GOP: Fast, Furious, and Without a Clue *UPDATED*

For a long while now, the GOP has desperately sought some scandal with which it could tar President Obama. So far nothing has stuck (Luck for them Operation: Sabotage of the Economy is going well.). But they still try. And with Solyndra, a solar cell company, they hoped for something, but no. It isn’t sexy.

But what about Fast and Furious? The crappy movie series? No, it’s a program that ran stings to try and take down those moving guns out of the US into Mexico. The program did not go well. It lead to a lot of firearms moving over the border, into the hands of criminals, and which caused the death of at least one US border agent.

 Guns? Mexican gangs? Dead American? Now that is sexy to a Republican.

So, while pushing on other fronts, many Republicans are hoping this operation will lead to the destruction of the Obama administration. First on their list is to destroy the US Attorney General Eric Holder.

From Daily Kos:

… 

In a fiery hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday, Sen. John Cornyn, Republican of Texas, read a list of complaints. Among other things, he claimed Holder had misled the committee, sent a letter containing false information to a committee member, will not tell the truth about what he knew and when he knew it regarding the program, will not take responsiblity for various failures of the Department of Justice, has engaged in a conflict of interest by not setting up an independent investigation of the gun-walking scandal, has endangered national security and will not hold anyone in his department accountable 

…

That sounds bad. If it were more than a eschewed and twisted reading of events by John Cornyn, I’d  be more worried.  No, this is a pathetic bit of theater, attempting to create some semblance of real passion or villainy. Pathetic.

What’s more…

...

It's more with sorrow than regret, than with anger, that I would say that youleave me no alternative but to join those who call upon you to resign your office. 

...

Oh, for fuck sake, fire that speechwriter, Cornyn. I don’t know what second rate novel he pulled this line from, but they should be ashamed they even read it, let along gave it to you to read.

Still, it nicely reflects the melodrama you are acting out. (And, yes, too many committee meetings of congress are sad little melodramas, prewritten and rehearsed, for later release in a fundraising letter.) 

Thankfully, Holder was ready, because, if anything, this conservative shtick is to be expected.

... 

Holder: With all due respect, senator, there is so much that is factually wrong with the premises that you started your statement with, it's almost breathtaking in its inaccuracy, but, I'll simply leave it at that. 

… 

If you want to talk about Fast and Furious, I'm the attorney general that put an end to the misguided tactics that were used in Fast and Furious. An attorney general whom I suppose you would hold in higher regard was briefed on these kinds of tactics in an operation called "Wide Receiver" and did nothing to stop them. Nothing. Three hundred guns, at least, "walked" in that instance. 

I'm also the attorney general who called on an inspector general to look into this matter, to investigate this matter. I'm also the attorney general who made personnel changes at ATF and in the U.S. Attorneys office that was involved, have overseen the changes of processes and procedures within ATF to make sure that this doesn't happen ever again.

...

And I've also said, indicated, I guess, earlier in my testimony, to the extent that all of that is not enough to satisfy the concerns that have been raised in the House committee, I am willing to sit down and talk about the provision of more materials. I have sent letters in that regard, the deputy attorney general has sent letters in that regard, and have not had responses. Which leads me to believe that the desire here is not for an accommodation but for a political point-making. And that is the kind of thing that, you know, you and and your side, I guess, have the ability to do if that's what you want to do. It is the kind of thing that I think turns people off about Washington. While we have very serious problems, we still have this political gamesmanship. 

…

This program began, like Solyndra, under the last administration, the Bush administration. But that is not something the Republicans want to acknowledge. Rather they want to create a narrative of corruption and folly.

And so far, outside of talk radio and FOX News, next to no one really cares.

But THIS is what the Republicans in Congress are focused on, when they aren’t pushing laws on women’s reproductive rights.

_______________
ADDENDUM:

Thought I'd add a link to a useful Think Progress piece on the paucity of the GOP's argument against the Obama administration on Fast and Furious.

Nick Hanauer, Jobs, and Taxes

Nick Hanauer did an interesting TED talk this year. It sticks out mostly from the rest due to the fact it wasn’t released online by the TED folks. Of course, since the news of that got out, it was released. I’d get into the politics now, but it was a dumb decision to avoid “controversy” coming from challenging the orthodoxy of the popular Wall Street view of economics.

A controversy. When we deal with conservatives these days, even science is a controversy.

It is such an interesting and useful talk; I thought I’d link to it here, for those interested. The video covers the question of just how taxes affect economic success, and just who are the “job creators.” Enjoy.

Of course, the claim about the automatic negative to all taxes has long been seen to be flawed.

Think Progress points to this good chart, showing how job #’s can improve under tax increases.

Taxation has an important role. It is no end all, be all, but it has a function in our society. We can debate what the rates should be, but to allow assumptions that taxes are an evil is to hold the day is folly. 

GOP M.O.: Selling new fears around abortion

There are a variety of complaints and concerns about abortion. And once you get passed the many outright lies about abortion, you could have a social debate.

But for some reason, conservatives seem to not want to move passed lies and rhetoric and stay in a fictional worlds of evil abortionist. In this case the villainous lot are out madly engaging in gender-selective abortions. These are when abortion is sought only because of the sex of a possible child.

Now, there is a certain amount of this going on in some parts of the world, generally where females are considered undesirable, or a disadvantage (for property rights, dowries, inheritance issues, etc.). This is, obviously, something that is troubling to most people. It makes a good headline, or a frightful op ed piece.

The real interest to me is why is this a big problem now for conservatives in the United States? If you look at gender selection issues around the world, it does exist and have an effect, but in the U.S., not so much. There are no indications, barring attempts by conservative agents to make damning videos. So, before even addressing whether or not it should be allowed, we need to realize it is more myth, a new conservative urban legend (Like the foreign president, or Tea Party Reagan.).

But it sounds bad! And that is all the conservatives who thought it up as an issue wanted.

Partial Birth Abortion! My, god! That sounds horrible! ...What is it exactly? Does it actually happen? Is it medically valuable? May it save a mother's life? Why are we asking questions? It sounds horrible, so you don't need to think on it in the least. You are morally right to be outraged. Get the pitchfork. Light the torch. March on the castle. Move! Move! Move!!!

That is the magic that conservatives love. Outrage. Buzz words. Villains! Click here to donate.

And the results, in attacking concepts from medical services to government budgeting, has helped place law on the books and people in office that have done little good for us. They play at crusading hero, they file a laundry list of bad bills, work to block serious work, and complain about how the system isn't working.

And that is how the GOP has been running itself for more than a decade now. It has coarsened our politics. While, yes, politics has already had coarse qualities, it has moved us down a damning path that presents dangers to our systems long term viability.

Skepticism is important here. We have to look passed trick words and concepts. We have to see passed engendered fear. And we have to shine a light on reality.

What is the result, if they actually press Democrats to pass laws on gender selective abortion?

If it's a federal law, it means a new restriction nationally on access. It also means a question of enforcement, and fear for doctors. Will they be baselessly accused of gender selection, as fundamentalist seek ways to shut them down? How do they prove otherwise? It would be a nightmare. And conservatives love that.

How about on the state level? It will then be a state by state issue. And it's hard to imagine they won't only worsen the mess we are dealing with now. Doctors will be scared out, for fear of witch hunts (Conservatives love their witch hunts.). And it will, if a "sound" process is created to determine intent, it means yet another hurdle, and probably expense, for women seeking legal abortion.

This is all about putting strains and threats on women's backs. As it is, states are banning abortion after 20 weeks, putting an ever shrinking egg timer before women seeking aid. In some states ridiculous restrictions are being placed on any facility that would offer abortion service, making it difficult, if not impossible to stay open. This can include having hospital admitting privileges, which can be easily denied, particularly if hospitals are trying to avoid trouble. And the result is Mississippi is about to drive the last facility offering abortion services out, without having to actually ban abortion.

Republicans have been allowed for too long to drive fear and lies into the abortion discussion. They have turned a real medical service, that goes back to the bible, into some horror story. We need to change this. People do know better, I believe. But they have been convinced that the "common sense" approach of conservatives is making things safer and better. It is only eroding rights, and putting women at risk.

You'd think they wouldn't want to do that.

Lizz Free and Buy This Book

I have noticed that Lizz Windstead (at @lizzwinstead on Twitter) has had a new book out, Lizz Free or Die.

I haven't given the book the interest it deserved before now. And that's a  shame, because it is actually quite an interesting and fun read. But I have not been inclined to books recently as I should be, another shame.

Thankfully, I listened to the newest podcast episode of Comedy and Everything Else. Winstead had a very engaging talk about her experiences and the new book, host Jimmy Dore (at @jimmy_dore on Twitter) and Frank Conniff (at @FrankConniff on Twitter). Episode is here.

... 

Lizz Free or Die is her new book in which she tells us how it all began, along with lots of other interesting and funny things. 

"She writes of getting knocked up by her hockey player boyfriend in high school, spending a fortune on her dogs’ waste problems, and saying goodbye to her dying father with understated insight and, of course, humor—reminding us of its value as an antidote to both political and personal hardship. ..Salon.com 

...

At a minimum, it is a fun interview to listen to, looking at Rachel Maddow, the start of Air America, the start of The Daily Show, dog care, and more.

But the book itself is a prize to partake. Give it a look through, and decide for yourself.

An irregular review of Sherlock Holmes.

Sofie Liv (at @RedSuitCaseXxX on Twitter) and Sursum Ursa (at @JillABearup on Twitter), regularly found at The Agony Booth, continue an amusing look at various adventures of Sherlock Holmes in, The Baker Street Adventures.

This time, Sherlock Holmes and the Baker Street Irregulars.




Previously they looked at Sherlock Holmes, as played by Robert Downey Jr.



Also, Sursum Ursa has further looks at Holmesian work at her Blip channel.

21st Century Campaigning, We Don't Know the Rules

Did you know there were unwritten rules of election campaigning?

There are. And everyone holds them sacred and inviolable. If you break them, you will be taken to task.

...

No. That's bullshit, I'm kidding you. There are no hard and fast rules that aren't enshrined in law, then worked around by a team of lawyers.

Still...Democrats seem to think there are unwritten rules of campaigning...

One thing I remember hearing as a rule of national campaigns was:

Party leaders are not targeted by opposition leaders.

I heard that a lot.

Then in 2004, Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle was beat in South Dakota. It was the first time a Senate leader was beaten since 1952. Bill Frist, Daschle's opposite in the Senate actually came to South Dakota and campaigned against Daschle. It was a break. More it is a sight of how the political game had changed in the 21st century. Republicans are ready to push the bounds to take power. Democrats needed to counter.

So, Daschle lost and was replaced by John Thune. You may recognize the name as he's a member of leadership in the Senate, and talked up at times as a possible vice presidential candidate. In the wake of the '04 campaign, I would have hoped lessons were learned and party leaders would be targeted in elections and some effort, any effort, would be applied to challenging them. 

2010 came, Democrats were at risk and needed to rally. John Thune was on the ballot again. And standing against him was...No one. Thune, a Republican leader in an important election year ran unopposed. 

What? Why? Now, I understand that South Dakota is red. I know that Thune has good poll numbers. To run against him would be an uphill battle, heck, it would be quixotic. But no alternative? As a Democrat, you went to vote and saw no option to at least register your dislike for Thune. It is galling. 

Is it a matter of throwing money way on a lost? Herseth-Sandlin was fighting to keep the House seat, and they likely wanted plenty of cash and focus for that. I appreciate that. But, what would the barriers have been to just nominate someone to just stand in on the ballot? No major ad campaign, just some signs, some speeches, and make it clear where Democrats stand and why people need to vote with the Democrats. Heck, it would be one more people to get out and vote against her Herseth's opponent. But, no. SD Democratic Party just rolled up that year on that seat. And they also lost the House seat.

It never makes sense to let a challenge to your opposition pass untried. But Democrats do it all the time. 

In 2010, Justin Coussoule decided to run against John Boehner, Republic leader in the House. An Iraq vet, and West Point grad, he wanted to take Boehner on. The Democratic Party leadership couldn't stand it, and did their best to pretend he didn't exist.

David Feldman (at @david_feldman_ on Twitter), on his podcast and radio show, talked with Howie Klein of Act Blue about this. Klein talked about how Boehner is the person who got Coussoule any real attention that year, complaining about how he was being targeted. Some liberal groups were interested in helping, but the party structure meant to assist was AWOL. The DCCC (Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee) ran events in and around Boehner's district, didn't bother inviting Coussoule. That's how serious they were about staying away from the leaders.

Meanwhile the various Democratic senior chairs in Congress in 2010 were targeted, some defeated.

I can only hope at some point Democratic bosses wise up. They're political fighting style is far different from than of the Republicans. Democratic leaders seem to keep thinking Republicans have agreed to not kick them in the balls. Republicans just shrug and kick us in the balls. Republicans are targeting legislative leaders, and having success. Boehner had some vulnerabilities, but DCCC was uninterested.

New leadership? New party bosses? New something, and soon.

We need to learn our lessons, get out, and get involved.

So does the whole of the Democratic Party.

New Mr. Deity - WOTM: What a friend we have in Joshie!

The team at Mr. Deity have another fun episode of their Way of the Mister Series, which plays off the apologetic series Way of the Master. Mister humorously takes on ideas which are taken for granted within religion.

What a friend we have in Joshie!





For more Mr. Deity check out their YouTube Channel. Or check out their website, Mr. Deity.

Mr. Deity can be found at @MrDeity on Twitter.

Back off, man. We're pretending to do science.

Ian Boudreau (at @iboudreau on Twitter) had a nice tweet pointing to the MRC, Media Research Center, mission statement and it's effort to claim some interest in science.

And looking at it, I think it makes a great example of just the sort of ham handed efforts we often see these days to try and cloak agendas and ideology in some scientific jargon or credibility.

Now, the key issue for this right wind media group is...The rest of the media is liberal. Gasp! I've never heard that claim before.

But, you see, they are going to prove it!

... On October 1, 1987, a group of young determined conservatives set out to not only prove — through sound scientific research — that liberal bias in the media does exist and undermines traditional American values, but also to neutralize its impact on the American political scene. ...

So they wanted to do the "sound scientific research," while simultaneously countering what they are trying to prove exists. Shouldn't you focus first on proving it? Also, how are they going to prove it?

By listing out every story done "improperly," every comment from someone in the media that's "liberal," every story not giving "sufficient" coverage, and create surveys and studies bringing together the "overwhelming bias."

Obviously, I use the quote marks to, in part mock, but also to point to the ideas they want to pretend are settled and accepted. How are stories determined to be improperly done? What makes a story liberal? When is someone or something not given sufficient coverage?

Oh, it is quite simple, it comes back to their idea of BIAS. They're thinking and fuming about how the media isn't working as concertedly towards their ends. So they take their worldview and use it to mark off the things that piss them off, and ignore evidence to the contrary. They are a group that spend their days making lists of things that piss them off. If there's a story about Romney, Bain Capital, and job loss, it's a biased story. If there's a story about Romney, Bain Capital, and job creation, it's an honest story.

After the 2008 election, they looked at the 2008 presidential campaign, and say Obama got too much positive coverage, and McCain was opposed in the Media. To MRC, not giving constant coverage to the Rev. Wright and Bill Ayers is proof for this.

Better, Palin was being treated poorly by the media, since she had little positive coverage, according to MRC. Proof! Trouble is, why was Palin not giving "positive" coverage? Was it hate? Or, was it her trouble answering questions? Was it due to some some troubling political comments that were then discussed? Was it due to her being a poor candidate? Was it how MRC chose to define the word "positive."

A group like MRC is created and funded less to learn then to promote a particular idea. (Actually, groups like MRC have nothing to do with learning.) In their case, that the media is biased towards ideas that will hurt America. So they try and build up proof, with tweaked terminology and funny numbers.

They then, with other similar groups and friendly media resources (FOX, Limbaugh, Drudge, etc.) bounce claims back and forth to create the illusion of some real facts and social consensus.

For a good example of trying to build a sense of media bias, look to Joe Scarborough complaining that the New York Times is biased against Romney is a way they would never be towards a Democrat.

The Daily Show
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

Wow, Joe. It's like just because you were biased towards a person and didn't like the coverage, you just assumed and treated as fact liberal media bias.

Now, it isn't just in politics and media that conservative groups are interested. In science they are also very active. Though, thankfully, the rigor of real science journals keeps most of the bullshit at bay. But the interest, again, is in building arguments that can be dropped into the general media, in the hopes of turning popular opinion against genuine scientific consensus. Who needs to convince scientist, if you can turn the public and politicians to your thinking (That is a real attitude, that is terrifying.).

Best example of these is the Discovery Institute, have a research arm (Research to prove the idea of intelligent design has any legitimacy.) and a lobbying arm (Money spent to promote the idea that intelligent design is legitimate and should be in schools. Guess which is doing all of the work (Hint: It's the lobbying arm.). So it's promoting and presenting ideas that are in no way supported as valid.

There are many groups out there like the Media Research Center and the Discovery Institute. Groups like these have learned, if we create the illusion of genuine research, if we can amass funding, and then claim authority...We can get the actual results we want, without all that pesky science and research.

Establishing facts is hard work. Claiming presupposed opinion as facts is easy, particularly when the public is left unaware.

Full Metal Mitt

High ya, you youngins. Once long in the mists of time their was a magical time known an 'Nam.

Oh, it was a grand old times. You had all the drugs you wanted. Listened to the Rolling Stones all the time. And got to hand out with Charlie Sheen, Mel Gibson, Robin Williams, Marlon Brando, and Tom Hanks.

It was great. If you don't believe me, talk to all the Republican leaders and pundits who will go on at no end about the war...and how much they just WISH they could have gone over and served, but...

If you ever thought the numerous antigay/secretly gay Republican was getting ridiculous. Look at the most war hawkish on them, and their own willingness to serve in a time of war. Limbaugh has a butt pimple. Cheney, was married...and I have kid now! Gingrich, same as Cheney. Bush, he served...what?

Look, I don't begrudge someone not wanting to fight in a war. I don't want to kill anyone. I don't want to die. War sucks. But unlike these guys, I don't claim otherwise. I and a lot of other people don't feel the need to wax rhapsodical about glory, victory, and duty. If we need to fight and war, fine. But let's not bullshit about it, okay?

So let's consider are new possible national leader, Willard Mitt Romney. What's he say about Vietnam? He couldn't go. But not to worry, he longed to be there. If only. Trouble is, he had to go to school (remember Animal House) and then he had to go to France, to convert people to his religion. So, you know, he had a good reason to skip war. So he asked for and took 4 deferments to stay out of it.

Let's look at Mitt's statements on this:

1994

“It was not my desire to go off and serve in Vietnam, but nor did I take any actions to remove myself from the pool of young men who were eligible for the draft,” Romney told the newspaper.

2007

“I longed in many respects to actually be in Vietnam and be representing our country there, and in some ways it was frustrating not to feel like I was there as part of the troops that were fighting in Vietnam.”

Mitt changed his tune, as he changed his audience. Shocker, I know.

But, Mitt in Vietnam? That'd end well.

Vampires, Witches, and Devils *UPDATED*

BBC has an interesting piece on recovered remains in Bulgaria from the middle ages. The bodies were found to have had iron rods driven through their chests, so at to prevent a vampire from rising. There are numerous examples all over the region.

... 

"These skeletons stabbed with rods illustrate a practice which was common in some Bulgarian villages up until the first decade of the 20th Century," explained Bozhidar Dimitrov who heads the National History Museum in the Bulgarian capital Sofia. 

People believed the rod would pin the dead into their graves to prevent them from leaving at midnight and terrorising the living, the historian added. 

...

The tweet for this story joked, "Real life vampires?" ...No. Sure it is funny to joke about. You can see the humor rising from a number of disturbing cannibal occurrences recently. We like to laugh at our supernatural narratives.

But these practices were still in use around 100 years ago. Not that long. And, in some places, they may still be practiced in the Balkans. These tales, traditions, and rituals have a way of staying with a culture.

The idea of witches can conjurer up many ideas, mostly fanciful. As you read on appreciate their are different kinds of "witches."

• The Wiccans, Pagans, etc., who have their faiths and private personal practices. 
• The more involved "witch doctors" and shamans, often with an established social duty, found in various places around the world. 
• The TV and movie kind. ...The hat.
• The point at a person you dislike and say, "You're a witch!" type. Things rarely go well for this one, as we'll see.

Now, consider the reactions in certain areas of the world to the notion of witches?

Nigeria, etc.
Rise in African children accused of witchcraft.
Kids being accused in a more recent ideas, apparently coming from the growth in orphaned children.

... 

Most of those accused of witchcraft are boys aged between eight to 14 - who often end up being attacked, tortured and sometimes killed. 

Also, children have had petrol poured into their eyes or ears as a way of trying to exorcise "evil spirits" that healers believe have possessed them. 

It is reported that some evangelical preachers have added to the problem by charging large sums for exorcisms. One was recently arrested in Nigeria after charging more than $250 for each procedure. 

...

Congo
The Witch Killers of Africa

In June of 2001, villagers of Congo's northeast provinces began a bloody witch eradication campaign, sparing neither neighbor, nor friend. Alleged witches were unceremoniously hacked apart by machete-wielding vigilantes, bringing about a scene of carnage unmatched since the machete killing-sprees of the Rwanda Crisis. The innocent victims were first "smelled out" (identified by tribal healers as witches) before they were savagely beaten into incriminatory confessions about others allegedly engaged in the black arts. After the unsuspecting parties were identified, the executions started in earnest throughout the rural areas. Three hundred villagers were killed in the first days of the witch paranoia.[1] In the following weeks, the death toll rose to nearly eight hundred victims.[2] Hundreds of Congolese fled to the relative safety of Uganda, many bearing machete wounds on legs, arms, and torsos. 

...

Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia: Beheadings for 'witchcraft'

A Sri Lankan woman is currently facing decapitation by sword on a witchcraft charge in Saudi Arabia, in accordance with Wahhabism, a strict form of Sunni Islam. The UN reports executions tripled in the kingdom in 2011. 

A Saudi man complained that in a shopping mall his 13-year-old daughter “suddenly started acting in an abnormal way, which happened after she came close to the Sri Lankan woman,” reports the daily Okaz.  

After the local man denounced the Sri Lankan for casting a spell on his daughter, police in the port city of Jeddah found it sufficient cause to arrest the woman. 

Witchcraft and sorcery imply only one measure in Saudi Arabia – beheading. And it works this way in practice: last year in the kingdom at least two people – a woman in her 60s and a Sudanese man – were beheaded on witchcraft charges. 

...

Nepal
Nepalese women accused of witchcraft and burned alive.

A 40-year-old mother of two was burned alive in central Nepal after she was accused of being a witch, police said Saturday. 

Dhegani Mahato was attacked and set on fire by family members and others after a shaman allegedly accused her of casting a spell to make one of her relatives sick, Police Officer Hira Mani Baral said. 

...

Ghana
Bright Ghanaian teen 'witch' accused of stealing classmates' brains

THE latest victim of Africa’s insane obsession with witchcraft is a 17-year-old high school student in Ghana who has been forced to drop out of her studies after fellow students accused her of being “impossibly intelligent”. 

According to this report, Ghana’s Women and Children’s Minister, Hajia Hawawu Boya Gariba, intervened after the girl was accused by her classmates of ‘stealing the brains of other students’ in order to get top grades. 

The student, who scored straight As, fled to Gambaga, a camp for witches in northern Ghana, after community members threatened violence. 

...

Vatican
'Harry Potter and yoga are evil', says Catholic Church exorcist

Father Gabriele Amorth, who for years was the Vatican’s chief exorcist and claims to have cleansed hundreds of people of evil spirits, said yoga is Satanic because it leads to a worship of Hinduism and “all eastern religions are based on a false belief in reincarnation”. 

Reading JK Rowling’s Harry Potter books is no less dangerous, said the 86-year-old priest, who is the honorary president for life of the International Association of Exorcists, which he founded in 1990, and whose favourite film is the 1973 horror classic, The Exorcist. 

The Harry Potter books, which have sold millions of copies worldwide, “seem innocuous” but in fact encourage children to believe in black magic and wizardry, Father Amorth said. 

“Practising yoga is Satanic, it leads to evil just like reading Harry Potter,” he told a film festival in Umbria this week, where he was invited to introduce The Rite, a film about exorcism starring Sir Anthony Hopkins as a Jesuit priest. 

“In Harry Potter the Devil acts in a crafty and covert manner, under the guise of extraordinary powers, magic spells and curses,” said the priest, who in 1986 was appointed the chief exorcist for the Diocese of Rome. 

...

United States
Hagee Tells Atheist to Leave the Country because They are not Wanted and Won't be Missed (w/ video)

Tomorrow, June 6, will be the 68th anniversary of the D-Day invasion at Normandy and Pastor John Hagee used his sermon this past Sunday to reflect upon sacrifices made on this day ... and also to tellatheists to get out of America "if our belief in God offends you" because they are not wanted and won't be missed while also calling on Congress to "outlaw the practice of witchcraft and Satanism in the US military, lest we offend the God of Heaven" 

(Emphasis added.)

And, of course, we all remember when the one time governor of Alaska received special protection from witches.



We are mostly unaware, but people are killed every years for being a witch. Witch burnings and hangings may seem like historical jokes. But, in this year people have died, and will yet die. And often these people have to die because some person or group need someone they can blame (for crop failures, for illness, for deaths, for misfortune) and have punished for supernatural nonexistent reasons.

It's cruel attitude and in too many cultures allowed to persist. We should not let fear drive murder. And we should not allow ourselves to be oblivious.

"Witchcraft at Salem Village." Source: Pioneers in the Settlement of America by William A. Crafts. Vol. I Boston: Samuel Walker & Company, 1876. Artists: F. O. C. Darley, Wm. L. Shepard, Granville Perkins, etc.

______
ADDENDUM:
Sorry, been thinking. We have a lot of justified beefs with how Saudi Arabia treats it's people. Rights to drive, vote, etc. How come the fact they cut the heads off "witches" is never brought up? That was just bugging me.

Obama's health care reform works! *UPDATED*

As I have pointed to before, Obamacare, or health care reform, has been a success, and as it continues to unfold it's benefits to the American people and country will grow. Yes, people have been working to muddy the water, but the reform's benefiting are becoming clearer. And it behooves us to remind people of that fact.

Also, we've seen Republicans shift back and forth on the reforms. First they wanted to "fix" them. Then they wanted to repeal and replace them. Then they had to admit the replace part was proving trickier than they thought. Then people like Allen West started saying we'd keep various parts, to which Boehner said, "No, no we aren't." It has been a circus.

But Allen hasn't been alone in continuing to allude to replacing Obamacare with Obamacare. Oh, no. They have some concerns about what happens if the Supreme Court actually gives them what they want. (Funny how often the GOP is actually terrified of their own agendas and platforms, desperate to have Democrats stop them.)

TPM:

... 

“We believe that the whole bill needs to be repealed,” Price said. “That being said, there are some things that have been instituted that a lot of folks have begun to rely upon and plan — make their family plans — based upon. Twenty-six-year-olds being on their parents’ insurance is one of them.” 

...

Or, the plan is going into affect, it is having a positive impact on many people's lives, and the GOP can't be seen to be actually making things worse...But the Supreme is about to enact our plan to make things worse. Oops.

So, as I noted before, Republicans are suddenly eager to:

• Prevent preexisting from being used against patients in need.
• To allow kids up to 26 yo to stay on parent's plans.
• Closing up that Medicare "doughnut hole."

But first they have to allow patients to be denied insurance, they have to kick all those kids off of those plans, and have to reopen that doughnut hole. Then, they will get to fixing them again. And that is before we even get into the fact that all of this is made tenable by having a mandate. I suppose in the months to come, the insurance mandate will be morphed into an original conservative concept.

They refuse to just admit the truth here. The reform advocates were right, that Obama was right. Instead of that, they will dismantle everything, complain about the liberal agenda, and then enact most of it again.

Your Republican Party, 2012.

__________________
ADDENDUM:

Here is a nice piece from Reddit, that takes you quite convincingly through the Health Care Reform Timeline to show what has been gained or improved by reform, and what is still to come this year, and the years to follow. Quite informative for when you talk with people.

Remembering Ray Bradbury

It does seem hard to believe, but Ray Bradbury has passed on. It did seem, as some are saying like he was always here, and would always be here. Writing daily for years, he seemed like a dynamo. He seemed and was a have a tireless creator, with an ever youthful imagination.

Something Wicked This Way Comes, Ray Bradbury:

“Death doesn't exist. It never did, it never will. But we've drawn so many pictures of it, so many years, trying to pin it down, comprehend it, we've got to thinking of it as an entity, strangely alive and greedy. All it is, however, is a stopped watch, a loss, an end, a darkness. Nothing.” 

Like we all will, his watch stopped. Stopped, after long decades of producing real magic for his eager audience. His voice, his words, his visions, and those glasses, will accompany me for the rest of my life, as fond memories.

Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury:

“Books were only one type of receptacle where we stored a lot of things we were afraid we might forget. There is nothing magical in them at all. The magic is only in what books say, how they stitched the patches of the Universe together into one garment for us.” 

And he was a master of the patchwork. He was one of those unique voices that helped shaped many of our childhoods, with scares, wonder, and thrills. His was a very special voice that we all should try and carry on in hearts and on our book shelves

I know all of us old fans will be taking time to pull out an old favorite to peruse. But I hope as well, we can entice some more to give one of his books a chance, perhaps one of his beautiful short stories? Or, maybe take some time with one of the movies drawn from his work, or the TV series.

He had a fascinating impact on storytelling, leaving us an array of works and media to enjoy.

Something Wicked This Way Comes:


Or, listen to Bradbury himself:

On Wisconsin: Why Do We Fall? *UPDATED*

As we could see as a possibility for awhile now, Wisconsin did not go well for the recall effort. Time to buck up.

"Why do we fall, sir?"

So, yes. Now we will have gloating from conservatives. We'll have pundits and commentators denouncing the unions, liberalism, and even the president. We will have billionaire fat cats chortling at...well, they don't live in our world.

Really, it is reminiscent of 2004. So many of us were fuming about Iraq and the ills in the country itself. We were sure the election would change everything (We often think that.). And found it did not go our way.

No, it isn't really all that similar. But Bush did smirk and talk of his "mandate." Conservatives chuckled and gleamed at their big plans. And things marched on.

The thing now is to take away lessons (And, let's hope we discover the right ones.) and insight for November.

Greg Sergeant quickly had a piece out, 'A wake-up call for Dems, labor, and the left.' (He placed a comma before the 'and,' I almost have to love him and the piece.) He points to the influx of cash from all those billionaires and interest groups to the recall. Walker raised 8 times his opponents funds. And outside interests outmatched what unions mustered.

But to be fair, Citizen United, as I understand it, focuses on federal elections. Also, Wisconsin still has laws on the books to keep corporate and unions at bay in normal elections. So there still are some barriers in normal elections. But the type of money thrown around in the last months are a taste of what is coming ever more common.

You need a billionaire PAC to stand out. Look at the GOP primaries. Who stood over time? The billionaires, and the people who had billionaire friends. Huntsman dropped when his family had had enough. And Gingrich dried up and shut down when his backer was done with him.

This is how are system now functions. There are no back of the pick up truck candidates. Well, not unless someone manages to create some brilliant viral online campaign, then gets it parleyed into cable news coverage. Even then, it's a fairy tale.

Politics has changed. It's been taken, reforged, and had it's price upped several factors. So what do we do?

We learn lessons. As much as we want to talk cash in Wisconsin, some polling says people were set on a candidate for governor for months. I have no idea how good these numbers are, but, maybe, we'll have a better idea tomorrow. Still, it seems a good starting point. So, consider, many Wisconsinites were set to back Walker.

Why were they set to do this? It is convenient to dismiss conservative voters, or people who vote differently, but...why are we in disagreement? Yes. Some are committed to party. Some are committed to an ideology. But not all of them. Some people are merely customers of lousy political/social product. Conservatives have been selling B.S. vigorously for quite a while now.

And, we should note, conservatives have gotten quite good at selling and embracing a lousy bill of sale. They pass law to ignore science and nature, but it's called job saving (and presented as a stab at "liberal lies"). They have turned the idea of selling off government services, like prisons, into cost saving innovation (despite the added cost to tax payers). The Republicans have worked to create a status quo that is dark and dank, just look what they did to our nation's credit rating. And when it hasn't been so bad, they declare it so. It has been common easy for them to confidently lie. They make up facts about Obama. They shut out voters, and declare they are saving the voting system. The view they have is sadly myopic. They go after everything it seems, from the Violence Against Women reauthorization to support for veterans (See all the filibustering.). But it helps create the gridlock and dreary ambiance they want, to push dread into all our hearts.

I know it can sound like it's a bit much, but they have embraced a path to assume power. And that means being sure we are a broken country, onto which they can work their agendas, and supplant real hope. So, they push and bend the system to accomplish this. Then lie to push things further, working to rewrite our understanding of key American ideas. Unions are bad. The rich need to be pampered to create jobs. Taxes and government services can't be trusted. Liberal is evil. Feminists are vile. Sarah Palin and George Bush are competent. They never liked the reality based community. Reality has been in their way too long.

It's incumbent on us to reinforce reality. And that requires us to present it to The People. As always, it starts with us. We need to counter the claims and distortions with facts. We need to talk about the importance of unions, the need for health care reform, and the results we have already seen in these last 4 years, despite the best efforts of Republicans in government offices and dark back rooms. The public square cannot be ceded to them. We need to let ourselves be heard, with family, friends, and beyond. Then we need to push the media to be more aware of the facts, be willing to challenge current and future wild claims from Romney, the PACS, and the Sunday morning regulars.

Also, to go back to those people we want to reach in the middle, I suggest considering was Milt Shook (at @MiltShook on Twitter) has been suggesting. We need to start listening to those people in the middle, and see just where their concerns and fear lie. They see a failed system. They see that doom the GOP stocking on the shelves. And they see two sides in a shoving match.

... 

For the next few weeks, liberals, take some time out to listen to moderate voter, and discover what they care about. I mean just listen. Don’t ask them leading questions or prod them. Just listen. You’ll find that the biggest complaint from most isn’t that the Republicans are anti-woman, anti-gay and pro-corporation. Their main complaint is that government isn’t working right now. They think the system is too polarized, and no longer meets their needs. Yes, we need more jobs. Yes, we need health care. Yes, everyone should have the same rights as everyone else in every arena. But as long as the right wing is yelling at us and we’re yelling back at them, the average voter has little confidence that either side can fix things. And hot cocoa begins to sound better than voting on a cold November morning. 

Keep in mind, a system can't be polarized unless two opposite sides both make it that way.  If the right wing is screaming, and we calmly ignore them and state our case, the polarization goes away. That's how things used to work. It's only been in the last 40 years or so that we came to think it was imperative that we answer every ridiculous notion the right wing puts out there.  

We have to push hope. We have to be the opposite of the right wing in every way. We can't assume they know where we stand on the issues; just tell everyone, and let them tell you whether they've heard it or not. ... 

...

So, please we need to take a breath, then we need to act. We need to get informed. We need to become involved in the process, and with our fellow citizens. Retreat now is to surrender and accept the Republicans view. And we know their plans for health care, for reproductive rights, for the environment, for Medicare, for Social Security, and for the Supreme Court. These ends are important, and we need to learn and be smart. So just getting angry and indolent doesn't make our case clearer. We need to act, having clarity and making connections. That's how you help rekindle hope.


So, why do we fall?

"So we can learn to pick ourselves up."

So let's learn. Let's pick ourselves up. Let's damn well not start fighting each other.

Bain is coming. And this fight will be against a juggernaut, juiced up with all sorts of cash, unflinching in it's use of dirty tricks and distraction, and unburdened with any moral compass.

Photo: Tom Hardy in "The Dark Knight Rises." Credit: Warner Bros.

__________
ADDENDUM:

Added the quote from Milt Shook.
Also modified the paragraph that followed.

WI: What once was old, is new, and who promised to leave, still remains.

As we ready for voting to come to a close in Wisconsin, as the question of the recall enters it's final hours, we take a breath and remember...

CRAP!!! ARE WALKER"S PEOPLE ARE IN CHARGE OF VOTE TAKING AND COUNTING?!!

Now, I don't want to be paranoid. I just think it is always important to be interested in elections being fair, and being sure votes are counted.  Speaking of which, do you remember Kathy Nickolaus? She's the county clerk of Waukesha county.

... 

In last year’s contentious state Supreme Court election, Nickolaus left numbers from Brookfield out of the count and did not report the error for two days. The new totals gave Justice David Prosser the lead overJoAnne Kloppenburg, who initially appeared victorious. 

Democrats reacted with outrage over the race, which had become an early proxy war over Walker’s reforms. A recount was held and a state investigation found that Nickolaus violated the law by failing to post all returns on election night. 

She came under fire again during this spring’s Republican presidential primary,when results from Waukesha were hours behind and plans to post the totals online fell through. Reporters were left to sort through pieces of paper taped to walls. 

...

After this she was asked to step aside, and said she would. It would be better not to have someone like this running things, particularly a critical and intensely fought recall.

She's still around, isn't she?

Yep.

But they promise she won't be there tonight.

We'll see.

But if you haven't yet, in the recall or any of the primaries today, and still have the time. GET OUT AND VOTE!!!

A bit of Victorian "blasphemy."

To go along with the earlier post on blasphemy law, a little look at 19th century tweaking of sensibilities.


Christ In The House Of His Parents by John Everett Millais (1850)

It is an interesting painting. It comes from near the start of the Pre-Raphaelite movement. It sparked horror and disgust (including for respected artist like Charles Dickens) in many people. It gives us "the holy family" of saints and deity as all too human, wounded, worn down, and flawed. It is a very real image. And add to that the vision of young Jesus with stigmata.

Charles Dickens on the horror of Mary's "ugliness":

"She would stand out from the rest of the company as a Monster, in the vilest cabaret in France, or the lowest gin-shop in England."

Guess that's why he's a writer and not a painter. But, really, the disgust was shared by many. I can only imagine if this painting was done today, Bill Donohue would be on Hardball and FOX News denouncing it, for challenging his thinking.

Prisons: We're doing something wrong.

Think Progress created a nice display of how prison populations breakdown in the world.

The United States has large and growing prison populations. But we seem unaware. Add to that the (further) eschewed statistics showing that blacks and Hispanics are more likely to get picked up, get incarcerated, and receive longer sentences.

This situation gets little attention, and deserves more interest, and concern.

But it's not the only issue.

Then there is the private industry side of this. This has been a somewhat quiet shift. Between 2000 and 2009 the private prison population went from 6.3% to 8% of the total population. Along the way, there has been a growth in the lobbying dollars to spread around, now well over $2,000,000. And in 2010, they had 35 federal lobbyist at work. It is a quite profitable business.

Corrections Corporation of America is the largest of these private prison companies, and continues to pioneer this industry...feel free to be made uncomfortable.

(Emphasis added.)

... 

For two decades, CCA was a member of a group called the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) — a nationwide organization made up of corporations and state legislators. At an ALEC meeting in December 2009, where CCA employees were present, according to NPR’s reporting, the group crafted the model legislation that would later become Arizona’s SB1070 and a host of other similar bills across the country. 

... 

The bills CCA has lobbied on this year include a number of appropriations related to Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detentions, which made up 12 percent of the company’s revenue last year, according to CCA’s 2010 annual report. 

In last month’s quarterly statement, the company announced a quarterly revenue increase of 5.6 percent, which the company largely attributed to new federal contracts.

CCA didn’t respond to repeated requests for comment, but in other statements they have denied that they try to influence the political process. 

Paul Ashton told The Minnesota Independent that many of the legislative policies CCA was close to as a longtime member of ALEC, for instance the “three-strikes-you’re-out” rule, benefit the company’s bottom line. 

“In order for a private prison company to make money, there has to be people in prison,” Ashton said. “In order for them to have an increasing share of the market and in order for them to increase their revenue, there have to be more people in their facility, they have to stay their longer, and they have to come back.” 

It’s been almost two years since the privately-run prison in Appleton has held prisoners. But in early 2012, the prison’s owner, Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), expects to fill Appleton’s Prairie Correctional Facility and another facility in Colorado with 3,256 inmates from California. 

In the last ten years, the revenue of CCA, the country’s biggest private prison company, has almost doubled, according to their annual reports. Critics say that CCA’s success, and even the likely reopening of the prison in Appleton, stems from their use of lobbying and campaign donations to push through tougher crime laws and increase detainment of illegal immigrants. 

“Prison privatization contracts are designed by policy makers. It’s important for these companies to have a political strategy to increase their market share,” Paul Ashton, author of a recent report on private prisons for the Justice Policy Institute, said in a conference call Wednesday. Private prison companies “game the system,” he said, by pushing to increase market share, which in the private prison business means putting more people in prison. 

...  

Prison size and prison populations as a profit center. That is wrong, just wrong.

One reason for these moves is a hope to cut costs for states. Trouble is that many of these privatization moves have proven to not actually work. One example is Chicago, where they sold off the parking meters, but now get bills when the new owners feel they are not getting the profits they expected. So, after selling off the income for a one time payment, they are now paying out to the private operator. That doesn't sound right, does it?

And, as some have reported, the savings from selling prisons are also in doubt, when properly analyzes.

(Emphasis added.)

... 

A series of studies has also cast doubt on the private prison industry's main selling point: efficiency. Research across numerous states has shown that the promised savings from private prisons can be illusory at best. Cost comparisons often fail to account for extra administrative expenses borne by the state, or differences in health care costs for sickly inmates who normally remain in state supervision. 

... 

"It's a real gamble for states to say, 'Gee, we're going to save a lot of money this way,'" said Zach Schiller, research director at Policy Matters Ohio, which did several studies analyzing Ohio's sale of a state prison to Corrections Corporation of America. "The idea that we should do this because we need money on a one-time basis seems like awfully short-term thinking. If we want to talk about what our needs are for the budget, and what our needs are for housing prisoners, let's look at those on a long-term basis and see what the best decisions are." 

... 

But estimated savings often come down to how those calculations are made, and outside researchers have questioned the numbers. In Arizona, for example, a 2010 report from the state's auditor general showed that it cost the state more to house prisoners in private facilities than public prisons after factoring in administrative costs and adjusting for the types of medical care provided to less healthy inmates who tended to be housed in public facilities. And in Florida, where lawmakers this week could decide whether to privatize more than two dozen state prisons, reports about private prisons from the state's legislative research office note, "cost savings estimates are subject to caveats and should be evaluated cautiously." 

... 

State officials have argued that selling and outsourcing the prison will generate $3 million in cost savings each year. But a report from Policy Matters Ohiocalculated that selling the Lake Erie prison would actually cost more in the long term than if the state continued to own the property and pay off the construction bonds. That's because the state has to pay Corrections Corporation of America a $3.8 million annual ownership fee for housing state prisoners, in addition to the prisoner per-diem costs laid out in the contract. 

...

This is a flawed approach. And, like the treatment of people of different races, it deserves for more interest and discussion.

Can I ask a question of religion? No.

Andrew Sullivan (at @sullydish on Twitter) can write interesting pieces. Sometimes it is for the reasons that Sullivan means. Sometimes it is something else entirely. This is true for when he writes on politics and when he writes on religion, and definitely when they overlap.

So recently Andrew Sullivan wrote on this question:

Is Mormonism Different Than Other Religions?

If you have seen some of my other posts, you will know that is a question I am interested and would like to see properly examined.

So what does Sullivan do? To start, he points to a later article coming out to address whether Mormons and the LDS act properly or not. Eh, it's a post from a writer, you can expect that to happen.

But it's where he goes from there that is so interesting.

"Mormonism, in other words, should not be tackled differently than any other faith; but neither can it be completely exempted from examination in this election."

Wow, that is such an interesting view. The first half, is so on point. Mormonism should be treated just the same as other religions. Every religion is weird. Every religion has secrets. Every religion has it's little traditions. So the fact these are facets of Mormonism is not, in and of itself, a good issue.

But that second half. It should be treated like other faiths, but it can't be COMPLETELY exempt from examination... Does that mean the other religions are exempt? If Newt was the candidate, would we not be allowed to talk about the Pope and Cardinal Dolan? If Santorum was the guy, would we be sanctioned for talking Evangelicalism? As I recall, "the black church" got some scrutiny. Was it like Mormonism? 


And this is the presumed starting point for so many of the faithful.

"Of course, we don't have to talk about my faith. That's different, I'm different. It would be offensive. Why would you ask or invade that area of a person's life? How dare you!"

Sacred. It's a human construct. We can choose to respect. We can choose to keep some respectful distance. And, we can choose to pay no attention at all to the topic. But when we debate and dance with religion, we don't have to worry about keeping space for the Holy Ghost. Rather we can get up close and, barring blasphemy law, speak our minds. And, no one should be above this.


As a matter of your personal life, you can believe what you like, without harm to others. Religion, in and of itself, has no immunity and is up for scrutiny, debate, and criticism. And in politics, their is a blend  of the two points, as it is your life, but it is also a public concept with real world impact.


So let's amend, and truncate, Sullivan's line:

"Mormonism should not be tackled differently than any other faith; and like all other faiths, it is not exempted from examination ..."