essence, he's run it like a Democrat. He's pro-chice, anti-gun, raised taxes, banned trans fats, etc. etc. The only reason he ran as a Republican is because he wouldn't win a Democratic primary in New York.

If Bloomberg was a Democrat (and there are other Mayors with similar characteristics), Broder would dismiss him as another partisan. But because he calls himself an independent, Broder swoons. Like most of the Washington establishment, Broder cares mostly about words, not deeds. Read More......

Over 400K Iraqis have fled country since 'surge'

The Iraqi Red Crescent Organization reports that despite Dear Leader's military surge to increase security in the country, the number of Iraqis fleeing their homes because of the violence has increased dramatically, with over 400,000 leaving since the beginning of the year.

The number of displaced Iraqis shot upward from 447,337 on Jan. 1 to 1.14 million on July 31, the Iraqi Red Crescent Organization said Saturday.

..."Does this surge have anything to do with it? We don't know," said Saeed Haqi, head of the Iraqi Red Crescent -- the local partner organization of the International Committee of the Red Cross. "But they're leaving because of the security situation in general."

In addition to those who have fled their homes but have stayed within the country, some 2 million Iraqis have fled, with many now living as refugees in neighboring Syria and Jordan.

In its midyear assessment last month, the Geneva-based International Organization for Migration also reported a spike in internally displaced people, saying the trend started with the February 2006 bombing of a Shiite shrine in the city of Samarra, which sparked fierce sectarian fighting.

It said 63 percent of those assessed reported that they fled direct threats to life, and that more than a quarter had been forcibly displaced from their property. Ninety percent said they were targeted because of their religious identity.

Meanwhile, the White House is a bit peeved at John Warner, who's not backing down from his remarks about the need for a pullout of troops.

Sen. John Warner's suggestion that some troops leave Iraq by the end of the year has roiled the White House, with administration officials saying they've asked the influential Republican to clarify that he has not broken politically with President Bush.

But Warner said Friday he stands by his remarks and that he took no issue with how his views have been characterized.

"I'm not going to issue any clarification," Warner, R-Va., said in an interview with The Associated Press. "I don't think any clarification is needed."

Read More......

Self control

Sully digs up a great clip of Obama debating Keyes in 2004. The subject is gay marriage.



How does Obama resist the urge to just look at him and say, "You're a complete embarrassment to yourself, your party, and your country."? How is he able to sit there as this total insanity is spewed forth?

I've said it before, and I'm sure I'll say it again: The most under-appreciated person in the ascendancy of Barack Obama is Alan Keyes. Sure, Obama was probably going to win anyway, but having an insane, frothing, carpet-bagger opponent allowed him to spend much of his pre-election time going to other states, stumping for other candidates, and otherwise building a national profile despite the fact that he wasn't even an incumbent. Even with Obama traversing the country, Keyes managed an anemic 27 percent of the vote. And a star was born.

Thanks, Alan! Read More......

Sunday Talk Shows Open Thread

Iraq and politics are the topics on the talk shows.. Those are the subjects although they've morphed into the same thing. Good to see Jim Webb out there. Cornyn doesn't stand a chance. And, the new number one enemy of the Bush administration, John Warner, is on Russert. One of Bush's political henchman said Warner is "hurt[ing] the cause of freedom." Tough talk. It's GOP fratricide time. Here's the lineup:

ABC's "This Week"—Sens. Jim Webb, D-Va., and John Cornyn, R-Texas; former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers.

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CBS' "Face the Nation"—Former Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., and his wife, Elizabeth.

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NBC's "Meet the Press"—Sen. John Warner, R-Va.; cyclist Lance Armstrong.

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CNN's "Late Edition"—Former Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi; New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson; Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan.; Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno, the No. 2 U.S. military commander in Iraq; former Sen. Max Cleland, D-Ga.

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"Fox News Sunday"—Sens. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Jack Reed, D-R.I.; former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.

Have at it. Read More......