My New Policy

POSTED BY JHW22

You know how the House Republicans required some Constitutional statement at the beginning of all new bills? Well, I've decided that from now on, any time a "Christian" wants to talk politics with me, they have to cite a section(s) in the Bible where JESUS (not Paul or Moses or anyone else) is quoted in support of their political stance.

If they want to say poor people are lazy, they have to show me where JESUS said it. Not where Paul wrote a letter to the Thessalonians. And if they can't support their political views with their more important religious views of CHRIST himself, then their principles are compromised and thus not even remotely relevant in a conversation. Not worth my time.

OMFG!!

Posted by JHW22

I am LIVID! About as LIVID as I get and if you knew me in person, you'd know that's pretty fucking LIVID!

Susan G. Komen decided to stop giving grants to Planned Parenthood. Why? Because they hired some right-wing FREAK who has had it out for Planned Parenthood and she decided that because PP is being "investigated" (by fellow Republicans who have it out for Planned Parenthood) they can't get any grant money.

Some gal, in a Facebook comment thread, is saying it's a good thing because abortion increases chances of breast cancer and that PP should only raise private money and Komen should only spend money on research. Forget the fact that the Komen money PP gets IS private money and forget the fact that Komen has given money to PP in the past FOR detection of breast cancer, and forget the fact that, according to Komen's own site:

Research clearly shows abortion (also called induced abortion) does not increase the risk of breast cancer.

Here's the crux of our problem, America. We let FUCKING IDIOTS drown in misinformation to the point that an organization with a reach like Komen's WILLFULLY hires an ideological hack and then they make a decision that essentially relegates the Komen executive board to "Death Panel" status.

The more the right-wing chips -- hell, JACKHAMMERS -- away at PP, the more women will DIE. It's not hyperbolic to say so. Women need access to screenings of all kinds. And yes, some women need access to abortions. But the micro-cosmic backlash on abortion has become a macro-cosmic attack on ALL women. Women who aren't pregnant or seeking abortions will die because right-wing zealots are keeping life-saving services from them because they think that, somehow, this action prevents abortions.

I don't know where Susan G. Komen stood on abortion. But I'd really like to know what she would think about her name becoming the ugliest name associated with women's health care right now.

Don't just be pissed. DONATE to Planned Parenthood, FIGHT all the right-wing candidates in your state, VOTE on election day!

Do NOT let anything keep you from voting, folks! And VOTE wisely. A woman's life may depend on it.

Pro-Life

POSTED BY JHW22

I just read this article on the effects of a down economy on infant mortality. I feel sick and angry. Angry at the GOP for effectively defining what it means to be "pro" LIFE. Why the hell don't we, as liberal, progressive, bleeding-hearts take that word, LIFE, back. WE are the party that fights for the survival of the weakest among us.

Being Pro-Life should mean not turning your back on the struggling class in America. Being Pro-Life should mean dumping the B.S. of "personal responsibility" as a way to deny people survival and instead reclaiming the real Christian support of Pro-Life -- helping the poor rather than rhetorically and politically spitting on them.

I am Pro-Life: I support policies and funding of any program that will give a woman a healthy body, that will give a child a healthy and real chance at a full life. Pro-Life isn't about the abortion issue. It's about how you support the life of the person you think is lazy, worthless and looking for a handout. If you don't value their lives, don't call yourself Pro-Life just because you like to tell women what they can and can't do with their own bodies. Pro-Life means you will fight as hard for those outside the womb as those inside. I am Pro-Life and I am Pro-Choice because I value a woman enough to give her all the resources she needs to live the best life she can. And I want a child to have the chance to be the best he or she can be.

Herman Cain? Seriously?

Is this what passes for a serious politician in the eyes of the Tea Party, or whoever is actually donating money to Herman Cain?

At the beginning, he seemed like just another in a long line of wannabe candidates committing silly gaffes like confusing the Declaration of Independence with the Constitution while touting Constitutional tenets. But here we are, further on down the line from his initial foray into the world of American politics for his humble pizza mogul beginnings, and it would seem the more we know about Herman Cain's positions, the more we can categorize them, and him, as troubling to say the least.

White-knuckling the Constitution while agreeing with religious discrimination is disturbing.

Presidential hopeful Herman Cain on Sunday sided with communities that want to ban mosques, saying Americans have a right to oppose the construction of places of Islamic worship.

..."Our Constitution guarantees separation of church and state. Islam combines church and state," Cain said Sunday. "They're objecting to the fact that Islam is both a religion and a set of laws," Cain said of the opponents.

When asked if his beliefs constitute discrimination, Cain disagreed, saying: "I am willing to take a harder look at people that might be terrorists. That's what I'm saying."

Well, the Constitution doesn't literally guarantee separation, but as we can obviously tell, Cain is by far not a Constitutional scholar. And sure, he's just looking out for terrorists because you know, they're all Muslim. (Please omit Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols, Ted Kaczynski, Britian's Robert Cottage and David Jackson, need I go on?)

Still, separation of church and state hasn't been what Cain's advocated in the past.

Repeatedly over the last several years, Cain has spoken out in support of letting local, state and federal government be used to promote Christianity. At a recent Tea Party rally, Cain angrily declared, “It was during the Fifties that the United States Congress voted to add ‘one nation under God’ with liberty and justice for all, because we are a God-fearing Christian nation!”

Well, what is it? Are we a Christian nation or do we believe in religious separation when it comes to politics? And this is after Cain has stated he wouldn't appoint Muslims to his Cabinet posts or federal judgeships should he become President. I suppose he'll need to reread his precious Constitution to refresh his memory on the No Religious Test clause.

Oh, and should we mention Cain thinks it's a good idea to have a Great Wall of Chine type of fence, complete with an alligator-filled moat as a deterrent to border immigration? Or that President Obama isn't a real black man? The more Harman Cain opens his mouth, the more he amazing us with jaw-dropping quips. And the more he reveals himself to be an unserious candidate despite Tea Party support.

Still Waiting on Texas To Make Good On Their Secession Threat

Think Progress: The Texas State Board of Education review committee is preparing to vote on a draft of proposed standards for history textbooks. Noting that the draft has “nothing about liberals,” the Houston Chronicle reported:

The first draft for proposed standards in United States History Studies Since Reconstruction says students should be expected “to identify significant conservative advocacy organizations and individuals, such as Newt Gingrich, Phyllis Schlafly and the Moral Majority.” [...] Others have proposed adding talk show host Rush Limbaugh and the National Rifle Association.

The 15-member committee, stacked with 10 Republicans, is expected to vote along party lines. Earlier this year, a panel of right-wing “experts” produced a report urging the committee to remove biographies of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Stephen F. Austin, César Chávez, and instead add history about the “motivational role the Bible and the Christian faith played in the settling of the original colonies.”

How about it, Texas? C'mon, Rick Perry! We know you can do it. Some of us would support you 100% in your effort to secede. Whaddaya say?

Is Obama Christian Enough?

Whenever I hear someone ask about Barack Obama's religion or religious beliefs , I always ask, "Why is that important? What difference does it make?"

Would you refuse to vote for someone on the simple point of his or her religion? If the answer is 'yes' then you don't know your history.

Article Six of the US Constitution states that "...no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States. " Our forefathers, religious men all, knew of the consequences of a theocracy and actually wrote a directive in our soon to be 222 year old Constitution to prevent such a thing happening in the United States as it happens in Saudi Arabia or Iran.

The reason I bring this up is because when I hear supposed "Christians" like Cal Thomas not only question someone's Christianity, but whether they are "Christian enough", I shake my head in amazement.

In a column published last week, Cal Thomas took a verbal swing at Barack Obama's claim to be a committed Christian. "He can call himself anything he likes," wrote the syndicated columnist, "but there are certain markers among the evangelicals he is courting that one must meet in order to qualify for that label."

..."... [T]here is a clear requirement for one to qualify as a Christian and Obama doesn't meet that requirement," stated Thomas. "One cannot deny central tenets of the Christian faith, including the deity and uniqueness of Christ as the sole mediator between God and Man and be a Christian. Such people do have a label applied to them in scripture. They are called 'false prophets.'"

Oh really, Mr. Thomas? He has to meet with the approval of evangelicals to "qualify" as a Christian? And which evangelicals would those be? Do you happen to have a list? Perhaps we can start with the more Christian ones and work our way down, seeing as you know who the real Christians are and who are "false prophets."

A quick Google search of "Cal Thomas" reveals a few books he's written, his official website and various articles and appearances he's made on Fox News. His Wikipedia page reveals a very light biography stating that he was a reporter in the 60's and 70's and the Vice President of the Moral Majority from 1980-1985. There is no mention of schooling, whether secular or seminary.

And yet this man seems to know who is more Christian, less Christian or Christian at all. I don't claim to be a religious expert, but I'll defer to someone who commented on Thomas' website in regards to Obama's Christianity:

Posted by radar, June 20, 2008 4:36:41

First, let me say that I am a political moderate; with over 40 years voting, I have probably divided my votes equally between Republicans and Democrats, altho [sic] I have also voted for 3rd party candidates. I agree with Cal that no one should use their Christianity to gain political (or any other) advantage. While Obama may be headed that way, clearly the Republican Party has been doing this for years. I hope and pray that all guilty folks will stop, be they Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative, black or white, or whatever. I also am moderate when it comes to my Christianity; my father and both grandfathers were ministers, and I have been in Baptist churches all of my 64 years, and currently serve as Chairman of Deacons in a Southern Baptist Church. Based on my 64 years of study and being taught at my ancestors' tables, I disagree with Cal as to our right to judge another person's Christianity; while we can judge someone's actions, to say someone is not a Christian when they profess to be is not our job. If someone who professes to be a Christian doesn't behave as a Christian, we certainly have a responsibility to confront that individual, but not to denounce him/her as being a non-Christian. I think Cal crosses the line when he writes that Obama is not a Christian.

Truly the Christian answer.

Perhaps it is Cal Thomas for whom we should be reserving the right to confront as "someone who professes to be a Christian but doesn't behave as a Christian." And even so, for the sake of argument, let's listen to those evangelicals Thomas speaks of and see what they have to say about those "certain markers... one must meet in order to qualify for that [Christian] label."

From the Washington Post:

This month, the Illinois senator held a closed-door meeting in Chicago with almost 40 Christian leaders, including evangelical heavyweights such as the Rev. Franklin Graham, publishing magnate Steve Strang and megachurch pastor Bishop T.D. Jakes.

..."I've never seen anything quite like it before," said evangelical author Stephen Mansfield, who wrote "The Faith of George W. Bush" and has a forthcoming book about Obama. "To be running against a dyed-in-the-wool Republican, and to be reaching into the Christian community as wisely and knowledgeably as (Obama) is -- understanding their terms and their values -- is just remarkable."

Strang wrote in a blog, Obama "won over the loyalties of many. He came across as thoughtful and much more of a 'centrist' than I would have expected," Strang wrote, adding that he hopes McCain will host a similar gathering.

It seems that the religious evangelical leaders that met with Senator Obama were impressed by him, much more so than a crackpot like Cal Thomas would have been, with his preconceived ideas and his notion that he can decide who is a Christian and who is not. The fact is that Cal Thomas is a political tool, a pundit hiding in evangelical clothing, casting doubt on those he is told to cast doubt upon. He is a reporter, and a hackish one at that, using lies and smears for his political agenda. Is that how a Christian acts?

And speaking of acting like a Christian, if you're not planning on voting for Obama because of a religious question, that leaves John McCain. And is McCain a Christian? A man who cheated on and divorced his first wife after finding out she had a disfiguring car accident while he was a POW? A man involved in a savings and loan scandal that robbed thousands of their retirement funds and cost the US taxpayer $3.4 billion? A man who was tortured for five and a half years during the Vietnam War and spoke out against torture his entire life in public service until it was politically convenient for him to vote against a ban on waterboarding? Is that the kind of "Christian" man you would vote into the Oval Office?

As the first lines of the Cal Thomas/Obama smear e-mail I received state, "Please read this and take this coming election very seriously. Please pray about how you will vote." And for those of you who do pray, I hope you will pray for the strength to vote for what you believe is right, and not for what you are told to believe is right.


Also read: Keep Cal Thomas Away From Your Kids

Grand Canyon Apparently Not As Old As We Thought

Every time I think I can't possibly get any angrier at these idiots running the show, I come across something like this:

Grand Canyon National Park is not permitted to give an official estimate of the geologic age of its principal feature, due to pressure from Bush administration appointees. Despite promising a prompt review of its approval for a book claiming the Grand Canyon was created by Noah's flood rather than by geologic forces, more than three years later no review has ever been done and the book remains on sale at the park, according to documents released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER).

"In order to avoid offending religious fundamentalists, our National Park Service is under orders to suspend its belief in geology," stated PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch. "It is disconcerting that the official position of a national park as to the geologic age of the Grand Canyon is ‘no comment.'"

Yes, go ahead and read it again, I'll wait. I had to read it twice myself to actually fathom that something this ludicrous is happening within the borders of the US. And the topper is that for the last three years, the only book approved to be sold in the park bookstore is "Grand Canyon: A Different View". I'll wait again while you pick your jaw up off the floor.

Have I mentioned how much I hate these people?

Read the rest of the article.