tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8822855811743863052024-03-13T10:54:36.985-05:00Pinko Liberal Commie BastardA place for the free exchange of ideas on politics, art, music, film and literature or, if that fails, (and it usually does) then fun new swears and childish name-calling.Joshuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16070423351272659357noreply@blogger.comBlogger158125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-882285581174386305.post-59441424414266090232011-09-10T16:29:00.000-05:002011-09-10T16:29:43.774-05:00Midwest Association of Professional Animators: Martin Sheen Confirms His Return As The Illusive M...<a href="http://mapanim.blogspot.com/2011/09/martin-sheen-confirms-his-return-as.html?spref=bl">Midwest Association of Professional Animators: Martin Sheen Confirms His Return As The Illusive M...</a>: The Illusive Man, voiced by veteran actor Martin Sheen, from 2010's "Mass Effect 2" has been hailed as one of the greatest video game villa...Joshuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16070423351272659357noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-882285581174386305.post-62479260958534792592011-01-20T18:32:00.008-06:002011-01-20T18:51:25.293-06:00You Can't Change Words' Meanings To Suit YouSarah Palin has gone on Fox News’ Sean Hannity show to explain that the term “blood libel” refers to those "falsely accused of having blood on their hands."<br /><br />Um, no it does not.<br /><br />You can’t randomly make up meanings to phrases. It doesn’t work that way.<br /><br />Either admit that you did not know what the term meant when you used it and apologize or…I can’t think of a way to finish this sentence.<br /><br />Sarah Palin, I do not think you are stupid, so I am not excusing you from this like many of my contemporaries are. They think you are a fool. I do not.<br /><br />The more you continue to try to explain yourself, the more all but your most blindly devoted are starting to see you for who you really are.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkJ8z0BM0q2njZnhdgT1esG3-p2s1DKnHOn41XwGCx0q0eqFpWPCWxjZVeYB_15sh1jV_PxbMWuZGZVrS9S_si-lfUTrXIcK9m2-MTRTs93K9Fk37j2m5Ua6nNqkfW4FzPPY8CdQNTuGvF/s1600/sarah-palin%25287%2529.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 138px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkJ8z0BM0q2njZnhdgT1esG3-p2s1DKnHOn41XwGCx0q0eqFpWPCWxjZVeYB_15sh1jV_PxbMWuZGZVrS9S_si-lfUTrXIcK9m2-MTRTs93K9Fk37j2m5Ua6nNqkfW4FzPPY8CdQNTuGvF/s200/sarah-palin%25287%2529.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5564434464320849042" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvXQju7Y6BCWZY5lvOeW1Ck09DRFV0B2WiceJkQ2xIE5oAkuicMrTQp9JeZUKpi3H5_L2ZR2iiNNOP7MWzMUIAHmXb-tNx50VXz_Kr2ROvx0uVZd_5dG1pvj0MzgB1oz03h2LpCPVaiKBS/s1600/David-Duke-KKK.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 148px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvXQju7Y6BCWZY5lvOeW1Ck09DRFV0B2WiceJkQ2xIE5oAkuicMrTQp9JeZUKpi3H5_L2ZR2iiNNOP7MWzMUIAHmXb-tNx50VXz_Kr2ROvx0uVZd_5dG1pvj0MzgB1oz03h2LpCPVaiKBS/s200/David-Duke-KKK.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5564434365484453666" border="0" /></a><br />Just as David Duke is no longer a force to be reckoned with in politics, soon you will not be, either. <br /><br />I said before, you either knew what you were saying or you didn't, so the choices are racist or stupid.<br /><br />And you are no idiot. You are dangerous and you need to be democratically removed from politics.<br /><br />And thank Jesus, you are making that happen.Joshuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16070423351272659357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-882285581174386305.post-27014708895687765702011-01-20T18:23:00.004-06:002011-01-20T18:30:16.863-06:00Randall Terry Out of Control<span style="font-family:georgia;">Randall Terry, founder of anti-abortion group “Operation Rescue,” will hold a news conference outside the National Holocaust Museum in the nation’s capital Thursday.<br /><br /></span> <span style="font-family:georgia;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmCBDOsiOerZR_koKdKCC4-9vSGrkx81jHTeTktgu6CjlrNTyiUbgZh_bch6yKHLbJXEi0vzLNPYKNUU_EI7HZVI2HcCEfozyzn8973WXnm_ZKJCbcN8SSFFw2V0oPeihJ0X7-OQW-Awsj/s1600/Randall+Terry.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmCBDOsiOerZR_koKdKCC4-9vSGrkx81jHTeTktgu6CjlrNTyiUbgZh_bch6yKHLbJXEi0vzLNPYKNUU_EI7HZVI2HcCEfozyzn8973WXnm_ZKJCbcN8SSFFw2V0oPeihJ0X7-OQW-Awsj/s320/Randall+Terry.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5564429291138433554" border="0" /></a>Terry says he will announce plans to run advertisements showing aborted fetuses during the 2012 Super Bowl as well as the NFC and AFC championship games. He also plans to run the ads during the 2012 Democratic primary elections.</span> <span style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><br />It’s not clear whether networks will be willing to run the ads.</span> <span style="font-family:georgia;">Um, not bloody likely.<br /><br />Terry made headlines during the trial of Scott Roeder, the man convicted of gunning down Dr. George Tiller in his church in May of 2009. Roeder assassinated Tiller because Tiller was one of the few doctors in the country who performed late term abortions.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Terry compared Scott Roeder to John Brown who used violence as a means to free slaves in 19th Century America.</span> <span style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><br />Terry was also very critical of the prosecution of Roeder, characterizing it as unfair.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">“There are those who want to pretend this trial has nothing to do with child-killing by abortion; that is a farce. It's like saying that the trials of Nat Turner and John Brown had nothing to do with slavery.</span> <span style="font-family:georgia;"><br />"We will be present to be a voice for the babies who perished at George Tiller's hand.</span><br /> <span style="font-family:georgia;">"George Tiller murdered 60,000 babies by his own hand. Scott Roeder knew this. How can Mr. Roeder receive a fair trial if this data is kept from the jury? Will the jury be allowed to hear evidence – such as the grizzly means by which these babies were slain and disposed of – evidence that would clearly effect Mr. Roeder's state of mind?</span><span style="font-family:georgia;"><br />"If George Tiller has murdered 60,000 Jews, would the judge exclude all Jews from the jury, or insist that only anti-Semites could be jurors?"</span><br /><br /> <span style="font-family:georgia;">Terry is also planning to run for president in 2012 on an anti-abortion platform.<br /><br />I'm just going to say this because sometimes things like this need to be said.<br /><br />Motherfuck this guy.<br /></span>Joshuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16070423351272659357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-882285581174386305.post-19174542840754220822010-12-31T20:46:00.000-06:002010-12-31T20:46:38.406-06:00Christine O'Donnell Gives Us A Hypnotically Grotesque Attempted Sentence To Cap Off 2010!<iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ecQOV-t6cGU?fs=1" width="425" frameborder="0" height="344"></iframe>Joshuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16070423351272659357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-882285581174386305.post-64069294737773112912010-11-18T18:59:00.001-06:002010-11-18T19:00:43.657-06:00Resident Film Snob: "Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows: Part 1" - Vi...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj8Q2fAK73IO2UOxS1ldqXrCvSccGZFVxab0q2bZShHUBQ56wuVMOUuGVLCuAWhQUG9eB0WualcBJ1k7pvFKlc2J7S2Xb6k0GFKdiywuzjHUKBFfQDNU_tZYjmnM45GAHjjSG4nhyBX8Sp/s1600/harry+%2526+Ginny.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj8Q2fAK73IO2UOxS1ldqXrCvSccGZFVxab0q2bZShHUBQ56wuVMOUuGVLCuAWhQUG9eB0WualcBJ1k7pvFKlc2J7S2Xb6k0GFKdiywuzjHUKBFfQDNU_tZYjmnM45GAHjjSG4nhyBX8Sp/s400/harry+%2526+Ginny.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5541059335049803090" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://theresidentfilmsnob.blogspot.com/2010/11/harry-potter-deathly-hallows-part-1.html?spref=bl">Resident Film Snob: "Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows: Part 1" - Video Review<br /></a>Joshuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16070423351272659357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-882285581174386305.post-67664635033032930392010-11-18T18:58:00.006-06:002010-11-18T19:04:19.023-06:00Midwest Association of Professional Animators: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 – Ani...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLOSbNAbd_07OOfsxF7FkDGJcpo03xMn58IjXkK4Hdis-tYuHp-EWT7FP3l5PM5y7DDbcFhQy8NmeIit1fxOJHN1a28Wb-qO8kHfwJ-x-SNAb9nbtdBibcEE7mtZfE5TvgQWToH0r2cbuA/s1600/Elevator+Dementor+Hands.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 223px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLOSbNAbd_07OOfsxF7FkDGJcpo03xMn58IjXkK4Hdis-tYuHp-EWT7FP3l5PM5y7DDbcFhQy8NmeIit1fxOJHN1a28Wb-qO8kHfwJ-x-SNAb9nbtdBibcEE7mtZfE5TvgQWToH0r2cbuA/s400/Elevator+Dementor+Hands.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5541060342232804914" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://mapanim.blogspot.com/2010/11/harry-potter-and-deathly-hallows-part-1.html?spref=bl">Midwest Association of Professional Animators: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 – Animation Serves the Story </a>"Photos Courtesy: Warner Bros. PicturesJoshuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16070423351272659357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-882285581174386305.post-73537998728353846962010-11-18T18:58:00.004-06:002010-11-18T19:03:05.965-06:00Midwest Association of Professional Animators: "Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows: Part 1" - An...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVKywzMLR0RYZsAgUI68pb3pBYleF37f1G5SExea3KnHp-H1t0HTCXi3MgRb9IpgdKyXLKn_Nt1X95yQ1s2qAHTwvGB8c_RpE56Vd2lebe6PKumsDx4Owfv4__enMqpF-WFUTnLXDE_40I/s1600/Rupert+Getting+Made+Up+to+be+Splinched.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 311px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVKywzMLR0RYZsAgUI68pb3pBYleF37f1G5SExea3KnHp-H1t0HTCXi3MgRb9IpgdKyXLKn_Nt1X95yQ1s2qAHTwvGB8c_RpE56Vd2lebe6PKumsDx4Owfv4__enMqpF-WFUTnLXDE_40I/s400/Rupert+Getting+Made+Up+to+be+Splinched.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5541059908904616402" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://mapanim.blogspot.com/2010/11/harry-potter-deathly-hallows-part-1.html?spref=bl">Midwest Association of Professional Animators: "Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows: Part 1" - Analysis of the Look of the New Film </a>"Photo Courtesy: Warner Bros. Pictures Read more about animated, horror, artsy and all kinds of film at theresidentfilmsnob.blogspot.com"Joshuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16070423351272659357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-882285581174386305.post-29619631636853708992010-11-18T18:58:00.003-06:002010-11-18T19:01:49.194-06:00Resident Film Snob: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 – Dav...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqWN_8oloKwA6ae-1fkGB2BphEM-eNCY56ZF-1CVlpRXCPim0QYerITUH_5STbLruOOliFF8gaV74kP39QstW0kGbdaYSGTt7YEIVF0RYv1I_9PLK-FmCGUT9GNkbGWvXcnWZbA6Cun4sh/s1600/Bellatrix.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 167px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqWN_8oloKwA6ae-1fkGB2BphEM-eNCY56ZF-1CVlpRXCPim0QYerITUH_5STbLruOOliFF8gaV74kP39QstW0kGbdaYSGTt7YEIVF0RYv1I_9PLK-FmCGUT9GNkbGWvXcnWZbA6Cun4sh/s400/Bellatrix.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5541059617631264834" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://theresidentfilmsnob.blogspot.com/2010/11/harry-potter-and-deathly-hallows-part-1.html?spref=bl">Resident Film Snob: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 – David Yates (2010)</a>Joshuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16070423351272659357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-882285581174386305.post-33170225727804967532010-11-15T05:58:00.003-06:002010-11-15T07:42:38.455-06:00Resident Film Snob: The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest - Daniel Alf...<a href="http://theresidentfilmsnob.blogspot.com/2010/11/girl-who-kicked-hornets-nest-daniel.html?spref=bl">Resident Film Snob: The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest - Daniel Alf...</a>: "<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggXVONaLvr0vTmaONE3ISGV1onnYGO25WD8697sGSGHCbLsQSvTLGqJysvSYhfMgGr6IwbZ_TBDvsNeDow6g7pmV6kl1aLuC8BxU3mKbE3xP6h8SpPQwH2ELin1sQdMvsiPpnv7lDHoczQ/s1600/side+view.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 250px; height: 250px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggXVONaLvr0vTmaONE3ISGV1onnYGO25WD8697sGSGHCbLsQSvTLGqJysvSYhfMgGr6IwbZ_TBDvsNeDow6g7pmV6kl1aLuC8BxU3mKbE3xP6h8SpPQwH2ELin1sQdMvsiPpnv7lDHoczQ/s400/side+view.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539745906556705522" border="0" /></a>'The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest' does lack the bite of 'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,' but it's a more than fitting end to the Millennium Trilogy"Joshuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16070423351272659357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-882285581174386305.post-49482755670384160742010-10-26T04:54:00.002-05:002010-10-26T05:06:22.907-05:00The Resident Film Snob Reviews "Hereafter"<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxxeSJtkAYtieQVgmlqJL2q4NRIYIWRBMiVKMU5L_wXYxv3b9krYJkSS-TbZuAJ3dspjiSNpzDrwsg2_4FePg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Joshuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16070423351272659357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-882285581174386305.post-82038413363702586622010-10-26T00:27:00.001-05:002010-10-26T00:28:59.678-05:00The Resident Film Snob Reviews "Never Let Me Go"<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/yXsXlsI09AY?fs=1&hl=en_US"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/yXsXlsI09AY?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>Joshuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16070423351272659357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-882285581174386305.post-69111968161114508432010-09-20T16:48:00.003-05:002010-09-20T17:02:06.728-05:00Best T-Shirt EverApparently, Sir Ian McKellen joined the London protest against pope Benedict the fuck's visit to the UK.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuJ44sNq1mXsMFZw40BnuQ4oDi-1nPa8UpaISZc8yqKg-Z3g_mq6iZAW9SZv7JrWeJa6QC76CzBD1JaKp4zXu7ofxdp6EUTaI9A-nOaXsbmAgOlVuyjVcM1I0jEHfUddVgj0TpVYVUqfUo/s1600/Gandalf+T-shirt.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 299px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuJ44sNq1mXsMFZw40BnuQ4oDi-1nPa8UpaISZc8yqKg-Z3g_mq6iZAW9SZv7JrWeJa6QC76CzBD1JaKp4zXu7ofxdp6EUTaI9A-nOaXsbmAgOlVuyjVcM1I0jEHfUddVgj0TpVYVUqfUo/s400/Gandalf+T-shirt.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519118916990227058" border="0" /></a>It's the best twist on the "We're here, we're queer," chant ever.<br /><br />Sir Ian McKellen, when I am elected God, you will spend eternity in the Batcave.Joshuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16070423351272659357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-882285581174386305.post-44016446867885499952010-09-12T22:01:00.021-05:002010-09-13T01:12:05.988-05:00Read This: Beck Plus God Does Not Equal X | Politics | Religion DispatchesI'm very late in commenting on the competing rallies held in Washington on the anniversary of Dr. King's historic "I Have a Dream" speech and that sucks ass, so I'm sorry. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTeJoprluW2QLO4hdLD0AF-PMmdcN8yPnlWNBmRkJZ69NRU9Blu4suB9hcK5xyUV6tpt8ZquxdwBwmlrZT9u_QVwatV1s-GkXI7Dh4V1YjA_n4pEVlkfnRozYProyqc31cYrx6j0g7SLpl/s1600/beckx.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 142px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTeJoprluW2QLO4hdLD0AF-PMmdcN8yPnlWNBmRkJZ69NRU9Blu4suB9hcK5xyUV6tpt8ZquxdwBwmlrZT9u_QVwatV1s-GkXI7Dh4V1YjA_n4pEVlkfnRozYProyqc31cYrx6j0g7SLpl/s200/beckx.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516228274827599874" border="0" /></a><br /><br />But hell, I need to say something and the Tea Party movement is still out there and even though this particular event has come and gone, this still matters.<br /><br />There is a very good <a href="http://www.religiondispatches.org/archive/politics/3257/beck_plus_god_does_not_equal_x/">article </a>on the issues of race and faith as they relate to the rhetoric of Glenn Beck.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVMwlT4mahC36NAJh2GDaTdSL-L5S5ZHV3JynogXW7EZKpfjT8zU60jHzSBjRhFpqzJ7f4EZ26bxQAWOt_gn6TzsB68TBkjbLE1SWfXYxEwQqXr-AgH60WDWh_Xs7zj_Ce5cMCahJbujG4/s1600/malcolmx.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVMwlT4mahC36NAJh2GDaTdSL-L5S5ZHV3JynogXW7EZKpfjT8zU60jHzSBjRhFpqzJ7f4EZ26bxQAWOt_gn6TzsB68TBkjbLE1SWfXYxEwQqXr-AgH60WDWh_Xs7zj_Ce5cMCahJbujG4/s200/malcolmx.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516228499273754226" border="0" /></a>My first comment on the article is this. Butler is right about the absurdity of comparing Beck to Malcolm X. <br /><br />Not because of their opposing ideologies, but because they are not anywhere close to being in the same league.<br /><br />Brother Malcolm was a goddamn hero. <br /><br />He was one of the great minds of the 20th century and comparing ANYBODY to him is a leap and there are very few people alive that are worthy of such a parallel.<br /><br />And to compare someone like Glenn Beck to him is just fucking dumb.<br /><br />Okay, let's move on.<br /><br />I don't believe every single person who follows Beck or watches Fox News or goes to Tea Party rallies is racist or stupid. Let's just get that out of the way up front. <br /><br />People believe what they do for a wide array of reasons.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixzjYTJlY-1eNOXcBSOectLkt1f_Vz0QRGAzGLCb_a2PE6shqs1HbBXDhJPr6xmwpbexnzpiKPq1NsLyjGCSWuz0KlwanAq5s19xgPlABl_vZGMH9Tk58uBZ272Z5sPy7XszmyDahJL0gG/s1600/monkey.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 195px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixzjYTJlY-1eNOXcBSOectLkt1f_Vz0QRGAzGLCb_a2PE6shqs1HbBXDhJPr6xmwpbexnzpiKPq1NsLyjGCSWuz0KlwanAq5s19xgPlABl_vZGMH9Tk58uBZ272Z5sPy7XszmyDahJL0gG/s200/monkey.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516245324078327778" border="0" /></a>There are plenty of Tea-party-people who are simply life-long conservatives, or truly believe they have to go out and protest to protect capitalism as if it were in danger.<br /><br />Having said that, conservatives who keep insisting there is no racism in the Tea Party movement are either in denial or they're lying.<br /><br />On its face, the rally in Washington might seem innocent enough.<br /><br />But given the subtext of the debate of whether or not the Tea Party movement is inherently racist, the act of holding a "Restoring Honor" rally on the anniversary of MLK's "Dream" speech in the spot where he spoke WAS an intentional "Fuck You!" to Black America.<br /><br />It can't be interpreted any other way.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG4ieEAHTcvpjiu-QTb_iSmq7UtoH2g91hOpxzqn6oI9gJfBCAAAWBdMvo8bD-4RUNF9MXAAIDlSSdFK9bMQ1zjRvYWTKg0gQDGnvXIdXac9rgvEgFGPhKXr7tPYzw9HEq4Htb-i3R1Hg0/s1600/Glenn_Beck51.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 106px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG4ieEAHTcvpjiu-QTb_iSmq7UtoH2g91hOpxzqn6oI9gJfBCAAAWBdMvo8bD-4RUNF9MXAAIDlSSdFK9bMQ1zjRvYWTKg0gQDGnvXIdXac9rgvEgFGPhKXr7tPYzw9HEq4Htb-i3R1Hg0/s200/Glenn_Beck51.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516230185610971218" border="0" /></a><br />If one were to be extremely generous and give Glenn Beck the extraordinary benefit of the doubt which he hasn't earned, the rally was at the very least a deliberate "Fuck You!" to the NAACP.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFAt141uHPp993JKfU7dLxbSl2ii3XCkIxQJackLiG_K3oyhdxEmV6T-DB9kNeufeyCFFurRXvnnWSO5ubBMktBsVDW0Nh4KCRe6Jma8jWjnCUXu8E_1FLmRH-e5xqcWvl7AqQYRalNijA/s1600/obamavoodoo.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 119px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFAt141uHPp993JKfU7dLxbSl2ii3XCkIxQJackLiG_K3oyhdxEmV6T-DB9kNeufeyCFFurRXvnnWSO5ubBMktBsVDW0Nh4KCRe6Jma8jWjnCUXu8E_1FLmRH-e5xqcWvl7AqQYRalNijA/s200/obamavoodoo.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516272464056861106" border="0" /></a>But forget Glenn Beck for a minute. <br /><br />Right now, I'm talking to those in the Tea Party who are genuine in their principles.<br /><br />I'm speaking to those of you who are conservatives and go to these rallies for ideological reasons alone, not for the adrenaline rush being part of a mob gives you.<br /><br />Stop ignoring the racist signs. Stop pretending these guys are on the fringe. They represent a significant segment of your movement and you can't just close your eyes and hope we don't notice them.<br /><br />When they are pointed out, you can't say the "liberal" media is singling you out and picking on you.<br /><br />Stop faking that innocent, wide-eyed look when the NAACP tells you that you have blatant racism within your ranks and saying, "What the hell are you talking about?"<br /><br />It makes you look stupid because you know what we're talking about.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz5UapJcGG8xcw2B0X1vIGfatqVu1HVrQrz-x3E3O7FzuEnflWEaI0nLKXfMUU8m70nODvr3cSdlNPkAa-9fhAzKMErD8EGRhUxUgS06sETE1NJN9VB_8wcB_BwuhCeO8smO-9DDw4BR9C/s1600/teaparty_robertson_spelling_racist_problem.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 152px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz5UapJcGG8xcw2B0X1vIGfatqVu1HVrQrz-x3E3O7FzuEnflWEaI0nLKXfMUU8m70nODvr3cSdlNPkAa-9fhAzKMErD8EGRhUxUgS06sETE1NJN9VB_8wcB_BwuhCeO8smO-9DDw4BR9C/s200/teaparty_robertson_spelling_racist_problem.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516249150116548802" border="0" /></a>I've talked to Tea Party people who have told me point blank that the "N" word has NEVER been used at a rally.<br /><br />Really? Never?<br /><br />We see the signs at every Tea Party event.<br /><br />Let's turn back the clock for some perspective.<br /><br />When we protested Bush, we were unpatriotic. We hated America.<br /><br /> And when we assembled, we were arrested en-masse.<br /><br />You have people coming out, literally talking and acting like the Klan and look the other way.<br /><br />You deny that they're there.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggxu92ivIA12W8pY-BA8vnAn2Qk2LUhzc0V0cK6dI0OPgwo9mVg87jbbZqFeY73ubVq1hdOfSbXKLG5n02s69LlPISOq2aukhqQOUi7_uW_t1H9dVEuXpg2Cr-QLnKFjpPEXNyYUacbSNI/s1600/noose.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 147px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggxu92ivIA12W8pY-BA8vnAn2Qk2LUhzc0V0cK6dI0OPgwo9mVg87jbbZqFeY73ubVq1hdOfSbXKLG5n02s69LlPISOq2aukhqQOUi7_uW_t1H9dVEuXpg2Cr-QLnKFjpPEXNyYUacbSNI/s200/noose.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516245477963484274" border="0" /></a><br />When your people make violent threats, you brush them off.<br /><br />Just a few years ago, you were screaming for the heads of any actor or Dixie Chick who dared question the leader of our great nation because doing so was unpatriotic.<br /><br />We were seeped in yellow-ribbon McCarthyism.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwwff_wuwUcKw58ZecjAOfoXJM8OF5MC0N5KwgcYH_0eQd1y4U0ykhzA2NV7aF8WimgiUFH-SP6zRq7mh0HKV8K_vxAmcfSy_tPleLRNLXh034GAuiv9BZGMrjtPidt6I12Lega8MQOWP8/s1600/unarmed+threat.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 190px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwwff_wuwUcKw58ZecjAOfoXJM8OF5MC0N5KwgcYH_0eQd1y4U0ykhzA2NV7aF8WimgiUFH-SP6zRq7mh0HKV8K_vxAmcfSy_tPleLRNLXh034GAuiv9BZGMrjtPidt6I12Lega8MQOWP8/s200/unarmed+threat.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516245872439343602" border="0" /></a><br />Don't get me wrong, it's not your protests themselves I have a problem with. It's okay for you to hate Obama, or any leader for that matter. <br /><br />As a Socialist, I am not happy with our President either because he's a rabid capitalist who's expanding free trade and dragging out both of the wars we're in.<br /><br />I could list a few more reasons, but that would be getting off point. Let's just say that, like many leftists, I do not consider him a liberal.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9Tnr9MwM5GFI4kwqjiYXzRHTF35Vql9wP7Exn9pfJhv6GnFVVJUpyXygCwtEWeR5OALhCzRR7OxW7Pj6mSFSoIIxhWlBpnetaHKLHJMehRPg3yY6L5jnsR3cNlgygaINiSxX_o_jBD6V6/s1600/lyin'+african.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 196px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9Tnr9MwM5GFI4kwqjiYXzRHTF35Vql9wP7Exn9pfJhv6GnFVVJUpyXygCwtEWeR5OALhCzRR7OxW7Pj6mSFSoIIxhWlBpnetaHKLHJMehRPg3yY6L5jnsR3cNlgygaINiSxX_o_jBD6V6/s200/lyin'+african.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516241855805885570" border="0" /></a>But coming from the same assholes who, less than two years ago were telling us that if we love America, we couldn't criticize the President, is disingenuous.<br /><br />Imagine the uproar if a country music group came out and criticized Obama and as a result was pulled off of every radio station in the country.<br /><br />My point is, you and your protests, by contrast are being treated with a lot of dignity compared to what we went through for eight years. <br /><br />You guys have no idea how easy you have it.<br /><br />I'm getting off topic again, aren't I? Sorry, it's late.<br /><br />Back to acknowledging and denouncing the racists in your ranks.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSriGqPTm1-NflVC6pWRzEOFB6NXVfXpskszEB_B1FwUkzYPV-_HRPxzqVGl1xh-N-YR2KOqeZ1XQgIfw58k4po7bh_cTI6tPKPWA6mCGU6NEI_3QLlxuZMYeIfDKm6v5SpvmGYv_JfygF/s1600/impeachkenyan.jpg"><br /></a>I mean, they can't even come up with newer material than "Go back to Africa?" At least be original.<br /><br />Jesus.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ2DO3zd-NntOMBCEIGw3XLLQt2AyPueoeYmGyZseSk-vmJSC1CYTjCfuOxnU6b3cWWmQlXasb5D-TwjbHDybeuwpUDABFArnbMPm-tb44xueRv5HiDHznwM2Ig0kcxhdqmKiOUwqrnHUA/s1600/back+to+kenya.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 193px; height: 144px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ2DO3zd-NntOMBCEIGw3XLLQt2AyPueoeYmGyZseSk-vmJSC1CYTjCfuOxnU6b3cWWmQlXasb5D-TwjbHDybeuwpUDABFArnbMPm-tb44xueRv5HiDHznwM2Ig0kcxhdqmKiOUwqrnHUA/s400/back+to+kenya.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516240991750513090" border="0" /></a>If you want us to take you seriously as a populist movement, at the very least admit that there are dissenting voices in your ranks and that a chunk of the people who show up might be racists.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgKEhJGsW8PDd3smf8WBfDegNinRfjIvDu84kCmh4tLTB5TP0MFMVpyRm8DbdmIQb1ZnT4Br_KQWt_gSqNHQQ2JICTDXDdphP-7S0_oAYES3I8QiewyflqqFJA6Pyn8qwX1u8UnCLgxIHx/s1600/quiet-faggot+back+of+bus.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 136px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgKEhJGsW8PDd3smf8WBfDegNinRfjIvDu84kCmh4tLTB5TP0MFMVpyRm8DbdmIQb1ZnT4Br_KQWt_gSqNHQQ2JICTDXDdphP-7S0_oAYES3I8QiewyflqqFJA6Pyn8qwX1u8UnCLgxIHx/s200/quiet-faggot+back+of+bus.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516236810069697474" border="0" /></a>Then denounce them.<br /><br />Until then, mainstream America is going to keep on thinking you're fucking idiots.Joshuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16070423351272659357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-882285581174386305.post-11115983954725438392010-09-10T14:42:00.001-05:002010-09-10T14:46:25.450-05:00Who Do You Believe? One Of Them Works For Breitbart!Journalist Michael Joseph Gross has been in the crosshairs of conservative activists, pundits and Sarah Palin herself since publishing an unflattering piece about her in Vanity Fair called, “ <a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2010/10/sarah-palin-201010" target="_blank">Sarah Palin: The Sound and the Fury</a> .” <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoR6Px57MRu9GlyaQnN72gIGchjug9hoeXCG6eLUfoxBhsRCffi_6Ulu89JGCPGj7udChGd0K9rCa6Ou-0k2BX4qZvo5OSukurEDU5XEeIBUNJNpgE7SlBTipMRQXfxOq0e0x_4AaefuUQ/s1600/palin.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 116px; height: 115px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoR6Px57MRu9GlyaQnN72gIGchjug9hoeXCG6eLUfoxBhsRCffi_6Ulu89JGCPGj7udChGd0K9rCa6Ou-0k2BX4qZvo5OSukurEDU5XEeIBUNJNpgE7SlBTipMRQXfxOq0e0x_4AaefuUQ/s400/palin.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5515373529973990690" border="0" /></a><p>Perhaps the harshest critic of Gross’ article is conservative blogger Gina Loudon. Gross admitted to mistaking Loudon’s child, Samuel, who has Down syndrome with Palin’s two-year-old son, Trig, who also has Down syndrome. Loudon cites this mistake as evidence that Gross is not a credible journalist.</p> <p>Loudon claims in her <a href="http://bigjournalism.com/gloudon/2010/09/03/the-truth-about-that-dishonest-vanity-fair-palin-story-from-one-who-was-there/" target="_blank">column</a> that she met Gross backstage in Independence at a rally. She recounts an extensive conversation with the journalist on her blog. “After I explained which children were Todd and Sarah’s, and which were mine and my husband’s, Mr. Gross moved into a sinister line of questioning,” claims Loudon. She goes on to say, “The Palins were gracious enough to let Mr. Gross follow them for months backstage, behind the scenes, and in their private moments around their staff and friends and family, and this is how he thanks them?”</p> <p>Gross <a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2010/09/michael-joseph-gross-responds-to-criticism-of-his-article-on-sarah-palin.html" target="_blank">responded</a> on Vanity Fair’s website. “Let me state this as unequivocally as possible: Loudon’s accounts have no basis in reality. I do not mean simply that the facts are wrong—I mean that the episode did not occur. I have never met Gina Loudon.” He goes on to say that “It could be that Loudon spoke to another reporter that day, and that this is a case of mistaken identity. The other possibility is that Loudon has simply made everything up, inventing and publicizing a complete fabrication for her own purposes. It is either the one thing or the other.”</p> <p>In a case of journalistic he-said-she-said, Palin fans are likely to believe Loudon while her critics will surely believe Gross.</p> <p>Loudon’s column appears on Andrew Breitbart’s website, “Big Journalism.”</p> <p>Andrew Breitbart was the conservative blogger who edited a speech from civil rights pioneer Shirley Sherrod, manipulating the video to look like she had denied a white farmer help because he was white. The speech, in its entirety was about uniting the working class across racial lines and Sherrod did indeed help that farmer.</p> Breitbart was widely discredited.Joshuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16070423351272659357noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-882285581174386305.post-14712851097651021712010-08-28T10:41:00.001-05:002010-08-28T10:44:17.347-05:00Lower Standards, Less Freedom"There should be no mosque near Ground Zero in New York so long as there are no churches or synagogues in Saudi Arabia." - Newt Gingrich<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4ngkfwB3cucXnfQNdQ8wtjKuWYPm-ONJRcg7XA5p9sNLBDWqX4EZTsfDnATvv026zOxQGohuBYqO6XqSFNMerEhbgKzafE5wYmm9FIpCKRSv7YntRZx5UH3hcPFnlsIy7s0e29YInhgD-/s1600/gingrich.bmp"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 134px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510486673966609570" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4ngkfwB3cucXnfQNdQ8wtjKuWYPm-ONJRcg7XA5p9sNLBDWqX4EZTsfDnATvv026zOxQGohuBYqO6XqSFNMerEhbgKzafE5wYmm9FIpCKRSv7YntRZx5UH3hcPFnlsIy7s0e29YInhgD-/s200/gingrich.bmp" /></a>No, Newt, you fucking idiot.<br /><br />See, here's the problem. You and those who think like you seem to think it's good enough for America to be <em><strong>as</strong> free</em> as countries like Saudia Arabia. <br /><br />Fuck you.<br /><br />That's not good enough.<br /><br />Our standards are higher than that.<br /><br />We believe in absolute freedom of religion and if you want to lower our standards to the level so that we are on an equal plane to countries like Saudi Arabia as far as our freedoms go, then thank Christ you no longer have any power.Joshuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16070423351272659357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-882285581174386305.post-63054307153646587182010-08-27T11:53:00.001-05:002010-08-30T11:01:30.682-05:00CODEPINK : Women Say No To War<a href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/424/t/8834/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=2295">CODEPINK : Women Say No To War</a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5GaGhKx7efq22s-b5QZusFoZD0Z0AQdVfM8pkgweUgDZeebKYzVS8tslrj6-0dqwZPKDB-Lh88c9q-47bhYfn5cg0M2MydJPiNqr0auKfnkK2doKaOTHkOBGFACmln8_FrquVriOqHr2t/s1600/coffinsiraq.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 145px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5GaGhKx7efq22s-b5QZusFoZD0Z0AQdVfM8pkgweUgDZeebKYzVS8tslrj6-0dqwZPKDB-Lh88c9q-47bhYfn5cg0M2MydJPiNqr0auKfnkK2doKaOTHkOBGFACmln8_FrquVriOqHr2t/s200/coffinsiraq.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5511233513194796434" border="0" /></a>Joshuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16070423351272659357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-882285581174386305.post-51320982142758400892010-08-27T10:50:00.006-05:002010-08-29T05:09:36.730-05:00Dr. Laura - Racist, Not MartyrWhen Jade called Dr. Laura, she was asking for advice how, as a black woman, she could handle repeated racist comments from her white husband’s friends. When Dr. Laura concluded, 46 seconds into the call, that her husband’s friends were not racists, the nature of the call quickly turned from that of a woman asking for help to a debate about racial sensitivity.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgra70F1KxjPqRtVsP7339Es3Mys-T6gJdY6APk3F68ioTNtEnCqbH9HnRmce7ZIo4BH6c7xhYnORXanj16_GPx9vwNgTCcC2ixDfODAaHivJpVKtceevQASHU7FUdInKyrppdc1yYjUtNG/s1600/Dr+Laura+kicking+color.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 311px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510767778634352898" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgra70F1KxjPqRtVsP7339Es3Mys-T6gJdY6APk3F68ioTNtEnCqbH9HnRmce7ZIo4BH6c7xhYnORXanj16_GPx9vwNgTCcC2ixDfODAaHivJpVKtceevQASHU7FUdInKyrppdc1yYjUtNG/s320/Dr+Laura+kicking+color.jpg" /></a>Less than a minute later, in making a philosophical point, Dr. Laura was repeatedly using the ‘N’ word before abruptly going to break.<br /><br />After the commercial break, Dr. Laura used the racial slur several more times, accused Jade of having a chip on her shoulder when she said she did not appreciate hearing the word and abruptly ended the call all in under two minutes.<br /><br />After disconnecting, Dr. Laura indicated that if Jade did not like hearing white people say the ‘N’ word and was not going to have a sense of humor about racism, she should not have married outside of her race.<br /><br />The call has created an outcry across the country, not only about the racial slur but about the ideas that Dr. Laura expressed along with them. At one point, she said that, “blacks voted for Obama simply 'cause he was half-black. Didn't matter what he was gonna do in office, it was a black thing.”<br /><br />Also disturbing was the implication that any black person who was offended by racial slurs was too sensitive and that the caller should not have married a white man.<br /><br />After coming under intense fire, Dr. Laura posted an apology on her website.<br /><br />Civil rights leader Al Sharpton, however, isn’t buying it. He claimed that her rant would have been offensive even without the racial slurs and that she did not apologize until there was a public outcry.<br /><br />“Not only the caller was right that she said the word over and over and in a very animated way, I might add, but that she actually, if you listen carefully to the logic of what she was saying was saying that the n-word was not offensive,” said Sharpton during an interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper. “Her first reaction was that people use the n-word all along and you are being too sensitive or something to that effect, and at no point until after the outrage that followed did she come back today and say it was wrong."<br /><br />More than 9 million Americans listen to Dr. Laura’s show every week.<br /><br />The media was waaaay to easy on Dr. Laura on this one, even though she's acting like a martyr.<br /><br />Here's the thing that nobody seems to pointing out, though Reverend Sharpton touched on it.<br /><br />The n-word wasn't the worst of Dr. Laura's offenses here. In fact, it wasn't even the most racist thing to come out of her mouth.<br /><br />The attitudes behind her rant were far worse than the word itself. Particularly the part about how Jade shouldn't have married a white guy if she wasn't going to have a sense of humor about racism.<br /><br />I am sad that Dr. Laura is running off and quitting her radio show, though. I like people like her out in the open where we can see them, not lurking in the shadows.<br /><br />So nobody really called her on her shit and she gets to go off and pretend she's a free-speech martyr. It's a goddamn pity all around.<br /><br />But let's be clear. Let's put the n-word aside and pretend she never said it. Dr. Laura is not being chased off the airwaves, in fact, I would love to have her stay on.<br /><br />And let's be clear on something else. Yes, there's room for disagreement and debate, even about the use of the n-word and all kinds of race-related issues. But Dr. Laura is not a voice of dissent. She is a racist.<br /><br />Just to be clear.Joshuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16070423351272659357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-882285581174386305.post-57432672558434233872010-08-20T17:04:00.003-05:002010-08-20T17:17:18.076-05:00Stop Throwing Around The Word "Freedom" If You Don't Understand ItI don't have a whole lot to add to the argument about the flap about the Islamic Cultural Center they want to build a couple of blocks from the World Trade Center site.<br /><br />Just a couple of things.<br /><br />How far away do you want this thing? Eight blocks? A couple of miles? <br /><br />Are you actually suggesting we start zoning religious sites?<br /><br />Yes, the people who attacked us on 9/11 were Muslims.<br /><br />And on April 19, 1995, in Oklahoma City, we were attacked by white Christians. So let's agree, no Protestant churches within two blocks of the Murrow Building?<br /><br />Fuck, Scott Roeder gave his life to Jesus on his knees in front of the TV because Pat Robertson told him to. How about we not allow the 700 Club to be broadcast in the Wichita area?<br /><br />Let's go all the way. Anywhere there are victims of religious violence, let's pick a radius and ban that religion out of respect for the dead.<br /><br />Maybe if the same people who were saying "Let them build the Islamic Center farther away," weren't also protesting the erection of Mosques in Tennessee, Wisconsin, California and, well, anywhere in America, they wouldn't sound so goddamn silly.<br /><br />So please stop saying that the terrorists hate our freedom. Because you have already given them that.<br /><br />You throw the word "freedom" around, but you either do not believe in it or you just don't understand it.<br /><br />Either way, when you say it, it sounds hollow and I don't believe you.Joshuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16070423351272659357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-882285581174386305.post-21011149789178199032010-08-06T09:48:00.002-05:002010-08-06T09:51:19.232-05:00U.S. attends Hiroshima ceremonies for the first time<span style="font-family: georgia;font-size:100%;" >Hundreds attended a ceremony commemorating the 65th anniversary of the first atomic bomb attack on Hiroshima.<br />Children sang songs and bells rang to mark the moment the bomb was dropped.<br />74 nations were present to honor those killed. The date is remembered every year with a somber ceremony, but this year, for the first time, representatives from the U.S., Great Britain and France were in attendance.<br />The ceremony focused on moving toward a goal of a nuclear-free world.<span style="font-family: georgia;font-size:100%;" ><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-zmxuGmumYy8XxbNODpuKho4MKvS6tQc11-aAZSTvtktLbJd1cIWBFHFSUWtfMNl1Vqq2XDfLb6KwhdXshq6-GOJOrKiErHXeC18T2w66bnIJC_t0pMrKcImn6Ix3_cIDeZrDcCHs-Tqy/s1600/Hiroshima_AP_slide1.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 197px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-zmxuGmumYy8XxbNODpuKho4MKvS6tQc11-aAZSTvtktLbJd1cIWBFHFSUWtfMNl1Vqq2XDfLb6KwhdXshq6-GOJOrKiErHXeC18T2w66bnIJC_t0pMrKcImn6Ix3_cIDeZrDcCHs-Tqy/s320/Hiroshima_AP_slide1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502309470181704754" border="0" /></a></span>"A world free of weapons of mass destruction - that is the only safe path to a safer world," said Ban Ki-Moon, the UN Secretary General.<br />This is a shift from the normal argument of whether the use of the atomic bomb was justified to end the Pacific front of World War II.<br />Both arguments have raged back to the moment the bomb was dropped in August of 1945. One of the first <a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/atom-bomb-one-world-or-none#node-1244">articles </a>to predict the fear that would dominate the public consciousness in the decades following appeared just 12 days after the bombing of Hiroshima.<br />The memorials and ceremonies are over for another year, but the debates over proliferation and the justification of the use of nuclear force will be with us as long as the memory of the more than 140,000 killed in the blast 65 years ago today.</span>Joshuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16070423351272659357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-882285581174386305.post-68952818711002856682010-07-29T21:04:00.012-05:002010-08-06T09:34:58.217-05:00Hollow Apologies<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:georgia;">The following is the article I wrote in a very professional, unbiased way. After that, you will find my personal commentary.</span> <span style="font-family:georgia;">That's the nice thing about having a blog. After holding in all my personal opinions and rantings for the sake of objective journalism, I can come here and just vent the hell out of what I actually think of the whole matter.</span> <span style="font-family:georgia;">But first, here is my article as published.
<br /></span> </span><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><link style="font-family: georgia; color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CJOSHLU%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C02%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--> <p style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://shar.es/mLylL">Controversial Blogger Invited to Speak at Republican Fundraiser</a></span></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic3CD4-Vz5oXrH-S3gw9NZ6ZejYiyfr3PJ0kmsbs8FgM3BK8j46ld-QprKta8IkgHyu_qi_gf7ZoPN59FSgUx18aPcTgCpxk8wo-kjZsRb1s1H2Ph2F2QdE9P4Hcuv7k96B24OTCc4lqXe/s1600/breitbart.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 188px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic3CD4-Vz5oXrH-S3gw9NZ6ZejYiyfr3PJ0kmsbs8FgM3BK8j46ld-QprKta8IkgHyu_qi_gf7ZoPN59FSgUx18aPcTgCpxk8wo-kjZsRb1s1H2Ph2F2QdE9P4Hcuv7k96B24OTCc4lqXe/s400/breitbart.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499554459642765618" border="0" /></a></span></p><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;color:black;" ><o:p></o:p></span><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://shar.es/mLylL"> </a></span></p><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-size:100%;" > </span><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><link style="font-family: georgia; color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CJOSHLU%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C02%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-size:100%;" ><o:smarttagtype style="font-family: georgia;" namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype style="font-family: georgia;" namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="City"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype style="font-family: georgia;" namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="State"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype style="font-family: georgia;" namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="country-region"></o:smarttagtype></span><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:100%;">Shirley Sherrod is a civil rights pioneer, married to civil rights legend Charles Sherrod, a leading member of </span><span style=";font-size:100%;" >Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, who risked their lives to challenge Jim Crow segregation of the sixties.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:100%;">She gave a speech last March on the problem of classism in <st1:country-region><st1:place>America</st1:place></st1:country-region> and the need heal racial divides to unite the working class.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">It was a speech about how the wealthy class cynically used racism to keep the working class divided.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">Anybody listening to the speech in its entirety would tell you that it was about racial reconciliation.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:100%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlY0vm1kULKwPtfpt5RPTDVlBUaQc1L9JjSfWHG92_lCfOtfmsJXfQ1xIDDBUgkthUNzyqGqap41r05PJ43V5Q6GCtJ_VefXB5pWusF5hGnohbjes_w03F_jPPQ9MsZbgfxUBVSO8DP8SO/s1600/sherrod+shirley.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 139px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlY0vm1kULKwPtfpt5RPTDVlBUaQc1L9JjSfWHG92_lCfOtfmsJXfQ1xIDDBUgkthUNzyqGqap41r05PJ43V5Q6GCtJ_VefXB5pWusF5hGnohbjes_w03F_jPPQ9MsZbgfxUBVSO8DP8SO/s200/sherrod+shirley.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499556145762897074" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-size:100%;">Her message was that in order for the country’s economy to heal, the country’s racial divides had to be closed.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:100%;">She had no idea how her words would be manipulated and used in a high-profile p</span><span style="font-size:100%;">olitical fight that would ultimately end in a demand for her resignation.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:100%;">But that’s what happened.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:100%;">And when conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart manipulated Mrs. Sherrod’s speech to make it look like she had denied a farmer help because he was white, he may or may not have realized the full video would have eventually surfaced.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:100%;">In the immediate aftermath, Mrs. Sherrod was decried as a “reverse racist” and denounced not only by those in the conservative media, but by CNN and others in the mainstream media, by the Obama administration and even the NAACP.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">Mere hours had gone by before she received a call on her cell phone demanding her resignation.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:100%;">It didn’t take long for the truth to come out.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:100%;">The white farmers Breitbart accused Mrs. Sherrod of refusing to help went in front of the camera and made it as clear as they could.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">Shirley Sherrod helped them in every way.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:100%;">Then, the full tape was released.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:100%;">And with the full tape, everybody could plainly see what Shirley Sherrod was saying in her speech.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">She did not say that she had denied anyone help because they were white.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:100%;">The speech was clearly about the need for all the working class of <st1:country-region><st1:place>America</st1:place></st1:country-region> to come together, despite race.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:100%;">And Andrew Breitbart was discredited.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:100%;">Mrs. Sherrod got apologies from the NAACP, the Obama administration and Bill O’Reilly.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:100%;">It would seem that everyone would want to keep Breitbart at arm’s length.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:100%;">But he has been invited by the Republican National Committee to participate next month at a GOP fundraiser.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style=";font-size:100%;" >Tickets to the donor event in </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><st1:place><st1:city>Beverly Hills</st1:city>, <st1:state>California</st1:state></st1:place></span><span style=";font-size:100%;" > run between $1,000 and $60,000.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style=";font-size:100%;" >Breitbart and RNC </span><span style="font-size:100%;">Chairman Michael Steele </span><span style=";font-size:100%;" >are listed as confirmed speakers to the August 12 event.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style=";font-size:100%;" >They will update donors on the RNC’s strategies to win back the House and Senate in the upcoming midterm elections.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style=";font-size:100%;" >The invitation has been confirmed by the RNC, but they have declined to discuss the</span><span style=";font-size:100%;" > event further.</span></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:100%;">
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<br /></span><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:georgia;"> And that was my article. Nice and even.</span> <span style="font-family:georgia;">I would call it fair and balanced, but I don't want to borrow the catchphrase of fucktards.</span> </span><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><link style="font-family: georgia; color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CJOSHLU%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C02%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-size:100%;" ><o:smarttagtype style="font-family: georgia;" namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype style="font-family: georgia;" namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="country-region"></o:smarttagtype></span><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:100%;">And now here comes my own personal commentary that I have to reserve for my blog.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">Here goes.</span></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p> <p style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:130%;">ANDREW </span><span style=";font-size:130%;" >BREITBART? </span><span style="font-size:130%;">ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?</span></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:100%;">Okay, now I'm talking to all of you out there in fucktard land. Did you know what Breitbart said when he was caught in his lie?</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">He said that he wasn’t trying to make Mrs. Sherrod look bad.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">He was trying to make the audience look bad for clapping.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">And that sounds believable to you?</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:100%;">But that was his explanation.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:100%;">Mr. Breitbart, you say you were trying to make the people who were clapping look bad?</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">That's your story? That’s the best you can come up with?</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">You’re not even fucking trying, are you?</span></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:100%;">Remind me to never fucking ever bet anything of value on Andrew Breitbart's lying skills.
<br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:100%;">The fact that the RNC isn’t keeping this slimy git as far away from them as possible </span><span style="font-size:100%;">is mind-blowing, and very telling at the same time.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">When you think about it, Breitbart is just a guy emulating Karl Rove.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">He’s just not as good as covering his shit up yet.</span></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:100%;">But those are the small details that can be learned.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">Breitbart has shown himself to be a clever and willing character assassin.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">He’s willing to exploit the prejudices of the American public and ignite racial tensions to win power for his side.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">He just needs some training on how to cover his tracks better.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaLMTgSi8bGWCOuanjtbdk30WmUZOXkikBpBezzahiN4XIKSOu1FV99OtJqLmfentC56hV_ek8e-z1CHKepcEX6WePDfEEhi2LXr1o7Ono4pPN03w9FQ_eih-OpRl2jEqDOPxsEAyye_M3/s1600/rehire+shirley.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaLMTgSi8bGWCOuanjtbdk30WmUZOXkikBpBezzahiN4XIKSOu1FV99OtJqLmfentC56hV_ek8e-z1CHKepcEX6WePDfEEhi2LXr1o7Ono4pPN03w9FQ_eih-OpRl2jEqDOPxsEAyye_M3/s320/rehire+shirley.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499555631302701378" border="0" /></a></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:100%;">The RNC has shown with this invitation that they are very impressed with Breitbart’s willingness to take aim at Shirley Sherrod, one of the great heroes of the 20<sup>th</sup> century, and assassinate her character, her career and her legacy.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">Yes, they publicly apologized because they had to, but this invitation is Michael Steele’s way of telling Breitbart that he liked his work.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:100%;">Even more disturbing than the invitation to next month’s fundraiser is the role Breitbart has been asked to play.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">He, along with Michael Steele, will be talking about strategies on how to win the upcoming election.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:100%;">That’s right.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">Breitbart isn’t only a guest.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">He’ll be addressing the group as a strategist.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">His approach to politics is one of deliberate deceit, crushing the reputations of <st1:country-region><st1:place>America</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s heroes and inciting racism and fear among the voters.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:100%;">And when they invited this discredited, disgraced blogger to talk strategy regarding th</span><span style="font-size:100%;">e upcoming midterm, the RNC has essentially announced they intend to use that strategy of deceit, slander and exploitation of our lowest, basest fears and prejudices.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:100%;">All of this should make me very angry, but it doesn’t.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">It just makes me sad.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:100%;">Because the truth is that their strategy could very well work and that just makes me want to weep for my country.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:100%;">It blows my mind knowing full well that there are a lot of people out there who are not going to see through this.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:100%;">And I’m not talking about delusional simpletons, either.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">These are people I know are smart and reasonable and should know better.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:100%;">I have friends and family, people who are compassionate and intelligent, who I respect, who will refuse to see that the RNC is purposely rewarding a man who deliberately tried to destroy one of the heroes of the civil rights movement in a revenge hit against the NAACP for their criticism of the tea party movement.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:100%;">It doesn’t matter what your ideology is.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:100%;">The fact that in recent years, people have jumped to defend the most unconscionable acts of the people who will help them keep their power is sickening.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:100%;">There is no sense any more that wrong is wrong.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:100%;">There are conservatives who are honorable.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">I know many of them.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">As a socialist, I have to say they are absolutely wrong about everything, but they are my neighbors, family members and friends and they genuinely believe the path the right has chiseled out is good for our country.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:100%;">Once again, good people can be mistaken as hell and I have no choice but to fight them ev</span><span style="font-size:100%;">ery step of the way in the political arena.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">But many of these people, I know for a fact are not malicious.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:100%;">So, how can they put up with these horrible men who have hijacked what they believe are honorable values?</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:100%;">How can they tolerate Rove and Steele and Rumsfeld and Cheney and Bush and I could fill a whole paragraph, but I won’t.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:100%;">I’ve gone on long enough.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">I’m going to sum it up with this.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class="MsoNormal" face="georgia"><span style="font-size:100%;">Debate, discourse and arguments are good.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">They keep us sharp and they make us rethink everything.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">We see things in different lights because we disagree with others and nothing could be healthier.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">Republicans and Democrats should all have at least one Socialist friend like me to tell them that there’s a better way.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">And it’s good for me to hear the other side from someone I care about and respect rather than some dick on the radio who I can easily hate.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">It gives me perspective.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: georgia; color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">But there are people out there who are hurting the debate.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">It’s people like Breitbart who have taken the honesty out of honest disagreement.</span></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">And if anyone cares, I'm listening to:</span></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >
<br /></span></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHJnmDz-gmz8BjkLhrjitbkWvQo_aiDJIf8OzVduAWJKW1iJdT64r-81g89hVaK4CXgpyvQzd0hE2jG21_N2wnU-clNRkm7Gq-xUL0SotXNeAtHk-eBN8pgAsXVRuD4c2P_hwqEsxPQqOd/s1600/the+black+rider.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHJnmDz-gmz8BjkLhrjitbkWvQo_aiDJIf8OzVduAWJKW1iJdT64r-81g89hVaK4CXgpyvQzd0hE2jG21_N2wnU-clNRkm7Gq-xUL0SotXNeAtHk-eBN8pgAsXVRuD4c2P_hwqEsxPQqOd/s400/the+black+rider.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499519130652804258" border="0" /></a></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >
<br /></span></p>
<br />Joshuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16070423351272659357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-882285581174386305.post-44423251982173184722010-07-12T17:27:00.001-05:002010-07-12T18:02:14.872-05:00A Short Poem Even Though Poetry Still Isn't My Thing<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlLdSGTiM0IK6dRPvlr8bIZghL7rFqy9bOg7LNUvAdcfMANaZdN4N3HSVktelcK1BnVIbwcbUdXqVqv6yZurBrpCzW3yVu90VsvC7cDERR_T_bdS4dKi1ewFXDZ4DJZl2cnSZqg9HOI_jv/s1600/Zen.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 324px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5492594223650827714" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlLdSGTiM0IK6dRPvlr8bIZghL7rFqy9bOg7LNUvAdcfMANaZdN4N3HSVktelcK1BnVIbwcbUdXqVqv6yZurBrpCzW3yVu90VsvC7cDERR_T_bdS4dKi1ewFXDZ4DJZl2cnSZqg9HOI_jv/s400/Zen.jpg" /></a>Joshuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16070423351272659357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-882285581174386305.post-22563584152573701312010-07-02T20:13:00.006-05:002010-07-02T20:35:10.311-05:00An Historic Wedding<span style="font-size:100%;"><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family:Georgia;">Iceland</span></st1:place></st1:country-region></span><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:100%;" >’s Prime Minister has wed her longtime girlfriend, making history by becoming the world’s first sitting head-of-state to enter into a gay marriage. While this would be unheard of in many parts of the world, fellow Nordic nations seem to be more than ready to accept the marriage of 67-year-old Johanna Sigurdardottir to her girlfriend.<br /><o:p></o:p></span> <span style="font-size:100%;"><u1:p></u1:p></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:100%;" ><u1:p> </u1:p><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyM_mU66FuYQh5ycn9qs1PLUq9iJ8pRL8g9hks6hgzX6tbFCdTZ8K-2Nveu-xs3kY3cpK9GG7yls-1CIVwC-YO7L51Uwxv0yLVHm6IyijIlg2Hd749SgHaR90F2vkwxqGgjb6S8J7RqjS_/s1600/Johanna+Sigurdardottir.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 397px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyM_mU66FuYQh5ycn9qs1PLUq9iJ8pRL8g9hks6hgzX6tbFCdTZ8K-2Nveu-xs3kY3cpK9GG7yls-1CIVwC-YO7L51Uwxv0yLVHm6IyijIlg2Hd749SgHaR90F2vkwxqGgjb6S8J7RqjS_/s400/Johanna+Sigurdardottir.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489485753368004242" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:100%;"><st1:place><span style="font-family:Georgia;"><st1:place><st1:place>Scandinavia</st1:place></st1:place></span></st1:place></span><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:100%;" > has long been at the forefront of tolerance. Gay and lesbian lawmakers and clergy have become common.<br /><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:100%;" >Respected Swedish lawmaker Fredrick Federlev, who also happens to be a cross-dresser, said, “There is some kind of passion for social justice here, that everybody should be treated the same.”<br /><br /></span></p> <span style="font-size:100%;"><u1:p></u1:p></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:100%;" ><u1:p> </u1:p><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:100%;" >In spite of the advances in gay rights over the past decades, it is all but unimaginable to think of a gay American President, much less a President entering into a gay marriage.<br /><br /></span></p> <span style="font-size:100%;"><u1:p></u1:p></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:100%;" ><u1:p> </u1:p><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:100%;" >Across </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><st1:place><span style="font-family:Georgia;"><st1:place><st1:place>Europe</st1:place></st1:place></span></st1:place></span><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:100%;" >, the situation varies. Many countries have high-ranking openly gay politicians, including Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe who is considered a strong contender for </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family:Georgia;"><st1:country-region><st1:place><st1:country-region><st1:place>France</st1:place></st1:country-region></st1:place></st1:country-region></span></st1:place></st1:country-region></span><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:100%;" > ’s 2012 Presidential elections.<br /><o:p></o:p></span></p> <span style="font-size:100%;"><u1:p></u1:p></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:100%;" ><u1:p> </u1:p><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:100%;" >This is a sharp contrast to many Catholic dominated countries like </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family:Georgia;"><st1:country-region><st1:place><st1:country-region><st1:place>Italy</st1:place></st1:country-region></st1:place></st1:country-region></span></st1:place></st1:country-region></span><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:100%;" > and the Baltic region.<br /><br /></span></p> <span style="font-size:100%;"><u1:p></u1:p></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:100%;" ><u1:p> </u1:p><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:100%;" >In </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><st1:place><span style="font-family:Georgia;"><st1:place><st1:place>Africa</st1:place></st1:place></span></st1:place></span><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:100%;" >, homosexuals in politics would be inconceivable, where 37 countries have anti-gay laws.<br /><o:p></o:p></span></p> <span style="font-size:100%;"><u1:p></u1:p></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:100%;" ><u1:p> </u1:p><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:100%;" >When she heard about the Icelandic leader’s marriage, </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family:Georgia;"><st1:country-region><st1:place><st1:country-region><st1:place>Uganda</st1:place></st1:country-region></st1:place></st1:country-region></span></st1:place></st1:country-region></span><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:100%;" > ’s ruling party spokeswoman, Mary Karooro Okurutu said that </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family:Georgia;"><st1:country-region><st1:place><st1:country-region><st1:place>Iceland</st1:place></st1:country-region></st1:place></st1:country-region></span></st1:place></st1:country-region></span><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:100%;" > ’s “Society is finished, they have no morals.” </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family:Georgia;"><st1:country-region><st1:place><st1:country-region><st1:place>Uganda</st1:place></st1:country-region></st1:place></st1:country-region></span></st1:place></st1:country-region></span><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:100%;" > is currently considering a law that would impose the death penalty on some gays.<br /><o:p></o:p></span></p> <span style="font-size:100%;"><u1:p></u1:p></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:100%;" ><u1:p> </u1:p><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_5jD7eDofOPlKEI7cIZ_5UjTKmABiHW6Q4vKoEqSEpObJMQ4UqqoiCcbv6o5BiynAuG02XF2YmU8dpJBMe0VUoL8yCMzGmmZ5-Saoqk1Of5PEIXFULB3R8Yb1LWo0mB-8wq2HmRKbrvKQ/s1600/christhand.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 141px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_5jD7eDofOPlKEI7cIZ_5UjTKmABiHW6Q4vKoEqSEpObJMQ4UqqoiCcbv6o5BiynAuG02XF2YmU8dpJBMe0VUoL8yCMzGmmZ5-Saoqk1Of5PEIXFULB3R8Yb1LWo0mB-8wq2HmRKbrvKQ/s200/christhand.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489487051610847474" border="0" /></a><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:100%;" >Many human rights groups believe </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><st1:place><span style="font-family:Georgia;"><st1:place><st1:place>Europe</st1:place></st1:place></span></st1:place></span><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:100%;" > to be the forefront in the fight for gay rights.</span><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:100%;" ><br /><br /></span></p> <span style="font-size:100%;"><u1:p></u1:p></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:100%;" ><u1:p> </u1:p><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:100%;" >"In the current climate of </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family:Georgia;"><st1:country-region><st1:place><st1:country-region><st1:place>U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region></st1:place></st1:country-region></span></st1:place></st1:country-region></span><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:100%;" > public opinion it is impossible to imagine a </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family:Georgia;"><st1:country-region><st1:place><st1:country-region><st1:place>U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region></st1:place></st1:country-region></span></st1:place></st1:country-region></span><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:100%;" > president who is openly gay and who marries their longtime partner," said Peter Tatchell, spokesman for the London-based human rights group Outrage. </span><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:100%;" >“In </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><st1:place><span style="font-family:Georgia;"><st1:place><st1:place style="font-family: arial;">Europe</st1:place></st1:place></span></st1:place></span><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:100%;" > the reaction is completely different – people just don’t care.”<br /></span><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:100%;" ><u1:p> <o:p></o:p></u1:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:100%;" >I don't know how much I have to add to this. I'm of two minds on this one. <br /><br /></span></p> <span style="font-size:100%;"><u1:p></u1:p></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:100%;" ><u1:p> <o:p></o:p></u1:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:100%;" >I think it's great that it's finally happening. Parts of the world at least are waking up and realizing that some things just aren't their goddamn business.<br /><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:100%;" >But there's still a part of me that truly feels that if we were as advanced as we believed, this wouldn't be news.<br /><o:p></o:p></span></p> <span style="font-size:100%;"><u1:p></u1:p></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:100%;" ><u1:p> <o:p></o:p></u1:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:100%;" >As Mr. Tatchell said, we ought not to even care.<br /><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:100%;" >And if you care, I'm listening to:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:100%;" ><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:100%;" ><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWmerjdjXAmpmFUnU3urolUBzQNDAqKifjnybKPKFHcTNimMjpP_FhPJAIIptshLxw96WDf43A7qvFFhqzT7_h1b7ihEaB3NBdfDcNIBrN5MKH9KOaH9dNTf6rr7IABFJppiNj0UF_jEeg/s1600/She&Him+Volume+2.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWmerjdjXAmpmFUnU3urolUBzQNDAqKifjnybKPKFHcTNimMjpP_FhPJAIIptshLxw96WDf43A7qvFFhqzT7_h1b7ihEaB3NBdfDcNIBrN5MKH9KOaH9dNTf6rr7IABFJppiNj0UF_jEeg/s400/She&Him+Volume+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489486499043576754" border="0" /></a></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><br /><u1:p></u1:p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:14pt;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p><br /><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" ><o:p></o:p></span>Joshuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16070423351272659357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-882285581174386305.post-63060877847844789682010-07-02T16:47:00.026-05:002010-07-02T21:05:37.441-05:00Slow Justice<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHFcdI5uOmbonWnZkg8n63eK7iNiwmbBV-8yUCgWTpT-anLuLM45AYwVLiE5CzgEtsWRZEi-PS5ZLbFkBZfzGAycnVGad5t2kxRq7HZ0q8rp892vHKdJRlb6ZG0nRo1Xo7-xLoQ54CjYqs/s1600/JailJonBurge.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 192px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHFcdI5uOmbonWnZkg8n63eK7iNiwmbBV-8yUCgWTpT-anLuLM45AYwVLiE5CzgEtsWRZEi-PS5ZLbFkBZfzGAycnVGad5t2kxRq7HZ0q8rp892vHKdJRlb6ZG0nRo1Xo7-xLoQ54CjYqs/s200/JailJonBurge.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489494120178629954" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-size:130%;" >Okay, the following is the story as I wrote it. I think you'll agree I showed very admirable restraint. It is not always easy maintaining objectivity. You have no idea how much I wanted to insert my comments on this one.<br /><br /><br /></span><p style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:130%;">Mark Clements spent 28 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. On Monday, he and a group of activists and other torture victims found themselves in the federal court build</span><span style="font-size:130%;">ing in downtown <st1:city><st1:place>Chicago</st1:place></st1:city>, waiting for the verdict in the Jon Burge trial.<br /><br /></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:130%;">Clements choked up when he heard the news. Burge had been convicted of all counts against him: one count of lying under oath and two co</span><span style="font-size:130%;">unts of obstruction of justice.<br /><br /></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:130%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX6BvkBLPLndzo6Q1WeJyiSWQXu9cBqIrkq3g9fNvwgoIY_I5dhbTYPnEQdkf6kiAkt7fLdTn0114UPuBKj0BW8MZ8Da3ifCcmzZN3NTbLgyhRDHKi6hAytefxqFA9AY4y80nANxJ_JXJg/s1600/JonBurge.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 188px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX6BvkBLPLndzo6Q1WeJyiSWQXu9cBqIrkq3g9fNvwgoIY_I5dhbTYPnEQdkf6kiAkt7fLdTn0114UPuBKj0BW8MZ8Da3ifCcmzZN3NTbLgyhRDHKi6hAytefxqFA9AY4y80nANxJ_JXJg/s200/JonBurge.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489493958588212978" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-size:130%;">Jon Burge is a former Chicago Police Lieutenant who led unit of cops that tortured black suspects in the ‘70s and ‘80s. Burge’s trial lasted fi</span><span style="font-size:130%;">ve weeks. Five victims </span><span style="font-size:130%;">testified about how they signed false confessions after being suffocated, electrically shocked, beaten and threatened with guns placed in </span><span style="font-size:130%;">their mouths.<br /><br /></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:130%;">Burge was not on trial for the tortures themselves, but for lying under oath in a 2003 civil lawsuit about what he knew about the torture. The statute of limitations on the tortures ran out long ago.<br /><br /></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:130%;">Mark Cle</span><span style="font-size:130%;">ments was 16 years old when he was tortured by men under Burge into signing a false confession</span><span style="font-size:130%;">. He cried when he talked</span><span style="font-size:130%;"> about h</span><span style="font-size:130%;">ow he felt about Burge’s conviction.<br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIzrGkKt46qsYSMykrxDKuuJdXBzsYgDOzBKJmt6larRliAacTX5VOYfE8i2o8EhqKoIgqTkslg1Hms6haxjAZAZMbI-TtW5uN0_nLZ_fupzv-1J2yTsMXCshyphenhyphengQ6gfvZkWckKsIvifkow/s1600/Mark+Clements+with+reason+to+smile.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 138px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIzrGkKt46qsYSMykrxDKuuJdXBzsYgDOzBKJmt6larRliAacTX5VOYfE8i2o8EhqKoIgqTkslg1Hms6haxjAZAZMbI-TtW5uN0_nLZ_fupzv-1J2yTsMXCshyphenhyphengQ6gfvZkWckKsIvifkow/s320/Mark+Clements+with+reason+to+smile.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489493440505577650" border="0" /></a></span></span><span style="font-size:130%;">“</span><span style="font-size:130%;">My daughter is 29 years old,” said Clements through sobs. “I missed all those years with my daughter, sitting in those prison cells for a crime I didn't commit. I do not feel sorry for Jon Burge."<br /><br /></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:130%;">Many call the guilty verdict significant. One juror said it was hard to find a police officer guilty because most people, by instinct believe an office</span><span style="font-size:130%;">r’s side of the story. Many human rights groups believe that is why </span><span style="font-size:130%;"><st1:city><st1:place>New York City</st1:place></st1:city></span><span style="font-size:130%;"> officers were not convicted in the killing of Sean Bell or why the LA Police who were caught on tape beating Rodney King got off.<br /><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:130%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7wx54ZwoRIiLcMONuYEK4H9JSHwaebtW0HXSucx_kUXhO71DsCabLkzTqR83uR6xaIm5GOKY8WIxeTuz_N9duwkKJRdLlPv-ErdEhy5FL6vP6DMH9h0DIYEStZlR147raywqj-3pEQ0VV/s1600/Burge+in+cuffs.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 194px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7wx54ZwoRIiLcMONuYEK4H9JSHwaebtW0HXSucx_kUXhO71DsCabLkzTqR83uR6xaIm5GOKY8WIxeTuz_N9duwkKJRdLlPv-ErdEhy5FL6vP6DMH9h0DIYEStZlR147raywqj-3pEQ0VV/s200/Burge+in+cuffs.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489493713022480354" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-size:130%;">Whether or not this verdict reflects a shift in the public’s willingne</span><span style="font-size:130%;">ss to hold police accountable for their actions is not clear, but Clements said </span><span style="font-size:130%;">that he’s “Relieved that at least one of these people is now going to finally feel the pain.”</span></p><p style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />And that was the objective story I wrote. Good work. Straight and to the point without a lot of my input.<br /><br /></span></p><p style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:130%;">Now that I'm here on my own time, I can commentate, right</span><span style="font-size:130%;">? (Right, Josh, go nuts!) Because writing that without bursting out into a tirade took a lot of self-control and I think I've earned a rant.<br /><br /></span></p><p style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:130%;">Okay, forget the fact that innocent men like Mark</span><span style="font-size:130%;"> Clements, Ronnie Kitchen, Melvin Jones, Martin Reeves and countless others suffered at the hands of police like Burge and his thugs. Forget the 22 torture victims who are still in prison because of confessions that were forced from them.<br /><br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTxxYDFco5r7cSaleZAhV3wTaWsQmS7VWTlHTYqstsUlIdUw4fqZfzXTSiUjrlW4ytacAb-_Te-0BicWhj2mGWc8NMotnKy_ejjQ7qhcoiz5tgzlky63jmMRfkx9sX9TpxTkHSRJwfuGWa/s1600/Mark+Clements,+Melvin+Jones+and+Marvin+Reeves.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 246px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTxxYDFco5r7cSaleZAhV3wTaWsQmS7VWTlHTYqstsUlIdUw4fqZfzXTSiUjrlW4ytacAb-_Te-0BicWhj2mGWc8NMotnKy_ejjQ7qhcoiz5tgzlky63jmMRfkx9sX9TpxTkHSRJwfuGWa/s320/Mark+Clements,+Melvin+Jones+and+Marvin+Reeves.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489493228439225970" border="0" /></a></span></p><p style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:130%;">Wait, don't forget them. Never forget it. Let's just put it aside for a second so I can make an intellectual appeal to those reading this who aren't the bleeding heart type.<br /><br /></span></p><p style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:130%;">Because I know what many of you are thinking.<br /><br />You're thinking, even if you're not going to say it out loud, that at least some of these guys probably did the crimes they were locked away for, regardless of whether their confessions were beaten out of them.<br /><br /></span></p><p style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:130%;">Actually, I take that back. I've gotten tired of making intellectual appeals to people who don't care.<br /><br /></span></p><p style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:130%;">Are you really okay with police doing anything they want with impunity? Have you stopped to think what kind of person wants to become a c</span><span style="font-size:130%;">op under those circumstances?<br /><br /></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:130%;">Two kinds of people: naive idealists who really want to help people and Droogies.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:130%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpGN6ZbIt9mP0p9gsKQmPev0ERu47RmmDOI7wiXLxOD_oYT8hSHYaq7XqBNjrGi01TLT5JYYhu9CGOvWC9wLTRfhjOxQPlaOB56WyjO2O0bcyZxEn2gdUy4AUTOBy0w5Zx9I0_6-_gubmR/s1600/Droogs.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 291px; height: 218px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpGN6ZbIt9mP0p9gsKQmPev0ERu47RmmDOI7wiXLxOD_oYT8hSHYaq7XqBNjrGi01TLT5JYYhu9CGOvWC9wLTRfhjOxQPlaOB56WyjO2O0bcyZxEn2gdUy4AUTOBy0w5Zx9I0_6-_gubmR/s320/Droogs.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489489697160703554" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-size:130%;">This is not about hating cops.<br /><br /></span></p><p style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:130%;">This is about living in a society that allows monsters to be police. Nothing gives a sadistic bully a hard-on like the idea of walking around with a gun, a badge and absolute impunity. And as long as we refuse to hold police accountable, we will have psychopaths lining up, just itching to join the force.</span></p><p style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:130%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTiGlmIsQeS5dAwS7BckYzqKqU28d0cVBrHtm0aqCD_wuNuYCqV6oQTcQiI-_U-fFTSITufL5HEJDiG1gxjI50ojk86AMcy5hFAryPUbTkassLY7h-Zkvq3FlM2w9S5Z17BTmNL-vy8Fci/s1600/DroogieCops.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 191px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTiGlmIsQeS5dAwS7BckYzqKqU28d0cVBrHtm0aqCD_wuNuYCqV6oQTcQiI-_U-fFTSITufL5HEJDiG1gxjI50ojk86AMcy5hFAryPUbTkassLY7h-Zkvq3FlM2w9S5Z17BTmNL-vy8Fci/s320/DroogieCops.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489489380392069266" border="0" /></a></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:130%;">This isn't an insult to police who truly want to help their fellow man. </span><span style="font-size:130%;">Quite the opposite.<br /></span></p><p style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br />If we let the thugs and monsters blend in with them, then we're dishonoring all of them, aren't we?<br /><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: georgia; color: rgb(192, 192, 192);"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSdOjPp2J6-DYWUCaHzV_Bm1O8gkSMmXffURnREwTgoTBY1jCgGW3NYaCPps4PMj4Zk62nTLCRGxBqtHdIIVFJOZ4gx8t4q3KVj5dwzWdHqd23yCExoZmdq9Mne94mb1sEPkOokmMViXZv/s1600/Sheriff+Tim+Swanson.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSdOjPp2J6-DYWUCaHzV_Bm1O8gkSMmXffURnREwTgoTBY1jCgGW3NYaCPps4PMj4Zk62nTLCRGxBqtHdIIVFJOZ4gx8t4q3KVj5dwzWdHqd23yCExoZmdq9Mne94mb1sEPkOokmMViXZv/s200/Sheriff+Tim+Swanson.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489488602882505090" border="0" /></a></p> <p style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br />So try to understand that celebrating the conviction of Jon Burge has nothing to do with hating cops.</span><br /></p> <p style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><br />Next stop, Stark County, Ohio. If there is a God and if he is just, maybe Sheriff Tim Swanson and the 7 sexual predators he has been protecting will be prosecuted at </span><span style="font-size:130%;">some point.</span></p><p style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><br />But that's another post. And you know what? I think it's gonna come soon.<br /></span></span></p><p style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-family:georgia;"><br />And in case any of you care, I know I should be listening to Rage Against the Machine or N.W.A. or something like that given the topic, but I'm in an ethereal pop mood, so I'm listening to a gorgeous new 180g re-release of:<br /><br /></span></span><span style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3iJJzypZXaqp318NqQ4V-qBK6rYVTMKPVgM_eQEoa7uiVkDL48Vuah1ew_sSenJKt1XEGa9ajFEEzuLwIjgxUU6-m8JHSJ_CzPSzna45fxVwRba1gMu7KBtXYXjNngYnBYKBMRb0zXAoh/s1600/disintegration.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 384px; height: 384px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3iJJzypZXaqp318NqQ4V-qBK6rYVTMKPVgM_eQEoa7uiVkDL48Vuah1ew_sSenJKt1XEGa9ajFEEzuLwIjgxUU6-m8JHSJ_CzPSzna45fxVwRba1gMu7KBtXYXjNngYnBYKBMRb0zXAoh/s400/disintegration.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489490742974761618" border="0" /></a></span></span><o:p></o:p> </p>Joshuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16070423351272659357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-882285581174386305.post-17804369018487662312010-06-11T04:46:00.002-05:002010-06-11T04:48:10.605-05:00Heartbreak for a HeroPresident Mandela, a man like you, who has already endured such suffering and showed the spirit of Christ more than anyone who claims his name here in the west, should never have to know heartbreak like you have suffered today.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDaUpFo1k7Lqft8-9jP-7DDVm8GkWJzf3-AgefC0QW7fuyd8SoqyA4XniTqCABbtmAlhe3m4AgmGFiL8MtBZCzxJNwn_LCtcdJOrDF6X0bwkW_cVSxqoED7GRv2pEZiKZjzfoFJyILwHCm/s1600/Mandela.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 160px; height: 103px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDaUpFo1k7Lqft8-9jP-7DDVm8GkWJzf3-AgefC0QW7fuyd8SoqyA4XniTqCABbtmAlhe3m4AgmGFiL8MtBZCzxJNwn_LCtcdJOrDF6X0bwkW_cVSxqoED7GRv2pEZiKZjzfoFJyILwHCm/s400/Mandela.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481450445789777106" border="0" /></a>My family is grieving with you and praying for your family.<br /><br />Thank you for everything and we love you.Joshuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16070423351272659357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-882285581174386305.post-11318096440512314092010-05-28T20:39:00.009-05:002010-05-28T21:51:40.536-05:00Make that ChangeThe political center of America has been moving decidedly to the right for decades. <br /><br />Actual liberals have been all-but banished from the Democratic Party.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv7KRqc_u8RYVkHKOdG6OEB753ZKZiIHMsNWXQnl__dYXCbO2kZg8DtlIVk5wqQVi4p-5kVW8pUAapp-CQNvs060f6yu8cmMWuweGVpMZ4tsb0-4ETye1Kw_w210fCFrqeXkZZgr-9O59C/s1600/marek_edelman.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 242px; height: 340px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv7KRqc_u8RYVkHKOdG6OEB753ZKZiIHMsNWXQnl__dYXCbO2kZg8DtlIVk5wqQVi4p-5kVW8pUAapp-CQNvs060f6yu8cmMWuweGVpMZ4tsb0-4ETye1Kw_w210fCFrqeXkZZgr-9O59C/s400/marek_edelman.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5476500938493719458" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Ask yourself, do we have any heroes in America like Marek Edelman, who left us this past October? Uncompromising and fierce, even in the face of death, even in the face of the scorn of his countrymen and allies?<br /><br />The Democrats will not get their shit together on issues like marriage equality or reproductive rights and they have caved on every economic issue there is.<br /><br />The Clinton 90's heralded an era of Democratic Reaganomics.<br /><br />The Democrats are now on the wrong side on the death penalty, the war on crime, the war on drugs, and more or less every other aspect of both our foreign and domestic policy.<br /><br />Gains are small and usually immediately taken away. Resistance is met with either scorn, or muscle.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlSFibqXAAZlK5AfQPBiOJpQ1WK74JWC1n16p1GYOoPhXcZzoEiN7FMTrmX4lWg2cBlabFcvX9CReqiID8rNZccTCpe_P9PAZxfAgOoGPJ7PejkHSxMFwxtB-ahba3xs5_R-URrggn-0Pv/s1600/classism.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 198px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlSFibqXAAZlK5AfQPBiOJpQ1WK74JWC1n16p1GYOoPhXcZzoEiN7FMTrmX4lWg2cBlabFcvX9CReqiID8rNZccTCpe_P9PAZxfAgOoGPJ7PejkHSxMFwxtB-ahba3xs5_R-URrggn-0Pv/s200/classism.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5476513096839742866" border="0" /></a>We, the left, caught a great deal of grief from the Democratic Party when we dared to refuse to support Gore and Lieberman who might as well be Republicans.<br /><br />I’m sorry, but you can’t move that far to the right and then complain that the <span style="font-style: italic;">left</span> has abandoned <span style="font-style: italic;">you</span>.<br /><br />And anyone who has spoken out in the last eight years, from Ward Churchill to Bill Maher to the Dixie Chicks can tell you what it’s like be responded to with simple, brutal, unmoving force.<br /><br />And now, we are at a crossroads. Did we really mean what we said when we voted for change, or are we just jerking off?<br /><br />Are we pissed off enough about this recession to demand that the people we just put into office reverse the past 28 years of systematic deregulation that led to this whole mess?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLXVxcM_XOvdFkKmAzjCfVwjM6VViDA5lyVQlZx6wUnIOicoTFjkSWHoOVojfA3q6nfa32WNwMp1PgryMuvOsTe5qP8QoQrwbBBeSRuSLiaveR1_MRAZG73Rip23Fp6lhVSrBqilQCfody/s1600/killpoorjpg.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 170px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLXVxcM_XOvdFkKmAzjCfVwjM6VViDA5lyVQlZx6wUnIOicoTFjkSWHoOVojfA3q6nfa32WNwMp1PgryMuvOsTe5qP8QoQrwbBBeSRuSLiaveR1_MRAZG73Rip23Fp6lhVSrBqilQCfody/s200/killpoorjpg.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5476512507715782338" border="0" /></a><br />The hubris of the last eight years, the prioritizing of power over party, and party over country has imploded the Republican Party and we have been given a magnificent opportunity. It would be a crime to waste it<span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">. </span></span>But the Democrats have indeed wasted the opportunity.<br /><br />They could not get meaningful health care for all Americans even with a Super-majority in both houses. You know why? Because they didn't fucking try!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4L-Rze759DfXxoYH0ffaC4sQkqisKz28n1B0d3TG6l2fUa4bqvXGGy6SfriZBU4SOVTYhUHI06Btnzcbp47ppDqWE_LKvcZpswV3jxxqS0rG7Xp5lk3B10t9_Ph3kAzJxl3xYouVJSSjD/s1600/cripplescropped.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 198px; height: 76px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4L-Rze759DfXxoYH0ffaC4sQkqisKz28n1B0d3TG6l2fUa4bqvXGGy6SfriZBU4SOVTYhUHI06Btnzcbp47ppDqWE_LKvcZpswV3jxxqS0rG7Xp5lk3B10t9_Ph3kAzJxl3xYouVJSSjD/s200/cripplescropped.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5476518629475361298" border="0" /></a><br />They talked of bi-partisanship as if it were the primary virtue for any politician. As if making friends with the enemy were more important than principle.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPs71tw2JvJIWyLj2wiG_NHHlGKTzbORN5AjCeCjitKgilSTysm5lUoOs14zNJv2gioscn15urxvdxk2GpBz7Jf78eZ5qWYolMCCF0fP2m5xJ7dGZQIwlIQaflyzd428sE53Kc-SN4b4c8/s1600/blackwater.jpeg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPs71tw2JvJIWyLj2wiG_NHHlGKTzbORN5AjCeCjitKgilSTysm5lUoOs14zNJv2gioscn15urxvdxk2GpBz7Jf78eZ5qWYolMCCF0fP2m5xJ7dGZQIwlIQaflyzd428sE53Kc-SN4b4c8/s200/blackwater.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5476501413654437522" border="0" /></a>They've put Blackwater into Pakistan for Christ's sake!<br /><br />No more. I've come to a crucial decision. When you choose between the lesser of two evils, you are still choosing evil.<br /><br />Go ahead and tell me I'm throwing my vote away.<br /><br />But from now on, every vote will go to a Socialist, Green or Independent candidate.<br /><br />I used to think the Democrats' problem was weakness. Now I see that it's a lack of conviction.<br /><br />And for the record, to you, the Democratic Party, you left <span style="font-style: italic;">us</span>. Adieu.Joshuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16070423351272659357noreply@blogger.com0