I Can Hear You If You Stop Screaming!

Tags

Charlie Crist, equality, euthanasia, Florida, GOP, health care reform, Latinos, Mel Martinez, Sarah Palin, townhall meetings, Women's issues

We were wondering  just where Sarah “the Quitter” Palin got her “death panel” remarks for her Facebook post. We surely knew it was not from reading the various health care bills making the rounds of Congress. She doesn’t errrr, read much, and has shown a shocking disinterest in policy in general.

Well, we have the answer. No other place than the NRC, that bastion of brilliance run by our every wondrous Michael Steele.  It is they who are arguing that the government wants to promote euthanasia and so forth. 

At least some Republicans, who have some sense of honor, are backing away from these lies, such as Rep. Jack Kingston (R-GA) who admits they are nothing but scare tactics. Columnist David Brooks called her remarks “crazy.” Just so you know, Newt thinks she’s spot on, but Newt is so spot off, nobody pays any attention.

Of course the tea-baggers/astroturfers are nothing new in America. Periodically, we have flirted with this type of kill democracy and do it our way types. For a nice run down historically on the crazy element in American politics, slip on over to the The Daily Dish and read Andrew Sullivan’s take.

All of this raises the ugly specter we looked at a few weeks ago about hate speech and how much we can tolerate it when so many people think it gives them a license to go out and do violence. An excellent post at HuffPo examines this issue, and is worth a look see.

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The wingnuts appear from all places and get into all manner of stuff. The Rev. Elizabeth Kaeton tells us all about the “True Woman” movement.

Yes indeed, not to be believed in this day and age, but it’s true. They have conferences and teach women to be “biblical” and “complimentary” and basically walk two paces behind.

At the last meeting in Chicago in 2008, 6,000 demented females attended, all intent on affirming “male masculinity”  and being “subservient” in the name of Christ.

I kid you not, these folks are back to the “women who are abused bring it upon themselves by not behaving.”

Elizabeth does an excellent job of exploring the issue, giving you plenty of links and looking at various groups in this genre of living.

If you don’t read any other link, this is the one I would choose.

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Ya see, everyone knew that Mel Martinez (R-FL) was retiring and not running for re-election. He was also public about his support of  Latina SCOTUS nominee, and now associate justice, Sonia Sotomayor.

What nobody guessed is that Martinez would stick it to his Republican colleagues by quitting now and not finishing out his term. 

After spending eight long years attempting to court the Latino population in the US of A, Rethugs country wide have given up and decided it ain’t worth the effort. They just don’t really like those folks. Martinez stayed long enough to vote for Justice Sotomayor’s confirmation and then said adios amigos.

Worse yet, and calculated no doubt to inflict the most damage, this puts Republican governor Charlie Crist in a dilemma. You see Crist was planning on running for that office himself. Now he has to appoint an interim person to complete the term. Does he put in someone who promises not to run against him, and be seen as a self-serving politico, or does he put in someone who actually has interest in the job and is thus a potential rival?

Such things seem to happen to the GOP daily. Now they got no Latinos in their camp, and only one African American of “stature” and well, that’s saying it tongue in cheek, Michael Steele! It seems the Rethugs are back to being pretty much the party of old white and angry men. Oh we forgot, Sarah is their darling “girly” female type. Yeah, I’d go with that!

Well, enough of my ranting, Hope you have some nice weather you way. We’ve had hellacious thunderboomers and sheets of rain periodically. Hope you made it to church if that’s your persuasion. I did, and it always makes me feel renewed for the week.

As we say in The Episcopal church, “the worship is over, the service begins.” Now get out there and make a difference this week!