Well, guess what, kids? The "Left Behind" video game isn't just violent and racist; there's another aspect to this game that shows exactly what kind of minds we're dealing with here: (bolds mine) Someone please explain to me the difference between this move and making a game where black people can only pick cotton or play basketball while whites can choose from a dozen professions? In my eyes, there is none, other than that this is just slightly less disgusting. For once, I think the ESRB rated a game too low, with a T for teen and the sole descriptor of “violence.” If I were a parent I’d be fine with them playing Command & Conquer-level violence, but there’s no way I’d let my teenage kids play a game that teaches them that women are less capable than men. This is the very definition of bigotry, or more specifically: misogyny.
(More below the fold; there's some big images.)
If you listen to this week’s podcast, you’ll hear me take a moment to note that I was actually offended by some blatant sexism in Left Behind: Eternal Forces. Now, I’d like to start this rant out by stating that I’m not easy to offend—the PC in PC Gamer does not stand for politically correct. I myself enjoy (and often make) jokes that some more sensitive people would consider to be in pretty poor taste. You won’t see me up in arms over the portrayal of women as hookers in Grand Theft Auto, but Left Behind’s brand of sexism left a bad taste in my mouth. What’s the difference?
In Left Behind, you recruit followers by talking to people on the street and increasing their spirit levels. When the level is high enough, they become your “friend,” and can be trained to pursue a number of careers, including soldier, medic, musician, builder, or recruiter/evangelist.
Unless, of course, you make the mistake of recruiting a woman.
Yes, you read that right: women are limited to just two career choices. Welcome to the 1950s, when women could only be singers or nurses. (To be fair, I’m sure if there were teacher and homemaker professions in the game, women could do those, too.) All of the rest of the careers are critical to your success in the game, meaning that if you had a group made up entirely of women you couldn’t succeed, but a group of all men could. Without exception, every female friend I showed these screens to gasped when they saw it. Several used language unbefitting young ladies of stature to describe their feelings toward people who would make a conscious design decision to limit the potential of women and encourage players to pass them over in favor of men. And I have to say, I agree.
Delightful, isn't it?
(Tip 'o the Energy Dome to my buddy Grendel.)
They Left Out "Barefoot and Pregnant"
Senator Johnson in Critical Condition After Surgery
Last night, Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD) underwent brain surgery after he "was found to have had an intracerebral bleed caused by a congenital arteriovenous malformation," according to Adm. John Eisold, attending physician of the U.S. Capitol. His long-term prognosis remains unknown at this time.
If Johnson is to be replaced, the Republican governor of South Dakota will appoint his replacement until a run-off election.
Question of the Day
What do you hate most about John McCain?
As you know, I have a very, very, very long list, but his newest maneuver might take the fucking cake.
Anyway, holla what you hate about him, before his insane legislation makes it impossible for people like me to have blogs with commenting sections anymore.
Today in Dumbassery
Today's edition comes from Roy "You Can Pry My 10,000 lb Stone Ten Commandments From My Cold Dead Hands" Moore. His latest sumbission to the dumbassery files comes via your favorite wingnut propaganda machine and mine, WND (what else?). Roy has a "special comment" on the newly-elected Keith Ellison and the oath on the Qu'ran. Here is what Roy spews forth:
Placing his hand on the Holy Scriptures, Washington recognized the God who had led our Pilgrim fathers on their journey across the Atlantic in 1620 and who gave our Founding Fathers the impetus to begin a new nation in 1776. [...]Then he bleats on about how "no Muslim elected to Congress or the White House can swear to uphold the United States Constitution and still be a Muslim, because the law of Allah as expressed in the Quran is supreme."
Thus began a long tradition that extended both to state and federal government of acknowledging the Judeo-Christian God as the source of our law and liberty. Today, some believe that it does not matter what we believe or before Whom we take our oath. But as Keith Ellison is demonstrating, it does matter.
[...]
To support the Constitution of the United States one must uphold an underlying principle of that document, liberty of conscience, which is the right of every person to worship God according to the dictates of his conscience, without interference by the government. [...]It was a specific God who endowed us with a freedom of conscience with which government could not interfere.
The Islamic faith rejects our God and believes that the state must mandate the worship of its own god, Allah. [...]
Don't you see? Not only should he not get to swear on the Qu'ran--he should not be able to hold office at all. He outright says it:
Our Constitution states, "Each House [of Congress] shall be the judge ... of the qualifications of its own members." Enough evidence exists for Congress to question Ellison's qualifications to be a member of Congress as well as his commitment to the Constitution...Not only does Moore say that, he adds this bit:
Perhaps Ellison is confused about what he believes, or else he has another agenda.Oooh, another agenda. Gee, Roy, you haven't been sublte through this whole nonsense, why start now? Just come out and call him a terrorist.
Oh...wait:
But common sense alone dictates that in the midst of a war with Islamic terrorists we should not place someone in a position of great power who shares their doctrine. In 1943, we would never have allowed a member of Congress to take their oath on "Mein Kampf," or someone in the 1950s to swear allegiance to the "Communist Manifesto." Congress has the authority and should act to prohibit Ellison from taking the congressional oath today!Ugh.
So, Roy, in all your frothing about God and the Constitution and that one comes from the other have you forgotten--what, with being a judge and all--that the Constitution forms a secular document, and nowhere does it appeal to God, Christianity, Jesus, or any supreme being? The U.S. government derives from the People --not your or any other God--as it clearly states in the preamble, you self-important, delusional, paranoid, superstitious asshat.
Developing News
Constant Comment: "Sen. Tim Johnson (D-SD) suffered a stroke—could shift Senate control."
I'm looking for more info; will post whatever I can find.
UPDATE: There's no news so far on how serious the presumed stroke is, or whether what has happened will incapacitate him. If it does, the Republican governor of South Dakota will appoint his replacement, throwing the Senate back to a 50-50 split, with VP and Senate President Dick Cheney breaking tie votes.
Sorry to sound so cold. I just don't have any information on his health yet, and so all I've got to share at the moment are the possible political implications. It's not that I don't care about him.
UPDATE 2: Bringing this back to the top for a bit...
Still no definitive word on Senator Johnson's condition, but here's a little more information:
Johnson...became disoriented during a conference call with reporters at midday Wednesday, stuttering in response to a question. He appeared to recover and asked if there were any additional questions, then ended the call.I'll update again if there's any more news this evening...
Spokeswoman Julianne Fisher said he walked back to his Capitol office after the call but appeared to not be feeling well. The Capitol physician came to his office and examined him, and it was decided he should go to the hospital.
He was taken by ambulance to George Washington University Hospital around noon, Fisher said.
"It was caught very early," she said.
Johnson's office released a statement saying he had suffered a possible stroke.
"At this stage, he is undergoing a comprehensive evaluation by the stroke team," the statement read.
Happy Blogiversary...
...to The Dark Wraith. One day early, maybe...
I can't believe it was over two years ago that a bunch of us—The Dark Wraith, Pam, Ms. Julien, Oddjob, Holly in Cincinnati, me (am I forgetting anyone?)—were all getting to know each other as (blogless) regular commenters at AmericaBlog. How old skool.
Heads In Love
This is a stop-motion animation short film made by Mr. Furious when we were at university. I absolutely adore it, which is why I finally spent some time figuring out how to rip it and post it. Heads In Love is probably best described as an epic sci-fi romantic dramedy packed into just over two minutes. Enjoy—and let it never be said that Mr. Furious doesn't give good head!
Quote of the Day
"I thank these men who wear our uniform for a very candid and fruitful discussion about how to secure this country and how to win a war that we now find ourselves in." — President Nevermind I. McStartedthewar
Via Creature, who wonders, "Does he even remember he started this crap?"
Dancin' Fool
Recon: "If you took the machine that made the hot chick in Weird Science and put a case of Meister Brau and a Motorhead CD in it, Bubba Hog would come out partying like it was New Years Eve, 1983. Watch Bubba let the fucking dogs out at a Razorback game. This guy's dance moves are like an early gift under the tree. Merry Christmas, Recon. Love, internet."
(Upon finding out that control of the Senate may suddenly hang in the balance once again, some people might reach for a drink. Some might nervously chew a hangnail. Me, I need absurdity, STAT! That's just the way it is, bitchez. Thank you, Bubba Hog.)
Patent death watch
A history of excessive weight, insufficient exercise, and a predilection for the salty side of life (in addition to my particular genetic and racial makeup) has placed your humble correspondent among the jillion or so Americans with high blood pressure. Like many of those folks, I'm now living a healthier lifestyle in order to deal with hypertension; I also take antihypertensive drugs. Among them had been a highly-touted medicine called Norvasc (amlodipine besylate), produced by Pfizer. My doctor was fairly excited over my taking the new med, and so was I until I had that initial prescription filled. Norvasc, effective though it may be, is one pricey pill: the Walgreen's price for a 30 count at 5mg is over fifty dollars. Ouchie. That's more than the cost of my other two bp meds combined. My wife (though solicitous of my health, as always) suggested I could go cheaper, and the doc moved me to another drug.
All this is by way of explaining my interest in a sidebar in the November 27 issue of CQ Weekly that dealt with the impending expiration of patent protection for some bigtime medications. Norvasc is among them; the drug, which has earned Pfizer some serious cheddar ($4.7 billion in 2005), loses its patent protection on January 31, 2007. This will pave the way for more affordable generic versions, while Pfizer (1) says that Norvasc wasn't all that good anyway and (2) puts out a brand-new and even more expensive blood pressure pill. Pretty interesting how this drug business works, eh?
Here are a few drugs that have recently come off patent:
Pravachol (cholesterol)
from Bristol-Myers Squibb
Expired April 20, 2006
2005 sales: $1.7 billion
Zocor (cholesterol)
from Merck
Expired June 23, 2006
2005 sales: $4.4 billion
Wellbutrin XL (depression)
from GlaxoSmithKline
Expired August 28, 2006
2005 sales: $1.5 billion
Ambien (insomnia)
from Sanofi-aventis U.S.
Expired October 21, 2006
2005 sales: $2.1 billion
(Cross-posted. Spelling of Pfizer corrected.)
FRANCIS!
Pervy O'Misogyny gets community service for sexually exploiting drunken 17-year-old girls for fun and profit.
Door-to-door breast exams are a
community service right, heh heh?
Seconded
Help out the Wampum folks.
and
If it isn't funny, it isn't a joke.
Thanks to Blue Gal and DBK for making things so easy for me.
"I Kick Ass For the Lord!" Part 3: The Ass-Kicketh Cometh
I posted about the "Left Behind" Video game a couple of times; and it's cropped up in the news again. Featuring the retailer you love to hate: Wal-Mart!
(By the way, this is a really weird story. Every time the game pops up in the news, it seems like it's the first time everyone's heard about it, even though the story has been out there for almost a year. I can only assume the game's creators have been using crazy purple knockout gas on everyone in the country until they managed to get this crap on the shelves.)
Convert... or DIE!!
Liberal and progressive Christian groups say a new computer game in which players must either convert or kill non-Christians is the wrong gift to give this holiday season and that Wal-Mart, a major video game retailer, should yank it off its shelves.The article forgets to mention that the books suck. I like how it's only "Liberal and Progressive" Christian groups that apparently have a problem with this game. Yeah.
The Campaign to Defend the Constitution and the Christian Alliance for Progress, two online political groups, plan to demand today that Wal-Mart dump Left Behind: Eternal Forces, a PC game inspired by a series of Christian novels that are hugely popular, especially with teens.
The series by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins is based on their interpretation of the Bible's Book of Revelation and takes place after the Rapture, when Jesus has taken his people to heaven and left nonbelievers behind to face the Antichrist.
Get this:
Left Behind Games' president, Jeffrey Frichner, says the game actually is pacifist because players lose "spirit points" every time they gun down nonbelievers rather than convert them. They can earn spirit points again by having their character pray.HAHAHAHAHA! Mr. Frichner, are you familiar with the theatrical term, "If the gun's on the wall, you gotta use it?" And what a "Christian" message to teach... no matter how many people you kill, a quick prayer will wash your soul squeaky clean!
"You are fighting a defensive battle in the game," Frichner, whose previous company produced Bible software, said of combatting the Antichrist. "You are a sort of a freedom fighter."You are sort of a buttfor.
A Wal-Mart spokeswoman said the retailer has no plans to pull Left Behind: Eternal Forces from any of the 200 of Wal-Mart's 3,800 stores that offer the game, including just seven in California. The nearest are in Chico and Redding.Translation: I'll take it off the shelf as soon as I stop rolling around on this enormous pile of money.
"We look at the community to see where it will sell," said Tara Raddohl. "We have customers who are buying it and really haven't received a lot of complaints about it from our customers at this time."
"It's an incredibly violent video game," said Stevens. "Sure, there is no blood. (The dead just fade off the screen.) But you are mowing down your enemy with a gun. It pushes a message of religious intolerance. You can either play for the 'good side' by trying to convert nonbelievers to your side or join the Antichrist."Well, at least it will be healthier for little Johnny than something wicked and evil like... *gasp*... Harry Potter!
The Rev. Tim Simpson, a Jacksonville, Fla., Presbyterian minister and president of the Christian Alliance for Progress, added: "So, under the Christmas tree this year for little Johnny is this allegedly Christian video game teaching Johnny to hate and kill?"
Players can choose to join the Antichrist's team, but of course they can never win on Carpathia's side. The enemy team includes fictional rock stars and folks with Muslim-sounding names, while the righteous include gospel singers, missionaries, healers and medics. Every character comes with a life story.Yeah... I can think of something else that's pretty fucking obvious.
When asked about the Arab and Muslim-sounding names, Frichner said the game does not endorse prejudice. But "Muslims are not believers in Jesus Christ" -- and thus can't be on Christ's side in the game.
"That is so obvious," he said.
But Plugged In, a publication of the conservative Christian group Focus on the Family, gave the game a "thumbs-up." The reviewer called it "the kind of game that Mom and Dad can actually play with Junior -- and use to raise some interesting questions along the way.""Mommy? What would be better to blow away the Muslims? The grenade? Or the sawed-off shotgun?"
"Oh, go for something smaller, Junior. Use your automatic and just shoot a hole in his stomach. That's the slowest and most painful way to make a heathen die."
And they'll know that we are Christians by our love, by our love!
(Forgive me, Father, for I have cross-posted.)
RIP Peter Boyle
Actor Peter Boyle has died at age 71.
Boyle had first come to the public's attention more than a quarter century before, in the critically acclaimed "Joe." He met his wife, Loraine Alterman, on the set of "Young Frankenstein" when she visited as a reporter for Rolling Stone magazine and Boyle, still in monster makeup, asked her for a date.I've loved a lot of Boyle's roles, but my absolute favorite was Carl Lazlo, Esq. in Where the Buffalo Roam, the best film adaptation of Hunter S. Thompson's work.
On television, he starred in "Joe Bash," an acclaimed but short-lived 1986 "dramedy" in which he played a lonely beat cop. He won an Emmy in 1996 for his guest-starring role in an episode of "The X Files," and he was nominated for "Everybody Loves Raymond" and for the 1977 TV film "Tail Gunner Joe," in which he played Sen. Joseph McCarthy.
In the 1976 film "Taxi Driver," he was the cabbie-philosopher Wizard, who counseled Robert DeNiro's violent Travis Bickle.
He did dozens of other films, including "T.R. Baskin," "F.I.S.T.," "Johnny Dangerously," "Conspiracy: Trial of the Chicago 8" (as activist David Dellinger), "The Dream Team," "Monster's Ball," "The Santa Claus," "The Santa Claus 2," "While You Were Sleeping" (in a charming turn as Sandra Bullock's future father-in-law) and "Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed."
"You couldn't invent someone like Carl Lazlo. He was one of a kind. He was a mutant—a real heavyweight water buffalo type—who could chew his way through a concrete wall and spit out the other side covered with lime and chalk and look good in doing it."
Immigrant Hysteria
This is just appalling. (Bolds mine)
Union: DHS Raids Grabbed Legal Workers
Union officials are outraged over a massive immigration sweep yesterday, which sent 1,000 Homeland Security Department agents -- some in riot gear -- to meatpacking plants in six states to round up immigrant workers suspected of using fake identification, but may have picked up legal workers in the process.
"Stormtroopers came in with machine guns, rounded [the workers] into the cafeterias, separated identified citizens from non-citizens, and then they took away all green cards and put non-citizens onto buses," regardless of the immigrants' legal status, Jill Cashen of the United Food and Commercial Workers union (UCFW) told me this morning.
Cashen said that reports from all six states confirmed that legal immigrants were among those taken away, and have not been returned. "We're still trying to find out where the buses went," she said. "Children have been left at church day cares. Nobody knows where these people are."
A thousand stormtroopers with machine guns? Holy geez, can you say "overkill?" And not only are the people seized now without green cards or identification, no one knows where the hell they are. Supposedly they were brought to "detention centers." What detention centers? Where?
There are legal immigrants (and, very possibly, American citizens) that have been rounded up in these raids and have vanished, leaving children behind, and for what? Because they worked in a meat packing plant that may or may not have had illegal immigrants working there?
Recently unsealed court documents show that DHS had identified 170 identity-fraud suspects it wished to apprehend, but that the agency wanted to round up as many as 5,000 other workers because it "further expect[ed] to apprehend persons who are engaged in large-scale identity theft[.]" Union officials say the total number of detained workers may be higher than 5,000. (Update: We've uploaded those court documents to our document collection here.)I don't know what this "identity theft" angle is... to me it sounds as if they're trying to throw in that delicious law breaker angle. "Look! It's okay because they're criminals!" And what kind of "identity theft" are we talking about, here? Are we talking about stealing a person's life savings through use of credit card fraud, or are we talking about a fake green card? How is creating a new identity equal to stealing someone else's identity?
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has not released official tallies from the raids, but have promised to do so at a 10 a.m. press conference in Washington. UFCW is holding a press conference at 9:30 to discuss what they believe to be heavy-handed tactics used by the federal government.
"Stormtroopers" is a very effective word here... let's call this what it is: thuggery and terror tactics. Looks like the Department of Homeland Security is taking tips from the people they're supposed to be apprehending.
More in the Washington Post story:
Worker advocates condemned yesterday's raids, which came without warning. They advised detainees to remain silent and contact attorneys.And I'm sure they're being allowed to do so.
"These actions today by ICE are an affront to decency," said Mark Lauritsen, a spokesman for the United Food and Commercial Workers union, which sought an injunction in court to halt the raids and planned protests around the country. Federal agents essentially stormed plants "in an effort designed to terrorize" workers, he said.More on Basic Pilot here.
[...]
In an interview, Swift's president and chief executive, Sam Rovit, also criticized the arrests. He said that his firm's practices are similar to those of its competitors and that "everyone in the whole agriculture sector should be worried."
"Swift has played by the rules and relied in good faith on a program explicitly held out by the president of the United States as an effective tool to help employers comply with applicable immigration laws," said Rovit, whose company reported $9.4 billion in sales in 2006. "Swift believes that today's actions by the government . . . raise serious questions as to the government's possible violation of individual workers' civil rights."
Rovit cited promises made by the government to protect employers who voluntarily submit information about workers to a federal program called Basic Pilot, which confirms the authenticity of Social Security numbers against federal databases. Swift has run all new U.S. hires through the program since 1997.
Studies show that Basic Pilot suffers from data errors, has an unacceptably high false-alarm rate and cannot detect fraudulent use of borrowed or stolen Social Security numbers. Congress is hoping to expand the program as part of beefed-up enforcement.
Michelle Malkin, of course, never fails to leap on the immigrant bashing wagon, dismissively labeling concerns over these stormtrooper tactics as "whining."
The New York Times, like many other outlets, runs a large photo of arrested workers' families in tears. Not pictured are any of the hundreds of American victims of illegal alien identity theft whose Social Security numbers were stolen to enable the illegal alien workers to work.Well, Michelle... how about you? Why don't you drop the smug sneering and actually prove that this identity theft is a bigger problem than legal immigrants being rounded up, stripped of their identification, and detained who knows where? And while the "hundreds of victims" are not pictured, that horrible, terrible New York Times does say in the very article you link to:
Who will tell their stories?
In a new enforcement tactic, federal officials said they planned to bring criminal charges against some of the immigrants accused of using stolen identities. They said the raids were tied to complaints from United States citizens who discovered that their names were being used by Swift plant workers.Yeah, no one's talking about that.
“There are several hundred Americans who were victimized,” said Marc Raimondi, a spokesman for the immigration agency, known as I.C.E.
[...]
Illegal immigrants frequently use false Social Security cards or residency documents known as green cards when they apply for jobs. I.C.E. officials said the operation focused on immigrants who had obtained documents with identity information corresponding to that of United States citizens, in some cases by buying them from underground organizations that traffic in false documents.
You know what I don't see? I don't see you providing any examples of this so-called "whining." Other than, you know, people wondering what the abandoned children are going to do now. Of course, serious discussion might back you into a corner, so I suppose I shouldn't be surprised.
(Nobody backs cross-post into a corner)
'Cause ya gotta have faith, a-faith, a-faith...
Dem presidential hopefuls and their faith gurus:
Burns Strider, one of the Democratic Party’s leading strategists on winning over evangelicals and other values-driven voters, will join Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) as she prepares to launch her 2008 presidential campaign.Do you think Strider, Dubois, or Casey will be trying to win me over? I deeply value equality for the LGBT community, I deeply value women's reproductive freedom and bodily autonomy, I deeply value stem cell research, I deeply value the separation of church and state. I value lots of other things, too, but those seem to be the ones which make me not a "values voter."
…Josh Dubois, an aide in his Senate office, is heading Obama’s religious outreach.
…[Kerry] has tapped Shaun Casey, an associate professor of Christian Ethics at Wesley Theological Seminary, to advise him on religious outreach.
…That three of the top contenders for the Democratic nomination will have aides or advisers specializing in religious outreach is a dramatic change from 2004, when Democratic presidential candidates viewed reaching out to values-voters as a low priority.
As I've said before, the word "values" doesn't mean anything, in and of itself. It's an ethically neutral word. Everyone has values. What matters is not that you have values, but what values you have. Jeffrey Dahmer valued killing people and eating them. George Bush values torturing people. I value not killing people, not eating them, and not torturing them. See? Everyone has values.
And, you know, I think everyone has faith, too. Maybe not religious faith, but that isn't the only kind. I have faith in my fellow humans—and I'm not so sure that particular brand of faith should be so easily disregarded, because, quite frankly, it's a hell of a lot harder than having faith in a god, at least in my experience. The God to whom I was introduced as a child was never deliberately evil or unkind; that God may have been mysterious, but he had a plan—and you knew that everything made sense according to his plan, even if it was inexplicable to you. And there was a reward for having faith in that God. Faith in him was your ticket to eternity in heaven. Faith in him, as far as the reasons he offered, was simple.
Humans, on the other hand, the troublesome shits, conspire not only to test but to betray your faith at every opportunity. Too often evil and unkind, they mostly can't even be bothered to provide a decent reason for their ill behavior. They're unpredictable, nonsensical, irrational, and unreasonable, and there's no promise of a reward for having faith in them. Sometimes, in fact, you get nothing but a smack in the face in exchange for your trust. For your faith.
The difference between faith in a god and faith in humankind is like the difference between dropping money in the canister of a Salvation Army bell-ringer and placing money in the hand of a homeless man. Your SA donation goes to someone you don't know, whom you'll never see, and, although you're not sure how it all works, you trust that your money will help in a productive way. It's an easy trust—the Salvation Army's been there a long time, and they've got a good reputation, and they promise you something for your effort. On the other hand, giving the money directly to someone in need is a dodgier proposition. Maybe he'll lose it, or have it stolen from him, before he gets a chance to buy himself a much-needed sandwich. Maybe he'll use it to buy booze or drugs or cigarettes, though he said he was hungry. Maybe he'll put it on a horse. It's a harder trust—and it's not tax deductible, either.
The two aren't mutually exclusive, of course. There are plenty of people who have faith in a god and faith in humankind. But there are a lot of people who only have faith in a god, because their religion tells them humans aren't worth having faith in. Those tend to be the people who want to legislate morality, because they don't trust people to make good decisions, because they don't even trust themselves. And those are the people who are most often called the "values voters" and to whose religious beliefs the word "faith" has come to refer. It's a terrible thing that the people who have the least faith in their fellow humans have commandeered the term, because, on this earth, humans are the only ones who can feed the hungry, clothe the poor, provide healthcare to the sick and needy, guarantee equality and freedom.
Those of us who have faith in each other value decidedly earthy humanness, with all its flaws and foibles. That doesn't sound particularly inspiring; there are no hymns, no psalms, no Hallelujah chorus for having faith in other people.
But maybe there should be.
Because there are the times when they surprise you, when your audacity of hope (to borrow a turn of phrase from a faithful man) pays off, makes you grin until you are certain your face will crack, or your eyes well with tears, at the wonder of how much overwhelming goodness can be found in we hairless apes. It provides a reward the beautiful magnitude of which is only bestowed because of the risk that things could have—maybe should have—gone so horribly wrong. It's not typical that your faith in people is remunerated by your expectations being exceeded, when they amaze you with the depth of their decency, and its rarity makes such optimism, such faith, difficult. And makes it a faith worth courting, too, even if our values seem a bit grotty and earthbound.
Harry Potter and the Half-Brained Dumbass: The Final Battle
Starting way back in April of this year, we started covering the saga of poor, persecuted Harry Potter. I mean, can't the guy catch a break? He just wants to get the kiddies worshipping Satan. Oh...wait, he's a fictional character who fights evil in the pages of books. As you may recall, a Georgia woman who has never read the books (of course) has been fighting to ban Harry from the library shelves.
Well, Ms. Mallory had her way and it has come to the State BoE in Georgia:
ATLANTA: The state Board of Education will decide Wednesday whether to keep Harry Potter books on library shelves in one suburban Atlanta school district, and the matter will be discussed in public rather than behind closed doors as previously planned.
The board will consider an appeal by parent Laura Mallory who is upset that the Gwinnett County school board voted to keep the best-selling books in its schools, despite her claims that the books indoctrinate children in pagan religion.
[...]
A hearing officer has recommended that the state board uphold the Gwinnett board's decision to keep the books on shelves. Mallory, of Loganville, has worked more than a year to try to get the popular novels pulled from schools because of their references to witchcraft. It is not apparent how much discussion there will be of the appeal before the state board votes.
Mallory did not immediately return repeated calls for comment Monday and Tuesday.
Ah, but I remember what Ms. Mallory has said:
"There are so many problems facing our children today — drugs, alcohol, violence and the growth of the occult, too. These books are helping to mainstream witchcraft. These books are dangerous and harmful to our children. I am a Christian. I feel that Christian rights are being abolished in this country. Everyone talks about our views being pushed on them. But what about our beliefs? Don't we have any rights at all?"
Oh? And what else did she say? You didn't read the books because why, again?
“They’re really very long and I have four kids.”
And what did you want to replace the Harry books with?
“Chronicles of Narnia” series or Tim LaHaye’s “Left Behind: the Kids” series
I bet Ms. Mallory also believes that soy is a devil food.
Our Fair and Balanced Media
Accompanying a story about House Democrats "seriously exploring the creation of an independent ethics arm to enforce new rules on travel, lobbying, gifts and other issues," is this image:
That contains two Democrats, one of whom is Joe Lieberman. The other is Marty Meehan, a Congressman from Massachusetts of whom I imagine even most politically-engaged liberals haven't heard, no less the average New York Times reader. Susan Collins, Christopher Shays, and John McCain are Republicans.
Collins, McCain, and Lieberman are some of the Senate backers of a public integrity office, but why are they're pictured, along with one Republican rep, instead of, say, Nancy Pelosi, the leader of the House Democrats, about whom this story was written, is rather baffling—especially considering how relevant their proposal is. Americans sent the Dems to D.C. in large part to clean up the corruption, and they're serious about doing it.
[Dems] said the prominence of corruption as a concern in the elections last month gave new impetus to such an idea.Sort of right in the fucking ballpark of what Americans want at the moment, but of the five people in the above picture, only one of them is a House Democrat. (And one of them is the presumed GOP presidential nominee, who I'll bet isn't complaining with the free publicity of being attached to a story about House Democrats pursuing ethics reform. Yeesh.) Whether this is sloppiness, overt bias, or laziness doesn't matter, because it ends up disfavoring the Dems right at the top of a story which should, sans bias, wholly work in their favor. This is precisely the kind of thing that liberals tend to label as "no big deal" and that conservatives will scream and shout about for weeks on end, until the Times will never make such a stupid mistake again.
…Mrs. Pelosi and other House Democratic leaders have grown more serious about the independent watchdog approach as a way to demonstrate their commitment to enforcement after a string of corruption scandals tied to the former lobbyist Jack Abramoff, a major military contracting case and questions about pet projects included in legislation.
… Besides the bipartisan group, Democrats are expected to propose a ban on gifts and meals from lobbyists and organizations that employ them; a prohibition on lobbyists and their employers from planning, organizing, requesting, financing, arranging or participating in travel for members or staff; and a bar to the use of official or campaign money to pay for using corporate jets.
The emerging rules would also require the disclosure of earmarks, the special provisions in bills that lawmakers use to direct dollars to specific projects or favored causes. Lawmakers would also have to certify that any request for such spending is not in their personal financial interest.
Which is why there are three Republicans in that picture and one House Democrat.
What, Again?
Another kiddie porn addict is busted, and guess what? He worked at a church camp. And more guess what: the guy already has an unlisted phone number; how long do you think it will take this guy to vanish once the Registered Sex Offender "protective" laws kick in?
Ex-Church Camp Leader Faces Porn Charges
COLUMBIA, Ill. - A former church camp leader was arrested on child pornography charges and accused of trying to coax girls, at least one of them a former camper, to pose partly naked or perform a sex act.Creepiest screen names ever. "See, this is the one I use when I'm spreading the Word of our Lord, and this is the one I use when I'm trolling for underage tricks!
Aaron Niles, 20, began chatting with the girls online using the screen names "loverboyniles" and "godrocks30" after working at a Baptist summer camp in 2005, Columbia Police Chief Joe Edwards said Wednesday.
He was arrested Tuesday on three counts of child pornography and one count of indecent solicitation of a child related to incidents in April and May.I know you're all probably getting sick of me going on and on and on about the sex offender registries, but this is exactly what I'm talking about. All the registries and photo stuffed websites in the world are not going to protect your kids if they're being approached by creeps in a place where they're assumed to be safe.
At least one of the girls in the allegations had attended the summer camp where Niles was a volunteer team leader, police said.
Investigators were still combing through Niles' computer Wednesday, but "once we complete this, the potential for additional charges are there," Edwards said.
He said investigators also were asking parents whose children may have attended the Super Summer Baptist Camp in Greenville in 2005 to check their children's computer for Niles' online user name.
Niles was jailed on $10,000 bond. He has an unlisted telephone number in Waterloo, near Columbia, about 15 miles southeast of St. Louis.
Granted, it would appear that this guy didn't approach these girls until after they were at the camp, but he was obviously collecting information that he could use in the future for less-than-savory purposes. While only one girl has been confirmed to be a former camper, I'd bet my lucky aggie that they'll find more. To me, this looks like he was planning ahead to protect himself; if he tries something at camp, he's sure to be caught... but if he collects names and goes after them when they're alone and vulnerable...
So what's the answer? I wish I knew. Thorough background checks are a good start when it comes to camps, churches, coaches, and the like, but if the person has never been caught before, it's not necessarily going to turn up anything. Prevention is going to take parents keeping in mind that sexual predators aren't just the creepy guy on the sexual offender website or someone trolling MySpace. Very often, it's the person in the one place you thought you could trust.
(Only a Lad.. you really can't cross-post him...)
