8.30.2008

Who is Sarah Palin

This is an email that i recently received:

"Yesterday was John McCain's 72nd birthday. If elected, he'd be the oldest president ever inaugurated. And after months of slamming Barack Obama for "inexperience," here's who John McCain has chosen to be one heartbeat away from the presidency: a right-wing religious conservative with no foreign policy experience, who until recently was mayor of a town of 9,000 people.

Huh?
Who is Sarah Palin?

Here's some basic background:

She was elected Alaska's governor a little over a year and a half ago. Her previous office was mayor of Wasilla, a small town outside Anchorage. She has no foreign policy experience.(1)

Palin is strongly anti-choice, opposing abortion even in the case of rape or incest.(2)

She supported right-wing extremist Pat Buchanan for president in 2000. (3)

Palin thinks creationism should be taught in public schools.(4)

She's doesn't think humans are the cause of climate change.(5)

She's solidly in line with John McCain's "Big Oil first" energy policy. She's pushed hard for more oil drilling and says renewables won't be ready for years. She also sued the Bush administration for listing polar bears as an endangered species—she was worried it would interfere with more oil drilling in Alaska.(6)

How closely did John McCain vet this choice? He met Sarah Palin once at a meeting. They spoke a second time, last Sunday, when he called her about being vice-president. Then he offered her the position.(7)

This is information the American people need to see.

Please take a moment to forward this email to your friends and family.

We also asked Alaskans what the rest of us should know about their governor. The response was striking.

Here's a sample:

She is really just a mayor from a small town outside Anchorage who has been a governor for only 1.5 years, and has ZERO national and international experience. I shudder to think that she could be the person taking that 3AM call on the White House hotline, and the one who could potentially be charged with leading the US in the volatile international scene that exists today. —Rose M., Fairbanks, AK

She is VERY, VERY conservative, and far from perfect. She's a hunter and fisherwoman, but votes against the environment again and again. She ran on ethics reform, but is currently under investigation for several charges involving hiring and firing of state officials. She has NO experience beyond Alaska. —Christine B., Denali Park, AK

As an Alaskan and a feminist, I am beyond words at this announcement. Palin is not a feminist, and she is not the reformer she claims to be. —Karen L., Anchorage, AK

Alaskans, collectively, are just as stunned as the rest of the nation. She is doing well running our State, but is totally inexperienced on the national level, and very much unequipped to run the nation, if it came to that. She is as far right as one can get, which has already been communicated on the news. In our office of thirty employees (dems, republicans, and nonpartisans), not one person feels she is ready for the V.P. position.—Sherry C., Anchorage, AK

She's vehemently anti-choice and doesn't care about protecting our natural resources, even though she has worked as a fisherman. McCain chose her to pick up the Hillary voters, but Palin is no Hillary. —Marina L., Juneau, AK

I think she's far too inexperienced to be in this position. I'm all for a woman in the White House, but not one who hasn't done anything to deserve it. There are far many other women who have worked their way up and have much more experience that would have been better choices. This is a patronizing decision on John McCain's part- and insulting to females everywhere that he would assume he'll get our vote by putting "A Woman" in that position.—Jennifer M., Anchorage, AK

So Governor Palin is a staunch anti-choice religious conservative. She's a global warming denier who shares John McCain's commitment to Big Oil. And she's dramatically inexperienced. In picking Sarah Palin, John McCain has made the religious right very happy. And he's made a very dangerous decision for our country.

In the next few days, many Americans will be wondering what McCain's vice-presidential choice means. Please pass this information along to your friends and family."

SOURCES (CAPS):
1. "Sarah Palin," WIKIPEDIA, Accessed August 29, 2008 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Palin2. "McCain Selects Anti-Choice Sarah Palin as Running Mate," NARAL PRO-CHOICE AMERICA, August 29, 2008 http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17515&id=13661-9464256-Zixm2Bx&t=13. "Sarah Palin, Buchananite," THE NATION, August 29, 2008 http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17736&id=13661-9464256-Zixm2Bx&t=2 4. "'Creation science' enters the race," ANCHORAGE DAILY NEWS, October 27, 2006 http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17737&id=13661-9464256-Zixm2Bx&t=35. "Palin buys climate denial PR spin—ignores science," HUFFINGTON POST, August 29, 2008 http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17517&id=13661-9464256-Zixm2Bx&t=46. "McCain VP Pick Completes Shift to Bush Energy Policy," SIERRA CLUB, August 29, 2008 http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17518&id=13661-9464256-Zixm2Bx&t=5"Choice of Palin Promises Failed Energy Policies of the Past," LEAGUE OF CONSERVATION VOTERS, August 29, 2008 http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17519&id=13661-9464256-Zixm2Bx&t=6"Protecting polar bears gets in way of drilling for oil, says governor," THE TIMES OF LONDON, May 23, 2008 http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17520&id=13661-9464256-Zixm2Bx&t=77 "McCain met Palin once before yesterday," MSNBC, August 29, 2008 http://www.moveon.org/r?r=21119&id=13661-9464256-Zixm2Bx&t=8

8.29.2008

McCain Picks Sarah Palin: Big Mistake?

John McCain has picked Alaska state governor Sarah Palin, a 44 year old woman who was born in Idaho and moved to Alaska when she was 3 months old. She is Alaska's youngest governor to date.

Palin was on an Alaska state championship girls basketball team and was named Miss Wasilla in 1984 and was runner-up in the Miss Alaska pageant in which she played the flute and won the Miss Congeniality title.

She has a bachelor's degree in journalism and a minor in politics. Her husband, Todd works for British Petroleum (BP) in an oil field. The couple eloped right after Palin graduated from college in Idaho. They later found out that they needed witnesses for the civil ceremony, so they invited two elderly people from the old-age home down the street.

Palin has a son named Track. He is currently serving in an infantry brigade that will be deployed to Iraq on September 11th. She has a second son named Trig Paxson Van Palin, who has Down syndrome.

Sarah Palin is the 2nd woman to be vetted for Vice President, the first being Geraldine Ferraro when she ran on the ticket with Walter Mondale in 1984.

She admits to trying marijuana but says she didn't like it.

Some controversy on her from CNN.com:

"Palin's term has not been without controversy. A legislative investigation is looking into allegations that Palin fired Alaska's public safety commissioner because he refused to fire the governor's former brother-in-law, a state trooper.

Palin acknowledged that a call was made by a member of her staff to a trooper in which the staffer suggested he was speaking for the governor.

Palin has acknowledged that the call could be interpreted as pressure to fire state trooper Mike Wooten, who was locked in a child-custody battle with Palin's sister."

---------------------

MY TAKE ON MCCAIN'S SELECTION OF SARAH PALIN


At first glance the words that came to mind were "political suicide"... and those words are still lingering in my head.

First off, the republicans should probably stop running the ads that say Obama isn't experienced enough to be ready for the office. Sarah Palin is less experienced and even younger than Barack.

The Vice President is second in line to run this nation should anything happen to the President. McCain is 72 years old TODAY.

McCain would be the oldest President to ever be sworn into his first term in the White House... I think you can see where I'm going with this.

Ed Rollins, who was the political director for President Reagan and is a prominent Republican strategist (& Natn't chairman of Huckabee's campaign) could only find these things to say about her:

"[She] is a young, articulate, smart, tough, pro-life woman who is the governor of our northernmost state. She is conservative and a mother of 5, including a son in the Army who is set to be deployed to Iraq on September 11. Her youngest child has Down syndrome."

- Okay so young and hopeful is suddenly a good thing for the republicans!?!? I thought Obama was too young, too hopeful... What's going on here?

- She's a first-term governor from Alaska, no law degree, no political science degree, just a bachelors of journalism degree. Yes, she has a minor in political science, but most people could probably get a minor in just about anything.

- Being a mother of 5 doesn't make you VP or President worthy.

- Having a son in the military going to Iraq... Maybe this is why McCain picked her? That or maybe an ANWAR drilling connection? Her husband does work for BP.

"The "Barracuda" nickname came from her aggressive basketball play on the state championship basketball team. She is a hunter, pilot and lifetime member of the NRA."

- Maybe she can take the leader of Iran on in a one-on-one game of basketball... winner takes nukes?

"And don't assume she can't stand toe-to-toe with Joe Biden. She is a great debater. And she was runner-up for the Miss Alaska title, won Miss Congeniality in that contest, and plays the flute."

- Maybe she can wow the international community with her beauty and flute skills? I mean she was Miss Wasilla in 1984 and runner-up in the Miss Alaska pageant in which she played the flute and won the Miss Congeniality title. Maybe she can out-flute Biden in the debates?

"I think the potential for her to attract women voters is immense. And I am betting, win or lose or draw, she is a future star of a party in desperate need of young people and women role models
And by the end of this campaign, she too will be a celebrity and her life will never be the same again. I hope that's all for the good."

- A future star! A CELEBRITY?!?! Wow, I though this was what they were bashing Obama about?


Democratic Strategist Paul Begala spoke out about McCain's poor pick for VP. Here's what his article said:

"John McCain needs what Kinky Friedman calls 'a checkup from the neck up.'
In choosing Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to be his running mate he is not thinking 'outside the box,' as some have said. More like out of his mind.


Palin, a first-term governor of a state with more reindeer than people, will have to put on a few pounds just to be a lightweight. Her personal story is impressive: former fisherman, mother of five. But that hardly qualifies her to be a heartbeat away from the presidency.


For a man who is 72 years old and has had four bouts with cancer to have chosen someone so completely unqualified to become president is shockingly irresponsible. Suddenly, McCain's age and health become central issues in the campaign, as does his judgment.


In choosing this featherweight, McCain passed over Tom Ridge, a decorated combat hero, a Cabinet secretary and the former two-term governor of the large, complex state of Pennsylvania.


He passed over Mitt Romney, who ran a big state, Massachusetts; a big company, Bain Capital; and a big event, the Olympics.
He passed over Kay Bailey Hutchison, the Texas senator who is knowledgeable about the military, good on television, and -- obviously -- a woman.
He passed over Joe Lieberman, his best friend in the Senate and fellow Iraq Kool-Aid drinker.
He passed over former congressman, trade negotiator and budget director Rob Portman.
And he also passed over Mike Huckabee, the governor of Arkansas.


For months, the McCainiacs have said they will run on his judgment and experience. In his first presidential decision, John McCain has shown he is willing to endanger his country, potentially leaving it in the hands of someone who simply has no business being a heartbeat away from the most powerful, complicated, difficult job in human history."


Issue by Issue: Obama v. McCain

Let's Talk This One Out...

The major issues of this campaign, at least in my opinion, are as follows:

alphabetical order...

Abortion: For me, this has always been a tough issue. I am not a woman, I am not going to get pregnant. I also, will not be finding myself in the situation where I would be getting a girl pregnant. I believe that it should be the woman's choice as to whether or not they will carry a baby to term. On the surface, this may seem like a simple issue. It is not. I reccommend reading up on the SCIENCE behind fetus' development, the issues that lead to unwanted pregnancies... such as lack of education or improper sexual education altogether (which is rampant in this country due to bad funding and private schooling). Don't get me started on religion and sexual education, just look to Africa and the AIDS EPIDEMIC coinciding with the religious right's refusal to educate and provide condoms... "Our way or the ..." ... well a horrible and excrutiatingly painful death. Weighing it all out, Obama wins this one for me.

Afghanistan: Since we know that 9/11 had nothing to do with Saddam and Iraq or WMDs, why are there over 130,000 U.S. soldiers in Iraq and only 36,000 in Afghanistan? Yah, I don't know either... so for me, Democrats take this one too.

Economy: With the economy as it is (and by now everyone seems to agree it isn't good) why would we cut taxes on the people who already have 50x's more than enough money to live comfortably? Shouldn't the people who are barely making it get a tax break? I think so. Increasing taxes on those who make millions a year so that they only make... umm... let me check... still millions a year is NOT communism. I agree that people need incentive to continue working hard and making money, but if someone complains that they are making only (yes sarcasm) $4,000,000 a year instead of $7,000,000 , well then I think they are just greedy. If you disagree, then you disagree. Also, corporations such as Walmart and Microsoft and MANY MANY OTHERS use tax law loopholes to avoid paying many taxes altogether. McCain wants to cut corporate taxes even more on for those who are even paying to begin with. Obama wants to make them pay up, McCain doesn't. Heck, I pay taxes, I think Walmart, Microsoft, and thousands of other corporations should too. This would cover tons of programs and initiatives that Obama has proposed.

Education: No Child Left Behind is horrible in its current condition. Trust me, I read the literature, the whole dang packet of papers: I had a class that covered NO Child Left Behind with former Republican Congressman Bud Shuster and HE EVEN SAID N.C.L.B. was BAD. McCain is for it and voted for it, Obama said the intentions were good, the bill was bad. I agree with Obama.

To be Continued with....

Energy
Environment
Gun Control
Health Care
Homeland Security
Immigration
Iran
Iraq (War)
LGBT Civil Rights
Stem Cell Research
Taxes

Yes there are other issues, but these are the ones that seem most important to me.

8.26.2008

in their own words....

even though i don't take any politicians' words seriously let alone the demon-crats.....here's a video for those of you that do....


8.19.2008

Slavery of Africans: Good?

Corey directed me to this article: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/columns/html/20080808T220000-0500_138829_OBS_SLAVERY_WAS_GOOD_FOR_THE_BLACK_MAN.asp

The author of this piece claims that:

"slavery was good for us [black people]"

Why Does he say this???:

- He says that slavery has worked to: give black people a sense of unity, more modernized forms of government, better technology, and more knowlegde and sensibility about our world (somewhat via christianity).

He concludes with:

"We blacks were changed, for the better, I might add, on account of slavery. We are a better race today because our ancestors went though slavery. The millions of lives lost were not lost in vain. The Europeans proclaimed the need for us to be civilised through slavery and though this may be hard to understand, they were right. Indeed, based on what is happening in black Africa today - slavery for us in the West was, in many respects, our salvation."

------

My thoughts on this piece

Do we honestly think that the goal of slavery was to better Africans? This writer is kind of backwards.

Slaves were brought to the United States to BE SlAVES. They were seen as inferior (3/5ths of a person legally).

The goal was not to save these people, share technology, teach Africans about governmental systems, or whatever else the author said.

IN THE LONG-RUN... sure things have worked out, but that WASN'T the plan or the goal in mind.

So the writer could maybe say that slavery has, acidentally, and over a very long period of time, helped to do these things. But, seriously, if europeans and the like truly wanted to HELP Africans, they wouldn't have captured, tortured, beaten, and forced labor. Let's be serious here.

Was it the plan? No. Has it worked out for the better? Kind of yes. Was slavery neccessary to accomplish this outcome? No, but that's how it came to be.

The author also argues that, although he isn't religious, that christianity was an upgrade for Africans...

"Back in Africa, we were preoccupied with the worship of animals, trees, spirits of the dead - even stones. These primitive religions that we were practising ensured that our ancestors in Africa were backward. The relatively superior Christianity, with its greater sense of order and responsibility would help, in many ways, to pull the black man out of the Stone Age. This could only have happened with slavery."

- Christianity worships dead people (Saints, Jesus, etc.)
- I'd argue that christianity IS primitive, just not to the same degree as rock worshiping...
- Christians used religious "reasons" to JUSTIFY the act of slavery & to prevent interracial marriages.
- Christianity pulling the black man out of the Stone Age? Science and religion still do not match up as it is. So... maybe people with technology who happened to be christian pulled them out of the stone age.

How do you feel? Vote------>

David on Corey's Video Post

Response to video:

“Barack Hussein Obama”- Are the first words that the narrator says. I really do not think it matters what his name is. We see a few people including Ann Coulter making sure to keep saying Hussein as though that somehow MEANS that Obama IS Saddam Hussein, the now deceased horrible ex-leader of Iraq. They also try to say Osama bin Laden with his name… once again. I simply do not get it.

Is it supposed to be funny? Because jokes are not valid arguments.
Is he guilty by NAME ASSOCIATION? I hope not, because I’m sure someone somewhere in prison has the same last name as me.

Sure Obama is young. But personally, when I look around Milwaukee and the country all I seem to see are OLD, WHITE, MEN who are in power and stuck in the past. I’m up for a new fresh face who isn’t in the pocket of lobbyists, who doesn’t think he has the ONE RIGHT RELIGION, and who isn’t going to go all up in arms with another country before even sitting down to talk to them.

To reiterate, why does it matter if his name is Islamic? Does this mean he’s a terrorist? No, not by any stretch of the imagination.

This video is confusing: Is he the most liberal senator OR does he have an terrible record of not voting? As Edwards says, is it a “vague voting record” or is it the most liberal? Because if he simply isn’t voting, then how can he be voting hardcore liberal all the time?

Fact: His father is Muslim. Is like saying: Fact, David Acker’s father is Christian. A religion is a religion is a religion. Especially to Corey and I, since we think it is all made-up bunk.

Obama went to a Muslim school for 2 years of his entire life… I went to private Catholic schooling for 17 years of my life. So I guess that would make me a more radical Christian (8 plus times) than Obama could ever be as a radical Muslim.


Che Guevara- Totally agree, Che was a horrible horrible person. He is commonly misunderstood as revolutionary… But he was a murderer. Does this mean that Obama will violently take over and impose communism? No.

Unfortunately, the symbol of Che Guevara brings to mind the though of change and revolution to those who do not know history. So yes, this is not a good thing to have around your campaign, but last time I checked he wasn’t waving a Che flag at all of his rallies and speeches. Obama isn’t going to lead a violent revolution. Plain and simple. Is the video trying to scare people? Maybe.

American flag pin- Attention Presidential Candidates: I really do not care about an inanimate object that is made in a factory to look like a flag and stuck into your suit. I do care about your words and meaningful actions.

Hand on heart during anthem- I don’t do this all the time either. In fact, heaven forbid, I’ve kept my hat on before. Most of the time when people sing the national anthem they are hammered off their ass at a sporting event and about to yell nonsense at the players on the field or court. Let’s be honest, it’s not the most reverent thing anymore. Our founding fathers would probably rather we didn’t use the anthem so much with the way it is thrown around now. Either way, it’s just a song:

Oh, say can you see,

By the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed At the twilight's last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars,
Through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched
Were so gallantly streaming
And the rockets' red glare,
The bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night
That our flag was still there.
O, say, does that Star-Spangled Banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free
And the home of the brave?

There it is, and no, I really don’t care where your hands were while you read it ;)

Reverend Wright...
Said that, “America controlled by rich white people…” The last time I checked, this was pretty true.

Here’s where he got a little more controversial? Well maybe not…


He said that the government spread the H.I.V. virus to people in the black community. This really isn’t too far fetched. Read up on it, it’s interesting and actually was allegedly a campaign that was also used on some homosexuals.

It fits along the same lines as the 9/11 conspiracy theories that, apparently, the vast majority of our readers believe in. On this site we place a poll on the right. Nobody thought our government was innocent and forthright. Most thought our government had something to do with 9/11 and isn’t telling us everything. And, some people thought that our government actually carried it out. I wonder how long it will take for 9/11 people to stop caring about what REALLY happened on September 11th, perhaps it will seem just like another conspiracy claim like Wright on H.I.V.?


Barack Obama repudiates the comments of Reverent Wright, but not the man. What do they want him to do, cancel their friendship via live broadcast? Fight to the death? Swear at each other in public? Do we not all know people like this? People who we disagree with, but still respect as people? I know I do.


Michelle Obama said that it was the first time in her life that she felt proud of her country because it feels like hope is making a comeback. I suppose if I were a minority or black I would feel a lot of pride in the fact that another minority could take office. Considering everything, I guess that would be like the gay community seeing the first homosexual president in office in the next 25 years.

Is that going to happen now? NO. And why not? Well, because homosexuals are in relatively the same position that African Americans found themselves no all that long ago. African American’s couldn’t vote, much less hold office. Interracial marriages were illegal.

So yes, I can imagine after being oppressed for so long that minorities must feel an incredible pride in their nation that they have never felt before just to see another minority make it this far.

Holy crap, our frontrunners for the Presidency have never EVER included a black person.

Okay okay, DAVE, but she said: “it was the first time in her life that she felt proud of her country.”

No. Wait. She said, “it was the first time in her life that she felt proud of her country because it feels like hope is making a comeback.”

- Did she say she hated our country? No.
- Does saying "A" automatically MEAN "B." No. That’s a simple course in logic.
- You can definitely be upset with your country and it’s direction (or lack thereof), and yet not hate your country. Just like a parent can be mad at their child and dislike their actions, but, but , but, does that mean that the parent automatically hates their kid? Absolutely not.

Obama on his grandmother being racist, and a typical white person:

My very own grandmother has said racist things in front of me, in fact this happened less than a month ago. She (almost verbatim) said, “Oh, there’s a black man outside, I didn’t know we HAD them around here.” And no, this isn’t a random exception for an example.


She has often expressed being uncomfortable or feeling unsafe around black people and other minorities. This is pretty common from what I have seen from older white people. Hell, I’ve heard my own parents, especially when I was younger, make a few comments (sorry mom and dad, but it’s true).

Okay, so what else does the video say? Obama will meet with “terrorist leaders."

Terrorist leaders??? They aren’t terrorist leaders. They are leaders of countries.
Is there a terror group in North Korea?
Does Iran harbor terrorists? Yes, but are all citizens of Iran terrorists, heck no, not even close.

Also, I’m not sure when the video was made, but now Bush has agreed to send representatives to meet with leader of Iran. So that kind of throws that one out the window.

So yes, I prefer Barack Obama. One of many reasons: he refocuses us on what is wrong here, in our nation, rather than trying to police the world.

The video concluded saying… :

-"Do we expect Americans to respect a man who disrespects our national anthem?"
Well he isn’t hammered drunk with a baseball hat on screaming profanity moments later… so he’s doing better than most people who attend sporting events.

-Apparently "You don’t have to love this country to run it."
What does that even mean? Should we administer a “How much do you love America?” test to all potential nominees and candidates?

- "He refused to disown Jeremiah right and expects support of Americans."
Disown? What is he his father? He said he didn’t like and that he disagree with the remarks. But I do not think that the media can dictate our personal relationships. Just as Jessie Jackson and his son disagreed openly and publicly on television about Jackson Sr.’s comments when he thought he was off mic… I doubt that they are going to completely cut off ties.

Should I never see my grandma because of what she says about other races?
Should I never talk to my parents because of their religious views and beliefs that are very different than mine?

I think you get the point.

When I get the energy, I will post why I’m voting for Obama over McCain.

8.18.2008

Hilarious.


hahahaha

Right wing conspiracy propaganda

I figured I would title this "Right wing conspiracy propaganda" to beat out those of you that have no other defense to the facts portrayed in this video.


As you may know, I'm on the conservative end of this blog, and I'm supporting J-Mac in the '08 election. Last time I checked David is leaning towards Obama.

Here's a very interesting video I found today linked off of a website that aims to look behind the wonderful speeches and words that Obama spills out everyday and look at his record, you know that crazy thing that really matters when you're trying to become president. Http://nohussein.org





This is part 1....I'll probably be following up with the others soon...

If you're still weighing the options for this November, please watch this entire video and check out the website http://nohussein.org.


I'm sure there will be more posts soon after each side announces their Veeps, too. Tom Ridge with J-Mac....still not sure how I feel about that...might get PA to become a red state.....who knows....

Disclaimer: If didn't catch my mocking the ridiculous left wing nuts, I don't believe this is actually propaganda....

8.16.2008

McCain & Obama: Goverment to Debate on Religion

Brief Overview

What: John McCain and Barack Obama will be interviewed by Mega-church pastor Rick Warren.

When: 8pm Eastern, 7pm Central on CNN television tonight. Replay at 12pm Eastern, 11pm Central.

Where: At Rick Warren's 20,000-member Saddleback mega-church in southern California.

Who is pastor Warren..."Richard D. "Rick" Warren (born January 28, 1954) is the founder and senior pastor of the 22,000 member Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California, one of the most famous and influential churches in the world. He is also the best-selling author of many Christian books, including The Purpose Driven Life, and an influential Evangelical leader" (Thanks Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Warren)

The American people should feel short-changed. The first time we will get to see John McCain and Barack Obama on the same stage will be in an evangelical's mega-church?

Rick Warren is an "evangelical leader" (Did you Read My post on evangelicals? CLICK) and he is going to be running this thing, asking the questions, and, as he said, "
focused on asking both presumptive nominees questions that "don't have a lot wiggle room."

So, we are going to be basing our first debate-style image of our candidates on the questions of an evangelical pastor in his church?

Welcome to the first debate, oh and by the way, the United States now runs debates and elections on bible-based voting schemes.

Why is one pastor, representing one religion, being allowed to host and run THE FIRST debate-related event in his own mega-church?



Our Real Roots:

What would happen if a presidential candidate said this! ...

"The clergy...believe that any portion of power confided to me [as President] will be exerted in opposition to their schemes. And they believe rightly: for I have sworn upon the altar of God, eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man. But this is all they have to fear from me: and enough, too, in their opinion." --Thomas Jefferson to Benjamin Rush, 1800.

"
As I understand the Christian religion, it was, and is, a revelation. But how has it happened that millions of fables, tales, legends, have been blended with both Jewish and Christian revelation that have made them the most bloody religion that ever existed?" --- John Adams, letter to F.A. Van der Kamp, Dec. 27, 1816

"The priesthood have, in all ancient nations, nearly monopolized learning. And ever since the Reformation, when or where has existed a Protestant or dissenting sect who would tolerate A FREE INQUIRY? The blackest billingsgate, the most ungentlemanly insolence, the most yahooish brutality, is patiently endured, countenanced, propagated, and applauded. But touch a solemn truth in collision with a dogma of a sect, though capable of the clearest proof, and you will find you have disturbed a nest, and the hornets will swarm about your eyes and hand, and fly into your face and eyes." --- John Adams, letter to John Taylor

"In every country and every age, the priest has been hostile to liberty. He is always in alliance with the despot ... they have perverted the purest religion ever preached to man into mystery and jargon, unintelligible to all mankind, and therefore the safer engine for their purpose." --- Thomas Jefferson, to Horatio Spafford, March 17, 1814

"Is uniformity attainable? Millions of innocent men, women and children, since the introduction of Christianity, have been burnt, tortured, fined, imprisoned; yet we have not advanced an inch towards uniformity. What has been the effect of coercion? To make one half the world fools, and the other half hypocrites. To support roguery and error all over the earth." --- Thomas Jefferson, from "Notes on Virginia"

"What influence, in fact, have ecclesiastical establishments had on society? In some instances they have been seen to erect a spiritual tyranny on the ruins of the civil authority; on many instances they have been seen upholding the thrones of political tyranny; in no instance have they been the guardians of the liberties of the people. Rulers who wish to subvert the public liberty may have found an established clergy convenient auxiliaries. A just government, instituted to secure and perpetuate it, needs them not." --- James Madison, "A Memorial and Remonstrance", 1785

"Experience witnesseth that ecclesiastical establishments, instead of maintaining the purity and efficacy of religion, have had a contrary operation. During almost fifteen centuries has the legal establishment of Christianity been on trial. What has been its fruits? More or less, in all places, pride and indolence in the clergy; ignorance and servility in the laity; in both, superstition, bigotry and persecution." --- James Madison, "A Memorial and Remonstrance", 1785

"The Bible is not my book nor Christianity my profession. I could never give assent to the long, complicated statements of Christian dogma."

- Abraham Lincoln, American president (1809-1865).


"I cannot imagine a God who rewards and punishes the objects of his creation, whose purposes are modeled after our own -- a God, in short, who is but a reflection of human frailty. Neither can I believe that the individual survives the death of his body, although feeble souls harbor such thoughts through fear or ridiculous egotism." - Albert Einstein

"If people are good only because they fear punishment, and hope for a reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed." - Albert Einstein

"I have found Christian dogma unintelligible. Early in life, I absenteed myself from Christian assemblies." &
"Lighthouses are more helpful then churches."

-Benjamin Franklin, American Founding Father, author, and inventor


"The Bible and the Church have been the greatest stumbling blocks in the way of women's emancipation."

"The bible teaches that woman brought sin and death into the world, that she precipitated the fall of the race, that she was arraigned before the judgment seat of Heaven, tried, condemned and sentenced. Marriage for her was to be a condition of bondage, maternity a period of suffering and anguish, and in silence and subjection, she was to play the role of a dependent on man's bounty for all her material wants, and for all the information she might desire...Here is the Bible position of woman briefly summed up."

She wrote of the Bible, "I found nothing grand in the history of the Jews nor in the morals inculcated in the Pentateuch. Surely the writers had a very low idea of the nature of their god. They made him not only anthropomorphic, but of the very lowest type, jealous and revengeful, loving violence rather than mercy. I know of no other books that so fully teach the subjection and degradation of women." [Women Without Superstition]

- Elizabeth Cady Stanton, American suffragist (1815-1902).

"What influence in fact have Christian ecclesiastical establishments had on civil society? In many instances they have been upholding the thrones of political tyranny. In no instance have they been seen as the guardians of the liberties of the people. Rulers who wished to subvert the public liberty have found in the clergy convenient auxiliaries. A just government, instituted to secure and perpetuate liberty, does not need the clergy."

During almost fifteen centuries has the legal establishment of Christianity been on trial. What has been its fruits? More or less, in all places, pride and indolence in the clergy; ignorance and servility in the laity; in both, superstition, bigotry, and persecution."

_ James Madison


"The divinity of Jesus is made a convenient cover for absurdity." &
"This would be the best of all possible worlds, if there were no religion in it."

- John Adams


"I was born a heretic. I always distrust people who know so much about what God wants them to do to their fellows."

- Susan B. Anthony, American suffragist (1820-1906).

"Religion is all bunk."

"I cannot believe in the immortality of the soul.... No, all this talk of an existence for us, as individuals, beyond the grave is wrong. It is born of our tenacity of life – our desire to go on living … our dread of coming to an end."

- Thomas Edison, American inventor (1847-1931).


"Revelation is a communication of something which the person to whom the thing id revealed did not know before. For if I have done, a thing, or seen it done, it needs no Revelation to tell me, I have done or seen it done nor enable me to tell it or write it. Revelation therefore cannot be applied to anything done upon earth, of which man is himself actor or witness and consequently all the historical part of the Bible which is almost the whole of it, is not within the meaning and compass of the word Revelation and therefore is not the Word of God."-- Thomas Paine The Age of Reason

"Whenever we read the obscene stories, the voluptuous debaucheries, the cruel and tortuous executions, the unrelenting vindictiveness with which more than half the Bible is filled, it would be more consistent that we call it the word of a demon than the word of God. It is a history of wickedness that has served to corrupt and brutalize mankind." From - The Age of Reason, Paine

"All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions, set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit. " - Thomas Paine

"I do not believe in the divinity of Christ and there are many other of the postulates of the orthodox creed to which I cannot subscribe." - President William Howard Taft


I THINK YOU GET MY POINT!

I can't wait to see a President who doesn't give lip service to the religious church choir. You know, like when people used to THINK for themselves...

Barack Obama quote:

"
“And even if we did have only Christians in our midst, if we expelled every non-Christian from the United States of America, whose Christianity would we teach in the schools? Would we go with James Dobson's, or Al Sharpton's? Which passages of Scripture should guide our public policy? Should we go with Leviticus, which suggests slavery is ok and that eating shellfish is abomination? How about Deuteronomy, which suggests stoning your child if he strays from the faith? Or should we just stick to the Sermon on the Mount - a passage that is so radical that it's doubtful that our own Defense Department would survive its application? So before we get carried away, let's read our bibles. Folks haven't been reading their bibles.



8.15.2008

SPIKEBALL!!!: THE GAME

This is cool.



Two teams of two.
You get three hits total (just like real volleyball).
Play to 21 points.
Get drunk on the beach.
Only costs about $60 (with shipping).

Buy it. Live it. Love it. (CLICK IT)

VOTE--->

There's only a few hours left to vote (on the right panel). Looks like the topic is going to be either 9/11 conspiracies or who Corey and I are voting for and why.

If it's a tie, I we can do both.

;)

vote it up --->

Sexist City: MILWAUKEE

According to Marie Claire magazine, Milwaukee IS THE SEXIEST city...

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=783581

check it out

8.13.2008

Tropic Thunder: The R-Word

So the movie Tropic Thunder starting Ben Stiller, Jack Black, and Robert Downey Jr. is taking some serious heat from the Coalition of National Disability Organizations.

Apparently the film uses the "R-Word" (retard, or variations thereof) seventeen times and depicts "bumbling, clueless caricatures designed to mimic the behavior of people with intellectual disabilities."

The Coalition said that this type of movie makes for an "unmistakable outcome: They mock, directly or indirectly, people with intellectual disabilities. They perpetuate the worst stereotypes. They further exclusion and isolation. They are simply mean."

Here's the full story on CNN.com

What do you guys think? Vote --->

8.12.2008

I Probably Shouldn't Think This is Funny...but

Okay, so an eight-year-old boy was attacked by a bear in the Smokey Mountains.

Not funny so far...


Let's continue.

Some facts and quotes from the article on CNN.com:

It was an HUGE AND SCARY "86-pound male black bear."
(I know people who weight three times that)

"The bear was staring at me..."

- horny bear?

Evan Pala of Boca Raton said in an interview Tuesday. "...Then he just stood up [on his hind legs]..."

- As opposed to doing a handstand (very scary either way)

"...and jumped on me."

-hot


"...Before he even got me I called, 'Bear!' "

- I wonder how he called the word "bear"...
1) Like it was a long lost friend?
2) In a demonstrative fashion?


"Park rangers caught a young bear soon afterward in the same area and killed it when it charged them"

- Maybe it just wanted to open mouth kiss? What if it just wanted a hug?

"Park officials said the attack along the popular Rainbow Falls trail was unprovoked"
- Who the hell provokes a fight with a bear anyway? '


"John Pala said their clothes might have smelled like fried chicken from a meal an hour earlier."

-... hahaha

"John Pala and Alex threw sticks and stones at the animal. The bear didn't move."

- Likes it rough?


"He was mad because he didn't get what he wanted. He was going to make his stand," John Pala said."

- The bear must have left a suicide note with its intentions?

"The bear had no history of problem behavior."

- It's the ONE strike rule for non-humans!

Possibly my favorite quote:

""This is so rare," said Lynn Rogers, director of the North American Bear Center in Ely, Minnesota. "I don't know if you would call a bear like that a demented bear, like some people, or a super bear that decides, 'Hey, I can take a person.' ""

- W.T.F.!>!??!?!2?@3#

- SUPER BEAR!!! YAAAY!

"Gray said bears have been active this year, with several wandering into urban areas."

- To Party!!!

"Yet there have been fewer cases of "nuisance" bears, and none has required capture and relocation this year."

- The Bush Administration - Stephen Colbert Supported - "War on Bears" is WORKING!!!

"The North American Bear Center lists 61 people killed by black bears in North America since 1900, with 46 of those in Alaska or Canada."

- Why does this Center exist, and can I work there?

"But there have been two fatal attacks in eastern Tennessee: A Tennessee schoolteacher was killed in 2000 by a female bear and cub during a day hike in the Great Smokies..."

- Nobody in Milwaukee likes the damn cubs...

AND HERE's Where it's not funny anymore...

"...and an Ohio family was attacked in 2006 in bordering Cherokee National Forest, killing a 6-year-old girl and injuring her 2-year-old brother and mother."



Oh, by the way, here's the dad of the kid that was attacked:



"rrrRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRr!!!!

TODDLER MURDERED for Not Saying "Amen" ?

To start, I would like to define the word "cult" to the reader.

1: a formal religious veneration : worship
2: a system of religious beliefs and ritual; also : its body of adherents
3: a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious; also : its body of adherents
4: a system for the cure of disease based on dogma set forth by its promulgator
5 a: great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement, or work (as a film or book); especially : such devotion regarded as a literary or intellectual fad
b: the object of such devotion
c: a usually small group of people characterized by such devotion

(Webster.com)

So basically, "cults" are religious groups with a smaller number of followers.

Here's the story:

A toddler's remains were found inside of a suitcase in Philadelphia. According to CNN.com the child, whose name was Javon, "was starved to death by members of a religious cult, including his mother, in part because he refused to say "amen" after meals."

This kid would be 19 months old if he were still alive today. The mother and several of the religious group's members are being charged with murder.

The family of the dead boy said that the mother is not responsible for her son's death.

Her stepfather, Craig Newton said that "She had no control over that situation at all."

The woman's mother, Seeta Khadan-Newton, proclaimed that it was not her daughter's decision not to starve the boy to death:

"My daughter was a victim, just like my grandson," Khadan-Newton said. "Somebody made that decision to not feed that child, and my daughter had to follow instructions."


Some facts about this religious organization:

Group name: 1 Mind Ministries
Attire: All white clothing
They swear off all medical care
Have titles such as queen and princess
Do not allow women to give birth in medical facilities or with help of doctors



The following is directly from CNN.com:


"The documents show police interviewed two school-age children who had been part of the group but were taken away from members by Philadelphia police. The children told investigators that members stopped feeding Javon in December 2006, in part because the boy refused to say "amen" after dinner. Members also viewed Javon as "a demon."

Another unnamed informant told police that after Javon died, Antoinette left the boy's body in a room for more than a week, claiming:

"God was going to raise Javon from the dead," the documents show.

Afterward, Antoinette burned the boy's clothing and a mattress and placed his body in a green suitcase, which she would periodically open and spray with disinfectant to mask the odor, police said in the court documents.

8.09.2008

TIME: Being Gay is Worse than War & Abortion

In the latest issue of TIME Magazine there was a poll taken of "evangelicals" to see how they will vote in the upcoming November election.

The one thing that REALLY jumped out at me were the following poll results:

The question: Would you consider voting for a candidate with different positions from your own on...

U.S. Policy toward Iraq: 20% No

Abortion: 30% No

Gay Marriage: 38% No

What does this tell us? Well, it looks like more religious folks would rather continue a bad war policy that is contrary to their own views or give ground on their abortion stance than see homosexuals receive equal rights.

WHAT!?!?!? Are you kidding me!

War: Our young men and women are being killed along with innocent Iraqi civilians.
Abortion: Murder of innocent babies (their opinion, not mine).
Gay Marriage: 3 references in the bible are used by religious to say it's bad... Notably, its on the same level as working on sundays and eating shelfish.

Is the church really pushing gay marriage more than issues surrounding the war and abortion? Is death or "death" (depending on how you feel about abortion) really not as important as 2 people getting married who happen to have the same sex organ inbetween their legs?

Marriage does not require a chruch.
Marriage does not require a priest.
You can walk into City Hall and sign some papers.

But, apparently this has more to do with religion (in their heads) and is more important to evangelicals than war and abortion. Are we stuck in the Twilight Zone where things that should matter and bother people don't? Does anyone else get the sudden urge to slap the nearest person who thinks this way?

I know I do.

8.07.2008

Favre: To the Jets

I'm tired and going to bed. But it was just announced tonight that Brett Favre is being traded to the New York Jets.

They were 4-12 last season and apparently they are getting rid of Chad Pennington to stay under the salary cap.

I think I will always be a fan of Favre AS A PLAYER. But Favre off the field seems to be a bit of an asshole.

What do you guys think? LEAVE A COMMENT!