Watching 24 (have it TIVOd). Great show. Though I can understand why the Muslim groups are upset about it. (Bottom line: Evil Muslim-American family is really a terrorist cell hell-bent on killing 8 million Americans.) It's just like the gay thing. Yes, some Muslims are terrorists (some gays are pedophiles), and some Muslims living in the US are terrorists. But making a TV show about terrorist Muslim families (gay pedophiles, whatever) highlights the stereotype and helps deepend it - so the argument goes.
Thoughts on this?
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Monday, January 31, 2005
Catholic Church Attacks Freedom of Religion
Hey, who misses the Inquisition? Apparently the Catholic Church, which has never been comfortable with genuine democracies. They're now joining with the Mormons, Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Orthodox Jews to attack freedom of religion in Canada and make the practices of major religions they hate illegal under the law.
I'm talking of course about gay marriage. Eighty five percent of Canadians already live in areas where marriage rights are extended to all people and the valid marriages of the Episcopalians, Reform Jews, MCC, Unitarians and other mainstream religions are respected and treated as valid. But the Church is waging an unholy war against a bil coming to Parliament in early February that would legalize same sex marriage -- and therefore treat the practices of all major religions equally rather than singling some out as invalid.
This is not about same sex marriage. That is a fact of life and it will never go away -- neither will marriages between people of different races, different religions or marriages between adults who are 40 years apart in age and anything else some might find distasteful that many religions would bless. So don't let them make this an argument about gay people. It's an argument about freedom of religion. Why should the tenets of the Catholic Church become the law of the land while the tenets of the Unitarians should be made illegal? Why are Orthodox Jews good people of faith while Reform Jews are leading to the end of civilization? Why are Mormons godly people and MCCers attacking the very pillars of society? Why doesn't the Catholic Church oppose every politican who keeps divorce legal? Why am I still surprised and angry -- as a practicing Catholic -- at how much the Church and its tactics have changed in the past ten years?
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I'm talking of course about gay marriage. Eighty five percent of Canadians already live in areas where marriage rights are extended to all people and the valid marriages of the Episcopalians, Reform Jews, MCC, Unitarians and other mainstream religions are respected and treated as valid. But the Church is waging an unholy war against a bil coming to Parliament in early February that would legalize same sex marriage -- and therefore treat the practices of all major religions equally rather than singling some out as invalid.
This is not about same sex marriage. That is a fact of life and it will never go away -- neither will marriages between people of different races, different religions or marriages between adults who are 40 years apart in age and anything else some might find distasteful that many religions would bless. So don't let them make this an argument about gay people. It's an argument about freedom of religion. Why should the tenets of the Catholic Church become the law of the land while the tenets of the Unitarians should be made illegal? Why are Orthodox Jews good people of faith while Reform Jews are leading to the end of civilization? Why are Mormons godly people and MCCers attacking the very pillars of society? Why doesn't the Catholic Church oppose every politican who keeps divorce legal? Why am I still surprised and angry -- as a practicing Catholic -- at how much the Church and its tactics have changed in the past ten years?
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Sept. 4, 1967: US Encouraged by Vietnam vote
Officials cite 83% turnout despite Vietcong terror.
Anyone know if this is for real? Read More......
Anyone know if this is for real? Read More......
GOP Social Security strategy doc online
RawStory.com got its hands on an entire 100+ page Republican strategy document on the Social Security battle.
Josh Marshall has already pulled something interesting from the document. Have and look and post anything of interest you find. Read More......
Josh Marshall has already pulled something interesting from the document. Have and look and post anything of interest you find. Read More......
The Democrats in Congress and the Governors are afraid of the liberal bloggers
Good. This is actually pretty exciting. If the blogs have influence, YOU have influence via your participation in the blogs. And with the creation of BlogPac last October, we're already in the process of tying the leftie blogs toegether in a more tighly knit community, which will make all of us all the more effective.
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Four US Marines killed in Iraq
Well, glad to see those elections clearly made a big difference. So NOW what's the exit strategy?
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Afternoon open thread
Yes, the elections in Iraq are great. But was it worth hundreds of billions of dollars of OUR money and an ongoing costs of billions per week? Was it worth 1500 American lives, and counting? I'm not so sure, and I doubt the US public is so sure. It's cute for politicians like Bush to play the "isn't it sweet that they can vote" game, and try to deflect us from the cost. But politics, like life, is about costs. If you asked the American public if they'd pay $500 billion and 3,000 American lives and put the country into a massive deficit for the US to go it alone and free some third world country from dictatorship so they could vote in free elections, I'm not so sure folks would be so quick to say yes.
This was a war of choice, and Bush spent our money to do it. It is grotesque that he could find hundreds of billions of dollars at the drop of a hat to do this, while so many unaddressed problems remain at home. Either we have the money or we don't. But to claim that we have to slash the budget for domestic programs when we always seem to find the money for military programs, that is grotesque. I am all for a strong military, and am rather hawkish on war (when I'm not being lied to), but someone needs to ask Bush sometime "if deficits aren't necessarily bad, and if there really IS more money out there provided we think the cause is important enough, then why don't we go into more of a deficit to address some of our domestic needs?" I simply don't like this "there is no money" garbage when they then turn around and find it. What that means is that the problem isn't a lack of money, it's a lack of concern. Read More......
This was a war of choice, and Bush spent our money to do it. It is grotesque that he could find hundreds of billions of dollars at the drop of a hat to do this, while so many unaddressed problems remain at home. Either we have the money or we don't. But to claim that we have to slash the budget for domestic programs when we always seem to find the money for military programs, that is grotesque. I am all for a strong military, and am rather hawkish on war (when I'm not being lied to), but someone needs to ask Bush sometime "if deficits aren't necessarily bad, and if there really IS more money out there provided we think the cause is important enough, then why don't we go into more of a deficit to address some of our domestic needs?" I simply don't like this "there is no money" garbage when they then turn around and find it. What that means is that the problem isn't a lack of money, it's a lack of concern. Read More......
Bob Novak votes NO on Howard Dean as DNC chair
Gee, Novakula and his sources say Dean will be a disaster for the Democratic party because major funders will leave the party forever. Uh huh. Novak has discovered that Dean's elevation to party chair will be a disaster for the Dems, and Novak has a few options how to respond:
1. Sit tight and do not write an article alerting the Dems to the fact that a Dean chairmanship will destroy their party.
or
2. Write a big syndicated article that might just help doom Dean's chances, and thus "save" the Democratic party.
You guessed it. Bob Novak, Doucehbag of Justice, when presented with the option of aiding and abeting the destruction of the Democratic party, chose instead to spread the word across the land that the Democratic party must be saved and here's how you do it.
Yeah, Novak to the rescue of the Democratic party. Give me a break. The fact that Bob Novak is now trying to kill Dean's candidacy should make clear what a threat Dean is to the GOP. Read More......
1. Sit tight and do not write an article alerting the Dems to the fact that a Dean chairmanship will destroy their party.
or
2. Write a big syndicated article that might just help doom Dean's chances, and thus "save" the Democratic party.
You guessed it. Bob Novak, Doucehbag of Justice, when presented with the option of aiding and abeting the destruction of the Democratic party, chose instead to spread the word across the land that the Democratic party must be saved and here's how you do it.
Yeah, Novak to the rescue of the Democratic party. Give me a break. The fact that Bob Novak is now trying to kill Dean's candidacy should make clear what a threat Dean is to the GOP. Read More......
Democracy in Iraq? Gimme A Break
Bob Herbert of the New York Times nods politely towards my opinion that the voting yesterday was a heartening, even historic moment. Then he embraces the opinions of most of this blog's readers and details the many ways in which Iraq is still a disaster getting worse and far, far from a democracy as we understand it. That right-wing bastion the editorial board of the New York Times also weighs in, acknowledging the heavy work ahead and massive obstacles to success but leaning more towards my positive spin. And while Bush and his people thump their chests and crow about the elections, let's remember that they initially wanted to put off elections far into the future but it was an Iraqi figure -- Grand Ayatollah Sistani -- who insisted they be held as soon as possible. Bush embraced that because he had no choice.
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The Dean backlash begins
AP:
A group of state party leaders slowed Howard Dean's fast-moving campaign to become Democratic Party chairman by backing rival candidate Donnie Fowler.Another blog has posted the phone numbers for the Democratic party folks who will be voting on the new chair. I strongly recommend you call those party chairs from your own state - Dean recommended this step in the conference call we had with him. Read More......
The executive committee of state party chairs voted Sunday to endorse the 37-year-old Fowler, who headed Sen. John Kerry's successful presidential nominating campaign in Michigan last year.
Sunday, January 30, 2005
MSNBC's Keith Olbermann guts Focus on the Family
Oh my, this is good.
Hey, guys, worry about yourselves. You’re spewing hate, while assuming that for some reason, God has chosen you and you alone in all of history to understand the mysteries of existence, when mankind’s existence is filled with ample evidence that nobody yet has been smart enough to discern an answer.Then be sure to read his next blog entry on the same page, where he talks about Dobson, the head of Focus on the Family, doing an action alert to have his minions write Olbermann:
You might try keeping it simpler: did you help others, or hurt them?
I’ll be happy to be judged on the answer to that question, and if it’s a group session, I don’t expect I’ll find many members of “Focus On Family” in the “done ok” line.
Firstly, you wouldn’t think a member of this group could misspell “Christian,” but sure enough, one of the missives had the word as “Christain” three times. I think just about every word you could imagine was butchered at some point (and we’re not talking typos here - we’re talking about repeated identical misspellings):Read More......
Spong, Spounge, Spnge - presumably meaning “Sponge.”
Dobsin, Dobsen, Debsin, Dubsen, Dobbins - presumably Dr. Dobson.
Sevility— I’m not sure about this one. This might be “civility,” or it might refer to the city in Spain.
The best of them was not a misspelling but a Freudian slip of biblical proportions. A correspondent, unhappy that I did not simply agree with her fire-and-brimstone forecast for me, wrote “I showed respect even though I disagreed with you and yet you have the audacity to call me intelligent.”
Well, you have me there, Ma’am. My mistake.
Four black Baptist groups join together, say enough of abortion and gay debate
Very interesting story. I don't know enough about these groups, but this is very interesting that the black Baptist groups are trying to take back the moral highground away from the religious right and focus it where it should be, on actually helping people who are less fortunate. The impact remains to be seen, but this is a very good sign, and is not good news for the GOP or the religious right. Namely, someone is finally starting to redefine what it means to be a person of faith who cares.
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Democracy is Born In The Middle East
I did not support Bush's unilateral invasion of Iraq (but I thought the UN should have gone in there YEARS ago). But whatever you think of the war, anyone with a heart has to be inspired by seeing people flocking to the polls in Iraq, apparently at the same level as voters here in the US -- and when they are risking their lives to do so. It is inspiring to see women proudly displaying their ink-stained fingers that indicate they too were able to vote. Even some Sunni areas saw strong numbers of voters. If the dominant Shiites and Kurds can actually maintain a pluralistic, secular government -- rather than taking revenge on the Sunnis who dominated them for ages -- it will be a miracle of decency. Arab news channels -- according to the NYT -- were filled with images of the historic vote going out to the entire Middle East. Our "allies" -- strategic partners who share none of our values, like Egypt and Saudi Arabia -- are deeply, deeply disturbed by this. Good.
Yes, the country is still riven by violence and 1/5th of the population is deeply hostile to the new leaders and our presence. Yes, the infrastructure is a mess. Yes, Afghanistan had elections and now only a few major cities are controlled by the "good guys" while a third of the country is back under the heels of the Taliban and another third dominated by drug lords.
But people want to be free -- whether they live in China or North Korea or Iran or Egypt. People want to be free -- despite a thousand year history of sectarian hatred and religious fanaticism, Iraqis risked their lives to go to the polls. We should be happy. And God willing today may be the day they start to consider themselves Iraqis instead of Kurds or Sunni or Shiite.
I almost put a question mark at the end of the headline -- Democracy is Born in the Middle East? But I don't think there's any question.
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Yes, the country is still riven by violence and 1/5th of the population is deeply hostile to the new leaders and our presence. Yes, the infrastructure is a mess. Yes, Afghanistan had elections and now only a few major cities are controlled by the "good guys" while a third of the country is back under the heels of the Taliban and another third dominated by drug lords.
But people want to be free -- whether they live in China or North Korea or Iran or Egypt. People want to be free -- despite a thousand year history of sectarian hatred and religious fanaticism, Iraqis risked their lives to go to the polls. We should be happy. And God willing today may be the day they start to consider themselves Iraqis instead of Kurds or Sunni or Shiite.
I almost put a question mark at the end of the headline -- Democracy is Born in the Middle East? But I don't think there's any question.
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Soros: Kerry was a flawed candidate
Amen to that.
The article also notes that Soros spent $26 million in the last campaign. Man, the trouble some friends and I could have caused with just a small fraction of that money. Read More......
The article also notes that Soros spent $26 million in the last campaign. Man, the trouble some friends and I could have caused with just a small fraction of that money. Read More......
The 25 Horsemen of the Apocalypse
Why aren't any of them nice people? Fair enough, I don't recognize all of them, but the ones I do recognize just aren't nice people. At what point did being a Christian become synonymous with being an arrogant, intolerant, bully? And why are there any evangelical leaders who are just nice tolerant folk? Is there someone we don't know about? I'd seriously like to know.
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Kerry on Meet the Press
Discussing the Swift Boats for 5 minutes. What the hell is his problem? Tell Russert to shut the fuck up about the Swift Boats. Put your foot down. Say enough is enough, you're through discussing whether you've stopped beating your wife. Scold Russert for pandering to shoddy yellow journalism. Tell him 2 Americans just died at our embassy in Iraq preparing for the Iraqi vote today. And Russert honors their memory to worrying about the fucking Swift Boats?
What does Kerry do? Launches into a long discussion of whether he did or didn't cross the Cambodian border Christmas eve 35 years ago. Who the fuck cares.
It's Kitty Dukakis all over again. Defend yourself. Put your foot down. Tell Russert to shove it. As my sister said to me before the election: If he won't defend himself, how is he going to defend us? Read More......
What does Kerry do? Launches into a long discussion of whether he did or didn't cross the Cambodian border Christmas eve 35 years ago. Who the fuck cares.
It's Kitty Dukakis all over again. Defend yourself. Put your foot down. Tell Russert to shove it. As my sister said to me before the election: If he won't defend himself, how is he going to defend us? Read More......
Beautiful Sunday open thread
GORGEOUS outside. The snow is sticking to the trees :-)
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The 800 pound gorilla in the UK's house
There has been a lot of talk recently in the UK about immigration, perhaps because it's the only wedge issue the Tories can find. The results of a recent poll in the UK says that 71% of voters are worried about immigration. Maybe they're worried that yet another generation of immigrants will succeed and help grow their country? For as much as the Brits love to point the finger across the pond at our own difficulties with racism, they have a long history of it themselves and it's not getting better. Maybe we can start a letter-writing campaign to the Brits and the Guardian can help us enlighten those island-mentality xenophobes.
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Voting starts in Iraq, results are mixed so far
Seventeen dead from multiple attacks and few voters showing in Falluja, Ramadi and other Sunni strongholds. Elsewhere the poll stations were backed up so it's a real mix so far.
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Davos disaster dinner
I watched a great program on BBC World yesterday where the Beeb brought together people from around the world who are in Davos such as Senators Biden and McCain as well as professors, politicians, NGOs from the US, Europe and Middle East. As usual for the BBC it was great stuff and not just because McCain was caught red-handed lying about the world court and ripped in front the crowd. (Boy were his eyes bulging! You could just feel the miserable bastard seething.)
What I missed and what may not have been filmed was this absolute disastor dinner in Davos. I guess the upside (or downside) was that a food fight didn't break out, but just barely, apparently.
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What I missed and what may not have been filmed was this absolute disastor dinner in Davos. I guess the upside (or downside) was that a food fight didn't break out, but just barely, apparently.
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Saturday, January 29, 2005
Snowy Baltimore open thread
Visiting Rob in Baltimore. It's snowing. Quite lovely. Listening to old Clinton speeches on NPR. Amazing. Man, what a difference a brain makes.
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Bush caught lying about Social Security
Experts say that the program does not disfavor blacks because, as Bush says, they die younger than white people. Another Bush lie bites the dust.
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Mission Accomplished
Well, I just got off the phone with Sony support, and after asking immediately for a supervisor, which several of you had recommended, I informed her that Atrios had posted my plea for help to the top of his site, and that with 100,000 visitors a day, it might be good for them to fix this problem. The supervisor was VERY nice, and she got me on the phone with one of their big tech gurus, a guy they use as the emergency guy. He immediately said it sounded like my hard drive was fried, and he's Fedexing me one directly so I can install it Tuesday morning. As it is the weekend, and I couldn't get a new computer any quicker than that, I accepted the offer and hopefully come Tuesday morning all will be well.
I just wanted to thank you guys for helping out, and to thank Atrios and all of his people as well. In times like this when you just want to crawl in to a hole and scream (or cry) it's nice to know we've got a real community out there willing to help. Thanks again everyone :-)
And now back to the reason we're here - Bush-bashing :-)
JOHN Read More......
I just wanted to thank you guys for helping out, and to thank Atrios and all of his people as well. In times like this when you just want to crawl in to a hole and scream (or cry) it's nice to know we've got a real community out there willing to help. Thanks again everyone :-)
And now back to the reason we're here - Bush-bashing :-)
JOHN Read More......
Saturday noon open thread
The saga continues. On hold with Sony again. Atrios' listing this at the top of his blog shouldn't hurt (I didn't ask him, he did it on his own - he's really a nice guy).
Chat amongst yourselves. Read More......
Chat amongst yourselves. Read More......
Chertoff also supported torture
But what's a good drowning between friends in this administration? My opinion of the Democrats in DC is slipping fast (only 12 voted against Condi? WTF?) and I hope that we see a better show of muscle when it comes time to voting for this crap. It's really encouraging to see that these "leaders" have approved tactics commonly used by the likes of the Khmer Rouge. Sure, Chertoff and Gonzales may not have been approving the most violent tactics but this is a slippery slope and we know that there have been deaths during "interrogation" so their hands are not clean.
In Southeast Asia during the war it was widely reported that a tactic used both by US troops as well as the Viet Cong was where cloth would be draped over a persons mouth and then water poured over it, precisely for the effect that Mr. Chertoff approved. There aren't any physical scars but tell me it's not torture. The big step between back then and now is that we didn't have legal reviews and approval. We're really reaching some new lows with this team.
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In Southeast Asia during the war it was widely reported that a tactic used both by US troops as well as the Viet Cong was where cloth would be draped over a persons mouth and then water poured over it, precisely for the effect that Mr. Chertoff approved. There aren't any physical scars but tell me it's not torture. The big step between back then and now is that we didn't have legal reviews and approval. We're really reaching some new lows with this team.
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Friday, January 28, 2005
My new Sony computer is dead again
Sorry to be sharing so much with you guys, but what the hell, we're a community now, thought you'd appreciate the update (and at least this allows me to vent while listening to the nice music on my phone). And after this last call, I really need to vent.
My new rather expensive VAOI has crashed again. This would be the 4th reinstall of windows the guy on the phone just tried to get me to do, I told him enough was enough. We reinstalled last night, wiping out all my Christmas photos among other things, and then all was well until I tried making a ghost image of my drive and it jammed because there were errors on the drive. So I ran scandisk, which took, oh, about 4 to 5 hours (first sign of trouble), it found a few errors, fixed them, and now the computer won't reboot. The real helpful guy on the phone (sarcasm) first suggested I reinstall windows, that was real helpful.
Oh yes, now I'm being told that they can ship some repair disks to me. The great line she gave me was "your warranty is only for repair, not to get a new computer."
If anyone out there works at Sony, this is ridiculous. You pay nearly $2000 bucks for a new computer, it's a piece of crap, and now they want to send you more disks to repair what shouldn't even be broken, after your reinstalled the software 3 times.
You guys were right. I should have considered a Mac. At the very least, there was no point in buying a brand name. I thought a Sony would give me a more trustworthy system, better service at the very least, and I'm getting the typical bullshit runaround you get when you buy crap.
I've had it with this company.
PS And how great is Sony support for their computers? I'm told that there are no managers around, but one can back to me on Sunday. Sunday. Now that's service. Read More......
My new rather expensive VAOI has crashed again. This would be the 4th reinstall of windows the guy on the phone just tried to get me to do, I told him enough was enough. We reinstalled last night, wiping out all my Christmas photos among other things, and then all was well until I tried making a ghost image of my drive and it jammed because there were errors on the drive. So I ran scandisk, which took, oh, about 4 to 5 hours (first sign of trouble), it found a few errors, fixed them, and now the computer won't reboot. The real helpful guy on the phone (sarcasm) first suggested I reinstall windows, that was real helpful.
Oh yes, now I'm being told that they can ship some repair disks to me. The great line she gave me was "your warranty is only for repair, not to get a new computer."
If anyone out there works at Sony, this is ridiculous. You pay nearly $2000 bucks for a new computer, it's a piece of crap, and now they want to send you more disks to repair what shouldn't even be broken, after your reinstalled the software 3 times.
You guys were right. I should have considered a Mac. At the very least, there was no point in buying a brand name. I thought a Sony would give me a more trustworthy system, better service at the very least, and I'm getting the typical bullshit runaround you get when you buy crap.
I've had it with this company.
PS And how great is Sony support for their computers? I'm told that there are no managers around, but one can back to me on Sunday. Sunday. Now that's service. Read More......
Bush's Broken Promises
Here's a good, blistering editorial in today's New York Times that mocks Bush and his much ballyhooed plan the Millenium Challenge Account, which should be doling out $5 billion a year by 2006 to the poor countries (mostly in Africa and Latin America) that put in place common sense reform and work towards development. As always, Bush announces big numbers and then quietly cuts back funds after the spotlight moves on.
They tubthump this project all over the world as an example of the USA doing good. But how much have they doled out since starting the MCA last year? Not one dime. Zero. Zip. Nada. A number of countries have qualified according to Bush's lackeys, but none of them have seen any greenbacks. This echoes what Bush did about AIDS in Africa -- callously using the worst plague in our lifetimes to pretend he was a compassionate conservative and then DEFUNDING international groups already on the ground trying to fight the disease and save lives, refuse to back generic drugs because he'd rather send funds to pharmaceutical companies than save three times as many lives (the cost difference between name brands and generics) and finally demanding that science and common sense be abandoned by refusing to work with any project that mentions condoms.
Paul Krugman details today how Bush lies when he pretends black Americans are shortchanged by Social Security. Bush just wants to spend trillions to switch to a privatization plan and he's willing to con black Americans into thinking the system is stacked against them. (His lie is based on the fact that so many black people die at a young age.) But why let facts get in the way?
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They tubthump this project all over the world as an example of the USA doing good. But how much have they doled out since starting the MCA last year? Not one dime. Zero. Zip. Nada. A number of countries have qualified according to Bush's lackeys, but none of them have seen any greenbacks. This echoes what Bush did about AIDS in Africa -- callously using the worst plague in our lifetimes to pretend he was a compassionate conservative and then DEFUNDING international groups already on the ground trying to fight the disease and save lives, refuse to back generic drugs because he'd rather send funds to pharmaceutical companies than save three times as many lives (the cost difference between name brands and generics) and finally demanding that science and common sense be abandoned by refusing to work with any project that mentions condoms.
Paul Krugman details today how Bush lies when he pretends black Americans are shortchanged by Social Security. Bush just wants to spend trillions to switch to a privatization plan and he's willing to con black Americans into thinking the system is stacked against them. (His lie is based on the fact that so many black people die at a young age.) But why let facts get in the way?
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College Republicans plan to hold a "straight pride" week
It's funny, but why is it that these "we're not really bigots" events are never held by groups that actually are known not to be bigots. For example, you never see well-adjusted, gay-friendly straight people holding "straight pride" events. It's always Republicans, and it's always people who don't like gays. If the events were unconnected to anti-gay animus then why are there never any people involved who aren't anti-gay? Same thing goes for "white pride" events. If they're not motivated by racism, then why don't any normal non-racist people ever participate - the events are always held by Klansmen and David Duke-types, but we're supposed to believe there's no racial animus involved. Uh huh.
Same goes for groups like the "ex"-gay groups. They don't hate gays, they tell us, but then why is that they never "cure" a gay who actually doesn't have it in for other gay people? I mean, you'd think there be at least one of those "thousands" of "ex"-homosexuals who didn't feel the need to join a big religious right lobbying group to fight to repeal laws protecting gay employees from workplace discrimination. I mean, if you really could "cure" your gayness, wouldn't you think there'd be at least one "cured" "ex"-gay who actually LIKED gay people and even supported some gay rights laws?
Just a thought.
Anyway, Pam has the scoop on the straight pride festivities, along with some choice comments from the freepers. Read More......
Same goes for groups like the "ex"-gay groups. They don't hate gays, they tell us, but then why is that they never "cure" a gay who actually doesn't have it in for other gay people? I mean, you'd think there be at least one of those "thousands" of "ex"-homosexuals who didn't feel the need to join a big religious right lobbying group to fight to repeal laws protecting gay employees from workplace discrimination. I mean, if you really could "cure" your gayness, wouldn't you think there'd be at least one "cured" "ex"-gay who actually LIKED gay people and even supported some gay rights laws?
Just a thought.
Anyway, Pam has the scoop on the straight pride festivities, along with some choice comments from the freepers. Read More......
Cheney dissed for dressing down at Auschwitz
For those of you who poo-poo'd my post of the other day talking about how Dick Cheney and wife were looking a little too happy at an Auschwitz museum exhibit in Poland, I believe it's time for some crow.
Appearances matter. And these guys don't seem to care about what people think of them, or us. Read More......
At yesterday's gathering of world leaders in southern Poland to mark the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, the United States was represented by Vice President Cheney. The ceremony at the Nazi death camp was outdoors, so those in attendance, such as French President Jacques Chirac and Russian President Vladimir Putin, were wearing dark, formal overcoats and dress shoes or boots. Because it was cold and snowing, they were also wearing gentlemen's hats. In short, they were dressed for the inclement weather as well as the sobriety and dignity of the event.
The vice president, however, was dressed in the kind of attire one typically wears to operate a snow blower....
Just last week, in a frigid, snow-dusted Washington, Cheney sat outside through the entire inauguration without so much as a hat and without suffering frostbite. And clearly, Cheney owns a proper overcoat. The world saw it during his swearing-in as vice president. Cheney treated that ceremony with the dignity it deserved -- not simply through his demeanor, but also through his attire. Would he have dared to take the oath of office with a ski cap on? People would have justifiably considered that an insult to the office, the day, the country.
There is little doubt that intellectually Cheney approached the Auschwitz ceremony with thoughtfulness and respect. But symbolism is powerful. That's why the piercing cry of a train whistle marked the beginning of the ceremony and the glare of searchlights signaled its end. The vice president might have been warm in his parka, ski cap and hiking boots. But they had the unfortunate effect of suggesting that he was more concerned with his own comfort than the reason for braving the cold at all.
Appearances matter. And these guys don't seem to care about what people think of them, or us. Read More......
More from the "ex"-gay whiner
He just sent out another email, I had to share. (You can read my previous post on this goof here.) This is a great window into how the religious right thinks. My favorite part is where he says:
"Once again, the media elite strikes and tries to silence the message that homosexuals can in fact change - even though that was not the topic of the segment."Yes, that's right. He was being censored from trying to make the show be about a topic the show wasn't about. You invite a guest to talk about Buster the Bunny and he says right out that he is going to talk about how homosexuals can pray away the gay. Um, not what you were invited for. But in the religious right's logic, that's liberal media censorship. I'll say it again, big girl.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASERead More......
January 28, 2005
HUNTINGTON, CT - Stephen Bennett, executive director of SBM, was booked and scheduled to appear on "Good Morning America" today, Friday Jan. 28, 2005 at 7:00 am EST. He was to discuss "Postcards from Buster," Education Secretary Margaret Spelling's rebuke to PBS and PBS's decision to pull one episode from the air.
The episode in controversy "Sugartime!" depicts two lesbian moms and their daughters on a farm in Vermont. Many Americans are outraged, especially right on the heels of the "Sponge Bob" controversy (really known as the We Are Family Foundation controversy.) This episode of "Postcards from Buster" blatantly promotes the lesbian lifestyle as natural and normal to juvenile children.
"Sponge Bob may be off the hook, but Buster the Bunny has been busted," said Bennett. "Those who have an immoral agenda just refuse leave our children alone."
GMA also scheduled the two lesbians featured in the controversial episode to appear for the debate segment with Bennett.
After the pre-interview, when the lesbians were informed that Stephen was a former homosexual - now married to a woman with children, as well as Bennett's traditional stands on marriage and the family, the producers called and said the lesbians felt "uncomfortable" even being in the same room (studio) with Stephen. They wanted to set Stephen up in a satellite studio in another state.
After Bennett assured the producers he would show nothing but love, respect and kindness to the lesbian couple, GMA called and said "We've had a change in plans and are going to use some pre-taped interviews we already have for the debate segment."
GMA said, "Logistics just could not be worked out." They also said no satellite locations were available. SBM frequently uses one at the YES Network only 30 minutes away which is ALWAYS available at the drop of a dime. (GMA's studios in NYC are only one hour or so from SBM's offices in CT.)
Did GMA do what they said? Absolutely not. They immediately called Stephen's friend and colleague Andrea Lafferty of the Traditional Values Coalition, to do the live interview this morning via satellite in place of Bennett (Andrea did a fantastic job as usual.)
Stephen believes he was booted because of the lesbians' intolerance and bigotry toward him for being a former homosexual.
Once again, the media elite strikes and tries to silence the message that homosexuals can in fact change - even though that was not the topic of the segment. Also, Bennett is deeply disturbed by the blatant hypocrisy of the lesbians stating on air that they feel America treats them as if they "don't even exist."
It seems by these two lesbians refusing to debate Bennett - let alone even be in the same studio with him - in their book, former homosexuals DO NOT EXIST.
So who really is the recipient of "intolerance, hatred and bigotry" here? Obviously, NOT the lesbians.
Why does Bush hate Jews?
From the National Jewish Democratic Council:
The Chicago Tribune reported yesterday, "An official U.S. delegation sent to Ukraine's presidential inauguration last weekend included a Ukrainian-American who has accused Jews of manipulating the Holocaust for their gain and playing an 'inordinate role' in the rise of Soviet communism."Read More......
Myron Kuropas was selected by the White House to fly to Ukraine with then-Secretary of State Colin Powell as part of the American delegation. Mr. Kuropas wrote in 2000, "Big money drives the Holocaust industry. To survive, the Holocaust industry is always searching for its next mark. Ukraine's turn is just around the corner." He has argued elsewhere that Jews played a driving role behind Soviet leader Josef Stalin's murderous policies in Ukraine. Mr. Kuropas' has demonstrated his hostility towards Jews for some time; Michael Kotzin, executive vice president of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, explained to the Chicago Tribune, "This is not new stuff. ...If you go back over the decades, he's taken these kinds of positions highly antagonistic to the Jewish people and Jewish interests and causes."
The Knight Ridder news service confirmed that "three State Department officials said the delegation was assembled by the White House."
Open thread
Getting ready for a conference call. Chat away.
Oh, and for the geeks out there, I just bought a one-touch back-up drive, 300 gigs. How does the software that came with it, it will back up any files I've changed each night, from ghost software? Read More......
Oh, and for the geeks out there, I just bought a one-touch back-up drive, 300 gigs. How does the software that came with it, it will back up any files I've changed each night, from ghost software? Read More......
Is the world safer today?
Hmmm, what do you think? Not a bad overview here but I really wish the Brits would quit with the nonsense about Tony Blair standing up for whatever or how he was bullied into doing whatever. C'mon now, he's the same as Bush except he should have been smart enough to know better and he's had way too many opportunities since to break with Bush and he hasn't.
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Reinstalling Windows Open Thread
Yes, new computer, 3d time since I got it a month ago, reinstalling Windows and everything else on the 'puter. I WILL bitch slap the first person who mentions a Mac. We suspect a virus. Very weird shit. So I went out and bought a $300 300-gig back up drive that's amazing. I'll be backing up every night - fool me three times, and I won't get fooled again.
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ANOTHER conservative journalist on the take
This is rididulous. Bush went out and bought off every reporter he could to support his policies. And they have the nerve - THE NERVE - to talk about the liberal media, to criticize the New York Times, and more. Love, love, LOVE to know if any of that money went to anyone at FOX News? This is scandal territory. What's really creepy is that these kind of tactics, buying off journalists, is the kind of thing the CIA does in foreign countries. You don't do it in America.
At least not until now. Read More......
At least not until now. Read More......
Thursday, January 27, 2005
Speaking of Big Girls
I just got this in my in-box and had to share it. It's from this jerk who claims he's an "ex"-gay and likes to lecture people about the Bible and how they're bad Christians, blah blah blah. The guy lectured O'Reilly - yes, that O'Reilly - a few years back, telling him he was an embarrassment to millions of Catholics because O'Reilly wasn't anti-gay enough. O'Reilly called him a "religious fanatic," said he wanted to "deny gays rights," and then said the guy wanted to see all gays go to hell. It was fabulous TV.
Well, the jerk was apparently supposed to go on Good Morning America to be a counterpoint to the lesbian couple from Vermont involved in the latest religious right homo-cartoon scandal, Postcards from Buster. Buster is a rabbit who apparently is a bit too tolerant of children who have gay parents. PBS is pulling an episode of Buster's kids' show because he had the audacity to visit in Vermont with lots of kids and their parents and - eh gads - two of the parents were women! The religious right freaked, Bush's education secretary freaked (no word on what the education secretary thinks of Ken Mehlman refusing to speak on the record about his sexual orientation - is Ken okay around kids?). As an aside, Buster also visits with Muslims and Mormons. No freaking out yet on that one, but stay tuned.
Anyway, the "ex"-gay is now ticked because the Vermont couple didn't feel comfortable being in the same studio with him. And can you blame them? I've debated these religious right freaks before, in person, and it's not fun. They're sick. Either they're total freaks, like Peter LaBarbera who went nuts on me in a green room once, or they're so nice to you one-on-one when you're alone in an elevator with them that it's a bit creepy, if you get my drift, like Robert Knight.
Well the "ex"-gay is now screaming "intolerance, intolerance" because the lesbian couple didn't feel comfortable being with an anti-gay Bible thumper after everything else they've been through. And who can blame them. Anyway, I've posted the "ex"-gay's response to all of this below, it's priceless. Just read it. And tell me if this sounds like something a straight guy would write. Not to mention, this religious right "I'm pulling all the strings and I'm a victim" crap has really got to stop.
Well, the jerk was apparently supposed to go on Good Morning America to be a counterpoint to the lesbian couple from Vermont involved in the latest religious right homo-cartoon scandal, Postcards from Buster. Buster is a rabbit who apparently is a bit too tolerant of children who have gay parents. PBS is pulling an episode of Buster's kids' show because he had the audacity to visit in Vermont with lots of kids and their parents and - eh gads - two of the parents were women! The religious right freaked, Bush's education secretary freaked (no word on what the education secretary thinks of Ken Mehlman refusing to speak on the record about his sexual orientation - is Ken okay around kids?). As an aside, Buster also visits with Muslims and Mormons. No freaking out yet on that one, but stay tuned.
Anyway, the "ex"-gay is now ticked because the Vermont couple didn't feel comfortable being in the same studio with him. And can you blame them? I've debated these religious right freaks before, in person, and it's not fun. They're sick. Either they're total freaks, like Peter LaBarbera who went nuts on me in a green room once, or they're so nice to you one-on-one when you're alone in an elevator with them that it's a bit creepy, if you get my drift, like Robert Knight.
Well the "ex"-gay is now screaming "intolerance, intolerance" because the lesbian couple didn't feel comfortable being with an anti-gay Bible thumper after everything else they've been through. And who can blame them. Anyway, I've posted the "ex"-gay's response to all of this below, it's priceless. Just read it. And tell me if this sounds like something a straight guy would write. Not to mention, this religious right "I'm pulling all the strings and I'm a victim" crap has really got to stop.
Good Morning America Appearance CancelledRead More......
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The producers of Good Morning America called me and articulated the two lesbians felt uncomfortable with me being in studio and wanted to set me up in a satellite studio in another state. That seemed to me that they were very "intolerant" and disrespectful toward me.
I assured the producers I would show the lesbians nothing but love and kindness in addressing the issue at hand.
Good Morning America just called minutes ago and said, "We've had a change in plans." They basically said "...logistics" couldn't be worked out (for the three of us to be in the same room together,) nor could they "find an available satellite studio." I have a studio I work with only minutes away that I frequently use that is ALWAYS available.
It seems to me I have just experienced the brunt of "intolerance and bigotry" by two lesbians who couldn't even stand to be in the same room with me, nor respectfully debate me on national television. How shameful, unprofessional, one-sided and immature.
Thus, ABC opted to have the lesbians on to share "their story" -- and "can" me from sharing America's deep concern and objection of our children being force-fed homosexuality via our tax-payer funded, children's programming.
So who are the "intolerant and bigoted" ones here?
A little torture update
One of you posted some nice links in the comments that I thought deserved more attention.
The Guardian:
The Guardian:
While anti-terrorism police were yesterday interviewing the four Britons released from Guantánamo Bay further details emerged of the alleged treatment of the men by their US captors.Associated Press:
The US lawyer, Clive Stafford Smith, who saw his client, Moazzam Begg, in Guantánamo Bay this month, said the captive had alleged persistent beatings, death threats and psychological torture first at Bagram airbase in Afghanistan, then at the Cuba base.
Female interrogators tried to break Muslim detainees at the U.S. prison camp in Guantanamo Bay by sexual touching, wearing a miniskirt and thong underwear and in one case smearing a Saudi man's face with fake menstrual blood, according to an insider's written account.Human Rights First:
A draft manuscript obtained by The Associated Press is classified as secret pending a Pentagon review for a planned book that details ways the U.S. military used women as part of tougher physical and psychological interrogation tactics to get terror suspects to talk.
It's the most revealing account so far of interrogations at the secretive detention camp, where officials say they have halted some controversial techniques.
"I have really struggled with this because the detainees, their families and much of the world will think this is a religious war based on some of the techniques used, even though it is not the case," the author, former Army Sgt. Erik R. Saar, 29, told AP.
Human Rights First is deeply troubled by the nomination. In his current position as White House Counsel, Mr. Gonzales was the architect for the legal strategy that set the stage for torture and abuses at Abu Ghraib and other U.S. military prisons around the world.Read More......
These positions are outlined in a series of official documents commissioned or written by Mr. Gonzales, or drafted in response to policy recommendations.
Human Rights First has prepared briefing papers and a series of statements and advocacy materials outlining Mr. Gonzales' positions and actions on key issues related to torture and abuse.
Open thread
More technology problems have kept me busy the past 3 hours. Don't EVEN get me started. Running to Best Buy right now. Chat amongst yourselves, think happy thoughts.
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BREAKING: Erect frog on James Dobson's kiddie Web site
Yes, the American Family Association's Web site for kids sports a big ole erect frog on its home page.
I'm outraged, yet oddly titillated.
FROG ERECTION UPDATE:
Once is a coincidence, twice is an erection.
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Best headline award
Title of a recent Republican National Committee press release:
"What They Are Saying About Ken Mehlman"Funny the phrase "big girl" didn't make it in. Read More......
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