If Jesus had $90,440, do you think he would he:
A: Use it to feed the hungry?
B: Use it to build shelter for the homeless?
C: Use it to care for the sick?
D: Some combination of all of the above?
E: Buy an ad in USA Today to scold Kathy Griffin?
Well, if you're the Christian theater troupe at The Miracle Theater in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, you think the answer is E!
Click to embiggen.
[H/T Andy.]
Pop Quiz: "What Would Jesus Do?" Edition
A Day in the Life of Georgie's Ladiez
[H/T Space Cowboy.]
My Head Just Officially Exploded
Today, as MB mentions below, the US Senate overwhelmingly voted to condemn MoveOn.org for the Petraeus ad.
That little tidbit came up as I was finishing a post called "Don't.Even.Get.Me.Started OR Harnessing Outrage". So, I'll cross-post it here as well.
Do not even get me started on some shit, cause you can't finish the fury I have.
I will now parse a sweeping generalization, using my mad programming skillz:
IF:
You're reading this blog and your head is not exploding because you think I'm a perverted, radical danger to society.
ANDIF:
You follow the mainstream media on a daily basis.
THEN:
Regardless of your race, color, creed, political party, or gender/sexual orientation, you probably feel really pissed off at least once a week by something in the "news".
Currently, I'm pissed off that the Atchison story still hasn't made the "top story" page of Google News, even though the perp attempted suicide in his cell this morning. Very pissed off.
In truth, though, I've been pissed off at the MSM with such frequency since the turn of the millennium (probably even longer) that I worry that I'm simply getting used to it.
Human beings are incredibly adaptable. A teacher of mine once said: "The mind can make 'normal' out of anything". I have found that this is true, and it is sometimes a little scary to me how quickly we can come to accept something that would have had us foaming at the mouth in the past.
Case in point: The "Homosexuality is a Danger To Society" Meme. I had the privilege to come out as a lesbian in the late 70's. During that period of time, and throughout most of the 80's, this meme, while still present in fundamentalist and ultra-conservative circles, was generally recognized as an ultra-conservative stance in the MSM, and in most forms of public discourse.
If Ann Coulter had called Al Gore "a total fag" on NBC in 1985, my guess is that there would have been a shit-storm of protest. Last year, it was pretty much just a blip on the screen.
The mind can make normal out of anything.
Thing is, I don't want to "make normal" out of institutionalized homophobia, racism, or misogyny. I don't want to "make normal" out of rape, child abuse, war, famine, crumbling infrastructure, or plain old intentional cruelty.
I do not want to just accept that "that's the way things are". Furthermore, I will not accept it.
I, for one, do not believe that human beings, as a species, are "getting worse", or that cruelty, disregard for the rights of others, and oppression are just "human nature". I know too many wonderful, smart, committed to human beings to draw that conclusion. I know too many fabulous homo sapiens who are kind and loving in spite of the abuse the world has dealt them. In fact, of all the bones I have to pick with "organized" Christianity (and they are many), I think that the concept of Original Sin may actually be the biggest.
Frankly, I resent the MSM for continually portraying my species as an assortment of slime-balls who just can't help themselves. I don't deny that slime-balls exist, and in truth, I do want to know where they are, and what they are doing, but I want those stories presented in the following light: This is unacceptable. This is NOT "just human nature". This is not just "the way things are". This is an individual making a choice to act in a way that is un-just/cruel/dis-respectful, and we will put a stop to it.
And I want equal time for the love, the kindness, the intelligence, and the grace of "humans behaving goodly".
I think I have a legitimate beef with the MSM. See, I really wouldn't mind if the MSM had big banners and slogans that said: "All the News That Will Scare the Crap Out of You and Make You Wish You Could Teleport to Another Planet!" or "We Just Want to Sell Some Shit!"
It's when I read (or hear, complete with tump-tumpta-tumptaaa-ta! theme music) slogans like "We're On Your Side!" or "All the News YOU need!" or "Your ONLY source for fair and balanced news coverage!" that I turn into a cranky bitch from hades.
Because I believe that if you say you are going to do something, people have a right to hold you to account for it.
What's at the top of the Google News reports as I type this: The Senate has voted to condemn MoveOn.org (#1), and "Democratic Bundler Charged with Fraud". I have yet to read a single article that cites the fact that John DR Atchison is a Republican. I have yet to read a single article on the top stories page about this US Justice Dept. attorney who not only broke the very laws he is supposed to be prosecuting, but did it in a way that is so shocking that even the most conservative conservative could not defend it.
I will harness my outrage. I will protest, and write emails and letters, and I will confront my brother-in-law every single time I hear something homophobic come out of his mouth. I will stop to help people who need help, and I will not spend money at businesses who support the MSM to slant the news.
I will not "make normal" out of this crap.
Get Back to Work
MEMORANDUM
TO: The United States Senate
FROM: Mustang Bobby
RE: PRIORITIES
More of you voted for a meaningless resolution to condemn a newspaper ad than voted to end a filibuster against an amendment to allow our soldiers fighting a war time home to rest and recuperate.
This is not what we are paying you for.
cc: the American electorate
Bush: Economics Supergenius
At today's presser, George reminded everyone how stupid he really is. Proud of his status as a C student, he had this to say about his mad economy skillz:
QUESTION: Do you think there’s a risk of a recession? How do you rate that?Let's take a look at how his fiscal responsibility has panned out so far.
BUSH: You know, you need to talk to economists. I think I got a B in Econ 101. I got an A, however, in keeping taxes low and being fiscally responsible with the people’s money.
As we all know, the biggest expense we have going right now is this never ending shit going on in the Middle East. Back in July, the Congressional Research Service released a report of current and projected expenses for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In addition to the DOD paying out about $12 billion a month, the report has some sobering news about what costs could reach in a few years:Additional war costs for the next 10 years could total about $472 billion if troop levels fall to 30,000 by 2010, or $919 billion if troop levels fall to 70,000 by about 2013. If these estimates are added to already appropriated amounts, total funding about $980 billion to $1.4 trillion by 2017.OK, so money is flying out the window at an exponential rate. Big deal. We can just borrow some cash to help offset some of this, right?
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson told Congress on Wednesday that the U.S. government will hit the current debt ceiling on Oct. 1.Alright, so forget that idea. How about we use some of the cash we're getting from all those goods we're exporting everywhere? Well, that won't work either because that would assume a trade surplus, not a trade deficit, and according to this government report, the deficit appears to be at its worst level in years (approximately $760 billion). And with that, falls the final domino: a weak Dollar.
He urged quick action to increase the limit, saying it was essential to protect the "full faith and credit" of the United States, especially at a time of financial market turmoil.
The current debt limit is $8.965 trillion (€6.42 trillion). Unless Congress votes to raise that ceiling, it means that the country would be unable to borrow more money to keep the government operating and to pay debt obligations coming due.
The US dollar hit a new record low against the euro as investors sold the currency after the Federal Reserve's hefty interest rate cut.That's what B in Econ 101 got us. Whoops:
The greenback dropped below the psychologically-key $1.40 level against the euro, deepening recent losses.
Meanwhile, the Canadian dollar reached one-to-one parity with the US currency for the first time in 31 years. [...] The fundamental problem is the growing US trade deficit - now more than $700bn - as the US economy has imported far more goods than it has exported.
President Bush as an undergraduate at Yale did not in fact receive a grade of B in his economics course. Bush received a grade that would correspond with a C-.Yea, just as I thought. After I read that BBC article, I had to check and see what the current exchange rates were with my own eyes. Sure enough, we really are toe-to-toe with Canada. The Euro is now about $1.40. I still remember when we were even! And now, the British Pound is officially worth twice as much as the Dollar (good thing we're going to southern Ireland next year!). Go to Oanda and see for yourself.
A copy of Bush's Yale transcript posted at the humorous website GeorgeWBush.org states that the president received grades of 71 and 72 in Economics. The president took the course during successive semesters of his sophomore year, 1965-66.
For me, it always comes back to this dumbass war. Scroll back up for a second to take a look at how much we're forking out for it (it's ok, I'll wait). It would take another post (with a HUGE open wide section) to come up with the full list of domestic items, to which all of those funds could be allocated. And yet, we're still pissing it all away, and will be for the foreseeable future, while continuing to adversely affect our economy. Cut off funding? Bet your damn ass we should, and quick.
But that's not something a C student in Economics can grasp, is it?
Quote of the Day
"As the Republican Party has gotten more socially conservative, its voter base has become lower in income."
—Stupidest Guy on the Planet Ramesh Ponnuru revealing in an op-ed for the New York Times that the GOP Voter Base is as bad at Econ 101 as their beloved dictator. Via Jill, who recommends said base "do the math."
networking liberally
Looking for a fun, indoor activity to occupy the upcoming deary cool evenings--while meeting other local progressives? Check out Drinking Liberally. If you live in NY, SF, Denver, or Boston: Laughing Liberally, Screening Liberally, and Reading Liberally have formed groups (you can always start a chapter in your area if one isn't there!).
No, I don't work with or for DL, but it did give me a place to go when we first moved here to meet people. Speaking of, if you live in PDX or surrounding areas, there's a DL meeting tonight. The long-time location has changed, it's now at: Madison's Grill, SE 11th and Madison. Unfortunately, I can't come tonight--I was planning to, up until this morning actually, but sometimes life happens. Hopefully next time!
Conyers Turns Judiciary Committee's Attention to Jena Six
Chairman Conyers Announces Forum, Hearings on Jena Six:
Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) told a crowd gathered on the Capitol grounds that he is holding a forum next week and plans to hold hearings to address the case of six teenagers in Jena, Louisiana who were charged with attempted murder for a schoolyard fight. Conyers spoke during a rally of support for the students, now being called the “Jena Six,” in Washington, in coordination with rallies in Jena and other U.S. cities.I'm pretty certain we've "reached that point" half a dozen other times in my lifetime and many times before, but here's hoping this time sticks.
“I want to hold a forum next week and hearings at some point in the Judiciary Committee on this issue because in 2007, there should not even be allegations of unequal justice based on race or any other factors,” Conyers said. …“We’ve reached a point in history where this kind of situation is no longer tolerable.”
Torture Victim Arraigned for Bad Checks
Twenty-year-old Megan Williams, the mentally disabled black woman who was imprisoned, sexually assaulted, and tortured by six white people for days (see here, here, here for background), has been charged with "11 misdemeanor counts of writing worthless checks, one misdemeanor count of obtaining under false pretenses and one felony count of failure to appear in circuit court in Summers County." The original charges date back to May 2006, so evidently, in the intervening year and a half, no one knew where Megan was or could be arsed looking for her, but once she conveniently presented herself to the public as a torture victim, it was time to swoop in and take care of business.
On Tuesday, Megan Williams' mother Carmen went from one courtroom, in which her daughter's accused attackers were being charged with upgraded criminal complaints, to another, in which her daughter was being arraigned. Megan limped into the courtroom with her leg bandaged, her broken arm in a cast, and "her hair still short and patchy from where it had been pulled out in places."Megan Williams appeared briefly before [Magistrate Ward Harshbarger] before he made the decision to put her in a holding cell because of the number of reporters and family members in the courtroom.
The bad checks for which Megan is being prosecuted were written to places like Domino's Pizza and the Kiddie Junction Consignment Shop. She was released on $8,000 bond.
“I wanna go home,” Megan said, clutching her mother.
Once in the holding cell, Megan Williams began to scream and cry for her mother, who was not with her.
Carmen Williams rushed to her side, “Here I am,” she said. “You better hush, Megan.”
After Harshbarger readied the paperwork, Megan Williams was brought back into the courtroom clutching a black and red teddy bear that at times she used to shield her face from the cameras.
She nodded to the magistrate as he asked her if she understood the charges and had her sign paperwork. She looked over at a camera to her left and stuck her tongue out. She stood on her toes shaking to look over the high desk of the magistrate and to sign papers.
I have to go punch something now.
[H/T Elle.]
Keeping It Personal
This is Minstrel Boy, from Harp and Sword. Melissa has been gracious enough to invite me to post this here at what I consider to be the best blog out there…
I am a decorated combat veteran of Viet Nam. I am also a professional musician. For almost a year now, I have been playing the funerals of local kids who get killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. I do this for free as a way to honor their service. I get weary sometimes. People notice and comment on it. I have another funeral to play. This is about how I feel right now, which started out as a comment over at the fine blog Ranger Against War:
I'm dragging myself through the morning today. Muttering to myself. Slouching and bitching through the chores. In three short hours I will be playing yet another funeral for a fine young man who has fallen due to the misguided policy and schemes of George W. Bush and also because of the craven cowardice or callous cynicism of the Congress that refuses to do their duty and stop this shit.
I'm doing this because it fucking hurts. That's right. I'll say it again, I'm doing this BECAUSE it hurts.
It hurts to see that another young person has been brutally killed. It hurts to see the faces of the surviving family. It hurts to stand with honor guard and play sad songs on the harp and pipes. It hurts even more when it is the child of a neighbor, it hurts even more when it was a kid that I knew.
Want to know something else? It hurts even more when I'm going to or leaving something like that and realize that most of this country doesn't even know, or much care, how bad it hurts.
I have had friends, on the phone, in my house, through concerned emails, tell me that they see the toll this is taking on me. Fuck! The republican pukes have had the gall to tell reporters that they will tow the line and stay with the president until the primaries are over and they are certain to make it to the general election, then they'll come to the "Stop this fucking madness" camp. They are more concerned with keeping their pissant jobs than the fact that we are losing two or more soldiers a day while at the same time not accomplishing a goddamned thing other than losing two or more soldiers a day.
Here's my challenge to you. Find a way to make this personal. Do like Jersey Cynic and Liz did over at BlondeSense did. They got out in the street to protest. They even got Jim Yeager of Mockingbird's Medley to join them. You know Jim. He used to blog as Mimus Pauly, now he's just doing it under his name.
Make it personal. Find a way to make this shit mean something deep inside you. Make it hurt. Then Do. It. Some. More. Feel the pain, feel the sadness when a 20 year old kid gets rolled over in a truck wreck. Then go to the next one. And the one after that. And the one after that.
Keep. It. Personal. Do that and you might find a way to ensure that this madness stops. Drag people along with you so that they know how much it hurts.
My cousin and his partner are coming to the funeral with me today.
That's two more people.
Maybe we won't stop this war. It has the distinct potential of stopping itself. The military can simply break down and cease to function like it did with Alexander. Of course, it just might get worse. Still.
I'm keeping it personal. I'm going to walk through the hurt, the grief, the pain and do what I can to make something, some fucking where a little better.
That's what I'm doing.
How about you?
Ahmadinejad Plays NYC
Some people just know how to piss people off. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the president of Iran, will be in New York next week and he asked to visit Ground Zero. After a bit of confusion among the city officials, they turned down his request on the basis of security issues and that it's a construction site.
Mr. Ahmadinejad’s request came to light today in a discussion that [Police] Commissioner [Patrick] Kelly had with reporters from several news organizations.Of course this set off a ceaseless round of news releases from all the presidential candidates. Mitt Romney called it "shockingly audacious," Rudy Giuliani called it "outrageous," and Hillary Clinton said it was "unacceptable."
Mr. Kelly, apparently relying on outdated information, said that Iranian officials had made a “formal request” that the police and Secret Service were discussing the matter with the Iranian Mission. The commissioner had said that the concerns had more to do with the logistics of dealing with the Iranian president’s large security detail than with his right, like any foreign visitor, to travel freely in the city. But Mr. Kelly had ruled out a trip into the pit. “Construction is in full swing, and it would not be possible for him to go where other people don’t go,” Mr. Kelly said.
A short while later, around 4:15 p.m., the Police Department’s spokesman, Paul J. Browne, said that Mr. Kelly misspoke and that police commanders had already decided that a visit to ground zero by Mr. Ahmadinejad was not feasible.
Well, duh. Ahmadinejad may be all of the things they say about him -- an anti-Semite, a Holocause denier, and not exactly wrapped too tight -- but he knows how to play to a crowd and just what to do to provoke the predictable responses from the Americans.
He knew going into it that he wouldn't be allowed to visit the site and yet he went ahead and requested it. Now the denial will be played up in the Tehran media as yet another slap at the dignity of Iran; Mr. Ahmadinejad's gesture will be portrayed as an olive branch of peace and reconciliation coldly rebuffed by the arrogant and decadent Americans.
He's not the first foreign leader who learned early on how to play the Americans. When Fidel Castro first came to New York in 1960 to address the UN, he eschewed the fancy digs of a mid-town hotel like the Waldorf Astoria and stayed in the Hotel Theresa in Harlem to prove that he was a man of the people...and score points against the uptight Eisenhower administration that was still trying to figure out whether or not Castro was a commie. More recently Hugo Chavez of Venezuela has provoked the Bush administration, calling President Bush el diablo (the devil) in a speech at the UN.
It's obvious that people like Ahmadinejad and Chavez know exactly what buttons to push, and they get a charge out of it -- it's like poking a stick at a caged animal. It's a win-win for them; they get sympathetic press from their supporters, and as long as they can get the predictable responses of outrage out of their targets, they'll continue to do it.
Cross-posted from Bark Bark Woof Woof.
All In
Jay in Oregon linked to a story yesterday in comments that is truly one of the worst things I've ever read. It happened in Hartlepool, England—but it could have happened on just about any street in just about any town in the UK, or the US, which is part of what makes it so terrible.
Christine Lakinski, a 50-year-old physically and mentally disabled woman, was returning home with some parcels when she fell ill and stumbled into her doorway, losing consciousness. One of her neighbors, 27-year-old Anthony Anderson, and two of his mates, noticed her lying there; Anderson first kicked her feet to try to rouse her, then dumped a bucket of water on her. When she still failed to respond, he urinated on her and covered her in shaving foam—all of which was captured on a mobile phone. On the video, Anderson is heard to shout "This is YouTube material!" as he degrades Lakinski while she slowly dies of pancreatic failure. This bit of vile revelry attracts a crowd, all of whom "were said to have laughed at his actions."
Anderson, who has pleaded guilty to "outraging public decency," will be sentenced next month. Prosecutor Lynne Dalton, who recommended an enhanced sentence at yesterday's hearing, explained: "Although his actions did not contribute to her death it was appalling behaviour that robbed her of any dignity in the last hours of her life."
Lakinski's brother Mark said: "We will await the outcome and just hope he gets what he deserves." And what does Anderson deserve? A fate no civilized society would ever give him. There are laws designed to preserve his dignity, if he yet retains any, and to spare him from cruel and unusual treatment, though he did not extend his victim the same courtesy.
At least he will go to prison. He will be punished for his brutally callous victimization of Christine Lakinski. That is certain. Even if it is unthinkably inadequate, it is certain.
But what of those who stopped and stared and laughed and cheered, or who did nothing at all, as Anderson kicked and doused his unconscious victim slumped in her own front doorway, announced "I'm just going to go and piss on her" and did, casually walked back to his house to collect a tin of shaving foam which he used to cover her "from head to foot" before finally abandoning her to the July afternoon? What of them? What do they deserve?
And what of Anderson's parents, who maybe didn't care enough for him or didn't teach him to care about others or knocked him around and made him hard? Or peers who bulled him? Teachers who ignored him, bosses who humiliated him, girlfriends who hurt him, friends who betrayed him? What of the people who contributed in big and small ways to making Anderson who he was on that day, a soulless beast with no regard for decency, devoid of the faintest hint of humanity? What of them? What do they deserve?
And what of the people who conveyed to Anderson his privilege, those same parents, peers, teachers, lovers, friends, who honored and rewarded his maleness, his abledness? What of the people who write the stories and create the images and shoot the films and sing the songs and make the laws and design the world in every conceivable way to privilege male over female and able-bodied over disabled, who endowed Anderson with the profoundly tragic sense of entitlement that gave him claim over another person in so many ways that he felt no compunction to use her as a toy and a toilet? What of them? What do they deserve?
And what of the people who consume those images and messages, and internalize their own privilege, their own maleness or abledness, their own whiteness or straightness or cisgenderedness or thinness or wealth, who shell out dollar after dollar in pursuit of the things, the beautiful things, that reassure them how wonderful and superior and privileged they are? Who feed the machine that necessarily dehumanizes some people in the process of turning mere mortals into superheroes? What of them? What do they deserve?
And what of the people who take advantage of the intrinsically or comparatively oppressed, the marginalized, the cast-aside and overlooked and unappreciated, who subject them to minor incidents of indignity—a passing cruelty, a lingering if insignificant neglect, an embarrassment or mockery or exposure—who compare their iniquities against grievous offenses like Anderson's and see not an uncomfortable proximity, but a reassuring distance? What of them? What do they deserve?
And what of the people who bear witness to these random acts of unkindness, who know the right thing to do but are simply not brave enough to do it? What of the people who keep quiet, even as their conscience groans and their cheeks burn with the shame of their steadfast silence, who don't speak up who don't say stop who don't step in who don't move a muscle unless it's to turn away? What of the people who just don't want to get involved, who maybe even feel a sick and desperate relief that it's someone else, it isn't them, it isn't me oh thank god it isn't me who's being picked on pissed off put down? What of them? What of me? Oh dear god, what do I deserve for the moments I have failed, for the times my pathetic, spineless silence has conveyed a tacit approval of the actions of a bully, for letting my weakness become his strength?
I make a difference in this world, for good or ill. There is no neutral. There is no Switzerland. There is only saying no to the indignities one human visits upon another—prejudice, hatred, humiliation and pain—or saying yes. And silence, the craven averting of one's gaze so the offense may take place out of view, is not a no. It is not ambiguous. It is a yes. Yes, go ahead, just don't do it to me. It is a permission, and a plea. I'll sacrifice her if you'll let me on my merry way. We routinely cede our expectations of goodness for guarantees of safety, but only our own, and we can no longer fool ourselves that men like Anthony Anderson are aberrations; they are, in the void of unyielding solidarity our self-interest has left, inevitabilities.
There is no neutral. You're in or you're fucking out.
I'm all in.
Question of the Day
Cracked has come up with The 20 Worst Album Titles of All Time.
1. "Chocolate Starfish and the Hotdog Flavored Water," Limp BizkitSo...What's the Worst Album Title of All Time?
2. "Chocolate Factory," R. Kelly
3. "Phunk Shui," John Oates
4. "From Genesis to Revelation," Genesis
5. "How You Sell Soul to a Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul?" Public Enemy
6. "Skapocalypse Now!" Mustard Plug
7. "A Salt with a Deadly Pepa," Salt-n-Pepa
8. "Purpendicular," Deep Purple
9. "Not.Com.mercial," Cher
10. "Hairway to Steven," Butthole Surfers
11. "Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy," Elton John
12. "Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti," Squeeze
13. "Rap-Murr-Phobia (The Fear of Real Hip-Hop)," Keith Murray
14. "Point of Know Return," Kansas
15. "Shock'n Y'all," Toby Keith
(For #16, see the article)
17. "Music," Madonna and 311 (separate albums, same name)
18. "The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society"
19. "Fall Out Boy's Evening Out with Your Girlfriend"
20. "The Truest [deleted] I Ever Said," C-Murder
Quote Of The Day
RNC Chair Mel Martinez deftly explains his rationale against the now defeated Webb amendment:
The reenlistment rates of those who have served in the theater are larger than those of any other. And, in fact, it is a testament to their courage, to their valor, and their sense of duty to their country. I think we would demean their service if we were to say to them that there had to be a parity between the time in service out of the country and the time at home.You read that right. Rest = Demeaning. Consequently, I'd like to present Mr. Martinez with the coveted Shakespeare's Sister Wankstain Award.
Way to go, Mel!
News from Shakes Manor
Last night, while Mr. Shakes was busily geeking out with Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar, I watched Steven Soderbergh's Bubble, which is a great little film and notable in that local people were cast in even the lead roles, which prompted my comment, as we were climbing into bed, that I admire those with a talent for acting because I am a terrible actress. Really. Painfully bad. A total plank.
Inevitably, this elicited Mr. Shakes' familiar brag that he was cast in the lead of his primary school production of Sweeney Todd. ("And I was awesoome!") He also told me how either he or his oldest friend, Donald—who's an absolutely lovely guy; I just adore him—always used to get the lead in school plays when they were little, because they were the only ones in their class who could memorize all the lines. Then, just as I was falling asleep:
Mr. Shakes: By the way, did I ever tell you aboot the time Donzo peed himself while singing Johnny Lost His Marbles?
Liss: That is the greatest introduction to any story of all time.
Big Tent. A Big Christian Tent.
Didn't I just write this post? Oh, no. That was A Big White Tent. It's so hard to keep all the bigness and the tentiness of the GOP straight. Speaking of which, it's A Big Straight Tent, too. I don't have a current post on that, but give it a day or so…
Anyway, the Big Christian Tent can only stay so beautifully Christified with lots of maintenance and tools, like New York Congressman Peter King, for instance—who is just certain that the US' problems with radical Islam come down to there being too many darn mosques.
Unfortunately, we have too many mosques in this country. There are too many people who are sympathetic to radical Islam. We should be looking at them more carefully. We should be finding out how we can infiltrate.I'm not certain how many people there are in America who are "sympathetic to radical Islam," but I am fairly certain that having Congressman waxing nutzoid about the number of mosques in the country (not to mention calling Muslims "an enemy living amongst us") is more likely to generate sympathy for radical Islam than the bricks and mortar of an infinite number of mosques in a country welcoming of Muslims.
…I think there’s been a lack of full cooperation from too many people in the Muslim community. And it’s a real threat here in this country.
Big Tent. A Big White Tent.
Hard to believe the GOP still can't seem to manage getting more than 2% of the black vote when they've got swell fellas like Augusta, GA Housing Board Member and Republican Party official Dave Barbee welcoming people into the tent by endorsing "making the downtown whiter."
Barbee expressed "sincere regret" for poor wording in the Aug. 7 e-mail - which urged developers to support a plan to shut down a public housing development and replace it with "high income folks who will tend to be White."Wheeeeeeeeeeeeee!
"We will be making the downtown Whiter with moving 200 whites in and moving 500 blacks out!" he wrote.
The GOP has not asked Barbee to step down from his position as the Republican Party Chairman for the 10th Congressional District. Meanwhile, Augusta Mayor Deke Copenhaver released a statement noting that Barbee "apologizes to anyone in the Augusta community that he may have inadvertently offended." I guess all the people he advertently offended can go suck an egg.
Mayor Copenhaver's statement also noted that he has accepted Barbee's apology and "with God's help, may we forgive and move forward as a community of trust and hope." Yeah, God's help…and maybe the help of a diversity seminar.
[H/T Steve Benen.]
Caption This Photo
Baron von Pinkiepupperton cordially invites you
to join him for afternoon drinkies by the pool.
[Via Michael K.]
Yeesh
While political junkies have enjoyed the extended pre-season for Election 2008, most voters say that the debates and other campaign activities so far have been annoying and a waste of time.Not to mention money. The millions and millions of dollars that have already been spent by candidates in both parties is just staggering. And for what?
A Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 56% of Likely Voters hold that view while only 29% say the campaign so far has been interesting and informative.I'd so go for that, it's not even funny. Except why even give them a year? Let's limit it to three months. No one should need more than 90 days to lay out a comprehensive agenda to the country and answer any questions about it.
In fact, 72% of voters would favor a proposal to shorten the Presidential campaign season so that no one could begin campaigning more than a year before election day.
