Saturday, April 24, 2004 Air America on Religion To contextualize, the post quoted below seems to have sprouted from a discussion that ensued after hosts on Air America, the liberal radio network, were deriding religion. See here and here.
I'll try to resist posting too much about this. But, I do want to say that as a member of one of the two major religious groups (agnostic/atheist and Muslims) about which it's generally acceptable to say all manner of horrible things I have little sympathy for the tender sensibilities of members of dominant religions. Give me a call when the President of the United States says about Christians what one said about atheists:
No, I don't know that atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered patriots.
No one finds it particularly troubling when it's pointed out that an "out" atheist couldn't get elected dog catcher in most of this country, let alone to Congress. I'm actually not complaining really - I'm not trying to establish some sort of new victim group here. But, nonetheless, I'm a bit sick and tired of White Christian Males pretending that they're the persecuted ones.
In addition, I'm a bit fed up with people hand-wringing about anti-religious sentiment from "the Left." First of all, "the Left" which has any clout or power in this country is explicitly "pro-religion" to a degree which disturbs me. My retinas still burn with the image of the members of Congress on the steps of the Capitol screeching out "UNDER GOD" while performing the pledge of allegiance. Left-leaning people with strongly held religious views need to stop worrying about what some comedian says on some radio show and need to start worrying that the public faces of their religion are people who, if they had their way, would establish their own flavor of theocracy and revoke our right to worship as we please (or not at all).
I'm tired of liberalish Christians telling me it's my job to reach out to Christian moderates who feel that "the Left" is hostile to them. Screw that. It's time for liberalish Christians to tell their slightly more right-leaning brethren that those of us who fight to maintain the separation between Church and State do it to protect freedom of religion - not destroy it. It's time for moderate and liberal Catholics to take a stand against their Church's assault on Democratic (and only Democratic) politicians who deviate from doctrine.
I'm not hostile to religion. I'm hostile to those who cloak their hate in bigotry in religion. I'm hostile to those who want to impose their religion on me and everyone else. I'm hostile to those who have no understanding where their freedoms come from, and why they're important. I'm hostile to Christian Exceptionalists who believe that simply by being religious they're immune from all criticism.
Posted by Timothy,
9:32 PM
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On Kerry being a 'bad Catholic'
In 1960, Republicans insinuated that a Catholic, Democratic candidate with the initials JFK, was unfit for the Presidency because he would do the Pope's bidding as President.
In 2004, Republicans (with the aid of the buttinsky Vatican) are insinuating that a Catholic, Democratic candidate with the initials JFK, is unfit for the Presidency because he won't do the Pope's bidding as President.
We've come a long way in 44 years, haven't we? (link)
Posted by Timothy,
6:28 PM
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More on U.S. "mercenaries"
Dan posted a correction to add that the U.S. contractors are not mercenaries, after Nick Donegan brought up the good point that in order for a person to be classified as a mercenary under the Geneva Convention, they have to be a national of a party not involved in the conflict. While this condition proves that the Blackwater folks aren't mercenaries, it's still worth noting that many U.S. contracted forces in Iraq do classify as mercenaries under the Geneva Convention, particularly those hired from India and South Africa, and other nations that aren't engaged in the conflict in Iraq. In India, there was even a motion towards legal proceedings against certain individuals in January, as noted here.
Declaring that he is "not a redistribution Democrat," Senator John Kerry told a group of wealthy and well-connected supporters on Thursday that he would soon start an aggressive campaign to define himself as a centrist, in hopes of peeling moderate Republicans from President Bush. (link)
I mean, I knew in the primaries that I liked Howard Dean's plan to repeal the entire tax cut, and Dean's rhetoric better than Kerry's. But I also understand Kerry's arguments about what will sell in the election. But Kerry declaring himself philosophically oppossed to redistribution? (or something close to that) I suppose it is not too suprising.
Posted by Timothy,
2:07 PM
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Flipflop? eh.... Drudge has a headline saying "KERRY ABORTION FLIP: ADVOCATED 'STATE ISSUE'"
But the DRUDGE REPORT can reveal: Kerry claimed in an interview he was "opposed to abortion" and how its an issue "that should be left for the states to decide."
MORE
Kerry told the LOWELL SUN in October, 1972: "...It's a tragic day in the lives of everybody when abortion is looked on as an alternative to birth control or as an alternative to having a child. I think that's wrong. It should be the very last thing if it has to be anything, and I say that not just because I'm opposed to abortion but because I think that's common sense."
Kerry declared: "I think the question of abortion is one that should be left for the states to decide."
That's right, Kerry said it in 1972. What happened between then and now? A little case called Roe v. Wade.... But drudge does not mention that when calling Kerry a 'flip-flopper;. There is a big difference between advocating letting the states decide before Roe, and doing so after Roe. Maybe you want to say Kerry 'flip-flopped'. I am not convinced. This spin seems to be given its plausibility through leaving out a significant detail.
Posted by Timothy,
2:00 PM
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This is a little pathetic
"I don't own an SUV," said Kerry, who supports increasing existing fuel economy standards to 36 miles per gallon by 2015 in order to reduce the nation's dependence on foreign oil supplies. Kerry also has made rising gasoline prices an issue in the campaign against President Bush. In Houston on Thursday, Kerry said the president broke a 2000 campaign pledge to "jawbone" oil-producing nations by pressuring them to increase their output. Kerry thought for a second when asked whether his wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, had a Suburban at their Ketchum, Idaho, home. Kerry said he owns and drives a Dodge 600 and recently bought a Chrysler 300M. He said his wife owns the Chevrolet SUV. "The family has it. I don't have it," he said. (link)
Posted by Timothy,
1:53 PM
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Clueless in Iraq I am not sure I could come up with a more cartoon like character than Richard Perle. Unreal.
Posted by Timothy,
1:47 PM
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Glorious Appearance: More a"POP"alyptic Fiction
For those of you perturbed when Jesus was recently reincarnated as a pop-superstar by Mel Gibson, here's something to add to your general perturbation: The twelvth and final part in an epic series by Lahaye and Jenkins is now climbing U.S. bestseller's charts. The series is called "Left Behind", and begins with all the true believers being "raptured" to heaven, leaving we more skeptical types behind to do battle with the Anti-christ, his 400 million demonic horsemen, and a potpourri of other wholesomely satanic foes. The part that gets me is that the Anti-Christ, "Nicholai", coincidentally has a dayjob as the head of the U.N., and is in cahoots with the Europeans. From what I gather it's basically the U.S. and Israel versus the planet, and the fight keeps getting harder as all the "good guys" keep getting recruited into heaven at crucial moments, dubbed "soul harvests".
If you happen to see anyone around you reading one of these books, my suggestion would be to edge away, at first slowly, until you're a safe enough distance to break into an all out sprint.
Trying to intimidate people into believing in God by threatening to send 400 million demonic horsemen after them strikes at the very idea of freedom of religion. For some reason, threatening to send assassins after someone is criminal, but threatening fire and brimstone upon their head is consider the height of moral rectitude in our society.
Posted by Justin Sarma,
3:09 AM
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Tuesday, April 20, 2004 This week's Surprise News: Fighting Lots of Wars Requires Lots of Troops
An incredible conclusion by a Republican Senator on Capitol Hill today, advocating bringing back the draft.
To be fair, Hagel's point was the same as Charlie Rangel's -- the current U.S. military is predominantly made up of minorities and poor people. A draft would theoretically level the playing field and make middle class and upper class America "share the burden." But we know what a fiction that is. If we reinstate the draft, it will simply mean that even more poor people and minorities will be serving in the military. Let's not forgot our own President's little war-time escapades. Poor people will end up here. Rich kids will end up here.
Next week's astounding revelation: Spending billions on wars requires Americans to pay billions more in taxes.
Posted by Dan,
10:02 PM
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There is intelligent life on Mars, and it shops at Walmart.
Posted by Justin Sarma,
11:19 AM
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Monday, April 19, 2004 How do you convince Iraqis the U.S. has good intentions and plans to build democracy? How about sending them an ambassador that has not cared about human rights?!
President Bush named John Negroponte, the United States' top diplomat at the United Nations, as the U.S. ambassador to Iraq on Monday and asserted that Iraq "will be free and democratic and peaceful."...
Negroponte's nomination for the U.N. post was confirmed by the Senate in September 2001, but that confirmation didn't come easy.
It was delayed a half-year mostly because of criticism of his record as the U.S. ambassador to Honduras from 1981 to 1985. In Honduras, Negroponte played a prominent role in assisting the Contras in Nicaragua in their war with the left-wing Sandinista government, which was aligned with Cuba and the Soviet Union.
For weeks before his Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, Negroponte was questioned by staff members on whether he had acquiesced to human rights abuses by a Honduran death squad funded and partly trained by the Central Intelligence Agency. (Link)
