Just Say No To Abstinance Only

Info on the farce which is abstinence only education can be found here:
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/11/26/133251/89
If teens are told that condoms are unsafe, in all probability they will have sex without condoms. And many teens are just having oral sex instead.
Saying that teens who don’t abstain from Sex "deserve" to have consequences is not so far removed from the "honor killing" which occurs in some parts of the Arab world. (Especially in light of AIDS) What the right fears is not the consequences of pre-marital sex, but rather pre-marital sex with NO consequences. They have a stake in risky sex, because it re-enforces the concept of Abstinence. Putting them in charge of sex education is clearly the wolf guarding the hen house.

Terrorists?

There Were some Muslims detained at an Airport for saying prayers before they got on a plane. If they were terrorists, why would they pray BEFORE they got on the plane?

The Righty Show?

Fox is producing a right-wing version of the Daily Show.:
http://sadlyno.com/archives/4320.html

The Daily Show doesn't come out and say "we're liberal" and they do make fun of the left sometimes too. Ideology kills humor.
And the clips on "Sadleyno" arn’t that funny.
Like the way Julia Gorin Jokes about Nuclear Annihilation. Yeah, If Bush had been pres, we would have nuked Cuba, Alright! And she laughs at herself a tad to much.

Slave To Abstraction

Sometimes, there seems to be no escape from Religion. More so in the Arab world than here. The power of something so purely abstract shouldn’t be so powerful. Belief is smoke. Only books and buildings give any reality to it. To give substance to that which has no substance. And what is organized religion but a political organization devoted to the manipulation of both behavior and the mind?
The need for external restrictions of behavior is a the result of a lack of backbone and self-control. To seek self-improvement and the betterment of society for its own sake is the purist motivation. To embrace goodness just because God is going to "get you", is contrived and childish. Both the believer and the addict are looking for escape from the inevitable pain of exsistance.
Belief can give credence to the most unlikely of things. Eternal life with no pain? That is asking far too much of the universe. And eternal suffering for people you arn’t worthy of such a thing? How could a loving God do such a thing? This is pure Orwellian double speak.
Some people believe they are destined to win the lottery, or otherwise "hit it big." Some people think they can abuse their bodies and not pay for it some day. Others believe there is a God who loves them. Same thing, in all cases.
And what of "God’s will"? Its whatever the believer wants it to be.
And society gives such special rights and privilege for people who believe such things.
Belief, at best, is a set of training wheels for people who have yet for find their balance.

Do We Need Belief?

Sometimes, there seems to be no escape from Religion. More so in the Arab world than here. The power of something so purely abstract shouldn’t be so powerful. Belief is smoke. Only books and buildings give any reality to it. To give substance to that which has no substance. And what is organized religion but a political organization devoted to the manipulation of both behavior and the mind?
The need for external restrictions of behavior is a the result of a lack of backbone and self-control. To seek self-improvement and the betterment of society for its own sake is the purist motivation. To embrace goodness just because God is going to "get you", is contrived and childish. Both the believer and the addict are looking for escape from the inevitable pain of exsistance.
Belief can give credence to the most unlikely of things. Eternal life with no pain? That is asking far too much of the universe. And eternal suffering for people you arn’t worthy of such a thing? How could a loving God do such a thing? This is pure Orwellian double speak.
Some people believe they are destined to win the lottery, or otherwise "hit it big." Some people think they can abuse their bodies and not pay for it some day. Others believe there is a God who loves them. Same thing, in all cases.
And what of "God’s will"? Its whatever the believer wants it to be.
And society gives such special rights and privilege for people who believe such things.
Belief, at best, is a set of training wheels for people who have yet for find their balance.

As Bad As Going Blind

Bush just appointed his latest nutjob to oversee control of federally funded family planning. And to a man who apposes contraception, no less. He olso thinks that to much pre-marital sex can cause the depletion of a brian hormone., With no proof to back it up. ( Does masturbation cause Oxytocin depletion. (if is does, I'm in serious trouble)
Oh wait, that just causes blindness, right?
The trouble with using such scare tactics, is that fear doesn't improve self-control or make a person more moral. That’s why abstinence only programs tends to fail in the long term.

Transcendance

Could the human species be creating something which is "more than the sum of its parts"? I there a grand scheme for us? Is it being run by something else or simply our own doing? We may never truly now the answers to these questions, though perhaps we might sneak glimpse now and then. And the name for these glimpses is "hope."

Another Late Post

Gambling is an insipid foolish, and wasteful practice. The odds are stacked against the average gambler. And the biggest winners tend to be those who run and invest in casinos. So, one might assume I’m against issue 3, right? Wrong.
Gambling is an individual choice. It is not up to the government to tell people how they should spend their money. If people are foolish with their money, they don’t deserve to have it to begin with. There are plenty of other ways a person can squander their money. Such as internet porn, stock schemes, work at home scams, Ebay, ect.
Opponents of issue 3 seem oblivious to the fact that many Ohioans already go to Detroit and Windsor to gamble. And isn’t the lottery also a form of gambling?
And if people are going to gamble anyway, why shouldn’t the state receive tax revenue to support education?
So, this Tuesday, support individual choice and education. VOTE YES ON ISSUE 3!

A Follower Of Stalin, Not Reagan

How can people like Malkin claim to believe in freedom? She is a follower of Stalin, not Reagan or Goldwater.
Besides, most of these chicken hawks wouldn't last five seconds in a battlefield.

The Prison Of The Mind

Belief is the prison of the mind. Preconceptions only take us away from both truth and freedom. To believe in nothing is to see reality, and also too set the mind free.

Dueling Imperialists

The two greatest forces of imperialism in the world today is the West and the Islamic world. Those who truly believe and freedom and liberty should reject both. Its odd the way some on the left denounce the West and Christianity(not to mention Israel) for being oppressive, warmongering and patriarchal yet soft-petal the oppressive nature of Islam. How can one denounce one type of oppression and not denounce another form of it?

A Muslem Takeover?

Some pundits have warned of a "Muslim takeover" of Western Europe. Many Muslims in Europe have indeed failed to integrate and thus many Muslims ghettos have become essentially "another country." But, Muslims comprise less then five percent of the population of most European countries. And, there are the beginnings of a significant backlash against immigrants from Muslim countries. Internment camps and deportation will accur long before Europe turns Muslim. Despite all the talk of Europe’s "political correctness" "moral relitivism" Europe still has a strong undercurrant of Xenophobia and Nationalism which seems to be on the increase. While the elites of Europe seem to be promoting tolerance, the citizenry of Europe are fearing and hating Muslims more than ever. After a few more terrorist attacks, and this will only increase.
And much of the Muslim world is very backwards in terms of economic, technological and scientific power. On top of this, Muslims societies have high birth rate which will create more shortages of food and water, and farther economic stagnation..
Some European countries indeed have a "birth dirth" but this can be counteracted by tax breaks for child-bearers, promoting foreign adoption and immigration from non-Muslim countries.
The irony of this fear of a Muslim takeover is that belittles the values and resiliency of the West. In essence, a point of view shared by many Muslims! And many right-wing conservatives are against sexual freedom, religious tolerance and gay rights. Does that sound familiar?
The two greatest forces of imperialism in the world today is the West and the Islamic world. Those who truly believe and freedom and liberty should reject both. Its odd the way some on the left denounce the West and Christianity(not to mention Israel) for being oppressive, warmongering and patriarchal yet soft-petal the oppressive nature of Islam. How can one denounce one type of oppression and not denounce another form of it?

Rush Not A "Journalist"

Rush is a propagandist, not a journalists. The problems is, many of his listeners don't seem to realize that.
Some people have compared Michael Moore to Rush. Both Moore and Rush are re-enforce the preconceptions of their audiences. But at least Moore is using his camera to explore the outside world(albeit with a highly edited view) In this respect, Moore is the opposite of Rush, who lives in a very isolated environment. Moore, therefore, has more guts and is more willing to confront the people who disagree with him.
The bitter irony is that the right has long accused the left of being "pie in the sky". But, who’s out of touch now? Perhaps the right in general has gotten so good at taking control of "the message" they have forgotten about reality. And that’s why they’re in trouble.

Rumsfield also has shown his true colors, too. He literally told a reporter "not to worry." This is what the right has become. They are not truly "anti-government," only anti-accountability. The message seems to be, "don’t worry, we know what we’re doing." After 9/11. Bush’s message was "go out and shop." I.E. "Go ahead, buy what you want, but don’t really question what the government is doing." They want the American public to be complacent grazing animals, not lions who fight for democracy.
He may be gone, but his mentality continues.

As Bad As Her Husband

Lynne Cheney was recently interviewed on CNN and showed her true colors. She doesn’t really believe in questioning the authority of the government or freedom of the press. Most illuminating is her claim that "the government isn’t broken." In other word, don’t worry, the government needs no accountability.

Captain John Reilly (Not to be confused with Bill O)

The story of Captain John Reilly is compelling one of survival, hope and friendship. Its an overlooked event in history with wide-ranging consequences.

Fuck You, I'm Going to Heaven

The "Left Behind" series is based on the gospel of "I'm getting mine, so fuck you". It's about finding a magic ticket to heaven, not giving a damn. Faith should something more that reward and punishment.

Beginner's Mind

Buddists speak of the "beginner’s mind" in which a person lets go of preconceived ideas. The goal is to approach the universe with the wonder of a child, but with the wisdom of an adult. There is not formula or dogma or a particular way of life in which this can found. Everyone can only find it on their own. Enlightenment and harmony cannot be forced., Art, science and feeling can all be one. Everything in the world and the universe is laryed out before us, We must only open our eyes and awake to it. It is possible to have spirituality and rationality in the same moment. This is how we live to our true potential.
To be honest and unmittigated towards oneself and the world is the first step. And a sense of order, without narrow-mindedness, also must be put into play. This may not lead to perfection, but something close to it.
Harmony with the universe and other people cannot be found without harmony within one’s self.

Bi-Polar to No-Polar

We have gone from a bi-polar world, to a uni-polar world and now to a multi-polar world. There no longer is only a few "centers of gravity" in the world. What we have now is a world in which many regional players with a divided influence over the world. The world is emerging into a kind of "quasi-anarchy" in which the old "powers that be" are losing influence and power. This is an inevitable side effect of an interconnected, global economic and political systems. This is the dark side of Tolkin’s third wave.
The cold war may have been a time of imperialism, but, at least there was some restraint. Not so now.

800 Pound Bible Thumper

The 800 pound Gorilla in the room is that religious organizations in this country actually have more rights than secular ones.
The Problem with faith-based programs is one of who decide which religious groups are worthy of funding? This administration only funds evangelical groups.

Needs More Outrage

I think there wasn't more outrage over the new anti-terror law because most Americans are either ignorant about it or feel it won't effect them personally. But, it few more innocent people are kidnaped and tortured, it just might produce a backlash.

Bush's Information Police

Looks like Bush has his own "ministry of information". Well, he already has secret prisons and the ability to declare anyone he wants an "enemy combatant". Now, all he has to do is declare himself President for life and America is an authoritarian state.
Freedom on the march, indeed...

The Real Radicals

The Republican were radical while Clinton and most Democrats were trying their best to be centrist. Sure, some on the left thrive on division and bile(especially in the 60's), but the right in this country has mastered the art of division, ignorance and hate.

An Assult On Freedom

There are time when the far right and the far left seem virtually indistinguishable. Recently, Britain proposed a law to ban "ridicule or intolerance of any religion." A Conservative Christian group then threatened to stop a production of "Jerry Springer". This is both irony and poetic justice. Given the all too common tendency to use religion for political gain and to insight hatred and narrow-mindedness, the ability to actively critique and ridicule religion is vital to maintain a society which is truly free. Freedom of speech especially, cannot exist if people cannot actively question authority, be it secular or religious. In a free society, religion deserves no special treatment.

Late Post

Rove says he has an October Surprise. He's really an alien and war with Iraq was an insidious ploy to weaken the US military before the invasion. They attack on Halloween night..
BOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

A RUSHed Erection

What was Rush doing recently with a bottle of viagra in the Dominican republic, a country well known for its rampant prostitution?

"Thinkers" On The Right

Many "thinkers" on the far right have started to associate liberalism with Nazisim.
The Nazis believed in racially and ethnically superiority, were very much against multi-culturalism and left-wing activists. So much like today's left, right?
The right used to associate liberals with communists. This is a stretch, but at least there might be a few ideological similarities between the commies and the left.
And I notice that the government in Iran is railing against "liberals and secularists". Why doesn't the far right in this country move over there?

Asking For It

Bill Donahoe recently said that "..why didn't you just smack the clergyman in the face? After all, most 15-year-old teenage boys wouldn't allow themselves to be molested. So why did you?"
Once again, a "conservative" who talks about "personal responsibility" and "self-control" blames the victim of a sex crime rather than the perpretrator.
So, according to Mr. D, any 15 year old who doesn't fight off a would be raper is "asking for it."
I just love the "faith and values" this man has.
There is not conceivable "defense" of someone who commits a genuine sex crime.

We're all a little bi-sexual

The Right assumes an absolute line between "gay" and "straight". But, heterosexual men can have homosexual desires and vice versa.
Most men in prison, consider themselves "straight" even though their sexual behavior isn't.
And, there is not evidence that those who have homosexual desires are less moral than heterosexuals. And that’s where it gets really hypocritical!

Tortured Logic

Many nations who denounce the US human right record are hypocrites. What it the human rights record of Castro’s Cuba, for instance?
But, for the US to suspend habeas corpus for foreign nationals, to kidnap people and hold them without charges indefinitely and to "outsource" torture to undemocratic countries only emboldens those who hate the US.
When thing torture is effective at is making people talk. But, it does nothing to increase the probability of them telling the truth. Why, for instance, did the US government send out so many warnings that turned out to be false? And why did so many in the government think their were WMD’s in Iraq when there, of course, weren’t?
This policy is torturous for our foreign policy, our reputation and our ideals.
Advocating torture is not really about finding the truth, but giving the appearance of "getting tough" and "making the bastards pay." Its about vengeance and politics, not national security.