At least Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain can't be called indecisive on abortion. He wants to overturn Roe v. Wade. In fact, he wants to outlaw abortion altogether.
"I believe in life from conception and I do not agree with abortion under any circumstances. Not for rape and incest ... Because if you look at rape and incest, the percentage of those instances is so miniscule [sic] that there are other options. If it’s the life of the mother that family is going to have to make that decision."
So, if a thirteen-year-old girl is raped by her stepfather, then neither she nor her mother can choose whether to carry that man's child? Even the very next day, when the egg hasn't even implanted itself in her uterus and has no spinal cord or brain cells?
Exactly. That fertilized cell, according to Cain, is a full human being with more rights than the girl and her family.
And why does Cain block abortions for rape and incest? Just because it's a rare crime. From what Cain says, it sounds like he might reconsider if rape and incest were more common. Does that make sense to you? Do you think it makes sense to rape and incest victims?
"Normally, the country can count on conservatives to deal in facts. We base policies on science, not sentiment, we insist on people being accountable for their actions, and we maintain that markets, not mandates, are the path to prosperity.
When it comes to energy and climate, these are not normal times. ... Courage fails us when it comes to energy and climate. Fearing our economic circumstances, we've decided to channel the fear rather than to confront it."
These are strong and courageous words coming from a true conservative.
Inglis goes on to advocate one of the best free-market principles ever invented: charge the total cradle-to-grave cost of energy products. Don't just charge
What do you do when two groups' civil rights come into direct conflict?
Three of the front-running Republican presidential candidates (Bachmann, Romney and Cain) say that religious rights trump gay rights when the government is giving out our tax dollars. And a fourth, Texas Governor Perry, almost certainly would have said the same thing if he'd been able to stay for the debate (he had to return to Texas because of the wildfires).
This shows a stunning misunderstanding of the United States Constitution and the very meaning of civil rights.
The question they were responding to was about gay couples adopting children. Many of the adoption agencies in this country are run by Christian churches, particularly the Catholic Church. And these same agencies get a lot of funding from the federal government. It shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone that Catholic adoption agencies don't want to let same-sex couples adopt children. The Catholic Church claims it violates their right to religious freedom.
Many Americans don't realize that outside of employment and housing, it's perfectly legal for an ordinary citizen to discriminate against anyone for any reason. If I were a racist, it would be perfectly legal for me to
It seems that America's conservatives (who like to claim the moral high ground) like a good sex show as much as their Democratic opponents. But Republicans have more money! Unlike their Democratic counterparts, the Republicans can actually afford a good lap dance ... or more.
The strip clubs are expecting a huge surge in attendance and have created special private rooms and private entrances for their conservative guests, who have to fly under the radar when
Remember the "no religious test" clause of the United States Constitution that guarantees everyone the right to hold government office regardless of faith? I'm beginning to wonder if it's time to repeal it. Maybe it's time to ban people who are religious extremists from holding federal office! Michelle Bachmann comes to mind...
A couple days ago while driving down the road enjoying a bright, sunny Southern California morning, I spotted a beautiful old classic 1958 Pontiac. "What a beautiful machine!" I thought. "Back in those days, you could actually tune the car yourself. No computers, hand-crank windows that always worked, and if it had seat belts, it was your choice to use them or not. Those were the days!"
It almost made me have some compassion for Michelle Bachmann's desire to turn back the clock to a simpler time.
Then I pulled in behind it to get a better look at it ... and was assaulted by a terrible stink, something I hadn't smelled in quite a while. It was unburned gasoline, partially burned motor oil, nitrous oxide, thousands of different carcinogenic hydrocarbons, and no doubt a good dose of odorless carbon monoxide. If this had been 1958 when
OK everybody, I know you're incredulous at Texas Governor Rick Perry's idiotic pronouncements. But STFU! It's a secret! If we can just keep quiet and let Perry win the Republican nomination, the 2012 election will be ours!
Maybe when pigs fly. This kind of stuff scares even moderate Republicans. But don't tell the Tea Party! The evangelical right has hijacked the Republican party, and they're totally drunk on their success. They've become blind to Perry's hypocrisy and anti-science views. They're elated! They honestly think they can drag the entire country from the twenty first century back into the dark ages.
But they're going to have a really hard time getting Perry elected. The Governor of Texas doesn't even know what's going on in his own state! He recently claimed:
Would you be surprised to learn that the Tea Party isn't actually a good cross section of America? That in fact they're mostly a sock puppet for Evangelical Christian politicians?
The Tea Party likes to pretend that it's a grass roots salt-of-the-earth organization made up of average Americans who are sick of big government and taxes. They want to pretend that they represent black, white and brown, male and female, young and old.
But the facts are otherwise. The Tea Party is actually a stronghold
There was a time some years ago when I admired Senator McCain of Arizona. His military service was above and beyond the call of duty and he seemed like an intelligent, thoughtful man. I've never been fond of Republican politics, but McCain seemed like an honest Republican, a man with principles.
But l can't find any respect left in my heart for John McCain. McCain claims that he supports gay rights. He promised that when the military told him it was ready for the repeal of the Don't-Ask-Don't-Tell (DADT) law, he would support the repeal. But he simply lied! The majority of military leaders, as well as the overwhelming majority of servicemen and servicewomen in all branches, have spoken clearly: they support gay rights in the military, and they support the repeal of DADT.
So what does McCain do? He calls for more studies, committees and reports. When they arrive, he claims they didn't address the right question. He stalls.
And finally today, when the most definitive study was released by the military which concluded it is time to repeal DADT, what did McCain do? Did he take it to heart like he promised? No. He simply claimed that the report is "flawed" and that the senior military officers who put it together didn't do it right.
He's proving to be nothing more than a homophobic jerk. What's more, his actions today opposing the repeal of DADT are just the last in a long string of heartless, harsh conservative dogma that he's been reciting.
I respect people who care more than I respect people who merely happen to agree with me. I'd rather have friends who have thought about their morals and politics than friends who are knee-jerk liberals or conservatives. Well, I thought John McCain was someone I could respect, but either I misjudged him to begin with, or else McCain decided to become dishonest to his own principles for reasons I can't fathom.
Either way, I finally lost the last vestiges of respect I had left for Senator John McCain.
A CNN story this morning caught my eye. Actually it was more than that; I was almost shocked by the implications.
Political Affiliation
Willing to Compromise
Stick to Beliefs
Independents
49%
24%
Democrats
59%
18%
Republicans
32%
41%
These numbers alone are pretty scary. According to CNN, "Forty one percent of Republicans questioned in the survey say it is more important for lawmakers to stick to their beliefs even if little gets done." Imagine if the Democrats adopted that same rigid unwillingness to compromise. Our government would come to a standstill.
Coincidentally I read a fantastic article yesterday called Neuroscience and Fundamentalism by Kenneth M. Heilman and Russell S. Donda (sent to me by reader cipher – thanks!).
According to Heilman and Donda, there may be genetic reasons for why some people have more flexible beliefs than others:
How is it that one person can find it utterly intolerable to believe anything other than a given interpretation of religious doctrine, while another appears comfortable with adding his or her own meaning to the same literature? It is conceivable that the mystery underlying these distinct approaches arises from a not often considered, yet key difference in brain function.
In other words, some of us may be biologically programmed to be inflexible! I encourage you to read the whole fascinating article; I can't do it justice with a few quotes.
But there's more. Heilman and Donda go on to say that the tendency towards fundamentalist thinking can be amplified
Ted Nugent is the poster child for why evangelical Christianity is the enemy of the American Constitution and why mainstream Christians, Jews and Muslims should join secularists and atheists to defend and honor the separation of church and state clause of our Constitution.
CNN was on the TV this weekend, and I happened to walk by as they were showing live coverage of Ted Nugent's rally for Republican Senate candidate John Raese in Charleston, West Virginia. Mostly it was the usual conservative Tea Bagger exhortations, but then he said this:
"It's not good versus bad ... it's good versus evil.
This sends a chill up my spine.
Any living, healthy, thriving society is full of strong opinions and dissent, and part of that dialog must include respect for those who disagree with you. I might argue vehemently that the Republican platform is wrong and will lead to catastrophe. They might counter that my politics will lead to socialism and a big-brother state. But as long as we keep arguing, we'll be OK. We'll rant and rail at each other, but somewhere in all the smoke and noise, we always manage to find a middle path that works.
But when Ted Nugent claims that God is on his side,
A lot of my research for these blogs takes me into "enemy territory" – web sites of the ultra right, Tea Baggers, evangelical Christians, creationists and some stuff that just makes me say, "Huh?" Such was my day on Monday when I dug up this blog. The story was on CNSNews, "The Right News, Right Now," which is to say, "Right wing news".
Check out the ad on the right. This is their main sponsor.
That's right. These people are equating Obama not to socialism, but to communism. Hammer and sickel. Red. And this is the most prominent advertisement supporting this "news" organization. And "GTFO"? I thought these conservatives supported family values! (For those of you not acquainted with the term, it means "Get the f--- out!" Nice.) Notice that it's a striking white girl wearing the shirt.
Obama must be a pretty amazing guy. First he's a socialist. No, actually he's a communist! And obviously he's a Muslim. But wait, he's an atheist too. And a Jew sympathizer! A communist Muslim Jew sympathizer atheist. He's raising our taxes! Unemployment is his fault! The wars are his fault!
What's weird is that these ultra conservatives seem to be able to actually believe
I was feeling glum about my fellow Americans and how some seem so incredibly ignorant. And like most of us, where do you turn for comfort? Why, YouTube, of course! The place where you can forget your troubles and go on an endless stroll through a landscape of funny and amazing videos.
I found a Bill Maher monologue from about a year ago, in which he hits the nail on the head. America IS full of ignorant people.
I finally figured the Tea Baggers out. The problem isn't that Tea Baggers are wrong or stupid. They're not an evil mob hell-bent on returning us to the dark ages, even though that's exactly what their agenda would achieve.
No, the problem is the internet and cable TV, which have allowed them to build a new reality, a different reality than the one in which the rest of us reside. They live in one world, we live in another. Unfortunately, our two worlds occupy the same physical space.
We used to interact with our neighbors. We went to a few churches and schools, shopped at our local stores, and maybe joined a club or took dancing lessons. We had to rub shoulders with our neighbors, many of whom had political views quite different from our own. We were immersed in the diverse mainstream political culture. It was unavoidable.
On top of that, our TV and radio stations numbered just a few, and they were required by law to provide access to all viewpoints. Our newspapers might be liberal or conservative, but they never were radical.
In other words, we couldn't avoid hearing our neighbors' viewpoints.
But in a weird twist of irony, the information age has spawned a new new cultural phenomenon: deliberate ignorance. Instead of two or three TV stations and one newspaper, now we can select from hundreds of sources for our information. Why is that bad? Because we can listen only to what we want to hear. We can choose to be ignorant of other views. We can find a news station, a web site, and an online group of friends who will do nothing but reinforce and even amplify our world views.
It doesn't matter how nutty, outrageous or even factually wrong our views are, we can find a dozen web sites of self-congratulatory friends who will supply us with "facts" to strengthen our position and with moral support to make us feel good about ourselves. Worse, we can avoid encountering anyone who might have a different view of the world.
The internet and information age were supposed to bring the world together,
How can you top that! Last week the web was abuzz with rumors that Palin had a boob job, which would have been quite a disaster for her political image.
Most Christians view boob jobs with a wink and a smile. As Dolly Parton said, "Why not?" Dolly was wonderful for her no-nonsense philosophy: if it makes a woman feel better and more self confident, what's wrong with that?
I have got little feet because nothing grows in the shade. – Dolly Parton
But some of Sarah's hard-core supporters (no, not that kind of support!) don't share Dolly Parton's humorous and kind philosophy.
Here's a rather frightening poll. If these statistics are true, the Republican party should be ashamed of itself. Either that, or else the collective IQ of the Republican Party is so abysmal it's not smart enough to be ashamed. According to a new poll:
57% of Republicans still believe Obama is a Muslim. (Ironic, given that he actually may be a closet atheist.)
45% of Republicans still believe Obama wasn't born in the United States, even though the State of Hawaii produced his official birth certificate, and a notice of his birth was published in the newspaper.
You think those numbers are scary? There's one more:
24% of Republicans think Obama is the antichrist. (Do they even know what an antichrist is?)
I think I'm in the wrong line of work. Spreading truth and wisdom is such an uphill battle, maybe I should give up and instead just spread drivel that people want to believe. It's so much easier.
How can people believe this utter nonsense in the face of clear and compelling facts?
I'd be willing to bet that the the fraction of Republicans who believe this drivel are the same ones who were raised in fundamentalist, evangelical churches.
Syc.o.phant – a self-seeking, servile flatterer; fawning parasite (From dictionary.com)
I wrote off Sarah Palin the quitter, and decided she wasn't worth writing about ... but that speech at the Tea Party Convention was just too much to resist. What a circus of sycophants!
My favorite line from Palin's speech at the Tea Party convention: When asked what she'd do to improve national security, a key point in her strategic plan was to "pray for divine intervention." Seriously! She actually believes that asking for magical intervention from God should be part of our military and diplomatic strategy. If she is ever elected, we'll need some magic, that's for sure.
If Palin's fate as a non-candidate wasn't sealed before, it is now. The Republican old-boys network was really mad when she quit as governor of Alaska. They've been shunning her ever since as a viable political candidate. That's not to say they don't use her crowd-pleasing power and sexual attractiveness to pull in the votes and further their own agenda. But to the real power behind the Republican machinery, she's just a tool to be used as long as it keeps its shine, then discarded.
So, where does someone like Sarah Palin go? She's drawn, like a moth to a candle, to whoever will adore her, and now it's the Tea Party. They're the people who think in simple platitudes, the ones who dragged the Republican Party so far to the right that they lost the Presidency, the Senate, and the House, all in one vote. The Republican leadership, reeling from this disaster, is trying to get back to a more reasonable centrist platform. These Tea Baggers (didn't they even bother to learn what this means in modern slang?) started feeling ignored, so they're forming their own political party.
That's unforgivable to a mainstream political party. There's nothing worse in an election than having a third-party candidate split the vote. It's political suicide. Palin shot herself in the political head when she quit her job as governor of Alaska, now she's put another bullet through her political heart. She'll never be a Republican presidential candidate.
I guess it all makes sense. Simplistic politics, and a sexy bimbo to head your party. Why didn't I think of that?
Fox "News" just announced they've signed Sarah Palin to join their crew of conservative news commentators. Good! Maybe that will get her out of politics ... forever.
But here's the part I don't get: "According to the multi-year deal, Palin will offer political commentary and analysis..." Wait a second. Analysis? Doesn't analysis require a brain? Hey Fox, I think you've made a mistake here.
But seriously, I am really concerned about this news. I was hoping that Sarah Palin would be a strong presidential candidate for the 2012 election, win the Republican nomination, and then go down in flames against Obama. But if she's going to be on Fox every day, she's going to make so many dumb and offensive remarks that she'll become unelectable.
The Republican leaders, those back-room guys who make the real decisions, aren't dummies. They want Sarah Palin to stir up the masses and rally the troops, but they would never let a loose cannon like her head their party. They'll use her while it suits them, but toss her aside when it comes to anything important.
That's too bad, because if she became the 2012 Republican candidate, it would have ensured Obama's reelection. Instead, the Republicans may find a strong centrist, then use Palin to calm down the angry right-wingers and bring them to the polls.
Maybe that's why Fox hired her – to ensure that she's unelectable. It's a great strategy. Those guys aren't dummies. In fact, I wouldn't be at all surprised to find that the guys running the Republican Party and the guys running Fox are the same guys.
I'm sorry, but I have to ask you to take me off of your mailing list. While I respect family, and enjoy a lively discussion, your recent emails are too much.
I put up with any number of times when you called my beliefs "unAmerican" or "unpatriotic." But this latest disrespectful video propaganda, which accuses the duly elected President of the United States of being a Muslim and traitor, goes beyond civilized discussion. It's hate speech, it's unpatriotic and disrespectful to both the President himself and the office of President, and it shows a remarkable ignorance of the plain facts.
It's sad that American conservatives have stooped to this low form of dialog. Rather than discussing policy, conservatives use character assassination. Rather than bipartisanship, conservatives have become obstructionists, even at the cost of hurting the American people. At every turn, conservatives are blocking progress, shouting "The sky is falling!", and throwing mud on everyone in sight.
Never forget, Jim, that every single problem that Obama is trying to fix was created by a Republican President. Two unfunded wars that will force huge increases in taxes, attacking Iraq while ignoring the nuclear programs in North Korea, Iran and Pakistan, letting the Talilban slip away from Afghanistan because Bush's oil friends needed Iraq ... the list goes on and on.
And since it was the "He's a Muslim" video that finally prompted me to write this letter, let's talk about that.
First, what if Obama is Muslim? All of those things he says in the video excerpts about the accomplishments of Islam and Muslims are true. Maybe you didn't read your history, but I did. The Muslims did, in fact, preserve much of civilization's knowledge through the Middle Ages, when the Christians were trying to snuff it out. The Dark Ages were a Christian creation. Algebra was invented by Muslims. Astronomy, philosophy, medicine ... Islamic scholars were way ahead of Christians during the Middle Ages. And all those other compliments Obama paid to Muslim history, they're actually true.
Why is that so hard for you to accept?
Second, where do you get the idea that the President can only be a Christian? Every American has the right to be part of our government, it's right there in the Constitution. If you were in the United States Navy, didn't you swear to defend that very same Constitution? Didn't you ever learn what's in the Constitution?
Third, I find it very ironic that while some conservatives accuse Obama of being Muslim, others accuse him of being an Atheist. Which is it? He can't be both, but I guess to a evangelical Christian, Muslims and Atheists are about the same. Still, it would be nice if you guys could coordinate your fabricated stories.
And finally, Obama is, in fact, a Christian. If you'd taken the time to watch the original videos of Obama's speeches, as I did, you'd see that he never once claimed to be Muslim. That hack piece of video propaganda you sent cut him off in mid-sentence many times, a stupid propaganda trick that any fool can see through. It's just plain dishonest.
I know you're sincere in your love for America, and I want you to know that I am too. But I consider your emails to be unAmerican. To be a true American, you have to accept that this is the land of freedom, the land where we respect one another's beliefs, and the land where our President is everyone's President. I didn't like George W. Bush, but I never once accused him of being unpatriotic, nor did I ever disrespect the office of the President. Obama was elected in an honest and fair election. Your side lost. Have some respect for your fellow Americans and take the loss gracefully.
When you sent that video, you wrote, "If you do not like this, don't let me know because it will cause me to question your patriotism to the United States of America and as a US Navy Veteran, that offends me more than you will ever know." Well, too bad, Jim. It goes both ways. Your right-wing unAmerican propaganda offends me more than you will ever understand. Family harmony has kept me silent, but no more.
I enjoyed some of the stuff you sent, especially good, fun jokes and stories. But I just can't ignore your intolerance and hate mail any more. So I hope you'll remove me from your mailing list. Thanks.
Your cousin, Craig
P.S. By the way, you were wrong about this picture, too. You called our President a "PIECE OF ANIMAL EXCREMENT" because he was being disrespectful to the veterans by not saluting. In fact, the President is not supposed to salute. He's a civilian, and only those in the armed forces are supposed to salute. The man with his hand over his heart was the one making the mistake, that gesture is for the Pledge. In fact, Obama is showing his respect correctly, by standing and bowing his head, as all civilians should. The President may be the Commander in Chief, but he is not in the military. That's one of the most unique things about our country, that our armed forces are headed by a civilian. So please don't call your President "ANIMAL EXCREMENT" when you haven't even checked the facts. Something smells like excrement here, but it's not the President.
Publisher Harpers is doing a dance. They've delayed the Kindle and other digital versions of Sarah Palin's biography, citing issues of "velocity" and "Christmas sales" and such as complicating the release schedule.
But the true story seems to be refreshingly simple: Nobody wants Palin's damned book! It's old news, a biography of a quitter, a political idiot who is far from the mainstream of America, and whose only real appeal was to those who put appearance before substance.
I try to keep this blog about religion and atheism, but this morning's news was just too much.
SARAH PALIN, not John McCain, is the Bush clone. A New York Times article has a subtitle that says it all: "Palin's sharp elbows transformed town."
The article documents how Palin turned Wasilla, a congenial small Alaskan town, into a divided community. When she arrived, the town was run by cooperation and consensus; by the time she left, her "polarizing single-mindedness" had split the town in two.
It began with the election itself, which Palin won by introducing irrelevant, polarizing, national issues into small-town politics. Abortion rights, her ultra-conservative religious views, her membership in the National Rifle Association – all of these things played a big role in her campaign, even though they are virtually meaningless when it comes to running a town of 9,000 people. "We will have our first Christian mayor," became a rallying cry for her supporters.
Personally, I just can't see how being a Christian has much to do with whether to approve a new Target store, or which streets should be paved, or whether the teachers should get a raise. And it's hard to imagine how her membership in the NRA would help, either. But help it did, to get her elected, that is.
Once elected, the fun really started. The town had been run by a non-partisan, professional city manager, but Palin turned it into an us-versus-them polarized city. She demanded the resignations from city employees who had supported her opponent in the election, something unheard of in the small town. The public works director, the police chief, the city planner, even the museum director! All were fired.
Then the real bombshell: Palin ordered that nobody was to talk to the media without Palin's permission.
Does any of this sound familiar? Palin is the real Bush/Cheney clone, not McCain. Palin's record for dividing her constituency, and for being secretive and controlling, would make Bush proud. McCain has a lot to learn from Sarah Palin if he's going to fill George Bush's shoes!
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