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Monday, April 30, 2007
Abortion and Prohibition: A Lesson From History
By VictorM: Atrios says:As I've long said, ultimately the country is very pro-choice-for-me-but-not-for-thee. People assume that they, personally, will be able to make sensible reproductive and health decisions with their doctors, but are "uncomfortable" with the thought of other people making decisions they don't approve of and therefore there's more support for chipping away at these things around the edges. People fail to understand that such things have the potential to affect them personally, and fail to understand that Judge Santorum or someone will be intervening in their private medical decisions.I don't think it's going to sink into the American conscience that easily. Americans need to be shocked with the reality of seeing innocent white girls from "good" neighborhoods and "good" families being arrested and piped in living color into our living rooms for it to sink in that it could happen to anyone.
Ultimately, brave people are going to have to stand up and start talking about their personal experiences with these things in a way which communicates "this could happen to you" to people.
There was a time when "righteous" people won out and the law of the land made consumption of alcohol illegal. After several years, that law was repealed. That topic is not even discussed anymore. Yet, alcohol is responsible for tens of thousands of deaths in our highways and it destroys a massive number of families. But society decided that those consequences were worth having for the right to choose. Lifting Prohibition forced no one to drink; it merely let citizens choose. The rest of us who could die getting hit by a drunk driver have accepted that as a worthy risk. Despite the grim numbers associated with alcohol deaths or illnesses, there is virtually no movement to bring back Prohibition. The same may need to happen with abortion.
It will take repeated cases of 13 year old girls getting raped, coerced, used, and abused by older boys, teachers, uncles, even fathers or brothers, and then thrown in jail for an act of desperation, shown in living color on all the networks -- oh they will compete ferociously for the most sensational stories -- to show the true consequences of a society gone medieval.
If they treat abortion as murder, then, and only then, will a majority recognize that every single woman who has a miscarriage will be suspected of murder. Either by action of an overzealous district attorney - and there are plenty of those - or by accusation of a malicious neighbor, a rejected former boyfriend, or simply the opinion of a doctor, every woman who miscarriages not only will have to deal with the trauma of losing the fetus, but will have to be questioned by the police. Did she miscarriage because she went horseback riding after the doctor told her not to go? Negligent homicide! Did she have sex after the doctor told her she shouldn't? Negligent homicide! Did she exercise more strenuously than the doctor said? Negligent homicide! Did she once, out of desperation, while carrying groceries say, "I wish I wasn't pregnant"? Will that constitute the basis for suspicion by her born-again Christian neighbor that her miscarriage was really an abortion, and therefore murder?Many females would suffer if abortion become illegal, but history shows us that in most struggles for justice and fairness, there have been heavy prices paid. We need to do all we can to make sure it doesn't get to this, but sadly, it may have to happen before American society finds resolution on abortion.
Tags: abortion, abortion is murder, illegal abortion,
Idiot of the Day: Don Larsen
By VictorM: Don Larsen is a Republican from Utah. Several people actually should be included with him as idiots, but I don't want to call all Utah County Republicans idiots. In fairness, most were gone at the end of their convention when debate on Satan's influence on illegal immigrants came up. And some spoke openly against this idea. But that this topic was even on the agenda is reflective of the current Republican party:In a speech at the convention, Larsen told those gathered that illegal immigrants "hate American people" and "are determined to destroy this country, and there is nothing they won't do."A little over the line of reasonableness, wouldn't you say? It actually takes quite a bit of effort to be this stupid.
Illegal aliens are in control of the media, and working in tandem with Democrats, are trying to "destroy Christian America" and replace it with "a godless new world order -- and that is not extremism, that is fact," Larsen said.
At the end of his speech, Larsen began to cry, saying illegal immigrants were trying to bring about the destruction of the U.S. "by self invasion."
Tags: don larsen, idiot of the day, illegal immigrants, control of the media,
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Max Cleland Speaks the Truth
By Max Cleland, addressing General Petraeus request for more patience, more time for the surge strategy to work in Iraq:This is the fifth year of this war. As a matter of fact, next Tuesday is the anniversary of President Bush standing up on an aircraft carrier, playing dress-up with his flight suit, which he never wore in combat, trying to be the war hero he never was, and saying major combat over, mission accomplished. And later on he said, "Bring 'em on." Well, they came on, surprise, surprise. Have killed over 3,300 young Americans and wounded over 30,000, and over half a million Iraqis have died.
I don't want that kind of patience. It's five years into this thing now. It's time to end it, and it's time to move on and worry about al Qaeda. That's the real threat to this country.
Tags: max cleland, surge strategy, David Petraeus, more time in iraq, iraq war
And the scandals just keep on coming
By VictorM: Still about 28% support the Bush administration. How many more examples of wrong-doing, lies, callousness, hypocrisy, and corruption must come out?We now have yet another Bush administration official resigning because his name was on a list of an escort service he used repeatedly:
Randall Tobias, a former chairman of Eli Lilly and Company of Indianapolis, has resigned as head of the Bush administration's foreign aid programs. According to two people in a position to know the circumstances of his departure, Tobias's name surfaced in an investigation into a high-priced call-girl ring.Now Mr. Tobias claims that sex was not involved. Sounds like the initial defense offered by Mr. Haggard. Not only are these people creeps, but they're lousy liars too.
But the story doesn't appear to be ending there. According to Brian Ross of ABC news:
the list includes the names of some "very prominent people," as well as a number of women with "important and serious jobs" who had worked as escorts for the firm.Get ready to hear a lot of "I didn't have sexual relations with that... high priced call-girl" statements.
Tags: call girls, Randall Tobias, escort service, another scandal
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Goodbye, Baghdad
By Riverbend, a female blogger from Baghdad:I remember Baghdad before the war -- one could live anywhere. We didn't know what our neighbors were -- we didn't care. No one asked about religion or sect. No one bothered with what was considered a trivial topic: are you Sunni or Shia? You only asked something like that if you were uncouth and backward. Our lives revolve around it now. Our existence depends on hiding it or highlighting it -- depending on the group of masked men who stop you or raid your home in the middle of the night.
On a personal note, we've finally decided to leave... So we've been busy. Busy trying to decide what part of our lives to leave behind. Which memories are dispensable?... We don't know if whatever we leave, including the house, will be available when and if we come back. There are moments when the injustice of having to leave your country, simply because an imbecile got it into his head to invade it, is overwhelming.
Tags: riverbend, baghdad before the war, leaving baghdad
Idiot of the Day: Fox News
By VictorM: The creeps at Fox News network were so eager to report a nutty story that they didn't bother to properly check its origin. Think Progress has the details:On Tuesday, Fox News morning show “Fox & Friends” aired at least eight segments on a purported “news” story that was actually a parody article written by a publication similar to The Onion.
The backstory: Last week in the town of Lewiston, Maine, a group of Somalian Muslim middle school students were the subject of a cruel prank when their peers placed a ham steak next to them in order to personally offend the students...
This actual story was then spoofed by a parody site called Associated Content, which made up quotes and details, such as the school’s intention to “create an anti-ham ‘response plan.’”
Follow the link to the Think Progress post to see the video of the Fox News idiots talking about this story. The one guy at the end of the video says: "I hope we're not being duped." No, you weren't; you duped yourselves!
Tags: idiot of the day, fox news, fox and friends, somalian muslim, ham prank
Friday, April 27, 2007
Advice for right-winger dads
By VictorM: I travel the country quite a bit for my job. Eat out a lot, stay a hotels, rent cars, and go to the movies quite a bit. Based on my observations, and assuming that right-winger dads love their children and want what’s best for them, I have one piece of advice: ensure that your children learn Spanish.PS. The advice is for right-winger dads because if you’re a right-winger wife, do you really have a say in anything? Yo penso que non.
Tags: right-winger dad, right-winger mom, advice for children
Time for Oprah to shame them in front of America
By Jonathan Schwarz: On the Bill Moyers documentary last night, he pointed out that Oprah Winfrey did a show about Iraq on October 9, 2002. Her two guests were Judith Miller and Kenneth Pollack.... Has she had them back on to explain how they got things so completely wrong? No. That's interesting, because when James Frey turned out to have made things up for his book A Million Little Pieces, she made him come back on so she could shame him in front of America.Tags: Bill Moyers, Oprah Winfrey, Judith Miller, Kenneth Pollack, James Frey, Iraq War
Idiot of the Day: Confederate Yankee
By VictorM: Right-wingers continue to demonstrate that although they may profess to love America, they despise most Americans. In poll after poll, the American people are with the Democrats on the Iraq war issue, and agree with Senator Reid's assessment that the Iraq war is lost. But idiotic right-wingers continue their idiotic stance that we should fight for a lost cause and continue a criminal war:I was brought up believing that the United States was a champion for liberty and freedom around the world. Today's Democrats obviously disagree, and instead, advocate a disasterous failed state, potential regional war, and possible genocide.These are amazing predictions from people who said we'd be greeted as liberators, the insurgency was in the last throes, and the surge would work. People with such a bad track record should concentrate on attacking Rosie O'Donnell and leave matters of world importance to the grown-ups.
Tags: idiot of the day, confederate yankee, right-winger, harry reid, iraq war
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Republicans: Terrible on Terrorism
By VictorM: Rudy Giuliani's recently stated that if a Democrat is elected president in 2008, America will be at risk for another terrorist attack on the scale of Sept. 11, 2001, further saying:If any Republican is elected president —- and I think obviously I would be the best at this —- we will remain on offense and will anticipate what [the terrorists] will do and try to stop them before they do it.OK, mister wrong-breath, let's take a stroll down Reality Lane and look at the largest terrorist attacks on America:
April 18, 1983 (president: Republican)
Sixty three people, including the CIA's Middle East Director, are killed and 120 injured in a 400 lb. suicide truck bomb attack on the US Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon. The driver is killed. Responsibility is claimed by Islamic Jihad.
October 23, 1983 (president: Republican)
Simultaneous suicide truck bombs on American and French compounds in Beirut, Lebanon. A 12,000 lb bomb destroys a US Marine Corps base killing two hundred and forty one Americans; another fifty eight Frenchmen are killed when a 400 lb device destroys one of their bases. Islamic Jihad claims responsibility.
April 12, 1984 (president: Republican)
Eighteen US servicemen killed and eighty three people injured in bomb attack on restaurant near USAF base in Torrejon, Spain.
September 20, 1984 (president: Republican)
Suicide bomb attack on US Embassy in East Beirut kills twenty three people and injures twenty one others.
December 21, 1988 (president: Republican)
Pan Am Boeing 747 blown up over Lockerbie, Scotland, by a bomb believed to have been placed on the aircraft at Frankfurt Airport, Germany. All 259 people on the aircraft were killed by the blast.
September 11, 2001 (president: Republican)
Two hijacked airliners crashed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center. Soon thereafter, the Pentagon was struck by a third hijacked plane. A fourth hijacked plane, suspected to be bound for a high-profile target in Washington, crashed into a field in southern Pennsylvania. More than 3,000 U.S. citizens and other nationals were killed.
The question I'd like to see Democrats pose: If Rudy Giuliani, a Republican mayor working with a Republican president couldn't even protect the bottom tip of the island of Manhattan, how can he protect the rest of the country?
We have been attacked during both Democratic and Republican leaderships, but clearly we've been hit more often and much harder during Republican leaderships.
Tags: rudy giuliani, terrorism, terrorist attacks,
Idiot of the Day: Ace
By VictorM: This goes beyond idiotic. It's hard to imagine anyone being wired to be this dysfunctional and hateful. Somehow Rosie O'Donnell has become a great Satan to these people. Someone must have sent out a memo and now they all fall in line: It's amazing to me that Rosie O'Donnell could hate America so much. She's a big fat ugly (not even cute-fat, but just ugly-fat) stupid lesbian without a lick of talent and yet she's a millionaire.Vicious little pest. How's that for a representative sample of right-wing lunacy? They are coming apart at the seams, these folks.
Tags: Rosie O'Donnell, idiot of the day, right-wing lunacy
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Rahm Emanuel's Hall of Shame
By Rahm Emanuel, on the Bush Administration corruption:The Administration would like the press and public to believe all of this corruption and cronyism consists of isolated instances and one-offs. But I ask you:
Michael Brown. Scooter Libby. Bernard Kerik. Halliburton. Philip Cooney. David Safavian. Lurita Doan. Matteo Fontana. Sue Ellen Wooldridge. Steven Griles. Alberto Gonzales. FEMA. Iraq intelligence. Iraq reconstruction.
This Hall of Shame is no accident and these are not isolated incidences. It’s a pattern of political appointees who put partisan interests ahead of country – and were told to do so.
The good news is that this pattern of putting party first and country second has been brought into the light of day and can no longer be explained away as the product of errors or lapses in judgment by individuals. The implausible excuses are piling up, the explanations becoming harder and harder to believe and the truth more difficult to obscure. Americans now know that we are witnessing much more than just incompetent individuals at work. We are watching corruption in action.
[VictorM's comment: read Rahm Emanuel's full speech. It's a great collection of all the shameful things this administration has been part of. The list of bad deeds, the names, the dates, and the specifics is startling. It's a great reference for when discussing the most corrupt administration ever.]Tags: rahm emanuel, Bush administration, republican corruption
Idiot of the Day: Laura Bush
By VictorM: I try to keep to one Idiot of the Day per day but the political scene in the Unites States is fertile territory, specially with right-winger, conservative, Republican, christian-right, and neocon critters coming apart at the seams over their failed version of a new world.I also try not to pick on the spouses or children of elected officials, but Laura Bush's comment on the Today Show cannot stand without mention. Here' what Laura Bush said about the Iraq war:
no one suffers more than their President and I do.Is this lady as delusional and as callous as her husband? I think so.
Tags: laura bush, today show, iraq war, idiot of the day
GOP has dragged us into political decline
By Thomas Schaller, in an article explaining how the Republican party has dragged us into political decline in only the last 10 years:Hop into a time machine with me and set the dial for spring 1997. Mr. Clinton had just been sworn in a few months earlier for a second term... The national conversation had not yet devolved into divisive talk of "blue states" and "red states." The culture wars were under way but had yet to go nuclear...
So still ran the national political waters in April 1997, in fact, that the biggest controversy that month was Mr. Clinton's appointment of former Massachusetts Gov. William F. Weld as U.S. ambassador to Mexico. A Democrat appointing a Republican to a key ambassadorship - oh, the scandal of it!
The nation would soon be jolted out of its slumber... a blue dress, the ham-handed attempt to impeach, hanging chads in Florida, four hijacked airplanes, Afghanistan, "W" landing in his green flight suit, Abu Ghraib, and our continuing, intractable mess in Mesopotamia...
The second floor of the Clinton Presidential Center includes a scale replica of the Oval Office, complete with a variety of the 42nd president's personal memorabilia. On a credenza behind the presidential desk is a fist-sized rock engraved with the words, "Let He Who Is Without Sin Cast the First Stone."If only that were the one biblical injunction guiding those pious congressional Republicans a decade ago, when America was a quieter, happier place.
Tags: bill clinton, blue dress, political decline, republicans
Idiot of the Day: Dana Rohrabacher
By VictorM: The modern day American conservative movement has ushered into public office many despicable politicians. They practically trip over each other to say and do the most idiotic things. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) is today's example of what I'm talking about.During a recent hearing in the House, this took place:
At one point, Rohrabacher argued that imprisoning and torturing one innocent person was a fair price to pay for locking up 50 terrorists who would “go out and plant a bomb…and kill 20,000 people.” When members of the audience groaned, Rohrabacher said, “Well, I hope it’s your families, I hope it’s your families that suffer the consequences.”Spoken like a 6-year-old.
Tags: Dana Rohrabacher, idiot of the day
George McGovern shoots back at Dick Cheney
By George McGovern, replying to Dick Cheney's attack on his record:In the war of my youth, World War II, I volunteered for military service at the age of 19 and flew 35 combat missions, winning the Distinguished Flying Cross as the pilot of a B-24 bomber. By contrast, in the war of his youth, the Vietnam War, Cheney got five deferments and has never seen a day of combat — a record matched by President Bush... We, of course, already know that when Cheney endorses a war, he exempts himself from participation. On second thought, maybe it's wise to keep Cheney off the battlefield — he might end up shooting his comrades rather than the enemy.
On a more serious note, instead of listening to the foolishness of the neoconservative ideologues, the Cheney-Bush team might better heed the words of a real conservative, Edmund Burke: "A conscientious man would be cautious how he dealt in blood."
Tags: george mcgovern, dick cheney, deferments, vietnam war, iraq war
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
George Bush Still Doesn't Get How America Works
By Granny Doc, commenting on George Bush's remarks that Congress should not be telling the military what to do:Uh...Excuse me, you Dim Witted Twit. One of the primary foundations of American democracy is a civilian controlled military... Sorry, George. In America, the Congress, and the American people, DO control the military. We decide with our votes, and our protests, what the military will, and will not do. And when you, and your sicko cronies, lie us into a war, don't expect us to stand idly by while you tell us that we, and our elected Representatives, have no control over how it is waged and when it will end.
Tags: american military, civilian control, managing the war
Idiot of the Day: PoliPundit
By VictorM: It's amazing these days what bothers right-wingers. With the massive problems in Iraq, the environment, education, security, etc. this idiot had to dig deep to find a new foe:I don't know the validity of Ms. Crow's suggestions, but she's not advocating that we invade foreign countries who pose no threat to us, she's not in bed with the biggest polluters in the world, and she's not suggesting that people give up their freedom to speak their mind just because she doesn't agree with them, as this idiot just suggested.I’m convinced these people need serious psychiatric treatment. Singer Sheryl Crow’s answer to combating Global Warming is to limit our toilet paper use per restroom visit:.... Hey Sheryl, Shut up and sing!
So, Ms. Crow, do sing but please do not shut-up, even if you have wacky ideas. America belongs to you too!
Tags: idiot of the day, Sheryl Crow, global warming, toilet paper
Monday, April 23, 2007
Did the $400.00 Include the Tip?
By VictorM: This story is a few days old but I didn't comment on it before because I was waiting for more details. The simple version of the issue: John Edwards got a $400.00 haircut and some people are making a stink about it.That does sound like a lot of money for a haircut, but it sounds different when you consider that because of Mr. Edwards' schedule, the hairdresser and a make-up artist came to him in advance of a TV appearance. Given this additional information, I agree with Ezra Klein:
I just hope he tipped well.As a supporter, I'm perfectly happy for the campaign to be making sure the candidate doesn't go on TV without makeup. Nobody wants to be Nixon from the 1960 presidential debates.
In general, it seems to make good sense for a presidential candidate to cultivate good relationships with barbers and makeup people, and to pay them to come to him. You don't want to walk into a random barbershop and get a bad haircut -- or worse, a haircut from a Republican who bears a grudge. So selecting a couple highly skilled and loyal people and having them travel to you to take care of your personal appearance is a fine thing to do.
Tags: john edwards, $400 haircut
Diets fail in the long run
By VictorM: We have more and more diet programs and yet the number of obese people continue to grow. We know that to lose weight and keep it off people need to eat less and exercise more. Yet, we're inundated with advertisements promoting the next great diet. And a large number of desperate people fall for it. I doubt that the results shown below will surprise anyone:Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, examining 31 weight-loss studies found long-term dieting doesn't keep the pounds off. While people can lose weight initially, many relapse and regain the weight they shed.
The findings confirm what many scientists have been saying all along: Losing weight is easy. Keeping it off is another story.
"If dieting worked, there would be a bunch of skinny people walking around," said obesity researcher Dr. David Katz, head of Yale University's Prevention Research Center, who did not participate in the latest study.
Tags: weight-loss, long-term dieting, obesity research
Stating the Obvious: Barack Obama
By Barack Obama: This president may occupy the White House, but for the last six years the position of leader of the free world has remained open. And it's time to fill that role once more... The disappointment that so many around the world feel toward America right now is only a testament to the high expectations they hold for us. We must meet those expectations again, not because being respected is an end in itself, but because the security of America and the wider world demands it.
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Idiot of the Day: Wake Up America
By VictorM: What makes people say the dumb things that people like this right-wing blogger say? Gullibility? Stupidity? Fear? All of those and more, I suppose. We have another idiot trying to connect Democrats with al-Qaeda:Our military our soldiers have stated repeatedly that they are making progress and that their successes are not shown in our media. One has to wonder if Reid, Pelosi and crew actually get the text of the videos that al-Qaeda sends and deliberately take their words and phrases to use for themselves. Certainly seems like it.If true, this would mean that al-Qaeda would place the best interests of America above that of the Bush administration and all the sycophants who back their criminal behavior and blatant lies. And they wouldn't be as wrong (or as manipulated) in their assessments as our military leaders have been.
But of course, that's not the case. Al-Qaeda wants to harm America intentionally and the right-wingers are helping them unintentionally. And why? Is it because they hate America? No. It's because they are idiots.
Tags: idiot of the day, harry reid, nancy pelosi, al-qaeda
Goerge Bush: Bullshitter-in-chief
By DarkSyde: By week's end Bush had moved on to yet another painfully pathetic claim that the tide is turning: President George W. Bush on Friday claimed that sectarian murders have dropped by half in Iraq since the latest US military build-up began in February, and said the "direction of the fight is beginning to shift".
It's disturbing that our President might be either an exceptionally delusional, fatally arrogant fool, or just a run of the mill pathological liar. But whatever is going on, it takes a spreadsheet to keep up with all the different ways he can restate the same endless bullshit.
Tags: bush lie, iraq lies
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Stupid Ideas by Stupid People
By VictorM: In the aftermath of the Virginia Tech shootings, the call from certain people was to permit students to carry concealed weapons as a way to thwart would be attackers. I have no doubt that the people proposing this solution mean well, that they wish to prevent any such future attacks.But before we give this idea much consideration, let's understand that these are the same people who thought we should fight terrorism by attacking Iraq, that we would be received as liberators, that the way to solve our public school problems is to do away with public schools, that the way to solve a non-existing social security problem is to do away with social security, that the way to solve pollution is to let the polluters handle it, that global warming is a hoax, that star wars is a great defense system, that the poor are stupid and lazy, that homosexuals getting married threaten every else's marriages, that having a one party system is the American dream.
In short, they are stupid people and don't know what the hell they are talking about!
Tags: virginia tech shooting, concealed weapons,
Idiots of the Day: Tom Delay and Tom Tancredo
By VictorM: This is a case of Dumb and Dumber. This is a twofer combining two of the most obnoxious politicians in American history.On his blog, Tom Delay says:
As you may or may not of heard, Senator Majority Leader (D-NV) Harry Reid has already surrendered. Yesterday he delcared the war lost and deemed the troop surge a failure. Today, however, Tom Tancredo (R-CO) fired back: Tancredo said Thursday that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid should be held responsible for the deaths of all American soldiers in Iraq from now on after Reid said the war there is "lost." ... Right on Tom. No more words need be said on the subject.No, Harry Reid should not be responsible. We should be holding responsible the people who put the soldiers there without a good reason, without a good plan, and without an exit strategy. Yep, that includes Dumb and Dumber!
All Harry Reid expressed was an opinion. He's not the architect of what amounts to foreign policy suicide. He's just the messenger speaking on behalf of the majority of Americans who agree with Mr. Reid's assessment.
Mr. Delay is wrong. Plenty more words need to be said until we get our troops out of that hell hole and hold responsible the criminals who got us in that disaster.
Tags: tom delay, tom tancredo, harry reid, lost iraq war, idiot of the day,
Will Major League Soccer Surpass the National Hockey League?
By VictorM: I was listening to a podcast interview with Managing Director Mark DeGrandpre of the New York Red Bulls of the Major League Soccer (MLS). He stated that the goal of the league is to surpass the National Hockey League (NHL) to become the 4th largest league in the United States (NFL, MLB, and NBA being the top three).It is clear that the top 3 leagues far outdistance the hockey and soccer leagues. There is also no question that currently the NHL is a bigger league than MLS. But does Mr. DeGrandpre have a leg to stand on when he makes the prediction that MLS will surpass NHL? I think so. The best reason for saying so is best summarized by this remark:
I've always believed that there were more soccer fans in the U.S. than hockey fans. The difference is that ALL hockey fans in America follow the NHL. That's not the case for MLS. There is a sizable audience in soccer that won't follow MLS.We hear so often about how Americans may not warm up to soccer, but at this point, they are not the target. More significant is that there are millions of soccer fans who aren't following the league yet. Getting them to come out and support the league won't be easy, but they are an enormous potential source of growth for MLS, something the NHL doesn't have.
Basically, MLS has a huge untapped market for new fans, the NHL is maxed out.
Tags: major league soccer, mls, nhl, professional sports, soccer growth, hockey, red bulls
Friday, April 20, 2007
You can't make this stuff up... but they can!
By VictorM: All religion in general, and the Catholic church in particular, have some theories that make me scratch my head in puzzlement how reasonably intelligent people can stomach them. Here's an example of the peculiarities of religion:Well, there you go! Limbo no more, just like that. To paraphrase Mel Brooks: it's good to be the Pope.VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The Roman Catholic Church has effectively buried the concept of limbo, the place where centuries of tradition and teaching held that babies who die without baptism went... According to the CNS report, the 41-page document says the theologians advising the Pope concluded that since God is merciful he "wants all human beings to be saved."
It says grace has priority over sin, and the exclusion of innocent babies from heaven does not seem to reflect Christ's special love for children, CNS, which is owned by the U.S. Catholic Bishops Conference, quoted the document as saying.
Limbo, which comes from the Latin word meaning "border" or "edge," was considered by medieval theologians to be a state or place reserved for the unbaptised dead, including good people who lived before the coming of Christ.
"Our conclusion is that the many factors that we have considered ... give serious theological and liturgical grounds for hope that unbaptised infants who die will be saved and enjoy the beatific vision (of God)," the document said, according to CNS which is part of the U.S. Catholic Bishops Conference.
I have one question... is this retroactive? I mean, were all unbaptized babies going to paradise all along, we just didn't know it until now?
Tags: religion today, limbo, catholic church
Idiot of the Day: Charles Krauthammer
By VictorM: No one is above demonstrating some hypocrisy now and then. Many of us recognize it when we're callanged about it but others make a career out of it. Glenn Greenwald takes us the rest of the way:In his column today, Charles Krauthammer delivers a solemn lecture on how terribly inappropriate it is to exploit tragedies like the Virginia Tech shootings to make a political point.... On Wednesday -- less than 48 hours after the shootings -- the same Krauthammer went on Fox News to explain why the Virginia Tech shootings and the killer's "manifesto" are connected to Al Jazeera, the Palestinians and other Muslim Enemies who dominate Krauthammer's political agenda.
Tags: idiot of the day, hypocrisy, right-winger
Bloomberg's Vision for the Future of New York City
By VictorM: New York City's mayor Michael Bloomberg will be making a speech outlining many initiatives he sees as necessary to tackle issues the city is likely to face over the next couple of decades. This piece about traffic congestion stood out to me:What will almost certainly be the most contentious idea, however, involves charging drivers to enter the busiest sections of Manhattan.Anyone who has been to the city understands that traffic congestion is a problem and will only get worse as the population grows. And I have not heard any better solutions to this problem. However, the notion of paying to go into certain sections of the city sound like another in our ever slow process of turning this country into a feudal America where those who can afford them are given special privileges. What's next? Moats and castle walls?
If part of the problem, as the mayor says, are pollution concerns, don't the excesses of someone in a three-piece suit stink as much as someone in a maid uniform?
Tags: new york city, traffic congestion, feudal america
Right-wingers: People out of touch with reality
By Ron Chusid, commenting on suggestions by right-wingers that students should be armed:I see little point in pointing out what is wrong with the various beliefs spread by the right. My bet is that the vast majority of people will realize how crazy these views are, and those who don’t are not going to be convinced by anything we write. These are generally the same people that believe that Saddam had WMD, creationism is a valid alternative to evolution, and that it is inconsequential that the consensus of scientists in the field agrees that human action presents a meaningful threat to the climate. Seeing these views move from the right wing blogosphere to the news media will only help demonstrate what we have known for quite some time. The right wing blogosphere is dominated by people out of touch with reality who possess ideas which just go beyond the bounds of rational thought. Such views have infiltrated into the Republican Party to a degree sufficient to prevent them from governing effectively.
Tags: right-wingers, out of touch, arm students,
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Idiot of the Day: Carolyn McCarthy
By VictorM: Democratic Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy has proposed a gun-control bill (H.R. 1859) that would ban weapons with barrel shrouds. During an interview with Tucker Carlson she was asked, point blank, if she knew what a barrel shroud was. She had to admit she didn't know.If you're an elected official wanting to introduce laws that prevent American citizens from having certain rights, you have an obligation to make sure the reasons for the law you're proposing are rock solid. Even if others disagree, you must at least have done due diligence to be as informed about what you're proposing as possible. When a politician goes in front of TV cameras and can't even define something that basic, it's downright wrong and humiliating for the party he or she represents. Seeing Ms. McCarthy on TV was embarrassing and gives justifiable pause to those who are skeptical of such laws and the motives of such lawmakers.
It doesn't matter what party you represent; if you're so lazy that you can't even be well-versed on a bill that you are introducing, you're not just an idiot, you're a threat to our way of life!
Tags: gun control, barrel shroud, idiot of the day, carolyn mccarthy
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Idiot of the Day: Instapundit
By VictorM: Responsible people stayed away from jumping to conclusions or trying to score political points as the Virginia Tech shooting story was unfolding. But of course, there were those who are devoid of any decency who couldn't wait to start pointing fingers. The reliably vulgar Instapundit (Glenn Reynolds) was one of the first ones to exploit the situation:Reader John Lucas, who works with a Virginia law firm, emails that Va. Tech is a "gun-free zone." Well, for those who follow the law. There was an effort to change that but it failed: "A bill that would have given college students and employees the right to carry handguns on campus died with nary a shot being fired in the General Assembly." That's unfortunate. Had the bill passed, things might have turned out differently, though we'll never know now.I'll say no more. The man is not only an idiot, he's a disgusting pig!
Tags: glenn reynolds, virginia tech shootings, idiot of the day
Right to bear arms statement out of context
By VictorM: Many liberal blogs were quick to jump down Mr. Bush's throat for what they claim was politicizing the shootings at Virginia Tech. And when I read some of the reports, I felt the same way although I had made a decision not to blog about this tragedy, at least until more facts were known.But, I have to come to the defense of the president this time. I think the blogs and most of the reports I saw, wrongly characterized the words of the president as relayed by his press secretary. Here's an example of how the media reported the president's view on the right to bear arms:
But, what this report, and many others, didn't say was that when Ms. Perino mentioned the right to bear arms, she was responding to a reporter's question about the president's feelings about gun control.[A White House spokesman said President Bush was horrified by the rampage and offered his prayers to the victims, the Associated Press reported. "The president believes that there is a right for people to bear arms, but that all laws must be followed," spokeswoman Dana Perino said.]
Here's the question and the answer that prompted the statement about gun control:
Maybe Ms. Perino could have answered the question differently, but in the name of fairness, I hope mainstream publications, and the liberal bloggers who commented based on misleading reporting, set the record straight.Q Dana, going back to Virginia Tech, what more does this White House think needs to be done as it relates to gun issues? The President says current laws need to be strengthened, anything beyond that -- you had a conference on school violence with guns -- what more needs to be done?
MS. PERINO: I would point you back to the fact that President, along with Secretary Spellings, hosted last October -- October 10, 2006 -- a conference on school gun violence after the Amish school shooting and the other shootings that had happened, because the tragedies are the ones that just collectively break America's heart and are ones that we deeply feel, because all of us can imagine what it would be like to have been at your own school, your own college, and to have something happen. And those of us who are parents, or brothers or sisters of people at the schools have to take that into consideration.
As far as policy, the President believes that there is a right for people to bear arms, but that all laws must be followed. And certainly bringing a gun into a school dormitory and shooting -- I don't want to say numbers because I know that they're still trying to figure out many people were wounded and possibly killed, but obviously that would be against the law and something that someone should be held accountable for.
Tags: right to bear arms, dana perino, virginia tech shootings
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Idiot of the Day: Tommy Thompson
By VictorM: When I heard that Tommy Thompson was running for president, I had to laugh in amusement. The man was a total nincompoop while in the Bush administration, and his latest goof is nothing to even bat an eye about; it's just vintage Tommy Thompson:Speaking to an audience at the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism in Washington D.C., Thompson said that, "I'm in the private sector and for the first time in my life I'm earning money. You know that's sort of part of the Jewish tradition and I do not find anything wrong with that.I wonder if Tommy understands what the fuss was about or if the apology was issued just because it's po
Thompson later apologized for the comments that had caused a stir in the audience, saying that he had meant it as a compliment, and had only wanted to highlight the "accomplishments" of the Jewish religion.