2008-10-31

Obama's Pastor

In a last ditch effort they are bringing up as many "Obama Links" as possible. Rev. Wright keeps coming up. Rev. Wright pales in insignificance to the Pastors of John McCain and Sarah Palin.

While digging up the vimeo video in the last post from my gmail, I notice that Bruce Wilson had a series of new videos. This one needs to be broadcast far and wide.

And so it continues:

This should be revisited

In Richard Dawkin's book "The God Delusion", I was reading (well listening - I have it on audible) of an inspiring quote from one the conservative movement's founding father. Barry Goldwater.

I am sick and tired of people today saying we are a Christian nation. If Obama is an atheist it should not matter. It shouldn't have to be political suicide to come out as an atheist It shouldn't be a smear as evidenced in the Elizabeth Dole special bag of dirty tricks.

Many of the rabid right wing try to emulate Goldwater.

They continue to excavate the poor tired bones of Ronald Reagan. The Republican party has been hijacked by the religious radicals.

With that I bring you the quote of the day.

However, on religious issues there can be little or no compromise. There is no position on which people are so immovable as their religious beliefs. There is no more powerful ally one can claim in a debate than Jesus Christ, or God, or Allah, or whatever one calls this supreme being. But like any powerful weapon, the use of God's name on one's behalf should be used sparingly. The religious factions that are growing throughout our land are not using their religious clout with wisdom. They are trying to force government leaders into following their position 100 percent. If you disagree with these religious groups on a particular moral issue, they complain, they threaten you with a loss of money or votes or both.

I'm frankly sick and tired of the political preachers across this country telling me as a citizen that if I want to be a moral person, I must believe in A, B, C, and D. Just who do they think they are? And from where do they presume to claim the right to dictate their moral beliefs to me? And I am even more angry as a legislator who must endure the threats of every religious group who thinks it has some God-granted right to control my vote on every roll call in the Senate. I am warning them today: I will fight them every step of the way if they try to dictate their moral convictions to all Americans in the name of conservatism.

bgSenator Barry Goldwater
Congressional Record, September 16, 1981

 

So what do we get in they year 2008? Sarah Palin and her "Be gone ye witchcraft" whackos.

 

You get people banging on five gallon water bottles who are horny for the end of the world and the "rapture".

 

Reflect on this, and then vote your conscience. I will never stop saying it because I love my country - a country that was founded in secularism and freedom. Not theocratic bullies, fascism, and jingoism.

Ignorance is preferable to error; and he is less remote from the truth who believes nothing, than he who believes what is wrong.

And let us reflect that, having banished from our land that religious intolerance under which mankind so long bled and suffered, we have yet gained little if we countenance a political intolerance as despotic, as wicked, and capable of as bitter and bloody persecutions.

Millions of innocent men, women, and children, since the introduction of Christianity, have been burnt, tortured, fined, and imprisoned; yet we have not advanced one inch toward uniformity. What has been the effect of coercion? To make one-half the world fools and the other half hypocrites. To support roguery and error all over the earth.

And placing greatest emphasis on this last one:

Because religious belief, or non-belief, is such an important part of every person's life, freedom of religion affects every individual. Religious institutions that use government power in support of themselves and force their views on persons of other faiths, or of no faith, undermine all our civil rights. Moreover, state support of an established religion tends to make the clergy unresponsive to their own people, and leads to corruption within religion itself. Erecting the "wall of separation between church and state," therefore, is absolutely essential in a free society.
We have solved, by fair experiment, the great and interesting question whether freedom of religion is compatible with order in government and obedience to the laws. And we have experienced the quiet as well as the comfort which results from leaving every one to profess freely and openly those principles of religion which are the inductions of his own reason and the serious convictions of his own inquiries.

-All from Thomas Jefferson

2008-10-28

Twitter is for baddies like us

The scaremongering flowing from the army is disgusting.

"Twitter has also become a social activism tool for socialists, human rights groups, communists, vegetarians, anarchists, religious communities, atheists, political enthusiasts, hacktivists and others to communicate with each other and to send messages to broader audiences,"

So... we should watch out for all of those... baddies? Can I just say WTF?

The underlying agenda here is more fearmongering. Oooh the baddies, the bad terrorists... Scaring poor old grandmas in Missouri. And they way they named off all of those labels as if they were villains.

He's a n*gger!

If you can stand to listen to the voice of Sarah Palin for two minutes and 38 seconds, listen to another of her rabid right wing supporters shout out the words "He's a n*gger!"


Some people are too stupid for their own good. I'm sorry But I find this kind of behavior inexcusable. If they needed any more reason to have their asses handed to them on Nov 4th (9% of Americans think the country is headed in the right direction as helmed by George W. Bush), this should be it. The "He's an Arab", "He's a Muslim", "He was named after Saddam Hussein"  flaming that has been going on is inexcusable.

Let's also not forget the "B-grade" actress Ashley Todd.

atodd

Who said she was attacked by one of those "big black guys".

The racism that is alive and well in all corners of this country is appalling.  When I first ventured into the American south - and the deep south I could not believe what I was hearing. As it turns out this isn't just limited to the American south. Views of the confederate flag are one thing, but when you have redneck dumbasses questioning you if you are "one of those dirty Mexicans" or "one of those Eskimos" on a construction site* - you start to feel a little uncomfortable. Especially when this person hits you on the head with a pipe wrench (I had a hard hat on).

I can only hope (praying to an invisible man in the sky does no good, we already established that) that Barack Obama wins next week. I would love to see the look on all these racist fuckers' faces. I would fear for Obama's safety and I would hope that threats like what we have seen yesterday are nothing more than weak attempts by less intelligent persons of racist persuasion. (Yes these idiots were from Tennessee).

*I worked a very short job on a construction site in 2000 and - a few of my fellow employees couldn't place my race. Although I had "one of those Mexican's" surnames I spoke coherent English, they used some not very impressive logic that I wasn't Mexican (I actually am half Mexican) but had to be something else like Eskimo maybe because I still had my Alaska license plate on my car. They did deduce that I was not 100% whiteboy.

Bears repeating

 

You've already seen it but it bears repeating. I HATED the old ad campaign of the wassup - it was annoying and stupid IMO. But here we have these guys who wanted to use their creativity (albeit -probably originally the advertising company's idea to start out with) and hopefully drive home an important message.

2008-10-13

Healthcare UR doin it wrong

lolcatgwb

 

I have about had it UP TO HERE with the BS that is the American healthcare system. I actually do have health insurance which I pay a pretty penny for and it still isn't worth a shit. I am on the highest plan available through my work. And me and  my employer pay out the ass for it too.  There isn't enough time in the day for me to write a sufficient rant about this healthcare system that is confusing and -well lets just say bullshit. I would like to remind anyone who still says that this is the greatest country in the world (ask if they have ever been to another country for any length of time) about the awful tragedy that is our healthcare system. Its sad cause you read about poor people in the south not being able to see a doctor - people with no insurance - dying because they can't afford healthcare. These same poor people are being brainwashed by right wing hate speech that universal healthcare is socialism and communism and everything else all rolled into one.  I am saying it right here, these right wing bigots like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity are spreading this misinformation when they themselves are immune to the sting in the wallet that comes with medical bills. That fat bastard Rush is out driving a Maybach sucking down Oxycontin I am sure he doesn't care about some puny medical costs. Or Sean Hannity - Employed by FNC & ABC radio I am sure he really knows what little people like us are going through when we get billed $600 for a single visit.

Again, its the end of the day and I need to hit the road. I am just plenty pissed. In an already F'd up country this is just another weak leg in an already broken table.

2008-10-11

Message to rich people:

Every 5 seconds, a child dies from starvation somewhere in the world, and the cost to have fed that child a nourishing meal is only 19 cents per day (source: World Food Program).

Chew on that.

Not so good @ liveblogging

For what its worth I am going to copy/paste what I had typed out using my N810 while at Obama camp hq in Nashville during the Nashville debate. I didn't get to type much due to wanting to pay attention to the debate and the flood of tweets. A lot of this is echoed in my tweets for that night.

Here it is:

Lots of media.
18:17 i came by here earlier looking for yard signs and they were out. they said they ran out as soon as they got them in. Ok i have just bought my yard sign. I had to go back to the truck to put the sign in the truck. I shed my sweater.
18:34 - food is served. Long line.
18:35 - plopped my ass down in a chair near the end of the line waiting for it to die down. This N810 is giving me so much comfort. I'm in my little bubble. LOTS of people & its hot.
18:41 - ch 4 is broadcasting. BBC world is uploading content.
19:45 having an interesting discussion with BBC World staff.
20:05 - fire the liars
20:07 - he is talking about energy ugg
20:10 - yes we need to help the middle class 95%!
20:13 - fannie may and freddie mac mccain ties :(
20:23 - a planetarium a waste? McCains antiscience showing.
20:26 - talk about thw war! We need to leave Iraq yesterday! Healthcare ! Yes
20:29 - yes tell us about those earmarks John.
20:35 - tax cuts for the rich :( bad idea
20:36 - wealthy: 250000 +
20:39 - 95% will not get a tax raise
20:40 -CEOs for mccain
20:45 - the "my friends" thing is getting old.
20:47 - excellent counter point to the "drill baby drill"
20:54 - i think the obama plan makes more sense re:healthcare
20:59 - obama knocked it out of the park re: healthcare
21:02 - Iraq = nothing to do with 9/11 pow!
21:09 - going into Iraq = causes more Jihadists want to kill us than before 9/11
21:16 - we do NOT want to go into Iran!
21:19 - Iraq will be the Republicans undoing.
21:21 -news flash : Putin not the president of russia
21:26 - stinking rotting corpse = mistranslation
21:34 - mccain knows hard times with how many houses again?
21:36 -its over Obama did a good job held his own. Trashed the whole "elitist" accusation rather well.
21:46 - the pundits at msnbc are saying Obama won it

2008-10-08

Coming out of the woodwork

rel

I will come to the debates (which I have to get to still) later, but I wanted to make a post regarding this film I saw on Friday. First, the trailer:

Now being interviewed on the women's program "The View":

And his appearance on Larry King:

I believe to be a non-believer in America is an uphill battle. Even evidenced by this film. Look at the number of screens its being shown on versus all of the other top 10:

boxofficemojo

I have made it easier for you to see:

screens

only 502 screens across the country.

I think the most important message in the film is, we don't need people in possession of the nuclear (yes that's nuclear not nucular) codes who want to expedite the "end times" and the second coming of Jesus.

rap

Why does religion have to dominate our elected officials? Why - when this country was founded as a secular republic by our founding fathers - does someone need a "I'm a Christian" punch card? I have said it before and I will continue to say it. The founding fathers would be appalled. They wrote the constitution with language that was simple, and easy to understand. They mapped it all out in 1787 right there. They did NOT mention God or Jesus or this being a "Christian Nation" at all. They didn't say you have to be a Christian in order to be President. Let's have a read:

No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United States, at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the office of President; neither shall any person be eligible to that office who shall not have attained to the age of thirty five years, and been fourteen Years a resident within the United States.

The only place it even so much as mentions religion is in the Bill of Rights - 1791

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Let's reiterate the relevant part:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion

Get it now? Its written in the constitution. I thought that the constitution still meant something. In an era where our rights are being stripped away from us, I guess they figure if they can tear one part of the constitution, they can tear another part. I have a problem with someone who is supposed to be representing me in government and gets his direction and guidance from talking voices in his head. There comes a time when the rational minority must stand up to the bullying. Bring this country back to how it was intended. This is NOT a Christian nation! With Bush the religious nuts who say we are a Christian nation came out of the woodwork.

nuts

You should recoil in horror when you see this type of garbage. I support the FFRF. They had got handed to them a religious smackdown after their billboard efforts were met with vitriol and an anti campaign.

kro

%12 of Americans are rationalists. Think of that number for a while. 98% of scientists say evolution is a fact. I say there should be no more of this privileged status that religion holds. People always tend to shut their ears and play the hurt feelings card when you talk about religion. I do respect your right to practice your religion - as per the first amendment as outlined above. I am not obligated however, to respect your religion itself. In other words, you can have an imaginary friend, an invisible man in the sky who can simultaneously hear the murmurs of billions of people at the same time, and also act on them, but don't expect you should be immune to ridicule because your feelings are hurt. You leave it open to ridicule when you start talking about global floods, walking on water, raising the dead, and the talking snake. This should not be a taboo subject.

Credits: Rapture by Marc Nozell. Vote Responsibly by Jacob K. Creative Commons attribution 2.0

.

Keep Religion out of politics by FFRF.

2008-10-03

What they wont say

More evidence Sarah Palin is not qualified

I watched the second half of the debate - I only have time to make a few quick points.

She refused to answer questions directly.
She hammed it up to the camera.
She made the SHOCKING revelation that she wants to see constitutional powers of the Vice President EXPANDED - WTF!!!
She attacked the shit out of Joe Biden.
She mocked him.
She said NOTHING of substance.
I applauded when Joe said John McCain was not a maverick.
If she or John McCain says maverick one more time I am going to go apeshit.
Joe was handcuffed. If he so much as made any counter attack he would be viewed as a bully.
She used that to her advantage and attacked the shit out of him.

Just some thoughts. I will post my live blogging efforts for all debates when I can get them complete. Right now I've got too much on my plate. Stay tuned.

2008-10-02

Hilarious email spam propagation

From our friends at the AFA.

Please help us get this information into the hands of as many people as possible by forwarding it to your entire e-mail list of family and friends.

Fed up with the extremely bias reporting on the presidential campaign by ABC, NBC and CBS? Do something about it!

Take The Viewers' Pledge! Our goal is one million pledges.

October 1, 2008

Dear Chris,

Are you tired of the extremely bias reporting by ABC, NBC and CBS? Do something about it! Tell the networks you are fed up with their attack on conservatives. Join other Americans who are tired of these networks promoting Barack Obama and attacking Sarah Palin. Take the pledge to not watch ABC, NBC or CBS until after the November elections! When the networks lose viewers, they also lose money. If viewers aren’t watching their promotion of Barack Obama and their trashing of Sarah Palin, they are losing money!

Send a message! We are sick and tired of your bias reporting, and we are not going to watch it anymore!

We will keep you informed on the progress of The Viewers’ Pledge.

Results will be given to ABC, NBC, and CBS.

The Viewers Pledge’ simply states, "I pledge not to watch any news programs on ABC, NBC and CBS until after the November elections."

Take the Pledge Now!

Please help us get this information into the hands of as many people as possible by forwarding it to your entire e-mail list of family and friends.

Sincerely,
Don
Donald E. Wildmon,
Founder and Chairman
American Family Association

I am always laughing at anyone who thinks they can make an impact by boycotting (Bill O'Reilly's hilarious call to boycott France in 2002) without significant numbers. This AFA boycott will have little impact thankfully. Its not like those days of segregation in the south, where blacks boycotted the buses successfully. You know why? its cause they had numbers. Idiots who think they can hurt the French economy by not buying French wine or cheese (the same idiots who call French fries "freedom fries"), or turning off the TV (meaningless unless they are Nielsen metered homes) are living in a delusion.

So when a small band of fundamentalist Christians think they can move the needle on the big three you gotta laugh. I am reminded with each new email, why I signed my name to the AFA "alerts" - for some good morning entertainment. And also so I can be quick to debunk it when confronted with the "Obama is a Muslim" malarkey. (notice the grammar errors dotted throughout the email heh heh.)

I am a bit angry with this group because of the opening plea:

"Please help us get this information into the hands of as many people as possible by forwarding it to your entire e-mail list of family and friends."

No we do not want any more bloody stupid email forwards thank you.