Ahhh...Catholicism

Y'know, Schmidlap had the right idea abandoning this religion. Come to think of it, I'm knee-deep in doing the same thing, too.

Somebody must've been working with Ratzy and playing the old Mr. Robinson's Neighborhood alphabet game. "D", is for dogma and doctrine.

While traveling around Brazil, and *there's* a country come Carnival time that says, "Let's party and then start the most penitent part of the Christian calendar," God's Rottweiler gave us the following gem about politicians and abortion:

But before Benedict even got off his plane in Brazil, he stoked a debate among Catholics who have been arguing whether politicians who approve abortion legislation as well as doctors and nurses who take part in the procedure subject themselves to automatic excommunication under church law.

...

But Lombardi added that politicians who vote in favor of abortion should not receive the sacrament of Holy Communion.

Anybody remember what the 2004 Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry went through when the religious right got their Wurlitzer started?

It's okay to play to play the pedophile shell game. It's okay to be hypocrites. It's even better to lead all kinds of cleansing "In His Name," throughout most of the Middle Ages.

But to have a tolerant, scientific approach about women having reproductive rights and formulating a well thought out opinion that has to do as much with population science and privacy as it does with anything else, they're going to remain stuck in the Dark Ages.

Best of all, Ruu-dee, who stands for really nothing at all, won't even get near this one.

And the band plays on...

The Way Back Machine

GWB, Fall 2000:

I'm worried about over committing our military around the world. I want to be judicious in its use.

Fearless Leader on Tornado Survival

"...a lot of folks had basements here in this part of the world"

Back to normal (for me)

Back and un-jetlagged!

We don't need to torture prisoners--just make them fly long-haul coach.

Can we PLEASE buy France some soap?

VETO

So the Chimp is all excited - he might get to pull out his veto pen again. But remember what he's all excited about - vetoing money for his war. No matter what Congress proposes, unless they give him everything he wants, the way he wants it, he will veto. That's not "leadership", that's being a dictator.

If he won't work with anyone else, ever, then the only possibility is to get rid of him. Most presidents begin to worry about their legacy, but he continues to live in a dangerous world of delusion.

Frankly, if he doesn't want his money, that's fine. Bring the troops home, then.

IMPEACH

Science, students, and activism

One of the most frustrating things for me about the current political landscape is the lack of participation by younger voters (18-24). This is a group of people who will be profoundly affected for years to come by decisions that politicians make, but who have not connected themselves to the political process. Imagine how different the political landscape would be if 18 year olds voted in the same percentages as 70 year olds.

So I decided to try to do what I can to influence my students. My theory is that if they get involved now, they're likelier to stay involved. In the fall semester, I gave them extra credit if they (a) voted and (b) wrote a paper about science and politics. This semester, I made a required part of the course a paper about an issue of public interest that had important connections to science and then to spread the word to some community outside the class. Given the chance to care, the students did an excellent job - they wrote on global warming, stem cell research, banning smoke in public places, the spread of communicative diseases - heck, even the injuries caused by wearing a backpack over one shoulder. They wrote to their senators, the President of the University, letters to the editor, and letters to professional organizations. Their political opinions don't always line up with mine, which is fine - I just want them to think and participate.

Courting the moron contingent

During the GOP debate last night (and no, I didn't watch it), the moderator asked for a show of hands of which candidates did not believe in evolution.

pause

Yes, that was an actual question. Hand raisers - Sam Brownback, Tom Tancredo, Mike Huckabee, apparently in competition for the Presidency of the United States of Christ or something.

Later in the debate, they asked who didn't believe in gravity. (Okay, no they didn't - but it just missed the cut.)

Four more years!

So, Chimpy McFlightsuit is going to commemorate four years of celebrating Mission Accomplished with his veto pen. It's the one he's only pulled out to support his Culture of Life by preventing scientists from doing research that could save lives and now, by refusing to consider ending the occupation of Iraq by US forces. He has said, many times, that he won't agree to anything with a timetable in it, and this weekend, he sent his Secretary of Hate out to the talk shows to explain that he also wasn't interested in requiring anything of the Iraqi "government":

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said yesterday that President Bush will reject any attempt by Congress to require the Iraqi government to meet benchmarks as a condition for US troops remaining in Iraq...

The president and the administration are still prodding the Iraqi government to meet its goals for political progress and quelling sectarian violence, but the Bush camp does not want deadlines for them to be enshrined into law, she said.

"The benchmarks that are anticipated here, of course, [are] benchmarks that the Iraqis themselves have adopted. They are benchmarks that they need to meet," Rice said on CNN's "Late Edition." "We are telling them all of the time that their national reconciliation is moving too slowly [and] needs to move more quickly."

Now, this is an administration that doesn't believe in consequences or planning, so it's quite natural for them to decide that the Iraqi "government" should play no role in anything as trivial as getting our soldiers home and ending the flow of hundreds of billions of dollars into a giant black hole. And the Iraqis themselves are planning on taking July and August off (hey, just like ol' President Ranchhand!). The combined lesson, of course, is that neither the Bush administration nor the Iraqi "government" seems to have any interest in ending the occupation.

If you would like a little reflection on the costs of this disaster, the Democrats in the Senate have put together a little interactive map, showing the number of men and women from each state currently serving in Iraq, the number who have been killed, the number who have been wounded, and the cost of the war (in dollars) attributable to that state.

For example, here's the data from Illinois:

* Number of Active Duty Service-Members in Iraq: 7,124
* Number of Reserve Forces in Iraq: 1,449
* Number of Service-Members Killed in Iraq: 120
* Number of Service-Members Wounded in Iraq: 934
* Cost of War to the People of Illinois: $20.5 billion

(Source: CTS Deployment File, 1/31/07; Department of Defense Personnel Statistics; nationalpriorities.org)

One quickie from Greece

I'm sitting in an Internet cafe just above the Mykonos windmills, just after sunset. My wife just left, staying in Athens tonight and headed home tomorrow, while I'm kicking around Athens for a couple of days.

Been TOTALLY out of touch, what's new in the world? Be home Sat.

Some observations:

1) There is not a highway to hell. You do not go to hell in a handbasket. If you are going to hell, you go through Charles DeGaulle airport in Paris. My God, they should just blow that disaster up and start over.

2) Americans should not be allowed to leave the country. Period. We're dicks. God I hate it when I see Americans making asses out of themselves expecting everything to be like it is at home. If you want home--stay home.

3) It is amazing how different (and wonderfully refreshing) the international press is on TV.

4) Go to Santorini. I have never seen ANYTHING like it. Period.

Wisdom

One of the positive outcomes from someone's death can be a reflection on what they did that benefited the world. Such is the case with Kurt Vonnegut, whose words continue to teach.

There are plenty of good reasons for fighting, but no good reason ever to hate without reservation, to imagine that God Almighty Himself hates with you, too.

Snopesed!

Well, it seems that Mr. Connie Miskimen is a lawyer who apparently enjoys wasting people's time (I wonder what he would do if the world billed him for his time) by writing stupid letters to the editor to see if they will get published. Well, he has proven that the editors at the newspaper were either idiots or pranksters.

All together now: Go sit in the corner...

Pete's not here right now, but I think he'd appreciate the following:

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Northwest Edition

Daylight exacerbates warning[sic]

You may have noticed that March of this year was particularly hot. As a matter of fact, I understand that it was the hottest March since the beginning of the last century. All of the trees were fully leafed out and legions of bugs and snakes were crawling around during a time in Arkansas when, on a normal year, we might see a snowflake or two.

This should come as no surprise to any reasonable person. As you know, Daylight Saving Time started almost a month early this year. You would think that members of Congress would have considered the warming effect that an extra hour of daylight would have on our climate. Or did they ?

Perhaps this is another plot by a liberal Congress to make us believe that global warming is a real threat. Perhaps next time there should be serious studies performed before Congress passes laws with such far-reaching effects.

Connie M. Miskimen, Hot Springs (Thanks to Bartcop for the image.)

Where do I begin, oh Connie M. Miskimen? Is it with the typo in the title? Or that the bill changing when Daylight Savings Time would start was passed by the previous Congress, which was controlled by Republicans? Or, perhaps, that you have somehow imbued our Congress with the ability to actually change the rate at which the Earth rotates, thus adding an extra hour to the day? I mean, really, why didn't Congress give us that extra hour in the fall, so that it doesn't get so cold?

Connie M. Miskimen, of Hot Springs Arkansas,

Must be getting famous

We have a Wikipedia page!

Thinking or Sitting ([www.thinkingorsitting.blogspot.com]) is a political blog created by Peter Rasmussen. The content is left of center politics, presented both in serious commentary and often crass humor. Peter's partners (names unknown, but they contribute under such names as DocMagoo, ZinfandelFan and Rousing Rabble) appear to be lawyers and college professors. In a regular feature, Peter picks out absurd letters to the editor in the Chicago Tribune to mock, finishing with a graphic showing someone sitting in the corner with a duncecap, and the slogan, "Go sit in the corner, *******."

The site has been in existence for approximately two years, and attracts thousands of visitors per week. Legal analysis and historical and constitutional discussion is a frequent feature of the blog. The blog has been mentioned on the Stephanie Miller radio show, and is listed as one of twelve recommended liberal and progressive blogs by WCPT radio, Chicago (http://www.wcpt850.com/links/).

Well, they've done it

Both houses of Congress have now passed a bill that would end the war in Iraq next year. It's far from a perfect bill, but it would be a major step forward. As Senator Barack Obama said today, "We are one signature away from ending the Iraq War."

Of course, we won't get that signature. We'll have to see what the next step is, but at the very least, the Democratic Party has now stood up and done what the American people have been asking for.

Four Years

Tuesday, May 1 will be the fourth anniversary of Chimpy McFlightsuit saying "Major combat operations have ended." Take a look back at what we heard from the right in those first heady days of Bush's glorious war.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/archive/fouryearslater1.jpg

When we lost the war

There has been a fury of writing lately (mostly in neocon land, some in SCLM land) about how awful it was that Senator Harry Reid said that we'd lost the war in Iraq. A number of Democrats, as well, have been trying to backpedal from what Reid said (without trying to look like they were backpedaling, of course). Reid was right, of course, but there's something he missed in his statement - when the war was lost.

We lost the day we invaded. The second the first soldier's foot touched down on Iraqi soil, the war was lost, irrevocably and forever. There was never anything that anyone could have done to turn that instantaneous defeat into victory. We invaded a country based on lies, a country which had not attacked us (and could not have done so, even if there were any indications that it had intention to), and diverted our attention from the real enemies - the terrorists who had actually attacked us and the governments and financial enterprises which made their attacks possible. No "success" could erase the stain of what our country did in the name of fear, hate, ignorance, and greed. No false argument about freedom and democracy can hide the facts. We have killed many, many people and ruined the lives of countless others, people from all over the world, based on lies. We have spent hundreds of billions of dollars, money which hurts our nation's power worldwide and money which could have been used to make the lives of millions of people better, based on fear and hate.

We lost the day the war began. Every day since then (and for decades to come), we have been serving our punishment.

Impeach.

Response from Senator Durbin

Senator Dick Durbin's response to the email about impeachment I sent to his office a few days ago:

Thank you for contacting me regarding the actions of the Bush
Administration and proposals to impeach President Bush and Vice
President Cheney. I appreciate knowing your views on these matters.

Removal of the President, Vice President or other federal officials by
impeachment is one of the most serious constitutional responsibilities
delegated to the Congress. Impeachment procedures are used very
infrequently. This legislative mechanism has been reserved for
carefully investigating and trying allegations of serious misconduct on
the part of the President, the Vice President and civil officers of the
United States. The House of Representatives has the Constitutional
authority to determine whether to impeach and to draft articles of
impeachment. Should the House vote to impeach an official and specify
the grounds upon which impeachment is based, the matter is then
presented to the Senate for trial.

I am troubled by many of the actions of this Administration. The
American people are also concerned, as demonstrated by the mid-term
elections. The new leadership in Congress is working for a new
direction for our nation while reinstituting the Congressional oversight
of the Executive Branch that has been sadly missing in recent years.

I will keep your views in mind as the fact-finding continues. Thank you
again for sharing your views. Please feel free to contact me again with
any concerns you wish to share.

Ya sas!

Hello from Greece! I am typing this from a cafe with a view of the Acropolis.

What do other countries think of us? Here is an excerpt from an Athenian newspaper:

All of this changed with President George W. Bush. Suddenly all the reactionary, dark instincts of “Middle America” came to the fore. The arch-conservative evangelical Christians began to determine the superpower’s foreign policy. America the extrovert with its pop culture became frightened, wary, almost paranoid. September 11, which brought an outpouring of sympathy from the world, proved to be the start of an unbelievable and silly “crusade” with tragic results in Iraq. Osama could not have expected a better outcome, as Bush undertook al-Qaida’s recruitment campaign.

Everything indicates that the average American understands the dark path it entered seven years ago. The next president will have to turn to realpolitik. But Bush has caused irreparable damage. History will be merciless with him, because, for no reason, he set fire to the planet’s most crucial region, because he isolated America and because, in the end, he brought Osama bin Laden into every last hovel in the Islamic world. Who said history is not determined by personalities?

A dare for you

Try to read this article and remember that it's 2007.

Excerpts:
ASHBURN, Georgia (CNN) -- Students of Turner County High School started what they hope will become a new tradition: Black and white students attended the prom together for the first time on Saturday.

In previous years, parents had organized private, segregated dances for students of the school in rural Ashburn, Georgia, 160 miles south of Atlanta.

Adkinson's sister, Mindy Bryan, attended a segregated prom in 2001.

"There was not anybody that I can remember that was black," she said. "The white people have theirs, and the black people have theirs. It's nothing racial at all."

Another tradition that ended this year -- having two separate homecoming queens.

In the past, two queens were chosen -- one white, one black.

But not everyone in the town of 4,400, famous for its peanuts and Fire Ant Festival, was breaking with the past.

The "white prom" still went on last week.

"We did everything like a regular prom just because we had already booked it," said, Cheryl Nichols, 18, who attended the dance.

Nichols said while her parents were in support of the integrated prom, some of her friends weren't allowed to go.

"If they're not coming tonight it's because either they had to work and they couldn't get out of it or because their parents are still having an issue because they grew up in south Georgia," she said.

"I've asked, 'Why can't you come?' and they're like, 'My mommy and daddy -- they don't agree with being with the colored people,' which I think is crazy," she said.

Well, it is a true statement

"The president's record on climate change is very strong, [White House spokeswoman Dana] Perino said.

Yes, yes it is. Just like, say, Dan Quayle's record on spelling, George Wallace's record on civil rights, the Chicago Cubs record on winning the World Series, or Dick Cheney's record on, well, anything. Strongly negative is still strong, right?