Name calling, Amy Tan and the truth about women

[Image of Amy Tan from Wikipedia]

The famous writer, Amy Tan, pissed off as hell, resorted to calling the current crop of GOP candidates unsavory names, such as Rigid Sanctimonious, Nude Gingrich and Mutt Raunchy.

This display of ire had the effect of pissing off certain right-wing bloggers who thought Ms. Tan had gone off the deep end.  I mean, really, her names didn't make sense.  Romney isn't "raunchy"!  Is he?  And Gingrich isn't "nude"!  Is he?  Ms. Tan was just plain rude.

Actually, Ms. Tan, in my opinion, was fully justified in calling the moronic GOP candidates names.  In fact, I think she has exercised great restraint.  I would have called them much worse.  In fact, I have called them much worse.  They deserve to be called much worse!

Ms. Tan has defended her verbal assaults on her Facebook page.  This is what she said, in part:

"To those who criticize my perversion of the GOP candidates' names, please know that name-calling is not my usual standard of response.  Nor do I normally use expletives.  But I make exceptions.  Never in my lifetime have I seen such a line-up of candidates who want to pervert the lives of women, who want to f**k them over every which way they can think of.  These perverts are men, and variously they are telling us that single women should not have sex, should not use contraceptives, should consider a baby conceived from a rape to be a blessing, and to leave all matters concerning the uterus to them."

Ms. Tan then notes that the GOP candidates, like all of the Republican right "vote down the line on personal moral beliefs," but are out of touch with the real world.  She mentions she's the daughter of a Baptist minister and knows "how intractable religious beliefs are supposed to be, how by faith, you must carry those beliefs into the world, into all walks of life, without compromise, without listening to any other opinions."

But that doesn't mean it's right nor justified.  Obviously, religious beliefs are often the cause of evil, the source of nastiness and not a means of grace!  And that's why Ms. Tan concludes her diatribe thusly:

"To these GOP candidates who want to rule government by the divine guidance of their cocks, study the pages of history on the Inquisition and the Holocaust, and keep your hands off me, my nieces, my sisters, my women friends, their daughters and their daughters to come."


The Republican Party, which is, by and large, led and fed by fundamentalist christianists of both Protestant and Catholic stripes, has turned into a quasi-fascist ultra right party that would strip human rights out of the Constitution in favor of biblical mandates posited by ignorant desert-dwellers thousands of years ago.

The Republican Party, parroting the biblical notions of patriarchy, strives to put women in their "place," which invariably means "barefoot, pregnant and home."

The Republican Party thinks it can win an election in 2012 without the women's vote.

But there are cracks in the party's facade.  Richard Hanna, a Republican congressman from New York, fed up with the kooks now leading his party, had some words of advice for women.  These are "precarious times" for women, said Congressman Hanna.  Women need to look out for themselves, protect themselves.  In fact, said the congressman, women should give their money, not to the Republican Party or the GOP candidates, but to those who would best look after their interests, to those who speak for women, i.e. the Democrats.

That may not be much, but Mr. Hanna does provide a ray of light, a slender reed of hope.  Maybe our slide down the slippery slope of Republican depravity can be derailed?

Trayvon Martin RIP

Trayvon Martin was just 17 years old.  He was walking home on a sidewalk carrying a bag of candy.  

George Zimmerman, a gun-toting, self-appointed vigilante spotted Trayvon, suspected he was a "suspicious" character and made his suspicions known to the local police in Sanford, Florida.  The police dispatcher essentially told him to stand down, a directive that Zimmerman ignored.

Zimmerman chased, shot and killed Trayvon.

Florida has a law passed in 2005 under the reign of Jeb Bush called the "Stand Your Ground" law.  It says that if you are in your abode and are threatened with bodily harm, you may stand your ground and take whatever action is necessary.  In other words, you can shoot to kill without fearing any legal consequences. 

Seventeen states have such a law, thanks to the intensive lobbying efforts of the National Rifle Association.

Mr. Zimmerman was not in his abode.  He actively sought a confrontation.  It appears he shot and killed Trayvon in cold blood.

But some people think Zimmerman should be applauded; that he took a step toward eradicating a possible crime; that he did his duty as any upstanding citizen should do.

The FBI is investigating.


What follows is an essay written by my friend, Art Woodstone. 

How to rid the world of your favorite slimeball

First, you have to move to Florida and get him to move, too.  [Actually, you and he could move to one of 16 other states, including Illinois].  Secondly, you start an argument:  You tell him you hate him because he beats his kids, cheats on his wife, hates everybody who isn't white and talks trash at pickle ball.  It doesn't matter that none of this is true because you viscerally hate him just the same.

Three, you begin to shout and move toward him in a menacing manner.  If he has any kind of brain (maybe that's why you hate because you don't), he'll retreat.  When he's 15 feet away, you shout his name.  As he turns hesitantly in your direction, (step four) you pull your .45 and shoot him in the face!

Five.  When the cops arrive (after you called them), you claim you fired in self-defense, that he was threatening you.

Voila!  Your enemy is dead and you are home free!  What's even better, Americans across the country proclaim you to be a hero!

Romney, Santorum, Palin, Gingrich and other creatures of the night

Rick Santorum, the papal sycophant and posturing pinhead, landed in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Some folks gathered around. Santorum, the comedian among the Repugnican candidates for prezident, said: "It's good to be in the hometown of Rush Limbaugh, which some people see as a trip to Mecca."

In one swell foop, Santorum proceeded to insult all the world's Muslim community, and decent people everywhere!


In the arid state of Arizona where hardly a breath of sense can be felt, House Bill 2625 would allow employers to ask women in their employ for proof of medical prescription if they intend to use contraceptives for non-reproductive purposes, such as hormone control or acne treatment. If, as one woman put it, you plan to use contraceptives for "slutty fuck-making," you could get fired!


When they say their opposition to Obama isn't about race, you can bet it's all about race. White privileged males and frightened little white women like Sarah Palin just can't abide the idea that a black man can be so much more intelligent and righteous than they are!

Racism appears in many forms: a Congressman from the deep south yelling out "You lie!" as the president is speaking to the gathered representatives; various emails sent out depicting the president as an ape, or worse; and now, a new bumper sticker just in time for election season which reads: "Don't Re-Nig in 2012."

The assholes just never give up!


The Texas governor and his Repugnican cohorts in the legislature have once again lived up to their reputation as complete wingnuts with not an ounce of common sense among them. Governor Perry, who just loves Jesus, has gone ahead with a new law that removes Planned Parenthood from the state's Medicaid Women's Health Program.

This is a problem for federal law does not allow discrimination against qualified family planning providers. So the feds pulled the plug and Texas loses the whole program "which provides cancer screenings, contraceptives and basic health care to 130,000 low-income women each year."

Ninety percent of the program's $40 million budget comes from the feds. Wait a minute! Isn't Perry opposed to federal grants? Doesn't Perry hate the federal government? Isn't Perry the one who spoke of Texas seceding from the Union?

What a reprehensible moron he is. He might love Jesus but he really hates people.


A new study out of Harvard University indicates that any amount of red meat can kill you sooner than you'd die normally. Doesn't bother me 'cause I haven't eaten red meat in years. And we can all think of examples which belie the study. Still, makes you think.


The problem George Romney has and will continue to have and will probably ultimately not be able to surmount even if he wins the Repugnican nomination is his Mormonism. Mormonism is so stupid, so idiotic, so unhistorical, so ridiculous, so racist, so irrational and so unChristian, that the Christianist fundamentalists will never be able to vote for him. Oh, wait a minute, I just described Christianist fundamentalism!


Here's an example of the above: An African-American pastor connected to the Santorum campaign has demanded that Romney "renounce his racist Mormon religion."


Cliff Stearns, a representative to Congress from Florida, has joined the so-called "birther" movement. Stearns is just another Repugnican creep who, beholden to the rich and powerful, votes always in the interests of those who pay his way. But he must be getting worried.   In central Florida, ignorance and dumbness hold sway, so now he's pandering to those people, too.


There is a new perfume on the market. Well, not really "on the market," but it's been produced for Pope Benedict XVI by Silvana Casoli. It's not to be sold but is only for the pope. Word is it stinks like incense. Nah, I just made that up. It probably smells more like Vatican Chanel No. 5.


Have you heard about the fellow who is claiming he's getting emails from dead people? It's possible, I guess. A lot of the political emails I get come from the brain-dead!


Willard Romney (Mitt) has stated publicly on a number of occasions that if he's elected prezident, he'll get rid of Planned Parenthood. Supposedly, the Repugnican opposition to Planned Parenthood is based on the fact that PP carries out so many abortions. But that's not it. Only 6% of the Planned Parenthood's work has to do with abortion. What Romney and Santorum and other right-wing religious kooks are working toward is the criminalization of contraception and consensual sex not for reproductive purposes. The abortion thing is a scam. Welcome to the Dark Ages!

Romney is also so damn dumb he doesn't know that a president doesn't have the power to get rid of Planned Parenthood!


Then there's Sarah Palin.  Sarah is convinced it is God's will that she become prezident. Lest you think that Palin has given up this conviction or her desire to take over the world for Jesus, you must remember that a few years ago in a Pentecostal church in Alaska, Palin was anointed and by the laying on of hands was deemed to be God's candidate for the presidency of the United States. This is all part of the new Pentecostal movement that is working hard to claim all of life for their particular deity.

So, Palin is looking for a brokered convention in which the delegates, filled with the Holy Spirit, will rise as one, proclaim their adoration, and adopt Sarah as their holy candidate, the only one capable to battling the evil that threatens to envelope the planet!


Santorum, meanwhile, is really upset about pornography. Someone needs to check his computer! It has been found that most times when people get crazy about pornography, they're the ones who have a problem.

Funny, though, it's the people in the red states (the conservatives) who seem to have the biggest love for pornography. Statistics indicate they view it and use it more than the "lib'ruls" in the blue states.

And when is Santorum going to tell us how he plans to create jobs? What's he going to do about health care other than to make it easier for insurance companies to gouge us?  We know he hates public education so that he plans to excise. And fornicators and gay folks or anyone who just enjoys screwing are going to pay a price!


All Repugnicans aren't ignorant. But most are. Three Repugnican candidates running for the Missouri state senate were asked what the federal minimum wage was. None of them knew. It is $7.25/hour.


I like what Joan Walsh said: The GOP stands for the Gas and Oil Party!


Teapot crackpots in our state legislatures have passed 135 bills restricting women's reproductive rights. The have passed ZERO bills to create jobs.


The politicos in the great state of Tennessee have passed a "Monkey" bill. These products of home-schooling (well, what else could they be?) have decided that students and teachers should have the "right" to question the "theory" of evolution and posit the possibility that there's a mighty deity high up in the sky who created everything that exists in six days about 6,000 years ago.

The fact that almost everything in science is based on the reality of the evolutionary "theory," has somehow passed over the top of these dunderheads! Being ignorant, they do not know what the word, theory means in scientific lingo. And they haven't been able to find the word, "theory," anywhere in the Bible. So, obviously, every good Christianist dodo in Tennessee knows that the evolutionary theory is bad, bad, bad.


The criminal governor of Florida, Rick Scott, just signed a new bill which would allow for the random drug testing of state employees. This has to be unconstitutional on grounds of invasion of privacy, but until the courts so declare it, I think we ought to start with the guv hisself followed by all the dumbass Repugnicans who voted to make this assault against humanity a law!


And now for the grande finale!

It's about Mitt. Seems Mitt's director of communications screwed up! His name is Eric Fehrnstrom and he was engaged in an interview on CNN when he got asked the question as to whether Romney is going to have to veer too far to the right in order to beat out far-right nitwits like Santorum and the Grinch.

Nah, said Fehrnstrom. Old Mitt just has to "hit a reset button for the fall campaign. Everthing changes. It's almost like an Etch-a-Sketch. You can kind of shake it up and restart all over again."

What??? WHAT??? Say again!!!

Ol' Mitt's got no morals, no firm beliefs, no passion for the cause? Ol' Mitt will say anything to get elected? Everything Ol' Mitt says can be wiped away just like when you shake an Etch-a-Sketch?

Heh, heh! Talk about blowing it! Mr. Fehrnstrom has validated the fears of everyone, not just the far-right nutcases. Romney changes positions like a chameleon. His knee-deep hypocrisy is no longer in question. It is a fact.


If you wanted to put a contingent of Repugnican low-lifes on parade, just line up the current crop of candidates for the Repugnican nomination: Romney, Santorum, Gingrich, and Paul. You could include the ones that have already dropped out, like Perry and Cain, but that would be overkill.

This has got to be one of the weirdest races toward the White House in years!

Frozen Planet - a Trailer

Frozen Planet is a BBC production and will be premiering on The Discovery Channel on Sunday, March 18, at 8:00 p.m.

Invite all your global warming deniers to take a look!

h/t to my friend Jose Mendonca. Please take a look at his marvelous photoblog here.

Sir David Attenborough on God

Santorum, doggy doo, and other funny stories

Rick Santorum, that 16th century Roman Catholic candidate for president of these United States, has decided that teleprompters are evil.  That's right.  Teleprompters!

One of the things about people who live via firm creedal affirmations, even though they may be highly educated, is they act stupid.  Santorum may have a couple of college degrees but he's still as dumb as doggy doo!

Lil' Rick (by "Lil'" I'm referring to his mind's grasp of reality) thinks that people who use teleprompters are not saying what's in their "hearts"!  Thus, this bit of "Trail Mix" from Lil' Rick on the campaign trail advising potential voters:  "It's important for you to understand who the person is in their own words, see them, look them in the eye...hear what's (in their) heart."  Evidently, in Lil' Rick's mind, teleprompters don't allow one to use his/her own words, look the audience in the eye or say what's in his/her "heart."  What he means by heart, of course, is your brain, as there's nothing in your heart except vessels and lots of blood!  And when you speak you're saying what your brain is telling you to say!  Your heart has nothing to do with it!

Lil' Rick plans to ban teleprompters just as soon as he's elected president!  I wonder if he'll ban speaker's notes; if he'll disallow memorizing a speech; if he'll make practicing a speech in front of a mirror illegal?

One never knows with someone as dumb as doggy doo!


Did you hear about the priest who denied a lesbian the Sacrament of Saving Grace?  Well, actually he covered up the paten so she couldn't take a cracker when she came to the altar!  It happened at the funeral mass for the woman's mother.  The priest mumbled something about the woman living with another woman which is a sin and against the rules of the church.

Think about this a minute.  All surveys conducted of priests in the Roman church indicate that a minimum of 25% of all priests are homosexual, and the number actually is probably more like 50%.  Who knows, maybe this priest was gay?

Every time I think the hypocrisy of the Roman church couldn't get any worse, it gets worse.  However, the priest was suspended pending an investigation.  So what's to investigate?  If the woman is a lesbian, then by god, she doesn't deserve saving grace.  She deserves to spend eternity in hell.  That's the teaching of the church!

And not just the Roman church but every so-called "evangelical" Christian church on the face of the earth!

Oh, yes, but remember God is luuuuuuve!


Harold Camping, you may remember, is that freaky fundamentalist who decided that the world would end on a certain date and then when it didn't he said it would end on another day and then when it didn't a few months went by and now he's saying he was wrong.  You think?


Mr. Boehner, the Republican who's Speaker of the House, said the other day that some of the GOP members of Congress are pretty smart but a lot of them are real dummies.  Good grief, what took him so long to figure that out?


You'll be glad to know that Roman Catholics in England are amassing to fight gay marriage in their fair country.  Gay marriage, they assure us, will destroy traditional marriage, blah, blah, blah.  And god hates gay stuff so we can't have any of that.

It's all rather funny, because recent surveys indicate two things:  Fewer and fewer people are getting married these days.  They are living together and having children together but they aren't getting married.  I think god has condemned them to hell, also.  That's what the Bible says!  Secondly, over 50% of all heterosexual marriages end in divorce.  Divorced people then go out and get married and divorced all over again.

But the church doesn't worry about those people even though the bible says they're all terrible sinners.

Why do you suppose that is?

What these English Catolicks show us is, that once again, as has been the case for 2000 years, the Roman church and a lot of other churches are on the wrong side of history!


Six of our states in the United States are offering a lottery in which the winner will receive $1,000 per day for life. The lottery is very profitable and sucks money out of the suckers who play it!  We also know that the lottery is most attractive to those least able to toss money down the drain!  It's a shame that our state governments are engaged in such a sham!  And once again, rather than make those who gain the most from government pay for it's blessings, the government socks it to the poor!


In Mt. Sterling, Ohio, a police person tased a 9-year old boy.  The police department then tried to cover up this tasing.  The mayor found out.  He suspended the entire police department and the city is now "guarded" by the county sheriff.  It's rather sad when we can no longer trust those who are entrusted to guard our safety!


Katie Couric has mentioned that she is in awe of Hillary Clinton's brainpower.  I think that is true of many people around the world.  Gee, I wonder what Ms. Couric thinks of Sarah Palin's brainpower?   Oh, stop laughing!


The Russian Orthodox Church wants to ban "gay propaganda." Can't their god do anything about gay propaganda, especially if she's really opposed to gay stuff?  Maybe the best thing would be to ban the Russian Orthodox Church from promoting Russian Orthodox Church propaganda.  That would be a much more creditable step toward making the world a better place than banning "gay propaganda."


Stupidity rules! Not a good thing. The other day, in the downtown area of the city in which I live, I ran across some teapot crackpots setting up to protest President Obama and high taxes and the government in general.  I stopped to talk to one of these crackpots as he was pulling a sign out of his car which read, "Obama Must Go!"

This gentleman, a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, complained that Obama has done nothing for the country, was probably not an American citizen, and most likely was a Muslim.

Recent surveys of possible GOP voters in Alabama and Mississippi indicate similar sentiments.  In Alabama, for example, 14% of these voters think Obama is a Christian; 45% think he is a Muslim; and 41% are not sure. 

In that great southern racist state of Mississippi, 12% of 656 possible GOP voters think Obama a Christian; 52% say he's a Muslim, and 36% are not sure.

What we're facing is a massive denial of reality among undereducated and ignorant people who have come to believe that if they believe something it must be true!

Not a good sign for the future of our country.


Speaking of a denial of reality:  The freakish Republican Senator from Oklahoma, James Inhofe (who just happens to have a new book out denying the reality of global warming), says that global warming is a hoax because "only God can change the climate."

He bases his thinking on some obscure biblical passage written by ignorant tribesmen wandering the desert some 3,500 years ago who also believed the world was flat, the sun could stand still in the sky, and that god created everything in just six days (then got so tired he had to rest and now demands that all people rest on the 7th day and if you have children that refuse to rest of the 7th day you should stone them until they lie dead and bleeding on the ground!). These ignorant tribesman knew nothing of science, medicine, philosophy or much of anything else.  They did know some silly stories passed down from one generation to another about some guy name Noah, another guy named Moses, a fellow who was called Abram or Abraham, oh, and some gent with a colorful coat who was called Joseph.

Inhofe is way too ignorant to be serving in our government or any government for that matter.  Faith is not what counts when you're involved in running an enterprise that holds the life and death of the planet in its hands.  Reason is what counts!  Knowledge is what counts.  Science is what counts.

Religion kills.  It always has and it always will in spite of its tendency to wrap it's killing in pious cloaks and cliches and "faith" traditions.  It's God's will! Catholics killed millions.  Lutherans killed thousands.  Followers of Calvin killed a bunch, too.  Muslims have a mandate from the Quran to kill infidels and they have done so with impunity down through the ages.  Most every religion in the world has a similar history.

And I'd be willing to bet that if the Roman church ruled the world, it wouldn't be long before gays and other pariahs like Jews and Muslims and lots of Protestants would be literally running for their lives.  So watch out for Santorum!  And Gingrich!

The wacky world in which we live!

* He was elected mayor of a small town on the US/Mexico border.  He was elected by a wide margin of votes.  He believes President Obama is illegal - that the president is not a natural born citizen and thus is ineligible to be president.  He believes Obama's election was part of a CIA conspiracy.  He has ties to a very radical racist right-wing group.  But the worst of it is that he believes Obama is the incarnation of evil.  In other words, Obama is evil in the flesh.

* In Colorado, the state supreme court ruled that students and faculty at the state's universities who had valid concealed weapons licenses could carry guns on campus thus overturning the ban on carrying weapons which had been imposed by the educational institutions.

* Legislators in the enlightened state of Utah have decided to forbid any discussion of homosexuality in the schools and allow the dropping of sex education in the schools.  Nothing like godliness in good ol' Mormon country!

* In New Hampshire, state legislators have dropped mandated contraception coverage.  No doubt they look forward to more babies, more abortions and more poverty.

* The GOP neocon idiots calling for strikes on Syria and war on Iran have not discussed how they would pay for such misguided actions.  A huge part of our current budget deficit is the result of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan which Georgi W. Buski conveniently neglected to include in his budgets.  It is interesting to observe that most Republicans believe we cannot afford anything but war! 

* The brilliant, intellectual genius, good Christian and promiscuous liar, Michele Bachmann, crawled out of her cave in Minnesota to warn the country that Obama's desire to have insurance companies pay for contraception coverage is likely to lead to a policy of "one child per family."  Hmm...not a bad idea!

* The Catholic bishops who have a reputation of overlooking sexual assaults on young children by their peers in the priesthood, are all worked up about their Catholic institutions (schools, hospitals, etc.,) having to pay for contraception  coverage for their employees when the Roman church does not believe in contraception.  But it isn't true that the institutions have to pay for contraception coverage.  Obama changed the policy so the insurance companies pick up the tab.  That didn't matter to the old, white men who have never been married or raised a family and thus know next to nothing about what that entails.  So, they are still screaming about Obama's "war on religion," which is nothing but a smokescreen to hide their own pernicious dealings with their criminal priests.  Is there any question anymore that the Roman church is one of the greatest incubators of criminality in the world?

* An addendum to the above:  A number of the Catholic institutions referred to in this contraception controversy have publicly stated they have no problem providing contraception coverage to their employees.  Not only so, but the bishops seem to be so out of the loop they don't realize or don't care that about 90+ percent of their constituents ignore the church's teaching on birth control.

* Pat Robertson, the aging agent of a spurious and evil deity, claims that the recent tornadoes which tore up the Midwest occurred because the people living in that area had not spent sufficient time in prayer to Robertson's god.  It's interesting, though, that the Midwest is considered one of the more religious areas of the country.  California, on the other hand, is often said to be the hotbed of decadence and immorality.  I don't think California has many tornadoes.  Florida gets tornadoes and hurricanes, and what's worse, we got Rick Scott as governor, so obviously those of us who live in the Sunshine State are seriously lacking in goodness and time spent on knees in abject pleading.

* It's about time we got serious about gun control!  Enough is enough.  A teacher, recently fired, returned to his Episcopal church school in Jacksonville, Florida and shot dead the principal after which he committed suicide.  That hardly made a ripple in the news cycle for such events have become commonplace.

I'm going to say this out loud so listen up:  the Second Amendment has nothing to do with the right of individuals in 2012 to own guns, carry them on their person, and shoot other people with them.  The Second Amendment refers to the rights of states to form and arm militias.  Like the state National Guard!  

The NRA (talk about the incarnation of evil) has hornswoggled the whole country into thinking that the Second Amendment is a sacred promise to every Tom, Harry, Mary and dick in this country that they can own any kind of gun and any amount of guns no matter what kind of people Tom, Harry, Mary and dick may be or what their mental state might be or whether they are a danger to themselves and others just by being alive, much less carrying around AK 47's under their black trench coats!

* Mrs. Willard Romney, wife of the presidential wannabe, while sitting on a personal fortune of $250 million, said she doesn't consider herself wealthy.

* Patricia Heaton, who I loved as Debra in "Everybody Loves Raymond," is a right-wing, ultra-Catholic blowhard who spouts the Vatican hard line on abortion, contraception and only the Catholic god knows what else.  Shut up Ms. Heaton or I'm not gonna watch any more of your old re-runs!

* Did you see the latest pictures of our vanishing ice caps and how the seas are rising and how we've got one hell of a problem that is rapidly getting out of hand?  Probably not.  Didn't make the news.  But right on the front page was a note about Kim Kardashian's long legs.  What a great country this is.

* Evidently employers and government bureaucrats will now have the right to demand your Facebook password.  Give it to them.  Then set up a fake Facebook account but don't tell anybody.  Big Brother is everywhere!

* There's a new bill being proposed in South Carolina that would take away the driver's licenses of high school dropouts.  Hey, that will really solve the problem.  Now the kids won't be able to drive to their jobs.  Maybe some of them dropped out to earn money so their families can eat.  So, now they'll lose their jobs.  Maybe they can become state legislators in South Carolina.  Stupidity and ignorance seems to be the main qualification for that job in that state!

* The ultra-right-wing christianist governor of Virginia, Bob McDonnell, signed a law requiring women to have an ultrasound procedure before they can legally have an abortion.  Virginia is the 7th state to require this procedure.  While it no longer involves a vaginal intrusion (state-rape) it is still an unwarranted assault on women.  I like what one person suggested:  that every man be required to have an anal prostate exam before he can obtain ED drugs like Viagra.

* Santorum believes that every sperm is sacred, a person.  It is mind-boggling that anyone can be as stupid as he is!

* An atheist billboard which reads, "You know it's a myth, and you have a choice," was supposed to be placed on a building in a mostly Jewish neighborhood in Brooklyn.  The landlord, who is Jewish, backed down at the last minute, ostensibly because of pressure from local residents.  Words are fearsome things!

* Joyce Meyer has written a prayer book for children, called "Every Which Way to Pray."  In it she suggests that children be taught that prayer is simply talking to God and they can just talk to God anytime and any place, that he will never be too busy to hear their concerns.

What a crock.  There's something obscene about teaching young children who don't know better that there's a caring big ol' man up there somewhere who's going to take care of them.  They'll learn that's not true soon enough.  About the same time they realize Santa is a myth cut out of the same cloth!

* I know a 20-something young lady who firmly believes in the power of prayer.  Whenever she wants something, she convinces herself that it is God's will and then she urges her friends to "pray, pray, pray."  I don't think she will ever see the inherent contradiction.  If something is God's will, then why must one engage in "pray, pray, pray"?  Why must one persist in a constant, sickening, pleading for God to do what it is his will to do?

And on that note, I shall close this rant.

Forget prayer.  Enjoy!  Do what you think is best, and try to be kind to others so we can make this a better world for all people.  If there were a God who cared, that's what I think she would want us to do!

More on Santorum and religion

 "My lie was this big!"

[Photo from the Christian Science Monitor]

Joan Walsh, writing at Salon, has an excellent article dealing with Santorum's phony attack on JFK's statement about separation of church and state.

She begins it this way:

"We establish no religion in this country, we command no worship, we mandate no belief, nor will we ever.  Church and state are, and must remain separate.  All are free to believe or not believe, all are free to practice a faith or not, and those who believe are free, and should be free, to speak of and act on their belief."

Santorum went after JFK, a fellow Catholic, but a Democrat, claiming that JFK said people of faith had no role in government.  As Ms. Walsh points out, that was a lie on Santorum's part.  As I would point out, it's what we've come to expect of Santorum.

Regarding the above quote:  that was not JFK speaking, it was none other than Ronald Reagan when he was running for re-election in 1984.

Read all of Ms. Walsh's article here.

Santorum, throwing up and the Grand Inquisitor

News item:   The "saintly" Rick Santorum said that John F. Kennedy's take on the U.S. Constitution as to separation of church and state was just plain horrid.  I mean, really!  Kennedy actually believed and had the gall to say that his allegiance to the Constitution as president was more binding than his allegiance to a bunch of priestly old men in skirts who pranced around chancels!  How could that be? 

Santorum was so incensed by this thought that he "almost threw up"!  Well, you can understand that.  I mean doesn't everybody think that the US of A ought to be ruled by Canon Law, by Santorum's perverted view of Christianity?


Not so long ago a group of people gathered to listen to lil' Rick explain his view of the Constitution, religion and the place of religion in our government. 

Lil' Rick explained the best he could.  It was like moving back in time.  I mean, the sun revolves around the earth?  The earth is flat?  The pope rules?  Jews are bad?  Muslims are worse?  People do not have a right to have sex within the confines of their homes?  Homosexuals are like dogs-on-dogs?  Public education is terrible?  No woman should ever have an abortion?  Sex education is of Satan?  The United States is under the spell of Satan?  Birth control must be outlawed?  Let's bomb Iran?  Never apologize, even when you're wrong?  The president must follow Catholic theology?  The Crusades were about American values?  The glaciers are not melting?  Drill, drill, drill so we can send even more oil to other countries?  Immigrants are bad and should be driven from our shores (unless, of course they are Irish and Catholic!)?

Then, when lil' Rick got to talking about Kennedy and the separation of church and state and how religion is supposed to play an important role in the government (the Catholic religion, of course), all the people stood up ....

... AND THREW UP!!!!

Romney and Santorum: Liars and perpetrators of nonsense!

Willard Romney, the richest of the nogoodniks running for the GOP nomination, thinks that everyone should be, and, in fact, is proud of his success and is happy as punch that his wife runs around in two Cadillacs.  Not one, but two.  And Willard has other cars too.  He's been successful, he says, and that means he can have as many cars as his little black heart desires.

He's right.  He can drive Caddies 'til GM goes out of business.

But he might be wrong about flaunting his success in the face of people who have no jobs, who have lost their homes and their savings and wonder where their next meal is coming from.

You think?  Maybe?

All of which doesn't mean Willard is a bad man.  Stupid perhaps.  Uncaring, certainly.  An elitist?  Sure.  Unable to empathize with other less fortunate people?  Absolutely!

But the latest gambit of Mr. Romney is a blinding example of the fact that while he may have money he has no class.  He is not honest.  Nor is he concerned about the country he wishes to lead.  He is says that the auto industry bailout was a mistake.  It was money that should not have been spent.  He doesn't mention that it saved the industry,  and that much of it has been paid back.

But Romney slithers deeper into the slime that is GOP politics these days.  He claims that the role Obama played in the auto bailout was corrupt; that Obama wasn't concerned about the auto industry but only about his union backers and that the bailout was a payoff to the unions.

This is a desperate ploy on the part of Willard and may well backfire.  And it raises the question that if he's really concerned about corruption in government why he hasn't gone after the Congress, the members of which are assumed to be corrupt as they are primarily concerned with the welfare of those who paid for them to be elected rather than the welfare of the people of the United States.  

Certainly, the unions benefited in that UAW members went back to work as their jobs were saved.  But to conclude that makes Obama corrupt is a far reach that compromises only Romney's ethics.


And then there's Rick Santorum.   Far from being the saintly character he pretends to be, Santorum is a slimeball of inordinate proportions.  He is ignorant and he is stupid.  He has a mean streak!

His persona and beliefs derive from the fact that he is essentially a fascist theocrat and believes the USA needs to be run according to the Roman Church and under the rule of Canon Law.

Consider what he has said:

Life begins the moment sperm and egg meet.  Every single sperm is sacred.  Thus, birth control should not be allowed.  You may remember his infamous statement that contraception is a huge danger in this country:  "It's not OK.  It's a license to do things in a sexual realm that is counter to how things are supposed to be."

How are things supposed to be?  Exactly as the Roman church has ordered.  Sex is a privilege granted by the church and not a right.  Santorum said that the Supremes were off base when they ruled that consensual sex within the confines of our homes was a right.  "Then," cried this moron, "you have the right to bigamy, the right to polygamy...to incest...to adultery...the right to anything."

This paragon of Catholic virtue, ignorant as doggy doo, said "This right to privacy doesn't exist in my opinion in the United States Constitution."

There's so much more:  homosexuality he compares to "man-on-dog" sex.  He thinks the Crusades were a good thing, they had to do with our "core American values."  He doesn't believe in Global Warming.  He hates public education (which makes some sense because he gets paid big bucks by the private education industry) and the Catholic Church has always hated public education for the same reason Santorum does:  Public, secular education is about helping people learn the difference between truth and bullshit while religious education is always first and foremost about indoctrination in bullshit! 

Santorum epitomizes the rationale for disbelieving in a god.  If there were a god such as the one which Santorum espouses, she would be a monster unworthy of worship or obedience.

But Santorum's wife is convinced that Santorum's god wants him to be prezident!  Dear Karen told Glenn Beck "I personally thing this [Santorum's candidacy] is God's will.  I think He has us on a path.  And I do think there's a lot more happening than what we are seeing."

This is important because as she told Beck, "...I do believe if President Obama is elected again, I do believe we are going to lose our nation as we know it."

And now the latest:  Santorum pontificated that Obama should not have apologized for the accidental burning of the Qurans in Afghanistan.  It made Obama look weak.  This is rampant stupidity on Santorum's part   To most, if not all Muslims, the Quran has sacred qualities which trump just about anything else on earth.  To deface, defile or destroy a copy of the Quran is unthinkable.  People who do such things will earn the enmity and animosity of the great bulk of the Muslim population.

The burning was an accident.  It seems the people involved were not paying attention.  Thus, the United States inadvertently but seriously insulted many millions of people around the globe.  Why wouldn't we apologize for such a thing?  How does such an apology make one look weak?  It doesn't, of course.  It shows that we respect other people and their beliefs.  Which is something Santorum doesn't understand.

I wonder if Santorum has ready any of the gospel stories about his Jesus.  The Jesus of the Gospels would find Santorum an incredible asshat and disavow him and his policies in a heartbeat!  The truth is Santorum doesn't believe in Jesus.  He believes in the Catholic Church and there's a huge difference, a gulf the size of the universe between the Jesus of the gospels and any of our current Christian churches!

Finally, Santorum had the gall to call Obama a "snob" because the President thought every child should have the opportunity to go to college.  Santorum was merely playing politics, of course, for he went on to say that not everyone was college material and lots of people work with their hands, blah, blah, blah.  Meaningless pap designed to play to his ignorant and gullible base.


Romney and Santorum - these are the best the GOP can do?

Three Men and a White-Haired, Man-Baby - The GOP Arizona Debate by Jon Stewart

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Mormons baptizing dead Jews (though they promised they wouldn't!)

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Santorum, religion, delusion, fantasy, and the one percenters

[Photo from here]

Religious delusion and fantasy live on.  And it seems natural that such delusion and fantasy would crop up in Texas 'cause it grows like cotton in that state which also features a creepy, religious, fantastical and delusional governor as well as many creepy religious, delusional legislators!

In Houston there's a tree with a scar.  Big bunches of Houstonites believe that the scar on the trunk of the tree looks a lot like the Virgin Mary of Guadalupe.

I am not making this up.  Folks come by to look at the scar, to kneel and pray at the scar, to leave flowers and candles and other memorabilia at the scar.  This has been going on for about two years.

Actually, this kind of nonsense goes on around the world on a daily basis.  It's really sad but is another manifestation of the fact that many of our friends and neighbors are living in the 16th century and know nothing of what science, philosophy, psychology, theology and even biblical studies have discovered over the past 300 years.

For example, a growing number of biblical scholars have become convinced that the Jesus of the gospels didn't exist; he's as mythical as Osiris or Zeus.  In fact, the gospel story as we have it today is a compilation of material representing a number of 1st century Palestinian figures.  The birth stories in Matthew and Luke are totally mythological.  There was no Mary, mother of Jesus, because there was no Jesus.  Thus, there is no Virgin Mary of Guadalupe!

This would be no more than an interesting story published under "weird news" if it were not indicative of a larger problem which is that more and more people reject reality in favor of religious or political beliefs that have no substantial foundation whatsoever.


Thus, Roman Catholic bishops in the United States dare pressure our politicians to bow to their ridiculous religious fantasies, one of which posits there is a god who doesn't want people to control the number of children they bring into the world.  It has been long acknowledged that the reason the Vatican is opposed to birth control has less to do with theology than with the fact that the Roman church wants as many children born to the "faithful" as possible so as to ensure the continuing legacy of the Roman establishment.

The Roman church is not a democracy but a totalitarian system.  Old celibate men running about wearing dresses make the rules.  That's okay for Catholics but the bishopricks insist they have the right to make the rules for the rest of us.  Ironically, something like 98% of the faithful think the hierarchy is all wet when it comes to birth control and don't follow their church's rules anyway.

But it's that mindset that believes it is privy to the mind of some god that drives these fanatical bishops  as well as Catholic politicians such as Santorum.  Thus Santorum is convinced it is his duty to become the president of the United States so he can impose his Catholicity on the rest of us.  He is stupid and he is dangerous and he doesn't live in the real world. 

The United States is not a Christian country.  For one thing, as a seminary professor once pointed out, a country cannot be "Christian."  Only people can become Christians for Christianity has to do with persons and a person has to make a personal commitment to become a Christian!  But in a sense that's not really relevant for our founding documents and our tradition holds to secular values and our Constitution establishes secular rules that are fair to all the diverse people that make up our nation.

It's quite amazing that someone like Santorum can gain the votes of the so-called "evangelical" right-wing Christians.  [Please note these people have always in the past been called "fundamentalists" and have been out of the mainstream of evangelical Christianity].  Santorum is a Roman Catholic, for god's sake!  If the fundies had their way just a few years ago, a Catholic wouldn't be able to hold public office today!

So, there's been a shift of monumental proportions in the political and religious landscape in recent years.  The delusional and ignorant have been sold a bill of goods and believe the founding fathers were Christians and meant this nation to be run under god's law as they interpret it.  The truth is quite different!  The founding fathers, by and large, were not Christians by any stretch of the imagination.  Some paid lip-service to the Anglican church, but there was not an "evangelical" among them and some, such as Jefferson, thought Christianity a dangerous delusion.

Having said that, the prevailing sentiment has remained "Protestant" in a generic sense.  Roman Catholics were suspect of all sorts of deviations as were Jews and Unitarians.  Members of such groups would have had a difficult time getting elected to any office 250 years ago.  Catholics remained suspect up until John F. Kennedy said clearly that his oath of office superseded his commitment to the Vatican and even then a lot of fundys didn't believe him. 

Today, for some, that thinking has changed.  A new "religion" has taken hold.  It's called "conservatism," but there isn't much these folks would conserve.  Rather, it's a radical re-interpretation of Christianity which is less about theology than political ideology.  And this political ideology is miles apart from anything we can find in the teachings of their mythical Jesus.  It is an ideology built on the "me-first" syndrome; an ideology totalitarian in structure in that it attempts to impose its beliefs upon all the people and because it fantasizes that the god it has created in its own image desires all people to bow to its ultra-conservative, quite radical, ideology.

Santorum is the perfect candidate for this ideology.  It oozes from his pores.  As a result, he would strive to see passed whatever laws necessary to ban abortion for any reason, to disallow any form of contraception (as the ideology states clearly that sex is merely and only for procreation, not recreation.)  In an Santorum world, masturbation would be illegal.  Homosexuality would be considered a crime and treated in a court of law as such.  Santorum would step beyond the outlines of Vaticanized faith to abolish the teaching of the foundation of all science, evolution.  Creationism would rule in the public schools, and artifacts and practices of the Catholic/Christian faith would be welcomed, such as bibles, crucifixes, prayers at school assemblies, chaplains for the sports teams, special priests to counsel wayward students, etc.

It could be argued that many evangelical conservatives would disavow some of Santorum's ideas and plans for the nation.  That may well be true.  However, the ideology allows for such a disavowal.  Santorum, for the so-called evangelical right-wingers, is useful primarily to get rid of President Obama.   The goal of the GOP, which for all practical purposes is a fundamentalist Christian ultra-right wing party, would see Santorum elected as a fill-in, a temp, until the "right" person could be found.  The conservative movement, in spite of its diversity, is bound together in its hostility and hatred for Mr. Obama.  That hatred and hostility has carried over to anything that Obama has done, wants to do, or plans to do, to benefit the country as a whole.  So, the goal at first is to send Obama home. 

Notice I have not mentioned Mr. Romney.  Mr. Romney is ultimately going to be unable to capture the fealty of the evangelical conservatives, not merely because his conservatism is suspect based upon his previous beliefs and actions, but simply because he is a Mormon.  Say what you want about Mormonism, but it is not a Christian religion no matter how much it would like to be or claim to be.  And Christians know that.  Mormonism is a blight upon the earth.  It is hostile to Christianity.  It competes on a daily basis with Christianity.  Its doctrines, beliefs and practices do not attend to Christianity in any form.

Romney may win the nomination.  But he won't have the hearts of the evangelical Christians.  He will be a luke-warm candidate.  Unless, and this is possible, the hatred of the Christians for Obama overrules their hostility to Mormonism.

If, however, Santorum wins the nomination, it will be like a 2nd grader going up against Einstein.  From an intellectual perspective it will be a bloodbath.  The trouble is, most conservatives have the mentality of a 2nd grader so that gives Santorum some juice.

A final, very important factor, has to do with the one percenters.  They are one in their desire to rid the land of Obama and will do, literally, anything to achieve their goal.  They have convinced many Christians they have the right plan for the nation even though it is anti-Christian in its goals and ultimately fatal to the American dream.  And they have lots of money.  When the Koch brothers and their ilk can put together $100 million for the sole purpose of defeating a sitting president, anything can happen.  And I mean anything!  These are not nice people and they are not used to not getting their way!  Furthermore, one percent of 300 plus million amounts to a fairly large group.  Seeing as how they control the great majority of the resources of this country they are a formidable foe.

Hang on to your hats, it's going to be a long, hard ride.  I'd say may the best man win, but the odds are stacked against him.  I mean get real, he's half white!

Same-sex marriage in California

 This is a guest post by my good friend, Bob Poris.

CALIFORNIA'S VOTER-APPROVED BAN ON SAME-SEX MARRIAGE VIOLATES U.S. CONSTITUTION, APPEALS COURT IN SAN FRANCISCO RULES.

I think people who have been divorced more than twice should be investigated for violating our sacred family values and aiding and abetting the destruction of the sanctity of marriage. 

Obviously divorce indicates that the marriage was not made in Heaven and makes a mockery of the marriage vows.  An investigation and any penalties incurred should involve all marriages -- heterosexual, bisexual, homosexual and other unclassified marriages. 

We should also look into those marriages in which it is obvious the rules of marriage, sworn to before God, have been violated.  Punishing such violators is doing the work of God and should be blessed by appropriate religious leaders. Perhaps all those who violate the morals and ethics as handed down to them by God, should also be punished. 

If we are to bestow upon true believers - our God-fearing population - tax advantages and exemptions from some general laws, they should be held to a higher standard than those who have not pledged to follow God’s rules. 

Either we should take marriage vows and the laws of God seriously or stop using them as standards for all citizens of the USA.

And in a truly pluralistic society exemptions should be made for those who don't claim to follow God's rules.

Wipes & Swipes #2

President Obama's recent State of the Union speech was written at the 8th-grade level.  And those damn Republicans still couldn't understand it.

Just before the Obama gave the speech, Boner said:  "I've read a lot about what the president will talk about Tuesday night.  It seems to me like the same old proposals we've seen -- more spending, higher taxes, more regulations -- the same policies that haven't helped our economy, they've made it worse.  If that's what the president is going to talk about Tuesday night, I think it's pathetic."

No, Boner, you are the pathetic one!  You can cry about everything except the damage you and your cohorts do to our country by trying to block every proposal to help get our country back on its feet after the Bush disaster.  You are also a pathetic liar.  In fact, Obama's policies have helped our economy, most importantly they brought us back from the brink of another Great Depression.  I know that makes you sad, Boner, so do what Jesus said:  Go home and cry in your closet.  Oh wait, Jesus was talking about prayer.  Well, in your case prayer won't help.  Go home and cry!


The Grinch, pretending to be a visionary, has made the preposterous and incredibly stupid promise that by the end of his 2nd term as president we will have colonized the moon by planting "the first permanent base" there and yes, hallelujah, it will be an American base.  This is another example of a Repugnican completely out of touch with reality.  If there's one thing we don't need, it's a base on the moon (even if such a base were feasible and any fools would want to live there)!  But there are millions of hungry people in the US of A.  And millions of homeless.  Many of our cities are dying.  Our infrastructure is rotting away.  Schools are in terrible shape financially.  The effects of global warming are rolling in waves along our shores.  Some 45 million people have no health care.  In spite of some gains, the numbers of jobless are still way too high.  We've got a mess in Afghanistan and Iraq is going to be a firestorm for the foreseeable future.  We desperately need to continue the progress we've made under Obama in terms of new energy sources.  And there's much more.  You would think a serious candidate for the presidency might deal with these and similar matters.

What's the difference between a consultant and a lobbyist?  Well in Newt's case, not a thing.  So when the Grinch says he didn't "lobby" for Freddie Mac, he's a liar!  In 1999 his "consulting" business was paid $25,000 per month to consult with Freddie Mac's lobbyists.  There was another contract, too, with The Center for Health Transformation (heh, heh), a Grinch outfit, and these contracts put $1.65 million in the Grinch's pocket for NOT lobbying!


According to Harper's Magazine, 71 percent of the current U.S. debt "was accumulated during the Republican presidential terms."

More on economic issues from Harpers:'

1)  18.2% of American said they did not have enough money to buy food last year.
2)  The median household wealth of white families declined by 16% since 2005.
3)  Hispanic families' median household wealth declined by 66%.
4)  It is estimated that the value of government subsidies going to the oil and gas industry between now and 2015 will be $78,155,000,000.  Talk about government welfare!!!  That's some entitlement program for the rich people (we used to call them corporations but the SCOTUS said they're real people, just like you and me and Uncle Ed).


Can we please not hear or see anything about Kim Kardashian or any of the Kardashians for, oh, let's say the next 50 years?  Enough is enough!


Repugnican chicanery never stops.  One of the good guys, Rep. Brad Miller (D-N.C.) is not going to run for re-election if a Republican redistricting plan gets approved in North Carolina.  The Repugs have changed Miller's 13th District from a Democratic-supporting one to a Republican-supporting one which would put him in a political fight with fellow Dem David Price.  These Republican bastards are, of course, responding to orders from their corporate masters which includes the Bank of America and Wells Fargo.  Miller has been a fearless leader in the battle against the rapacious practices of these banking institutions.  He was one of the first to speak out against subprime mortgages.  The redistricting plan is being challenged in the courts but the outcome is uncertain.  The big money boys are out to get him and gt him they will.  But hey, as the license plates in more and more states say, "In God We Trust."  You betcha!


President Obama said yesterday that he makes mistakes all the time.  But he tries to learn from them.  "[...] I have no doubt that I'm a better president now than the day I took office just because you get more experience."  Pish posh!  Don't you yearn for the good ol' days of Georgi Bushki when we had a president who never, ever made mistakes?  And the reason for that, of course, was because God told him what to do!


Oh, yes, can we also have no more talk or photos dealing with Salma Hayek's dress which shows all kinds of skin.  You can actually see a little bit of her boobs.  They're very nice and newsworthy, I know, but I get too excited!


Harry R. Jackson is a Pentecostal bishop and pastor of Hope Christian Church in Washington, D.C.  (Such a description usually mentions this church has over 3,000 members as if numbers mean anything important other than there are lots of gullible people in the world!)  Jackson likes to wear a clerical collar just like a real Catholic or Episcopalian or Lutheran bishop as it makes him see more authentic instead of a mere Jesus con man in regular garb.

No dummy, Jackson got an MBA at Harvard (of course Bushski somehow got a degree from Yale so that doesn't mean much), but he's a fundamentalist christianist who thinks all our problems would go away if we just did what his god wants us to do.  And his god is listening.  "When we pray and believe things happen," writes Jackson.  Sure they do.  Most of them bad!  Now hear this:  "...during the Bush presidency there has been [sic] more prayer offered up for the nation than ever.  As a result of all this prayer the Lord did many good things."  Jackson does not specify "good things" but I'd guess he'd have a hard time naming even one!

Then Jackson says that his god "also allowed things to occur which could bring the rest of the nation to her knees.  There is a war raging in Iraq, the economy is in shambles and energy costs are soaring.  Our national woes [are a good thing because] they may cause millions to lose confidence in false gods, humanistic ideologies and even their own abilities."

The man is a nutcase, of course!  The Bush presidency, supposedly blessed by Jackson's god, was a disaster from beginning to end and the nation will suffer mightily because of it for years to come!  If indeed a god was involved and supporting Georgi Bushski, he or she was a lousy and very nasty deity!

But hey, Jackson is a believer.  So all the bad stuff - the thousands of people killed, maimed, tortured, driven from their homes and their country, the billions of dollars wasted, the growth of hatred around the world, the terrible economy, the millions unemployed, the rising cost of living - all of this Jackson's god allowed to happen so we could see the light as Jackson sees it!

The truth is that Jackson is just one more moronic religious freak who lives in some kind of Dark Age, but he and the others preach this crap to millions of people day in and day out.  Which means that one of the greatest threats to our nation's welfare are Christian fundamentalists who command huge audiences and huge amounts of money and operate huge "ministries" which you and I subsidize because they are tax-free!


Is this a great country or what?

Wipes and Swipes #1

Michele Bachmann says she's gonna run for Congress one more time.  Whoopee!  And if the people of Minnesota elect her again, they will deserve exactly what they get - one of the most arrogant and ignorant religious nutcases in history!  If you can count as high as zero, you can describe her moral IQ and her legislative achievements!

Rick Santorum claims that homosexuality is not healthy for society.  Actually, Rick Santorum is not healthy for society!

Did you year that Boner cried during Gabrielle Giffords resignation.  Before you conclude his weeping must mean he has feelings, remember he cries when he gets a hangnail!

Gingrich wants to make English our nation's official language and once said that "Spanish is the language of living in the ghetto."  Not surprisingly, the Grinch is way down in the polls when it comes to the Latino vote.  But he thinks he'll get at least 40% of the Latino vote if he makes it to the general election.

Gotta wonder what the Republican Jews of south Florida are gonna think about the Mormon practice of baptizing the dead, including dead Jews, so they can get into the Mormon heaven...and how will that impact their view of ol' Mittens.

A Republican dunderhead from Arizona, Rep. Trent Franks, has brought up from the slimy recesses of his christianist mind, a bill which would ban all abortions after 20 weeks in the District of Columbia.  It seems we're never going to rid ourselves of these creeps who talk about freedom but operate like fascist dictators.

Alaska Airlines used to hand out little Prayer Cards on meal trays.  Surprisingly, some folks didn't think that was appropriate.  Alaska Airlines no longer hands out the Prayer Cards.  Isn't it nice when the good guys win?

Tim Geithner expects he'll be shown the door if Obama is re-elected.  He should have been shown the door a long time ago; he's a fox in the hen house.  A mistake, methinks, for Obama to have kept him on.

I agree with Fidel Castro.  Fidel, now 85, wrote in an opinion piece that "The selection of a Republican candidate for the presidency of this globalized and expansive empire is - and I mean this seriously - the greatest competition of idiocy and ignorance that has ever been."  Right on, Fidel!

Chalk up another win for Obama:  Navy seals (the same team that got bin Laden) were able to rescue two hostages who had been held by Somalian pirates since October.  The only seals that did anything under Bush's watch were the ones who slip-slide around begging for food at Sea World.

Bill Gates of Microsoft fame is arguing that the rich should pay more taxes.  An astute ploy by Mr. Gates but will probably go unheeded by other billionaires (except for Buffett) and the Tea Party patrons who somehow think they are in the 1%...

Santorum, being the moronic candidate representing the Vatican and Roman Church, says now that the "Left" (which I'd guess includes everyone who doesn't agree with him) uses our universities to "indoctrinate" children in order to keep the liberals in power.  That's why President Obama wants kids to go to college.  It's hard to believe how stupid this person is, but he proves it every time he opens his mouth.  If he had his way all public schools would become Catholic schools and every person in this country would be bound by Roman Catholic doctrine and ruled by the Pope! 

Sounds like Iran wants to start talking again about nuclear reactors and such.  Thank you, President Obama. for your patient but firm and principled stand.  The dunderheads on the right who want to replace you would have gone to war by now and we would again have suffered major losses of our blood and treasure!

In a diatribe against his rival, Mitt Romney, the Grinch said "We're not stupid."  Perhaps not.  How about pure evil?

Stop SOPA!!!!

SOPA Strike!

 

For more information click here or here.

 

Colbert likes Mitt's zest for firing people!

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Crazy is as crazy does!

Thanks to Atheist Cartoons.

Ron Paul and Libertarianism

This is a synopsis of an article titled, "When We Can Say We're All 

Austrians," by a writer who has so skillfully exposed those who would 

replace our democracy with a theocracy.  Her name is Rachel Tabachnick. 

In this article she shows how Ron Paul's "libertarianism"

is anything by copacetic.  It is very dangerous.

What follows comes from Talk2Action.org. 

Recent press coverage has described Rep. Ron Paul's appeal to young voters
as based on the combination of his conservative economics with liberal
social views.  This might suffice as a simplistic explanation of the
libertarianism of some Americans, but it does not accurately represent
Paul's ideology. Paul's brand of libertarianism is shared with the
frequently overlapping John Birch Society, Constitution Party and
Conservative Caucus (both founded by Howard Phillips), and the American
branch of the Austrian School of Economics - the Ludwig von Mises
Institute.    Like Paul, these groups are located on the
ultra-conservative end of the political spectrum. Their distinguishing
feature is a brand of libertarianism in which the federal government is to
be dramatically reduced in favor of "states' rights" and, as described by
the Constitution Party, local application of "jurisprudence based on
biblical foundations."  This is theocratic libertarianism, the type
of libertarian "freedom" promoted by Christian Reconstructionist Rousas J.
Rushdoony. 

Read Ms. Tabachnick's entire article here:

RSA Animate - Crises of Capitalism

In this RSA Animate, renowned academic David Harvey asks if it is time to look beyond capitalism towards a new social order that would allow us to live within a system that really could be responsible, just, and humane?

This is absolutely amazing.  It's a bit long but worth every second of your time!

h/t to my friend, Jose, in Portugal

Meditations on Willard (Mitt) Romney and a fair and just nation

Although the title is mine, the following essay was written by Gene Bockneck.  It is used with his permission and we thank him for his generosity.

Gene begins with a brief reflection on Willard Romney, also known as "Mittens," also known as "Mitt."

That is followed by some thoughts about how we treat our workers and students compared to other countries and why taxes are not something to be shunned or evaded but rather are a responsibility to be accepted in order that we may have a fully functioning society where all people are treated with dignity and respect.

 [I have made a few minor editorial changes.]


Mitt Romney may be revealing himself by exposing a quality not much written about in our media.  Over the course of time I've gone from a view of him as a moderate Republican to something less attractive.  I now see he represents a kind of amorality built on the feeling he can do no wrong.

This quality appears to be inherent in some people who have lived their lives in complete safety and security, leading them ultimately to a deeply felt belief that they are impervious to any truth but their own.  Certainly this was a dominant quality in George W. Bush as well:  a kind of unshakable self-confidence or self-concern, which allowed him to operate from the point of view that whatever he did was right (since he had done it).

Like G.W. Bush, Romney grew up with, and inherited, great wealth.  His father was the CEO of American Motors, producers of the Nash Rambler and other cars of its time.  It's no wonder he gained a sense of unfettered superiority, which was expressed so well in a famous (or infamous) quote by Richard Nixon:  "the president does not commit crimes."

Nixon's statement is not a statement about morality but its absence!  Some would say it is this kind of amorality that is reflected in Mitt Romney's own history:  Romney bought a company, made a great profit by laying off thousands of workers, then sold it and walked away.

The inner certainty of one's rectitude is a troublesome quality in a person who seeks to rule in a complex, ever-changing world.


[Here Mr. Bockneck changes gears and moves into another discussion.  I do not have the column to which he refers, but the value of what he has to say stands by itself.]

I've gotten more than the usual amount of feedback from my column on "entitlements."  It may be of interest to note how other nations view that status of American workers.

"German workers by law unlike their American counterparts are given 30 days paid vacation, paid sick leave, paid maternity leave and medical insurance and dental insurance that is so comprehensive that it is in fact by comparison commercially unavailable for purchase in the American market.  All of this is to say nothing of subsidized day care and subsidized elder care and university tuition that is so low, that American students actually spend more on textbooks than German students pay for tuition for an entire school year.  So when they graduate, they (and their parents) don't graduate into indentured student loan servitude for many years and sometimes in certain cases even decades.  This gives new meaning to the phrase only in America!"  -- Der Speigel (Germany's major news magazine)

Skeptics may have a point when they argue that it's much easier for governments of small nations to provide for so many human services.  And they might also argue that such nations (including France, Norway, Holland, Finland, and Denmark) have much higher individual tax rates.  But I wonder how many Americans would swap higher tax rates for those services.

Even more important is the challenge being raised by large, indigent countries such as China and India.  These nations are very quickly becoming strong competitors with the United States in terms of manufacturing technology.  Poor families are in no position to pay for higher education when they are barely surviving themselves.  How, then do these other nations do it - educate vast multitudes?

I would call it a process of collaboration:  not socialism, not dependency, not even dictatorship.  And could just plain good, plain, practical common sense play a role?  How can these other nations afford such "luxuries"?

I'm no economist but I think the answer to affordability comes in one word and one size:  taxes.  Contrary to the crap that most of us have heard for the last umpteen years, taxes are not -- ARE NOT -- a burden on individuals and families.  Taxes are the means by which a government can ensure that its national wealth is spent helping its citizens grow, prosper, and thus strengthen the nation.

Having healthy, well-trained, actively employed citizens actually saves money in the long run (just ask the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office) while fulfilling the promise of our founders for life, liberty and opportunity in a government of, by, and for its people.  Taxes invested in the the public arena return to reward the people who pay them.

But taxes that are evaded so as to benefit the few are contrary to America's best interests -- especially in this increasingly competitive world.  A nation in which the middle class is disappearing and the number of poor are growing is a nation going downhill.  As a progressive I think that's moving in the wrong direction.  As a human being I think it's a disgraceful way to manage the public trust.

Our national problems did not begin with Barack Obama.  Historically, they actually began with the me-first heroics of our most charming president, Ronald Reagan.  Although Reagan derided what he called the "burden" of big government, and took pride in union-busting, he didn't object at all when he received his government pensions from California and the United States, as well as the actor's union.

Science proves God does not exist

One of the finest books dealing with the existence of God is Victor J. Stenger's, God - The Failed Hypothesis.  Dr. Stenger is emeritus professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Hawaii and adjunct professor of philosophy at the University of Colorado.

Stenger writes as a scientist.  Scientists are forever and always concerned with evidence; with data that can be tested and checked.  Scientific data indicates God does not exist; that no gods exist.  There is no evidence whatsoever to indicate the presence of a god; and in particular the God of Christians and Jews. 


Here is a summary of Stenger's argument taken directly from the above-named book:

* "A God who is responsible for the complex structure of the world, especially living things, fails to agree with empirical fact that this structure can be understood to arise from simple natural processes and shows none of the expected signs of design.  Indeed, the universe looks as it should look in the absence of design."

* There is no evidence to indicate a god has given humans immortal souls.  "[ ] ...human memories and personalities are determined by physical processes ... no nonphysical or extraphysical powers of the mind can be found, and ... no evidence exists for an afterlife."

* There is no corroborating evidence that a god interacts with humans, or intervenes via miracles as reported in the Bible.  In fact, "physical evidence now convincingly demonstrates that some of the most important biblical narratives, such as the Exodus, never took place."

* Many religious people continue to believe that a god "miraculously and supernaturally created the universe."  But, says Stenger, this "fails to agree with the empirical fact that no violations of physical laws were required to produce the universe, its laws, or its existence rather than its nonexistence."  Furthermore, empirical facts "indicate the universe began with maximum energy and so bears no imprint of a creator.

* Deists are convinced that a god arranged things to make life possible on earth.  But, as Stenger points out, "the universe is not congenial to human life.  [...] Such a notion "also fails to agree with the fact that the universe is mostly composed of particles in random motion, with complex structures such as galaxies forming less than 4 percent of the mass and less than one particle out of a billion."

* I remember being taught that the God of Christians and Jews was a god of revelation.  We know of him because he has revealed himself to human beings down through history.  This belief, however, "fails to agree with the fact that no claimed revelation has ever been confirmed empirically, while many have been falsified.  No claimed revelation contains information that could not have already been in the head of the person making the claim."

* One can no longer claim that our morality and values come from God, "since the evidence shows that humans define morals and values for themselves.  This is not 'relative morality.'  Believers and nonbelievers alike agree on a common set of morals and values.  Even the most devout decide for themselves what is good and what is bad.  Nonbelievers behave no less morally than believers."

* Finally, the big one!  The argument against which all belief in god fails.  "The existence of evil, in particular, gratuitous suffering, is logically inconsistent with an omniscient, omnibenevolent, omnipotent God..."

Dr. Stenger shows clearly, not only is scientific evidence pointing to the existence of a god missing, but scientific evidence indicates there can be no such deity.  "Life on earth looks just as it should look if it were not designed, and indeed, the universe looks and operates just as it should if it appeared spontaneously from nothing."

As I'm writing this I have been made aware of additional attempts in various state legislatures to dismiss the teaching of evolution in public schools in favor of "intelligent design."  Such attempts are blatantly unconstitutional for intelligent design is nothing more than souped up "creationism" which is based, not on any science whatsoever, but upon biblical mythology!

One is thus able to see how stupidity and ignorance promotes further stupidity and ignorance.  Our state legislatures and our U.S. Congress are packed with people who know nothing about science and care nothing about truth.  They believe what they are taught in their churches by ignorant preachers and priests. When you hear someone talking about "intelligent design" you can be sure he or she has a huge gap in their education; or they were home-schooled.  Millions of fundamentalist Christians have opted out of public schools in order, not to educate their children, but to propagandize their children. How many home-schooled kids are taught the reality and the beauty of the evolutionary theory?


Education may well be the most important issue on our plate today.  And even though people in high places speak piously about the need to support our schools, they speak with forked tongue, for today schools are in desperate need of funds and decent teachers and to be left alone to do their work without interference by a bunch of politically and religiously motivated pious know-nothings in various legislatures around the country!

By the time I left education, the situation was already well on its way downhill!  We were told to teach the tests!  Don't worry about anything else.  Every principal was terrified of finding their school on the list of "failed" or "failing" schools.  The principal at the school where I taught suggested we get rid of all classes except for reading and math.  It was all about the "test."  Every subject had to incorporate reading and math in their lesson plans no matter what subject they taught!

And this, begun by a Republican governor in Florida, was the beginning of the dumbing down of education in the state.  It has only gotten worse since.  There's nothing wrong with teaching reading and math, of course.  But to emphasize those two subjects at the expense of every other subject is short-sighted and stupid!  It's no wonder people come out of our schools and head to political office without basic scientific knowledge, knowing nothing of history, art, literature, music, etc.

And these ignoramuses are the ones running our world!  They disbelieve evolution and climate change, in spite of all the evidence, and think that our problems would be solved if only we would pray, pray, pray.  Just ask Rick Perry, Michele Bachmann, Ricky Santorum, Willard Romney, New Gingrich...

So close (to seeing the truth)

Thanks to Atheist Cartoons.