Snow Job

Did Tony Snow once work for the Soviet era Provda?
"I assure you comrades, that wheat harvests were good despite rumors spread by the decadent capitalists of the Western Imperialists."
According to Bush's supporters 70% of Americans are aiding and abetting the enemy. Gotta love the right's "Pro-American" worldview

Right Vs. Truth

Right wing blogger once again (surprise) got their fact wrong:
http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/9880.html

They’re goal is to smear liberals, not to be truthful. They have become just as self-deluding as the tone deaf wannabe’s on American Idol.

GOP puts Corporate Interests Above Security

More on the GOP’s commitment to keeping this country safe:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/art-levine/dick-cheneys-dangerous-s_b_40695.html

Who's aiding and abetting terrorists again? Will the dems in Congress do anything to stop this guy?
Are people like this really interested in protecting America or in the Almighty buck?

Right's Hatred Speaks For Itself

I think the right has paid a price for associating itself with far-right hatred: it make liberals seem more reasonable by comparison. The Democrats have become the voice of reason and moderation in the minds of many Americans.
If the GOP wants to embrace such extremists, let them. It will only hurt them in the long run.

Conservatives Don't Know "Jack" Or "Battlestar Galactica" for that Matter

Many conservatives have praised the new "Battlestar Galactica." But like "24" it not a really a partisan show. Both "24" and "Battlestar" has villains and heros on both the right and the left. In fact, what both shows have in common is their moral greyness, which is the antitheses of the right's world view. And they both happen to be my favorite shows.

Are Conservatives Funny?

The only genuinely funny conservative I know of is PJ O Rourke. Dennis Miller could occasionally be funny when he had is own show on CNBC, but he was canned.
But, it nothing compared to Cobert & Stewart,,

Besides, C & S do make fun of liberals, too, sometimes. (David Cross sometimes appears on Cobert as a stereotypical liberal)
Most of the humor from the right tends to be unintentional.

"cockroaches"

It should be noted that several other Right wingers besides Rush have called liberals "cockroaches." Haven’t these idiots seen "hotel Rwanda." Or did they see it and get some ideas?

Will Bush Bomb Iran?

I don't think Bush will really bomb Iran. Even he must realize his presidency is hanging by a thread. (what's his popularity, minus 5 or something?) Unless Cheney stages a Coup d'état and declares himself "president for life", (fortunately, with his weak heart, that won't be too long)

The Dutch Paradox

Nice post about the Netherlands:
http://www.bakelblog.com/nobodys_business/2007/02/sodom_and_holla.html#comment-28839864



I don't think the Dutch have many gay-bashing preachers who see male prostitutes and buy meth. Or many priests who preach against birth control and premarital sex only to molest alter boys.
It should also be noted that the Netherlands also have one of the lowest levels of church attendance. And look at the lower rates of STDs, Teen, Pregnancy, and most shocking to the Theocrates, lower rates of abortion too. A real "goddless" nation, huh?
The Netherlands is a huge embarrassment to social conservatives everywhere.
In my home state of Ohio, the man who wrote the draconian anti-gay marriage initiative has been divorced three times and has admitted to a porn addiction.
When of the most religious parts of the world is the Middle East, where people have been blowing their brains out for hundreds, if not thousands of years. Gotta love that "old time" religion, right?

Creationists Devolving

It should be noted that the evidence of evolution is increasing. This is something that creationists ignore. In fact, creationists have been in retreat for the last century. The scopes trial was about allowing schools to teach evolution. Now, just getting equal time for creationis and Intelligent Design has proved a near impossible goal in most industrialized nations. In the global scientific community, creationists can't even get their foot in the door.

Plenty Of Room For Blame in Iraq

There was indeed potential for civil war long before the US invasion. But, the US made it worse by disbanding the Iraqi army and firing many of Saddam's bureaucrats.

Not My Father's GOP

My father was a rational, libertarian "old school" Republican. Fiscally conservative but tolerant and pro-science. My sister had an openly gay male friend which she brought over to my house sometime. And he had no problem with him at all.
He loved jazz, even watched MTV with me and my sister. He went to church but was hardly a jealet.
Most conservatives like him have either become members of the Libertarian party, registered independent or blue dog democrats like Jim Webb of Virginia or Casey of Pennsylvania.In his dying days, Barry Goldwater lamented on the Christian Right takeover of the GOP.
They certainly don't make Republicans like they used too!

Thoughts On Islam And Personal Freedom

I don't think the problem is with Islam as a whole. I think the problem is that th fundamentalists in Modern Islam simply more power and influence than in other religions. Over seven hundred years ago, Christianity also was dominated by intolerant and violent fundamentalists who weren’t much better than present day Jihadists. They didn’t call it the "dark ages" for nothing.
This being said, there is no justification for being hypersensitive to Muslim sensibilities. Freedom of speech and personal autonomy are non-negotiable, period.

No "Prince"

Erik Prince Calls himself a "devout Christian" I'm sure Jesus, the prince of peace would love a guy who can "kill you before you even knows he's in the room"
I'm no expert on the bible, but does it say "blessed be the mercenaries?"
I think Prince would make a great villain for "24".
Erik Prince is a big funder of the far right. Are they planning on cluster bombing of abortion clinics and Berkley?

Outsourcing Bloodshed

Privatizing food service and laundry is one thing, but private mercenaries with almost no accountability, on the taxpayers tab? Isn't America better than that?

Thoughts On God And The Bible

God is the ultimate "tabula rosa". He is a blank canvas on which the believer can paint anything he or she wishes. Because most beliefs about God cannot be disproved. (Barring historical and scientific facts verified through evidence.)
There are countless opinions and writings about the nature of God. People point to the Bible. The Bible was written my many people and edited by committee. Is it the "word of God" or simply the whim of its individual writers and the people who edited it?
The Bible has many different versions, some which exclude certain texts. To complicate things more , the bible has been interpreted into hundreds of different languages. Most translation of any book arn’t literal. The interpreted often takes liberties with text in order to make it more readable. So, the bible read by someone in India might not really be the same bible read in the US. So, are some versions of the bible more "Godly" then others? And who decides this?

Christian Mercenary

Erik Prince founder of the mercenary outfit Blackwater is yet another self-described "Christian" who seems to be almost "anti-Christian" in the way he behaves. Jesus, after all, preached against war and the lust for money, and advocated tolerance. Things which Mr. Prince and his ilk have not concept of. Their use faith in a very self-serving and egocentric way, not as a means of humility and selflessness.

Freedom On The March?

It seems that the defense department is still spying on anti-war groups:

http://www.bakelblog.com/nobodys_business/2007/01/more_peacenik_s.html#comment-28313135

The last time I checked, Al Queda wasn't into non-violent social change. And, when was the last time a peacenick engaged in a suicide bombing in the middle of a crowed street?

Obscene Talk

If Radio stations can be fined by the FCC for bad words and sexual content, why can't they be fined for violent talk? Who decides what's "obscene" anyway?

The Failure of The Religous Right

I still can't figure out how going after bad words, banning stem cell research, banning abortion, banning gay marriage is supposed to "preserve the family" or "change the culture."
The Eight-hundred pond Gorillas in the room is that the Religious Right has failed in virtually all its goals, despite the unprecedented access they had the last six years to the hall of power.
Could it be the American people are getting fed up with the religious right? In the last election. issues such as gay marriage barely produced a ripple.

Dem's Dream Candidate..

I'm really hoping Brownback gets the GOP nomination. He's so extreme, Dems wouldn’t even have to campaign against him! He Would go down in history as a right wing George McGovern

What Have Pro-Lifers Really Done To Really Reduce Abortions?

Women have abortions because of unplanned pregnancy and/or they can't afford them. What have most of the pro-lifers done (other than promoting abstinence) to lesson the need for abortion? Many pro-lifers are against real sex education, against birth control and belittle the effectiveness of condoms. And many of these pro-lifers don't seem too worked up over cuts in government programs for needy children.
Their "anti-abortion" crusade is surprisingly oxymoronic. Instead of focusing on outlawing abortion, they should do more to take care of babies AFTER they are born. Being "pro-life" should extend after a person is out of the womb.
And take a look at Europe, which has lower infant mortality and lower teen pregnancy. This makes all the heavy handed preaching from far right ring quite empty.

The BIggest (and most unfair) Smear Against Liberals

One of the biggest smears the right has unleashed is to call liberals "moral relativists" or that the "are trying to undermine morality" Really? Is being against war and injustice a sign of immorality? Is it really "moral relativism" to be for tolerance, equality and non-violence? To accuse liberals of immorality is the right’s way of not dealing with the the issues the left is brings up.
Most human beings, be they liberals or conservatives have at least a semblance of morality. There are indeed some people who have no sense of right and wrong. They are called "socialpaths" or more scientifically speaking, they have "antisocial personality disorder." These are people who have no empathy for other people and no remorse at all for their actions. Such a person is hardly "liberal" in their nature. In fact, the most common complaint is of liberals having too much empathy and thus being "bleeding hearts".
In the late sixties and early seventies, there was indeed a faction of the left which had an "anything goes" mentality. But, this faction has become pretty much been marginalized by mainstream liberalism.
This is not to say liberals are perfect. The NEA, for instance, has made it virtually impossible to fire any teacher, even, in some cases, they have committed a crime. And, they seem to be more concerned with the welfare of teachers than the students.
But, to accuse them of "promoting immorality" to children is completely without basis.
The two biggest factors in the psychological makeup of a child is the family, the church they attend and the peer group he or she is associated with. The curriculum and policy of the schools the least significant influence.
This is the big fallacy of "abstinence only" and anti-drug programs. There are complex and ubigutous social forces in this society which can’t be blunted by a one hour a day(at the most) program in the schools. Because neither program has the capacity to really change long term values. Similarly, it is implausible that teaching comprehensive sex education, with information about condom and birth control is going to undermine the values of students.