Cain: No Abortions Allowed ... At All

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?

The Tea Party: The Sarah Palin Sycophant Party

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?

Sarah Palin the Analyst - Doesn't that require a brain?

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.

Bush's Only Legacy: So bad, even racists voted for Obama

Could President Obama have been elected without Bush's incompetence? I'd like to think so, but realistically, I doubt it. I think it took TWO events to get Obama elected: His overwhelming competence, and Bush's overwhelming incompetence.

Racism is so widespread in America that I never thought Obama had a chance. He was clearly one of the most intelligent, articulate, well educated and accomplished candidates I've ever heard, a true inspiration. Yet, having lived in New Orleans, and spent considerable time visiting relatives in the farm country of Texas, I was skeptical. Even here in Southern California, the first house I bought in San Diego County had "CC&R's" ("covenants, conditions and restrictions") on the property that prohibited any Blacks or Jews from purchasing a home in my neighborhood (this clause had long since been declared illegal and unenforceable by the US Supreme Court, but the peculiarities of the law prevent the CC&R's from being removed from the property's deed, and in fact my neighbors were Jewish). The neighborhoods in the East part of our county are still a notorious hotspot of the Ku Klux Klan even today.

George W. Bush's legacy is horrifying: 150,000 civilians killed by American bombs in Iraq, hundreds of billions of dollars wasted, the world economy in a shambles, the United States' reputation as a moral and political leader completely in the toilet, domestic spying on law-abiding journalists ... the list is appallingly long.

Barack Obama was unquestionably qualified to lead this country, and I can't tell you how inspired I am by him. But I thought Americans were too racist to elect an African American president under normal circumstances. It took the utter chaos created by George W. Bush to make Americans angry enough to forget their racism.

I hope that now that the last barrier has been broken, we can put this racist nonsense behind. Won't it be a great day when candidates are judged purely by their qualifications?

Tags: politics Bush Obama racism incompetence

Hey, Sarah, what if God elects Obama?

Sarah Palin is "putting this in God's hands, that the right thing for America will be done at the end of the day on November 4," according to AP.

Wow, governor Palin, that's so amazing, that God has selected YOU. You must be very proud. But I have a few questions for you.

How does God do this? Like, does He stuff the ballot box? Whisper in certain voters' ears until they go crazy and change their minds? Cause car accidents so that Democrats can't make it to the polls? Inquiring minds want to know!

If God decides to elect Obama, will you become a Democrat? If God is intervening in this election, and you lose, wow. That means God says you're wrong! Heavy stuff, to have God slap you down like that. Will that piss you off, or will you gracefully accept God's will?

If you and McCain win, I know God will get the credit, so if you lose, it's only fair that you accept God's message that you are WRONG about everything. Or is this one of those tricks where God gets credit if you win, but Satan takes the blame if you lose? That would make God kind of a wimp, wouldn't it, but at least you and McCain wouldn't have to convert to that evil Democratic party!

So, Governor, I look forward to your reply. You can post your responses here, or ask the Secret Service to get my home address. Or maybe ask God, you seem to be pretty good buddies with Him.

Evangelical Christians: One-Issue Voters

Deciding who to vote for has always been one of my most difficult tasks during elections, because I never agree 100% with any candidate. As a responsible voter, it is my duty to rank the issues by importance, and try to find the candidate who will best represent my views. It's no easy task, and is often an exercise in frustration. Yet I take it seriously, because that's what makes Democracy work.

Apparently, the evangelical Christian community has a much easier solution: Vote for any candidate who is the "most Christian." Never mind the candidate's qualifications, or actual voting record, or inconsistent past ... if the candidate goes to a conservative church, and mouths the correct buzzwords, they're in.

According to this article at alternet.org (a liberal webzine), the selection of Sarah Palin brought more than pigs-and-lipstick jokes to the campaign. It brought money. Lots of it. The Swift-boaters, the ones who successfully besmirched the reputation of an American patriot, poured over 10 million dollars into McCain's campaign immediately after Palin was selected.

What's amazing is the statistics on evangelical Christians. Before McCain selected Palin, white evangelicals favored McCain over Obama by 68% to 24%. Palin's selection pushed it even further, to 71% / 21%, apparently due simply to her religion.

Do these people even think? Could they tell you the detailed positions that the four candidates hold? Or is the abortion / creationism debate all they care about? What about the trade deficit? Global warming? Nuclear proliferation? Overpopulation? AIDS and other international health problems? What about the candidates' experience, credibility, statesmanship?

I find it hard to believe that there is something in Jesus Christ's teachings that makes it clear that McCain/Palin is a better choice than Obama/Biden. All four of these potential presidents are good Christians; to an Atheist, their views about God and the supernatural are virtually indistinguishable. Yet, evangelical Christians apparently believe that being evangelical is the only qualification for the job.

That's irresponsible.

Sarah Palin: The REAL Bush Clone

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!