Putting “Bob” in a Search Engine

Tags

critical reading, critical thinking, Louis Gohmert, Media, PPH, right wing extremists, sex education, Texas

You know, everybody says they “don’t believe everything” they hear. Everybody likes to think of themselves as discerning individuals who eyes can’t be covered with wool. But the truth is, most people aren’t educated, or have not taken the time to really work at what can only be termed a skill set.

Being a critical reader doesn’t come naturally. A Facebook friend of mine is busy trying to educate a few people about how to tell the questionable from the reliable. He makes a good point. You might want to ignore a source that gives you salacious or wild headlines without a corresponding story. In other words, if the headlines don’t turn out to match the actual verifiable facts in the story, well, you might want to look elsewhere.

A case in point was a recent Rachel Maddow show wherein Ms. Maddow referred to the town hall meeting that John McCain had. A woman referred to her son as having been the victim of gun violence. She wanted to know about what laws Congress might pass. McCain first expressed his condolences for the loss of the woman’s son, and then remarked that “Congress was not going to ban assault weapons.”

Now Rachel indicated that the tape of this had been edited by a local news operation, and that “it might unfairly portray Senator McCain as lacking in compassion. (the tape omitted the sentence regarding McCain’s sympathies). The tape was offered for the news that McCain was saying that the GOP was not going for any ban on assault weapons and this was before there had even been any hearings on Feinstein’s bill.

Yet, the headline from a right-wing shrill machine was something like “Rachel Maddow gleefully admits she edited tape to make GOP look bad.”

I assume you get the point.

The Daily Caller has been pushing the Melendez story. You have obviously heard about it. Melendez is accused of cavorting with paid prostitutes at a friend’s home in the Dominican Republic. The story was apparently “leaked” by GOP operatives and offered to ABC news. They declined.

The right-wingers would say, “see, the MSM is in the pocket of the Democrats. They don’t report on misconduct of one of their own.” Is that what happened? No. Not at all.

The fact is that ABC interviewed one of the “prostitutes”. When asked how she knew that the man she had only known as “Bob” was a US senator, she replied that “I put his name in a search engine and Melendez’ picture came up.”

Why, I invite you to try that and see what you get.

ABC news declined the offer as “unreliable”, which of course The Daily Caller jumped all over it. Which one do you want to use as a source of information? (And I’m not pushing ABC news since I don’t find them all that good either.)

Which brings me full circle, since yesterday I unfairly maligned a nurse quite possibly, for failing to render CPR assistance to an elderly assisted-living woman. Apparently the woman had signed a DNR and I can presume that the nurse was aware of it. Or I would expect that was possible. In any case, I admittedly relied on only what I heard on news broadcasts from MSM and failed to delve any deeper into better sources. Mea Culpa. Live and learn. Hoisted on my own petard. (please insert any another euphemism that seems appropriate)

†

I’m inclined at this point to urge the government to just put a big ole fence around the state of Texas. Now granted, they are a big state, and they have a big population, but for Jimminy Cricket’s sake, they can’t have THAT many idiots can they?

Louis the Loon Gohmert is wasting your tax dollars once again with his amendment rider to a budget bill that would prevent any “federal funds” being used to transport the President to any golf outing until “White House tours are resumed”. Louis woke up from a drug-induced dream and thought he was in Lilliputian land again. The White House suspended tours to save money ala the sequester. Louis takes up space on the planet. I vote to suspend him from a hot air balloon, attached to the capital dome.

Another dim bulb in the state Senate wants to suspend operations like Planned Parenthood from submitted sex education materials to schools that teach sex education. Although all such materials are already subject to public availability and parental veto, Ken Paxton thinks (I know, a crazy word to apply to many in Texas), that present law doesn’t go far enough.

Places like PPH should not be allowed to offer health care information because of course they have a “conflict” of interests. Being that they provide abortions, they most surely would be promoting sex by unmarried teens as a way to, you know, keep business up.  While no example of any information that does that was offered as proof, insiders believe that if you put the brochures in water with a teaspoon of sugar, the words “HAVE SEX NOW!” will appear across the top of each page.

Okay, I added that last part.

And people talk about the misuse of taxes.

Related articles

• Daily Caller sticks with Menendez claims; ABC News discredits them (dailykos.com)
• MSNBC Uses Selectively Edited Video to Smear McCain (freebeacon.com)

The Definitive Answer to the Greek Economic Meltdown

Tags

abstinence only, Congress, gay rights, GOP, Herman Cain, sex education, sexual harassment, social issues, wingnut pundits

9-9-9!

Oh wait.

Seriously. If you come to this blog for international news, you are in a world of trouble.

I can barely make sense out of what is going on in this country, and I’m a life-long resident.

It’s not that I don’t pay attention. I sit quietly and politely each evening as the PBS News Hour attempts to explain all this EU ruckus.

Frankly, in my naiveté, I thought it was all fixed last week, but this Greek Prime Minister, George Papandreou fellow seems to have gummed that up. I think he’s up for a vote of confidence tomorrow. I can tell you that I have no confidence in him. If that matters.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch.

We are in an economic crisis of our own, and people would like to eat. And to eat, they need jobs. So our brilliant Congress spends my tax dollars re-affirming that it is in God We Trust. I was confused. I thought it was Krishna, or The Earth Goddess. But, even though confused, I get unconfused real fast whenever I pick up any MONEY, you idiotic fools.

I was born and raised in Michigan.  Michigan is in an economic crisis, in case you missed it. They people who are relatively more hungry than say Iowans are, across the board at least. And to eat, they need jobs. So their brilliant Senate passed what is universally defined as a “blueprint for bullying.”

Basically it bans bullying, and then explains that if you bully for the right reasons, it’s not a crime at all. This piece of dog poo was dreamed up and supported by. . . . (drum roll). . . .yes you guessed it, the GOP! Voting along strict party lines, the GOP pushed through the bill, which now goes to the House for its consideration. The right reasons? Anything that has to do with moral or religious beliefs.

Along with brains (see yesterday’s post) the GOP suffers from an absence of heart.

♦

Once upon a time, there was a woman. She was hungry for attention, and more importantly money. So she looked upon the political landscape, and found a place for herself. As an extreme political pundit. And she worked hard to be extreme.

But, other women came along, and suddenly she wasn’t unique, and her books started to lay gathering dust.

So, she got more extreme.

Hermie Cain is struggling with the sexual harassment thingie. And the Right, is “playing the race card” claiming that the Left are just a bunch of racists trying to destroy the real deal black man because they fear him so much. So our intrepid “trying to remain relevant” pundit lady says:

 “our blacks are so much better than their blacks” because “you have fought against probably your family, probably your neighbors… that’s why we have very impressive blacks.”

“Obama… is not a descendant of the blacks that suffered these Jim Crow laws,” that he was “not the son of American blacks that went through the American experience,”

Ann, dear, you awful excuse of female gender, psst, we don’t OWN people any more. They aren’t “our blacks” you racist b**ch! Return to under your rock now, please you little grifter. Oh, and if you think Ann might just have been having a “moment” you can read her extensive defense of “her blacks” here.

♦

Meanwhile, back at the ranch.

Rushin’ for drugs Limpaugh is not to be out done by the likes of Annie, my time has passed, Coulter. No, Rush doesn’t think much about sexual harassment at all. It’s just a bunch of liberal clap trap, used by women to score some money.

LIMBAUGH: You know what sexual harassment is? You know what it really is? It’s a political tool. It is a political tool invented by the left. And — for the express pur– just like political correctness is a political tool of the left to shut people down, sexual harassment is a political tool of the left to get rid of people, or to score money gains, whatever is most desired.

How are ya, folk– no, I’m not saying sexual harassment doesn’t happen. I’m just saying that it doesn’t happen a whole lot of times people admit to it happening. They’ll make a settlement out of court rather than go to court to litigate it just to get rid of it. It’s become an accredited way for malcontent women to score some money. There’s no question about it. [Premiere Radio Networks,The Rush Limbaugh Show, 1/11/11]

We hear ya Rushin’. We hear you loud and clear. Look up the word misogynist okay?

♦

Michele Bachmann said some things. . . . .

♦

Economic woes are being felt in the state of Wisconsin. Lots of people are hungry there. They need jobs to make some money to feed themselves. The GOP controlled Senate spent tax money to institute an abstinence only” requirement in teaching sex education and NOT speaking a word about contraception.

As anyone who bothers to check would know, a full discussion of ALL manner of prevention works best and in states where abstinence only is required, there is universally a higher incidence of teen pregnancy. But the vote when on, predictably, along party lines.

♦

** I cleaned up the sidebar yesterday, removing the link categories of crafting, food, gardening, and religion. Obviously this blog has changed over time, and basically revolves around all things political with a smattering of personal interest posts. I have a faith blog and a food blog, and so retaining links here seems unnecessary. To those very few who were lopped off but are followers here, never fear, I have not dropped you from my reader and continue to read your lovely blogs.

Related articles

• Rush Limbaugh: ‘Sexual Harassment Is A Political Tool Of The Left’ (littlegreenfootballs.com)
• What’s Not Sexual Harassment at Fox News These Days (esquire.com)
• GOP Rep. Joe Walsh on Cain sexual harassment allegations: “Everybody’s got stuff” (americablog.com)

The Big Lie of the Anti-choice Right

Tags

abortion, abstinence, pro-life, religion, right to choose, sex education, sexuality, women's bodies, Women's issues

It is probably true that there is no basis of compromise between the two sides. One either believes that there is a fundamental right of a woman to control her own body or one believes that  conception and the resultant life trumps all other issues from the moment that sperm meets ovum.

We can all agree to that. What choice people profess, and most anti-choicers refuse to acknowledge, is that choice people also want to reduce abortion in every effective way possible short of legally restricting the right. Nobody is “for” abortion as the “pro-lifers” are want to insist.

Reasonable heads should prevail, one would assume. The question should become, “what can we do to effectively work toward reducing abortions?”

It would seem obvious that we can get together to work on that, right? Wrong.

Because that is part of the big lie of the right. They are not so much interested in reducing abortions as they are in winning on this issue, and controlling women’s bodies. And that suggests that it is not some “overriding” moral conclusion that is beyond religion as they claim. Make the argument that abortion is a religious issue, and wait for them to begin howling. No they claim, it’s not religion, its simple morality. Odd, since they will surely claim that all sense of morality comes from God, thus non-believers cannot be “moral” exactly.

If abortions are immoral, then reducing abortions must be more moral than merely  stubbornly objecting to abortions as being immoral. And the dirty little secret is that abortion is only part of the agenda for the religious right. The other item on the agenda is “contraception.” And this of course is very much a religious issue, and depends on a very specific type of belief, namely that sex is only for procreation and that to use any type of barrier to conception is a slap in the face to God.

No matter of course, that an omnipotent God can presumably frustrate the best efforts of humans to defy his wishes. It is the internal desire to take conception out of God’s hands that is objected to. And most every if not all the right to life organizations are anti-contraception.

There is a fascinating article by AlterNet on the subject, and with some amazing statistics. Tim Ryan, (D-OH) and pro-lifer, has been removed from a pro-life board of directors because he favors means to reduce abortion, including contraception. He has gone public and is underscoring that the real war is between a tiny segment of the “pro-life” movement, and the vast majority of pro-lifers who are like him, fine with contraception.

The realities are stark. Abstinence only programs are a failure, at best postponing for a few extra months, teens experimentation with sex. Worse, when they do begin having it, they don’t use protections and have a much higher incidence of STD’s and pregnancy, thus abstinence only programs actually result in increased abortions.

Study after study shows that broad based sex education works. States are moving away from AO after watching their statistics start to re-climb, back to comprehensive sex education, a proven method of reducing STD’s and unwanted pregnancy. Joining with Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Ryan sponsors the “Preventing unintended pregnancies, Reducing the need for abortion and supporting Parent’s Act,” which aims at instituting practices found useful from the “The Third Way,” a left-center think tank.

Various anti-choice organizations now call Ryan “so called” when it comes to being pro-life. But when polled 80% of those who self-identify with a pro-life stance, also are pro-contraception. The bill supports contraception, help for poor women who wish to carry to term, comprehensive sex education, and help for adoptive families. No pro-life group supports the legislation.

Only the Catholic church 0pposes contraception, even though 90% of its faithful use it or are in favor of its availability. There is no denomination whose support of contraception is below 88%. Jewish support is at 97%.  Even 70% of Republicans and Independents favor contraception and only a measly 2% of them don’t.

According to Ryan, only 20% of the pro-life movement favors no contraception, but they seem fully in control of the movement. Ryan urges that those within the movement need to hold that 20% accountable now.

It is obvious that this minority has an agenda separate and apart from reducing abortion. And I contend that that agenda is religious in nature and is theocratic in intent. It is nothing less than to impose religious concepts of sexual behavior onto the public at large, regardless of what their religious believes are or are not.

Certainly, it is perfectly fine for anyone to believe personally that contraception is wrong for them, and somehow against God. One’s personal theology is sacrosanct. However, to allow it to intrude to the point that one will not work for a  legitimate goal of reducing abortion, is telling to say the least. It in fact shows all too clearly that something else is at stake. The article is a real eye opener. It is what I have been contending for some time, and what no doubt others have realized as well.

It’s not just about “life” its also about controlling women and their sexuality.

If it Only Worked!

Tags

abstinence, sex education

Durex Condom Ad

On more than one occasion, I’ve spoken out about the futility of abstinence only programs.  And it seems that my conclusions are once more born out.

Recent studies show that those who take the virginity pledge are just as likely to violate said oath and engage in premarital sex as any other group of teenagers.

Worse, and the study is not sure why, those virginity pledgers are less likely to use any form of protection when they do fall off the abstinence wagon. This means that in the end, abstinence only programs must contribute to more pregnancies, abortions, and STD’s than those who receive comprehensive sex education.

This is sad indeed. Worse, it is, it would seem most immoral to withhold information to teens when so much is a stake in terms of health and the consequences of unwanted pregnancy. Fully a dozen states have opted out of the federal based program, for just this reason. The fact is that states that promote full sex education report that their incidence of STD’s and teen pregnancy are down.

Thanks to Bush and his band of wrong headed religious airheads, teen pregnancy is up for the first time in 15 years.  We are told that the Obama administration plans to revisit the federal funding issue and hopefully make some changes. It would seem the obvious thing to do.

This is just one example of government at it’s worst. There are studies upon studies that show that abstinence only doesn’t work. And yet, Congress dutifully passes legislation funding such programs. They do this in the face of the studies which are essentially ignored. The agenda of the right is being pursued even when it is clearly erroneous. In a time of economic disaster, can we afford to spend money, even so much as a dime on programs that are demonstrably not working?

It’s time to wake up and face reality. Those who really want their children protected will hear the warning and make sure that their states school systems promote a full and complete sex education program.

What This Says about McCain/Palin

Tags

abstinence, Election 2008, John McCain, Sarah Palin, sex education

My first reaction after my post the other day about Sarah Palin, was that enough was enough. She was relatively unimportant in the end, and I fully expected to move on to greener pastures.

The revelations about her 17 year-old daughter’s pregnancy changed that, and not for the reasons you may suppose. I, like Barack Obama, think that children of candidates are out of bounds. I truly feel terribly sad for this girl who has been thrust into the limelight in such a vulgar manner. Surely she could not have anticipated that her actions would have this unlikely consequence. But we are learning that we do not live in a rational world in America any more.

This issue raises several questions that it will be interesting to see play out over the succeeding days and weeks. The Republican machine will cry foul, claiming that the left is trying to paint the girl in some bad light. In truth, it has nothing to do with her, but it has everything to do with her parents and John McCain.

The questions are starting to fly today. The first question is about the competence of McCain and his machine. Some unknown woman came on GMA this morning to assure America that the McCain camp was well aware of this issue, in essence that Sarah Palin’s vetting has caught this. I’m not so sure.

Why then does the girl carry the baby and blankets surrounding her when first put on stage last Friday? Why not have the baby in someone else’s arms and let the world “see” the obvious?

Why does the McCain camp refuse to give any specifics about the “conversation” between himself and Mrs. Palin wherein this was discussed? We have learned that they met last February at a Governor’s conference in Washington. They spoke on the phone once, a week ago or so, and met once following that. I doubt that means more than three total hours. If I’m wrong, the McCain people are reluctant to explain further. Surely if Palin had discussed this with McCain, they would give those particulars to their mouthpieces to distribute to the media.

So we can at least feel some reason to believe that Palin did not disclose and the McCain folks didn’t find out until this turned up in the blogging world this weekend. Additionally, I read over the weekend that reporters who headed to Alaska and asked for the archives to a Fairbanks newspaper were told that “no one had been there yet to request their archives.” This suggests in reality that the Palin choice was a last minute affair and the vetting was superficial at best.

I think the scenario went something along the following lines: McCain has wanted Lieberman for a long time. He tried out trial balloons at his town hall meetings and got a rather bad reaction. There was a report that Rove called Lieberman and urged him to remove himself from contention. Rove wanted Romney chosen, but I suspect that McCain hates Romney and the feeling is fairly mutual. McCain couldn’t stomach the Romney idea, and finally realized that he couldn’t pick Lieberman without a full blown walk out by the religious right.

McCain apparently was told that Pawlenty wouldn’t add to his electoral numbers count. A radical change of pace was required, shoot the moon, go for it, and either pull off a stunning upset or lose as his caretakers were already predicting. So he passes over any number of “qualified” Republican women and goes with this shocking choice. It was a last minute cave-in by McCain to reality and then a sprint to do a vetting and be ready for Friday. Such is how I see it.

In the end, it is a poor statement on McCain’s judgment. That he is willing to bet the welfare of the country on a gimmick to try to win an election is both cynical and dishonorable. It is pure McCain, the pure Candidate McCain that is so different than Senator McCain. We begin to wonder if there ever was a real Senator McCain but only a calculating and manipulative McCain who has always in all times and in all places striven to orchestrate a scenario that would someday set him up to run for President.

The next issue raised is one I personally put not truck in but may be more important than we realize. Liz Trotta was on Foxthis morning. In a segment intended to turn the discussion to the “blatant sexism exhibited by the left,” the Fox blond headed brainless one, asked Ms. Trotta to comment on the issue.

Contrary to what the nameless face from Fox wanted to hear, Ms. Trotta said that among Republicansshe was talking to, there was a good deal of concern about whether Mrs. Palin and her family properly represented the family values they stand for. Ms. Trotta said this was an issue that was going to have to be addressed. The Foxite fumed, sputtered and reacted with shock. “I can’t believe that you don’t see this for the sexist thing it is. Why this is not Conservative values to be told that women shouldn’t be working when they have a family.”

Ms. Trotta held firm. “That is what I am hearing, and I’m hearing it from Conservatives.” The moderator retorted, “Well, it’s not what I am hearing from Conservatives here,” here being the RNC in Minneapolis. “With all due respect, you’re at the DNC, what would you expect to hear there? They are trying to win an election for heavens’ sake,” Ms Trotta replied. The interview came to a abrupt end. It should be noted that Ms. Trotta, according to the Contrarian who pays attention to Fox, is usually a well-spoken mouthpiece for the Republican world.

Like I said, I think Democrats are being rather careful in this area. Perhaps some liberals are not so careful. But I think this line of defense is somewhat manufactured on the Republican side. Yet Ms. Trotta  sees that even on their own side, they have some numbers of conservatives who are not on board apparently.

The last issue is that of sex education and abstinence. Ms. Palin is a firm believer in abstinence only education. So is McCain. Something like 20 something states in the US have refused federal funding for abstinence only programs in their state. The reason is quite simple, abstinence only doesn’t work. The studies are quite convincing of that.

There are really no credible studies that show that abstinence works to cut down pregnancy, abortion and STD’s in our teenage population. But there are indeed studies that prove that comprehensive sex education does work to drop the rates of all three. Students that receive CSE, are 60% less likely to become pregnant for instance.

Alaska is an abstinence only state. Sarah Palin stated in writing in the 2006 election in her state that she opposed sex education and contraceptive education and was for abstinence only. Such a position shows a shockingly sad lack of knowledge on her part and of course on McCain’s as well. She and Alaska stand with such states as Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and other “bible belt” states, which notoriously also have the highest figures in divorce, pregnancy, and abortion. This is one issue that has come home to roost so to speak on Ms. Palin’s doorstep. If one claims to oppose abortion, one has to ask, who is doing more for reducing abortions, those who favor abstinence only, or those who favor CSE which includes information about contraception?

We are, it seems beginning to see the cracks in the sloppily built facade that McCain and crew have built. Governor Palin has much that is disturbing in her background it seems. A new report  of  her being affiliated with a group in Alaska that was Separatist? The apparent clear fact that she was “for” the bridge to nowhere before she was “against,” it. The fact that she has lobbied for earmarks for Alaska just like most everyone else, and that she didn’t return the bridge money, but kept it and used it for other projects. These all lend additional questions about her qualifications for the job of Vice President. Especially when the qualification seems to be that she is a “maverick.”

This can not be making the McCain people happy at all. The news is all about Sarah, and McCain has been shoved to the background, as a basically out of touch man who is being swallowed up in the events that keep unfolding. But then he created this mess. I for one am happy to watch him lie in it.

Water Wanders Wellsprings Wither

Tags

abstinence, Barack Obama, Bush, corporations, economy, Election 2008, fundamentalism, Gitmo, GOP, Hagee, Iowa, Iran, Iraq, journalism, McCain, Media, Middle East, Palestine, Putin, Russia, sex education, terrorism, Traveling

Francis William Edmonds did this piece called “The New Bonnet.” It was completed in 1858 and can be seen at the MMA.

I didn’t buy a bonnet yesterday, but we sure got a lot of stuff done in town. In fact, we left a bit before 9 am and didn’t get home until nearly 4 pm. Of course the rain had resumed long before that, so it was a sloppy unload of groceries and various other sundry items of purchase. We got some more plants, which still remain in the Bronco, and the garden looks rather bad today with standing water at the southwestern section of it. I have grave concerns for our initial corn planting at least,  and some of our tomatoes may fail as well.

I hope you all enjoyed the Contrarian’s little story about the boar and the sow yesterday. He’s one funny guy as you can see. A nice relief for me as well, as posting daily in the amounts I do is formidable to say the least.

I made the root beer marble cake that I linked to some time back. So far it looks pretty good, but the proof is the tasting of course. Dinner is basic today, pork chops, potatoes and probably broccoli. I’ve not much ambition in that area today. Tomorrow I think perhaps a stir fry.

It seems to have stopped raining for a bit at least, the dogs are getting restless. Yesterday was a wash for them, having to stay cooped up indoors all day, which is highly unusual for them. Today they are moping and sleeping. I’ll rile them to get out at least for a bit, hoping the rain will stay away now.

Anyway, it’s time to see what’s happening in the news. Oh the freaking Redwings lost in triple overtime. I’m fearing they may lose the whole thing now, that was a heart breaker. I gave up after the end of the second overtime. It was after 11 pm by then. Blech, I’m sure it was my watching that jinxed them! LOL.

And we are changing things up a bit here. This blog is just becoming too time consuming and unwieldy as is. Today we are focusing on politics around the world. Tomorrow we will hit the the food, gardening, etc. History and religion will fit in here and there as there is material to justify. I’m hoping this frees me up a bit, and makes for a more intelligible read for you as well.

~~~&&&~~~&&&~~~

The Bushites, apparently aware that both proposed presidential candidates are intent upon closing downGitmo, are going full bore ahead in trying to get those prosecutions going. Amid all the stories about lack of individual rights, and downright illegalities by prosecutors, Bush seems determined to stuff these prosecutions up our collective behinds before he is ushered out of office. Read more at Alternet.

You may not have heard it here first, but you have heard it here before. Corporate conglomerates are insidious in wrapping their tentacles increasing around and within our political system, and if we don’t do something quickly, they will effectively run the country and the world. This rather pointed and important address was given by Chris Hedges, Pulitzer prize-winning reporter and bureau chief for the NYTimes in the Middle East.

The fall out over Scotty McClellan’s book continues today. Frank Rich of the NYTimes argues that McCain will not be able to keep  moving forward as the country seems endlessly interested in learning just how badly our president and his cronies lied to us in the run up to the war. McCain cannot keep claiming that this is old news, and he can’t keep avoiding the book as something he hasn’t had a chance to read. Another great article on the same subject, detailing McShame’s complete and utter agreement with Bush during the run up can be found at History News Network.

Catholic Anarchyreports that several groups have come up with independent estimates of total Iraqi deaths since the inception of our War of Aggression. While Bush and his henchmen continue to downplay these figures for obvious reasons, several independent groups estimate the numbers are nearly a million or more. The so-called Iraqi government doesn’t utter a word in disapproval of the Bushites lower estimates for the same obvious reasons.

History News Network has a long look at McCain and his apparent ineptitude in judging what right wing evangelicals to pick for his camp. So far, he’s gotten it entirely wrong, and has had to dismiss both Hagee and Parsley from his boosters club. This suggests or should suggest that Mr. McSameasBush has almost no clue about religion in general and evangelical religion in particular. This presumably should not be lost on evangelicals themselves. It certainly should prove telling to independents and others who look on.

I seriously wonder at the emotional health of Billy Kristol. He seems intent on professional suicide these days, and it may stem from all the things he’s been so WRONG about for so long. The dude actually is criticizing Obama for his lack of military service. I mean, come on. Kristol did not serve, yet he self proclaims himself as one of the “architects” of the Iraqi war invasion, at least from a political prospective. Did he forget that? If I Ran the Zoo brings us the link to the story, which is actually found at American Blog.  If you want to read Billy’s comments in full, then follow this link to his stupid opinion, “What Obama left out.” What Kristol left out was his brain again, and when it dries after the rain, it keeps shrinking. What is the NYTimes thinking?

From Inside Iraq, we learn the continued sad state of affairs when it comes to basic services. The in fighting between various ministers within the government means nothing gets done, and little changes and the people suffer day in and day out without adequate electricity, water and other common amenities. Read what it’s like to live in Baghdad today.

The Iowa Independent reports that issues of social concern to Republicans seems to be waning in the wake of serious economic concerns. This is typical of us all of course. We tend to vote our pocketbook over our morality. The big difference I would suggest is that Democrats seem to understand this intuitively and don’t get caught up in the holier-than-thou attitude of some GOP’ers who like to shower opposition with taunts of Immoral secularism against God’s good plan for the universe. It’s the hypocrisy that chaffs dear Republicans, not the message.

Things are so bad over at National Reviewthat they have sunk to having movie directors give commentary on this political race between Obama and Clinton. Ronald Maxwell gets just about everything in his silly post wrong, from beginning to end, making it quite clear that he should remain in the movie industry if any place at all. I haven’t seen his movie so perhaps he’s just as incompetent there as well. This is one of those funny ones folks. While I agree that many commentators are biased in their reporting, the same is utterly and more true of Republicans than the Dems just for starters. Fox NoNews virtually actively campaigned against McSame for months before reluctantly shrugging and accepting the inevitable. Have fun.

And, not to be outdone, they stoop even lower to enlist David Klinghoffer to comment and beg McCain to come up with something grand to stand for. Klinghoffer is from the Discovery Institute, (I believe they are the group that tries to disguise creationism and push it to schools in the guise of “Intelligent design.”) It’s a too too sad statement of the fact that McCain does stand for nothing but more war and little else. Klinghoffer begs and pleads that the Old Mac find some inner passion to ignite both himself and the GOP before it’s too late.

Maureen Dowd leads the ever growing cadre of pundits who are leaving the sinking ship of Bush. Read her rousing and thoroughly funny rendition of how “trusting your gut Bush style” turns out badly when there is nothing in there but bile. I don’t often agree with Ms. Dowd, but this time I sure do. I have one point of quibbling. Scott’s remarks of “I had allowed myself to be deceived,” smacks not so much of Victorian romance as a smart quip we could faintly hear from our own Scarlett O’Hara, “Oh, Rhett, say it isn’t so!”

From Palestine we get this reaction to the Dunkin Donuts/Rachael Ray debacle: A pox on the house of donuts! Dunkin says it just doing good business by pulling the ad, but those in the Middle East find the pulling quite offensive.

Another thoughtful piece from American Prospect on the issue of Conservativism. What went wrong, and why it remains wrong. Free-market economy is not the solution as the past eight years has shown us. Giving big business free rein to do pretty much as they wish has just let to extreme excess on the part of CEOs and lots of bad decisions leading to lots of bad things happening. We all know what they are of course, from the mortgage disaster to oil prices, to all the horrors of unsafe medicines.

A Beirut Spring tells us a good deal about Iran and it’s influence in the Middle East. Giving us the Five principles of Middle East Hegemony, we learn what they are doing well and what we aren’t doing well.

Sadly, things seem to be going back to square one in the Kremlin. The old politics of repression seem in full force again, and political opposition voices are continually stifled. Putin continues to rule from behind the trousers of his hand picked successor, and this is the man Bushie claimed was a good man, having seen into his soul. Oh please. Read the sad state of affairs in Russia these days at the Huffington Post.

If you look in your marble box and find a few extra, you might want to contact John Hagee. He appears to be losing a few more of his these days. Now he claims the anti-Christ is both gay and part Jewish. Ain’t it so nice to fling bigotry everywhere you go? This would all be about nothing of course except for the fact that McStupid actively courted this fool.

Wow, it seems there are wars in them there blogosphere lands of the very very important, or self-imposed importance as the case may be. Seems that the Daily Kos and MyDD are at war, and boys and girls, it ain’t pretty. It’s actually quite amusing as these giants (in their own minds at least) vie for bragging rights to who is responsible for turning the Dems around. Course, they are sounding surprisingly like, well, other media outlets now aren’t they? Read this yummy story from the New Republic. I personally dumped Daily Kos because I thought they were misogynistic in their coverage of Clinton whom they quite clearly detest. I have little familiarity with MyDD, but will take a closer look.

While Bush and Maliki have worked out the relationship they want for Iraq and the US, it seems not all of the parliament of Iraq is exactly on board. In fact some of them object to US long range plans to inhabit their country. Some of these folks are coming to Washington and are going to testify before Congress on the issue. I wonder why they don’t like our occupation of their country? Read the article at Washington Independent today.

Watch out folks, another doozy on the way. The PR firm that did the Vets Swift Boating ads against John Kerry, have a new cause. Abstinence only is their new theme and they are trying to push this agenda across the country. First, we are told they are using information that is simply not true. If you didn’t know, abstinence only sex education has a lousy track record vis a vis the regular old fashioned kind of sex education. Secondly the people in charge of NAEA  are reputedly in the anti-gay camp and have other rather questionably backgrounds. Read more at Think Progress.

Another super post from Urantian Sojourn today. Well actually it was from Saturday, and it’s well worth your perusal. Enjoy What happened: The culturing of Deception, written by Propagandee.

If you have ever wondered what the life of a seaman is, one of those who hires himself around the world, you have only to drop by kiwi-at-seato find out. He relates about his last ship from  Glasgow, getting ready to ship out on the Norna. Read of his adventures.

Angry African has an important story to tell, and I hope you will listen. We in the West with all our wealth and power, well, we have a way about us when it comes to “helping” the rest of the world who is not so fortunate. And that way is quite obvious to the recipients of our largesse. He asks some very important questions to all who are givers to those who have not so much. Even on the small scale of just you and your personal efforts to help out, his questions are one’s we need to ponder and ponder deeply.

That’s it for today, a nasty long one again, but I think it will taper off over time. I’m planning on doing politics about 3 times a week, MWF and do the other stuff on TTh. Saturday and Sunday will remain the same. I’ll throw in the humor here and there.