Posts filed under ‘Politics’
SCOTUS rules on marriage equality: Everyone write something!
The Supreme Court just struck down the bans on same-sex marriage and during this historic weekend there have been a lot of people sounding off. Why not? Whether your agree or disagree (or are indifferent, which is a large group, too) – it’s a BFD! This kind of major milestone inspires many people to write something or say something.
Most of what I see are “thumbs up” posts with positive messages for an outcome that most everyone saw as eventual inevitability (though perhaps not this soon). But not everyone, right?
The views from the heterosexual camp break down into 4 basic categories.
- I’m totally and completely on board with this and I have no reservations whatsoever. I can’t believe it hasn’t already been done. Marriage is a civil doctrine and two consenting adults from marrying is a civil violation. (I’m probably a Liberal).
- I don’t really worry about it much but I’m in favor of legalizing gay marriage. I think it’s an unnecessary rule and a civil rights violation. It makes no difference to me if a couple lives together with or without a marriage certificate. If I put myself in someone else’s shoes, if I or my child were gay, I would be for gay marriage. I don’t care if straight people do or don’t marry. This neither picks my pocket nor breaks my bones (Thomas Jefferson). A couple is going to make a commitment to each other anyway and it doesn’t really affect me. (I’m probably a Progressive).
- The whole gay thing is wrong and immoral and I don’t like it. I don’t want my kids around a lot of gay couples. But whether or not they are a gay couple without a marriage certificate or a gay couple with a marriage certificate makes no difference to me so I have no problem legalizing gay marriage. (I’m probably an Independent).
- Gay people are ruining everything for me and I am totally and completely against it. Jesus is against gay marriage and anyone who supports it will go to hell. 9 out of 10 Christian divorcees agree that homosexuality is destroying the sanctity of marriage. I will fight against it and I will refuse to acknowledge it. (I’m probably a Conservative).
If you’re in that last camp…I caution you to be careful what you write. Conservatives tend to be on the wrong side of history more often than not. You’re not going to change anything and there’s no upside to continuing to rant against gay people.
My advice, in this day of posting-permanence is to be mindful of what you say…especially if you’re on the wrong side of this one. On historic topics that people (like your grand-kids) might see, you might want to think before you write. Back when conservatives were ranting against de-segregation, every idiot didn’t have a social media account and a blog. If your grandparents were on the wrong side of de-segregation, you don’t see their remarks…typically just people like Strom Thurmond.
There are always conservatives who don’t want change. But before you post how upset you are, and how sure you are that Jesus should have mentioned this in his teachings, and how sure you are that this is the worst thing that’s ever happened…before you write, consider these conservatives cheering this guy on a few decades ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgH7WgtIU2k
From a corporate level, this is a list of companies tweeting about it this weekend: http://www.buzzfeed.com/jarrylee/love-wins#.gu9MKdDaOJ
Edit: For detractors who are undoubtedly going to cite the Old Testament…We all know that you aren’t following everything written in the Old Testament so just skip the hypocrisy.
You shall not wear a garment of different sorts, such as wool and linen mixed together. Deuteronomy 22:11
You may purchase male or female slaves from among the foreigners who live among you. You may also purchase the children of such resident foreigners, including those who have been born in your land. You may treat them as your property, passing them on to your children as a permanent inheritance. Leviticus 25:44-46 NLT
Nevertheless these you shall not eat . . . the swine, though it divides the hoof, having cloven hooves, yet does not chew the cud, is unclean to you. Leviticus 11:4, 7
If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them…they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard. And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die. Deuteronomy 21:18-21
Look in the mirror and acknowledge that you are picking and choosing the parts of the bible that you feel are “right” and you can follow only the ones you like.
If you get to decide which parts of the bible are wrong and that you can ignore, then logic dictates that other people also get to choose which parts of the bible are wrong and can be ignored – rendering your argument completely pointless.
Climate Change, Cosmos, Republicans
Just read an article – a great one – on Cosmos. The link is below.
Neil deGrasse Tyson v. the Right: Cosmos, Christians and the Battle for American Science – http://huff.to/1l3Nerk
This is a passage that struck me:
“The scientific consensus about global warming must be untrue, because, as Dr. Innes writes in Left, Right and Christ, the world is “not a glass ornament that we might accidentally destroy… we are not capable of destroying it, whether by nuclear weapons or carbon emissions.”
Just to clear something up:
The Earth itself will be fine. The Earth doesn’t care about its cities; it will keep spinning and orbiting. It’s the humans who are at risk. It’s our way of life that would suffer. The rocky planet will keep going…
School vouchers – one of the problems
Some greatest hits from a good piece on school vouchers and Republican Valerie Hodges (who clearly doesn’t put much thought into the laws she votes for in Louisiana).
Read the whole article here: http://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/louisiana-revelation-school-voucher-funding-it-s-not-just-for-christians
A member of the Louisiana House of Representatives who eagerly supported Gov. Bobby Jindal’s plan to fund private schools has had an epiphany: Muslim schools might start getting taxpayer money!
Hodges’ bigotry is perhaps only rivaled by her ignorance of constitutional and legal principles.
Ouch.
In Washington, D.C., where House Speaker John Boehner and his Republican allies in Congress have established a federally funded voucher program, most of the schools taking part are Catholic, but two Muslim schools have been among the recipients.
Some legislators aren’t comfortable funding Muslim schools. What’s to be done? How about not establishing these programs in the first place? Let Muslims fund Muslim schools. Let Catholics fund Catholics ones. Let fundamentalist Protestants pay for the conservative Christian academies and so on.
Rep. J. Rogers Pope, points out that the law allows students to be educated off campus and establishes no standards for what qualifies as meaningful education.
“This is impractical on so many levels,” said Pope, a conservative Republican. “What will a high school diploma from Louisiana mean, if nobody can list our courses? How will we verify course content, attendance, teacher qualifications, and testing?”
Welcome to the brave new world of school privatization!
In other states where vouchers have been implemented, we’ve seen a plethora of fly-by-night schools, schools whose leaders are more interested in making a quick buck than educating children and schools where the primary focus is making sure kids are indoctrinated in a particular form of religion, not offering them a sound education.
New Arizona law…
New Arizona law: Pregnancy begins two weeks before conception!
Pregnant prior to sex – that’s what u call “Mary-envy”.
Seems to be about right…
http://www.cagle.com/2012/03/medical-marijuana/
If it isn’t made in a factory, it isn’t happening.
Marijuana doesn’t cure anything – but this is funny! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7P4iFg048k
Catholic warning about racism to Republican candidates
For the right, protecting life is solely about abortion. There’s no interest in providing pre-natal care or medical care. And the moment the birth is announced, they don’t give a shit about the kid – especially if it isn’t white. Not only do they spend a large percentage of time railing about cutting back on assisting the poor (another real “WWJD” leadership moment from the Christian Republicans), but these cuts are always associated with black people on welfare. Yet the race who who receives the largest percentage of food stamps is white. And if it’s not black, it’s about how hispanics are destroying the economy because they get so many food stamps. The “other immigrant status” of recipients accounts for 3% of total distribution. 3% isn’t changing the world. It would be better if it were 2% or 1%, sure. But 3% is hardly bringing America too it’s knees nor is it ruining the entire system – and it’s certainly not a widespread problem.
Catholics Warn Gingrich, Santorum On Race Baiting
The signers of the open letter, which was released Friday (Jan. 20), cited Gingrich’s repeated criticisms of Barack Obama as a “food stamp president” who encourages government dependency for the poor, especially for African-Americans.
They also criticized Santorum’s statement that he does not want “to make black people’s lives better by giving them somebody else’s money.”
“Some presidential candidates now courting ‘values voters’ seem to have forgotten that defending human life and dignity does not stop with protecting the unborn,” the authors write.
“We remind Mr. Gingrich and Mr. Santorum that Catholic bishops describe racism as an ‘intrinsic evil’ and consistently defend vital government programs such as food stamps and unemployment benefits that help struggling Americans.”
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, [over] one-third of food-stamp recipients are white, while 22 percent are African-American and 16 percent Hispanic. Some 41 percent of all recipients live in households where family members are employed. Surveys show that strong majorities of Americans say they do not want food stamp programs cut.
Food Stamp Participants: http://www.fns.usda.gov/ora/MENU/Published/snap/FILES/Participation/2010Characteristics.pdf
Catholics issue warning on racism: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/20/catholics-ginrich-santorum-race_n_1220152.html?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl7%7Csec3_lnk2%26pLid%3D129191
Meghan McCain rips Gingrich’s wife (and her own Mom?)
Of course, she doesn’t rip her own mom…because “that’s different”. Like when a pro-lifer’s 19-year old college freshman daughter gets pregnant and has an abortion. Like when a conservative’s child announces she’s gay and they suddenly start supporting alternative lifestyle (for their own kids, not yours).
“As much as you don’t like talking about Calllista Gingrich,” [Meghan] McCain told the panel of guests on “Now with Alex Wagner,” “I think the fact that she was a third wife and a mistress and is coming off somewhat icy and [her] reputation of being somewhat controversial within their campaign is doing damage. Maybe just to politicos, but I think it’s something that people, and especially values voters, will bring into the race.”
But those criticisms could equally be applied to [Meghan] McCain’s mother, Cindy McCain, who was subjected to intense media scrutiny during Sen. John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign.
Cindy McCain began dating Sen. McCain in 1979, nearly a year before he filed for divorce from his first wife, Carol McCain.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/20/meghan-mccain-unleashes-o_n_1161179.html?ref=politics
Political View – Nurture AND Nature
I always thought your definition of your political stance stems primarily from your parents. From how they instilled it and taught it, as much as what they taught. Of course, a liberal viewpoint that teaches tolerance of other views is less worried about making sure their kids think/act/vote the same way then a viewpoint that tends to remain conservative and historically less tolerant (no source is needed (sources would be longer than the post)).
But recent research may spread even more light on that. It may be the double whammy of your parental environment combined with the genes handed down by the parents.
It also definitely explains the day and night difference in conservative vs liberal broadcasts. Conservative broadcasts are almost by rule focused on spreading fear. Recently, the policies of Bush and Cheney were frought with motivation through fear. And fear-mongering was a basis for the McCain and Palin campaign.
Excerpt:
Life’s Extremes: Democrat vs. Republican
Two of these trends are that liberals tend to have more activity in parts of the brain known as the insula and anterior cingulate cortex. Among other functions, the two regions overlap to an extent by dealing with cognitive conflict, in the insula’s case, while the anterior cingulate cortex helps in processing conflicting information. [10 Things You Didn’t Know About the Brain]
Conservatives, on the other hand, have demonstrated more activity in the amygdala, known as the brain’s “fear center.” “If you see a snake or a picture of a snake, the amygdala will light up — it’s a threat detector,” said Iacoboni.
A study of British subjects earlier this year supported these past imaging studies with measurements of brain structure. The study showed that on average the amygdala is bigger in conservatives, likely indicating greater use of it in neurological processing. In contrast, liberals often possessed larger anterior cingulate cortexes.
Altogether, these findings suggest liberals can more easily tolerate uncertainty, which might be reflected in their shades-of-gray policy positions. In the U.S., those typically include being pro-choice and lenient on illegal immigration.
Conservatives, meanwhile, have a more binary view of threats versus non-threats.
http://www.livescience.com/17534-life-extremes-democrat-republican.html
Perry’s Strong Ad – 2
More stuff from Perry’s ‘Strong’ ad. More funny!
It’s too late to make the lists of top 2011 memes, but parodies of Rick Perry’s “war on religion” ad are shaping up to be a good one nevertheless.
You can see the original Rick Perry “Strong” ad here. The ad also inspired a Twitter hashtag, #XmasWarDiaries, which encouraged those fighting in the “front lines” to tweet their observations about taking elves hostage and using candy canes as weapons.
Perry’s Campaign Ad – Most Unpopular on YouTube; Jesus Responds
Oh stop…it’s too funny. These “leading candidates for the Republican nomination” are just one hysterical idiot after another. I can’t believe this moron has been in charge of Texas for the past 12 years. Can’t….stop…laughing…
On the less-funny front: People are really supporting these people.
Back to the enjoyment:
Go Earth! 