tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936910946259352442024-03-05T11:03:28.059-05:00Muzikal ThoughtsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger60125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-793691094625935244.post-65727220397133007492010-02-26T14:44:00.001-05:002010-02-26T15:38:33.806-05:00What Would We Say If Roles Were Reversed?<p> </p> <table border="6" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" width="400"><tbody> <tr> <td valign="top" width="400">*EDIT* Apparently they have the wrong video in the article (which would be why I was like “WTF!” LOL, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1swlMFa3pvw" target="_blank">here’s the actual video of the actual AKAs who ended up getting promoted.</a> They are MUCH better than the ones who are in the article, I can see how it may have been a tight competition based on that video, but I STILL feel that the ZTAs were named the winners at the competition and as such should have remained the SOLE winners. If the judges felt it was a tie at the competition then they should have called it as such at the competition or had a step-off.  </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <p align="justify">So last week (I think) I heard about the Sprite Step-off and how a white Sorority, Zeta Tau Alpha, won the competition. I didn’t think anything else about it. But today I see a post on a MB about how <a href="http://www.bvblackspin.com/2010/02/26/white-sorority-wins-step-competition-then-told-not-quite/" target="_blank">Sprite has done a total bitchass move and decided to say that there was a discrepancy in the scoring and that the only way they can think to fix it is to say the ZTAs and the AKAs were co-winners</a>. I call bullshit. I think Black people complained about the White Sorority winning and Sprite got sick of hearing the complaints and figured they could just give $100,000 to both and call both orgs the “winners” and be done with it. </p> <p align="justify">First of all, I watched BOTH performances, and ZTA stepped their asses off. Their routine was clean and entertaining. Listen to the crowd on both videos, the ZTAs got WAY more house. Their routines had more to them, and they won fair and square. I watched the AKAs video expecting them to be just totally awesome and so much more “precise” than the ZTAs, and they weren’t that. They weren’t more precise. In fact, early on in the routine the girl in the front on the right almost fell after doing her Varsity. Some of the moves were sloppy. They stepped HARDER (as in their feet were louder), but that’s about it. I thought their routine was rather boring (even outside of the fact that they weren’t a “novelty” like the ZTAs. All they did “better” than the ZTAs was fling their hair around. In fact, about a 3rd of their routine was them just standing their whipping their heads around to make their hair move. </p> <p align="justify">Outside of how insulting this is to the ZTAs, imagine how we would feel if the roles were reversed. If the AKAs were one of the only Black Sororities at a White Step Show (or dance competition, or something that they wouldn’t expect a Black Sorority to do), and they won. Then imagine that White people went on the Internet or went to the Sponsors and complained about the AKAs winning to the point where the Sponsors said there was a “scoring discrepancy” and said that the AKAs were “tied” with the ZTAs. How much of an outrage would there be in the Black community? We’d have Al and Jesse ready to march. We’d be calling for Pres. Obama to make a speech. We’d be raising hell all because of a perceived racial slight. The ZTAs clearly worked very hard on their routine, and they were very good in their routine. They brought it when people had NO expectations or LOW expectations. They pleased the crowd, they were precise, and they got people to talk about their organization. </p> <a name='more'></a> <p align="justify">I think it is very small-minded on the part of everyone who complained about the ZTAs winning. Instead of being haters, how about you just give the ZTAs their due, and if they beat YOUR organization, then work harder the next time. The D9 are not the only organizations who step. Black people are not the only race that steps. </p> <p align="justify">And Sprite should be ashamed, because in their quest to keep people from questioning the validity of their voting, they just made it a LOT worse. Like Dr. Watkins said in the article:</p> <blockquote> <p><strong>If you watch the Super Bowl and lose the game on a bad call, you don't expect the NFL commissioner to come out the next day and revise the call. If you see a player get fouled on the final shot of a college basketball game, you know that when the last whistle is blown, the game is over. I can't help but wonder if Sprite should have left their "scoring discrepancy" on the field, since I would certainly hope that the computer and judges adding up the numbers would know how to double-check their math.</strong> <br /></p> <p>To some extent, to receive a victory in a step competition the day after the competition is over is like getting an honorary bachelors degree or receiving a postmortem Grammy Award. It just doesn't have the same effect as winning the event on the stage, in your competitor's faces, in front of the audience. This competition should have been settled on the stage. In fact, while Sprite representatives are arguing that the decision was made to protect the integrity of the competition, it may have had the opposite effect.</p> </blockquote> <p align="justify">(emphasis mine)</p> Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-793691094625935244.post-36136578947350352932010-02-26T12:09:00.001-05:002010-02-26T12:09:49.594-05:00Well, Well, Well<p> </p> <p align="justify">This will be short, I’m sure you all can see the posts where I was going after Gov. Paterson (NY) for going after Obama for not supporting his re-election bid. Well it looks like once again Pres. Obama was RIGHT, and now Paterson is <a href="http://tpmlivewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/02/reports-gov-paterson-will-end-campaign.php?ref=fpb" target="_blank">bowing out</a> because of a scandal. </p> <blockquote> <p>Less than 48 hours after the <em>New York Times</em> revealed in a bombshell <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/25/nyregion/25paterson.html?hp=&pagewanted=all">story</a> that the administration of Gov. David Paterson had intervened in the domestic violence case of a top aide, Paterson has decided to pull the plug on his campaign for governor, the <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2010/02/paterson-to-end-campaign-this.html"><em>Daily News</em></a> and the <em><a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2010/02/26/2010-02-26_gov_david_paterson_will_not_seek_reelection_but_will_not_resign.html">Post</a></em> are reporting.</p> <p>No official announcement has been made, but the <em>Post</em> says one is expected later today. Two sources familiar with the decision confirmed to TPM that Paterson will end his campaign.</p> </blockquote> <p align="justify">Looks like the Pres. was right not NOT throw his support behind Paterson simply because he’s a Black man in a Governorship. As for me? I’m laughing my ass off right now. LOL</p> Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-793691094625935244.post-31448195408606799572010-02-23T19:21:00.001-05:002010-02-23T19:33:39.682-05:00Wow Rev. Al, tell us how you REALLY feel.<p align="justify"> </p> <p align="justify">So I was up this morning and happened to catch Tavis’s “triumphant” (my word) return to the TJMS. As he got into his commentary I thought to myself “I see Tavis is back to Obama hatin’ on the TJMS.” Apparently his latest thing is he’s mad that Obama doesn’t have a specific “Black Agenda” and how “Black Leaders” aren’t going to push him on a “Black Agenda” and now feel that President Obama doesn’t HAVE to have a “"Black Agenda.” Well, we all know Tom looooooooooooooves him some Tavis, so pretty much Tavis wasn’t going to get called on any of his bullshit. I figured that would be the end of it. But nooooo, Rev. Al called in after the following commercial break, and what followed was full of EPIC WIN for Rev. Al. In the event that you missed this completely thorough smack down you can listen to it <a href="http://v3.player.abacast.com/player/player.php?pid=reachmedia_tjms&mediaurl=http://wm-ondemand.abacast.com/reachmediainc/022310/SHARPTON.wma&gateway=http://asx.abacast.com/dynamic/reachmediainc.asx" target="_blank">here</a>. </p> <p align="justify">Now I’ve never been a HUGE fan (or really a fan period) of Rev. Al’s, but lately he hasn’t been annoying me as much as usual, and I’ve actually found myself agreeing with him more often than not. Part of me thinks that’s because he’s mellowed out since Pres. Obama won the election and was inaugurated. But what he did to Tavis on the TJMS today reminded me of “Coming to America” where they walk into the apartment and there’s the chalk outline of the dog and the man with the cane and the guy says “damn shame what they did to that dog.”  Rev. Al even went after Tavis for not trying to hold Former Pres. Clinton “accountable” to the Black community even though Tavis himself called Pres. Clinton “Black.” I mean he left no stone unturned. Rev. Al went SO hard on Tavis, that even Tom wasn’t trying to defend him by the end of the call. I heard he also went after Tavis during his own show, unfortunately I missed that, but I’m going to have to see if it’s somewhere on the Internet. </p> <p align="justify">Point blank, Tavis is about TAVIS, not the Black community. Pres. Obama has been refusing Tavis and his bullshit since the election (remember when then Candidate Obama didn’t go to the SOTU and Tavis had a hissy fit in his TJMS commentary? It was shortly before he pulled a Palin and took his ball and went home). Pres. Obama has refused to stroke Tavis’s ego, and we all know Tavis needs his ego stroked often. I’m surprised he waited this long to put together an event where people can get together and hate on Pres. Obama for a few hours. And then of all places to choose, he choose CHICAGO? Real subtle Tavis. Personally, I think he should have had it at Texas Southern. But IF Rev. Al goes to this shindig, I think I may have to watch, if he doesn’t go, I’ll have to pass. </p> <p>For all of the issues I’ve had with Rev. Al, he’s been pretty consistent. I’ve never thought he was out for “self” I did think some of the stuff he championed was overreation, but he’s been consistent. That’s more than we can say for Tavis. </p> <p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:29beedad-a185-481a-ab9a-5df35cfe3022" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">blogger Tags: <a href="http://muzikalthoughts.blogspot.com/search/label/Al+Sharpton" rel="tag">Al Sharpton</a>, <a href="http://muzikalthoughts.blogspot.com/search/label/Tavis+Smiley" rel="tag">Tavis Smiley</a>, <a href="http://muzikalthoughts.blogspot.com/search/label/President+Obama" rel="tag">President Obama</a>, <a href="http://muzikalthoughts.blogspot.com/search/label/Barack+Obama" rel="tag">Barack Obama</a>, <a href="http://muzikalthoughts.blogspot.com/search/label/Tom+Joyner+Morning+Show" rel="tag">Tom Joyner Morning Show</a>, <a href="http://muzikalthoughts.blogspot.com/search/label/TJMS" rel="tag">TJMS</a></div></p> Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-793691094625935244.post-17860882202037401022010-01-21T14:18:00.003-05:002010-01-21T14:49:16.780-05:00She Did It HER Way<p align="Center"><b><u>Michelle Obama’s First Year: She Did It HER Way</u></b></p><br /><p align="center"><img src="http://i47.tinypic.com/1zcmhah.jpg" style="border: 10px solid black;" /></p><br />Michelle Obama’s first year as First Lady of the United States of America has come and gone, and I think it was an amazing first year. I freely admit that I haven’t been paying attention to politics my entire life, at least not as closely as I have in the last year. I also freely admit that I’m more than a little biased when it comes to Michelle Obama. I can honestly say that in the last year I have seen Michelle Obama do things that I never imagined I’d see a First Lady do. I think perhaps the biggest impact she will have is on the young men and women in the Washington D.C. area. <a href="http://i48.tinypic.com/35388pe"><p align="center"><img src="http://i48.tinypic.com/35388pe.jpg" style="border: 6px solid black;" /></p></a>In the past year I have seen and heard countless accounts of her <a href="http://news.google.com/archivesearch?um=1&cf=all&ned=us&hl=en&q=Michelle+Obama+Visits+school&cf=all&sugg=d&sa=N&lnav=d0&as_ldate=2009&as_hdate=2009&ldrange=2000%2C2008">going to schools</a> and talking to teens or stopping in an elementary school to visit a class and read them a book. She's even invited some famous friends to <a href="http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/11/michelle-obama-mentor-in-chief.html">start a mentoring program</a> with a group of 10th and 11th graders. She invited those children and youth to essentially become a part of the Obamas’ extended family. She has gone to soup kitchens without a lot of fanfare and donated her time. Imagine how you’d feel if you were down on your luck and you had to go in to a soup kitchen, and you walked in and there was the First Lady of the United States smiling and joking with you and serving you food. That’s not something I could imagine any other First Lady (in my admittedly short lifetime of only 26 years) doing. She started a White House Garden an instead of simply hiring gardeners to come in and do the work, she did the work and she had children from a local school come in and help her. When the garden was ready to harvest, she then took them into the White House kitchens and showed them what they can do with the food. <img src="http://i48.tinypic.com/vymhid.jpg" style="border: 7px solid black;" align="right" width="300" />Again, something I couldn’t imagine any other First Lady doing. The garden has produced over 1,000 pounds of food, and some of that food has been donated to Miriam's Kitchen a local soup kitchen where Michelle volunteered. She even hula hooped and played double dutch, I definitely can’t see any other First Lady doing that. Maybe it’s because she’s one of the youngest First Ladies ever, or maybe it’s just that she cares that much. The White House is once again “the People’s House” mostly because Michelle Obama wanted to open it back up. Even something like the White House Blue Room Christmas tree became a symbol for how she wants to bring the country together and walk the walk instead of simply talking the talk.<br /><br /><br /><p align="center"><b>∗ ∗ ∗ ∗ ∗</b></p><br /><br />Sure, she <a href="http://tiny.cc/oFokV">hasn’t been doing the DC social scene</a>, but she reached out to the people who mattered most. Not the ones who could afford to have exclusive parties where the President and First Lady show up, but the ones who probably never thought they’d ever get to hang out with the President and First Lady. You were more likely to see Barack and Michelle Obama if you were just a regular person than you were if instead you were a part of the DC social scene. I’m sure that really pissed a lot of people off, but Michelle Obama still continued to do things her way.<br /><br /><p align="center"><b>∗ ∗ ∗ ∗ ∗</b></p><br /><br /><br /><img src="http://i49.tinypic.com/2uidnid.jpg" align="left" width="300" />To top it all off, she still remains first and foremost Sasha and Malia’s mother. Her daughters are clearly her life. Even with all she’s doing as First Lady she has not once compromised being a good mother. This is something that everyday women do all the time. They have careers and they still take care of their families. Sure they have their support systems, but no one can take the place of a mother’s care and attention. Heck, she even had time to walk the dog regularly (something I think I recall her saying she wouldn’t do before they got him). I recently read an article where she commented that he daughters are still the same kids they were when they left Chicago. I think that's not only a testament to Sasha and Malia for being the level headed young women they are, but it's also a testament to Michelle Obama for making sure that her daughters continued to be raised as normal children, or at least as normal as possible given the circumstances. She even told the staff that the girls have to make their own beds in the morning and do chores.<br /><br /><br /><p align="center"><b>∗ ∗ ∗ ∗ ∗</b></p><br /><br />I think what Michelle Obama has shown America is that it’s perfectly okay to just be a Mom. It’s perfectly okay to be who you were before you “arrived”, and if anyone has “arrived” it’s definitely the Obamas. She has shown future First Ladies that there are more important things than merely smiling for the cameras, it’s important to walk the walk. It’s important to not lose sight of who you are outside of your position. I can’t even imagine how many lives she’s personally touched in the DC area by simply being who she is. And I can’t fail to note that she’s happy with who she is, even going so far as to check in with her older friends to make sure she hasn’t changed after being in the bubble that is Washington DC.<br /><br /><p align="center"><b>∗ ∗ ∗ ∗ ∗</b></p><br /><br />I suppose I would be remiss if I didn't mention her husband in all of this. The last year has certainly been a challenging one for our President. He's had to make some really hard decisions, a lot of which were unpopular not just on DKos but in the "real world" as well.<img src="http://i45.tinypic.com/24n0978.jpg" style="border: 10px solid black;" align="right" width="300" /> We all know that he keeps a cool head, he's just a cool guy. Personally, I think it helps that he's surrounded by a family he loves when he goes home. He never looks quite as happy as he does when he's with his wife and children. The Obamas are always quick to tell people that their marriage isn't perfect, and of course every relationship has its issues, but they are an excellent example of how a husband and wife could and should work together. She is his rock, and he's not afraid to admit that. I'll even go so far as to say he wouldn't be where he is today if Michelle Obama wasn't who she is. They called her "The Closer" on the campaign trail, and anyone who listened to Michelle Obama speak about her husband and his vision for America couldn't help but at least give the man a second look if not vote for him.<br /><br /><p align="center"><b>∗ ∗ ∗ ∗ ∗</b></p><br /><br />Through this year Michelle Obama has been criticized for just about everything from touching the Queen of England (who was also touching her at the time) to wearing shorts when it was hot outside. What she wore was criticized as if she was supposed to be dressing to please us. Even a new haircut is somehow news. Through it all she’s kept her head up, she’s stayed true to herself, and she did it all HER way.<br /><p align="center"><img src="http://i46.tinypic.com/j0h5k3.jpg" style="border: 10px solid black;" /></p><br /><br />Cross posted (although not as prettily)@ <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/1/21/828318/-Michelle-Obamas-First-Year:-She-Did-It-HER-Way">DailyKos</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-793691094625935244.post-85817977279429438302010-01-19T21:44:00.002-05:002010-01-19T21:48:59.972-05:00My ThoughtsWhatever happens in MA, it's not a referendum on anyone but the candidates. With that being said, win or lose Democrats in Congress need to wake up and start getting shit done. There is NO excuse. They had 60 Senators and they STILL didn't get what they needed done accomplished. In 2008 they got a MANDATE for change, and instead they haven't been giving us what we need. The actions are not matching the rhetoric. I don't think that's President Obama's issue (even though I'm sure all of the talking heads whom I refuse to watch are going to say it is), I think that's Congress's issue. Jon Stewart said it best:<br /><br /> <blockquote>"Let me see if I have this straight. You need to replace perhaps the most beloved liberal in the history of the Senate with a candidate that believes Curt Schilling is a Yankee fan. Because<span style="font-weight: bold;"> if this lady loses, the health care reform bill that the beloved late senator considered his legacy will die. And the reason it will die is because if Coakley loses, Democrats will only have then an 18-vote majority in the Senate. Which is more than George W. Bush ever had in the Senate when he did whenever the f**k he wanted."</span> </blockquote><br /><br /><div style="opacity: 1;" id="extended"><p>How about the Democrats grow a spine? This is a wake-up call, a warning shot if you will. While we fight amongst ourselves we are allowing the Republicans to get victories they otherwise wouldn't have gotten. Yes, the Bush years were bad, but they are OVER and like it or not people actually ARE starting to forget who got us into this mess, and which policies got us into this mess.</p> <p>To the Dems in Congress: You lost one seat, sure it's a big deal, but at the same time it's not a big deal. If we had that one seat, would that then light a fire under your asses to get shit done? You can't live worrying about the next election. Do what you promised. Pass good healthcare, stimulate the economy, stop holding us hostage to Wall St., start repairing our educational system, etc.. Stop with the fucking excuses and start getting stuff done, because this loss is NOT going to make anything any easier. The Republicans aren't that damn smart, you all are just that damn stupid.</p> <p>To President Obama: You did what you could, you've done what you could, but maybe it's time to stop being so damn polite and start being "real" (to steal a phrase from MTV). As you always state, the buck stops with you whether it's fair or not, so maybe it's time to stop letting Democrats who apparently have no real audacity screw with YOUR legacy. It wouldn't hurt to see some of that audacity you showed during the campaign make an appearance in your Presidency. We all know you know how to get the American people behind you, maybe it's time to stop wasting political capital trying to cover the asses of people who wouldn't do the same for you and start getting more of the stuff you promised done.</p> <p>Oh, and one more thing, when you have a mandate, you USE the mandate, or you LOSE the mandate.</p> <p>In case ya'll can't tell, I'm a little (okay, more than a little) pissed right now.</p><p><br /></p><p>Cross-Posted@ <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/1/19/827057/-untitled-diary">DailyKos</a><br /></p> </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-793691094625935244.post-68719898546220484702009-12-17T13:39:00.003-05:002009-12-17T14:10:38.952-05:00What's Going On?Lately the blogesphere has been going crazy over President Obama be it Afghanistan or Health Care or the Economy. And now it's getting to the point where people are trying to attribute that criticism to racism. While I do think there is some racism out there (I'm not willing to say that there is non), I do not think it's the driving force behind the criticism. <br /><br />During the 2008 election, I was really excited. I watched all of his town halls if I wasn't in class. I wrote posts on DailyKos about my fervent support of his candidacy. I watched the debates. I donated. I volunteered. I know what he promised and what he said he would do. So if I feel disappointed in what he's done, or a bit disillusioned because I don't think he's done enough that's my right. Does that mean I'm disappointed in him because of his race? I'm Black, does that mean that I expect White people to save this country? No. It means I'm disappointed. I had really high expectations for President Obama. I believed what he said during the campaign. My biggest issues have been with transparency and GLBT rights. With regard to transparency, I don't think he's been significantly more transparent than the previous administration (they were doing things like refusing to release the visitors log to the WH). Well, actually they've gotten much better lately (they started releasing the logs). During the campaign, President Obama frequently said "I may not always agree with you (or was it "be right", but I will tell you what I'm thinking" more times than I can count. I believed that. Yet, this year has been fire with "leaks" that consistently contradict themselves. Some people called them trial balloons, I don't know what the hell they were. But they made me feel like I was being lied to or deceived. Sure Obama himself never came out and said the stuff, and a lot of it was "anonymous WH aides", but why didn't Pres. Obama himself just release a statement to clear it up? <br /><br />President Obama said he'd end the political games in Washington. Games I admittedly didn't know much about because this is the first time in my life that I'm REALLY paying attention. Well, it seems to be that the same tired games are being played. Part of that is Republican obstructionism, which is wrong because I do think Obama deals with them in good faith, and part of it is "Conservadems" who have no damn excuse to be the way they are. Everyone is still playing games, and more often than not it looks like Obama is willing to compromise with the center-right and right wing, but isn't willing to compromise with the left/progressives. That can be frustrating for a lot of people. Health Care reform was supposed to be played out on CSPAN, yet there have been a lot of secret backroom meetings where we don't know what the hell is going on. Joe LIEberman is holding the Senate Bill hostage over policies that he's supported before, and reports are coming out that the WH is encouraging Reid to capitulate to his demands. These don't look like change. It doesn't <span style="font-style:italic;">feel</span> like change. No, I didn't expect it all to be fixed and wonderful at the end of a year, but it doesn't even seem like steps are being taken to change the way things are done. <br /><br />With regard to the economy, I'm frustrated. There's nothing Obama can do to make me less frustrated short of hiring me himself. I'll freely admit that. I don't want to hear about how he thinks about the unemployed every day. I want to SEE what he's doing to fix it. I'm not a laborer, I have two degrees, so when I hear about "green jobs" like insulating a house, that's not something I can do. I'd like to see more reform with regard to student loan repayment because we are getting fleeced out here (but that's another topic for another day). <br /><br />Like I've said before, this is the first time I'm paying attention, and it's really making me wish I'd stayed uninvolved emotionally and otherwise. Just go to my civic duty and vote, and go home and ignore everything else. Paying attention is getting me nowhere. And now valid policy disagreements are being labeled as "racist" because Obama is a Black man. Well, I happen to think that Obama would be getting the same criticism if he were White. President Obama has a LOT of crap to deal with, it's going to be a long tiring process and he's going to get criticized a lot. I think the problem is that during his campaign he wanted us to "hope" and to expect things of him, and now that he has the job none of it is playing out as he would have hoped. In the beginning I think a lot of it was the Republicans being assholes, then it was the Conservadems being assholes, now I don't know maybe everyone in Washington is an asshole. <br /><br /><br />Overall, I think I've come out of this entire situation more cynical. I'm not inclined to believe Obama just because he says it. I'm looking to see what he does. Yes, my opinion has shifted over time, but as circumstances and situations change, so do opinions. I don't think all is lost, it's quite possible that Obama will "redeem" himself in my eyes before his first term is over. I like him personally, I just don't care too much for how he's governing right now. <br /><br />Today I've seen some crazy stuff being said all over the place. Some people really just need to take a break. I support our President 100%. All I want is for him to do the stuff he promised to do. <br /><br />Sorry if this was a little rambley, I'm just trying to express my thoughts (and I don't even know if I've done a great job of it, but I'm going to have to stop this stream of consciousness at some point ~lol~).Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-793691094625935244.post-11736287420032959772009-11-10T20:36:00.000-05:002009-11-10T20:38:10.463-05:00So We Don't Have To Pay For Things We Are Morally Opposed To?That seems to be the only argument for the Stupak amendment and why people support it. "Federal taxpayer dollars shouldn't be used for things people are morally against." Well, a lot of us are morally against war, and yet we're paying for two of them. I'm morally against a lot of things Republicans stand for, and yet we're still paying their salaries. I'm morally against some of the rulings coming out of the Supreme Court, and yet we're paying the salaries of the 5 (or more) on that side until they die. I'm morally against what some of the Blue Dogs do, and yet we're paying for their salaries.<br /><br />Since when do people get to pick and choose what the federal government does and does not pay for?<br /><br />I'm in Ohio, my tax dollars help fund executions, and I'm very much morally opposed to that.<br /><br />If the government didn't pay for everything that someone was morally opposed to, they'd never pay for anything.<br /><br />This is just a short diary with my thoughts on that amendment and the arguments I've been hearing FOR it. If you don't want federal money to go towards paying for abortions, than use the part of the money that the woman is STILL paying for (as I understand it, none of the plans would be FREE) to pay for "that" part of the plan. I don't get what's so difficult about that.<br /><br />What else is the Federal Government doing that I'm morally opposed to, I wonder?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-793691094625935244.post-48771467647311413472009-10-20T21:09:00.000-04:002009-10-20T21:10:55.751-04:0027%<a href="http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/10/new-poll-48-of-republicans-say-obama-does-not-love-america----27-say-he-does.php?ref=mp">27% of Republicans believe President Obama loves America</a>. <br /><br />That's it. <br /><br />48% of them don't believe he loves America.<br /><br />25% aren't sure. <br /><br />I don't know about you, but if I seriously doubt that President Obama would BE President Obama if he didn't love this country. Remember when he was the <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18474444/">first candidate (that wasn't a previous First Lady) to get Secret Service Detail</a> during the election? That was when he was still a LONG SHOT, he could have said "you know what, it's not worth it" and walk away, but he didn't.<br /><br />With all of the bullshit this President is dealing with on TOP of the regular BS Presidents have to deal with, I wonder how anyone could question his love for this country. I could see if he just up and <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/07/03/palin/index.html">QUIT</a> in the middle of his term. . . <br /><br />Or if he was taking <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/01/16/politics/politicalhotsheet/entry4728085.shtml">vacations</a>, <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/august01/2001-08-03-bush-vacation.htm">MONTH LONG</a> vacations, in his first term.<br /><br />Not to mention the fact that his <a href="http://www.politico.com/politico44/">EVERY MOVE</a> is recorded and blogged about on the Internet. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a site out there monitoring how often he went to the bathroom. Seriously, you'd think those Republicans would admire him for giving up so much personal privacy. Then again, <a href="http://www.lasvegassun.com/politics/voterguide/2008/republicans/issues/abortion/">maybe not</a>. <br /><br />Literally, EVERYTHING the man does is <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/19/glenn-beck-slams-obama-en_n_326632.html">criticized</a>. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YrinCQOxB0">This</a> may as well be his theme song. Remember when Chicago lost the Olympics and conservatives <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/02/conservatives-revel-in-ob_n_307794.html">CELEBRATED</a>?<br /><br />People are all over the country comparing him to <a href="http://www.google.com/search?q=Obama+hitler&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a">Hitler</a>, saying he <a href="http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2009/08/06/healthcare/">wants to kill their grandmothers</a>, and even <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/09/limbaugh-on-obama-nobel-p_n_315661.html">choosing to support the TALIBAN's views</a> over him winning a prize for PEACE. <br /><br />He's getting <a href="http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&ct2=us%2F0_0_s_4_0_t&usg=AFQjCNEloIK4lvNWNpacYl8RjL0FjUk3UA&cid=1448639468&ei=Hl3eSpjoLpurmQe1_pqqAQ&rt=SEARCH&vm=STANDARD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.knoxnews.com%2Fnews%2F2009%2Foct%2F10%2Fwhen-ministers-preach-death-threats%2F">400% more death threats than any other President</a>. Pastors are <a href="http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/08/pastor_of_gun-toter_at_obama_event_day_before_even.php">preaching about how he deserves to be killed</a>. Hell, some people are even calling for a <a href="http://mediamatters.org/blog/200909290042">military coup against him</a>, even in a time of war. <br /><br />And yet he's still there, he's still fighting, he's not giving up. He continues to work so even those who hate him can have a better life, and only 27% of Republicans believe he loves America? <br /><br />No wonder <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/20/fewer-people-identify-as_n_326971.html">only 20%</a> of the country identifies themselves as Republicans.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-793691094625935244.post-88301798640692878192009-10-12T11:00:00.005-04:002009-10-12T11:28:14.680-04:00"The Lost Generation"I ran into this interesting article on the Huffington Post about how the recession is affecting my generation. According to <a href="http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/09_42/b4151032038302_page_3.htm">the article</a>:<br /><br /><embed src='http://bizweektv.pb.feedroom.com/businessweek/bizweektv/pboneclip/player.swf?Environment=&SiteID=bizweektv&SiteName=businessweek&SkinName=pboneclip&ChannelID=&StoryID=2f094f5b0c65bcf2f00176f6ebd48d96097166b8&Volume=.5&quality=high&OneClipEmbedCodeWidth=300&OneClipEmbedCodeHeight=249&rf=&SWF_URL=http%3A//bizweektv.pb.feedroom.com/businessweek/bizweektv/pboneclip/player.swf&AutoPlay=false&OneClipEmbedCodeURL=http%3A//bizweektv.pb.feedroom.com/businessweek/bizweektv/pboneclip/player.swf&MoreVideoURL=http%3A//feedroom.businessweek.com&VideoPlayer.VideoPlayer1.JavascriptFolderURL=http%3A//static.feedroom.com/affiliate/_common/js&VideoPlayer.VideoPlayer1.StoryLinkURL=http%3A//bizweektv.pb.feedroom.com/businessweek/bizweektv/pboneclip/player.html%3Ffr_story%3D%25StoryID%25&Org=businessweek&VideoPlayer.VideoPlayer1.SendEMailURL=http%3A//frgallery.feedroom.com/custom/playerbuilder/feedroom/sendMail.jsp' allowFullScreen='true' allowScriptAccess='always' height='249' width='300' align='left'></embed><br /><br /><blockquote>Only 46% of people aged 16-24 had jobs in September, the lowest since the government began counting in 1948. The crisis is even hitting recent college graduates. "I've applied for a whole lot of restaurant jobs, but even those, nobody calls me back," says Dan Schmitz, 25, a University of Wisconsin graduate with a bachelor's degree in English who lives in Brooklyn, N.Y. "Every morning I wake up thinking today's going to be the day I get a job. I've not had a job for months, and it's getting really frustrating." <br /><br /><center>* * *</center><br /><br />Most analyses of youth employment focus on people aged 16 to 24, which includes everyone from high school dropouts to wet-behind-the-ears college grads. But in this era of rising educational requirements, some people don't start their careers until their mid or late 20s—and these young college grads are taking it on the chin as well.<br /><br />According to a BusinessWeek analysis, college graduates aged 22 to 27 have fared worse than their older educated peers during the downturn. Two years ago, 84.4% of young grads had jobs, only somewhat lower than the 86.8% figure for college graduates aged 28 to 50. Since then, the employment gap between the two groups has almost doubled. </blockquote><br /><br />As a recent law school graduate, I can understand where Dan Schmitz is coming from. I'm applying for jobs that I would have thought I'd never have to apply for again because of how hard the legal community has been hit by the recession. I don't mind applying for these jobs because I need <span style="font-style:italic;">some</span> form of income. I do have monthly bills that are dangerously close to no longer getting paid. Even applying for these "lesser" (for lack of a better word) jobs, I am still sitting here unemployed for the third month since I've seriously started looking. <br /><br />I found the article to be an interesting read, but I didn't understand how lowering the minimum wage will be helpful. Personally, I'd do fine on a sub-minimum wage as far as paying the couple of bills that I have, but that means I'll have to continue living with my parents (something I REALLY don't want to do), and I'll have to continue putting off paying my student loans meaning more and more interest will accrue. That wouldn't be a problem if I was just working with the $8,000 I had after undergrad, but those law school loans. . . I don't even want to talk about it. <br /><br />The article points out that there needs to be more job training opportunities while we wait for the recession to end and recovery to truly begin. I think there's some merit there, if there are job training programs then people in my generation can get the experience needed for these jobs and then when the Baby Boomers leave, the companies will have people ready and trained in their policies ready to move up. I wouldn't mind working for sub-minimum wage if I knew I was pretty much guaranteed to move up to a higher salary within a couple of years. <br /><br />It doesn't really seem like anyone in the government is paying much attention to the problems my generation is having. It seems like most of the focus is on the generation coming up behind us. We've gone and gotten the education we were told would enable us to get good paying jobs, and yet we are sitting here without jobs. We are either over-qualified or under-qualified. I know some people really hate that term, but it's the truth. I remember feeling the same way when all I had was a BA when I graduated in 2005 (before the shit really hit the fan), going to law school was supposed to OPEN more doors for me, and yet I find myself in the same situation. It is and can be very de-motivating to feel like you've done everything right, and you're actually WORSE off (because I could have totally avoided a LOT of debt by going to work somewhere straight out of H.S. instead of going to college/grad school). <br /><br />The man in the video called it a crisis, I'm inclined to agree. What do you think?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-793691094625935244.post-80551134305574470482009-10-10T18:14:00.003-04:002009-10-10T18:15:45.350-04:00Sad But True<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.balloon-juice.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/mike10092009.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 600px; height: 437px;" src="http://www.balloon-juice.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/mike10092009.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />Oh, and it's not just the "right wingers" seems like it's the GOP "leadership" as well.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-793691094625935244.post-22698253719152035292009-10-09T16:05:00.004-04:002009-10-09T16:47:20.237-04:00New TemplateWell, I don't know if you all know this about me, but I get bored with things easily. You may or may not have been here before, if you have then you know that I have changed the template of my blog. I went with the color because it's almost fall, plus I'm in an orange/gold phase right now as far as the color I like, in fact the icon I'm using on Disqus is my current desktop background. <br /><br />I've also added a labels section word cloud, thanks to a very helpful person on <a href="http://explorecomputerworld.blogspot.com/2009/05/flash-animated-label-cloud-for-blogger.html">Explore Computer World</a>.<br /><br />So what do you guys think of the new layout?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-793691094625935244.post-79279462624017549992009-10-09T10:50:00.003-04:002009-10-09T11:10:58.975-04:00President Obama Wins the Nobel Peace Prize. . .. . . and heads explode all over the place. I just ran into <a href="http://www.time.com/time/printout/0%2C8816%2C1929395%2C00.html">this crap</a>:<br /><blockquote><br />The last thing Barack Obama needed at this moment in his presidency and our politics is a prize for a promise.</blockquote><br /><br />Right, this is the absolute WORSE thing that could have EVER happened. <br /><br /><blockquote>At this moment many Americans are longing for a president who is more bully, less pulpit. </blockquote><br /><br />Really? We just gleefully left that behind when we voted for President Barack Hussein Obama over McCain. I think we like having a President that can take over the pulpit when necessary, and knows when to be a bully. Just because he's not STEAMROLLING over all of his opponents all the time, doesn't mean all he does is TALK. He's actually gotten a lot accomplished in just 9 months considering the children he has to deal with in Congress. <br /><br /><br /><blockquote>Compare this to Greg Mortenson, nominated for the prize by some members of Congress, who the bookies gave 20-to-1 odds of winning. Son of a missionary, a former army Medic and mountaineer, he has made it his mission to build schools for girls in places where opium dealers and tribal warlords kill people for trying. His Central Asia Institute has built more than 130 schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan — a mission which has, along the way, inspired millions of people to view the protection and education of girls as a key to peace and prosperity and progress.</blockquote><br /><br />Ah, so there we have it, did the author of that piece lose some money in a bet or something? President Obama didn't ASK for the award, he didn't lobby for it. He had nothing to do with the decision. <br /><br />And of course the idiots on Morning Joe <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/09/obama-nobel-prize-a-disas_n_314997.html">freak out</a>: <br /><br /><blockquote>The cast of "Morning Joe" Friday tried valiantly to find any possible good in President Obama's receiving the Nobel Peace Prize. They failed, but they did offer the president some tips on how to move past what they saw as the awful embarrassment of winning an international award.<br /><br />"The upside is the European community is embracing this president and saying we like the direction that he is taking this country in and it's drastically different," suggested Mika Brzezinski. She was quickly shot down.<br /><br />"The upside is the Nobel Prize committee that has had suspect selections in the past has just befuddled a lot of people across the world," said host Joe Scarborough.<br /><br />"I predict right now that he will find a way to basically turn it down," Time's Mark Halperin added . "I think he is going to say, I share this with the world or whatever. I don't think he'll embrace this. Because there is no upside."<br /><br />"The damage is done," Brzezinski responded.<br /></blockquote><br /><br /><blockquote>The Nobel committee recognized Obama’s efforts to solve complex global problems including working toward a world free of nuclear weapons.<br /><br />“Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world’s attention and given its people hope for a better future,” the committee said.<br /><br />Jagland said the decision was “unanimous” and came with ease.<br /><br />He rejected the notion that Obama had been recognized prematurely for his efforts and said the committee wanted to promote the president just it had Mikhail Gorbachev in 1990 in his efforts to open up the Soviet Union.<br /><br />“His diplomacy is founded in the concept that those who are to lead the world must do so on the basis of values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world’s population,” it said.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/10/09/nobel.peace.prize/index.html">Source</a></blockquote><br /><br />THAT'S a bad thing? <em>Seriously?</em> Well, haters are gonna hate. Have we fallen so damn far that winning a prize for PEACE is a bad thing? It's not about fucking Europe, it's about President Obama bringing the same Hope to the World that he brought to most of America. Ugh, I'm over the haters, and they are not going to bring me down. Hell, I think he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize for not cursing out the idiots in the GOP and the (supposedly liberal) media (MSNBC is terrible right now, I don't even want to know what they are saying on FAUX and FAUX-lite).<br /><br />So I'd like to dedicate this song to Pres. Obama, just keep on shaking the haters off Mr. President:<br /><br /><object width="650" height="4444"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Qw3Z8Oa7E3Y&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=FF8C00&color2=FFFFFF"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Qw3Z8Oa7E3Y&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=FF8C00&color2=FFFFFF" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="650" height="444"></embed></object><br /><br />Just think, exactly a week ago today President Obama was allegedly a failure because Chicago didn't get the Olympics, now the man is a Nobel Peace Prize winner!Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-793691094625935244.post-69006251681976459552009-10-08T15:01:00.002-04:002009-10-08T15:05:26.986-04:00Go Nancy!!Via <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/2009/10/08/pelosi-respond-nrcc/">Think Progress</a>:<br /><br /><blockquote>Earlier this week, the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) put out a press release criticizing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) comments on Afghanistan, saying that Gen. Stanley McChrystal should “put her in her place.” Today, Pelosi responded during her weekly briefing:<br /><br /> <blockquote> It’s really sad that they really don’t understand how inappropriate that is.<span style="font-weight:bold;"> I’m in my place</span>. I’m the speaker of the House — the first woman speaker of the House. And I’m in my place because the House of Representatives voted me there.</blockquote></blockquote><br /><br /><object width="650" height="444"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/cugrzHj9Ngw&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=940F04&color2=FFFFFF"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/cugrzHj9Ngw&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=940F04&color2=FFFFFF" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="650" height="444"></embed></object><br />You tell them Nancy! I honestly think the big reason Republicans don't like her is because she's a strong woman who doesn't let them steamroll her. As the Speaker of the House, she's getting a lot of tough legislation through and rather quickly. Of course that would chafe the draws of the Party of No.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-793691094625935244.post-79226425302654319062009-10-08T12:08:00.009-04:002009-10-08T23:42:02.202-04:00I'm Going Back To My RootsAlright, there's been a lot of focus on Black Women's hair lately with the release of Chris Rock's documentary "Good Hair." I've been mulling it over for a while, and I've come to the conclusion that it's time to let go of the perm. Sure, I thought it made my hair more manageable, but it's a chemical, it makes my scalp burn (because I inevitably scratch even when I KNOW I'm getting a perm soon thereafter), and I don't think my hair really likes it. <br /><br />As it stands right now I haven't had a perm since sometime in early May. For the last month or so, I haven't been putting any heat on my hair either. Since my last perm I have about 4 inches of new growth. Instead of cutting all of my hair off and sporting the short Afro, I'm going to do what my mom did a couple of years ago, and just get my ends clipped each month until the relaxer is gone. I figure at this rate it will take about a year to transition. <br /><br /><blockquote><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcrUKysg2chN-Pk7lolNZQnxIIy2tHBb9jJx8I-k_sADT-BLPWYu9XHw0wqR785Ou6DHPQNguZtIWdfRzXpzufol8xlCKamkStc7rzpbKsBCPqH246c59H4EING5u7e-5qiSpW4tmH950/s1600-h/October2009.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcrUKysg2chN-Pk7lolNZQnxIIy2tHBb9jJx8I-k_sADT-BLPWYu9XHw0wqR785Ou6DHPQNguZtIWdfRzXpzufol8xlCKamkStc7rzpbKsBCPqH246c59H4EING5u7e-5qiSpW4tmH950/s320/October2009.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390435977145177378" /></a> <br><br><br><br><br><br>Here's my hair now, no perm since May, that's a lot of new growth</blockquote><br /><br />I've been getting perms since the 3rd grade, and I remember one time when the lady that did my perm left it on too long and ended up burning off a lot of my hair. Since then I've gone from short to medium to short on the top and long in the back to medium to kind of long (it's starting to go down my back now), to attempting to get back to my roots. I think it's going to be a fun process. BTW, for me it was never about wanting to look white, it was about manageability. I got a perm because I hated getting my hair pressed (and I think my mom was tired of doing it). A lot of my friends have transitioned in the last couple of years, and I think their hair is gorgeous. I can't wait for the day when I can sport a nice full Afro. I don't even think it's a matter of "to be a professional you have to have straight hair" I know LOTS of Professional Black Women who have natural hair, be it short and curly or dreds. <br /><br />Parts of my hair has broken off in the middle (it's always the same spot), but I think that was more from stress than anything, so all that's there is "new growth" and like a centimeter of permed hair. So no more chemicals for me, time to get back to juices and berries ~lol~<br /><br />So I'll keep you all posted via this blog.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-793691094625935244.post-38958144075416058342009-10-07T18:17:00.002-04:002009-10-07T18:40:49.382-04:00Why Do Republican Senators Support Gang Rape? Senator Al Franken introduced an Amendment to the Senate Appropriations Bill that would defund any Federal Contractors that force their employees to sign away their right to bring charges against said company for rape. Check out the video:<br /><br /><center><object width="650" height="444"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/6Q5kVbiWnAQ&color1=940F04&color2=FFFFFF&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/6Q5kVbiWnAQ&color1=940F04&color2=FFFFFF&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="650" height="444"></embed></object></center><br /><a href="http://thinkprogress.org/2009/10/07/kbr-rape-franken-amendment/"><br /><br />Think Progress has more</a>:<br /><br /><blockquote>In 2005, Jamie Leigh Jones was <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/2009/09/16/jones-sue-kbr/">gang-raped</a> by her co-workers while she was working for Halliburton/KBR in Baghdad. She was detained in a shipping container for at least 24 hours without food, water, or a bed, and “warned her that if she left Iraq for medical treatment, <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/Story?id=3977702&page=1">she’d be out of a job</a>.” (Jones was not an <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/2007/12/19/poe-testify-kbr/">isolated</a> <a href="http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080421/houppert">case</a>.) Jones was prevented from bringing charges in court against KBR because her employment contract stipulated that sexual assault allegations would only be heard in private arbitration.<br /><br />Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) proposed an <a href="http://senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=111&session=1&vote=00308">amendment</a> to the 2010 Defense Appropriations bill that would withhold defense contracts from companies like KBR “if they <a href="http://www.minnpost.com/stories/2009/10/06/12247/senate_passes_franken_amendment_aimed_at_defense_contractors">restrict their employees from taking workplace sexual assault, battery and discrimination cases to court</a>.”</blockquote><br /><br />Sounds reasonable right? Why would we want to discourage employees (men and women) for standing up for their right to work without being harassed and abused? Well, apparently there are quite a few Republican Senators who don't think people should have that right, and indeed that the United States Federal Government should continue to fund the companies <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/07/meet-the-senators-who-vot_n_312976.html">perpetuating this</a>:<br /><br /><blockquote><br />Alexander (R-TN)<br />Barrasso (R-WY)<br />Bond (R-MO)<br />Brownback (R-KS)<br />Bunning (R-KY)<br />Burr (R-NC)<br />Chambliss (R-GA)<br />Coburn (R-OK)<br />Cochran (R-MS)<br />Corker (R-TN)<br />Cornyn (R-TX)<br />Crapo (R-ID)<br />DeMint (R-SC)<br />Ensign (R-NV)<br />Enzi (R-WY)<br />Graham (R-SC)<br />Gregg (R-NH)<br />Inhofe (R-OK)<br />Isakson (R-GA)<br />Johanns (R-NE)<br />Kyl (R-AZ)<br />McCain (R-AZ)<br />McConnell (R-KY)<br />Risch (R-ID)<br />Roberts (R-KS)<br />Sessions (R-AL)<br />Shelby (R-AL)<br />Thune (R-SD)<br />Vitter (R-LA)<br />Wicker (R-MS)<br /></blockquote><br /><br />How nice to know that these Senators put their business interests ahead of those of their constituents. I wonder if they've ever read Title VII. According to the United States <a href="http://www.eeoc.gov/types/sexual_harassment.html">Equal Employment Opportunity Commission</a> (EEOC):<br /><br /><blockquote>Sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination that violates <a href="http://www.eeoc.gov/policy/vii.html">Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964</a>. Title VII applies to employers with 15 or more employees, including state and local governments. It also applies to employment agencies and to labor organizations, as well as to the federal government.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitute sexual harassment when this conduct explicitly or implicitly affects an individual's employment, unreasonably interferes with an individual's work performance, or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment</span>.</blockquote><br /><br />I think being Gang Raped (or otherwise raped) falls within that description. <br /><br />Also:<br /><br /><blockquote>It is also unlawful to retaliate against an individual for opposing employment practices that discriminate based on sex or for filing a discrimination charge, testifying, or participating in any way in an investigation, proceeding, or litigation under Title VII.</blockquote><br /><br />Even sadder is the fact that the <a href="http://www.politico.com/blogs/scorecard/1009/Tough_vote_for_Vitter_Burr.html?showall">U.S. Commerce Department also approves of denying people the right to work without being sexually harassed/assaulted</a>.<br /><br /><blockquote>Republicans point out that the amendment was opposed by a host of business interests, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and applies to a wide range of companies, including IBM and Boeing. </blockquote><br /><br />Only 10 Republican Senators voted FOR Senator Franken's Amendment. That is very discouraging. <br /><br /><a href="http://wonkette.com/411494/411494">Wonkette points out</a>:<br /><br /><blockquote>Thirty Republican males voted against it. They thought Al Franken was just being mean to Halliburton because of Dick Cheney and politics.</blockquote><br /><br />Yes, because it's ALWAYS about Dick Cheney and politics right? It's never actually about doing the right thing. <br /><br />Well, I for one am proud of Senator Al Franken. He may have once been a comedian, but he's doing a kick ass job as a Senator.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-793691094625935244.post-53735149841172934182009-10-02T16:37:00.001-04:002009-10-02T16:37:00.170-04:00Oh, Shut Up<a href=http://shar.es/16gOi>Oh, Shut Up</a><br /><br />Posted using <a href="http://sharethis.com">ShareThis</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-793691094625935244.post-18264630785312221662009-10-01T11:22:00.008-04:002009-10-10T21:44:27.597-04:00Public Option = NO/ Abstinence Only Funding = Yes W.T.F. I caught wind of this on The Daily Show last night:<br /><br /><blockquote><span style="font-weight:bold;">The Senate Finance Committee approved an amendment that would provide millions of dollars to fund abstinence-only programs on a 12 to 11 vote last night</span>. The amendment, sponsored by Senator Orin Hatch (R-UT), would allocate $50 million per year for such programs through 2014, according to the Washington Independent.<br /><br />All 10 Republicans on the committee and Democratic Senators Kent Conrad (ND) and Blanche Lincoln (AK) voted for the Hatch amendment.</blockquote><br /><br />So we can't get a public option, but they can get abstinence only funding even when it's been proven REPEATEDLY that abstinence only doesn't work? Even Bristol Palin <a href="http://www.feministing.com/archives/013748.html">knows that</a>, or at least she did before her mother got to her. <br /><br />Even Texas, one of the most conservative states in the country is coming the the realization that <a href="http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/165654.php">abstinence only doesn't work</a>:<br /><br /><blockquote>Some Texas school districts are abandoning abstinence-only curricula in favor of abstinence-based programs that also teach about contraception and prevention of sexually transmitted infections, the Austin American-Statesman reports. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Many of the school districts, including Austin's, made the change after it became clear that teen pregnancy rates were climbing under the abstinence-only approach</span>, according to the American-Statesman. The change also comes as the Obama administration seeks to shift federal abstinence-only dollars to programs proven to reduce teen pregnancy rates.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">More government money has been spent teaching abstinence in Texas than any other state, and it has the third-highest teen birth rate in the country, the American-Statesman reports</span>. A Texas State University study released earlier this year found that less than 5% of Texas districts have comprehensive sex education. The school districts in Austin, Lufkin and some other areas have adopted "abstinence-plus" curricula, which teach that abstinence is the safest choice but also stress the importance of using contraception if teens become sexually active. </blockquote><br /><br />If TEXAS can get it, why can't the Senate? <br /><br />Instead of voting to support something that any non-biased source believes will actually WORK when it comes to lowering the cost of health care, they chose to vote to support a curriculum that doesn't work, hasn't work, and will NEVER work? Where is the logic in that. <br /><br />In fact, there are a lot of states that don't even bother with the funding, which means there are millions of dollars out there going unclaimed that could be claimed by states that need the money for stuff that actually WORKS:<br /><br /><blockquote>We also referenced an <a href="http://www.openeducation.net/2009/01/05/abstinence-only-sex-education-statistics-final-nail-in-the-coffin/">Associated Press</a> article that confirmed the data noting “that<strong> participation in the program is down 40 percent over two years.” States opting not to partake in the program meant that nearly half of all funds for such programming remained unclaimed, this despite the fact that most states were experiencing enormous funding shortfalls</strong>.</blockquote><br /><br /><a href="http://www.openeducation.net/2009/01/05/abstinence-only-sex-education-statistics-final-nail-in-the-coffin/">In fact</a>:<br /><br /><blockquote>In the most recent study, researchers compared teens who had taken the virginity pledge to those who had not taken a pledge. The researchers found results similar to the aforementioned studies.<br /><br />First, <strong>the rate of the teens taking part in sex was the same</strong>. Those taking the virginity pledge were just as likely to have intercourse. The only positive, statistically small, was that those taking the pledge had 0.1 fewer sex partners over the five year study than did those who did not take such a pledge.<br /><br />However, two other findings were most damning. First, <strong>those taking the virginity pledge were less likely to protect themselves. Pledge takers were found to be less frequent users of condoms and other forms of birth control.</strong><br /><br />Therefore,<strong> those youngsters who took the virginity pledge were not only just as likely to have intercourse, they ultimately were more likely to take part in sex in an unsafe manner</strong>. This has led experts to conclude that the lessons students take from their abstinence-only education programs is a negative and/or faulty view of contraception.<br /></blockquote><br /><br />Instead of listening to the FACTS, the Senators seem to be listening to the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/01/bachmann-sex-clinics-will_n_306292.html">batshit crazy "logic"</a> of people like Michele Bachman (R-Crazy):<br /><br /><center><object width="425" height="244"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/CxLYDQ-01pE&color1=940F04&color2=FFFFFF&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/CxLYDQ-01pE&color1=940f04&color2=FFFFFF&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="425" height="244"></embed></object></center><br /><br /><blockquote>The bill goes on to say what's going to go on -- comprehensive primary health services, physicals, treatment of minor acute medical conditions, referrals to follow-up for specialty care -- is that abortion? Does that mean that someone's 13 year-old daughter could walk into a sex clinic, have a pregnancy test done, be taken away to the local Planned Parenthood abortion clinic, have their abortion, be back and go home on the school bus that night? Mom and dad are never the wiser.<br /></blockquote><br /><br /><br />To be fair, Max Baucus actually did something RIGHT in proposing another amendment which <a href="http://www.msmagazine.com/news/uswirestory.asp?ID=11964">also passed</a>:<br /><br /><blockquote>Committee Chair, Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), opposed Hatch's amendment and offered his own amendment. <span style="font-weight:bold;">The Baucus amendment would create a program that would include information on contraceptive options, abstinence, and life skills, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. The committee also voted to pass the Baucus amendment on 14 to 9 vote</span>.</blockquote><br /><br />Meanwhile, we get something they call a "<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/01/senate-committee-passes-q_n_306831.html">quasi-public option</a>":<br /><br /><blockquote>The Senate Finance Committee narrowly passed an amendment Thursday from Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) that moves the conservative panel as close as it will likely get to a public health insurance option.<br /><br />The amendment creates a "federally funded, non-Medicaid, state plan which combines the innovation and quality of private sector competition with the purchasing power of the states," according to an overview.<br /><br />It would be available to people with incomes above Medicaid eligibility but below 200 percent of the federal poverty level -- a very narrow window. However, Republicans fear -- and progressives hope -- that once the plan becomes law there will be pressure to expand it.<br /><br />The plan would not be free. It is based on Washington state's Basic Health plan, which costs roughly 60 dollars a month, with the remainder of the premium subsidized by the state.<br /><br />Private insurers would be eligible to participate in the plan, as would HMOs or other networks of health care providers.<br /></blockquote><br /><br />Huh? That sounds a hell of a lot more complicated than the actual public options I've been hearing about. <br /><br />And once again I have to turn to late night news/satire to get the truth:<br /><br /><center><embed src='http://media.mtvnservices.com/mgid:cms:item:comedycentral.com:250804' width='650' height='444' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' wmode='window' allowFullscreen='true' flashvars='autoPlay=false' allowscriptaccess='always' allownetworking='all' bgcolor='#000000'></embed><br /><br /><embed src='http://media.mtvnservices.com/mgid:cms:item:comedycentral.com:250614' width='650' height='444' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' wmode='window' allowFullscreen='true' flashvars='autoPlay=false' allowscriptaccess='always' allownetworking='all' bgcolor='#000000'></embed><br /><br /><embed src='http://media.mtvnservices.com/mgid:cms:item:comedycentral.com:250602' width='650' height='444' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' wmode='window' allowFullscreen='true' flashvars='autoPlay=false' allowscriptaccess='always' allownetworking='all' bgcolor='#000000'></embed></center><br /><br />All three of those clips illustrate how the Democrats are blowing a good thing. They have no more excuses, yet they seem to be doing everything they in their power to fail. They are no different when it comes to working for the lobbyists instead of their constituents. <br /><br /><br />And with all of this bending over backwards to think more like Republicans than Democrats, they <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/30/gop-opposition-to-health_n_305582.html">STILL won't get any Republican support</a>:<br /><br /><blockquote>The Senate Republican leader made clear on Wednesday that his party, despite all its griping over the public health insurance option, abortion-funding or health care for illegal immigrants, is simply and flatly opposed to the "core" of the Democratic health care reform proposal.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Satisfying every Republican demand short of scrapping the entire project, said Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), would still not capture GOP support.</span><br /></blockquote><br /><br />Maybe we should do as Stephen suggests, and have everyone send Max Baucus and the other "Democrats" on that committee our health insurance bills, so he can pay them.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-793691094625935244.post-54413178700029462782009-09-27T14:35:00.004-04:002009-10-10T21:45:08.671-04:00Another Gov Paterson FAIL From the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/27/paterson-i-dont-know-if-w_n_301171.html">Huffington Post</a>:<br /><br /><blockquote>In an uncomfortable interview on "Meet the Press," the embattled Democratic Governor ducked and dodged a barrage of questions over a report that the Obama administration had pushed for him to step aside in 2010.<br /><br />"I'm blind, but I'm not oblivious," said Paterson. "I realize that there are people who don't want me to run."<br /><br />"All right," said host David Gregory, "but let's be very clear here about what happened. The president's team -- and others speaking on their behalf -- said to you, 'You should not run.' Isn't that right?"<br /><br />"I can't say that, David," Paterson responded. "There are people who have told me not to run. There are a lot of people who told -- have told me not to run."<br /><br />Gregory pushed: "But the White House specifically said, 'Don't run.'"<br /><br />"I don't know that," Paterson replied.<br /></blockquote><br /><br /><center><object id="flashObj" width="650" height="412" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,47,0"><param name="movie" value="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9/19407224001?isVid=1&publisherID=1155968404" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="flashVars" value="videoId=42276802001&playerID=19407224001&domain=embed&" /><param name="base" value="http://admin.brightcove.com" /><param name="seamlesstabbing" value="false" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="swLiveConnect" value="true" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><embed src="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9/19407224001?isVid=1&publisherID=1155968404" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" flashVars="videoId=42276802001&playerID=19407224001&domain=embed&" base="http://admin.brightcove.com" name="flashObj" width="650" height="412" seamlesstabbing="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullScreen="true" swLiveConnect="true" allowScriptAccess="always" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash"></embed></object></center><br /><br />YOU DON'T KNOW? You and your wife and supporters have been running around letting people think President Obama threw you under a proverbial bus, and YOU DON'T KNOW if he told you to get out of the race? Typically when people don't KNOW if someone said anything, they don't go around perpetuating the rumor that the person said it. Well, people do, but people with CLASS don't. All President Obama did was express concerns to you through someone else in PRIVATE, he didn't put you on front street, and now you're sitting up on Meet the Press looking like your SNL character talkin' bout "I don't know if President Obama told me to get out of the race." <br /><br />Gov. Paterson, you are exemplifying one of the big problems in politics right now, it's all about the games and the truth be damned.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-793691094625935244.post-2672728781094101652009-09-25T14:28:00.006-04:002009-09-25T14:40:52.965-04:00The Funniest Thing I've Seen All Week <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/1624/article12159670694e02d0.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 634px; height: 469px;" src="http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/1624/article12159670694e02d0.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />According to the <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1215967/Italian-PM-Berlusconi-looks-pleased-Michelle-Obama-arrives-wives-dinner-alone.html#ixzz0S915zXR6">Guardian</a>:<br /><br /><blockquote>He is a notorious ladies' man and has spent the summer battling a series of sex scandals.<br /><br />So when Silvio Berlusconi turned on the charm in the presence of Michelle Obama, it's no surprise the US president was instantly on his guard.<br /><br />Attending a dinner for the wives of world leaders alone, the Italian prime minister looked thrilled as America's First Lady entered the room.<br /><br />He threw his hands up in a delighted gesture, pulled a rather alarming expression and for several seconds, appeared to be contemplating taking Mrs Obama in a passionate embrace.<br /><br />But a handshake - and a filthy look from Obama - were all he got.<br /><br /></blockquote><br /><br />You gotta see the progression:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2009/09/25/article-0-069387E8000005DC-96_634x1272.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 800px;" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2009/09/25/article-0-069387E8000005DC-96_634x1272.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-793691094625935244.post-67707160146231264902009-09-24T13:58:00.001-04:002009-09-24T13:58:44.562-04:00Does Glenn Beck support the slave trade or is he just an "idiot"?<a href=http://shar.es/1svDN>Does Glenn Beck support the slave trade or is he just an "idiot"?</a><br /><br />Posted using <a href="http://sharethis.com">ShareThis</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-793691094625935244.post-44462136736245664922009-09-23T14:51:00.004-04:002009-09-23T14:59:06.928-04:00A Village Cannot Reorganize Village Life To Suit The Village IdiotThey are having a hard time reigning in the "crazy". By they I mean the Republican "leadership." It was reported last week that perhaps Reps. Boehner and Cantor were trying to reign in the crazy part of their Republican family. <a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0909/27254_Page2.html#ixzz0Rw8CHyfm">Remember this</a>?:<br /><br /><blockquote>Long before the tea parties or Wilson’s outburst, Boehner and Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) had struggled to moderate the rhetorical excesses of House conservatives hammering away on Obama’s birth certificate, decrying the creation of “death panels” and ferreting out signs of creeping socialism.<br /><br />Sources say they have been especially wary of the possible damage inflicted on the party’s reputation by bomb-throwing Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), who last fall called for an investigation into whether members of Congress are “pro-America or anti-America.”</blockquote><br /><br />Well, as it turns out, the all powerful Right Wing base weighed in and now Boehner and Cantor are singing a different tune. <br /><br />Check out this screen capture from their blog (which apparently has since changed):<br /><br /><center><img src="http://img75.imageshack.us/img75/4452/20090923bachmanndefense.jpg" alt="" title="" /></center><br /><br />The Huffington Post <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/23/boehner-cantor-reply-to-o_n_295981.html">points out</a>:<br /><br /><blockquote>One fan in particular -- Andy Aplikowski, a conservative Minnesota blogger -- suggested that GOP leaders were "spineless wimps" who had issued "stupid and moronic attacks on one of the best members of your caucus."<br /><br />"<strong>A word of advice, issue an apology and retraction right now, or else. Or else you will see people like me bust their butt so hard that she raises millions, wins by a landslide, and takes your job and sends you to the back bench</strong>," Aplikowski wrote on his relatively obscure blog, ResidualForces.<br /><br />The blog entry apparently resonated deep within the circles of GOP power. Addressing their reply personally to Aplikowski, both Boehner and Cantor dismissed the Politico piece and insisted that Bachmann remains a strong fixture within the party.<br /> </blockquote><br /><br />When they asked the running joke Michael Steele why the letter was taken down from the original blog, his answer was that the letter was meant to go on the obscure blog run by Aplikowski. <br /><br />All this does is give further evidence, as if we needed any more, that the far right is taking over the Republican Party as a whole. While we may celebrate this for the potential electoral victories it will bring us, it's really hurting the country. I think a guest on Rachel's Show (I think it was last week) put it best "a village cannot reorganize village life to suit the village idiot":<br /><br /><center><object width="640" height="444"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/3s6JFoIVnTw&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=940F04&color2=FFFFFF"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/3s6JFoIVnTw&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=940f04&color2=FFFFFF" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="444"></embed></object></center><br /><br /><a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32895798/ns/msnbc_tv-rachel_maddow_show/">Full Transcript</a>:<br /><br /><blockquote>MADDOW:* * * willing to rule it out.<br /><br />What do you think the White House strategy is going to be to rebut the fact that more than one in three conservatives think the president might be the anti-Christ? At least in New Jersey. That is a P.R. challenge.<br /><br />Joining us now is Frank Schaeffer. He grew up in the religious far right. He is the author of “Crazy for God: How I Grew Up as One of the Elect, Helped Found the Religious Right and Lived to Take All or Almost All of It Back.” Mr. Schaeffer, thank you so much for coming back on the show tonight.<br /><br />FRANK SCHAEFFER, THE HUFFINGTON POST: Thanks for having me on.<br /><br />MADDOW: I do not know what possessed this polling firm to ask whether or not people think the president is the anti-Christ, but they did. Does the response rate among conservatives surprise you? More than one in three saying yes or they don‘t know.<br /><br />SCHAEFFER: Well, I was a child when President Kennedy was assassinated, and my mother thought, because he died of a head wound, foretold in scripture of the anti-Christ he would be resurrected as the anti-Christ. She thought this might be a possibility.<br /><br />So, those of us who come from the evangelical subculture have been weaned with our mother‘s milk on a changing cast list of villains. It might be Kennedy to one generation, Obama to the next.<br /><br />But I think the larger point this brings up is that the mainstream—not just media, but culture—doesn‘t sufficiently take stock of the fact that within our culture, we have a subculture which is literally a fifth column of insanity, that is bred from birth through home school, Christian school, evangelical college, whatever, to reject facts as a matter of faith. And so, this substitute for authentic historic Christianity, and I may add as a little caveat here, I‘m a church-going Christian, really brings up the question: Can Christianity be rescued from Christians? And that‘s an open question.<br /><br />And when you see a bunch of people going around thinking that our president is the anti-Christ, you have to draw one of two conclusions. Either these are racists looking for any excuse to level the next accusation or they‘re beyond crazy? And I think beyond crazy is a better explanation.<br /><br />And that evangelical subculture has rotted the brain of the United States of America and we have a big slice of our population waiting for Jesus to come back. They look forward to Armageddon. Good news is bad news to them.<br /><br />When we talk about the “Left Behind” series of books that I talk about in my book “Crazy for God.” what we‘re talking about is a group of people that are resentful because they‘ve been left behind by modernity, by science, by education, by art, by literature. The rest of us are getting on with our lives. These people are standing on the hilltop waiting for the end.<br /><br />And this is a dangerous group of people to have as neighbors, and they‘re our national neighbors. And this is the source of all of these insanities that we see leveled at the president. One way or another they go back to this little evangelical subculture. It‘s a disaster.<br /><br />MADDOW: It is one thing though to think about these as almost cultish<br />views, to think about these as views that are on the fringes of beyond the edge of mainstream Christianity. It‘s another thing to look at the numbers. I mean, in this same poll, the numbers are also really high on the question of whether or not the president was born in the United States 61 percent of McCain voters in New Jersey expressing doubt that Obama is American, saying he definitely wasn‘t born in the U.S. or they‘re not sure. <br /><br />The birther thing has been disproven. The anti-Christ thing is—it‘s all another kettle of fish. But how do you work to move people off that position? It doesn‘t seem like facts are relevant in trying to move people away from these beliefs.<br /><br />SCHAEFFER: You don‘t work to move them off this position. You move past them. Look, a village cannot reorganize village life to suit the village idiot. It‘s as simple as that. And we have to understand, we have a village idiot in this country, it‘s called “Fundamentalist Christianity.”<br /><br />And until we move past these people—and let me add as a former lifelong Republican—until the Republican leadership has the guts to stand up and say it would better—it would be better not to have a Republican Party than have a party that caters to the village idiot, there‘s going to be no end in sight. The next thing they‘ll do is accuse Obama of being the anti-Christ and then who knows what comes next on and on it goes.<br /><br />There is no end to this stuff. Why? Because this subculture has as its fundamentalist faith that they distrust facts per se. They believe in a younger of 6,000 years old with dinosaurs cavorting with human beings. They think that whether it‘s economic news or news from the Middle East, it all has to do with the end of time and Christ returns. This is la-la land.<br /><br />And the Republican Party is totally enthralled to this subculture to the extent that there is no Republican Party. There is a fundamentalist subculture which has become a cult. It‘s fed red meat by the pawns like Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, and other people who are just not terribly bright themselves and they are talking to even stupider people. That‘s where we‘re at. That‘s where all of this is coming from.<br /><br />And it‘s becoming circular. It‘s becoming a joke. Unfortunately, a dangerous joke because once in a while, one of these “looney tunes,” as we see, brings guns to public meetings. Who knows what they do next. It‘s a serious thing we all have to face, but the Democrats and sane Americans just have to move past these people, say, “Wait on the hilltop until the end, the rest of us are going to get on with rebuilding our country.”<br /><br />MADDOW: Mr. Schaeffer, briefly, is there anybody on the right who could be constructive here if they wanted to be? To the extent that people could be moved off of these conspiracy theories? And I understand your point that they not—it‘s not true that all of them could be. But is there anybody who could be influential to try to stop the impact of these conspiracies?<br /><br />SCHAEFFER: Look, in the year 2000 I worked for John McCain, to try to get him elected in the primaries instead of George Bush. But John McCain sold out by nominating Sarah Palin who comes directly from the heart of this movement and carries with her all that baggage. So, he sold out. I don‘t see anybody on the Republican side of things these days who has the moral standing to provide real leadership, or who will risk their position to do so.<br /><br />MADDOW: Frank Schaeffer, author of “Crazy for God”—thank you very much for your time tonight, sir. It‘s always fascinating and a pleasure to have you on the show. Thanks.<br /><br />SCHAEFFER: Thanks a lot.</blockquote><br /><br />Jon Stewart offered his take on the Values Voters Summit, worth a watch (and a chuckle or two):<br /><br /><center><embed src='http://media.mtvnservices.com/mgid:cms:item:comedycentral.com:248971' width='650' height='444' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' wmode='window' allowFullscreen='true' flashvars='autoPlay=false' allowscriptaccess='always' allownetworking='all' bgcolor='#000000'></embed></center><br /><br />(sorry, no transcript)<br /><br /><br />Cross-Posted@ <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/9/23/785544/-A-Village-Cannot-Reorganize-Village-Life-To-Suit-The-Village-Idiot">DailyKos</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-793691094625935244.post-53075042442355845282009-09-22T18:16:00.006-04:002009-10-10T21:45:34.709-04:00Just Keep Digging. . . Was it only yesterday I was pointing out how incompetent Gov. Paterson is, and how he hasn't done anything to inspire loyalty from President Obama? Well Paterson just keeps on <a href="http://www.politickerny.com/5407/paterson-dont-give">digging that hole</a>:<br /><br /><blockquote>Paterson chalked up Obama’s intervention to Washington politics.<br /><br />“I understand the president’s concern and I understand concern of staff members at the White House. If you look at it from their perspective, they haven’t exactly been able to govern in the first year of their administration in the way that other administrations have, where you would have, theoretically, a period in which the new administration is allowed to pass the needed pieces of legislation.”</blockquote><br /><br />As Ben Smith of <a href="http://www.politico.com/bensmith">Politico</a> points out:<br /><br /><blockquote>One of the things that has made the White House angriest at Paterson is his linking his woes to the president's. The last time was about race, of course, which made it worse.</blockquote><br /><br />and Paterson also had <a href="http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0909/Paterson_blames_weak_Obama_record_for_friction.html">this to say</a>:<br /><br /><blockquote><br />Every state accepted stimulus money – some said they weren’t, but all accepted stimulus money – it was shocking that the vote on the stimulus money for the ARRA went along party lines. Here, with the healthcare legislation, they’re talking about negotiating to get one Republican senator to vote with them – they can’t get one Republican?</blockquote><br /><br />Paterson really just needs to shut up, I'm pretty sure he's not even on Obama's radar right now, so why he'd go and essentially pick a fight with Obama (and Rahm for that matter) is just dumb. Paterson is trying to play with people that are many levels above him. This isn't even about "black on black crime" so to speak, this is about a Governor who apparently has no TACT at all, looking at how he handled the <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/02/02/090202fa_fact_macfarquhar">Caroline Kennedy situation</a>, and how he's handling this now. I guess he's taking the Sarah Palin route, that any publicity is good publicity even if it makes you look like a complete asshole.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-793691094625935244.post-83538850305286140762009-09-22T14:21:00.003-04:002009-09-22T14:30:15.850-04:00Protect Insurance Companies PSA <center><object width="650" height="428" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" id="ordie_player_041b5acaf5"><param name="movie" value="http://player.ordienetworks.com/flash/fodplayer.swf" /><param name="flashvars" value="key=041b5acaf5" /><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed width="650" height="428" flashvars="key=041b5acaf5" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" quality="high" src="http://player.ordienetworks.com/flash/fodplayer.swf" name="ordie_player_041b5acaf5" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object><div style="text-align:left;font-size:x-small;margin-top:0;width:512px;"><a href="http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/041b5acaf5/protect-insurance-companies-psa" title="from FOD Team, Will Ferrell, Jon Hamm, Olivia Wilde, Thomas Lennon, Donald Faison, Linda Cardellini, Masi Oka, Ben Garant, Jordana Spiro, lauren, Drew, and chad_carter">Protect Insurance Companies PSA</a> from <a href="http://www.funnyordie.com/will_ferrell">Will Ferrell</a></div></center>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-793691094625935244.post-77654018030343637182009-09-21T19:11:00.006-04:002009-09-22T14:30:53.411-04:00On The Death Penalty <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.law.berkeley.edu/clinics/dpclinic/LethalInjection/images/LethalInjectionTable.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 199px;" src="http://www.law.berkeley.edu/clinics/dpclinic/LethalInjection/images/LethalInjectionTable.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />When it comes to the Death Penalty, I'm about as far left as you can get. No matter what the person is accused or convicted of, I don't think the government has the right to put that person to death. Recently, Romell Broom's attempted execution in Ohio was unsuccessful. I'm totally against the death penalty, but if you are going to HAVE the death penalty, you should only get one bite at the apple. That means if you aren't successful the first time, you don't get a second chance. <br /><br />Granted, Romell Broom is a TERRIBLE person according to what he's been convicted of-- the rape and murder of a <a href="http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/ohio-news/ohio-mom-says-family-haunted-by-daughters-murder-295366.html">14 year old girl in 1984</a>. <br /><br /><blockquote>The girl, Tryna Middleton, was abducted at knifepoint on Sept. 21, 1984, while she was walking home from a Friday night football game with two friends.<br /><br />[snip]<br /><br />On the day of the murder, Broom watched the girls from a slow-moving car. They sensed something wasn't right and turned up a different street to get home, Bessye Middleton said.<br /><br />But Broom, who was familiar with the neighborhood, apparently guessed their detour and was waiting for them. He raped Tryna Middleton and stabbed her seven times, according to the attorney general's office.<br /><br />Broom's preying on girls eventually caught up with him.<br /><br />Three months later, Broom forced an 11-year-old girl into his car but the victim's mother thwarted his escape by running after the car, which was stuck on ice, and yelling to her daughter to jump out.<br /><br />"The daughter finally jumped out, just about the same time he got some traction on the vehicle and he actually ran over her leg," said Gary Belluomini, an FBI agent who worked in a white-collar crime unit where Bessye Middleton was a clerk.<br /><br />Two eyewitnesses to the attempted abduction collaborated, one getting the numbers on the getaway car's license plate and the other the letters. That led to Broom's arrest.<br /><br />He was identified by the girl, her mother and by two eyewitnesses and, after police recognized the similarities with the cases, by Tryna's girlfriends.</blockquote><br /><br />And while he may not have given that girl the same opportunity to live, I don't think it's right to plan the execution, have the person awaiting that day (I imagine it would be like waiting for a spanking when you're a child only a million times worse, because at least you know you'll be alive when the spanking is over), only to have the State be unable to find a vein after <a href="http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=22&art_id=vn20090920112159914C951814">poking and prodding every possible vein in your body</a>. <br /><br /><blockquote>Broom, 53, tried to assist technicians in finding a vein, lying on his side, sliding the tube up and down his forearm and flexing his fingers. At 2.49pm Broom "wiped his face with a tissue", and "appeared to be crying". Eventually, the team at the so-called "death house" gave up.<br /></blockquote><br /><br />That is inhumane. <br /><br />The Cleveland Plain Dealer <a href="http://www.cleveland.com/editorials/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/opinion/125352186045501.xml&coll=2">said it best</a>:<br /><br /><blockquote> Last week's fiasco was the third time since 2006 that Ohio corrections officials have struggled to complete an execution by lethal injection. The problem each time has been difficulty finding a vein. The first two were eventually successful, although the 2007 execution of Christopher Newton dragged on so long he was granted a bathroom break.<br /><br />After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that lethal injection is not inherently a "cruel and unusual punishment" forbidden by the Constitution, Ohio changed its protocols to ensure that prisoners are sedated before the fatal drip begins. Broom's was to have been the third execution under these guidelines.<br /><br />We in no way condone or defend what Broom did. No person with a heart or a brain could. The question is how does a civilized society respond to the ultimate uncivilized act.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Lethal injection has been sold to the public as a more humane -- and dependable -- means of capital punishment. But there was nothing humane about what happened last week. It's time to end the charade.</span> </blockquote><br /><br />(emphasis is mine)<br /><br />I think he deserves to burn in Hell for what he did, I just don't think WE should be the ones to send him there.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-793691094625935244.post-52227706675823633642009-09-21T16:18:00.005-04:002009-09-21T20:00:01.303-04:00Pass it on: Pres. Obama's HealthCare Plan in 4 Mins Just ran into this on the web, and I think we need to make it viral and pass it around. It's Obama laying out his plan for health care in a relatively short video that is easy to understand. <br /><br /><center><object width="650" height="395"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/hUNCpnRBf9o&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=940f04&color2=FFFFFF"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/hUNCpnRBf9o&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=940f04&color2=FFFFFF" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="650" height="395"></embed></object></center><br /><br />So now, when people say they don't know President Obama's plan, we can just show them this video. Even if they can't hear it, they can read the bullet points conveniently placed on the right. <br /><br />We have to be vigilent now because the "GOP" is continuing to spread lies about the plan, the latest of which being that the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/21/senate-gop-mailer-suggest_n_293332.html">health care will be rationed by RACE</a> (who's not racist again? Sounds like playing on people's racist fears to me).<br /><br />Bullet points in the video:<br /><br />1. If you like your insurance, you can keep it<br />2. No more denial of coverage for pre-existing conditions<br />3. No dropped coverage when you get sick<br />4. Eliminates yearly and lifetime caps on coverage<br />5. Caps out-of-pocket expenses<br />6. Required coverage for preventative care<br /><br />If you don't have insurance:<br />1. A new insurance marketplace, the Exchange<br />2. New tax xredits for individuals and small business<br />3. Low-cost coverage for all individuals and small businesses<br />4. A public health insurance option<br /><br />For All Americans:<br />1. Won't add a dime to deficit and paid for upfront<br />2. Independent medical experts to identify waste, fraud, and abuse<br />3. Required coverage for preventative care<br />4. Eliminates the prescription drug "Donut Hole"<br />5. Immediate medical malpractice reform projects<br /><br />Video ends with: "The time for bickering is over, the time for games has passed. Now is the time for action. Now is when we must bring the BEST ideas of both parties together and show the American people that we can still do what we were sent here to do. Now is the time to deliver on HealthCare!"<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Cross-Posted@ <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/9/21/784906/-Pass-it-on:-President-Obamas-HealthCare-Plan-in-4-Minutes">DailyKos</a></span><br /><br /><strong><br />[UPDATE]</strong>: While you're at it go to <a href="http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/hcsignon?source=vic">this page on the OFA website</a> to send a letter to your Congress Critter.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com