Just too good not to post (with f-bomb warning)

Just received this in an email:

Subject: Word play

Did you know that… if you rearrange the letters in "so-called Tea Party Republicans," and add just a few more letters, it spells: "Shut the fuck up you free-loading, progress-blocking, benefit-grabbing, resource-sucking, violent, hypocritical douche bags, and deal with the fact that you nearly wrecked the country under Bush and get over it that our President is black."

Oh Sweet Jesus! Bush plagiarizes his own memoir?

George Bush Lifted Passages Of Memoir From Advisers' Books

A couple things that annoy me this morning

Actually, there are several, but I can't post about some. But last night, I was thinking about our gubernatorial race this last month where Republican Mary Fallin said that she was a superior candidate because she had born children. Left unsaid, of course, was the fact that her opponent, Jeri Askins, had not. Fallin's statement annoyed for several reasons; her assumption that motherhood was related, and that her motherhood stretched over two marriages yet she was able to invoke the family values Republican bullshit, or that it was code for spreading a rumor that Askins is gay.

Thinking about that last one, I realized how angry that made me at conservatives and conservative Christians for their bullshit about homosexuality. I don't know that Askins is gay or not gay--it matters not to me. But if she were, she actually fits the model of what conservative Christians say about homosexuality. After all, and again, we know nothing about her sexuality beyond the fact that she has never married, but if she were gay, she has not openly acted on it, and has, in fact, kept it under wraps.

The fact that the rumor plays is proof that when so many conservative Christians say that they "hate the sin, but love the sinner" is clearly bullshit. The rumor would not work if that were the case. When most conservatives say that they don't want homosexuals to act on it, they are lying. They don't want people who have homosexual feelings to exist. No matter if they act on it or not. They are repulsed by them, period. Perhaps because of their own sexual inadequacy, I don't know. But this is why conservative evangelicals and conservative Christians have very little credibility when they say they aren't opposed to gay people, but they just don't want them to marry, or they just don't want them to adopt. They don't want them to be, and they will never look at a person who has those feelings as normal, regardless of what they do. Bullshit.

*****

Speaking of bullshit, our former president has supposedly "written" a book. I had always thought you needed to read at least one book before writing one, but who am I to say? But W is on his "book tour" and starting the process of trying to rehabilitate his presidency with claims like the good one that he was actually a dissenting voice on the Iraq war.

Whatever.

But one that caught my eye was his revelation that Cheney was very angry with him for not pardoning Scooter Libby:

"Bush recounts that a furious Cheney told him: 'I can't believe you're going to leave a soldier on the battlefield.'"

Just a point here. When Cheney talks about a battlefield and a soldier, he is talking about a war against liberals, not Al Qaeda. Cheney, himself, had no problem throwing Valerie Plame to the wolves even though she worked on fucking WMDs for US. His battlefield has nothing to do with terrorism, and everything to do with his arrogant sense that American belongs to warmongering asshats like Cheney and Wolfowitz, and that his real enemies are liberals.

Bush reports that he was concerned that the Libby issue would scar his friendship with Cheney, but says that they are good friends now.

Goodie.

Do Conservatives love war?

I don't know. And I am not sure that this guy made his argument, but I must say there is a question to be asked. The responses to Bush and war, added to the drumbeat for Iran make me really wonder.

Conservatives and compassion

I actually kind of liked Bush's whole "compassionate conservatism," because I liked the idea. I wasn't ever convinced that he really meant it, but I liked the idea.

But I am increasingly convinced that most conservative policies are driven by self-interest. If it doesn't touch me, personally, then I don't want to pay for it. If the Iraq war doesn't effect me, then why should I care? If the Patriot Act doesn't actually change my life (because I have nothing to hide), then who cares? If we are torturing people who aren't like me, why should I care? And if tax increases won't actually help me personally, then why should I pay more?

And you see that in Texas after Tuesday's election with talk of withdrawing from Medicaid altogether. Some of them, at least, are talking about maintaining care, but just funding it at the local level, but I don't trust that at all. The complaint comes from the fact that more people are added to the Medicaid rolls. And conservatives don't think that healthcare is a right. You have to deserve and earn access to life-saving treatment. Just being human isn't enough. All that shit about our "Creator" endowing us with the right to life? Yeah, it doesn't mean for the poor. It means for the wealthy and the well-heeled.

I would love to hear otherwise, I really would. I hear a lot of conservatives saying that of course the poor should be taken care of, but not by the government. And I hear a lot of people saying that the Bible doesn't command the government to take care of poor people. And if we are talking about soup kitchens, and are talking about a non-depression era where the amount of poor is relatively manageable, then maybe. But if we are talking about access to life-saving, and incredibly expensive healthcare, then I have to say bullshit. Conservatives don't have an alternative. Local churches are not going to be able to fund home-care for the disabled, nor are they equipped to pay for a chronic disease. So, if that is true, the alternative is either the government or conservatives telling them to just go without.

If that is Christian, then Christ was incredibly callous and uncaring. And I don't believe that for an instant. But that is how the people most loudly proclaiming their faith act. Those who shout "Jesus" the loudest seem to have very little compassion for anyone other than themselves. How unimpressive that is.

Serious question

I hear the mantra from the left (and some from the middle) that Obama and the Democrats have done a bad job of communicating their accomplishments. I wonder about that, simply because I am unsure how that is supposed to work. Do any of us listen to politicians when they make their pitch? Has anyone ever listened to a presidential radio address?

Seems to me that we have several problems. 1) We are fighting against people who use propaganda shamelessly. How do you counter Glenn Beck? 2) We have a shortage of simplistic slogans. How do you explain complexity in the fact of "socialized medicine" or "death panels?" 3) We have a paradox of success. Republicans can rail against unseen and phantom ills. "Look out, a Mooslim might be behind that bush," while Democrats are supposed to take credit for subtle successes like ridding the country of pre-existing conditions or lifetime caps. If you, or your family don't have a pre-existing condition and have never had a serious illness, why do you care? Besides being a human, that is.

And ultimately, Republicans can appeal to people's baser instincts. Fear those people, and we will cut your taxes and stop lazy people from getting your money. Democrats are tasked with asking people to invest in things--things that they personally may not profit from. I think we can do it, but I am not sure how when Republicans are the way they are.

Ugh, democracy hurts

I am reminded tonight of 2004, and the dark morning after Bush's reelection. That next day, I wrote this angry and sad post. I reread it tonight and remember that pain.

Tonight I am not in as much pain because I am not as surprised. I have expected this. I am saddened, however, as I don't understand the anger at expanding healthcare and rescuing the economy. I don't get that.

Hell, there is so much I don't get. Here in Oklahoma, we passed a law banning the use of Sharia law in our courts. Yeah, that is right. And no, it wasn't a problem before now. And it hasn't been a problem anywhere. No, this is just simply bigotry and racism written into our code. Thank your local Republican for that. Something clicked in the last few years and they have decided that open hatred of Muslims is a good and Christian thing to do. Plus, because it is simple to sell to ignorant and uninformed people, it makes for good politics. "Look, there might be a Muslim hiding behind that tree!"

Unfortunately, it isn't just Muslims, but also Mexicans. Also here in Oklahoma, our new Governor proudly proclaimed her support for the law in Arizona, and in one race, opponents of a Democrat placed Mexican flags next to his yard signs. "Vote for this guy and the Mexicans will bring in Muslims to kill you."

Meanwhile, of course, we refuse to fund anything meaningful and good. That same new Governor promises lower taxes. As God is my witness, I have no clue how taxes in Oklahoma could get lower. I know that support for education could get lower. I know that attention to the disabled and poor could get lower--though that seems hard to fathom.

In all seriousness, I really need a thoughtful Republican to explain to me how the modern GOP can't be described by the following slogan: "I have mine, you can fuck off!"

Even, might I add, if that "mine" came with the assistance of tax-payer money. Perhaps a rewrite could be "I have mine, but have no interest in helping any of you."

As always, I must say that my biggest disappointment remains with the religious right. I grew up among them and thought at least there was a shred of moral consistency. But they voted for David Vitter tonight (in huge numbers). Hiring prostitutes wasn't an impediment to reelection. Passing healthcare, however, was. I look at the conservative church and I see hatred for the poor, for the uninsured, and for the environment. I see fear and loathing for Muslims, and that might not even sum it up. I see people who are so convinced that God is on their side, that they see liberals as their enemies. Not people with whom they can disagree, but actual enemies. A member of our distant family stopped talking to me because I am a supporter of Obama.

As I said in 2004, I will survive this. I will focus more on music and my friends. I resent, however, how this political environment makes me feel as if concern for others is a liability, and that selfishness is a virtue. How does that happen among people who wave that Bible around like a prop? How do selfishness and mean-spiritedness and ignorance and racism and hatred become virtues in that world? How do concern and compassion become weakness?

There are two things I really battle this evening. One is to simply disconnect from politics completely and just say "fuck it," and let the environment and the poor and education go downhill. That is what the people want, they should have it. We shall see if that happens. I hope that this loss will shock the progressive community out of their passivity and get them to fight for what they value.

But the second one is harder. As with 2004, I find myself wanting to be less associated with Christianity. I find so much of it on the right to be so very unchristian and so unlike Christ. I really want nothing to do with it. I want nothing to do with the squabbles over parsed scripture, and the debates about the gays and the fear and the false righteousness and the fact that the religious conservative population has become more conservative than Christian. I still want to believe. But I struggle to believe in a God who's followers are so hateful.

But tomorrow, I will get up and go teach, and hug my wife and my dogs and see some friends. I will listen to music and hopefully find some time to pick up an instrument. And this weekend, my friends will gather to bemoan this election and hoist a drink or two.

The Tea Party and history

Picked up Jill Lepore's The Whites of their Eyes: The Tea Party's Revolution and the battle over American History yesterday.  Lepore is a great historian, but unfortunately, the very people who need to read this will never know it exists.  This book, after all, lacks a Glenn Beck blurb on the back.  But this book is right in my wheel-house--because Lepore understands that historical narratives like this occur in a cultural context.

I will post more on the book as I work my way through, but found this great line from her introduction on the perils of fundamentalism.

Historical fundamentalism is marked by the belief that a particular and quite narrowly defined past--"the founding"--is ageless and sacred and to be worshipped; that certain historical texts--"the founding documents"--are to be read in the same spirit which religious fundamentalists read, for instance, the Ten Commandments; that the Founding Fathers were divinely inspired; that the academic study of history (whose standards of evidence and methods of analysis are based on skepticism) is a conspiracy and, furthermore, blasphemy; and that political arguments grounded in appeals to the founding documents, as sacred texts, and to the Founding Fathers, as prophets, are therefore incontrovertible.  

That very accurately describes what we see around us, I think, and explains how conservatives can assert that this is "their country," rather than "ours."   None of that makes me feel better, mind you, but it is good to see a historian stepping into the public sphere to discuss how history is written and understood.  And, if I understand her argument, she also is critical of the profession for not helping craft the narrative around the Bicentennial when the nation needed one.

Speaking of that, btw, though I didn't watch the rally, I took great pleasure in reading about Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert's "Rally for Sanity" yesterday.  Especially welcome were the wonderful signs.  A few of my favorites:

• "I spell check my political rage."
• "I'm generally okay with this administration!1! I just have points of disagreement I'd be happy to talk calmly about."
• "Please STOP Trying to Take Back 'Your' Country. It's MINE Too! How 'Bout We SHARE?"
• "Hitler was a total Nazi."
• "GOD HATES FIGS."

Extending grace to a Tea Party thug

Is there anything more representative of the Christian faith? I will say that I have a lot of trouble with this very idea--of extending grace and compassion to people with whom I disagree vehemently. I try. In person, I am usually pretty good at it. Email and blog allows a certain distance and impersonalization, perhaps.

Anyway. One of the reasons I have found myself so very frustrated with Republicans and the idiots from the Tea Party is the open endorsement or licensing of anger and boorish behavior. People who brandish their Bibles are screaming epithets or spreading lies. And it was only a skip and step to people being actually violent. Of course, that right wing violence has surfaced in several attacks on police over the last two years, the assassination of Dr. Tiller in Kansas, and the crazed right winger who opened fire at the Holocaust museum.

Now it is occurring on the campaign trails. Everyone has heard about the Rand Paul supporter who stomped the head of a liberal woman. That's right. She was down on the ground and he stomped on her head. He then blamed her for it (along with the police) and then demanded that she apologize to him. This is an abusive man, and a criminal. Somehow, the Tea Party has told people like him that they are right to be angry and should be angry. Then they wonder when he stomps on a head.

Luckily, she is ok, but not quite willing to apologize. But she does respond with a level of grace and compassion that I could not muster.

"You and I, as fellow citizens, and we, as a country, have a choice. Either we choose to continue the cycle of inflicting violence upon each other, screaming at each other, insulting each other and putting one another down or we and find a way to sit down and start listening to each other. We'll see how far we get. We are all viciously and vociferously feeding a fire that will only burn us down together. We must reach inside ourselves and make space for each other. We must forgive each other. We must believe in our capacity for transformation. The moment we choose compassion and reconciliation is the moment that we will begin to move toward freedom. There is no other way.

I believe that you should be held accountable for your actions but I also recognize the incredibly negative impact that the consequences must be having on your life, and I wish you all the best as you yourself heal from this. Violence hurts everyone."

Some of my friends are not terribly convinced this approach will work. I just find myself so impressed with this young woman and wanting to believe that we can rise above this kind of bickering and violence. I know her response was the Christian response (though I have no clue about her religious preference, btw), but I am not sure I believe that will work.

Jesus the socialist

The best status update circulating around Facebook:

"Obama is not a brown-skinned anti-war socialist who gives away free healthcare. You're thinking of Jesus."

So nice to read how conservatives respect democracy

Or hear, in this case, about how the Arizona anti-immigration law was written by private prison companies. And then, of course, written and handed to congressmen to promote in the state house--with no transparency or acknowledgement that that private prison company had paid to wine and dine these people. And no recognition in the public debate that a prison company stood to make a lot of money out of this.

I am seriously giving up on Republicans looking for good public policy. Their definition of that appears to be that it makes someone a lot of money. That is all. If it leads to great profits, it doesn't matter if it harms the environment, or civil liberties, or anything.

Tea Party/Republichristian rant.

I have been thinking about the Tea Party/Republican lie machine, and there is so much wrong there. Someone posted the list of 8 or so things that most Americans simply are misinformed about. TARP was approved by Bush, not Obama--and it is mostly being repaid. The Stimulus worked--just not as well as we would have liked because it wasn't big enough. Healthcare has the real possibility of cutting into the deficit--until the Republicans fuck it up, that is. And Obama has been more fiscally responsible than Bush was.

But facts don't matter. And the Tea Party doesn't even care about facts. And the Republican party only cares about having more votes. Facts are largely irrelevant to them as well.

Coming home this afternoon I heard a story about how Republicans (thanks to that evil little slug, Frank Lutz) have turned completely against any kind of climate change legislation. They refer to it as "myth," even though the scientific community--you know, the people who actually study climate and know the difference between it and "weather"--know it to be absolutely true. Every year, over the last few, have been warmer than the one before. That was true last year even though so many people experienced a hard winter.

But I have come to realize that conservatives--and this sadly includes those who profess loudly that God created the earth in 6 literal days--simply reject scientific evidence they don't like. Not because they have a working knowledge of the issues, mind you. But because they don't like the conclusion. Period. I am honestly trying to think of anything I do like that. I hate the idea of climate change. It fills me with a sense of foreboding. But I don't just deny it simply because I don't like the conclusion.

And how about those Christian conservatives? I hear from some that they too care about the environment, but they vote repeatedly for people who gut environmental regulations and protections. Every fucking time, actually. So I really don't want to hear about how creation is "proof of God" and all that bullshit. If it is so spiritual, why do you do nothing to protect it?

I honestly don't understand this brand of Christianity. I seriously don't. Evolution is a myth (because they are afraid of evolving from a less complex creature) but protecting the environment is liberal hippie bullshit. Evidently, their version of God doesn't really give a shit if creatures he supposedly created out of whole cloth go extinct. Especially, and absolutely, if saving that species were to inconvenience anyone.

Christianity, in this context, is about show. Those churches are glorified clubs, where people play ball and socialize. And yes, they donate some to the poor--even, of course, as they vote against the poor and vote for people who demonize the poor as lazy and immoral. And here on this blog, they flex their chests and say, "who are we liberals to make them give to the poor. God doesn't want them to be forced to give to the poor. They will do it on their own, thank you very much."

More bullshit. Well, it might not be if food kitchens were all it took to address poverty. But it isn't. And private charities have never been able to carry the load of all the need. And these people know it.

More show. Creationism as irony, I guess, when what it really means is that nature is to be exploited and used up. And once again, an itinerant preacher who avoided personal wealth and trappings of power is the poster child for the well-heeled and gated community set. Or the Preachers in the 1000 dollar suits who sit with Presidents and CEOs. A faith built on sacrifice and self-denial that is now all about self and all about feeding that self. Who are we to challenge how much money they make? Who are we to suggest that their consumption (and my own, to be sure) threatens species (including our own). Who are we to suggest that even illegal immigrants should be fed and taken care of?

In their Bible, God hates feminists and liberals and Muslims and gays. So many will not admit it, but is exactly how they vote. They long for a time when minorities knew their place and women had to stay married whether they liked it or their husband abused them. They won't admit it, but that is exactly how they vote. They cheer the torture of brown people in dark prisons, yet ironically watch Mel Gibson's Passion film with tears in their eyes. (Note: the Romans were as justified torturing Christ as we are torturing Muslims. Surely the Romans had a right to be afraid of insurgents in their midst?) They won't admit this, but, yeah, that is exactly how they vote. And they talk of God's creation and the beauty of his mountains and valleys and sunsets and sunrises, but really would prefer to live in luxury rather than talk about what that nature really means to our survival. And they really, really, really, don't mind if a few innocent people are executed in the name of justice. After all, those people have to be criminals. Why else would they be there? If capital punishment and torture were applied to white conservative Christians, they might just care. That is exactly how they vote.

Round 2

Took Streak in this morning for another round of chemo. I just did a review of the last time, and it was over Labor Day weekend that he finally pulled out from the last round. We are so grateful for this last 2 months. They have been magical and at times, he has seemed like his old self.

But it was time to do another round. This time, given Streak's age, we decided to do a half dose of the IV and some of the other drugs. And we are really going to watch his fluid intake and his stomach, because that seemed to be the problem last time.

I was doing fine this morning until I arrived at the clinic. While they gave him the IV, I went across the street to get some coffee and burst into tears in the parking lot. I keep thinking this will get easier--that the bonus time will some how make it not so hard.

Anyway. He is here today, and doing well. We will take that.

Perfect

How I Can Be a Christian and Not Think Being Gay Is a Sin.

Read this on her Facebook wall after a friend linked to it, and I thought it was worth reposting.

How I Can Be a Christian and Not Think Being Gay Is a Sin. - Maureen Gummert - Open Salon

Baseball season and life

And yes, I am fully aware that my Yankees lost to the Texas Rangers last night. Eh, it happens. I can not and will not cheer for the Rangers, but they certainly deserved to win.

Last night, we watched Bull Durham, which is one of our favorite movies. Tightly written and without wasted scenes, it is one of the better sports movies out there. And I think I related to it because of the element of failure. I am Crash Davis in a different context--that of tenure track jobs. In fact, the film depresses me every time--at least just a little, because I feel his pain when a young person walks out of grad school into a tenure track job.

I wish this had the rest of the scene, but it is a great one.



After this, Crash introduces his friend Sandy who hit .376 one season in the minors. Crash himself has nearly set the record for home runs as a minor leaguer, but was only able to spend 20 some days in the majors, or "show."

Even better, and more apt, is the sense that Nuke actually deserves to go to the show. He has all the talents to succeed at the major league level, but the film suggests that despite his weaker physical skills, Crash would also make a great contribution if given the chance. His baseball intellect is far superior to those with greater talent.

I don't want to take this too far. I know full well that many of the people who landed tenure track jobs deserved them, and they will be much better "scholars" than I ever would. I don't have the drive to spend all of my time working on publications. But I also know a lot of people who, if I dare say so myself, are certainly no smarter than me, and some not even as smart, but were in the right place at the right time. Life has its unfairness, and that is not new.

When I step back from the ledge, I know that I rather enjoy my career in the minor leagues. I am a better teacher than many of my tenured colleagues, and my lifestyle gives me flexibility that few my age enjoy. Stability would be nice, but for now, it has worked for us.

I am also reminded, btw, of how little importance these things have when I watch friends around me struggle with loss or illness or tragedy. Job title is pretty meaningless in that context.

Anyway.

NPR was wrong to fire Williams for this

But not wrong to fire him. And Mara Liason should be next.

I didn't think that Williams' statement was that bad. He confessed a fear--which can be irrational--to seeing a Muslim on a plane. But he should have been fired, along with Liason, for their tendency to, in lieu of analysis, parrot Republican talking points. I have heard both do exactly that. Along, I might add, with Cokie Roberts.

TPM has a nice rundown, btw, on the right has demanded similar firings for slurs of Israeli Jews, but defend the right to slur Muslims.

The GOP--or the party of new ideas

Just read that one of Cantor's "Young Guns" (no, not the one who likes to dress up like a Nazi) wants to completely abolish public schools.  I am willing to admit that is a "new" idea, and I am sure we will be fine under a Republican majority.  After all, that is not unreasonable at all.  

Of course, it is perfectly in keeping with the Tea Party, as it their central principle appears to be "I have mine, so you are on your own." If you can afford to send your kids to private school, and have no sense of how education helps reduce crime and poverty--then what do you care about the unwashed?

But the GOP keeps turning them out.  If it isn't Christine O'Donnell puzzled by the contents of first amendment, it is former NFL lineman John Runyon who when asked to name a recent court case which he disagreed, he pulled out Dred Scott.  As I joked elsewhere, at least he is opposed to Dred, but good grief.  And isn't there anything more annoying than someone who has made millions in an artificially controlled environment made possible by the affluence of Americans--to spend their post sporting life trying to cut their taxes?  Perhaps Mr. Runyon should try plying his trade in one of those really low tax countries and see how much money a professional lineman would make there.  Or perhaps we are just seeing the end result of too many head injuries.  

And the list keeps coming.  Sharon Angle thinks that the Latino students look like Asians. She is a self-proclaimed values legislator, btw. That includes, evidently opposing states having to honor restraining orders from other states. But the "asian" comment is just weird.  That seemed important to her, and I am sure she will make a fine Senator.  I love that the GOP is running a guy in Florida who was nearly charged in Iraq for torturing a prisoner on the spot.  Nice.  And Club for Growth favorite, Pat Toomey is a great thinker.  This, from wikipedia caught my eye:

During Toomey's tenure in Congress, he supported legislation that would speed up approval of forest thinning projects in 2003, supported opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling and development, opposed implementing the Kyoto Protocol, and opposed legislation that would mandate increased vehicle fuel efficiency standards and provide incentives for alternative fuels.

These are all people who can win, mind you.  The party of new ideas.  

And let's not forget the actual policies.  The CDC just reported that the states with abstinence only sex ed have, and this is just shocking, the highest teen pregnancy rates.  I am sure there is no correlation, but it is interesting.  The liberal socialist gay loving states have much lower pregnancy rates.  And lower divorce rates.  

Meanwhile, I can't go anywhere without hearing that Obama has taken the country on a dramatic left turn. Man, I would love to see that. I seem to have missed all the leftist stuff. And when I hear that, I also hear that the Tea Partiers aren't concerned with Obama's race, but are just "mad as hell" about spending and the debt. Yeah, right. The right wing militias are back in vogue and incredibly popular again among the white middle class chicken-hawk contingent. For some odd reason, they were mostly no where to be found when Bush pushed through the Patriot Act. Just imagine the response to the PA under Clinton or Obama? But it isn't about race at all. No, the rise in death threats against the President is just because of the economy. The Tea Party had no problem with massive tax cuts during unfunded wars, but their driving philosophy is fiscal responsibility. Right. That is why so many of them are "birthers."

So, well done there conservatives. Well done. You must be proud.

From the who in the hell let Sharon Angle get this close to the Senate file

Angle To Latino Students: "Some Of You Look A Little More Asian To Me".

Ben Roethlisberger rediscovers his Jesus talk

Notice, that I didn't say "rediscovered Jesus." Maybe he has. I don't know. Let's just say that I have a healthy cynicism for famous people who like to tell me how much they love Jesus.

Full disclosure. I have always disliked Roethlisberger. I certainly was not surprised that he did well in the NFL, but I have always found him to be one of the examples of the fake Christianity that drives me crazy. I still remember him talking about how God had allowed him to start ahead of the other guy in college. Reminds me of David Carr thanking Jesus for a completion.


Of course, given how bad Carr has been as a pro, perhaps he should thank God for a completion. Except that is still stupid. Inanely stupid. And I am amazed at how Christians have allowed their faith--the one that they claim is central to their very existence--be so trivialized in the public square.

And Big Ben is back, and complete with all the God talk. Listening to his interview on ESPN the other day was sickening. It reeked of PR coaching, and front and center on that list has to be that you have to claim returning to God. I recognize that this might actually be true, but think that the "talk" about it is the trivialization part. And what annoys me is that it is only really available to right wingers. You can be accused of rape, after all, but returning to Jesus and begging forgiveness? Clean slate.

I am all for second and even third chances. And I am all for redemption. But I am tired of the right wing bastardization of the faith where only conservatives are forgiven. And in this case, we may have an abuser. I have to tell you, abusers don't stop abusing just because they discover God language. It doesn't happen.

And the amazing thing for me, is that conservative Christians seem to never follow up to hold accountability those pronouncing their God language. Accountability is part of the language too, but politicians and right wingers can claim that Jesus is their best friend, and no one shows up to check. I remember a guy who said that Jesus was his favorite political philosopher, and he went on to authorize torture. I expected (because I am naive) that Christian evangelicals would hold him accountable. Of course, they did not. They had stopped with the coded Jesus language and never bothered to inquire about how he actually lived.

If Ben is innocent, then I am sorry for his trials. I doubt he is, just because I am cynical about people who are used to being stars. I think they think they deserve what ever they want. But I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt that he might have actually seen the light. But spare me the God talk. Spare me the little aphorisms. Go out and treat others with respect, and then don't tell me about it.

The rage of the right--and their boorish behavior

Op-Ed Columnist - The Rage Won’t End on Election Day - NYTimes.com

Yeah, I know he is a liberal elitist from New York, but the litany of right wing hatred and boorish behavior is disturbing. It strikes me close to home, as I have seen people in my own circle (those on the right) either defend or tolerate the absolute boorishness. As someone said last year when they mused about the response if the Tea Party was black, the anger here, and the approval of that anger is perhaps the most disturbing thing. Any sign of anger from Obama was seen as a sign of some kind of radicalism on his part, while the Tea Party and Town Hallers shouted and even screamed their supposed anger. That meant screaming epithets at congresspeople, or even at the sick daring to defend healthcare.

And that has given us Carl Paladino and Sharon Angle. And Palin and the rest of the Republican party has either endorse, or looked the other way as they saw a political advantage.

I can say this with confidence. If I acted as they have, my conservative friends would be horrified--as would my liberal friends. This licensing of bad behavior is still disconcerting coming from the party that most readily claims a higher moral calling. I am not sure I have ever made complete sense of that--that the party of moral values could tolerate and even encourage Karl Rove and Ann Coulter. Yeah, yeah, the left has some bad actors. But when Representative Grayson compared his opponent to the Taliban, he was strongly rebuked by Jon Stewart for doing so. But when the right wingers go off the edge, we are told that "we need to understand their anger."

We are seeing the return of the idea that it is fine to be extreme and even hateful, as long as it is a right wing version of defending liberty. They truly believe it is their country and not ours.

This gay bashing has to stop

We have seen a rash of suicides around the country--or perhaps are just more aware of them. Here in Norman, the city council decided to declare October "GLBT History Month." A non-binding declaration like so many. Yet it brought out the anger on the other side. Anger is actually and understatement. Our local police chief was ‘disgusted’ by meeting comments:

"Cotten, who attended the Sept. 28 council meeting, said that even as the son of a “conservative Southern Baptist” minister, he knew many of the comments, including one that described the GLBT community as disease-ridden, weren’t right.

“It was totally uncalled for and mean-spirited,” he said of comments made by some members of the audience. “I was totally disgusted.”

Cotten said some of the audience members’ behaviors were so over-the-line that he “probably should’ve removed a few people.” He said he didn’t because Mayor Cindy Rosenthal never directed him to do so.

“I mean, I’m as straight a guy as there is and it was awful,” he said."

Cotten responded to the meeting because a local gay man went home and killed himself. Seems like every day we read of another gay youth who decides that they must be too damaged (since that is what they hear) that they might as well end it. Teenage years are so freaking tough anyway, and the sexual part of this is so damn complicated and hard to manage in the best of situations. Throw in some good old-fashioned homophobia, and it is even worse.

Which is why it was nice to see Cotten speak up, and nice to see (as Smitty noted at ATK the following video of a Fort Worth council member speaking out to young gay people who might be thinking of ending their lives. I know that my blogger template often cuts off videos, so if you can't see it on my page, watch it on Smitty's or here at Youtube. Moving speech.



As Smitty said, we need more of these kinds of speeches, and less of the kind of stuff that Tony Perkins is saying about how this is the fault of the gay kids themselves. Well, not quite, but pretty damn close. After all, since he likes to quote that gay people are more prone to mental illness, and mental illness contributes to suicide, what these gay kids need to do is not be gay.

Of course, as Joel Burns noted in his speech in Fort Worth, it isn't just gay kids, but those more effeminate or butch kids who are thought to be, or accused of being gay. I will pass on Tony Perkins' version of "Christian compassion." It looks a lot like hatred.

This gay bashing needs to stop.

Thursday night

And I am wiped. Second day of PT today and things are going well. I am tired and sore, but doing well. Took Streak to the vet today and think that we are looking at another round of chemo in a few weeks. That is what it is. It has been such a nice time with him that even considering a treatment is tough. But we have to look at it.

This week has been tough. I found going back to work much harder than I thought. My arm is doing great, but I was far more tired than I thought.

And the news is tough to deal with. Everywhere I turn, I see polling that shows the right winning big, and that is hard to fathom. I could deal with losing, but the right is putting up idiots like Christine O'Donnell and Sharon Angel--people who have no background or understanding to actually lead us with policy. Thanks, Republican part. Your coddling of the far right has produced these idiots--people who are more dangerous than even Palin.

And this, just watching the local news, something I rarely do. Just saw coverage of a shooting in OKC where one party thought that another party cut them off and was threatening them. The party of the first part had a legal right to carry a concealed weapon, and decided to open fire. I understand the arguments for gun rights, but see very unintelligent people being told that they have the right to decide a serious threat and that they have the right to open fire after an 8 hour training course.

I have to say that does not make me feel safer on the roads. I have to say that nothing conservatives have done over the last few years makes me feel safer in anyway. After watching Republicans and listening to them, I feel like joining them and deciding that as long as something doesn't adversely effect me, I shouldn't care. So we torture people or execute the innocent? Say that our tax policies widen the gap between the rich and poor?

We are ok, personally (at least for now). Why should I care?

Robert Reich on the big money buying our democracy

Robert Reich (The Secret Big-Money Takeover of America):

"Not only is income and wealth in America more concentrated in fewer hands than it’s been in 80 years, but those hands are buying our democracy as never before – and they’re doing it behind closed doors.

Hundreds of millions of secret dollars are pouring into congressional and state races in this election cycle. The Koch brothers (whose personal fortunes grew by $5 billion last year) appear to be behind some of it, Karl Rove has rounded up other multi-millionaires to fund right-wing candidates, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is funneling corporate dollars from around the world into congressional races, and Rupert Murdoch is evidently spending heavily.

No one knows for sure where this flood of money is coming from because it’s all secret."

Make sure you thank the nearest Republican for this--as this is the America they seem to love. Wealth concentrated in a few hands and the wealthy getting more and more power.

Top Nevada GOP lawmaker endorses Reid

Top Nevada GOP lawmaker endorses Reid

Occasionally I see glimpses of reason in the GOP. That is usually followed by that reasonable person going out of their way to prove that they didn't mean the reason. Perhaps the adults are starting to see the bus going off the cliff.

On perceptions and reality

I went to my surgeon this morning and he approved me losing the sling and driving. I assume that means I can now start cursing again. Because, of course, I stopped all that after the surgery.

------

SOF alerted me to this interesting story about how Americans perceive wealth and poverty distribution in this country. Turns out, just as with our perception of how much of our national budget we devote to international aid (perception between 10 and 20 percent, while the real number is less than 1%) we are way off on wealth inequality. While the real number is that somewhere around the top 20 percent controlling 85% of the wealth in this country, people perceive that top 20 percent as controlling only 35% of the wealth, and when further asked what they would like to see, they want that wealth to be even more fairly distributed than that. The good news of this, as it appears, is that this belief crosses party lines. The bad news, is, however, that ignorance drives our political discourse and actual votes more than reality. Hence Sharon Angle--who is demonstrably an idiot.

The piece makes the obvious point that this goes back to that belief in the American dream--upward mobility, or the bootstrap myth. But the reality (if facts matter, btw) is that our social mobility is much less than it has been. Countries like Sweden (damn blonde socialists) actually have more opportunity for the poor to rise to the top. But don't tell the Republicans that. They are trying to cut the taxes of the wealthy as we speak.

Oh Good God! Have Republicans looked for the dumbest candidates they can find?

Angle: Muslim law taking hold in parts of US - Yahoo! News

I read at the end of this story that Angle is a Southern Baptist who calls herself a "faith-based politician." I was unaware that phrase was short-hand for incurably stupid.

Hmm, Christians can't do yoga?

Not surprisingly, Southern Baptist Al Mohler doesn't think Christians should do yoga. wow. Shocking from the denomination that was historically more concerned with stopping dancing than stopping segregation.

I am tired, and tired even more from blogging with my one useful hand, but I have just had it with the Christian right. They support torture, prefer the polluters over concerns about climate change, and cheer on the worst racists in the republican party. And ten bucks says they have no real objection to the demagoguery of people like Beck, and will have nothing to say about a scumbag like him mocking a family who lost everything in a fire because they didn't pay a 75 dollar fee.

But they will take a stand on yoga?

Useless.

I have questions

Perhaps because I am a bit stir crazy from this surgery and tired of the damn sling, cpm machine, and the stack of bluebooks that I don't want to grade.

But I still have questions, and no answers.

1) Why do the same people who swear that God created the universe in 6 literal days care so little about things like climate change, or species going extinct, or toxic waste? I see the right opposing any efforts, even at the state level, to combat climate change, and see absolutely nothing from conservative Christians except derision toward anyone concerned with the environment.

2) Where is the "Jesus" in the Republican platform? They talk a lot about Jesus, but all I see is protection of the rich, a defense of torture and mistreatment of others, a call for more war, and a strong desire to not have everyone covered by health insurance. Just wondering which of those is as Jesus Would Do?

3) Speaking of the Republican party, when did they really lose any site of the original idea of Republicanism? At its heart, Republicanism is a political philosophy that believes in a learned and virtuous citizenry dedicated to the "public good." We can disagree about virtue all we want, but the "public good" is now referred to as socialism by this party. They have gone from wanting that to essentially saying, "you are on your own."

4) And I am still waiting for someone to explain to me what our country might look like had conservatives gotten their wish over the last 100 years. And yes, we can ask the same question about the left. I would welcome that comparison. The left has made many mistakes along the way, but the list of accomplishments is also impressive. From integration to environmental protection and worker safety, those are just a few of the things that were vocally and strongly opposed by conservatives.

Anyway. I am bitchy today and tired, so I hope this is not too snarky.

American Exceptionalism

As I continue to convalesce, I wander back and forth between tv, reading blogs, and reading Sarah Vowell's book on the Puritans. Oh, and typing with one arm in the Continuous Passive Motion machine.

But while reading her book, I was struck by her discussion about the early sense of divine exceptionalism, and the basis for that exceptionalism. Puritans found God's blessing in the disease outbreaks that devastated native populations. "God has blessed America" is rooted in seeing epidemics as God blessing the Europeans by killing the heathen.

When Sarah Palin invokes returning to some "traditional past" she isn't cheering the smallpox epidemics directly, of course, but the entire idea is premised in returning to a time when Euro-Americans were at the center of the universe.

This is sickening

The right hammered Obama for his "apology tour" and Palin made millions off her chest-thumping patriotism, but we actually should apologize for infecting Guatemalans with STDs.

Republicans living in an episode of Little House on the Prairie

Or something.

My shoulder hurts today, but I am off my pain meds for now. Feeling better, just tired of eating left-handed. And grateful that is my main complaint.

Surgery update

Surgery went well, and I am doing ok. Working with a cpm machine for passive motion. The pain is not too bad, though the meds knock me out. More later, and thanks for the good wishes.

Heading in

Surgery is scheduled for 9:30 this morning. We took the dogs for a nice walk this morning and I am about to take a shower and we will head over. I am nervous, but not terribly so. Just ready to get this done. The shoulder has ached more the last day or so, and reminds me that it is aching while I am not doing anything with it. In other words, I need to get this done so I can reach for cereal and mow the lawn and stuff like that.

Anyway. I will update when I get the chance.

Christianity and the GOP

Before I forget, I wanted to call attention to a wonderfully thoughtful comment by Monk in our thread on
how Reagan might do in the modern GOP. I think this better explains my own angst at how the church of my youth has changed:

"How can anyone use hate to climb the rungs of power and might and call it Gospel living? No matter what, that is NOT the Gospel.

I feel like it isn't just a political party that has been damaged, it is the Church. We have been seduced by wealth and power, and put our faith in guns, bombs, and torture rather than God. It appears to me that we have forgotten the gentle Shepherd from Nazareth, and happily marched to war and torture with hardly a thought to peace or loving our enemies.

While being totally consumed with gays and Islam, we have forgotten those prisoners in our own gulags, and the thirsty world looking for Grace. Politics has stripped compassion from the Church, and we have given up our soul, our birthright for a meal next to the President."

His entire comment is worth reading. And I would be more than glad to see this conversation continue, and will even jump in there when I regain the ability to type.

An update on the Streak house

Streak (the dog) is still doing quite well, and we are hopeful for more time before we have to do another treatment. In fact, he has felt good enough to go on two walks per day as the weather has cooled rather nicely.

I, on the other hand, go in tomorrow (gulp) for my shoulder surgery. I am a bit overwhelmed, but also ready to get this over. My surgeon is impressive and has a great reputation around here, and he has done a few hundred (at least) of these exact surgeries. My nurse yesterday, in fact, had a very similar surgery a month ago by the same surgeon. I am nervous for the anesthesia and nervous about the first several days of being useless and angry. There will be machines for ice and for movement, and some kind of pump that keeps a local anesthetic on the wound for a few days. And I am nervous about how long it will take before I can teach and do my job.

But I am amazed at how many friends around us have offered to help in ways they can. My friend Anglican has already covered a class for me when I met with the surgeon, and is willing to do more. Other friends are covering classes, a colleague is picking up exams, and still more have assured us that they are around should we need rides, or errands, or chicken soup. And those who are far away have sent their good wishes and prayers.

Thanks to everyone, and hopefully, I will be posting soon.

Obama and Israel

An interesting column on what Obama should tell his team: What Obama should tell his Middle East team | Stephen M. Walt.

Listening to the news on the settlements in Israel and their leadership makes me sad. Makes me sadder knowing that the settlements are cheered by evangelicals in this country who have appropriated a foreign country's policy issues for their narrow reading of an ancient text. That makes me really sad.

But here was something that caught my ear the other day--that, unfortunately, makes this worse. NPR reported that the construction was already continuing on projects already planned. But, and this was almost a throw-away line, they said that new projects would probably not soar in the next few months, primarily because the Palestinian construction workers would not have access during a Jewish holiday.

Seriously? Israelis are completely unwilling to negotiate with Palestinians, are looking the other way while their government interns them in Gaza, and refuses to consider halting settlements, but they will use them as cheap labor?

For some reason, when I thought of Israeli settlements, I pictured hard working Kibbutz-dwelling Jewish Fundamentalists building their small houses by hand, or in groups. I resented them for their fundamentalism and their rigidity. But now I hear that they are using the Palestinians they hate for labor? Kind of like the running joke about building a wall on the border with illegal Mexican labor. But more to the point, it reminds me of Apartheid South Africa, or how that could have been had the white minority had the backing of evangelicals everywhere who were convinced that their settlement among the heathen was God's will, and a key to the end times.

New candidate for dumbest Republican running for office

There are just so many amazingly stupid things in this interview. Like when Cooper asks her if she realizes that we are supporting a Muslim government in Afghanistan, and she says that is why we have to "do these things," and that means supporting peaceful people. But those building the Mosque? Dumb.

My favorite is her saying that we are not fighting radical Christians, but radical Muslims, and "i am not running for a popularity contest in New York, or DC or on TV. I am running for the people of district 2, North Carolina, who are good, hard working Christian people." Cooper: "What about Muslims, do you want their vote?" Idiot: "Absolutely, I want everyone's vote. As a nurse," I have taken care of every race, creed or something. God, she is so bigoted and so fucking dumb.

Thanks, Tea Party. Thanks, Sarah Palin. Thanks for the dumbest fucking candidates in American history.

Supply side economics supposed to increase revenue, right?--Updated

That is what we have been told. I will have to pull out my notes on my Reagan lectures, but as I recall, I talk about the role that David Stockman played in pushing the Laffer curve idea that justified the massive tax cuts in Reagan's first term. But I also seem to remember that Stockman later admitted that the "trickle-down" or even the "supply-side" ideas were largely fiction. They just wanted to cut taxes on the rich.

But that idea has become gospel. As I have said here, I think that many of those tax rates needed to come down, and that targeted tax cuts can be stimulative. But the idea that you cut taxes, period, is simply irrational, and that is the description of the GOP economic policy.

This morning, I caught this interview with David Stockman and saw this, among other great lines:

RAZ: David Stockman, let me ask you about the idea of making the Bush tax cuts permanent. Some economic analysts have said that if you do that, that by the year 2020, the government wouldn't have enough money to spend on anything except for Medicare, Social Security and defense if it's lucky. Do you think that sounds about right?

Mr. STOCKMAN: Yes, I do. We couldn't afford the Bush tax cuts when they were put in in 2001, 2003. Now, we're - eight years later, we're trillions in additional debt later, we're two unfinanced wars later, we're a trillion dollars of stimulus spending later, 800 billion of TARP, so it's pretty obvious if we couldn't afford them back then, in no way, shape or form can we even dream about affording them now.

Stockman is not nice about Obama wanting to cut middle class taxes either, and I rather agree on that. But it is nice to see one of the architects of this madness admit what we have said around here for years--that we couldn't afford those tax cuts then, and certainly not after two unfinanced wars and Medicare Part D--we sure as hell can't.

One note, btw. Stockman includes TARP, which I know is not very popular, but everything I have read suggests that we will get all of that money back. It worked. It wasn't pretty, and it included helping a lot of bad people, but it worked.

*****

Bootlegger sent me this on comparing our tax rates now to Reagan and Eisenhower as well as this convenient historical chart on tax rates. Those Tea Party members who claim to be "taxed enough already" are delusional. They are angry because they have been told to be angry.

But for those who claim to be super-patriots from this group, they should note the tax rates during our wars--until Bush and company took over. That was when we actually agreed to band together. Don't preach to me about your patriotism when you refuse to pay for the wars you supported.

Conservative principles

What have conservatives stood for over the last 100 years? Put another way, where would we be if they had their way? I am asking this in all honesty, by the way, and am not trying to be shrill. This includes many conservative Democrats, by the way, and liberal Republicans (those used to exist) have done a lot of good. But would we have:

Integration?
Clean Air?
Clean Water?
The American Bald Eagle?
Women's sports?
domestic violence legislation?
a ban on child labor?
anti-lynching laws? (Students of history will know that civil rights activists spent the better part of 60 years trying to get federal redress for lynching. It was usually left up to local officials, and in places were lynching was a problem, the local officials were usually involved in the lynching).
Women Republican candidates?


I ask these, because I see conservatives willing to stand on principle to protect the oddest damn things. Not always, of course. I have also seen conservatives stand on actual principle to protect religious freedom and free speech. But I am looking at the Republican vow to repeal healthcare and it just struck me that conservative are willing to go to battle to make sure that people have less healthcare. Less. They think that the mandate is unconstitutional and so are standing on principle to say that people should have the right to not buy insurance, and later stick us with their bills.

That last part is partly tongue in cheek. Of course, if it is actually unconstitutional, then we need to fix the constitution. I don't mean to suggest that all of them are unprincipled. But it just strikes me as a long list of questionable defenses. Conservatives defending the corporations' right to hire children or underpay immigrants--or avoid responsibility for worker safety. Conservatives going to bat for property owner's right to discriminate against people of color, or gay couples. Conservatives defending keeping women out of college athletics or certain professions. Conservatives defending property rights for polluters. And now, defending insurance companies who kick people off who need care.

I don't get it.

Obama socialism--oh the horror

Santa Barbara, Calif. - Cap Lifts, and So Do Spirits - NYTimes.com

Yeah, the Hitleresque healthcare bill took more effect today. Removed pre-existing conditions for kids and removed the lifetime caps. The bastards! They might as well line people up for the ovens.

Except not. Perhaps we have another window on the Tea Party. They don't have pre-existing conditions, and have not had illnesses that pressed against their lifetime cap. So why should they care about those who do? WWJD? Evidently, that doesn't include caring for others.

But then again, I am a socialist muslim. Or something.

Republican lawmaker: Reagan would face 'tough time' in today's GOP

Interesting. And clear that today's GOP seems to have forgotten that Reagan raised taxes, banned torture, and suggested reasonable foreign policy.

When Reagan now looks like a liberal Republican, what in the hell does that tell you about today's GOP?

Oh, the poor rich people

Like Krugman, I feel so sorry for them. Raising taxes on them is, as one suggested, exactly like Hitler invading Poland. And we should just note that thanks to Republicans, we can just forget phrases like "public good" or "public interest." No, the only thing that matters is what the rich people like. If they don't want to contribute to our society's laws and institutions--even though those institutions and infrastructure allow them to be rich in the first place--then we can't make them. Because as rich people, they are worth more in every way. Better that we just push taxes toward the middle and lower classes than possibly alienate the rich.

Until they need bailed out, that is.

Republicans banking on Islamophobia?

Gingrich Calls For Federal Ban On Shariah Law In US | TPMDC.

We have a guy here in Oklahoma who has pushed for the same thing. Is this really an issue? Or is this just a dog whistle? After all, who here is for sharia law? Not me, and certainly no Americans I know. I think this is Gingrich betting that his ticket to the President is to be the toughest on Muslims and to raise as much fear as he can about them. Tell me that isn't fascist.

But also, I would love some assurance that the religious right--the same people who did nothing when Bush authorized torture against Muslims--will not cheer Gingrich on this.

------

Different topic, but one thing that we have noted before is that now that Christine O'Donnell won her primary, there are no moderates in the Republican Senate race, and none that even believe in climate change. Of course, their knowledge of the subject is next to nothing, but they are convinced that any attempt at "greening" America is some Socialist Kenyan plot. (The stupidity really does burn). Well, not only are they anti-intellecutal and anti-science, but as Thomas Friedman points out, they are cutting the throat of our economic future as well. Turns out, China is embracing the issue of climate change and fundamentally attacking it at a technological and economic level. They are investing in green communities and houses, and even factories. And those American companies that want to participate, are doing so without American jobs because our politicians are a joke. Check that. Our conservative politicians are a joke--from both parties.

Got to love American conservatives right now. They will call you a fascist or Hitler for wanting to expand healthcare, and would prefer that sick people talk to someone else (can't someone else do it?); they will cheer and demand more torture because they truly believe that Fox's 24 was a documentary; and they will mandate that kids only be told to avoid sex, but absolutely ban any discussion of safe-sex or contraceptives--even though as a policy, it clearly puts a lot of kids at risk for STDs and unwanted pregnancies.

The GOP--their new slogan should be something like: We hate Science and Muslims.

More from the Values Voters

Wackjob Christine O'Donnell took to the stage yesterday, and evidently was quite popular. The Tea Party is everywhere.

Couple of things about her speech. I didn't watch the entire thing, but heard a little on the radio when I ran my errands yesterday. As TPM notes here, she follows the Palin line and lambastes the "elites" even as she doesn't seem to quite get how many "elites" in the conservative movement are running things. The Koch family is hardly mom and pop, and Dick Armey isn't some shmo off the street. And let's not forget that Sarah Palin is now part of the same media elite she loves to both avoid and attack.

But she had a line that is not listed here (and you can't make me watch any of these people speak). She said something about not wanting to "reclaim" her country, because (to great applause) she said, "we are the country." Or something along those lines.

That sentiment is repeated so often. I have heard the same from distant relatives who patted me on the head for my frustrations with Bush, but who have decided to not even talk to me because I support Obama. One jumped me on a FB wall about a year ago, when I dared defend Obama speaking to the school kids (remember that insanity?). His mother told me that he was just "very worried about the direction of the country." Yeah, and I wasn't when Bush and Cheney were torturing? Or wiretapping?

No, their patriotism is superior--their concern is more valid, and ultimately, they believe that as conservative Christians, this country is theirs. Not mine. One from that same family told me that I was overly sensitive to the charge that Democrats were disloyal, because they actually were, and I didn't want to admit it. Republicans and conservatives can never be disloyal or unpatriotic, because they define those terms.

The arrogance is amazing. I believe there is a strong progressive thread in this country, but I would never say that conservatives don't belong here. But they truly believe that it is their country. I think that explains the conservative angry about disrespect of the flag who has the tattered and ragged mini-versions hooked to his truck windows. It is only disrespect when a liberal does it.

Well Howdy, Value Voters Summit--I wonder what "values" you vote on?

At least one Republican (Mike Huckabee) believes that values means actually opposing insurance for those with pre-existing conditions. Yeah.

And it gets better. He compares a pre-existing condition to a property insurance company being asked to provide coverage for a house that already burned down.

I am beginning to think that Huckabee is a moron. Truly. And a heartless moron to boot. Is this really what Republicans believe?

That is monstrous, and monstrously stupid. I feel like finding the Billy Madison clip again, but I can't keep running that every time a national Republican speaks out. LB, I really feel for you. You are clearly a smart and capable and compassionate individual. It must hurt very much to be in the same party with these idiots.

Your Tea Party in action

Paladino: No Mosque Wherever The 9/11 Human Remain Dust Cloud Landed (VIDEO) | TPMDC

And these people won more primaries the other day, I guess. I read elsewhere that we will have no Republican senate candidates (new ones, I guess) who actually believe that we should do anything about climate change. The one who won in Delaware believes that we should urge people to stop masturbating. Yeah, that's right.

And then we have the good old stand-bys like Sharron Angle and Rand Paul--and we can't forget that their leaders are SARAH "OUR FOUNDERS WANTED US TO GOVERN BY THE BIBLE" PALIN AND GLENN "PROGRESSIVES ARE LIKE HITLER" BECK!

Now this moron who wants to stop any mosque (it isn't a fucking mosque, you moron) from being built where human remains from 9-11 landed. Yeah, except that there were actual innocent Muslims who were killed by those murderers that day, you idiot.

In all seriousness, this is the problem we have--that Palin and Gingrich have succeeded in getting most Republicans to define this issue as us (non-Muslims) v. them (all Muslims) instead of us (rational people) v. them (fucking wingnut extremists).

Man, imagine how angry my posts will be when I am in post-op pain.

:)

Patriotism and sports

For those outside the Oklahoma City area, you may not realize that we are embroiled in a controversy over patriotism. Not only patriotism, but football--and in these parts, football ranks higher than most things. Of course, those things have been combined for years, but we always have to sing the National Anthem to start these contests. Why? I have no clue. I remember playing that song on my trumpet in front of my home-town crowd (small town). I was scared to death.

But patriotic, evidently.

But if you attend an OU football game, you will hear an odd ending to the song. Where it usually says, "home of the brave," Oklahoma's faithful shout "home of the Sooners."

Yep.

I noticed this first a few years ago. This is one reason I really prefer to watch the game at home. I love football, I really do. But I hate all the bs that goes with it--the constant pushing of merchandise and need to entertain and then the need to act as if this football game is somehow connected to a sense of patriotism or national identity.

But I have to admit, I was surprised the first time I heard that ending. Turns out, it has been an issue for a while, and with the Air Force Academy coming to town this weekend, locals have been debating this. The Daily Oklahoman's Berry Tramel called it a shame and said that the fans deserved an "F" for patriotism. My neighbor and I discussed it last night and he said that while he himself liked to defer to those around him who were offended, he was rather surprised that Tramel made such a big deal of this. "Offensive," said my neighbor, "was sending our service men and women to die in that war." Norman Transcript's Clay Horning agreed, noting that:

You say screaming “Sooners” dishonors the brave?

Housing them at that rat-infested dump of a wing at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, a disgrace it took the Washington Post to bring to light, dishonors them.

Screaming “Sooners,” not so much.

I can really see both sides, but what has really annoyed me is the selective outrage that so many conservatives have had on patriotic symbols. When waved by a war protester, they scream epithets and accuse them of disloyalty. If a Democrat dares not demonstrate suitable respect at the flag or anthem, they are called unamerican. But if that same flag or anthem is used to sell mattresses, or to sell merchandise of any kind, not a peep. If in the name of that flag and that country, people are tortured and killed? Not a sound.

I am with the last two people. This is football. It is meaningless and fun--and we already pay way much attention to it. But it has absolutely nothing to do with our national identity. Neither, I would add, does the tattered flag on your antennae, or your "these colors don't run" t-shirt, or "God Bless America" hat. Those are consumer goods--and you paid for them--just as you might buy a gag gift or orange soda. What matters is our constitution, and our democracy. Those should matter, and they should matter even when we are in an economic crisis or scared to death of terrorists.

"Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel." It doesn't have to be. But you will pardon me if I am suspicious when anyone trots out the "you aren't patriotic enough" line.

Going under the knife

Or scope, or whatever. My MRI showed "hypertrophic changes at the AC joint" and a "slight downward hook of the distal acromium." In addition, there is a "rim rent tear which may be full thickness" of the supraspinatus tendon.

But my labrum "appears grossly intact." So I have that going for me. Which is good.

In English, I have a bone spur that is poking a hole in my rotator cuff and causing my discomfort and swearing. So the surgeon is going to go in with a scope and grind that bone spur down and check the tear to see if it needs any stitches. I am a little nervous just in that I am not used to being completely under and am a bit concerned that the recovery is going to be painful. The shoulder, as I have discovered, tends to move when the rest of your body moves, and so soreness there tends to be hard to avoid. But, the doctor was also quite positive that at the end of this, I would feel better. I would like that. While my shoulder hardly stops me from living my life right now, it is a constant discomfort and sometimes sharp discomfort when I move wrong.

Speaking of that, during the endless paperwork (exaggeration) at the Orthopedic Surgeon's office, the form asked what caused my shoulder to hurt. I listed those motions, including mowing the lawn, pushups, raising my hand above my head. The second question was what made the pain better. I added, "not doing the above motions."

Kind of thought that was implied.

So anyway, I am looking at surgery in a couple of weeks, assuming I can get my courses all scheduled correctly. I will need some help from some colleagues, but think that I will be able to do so with minimal downtime. Hopefully.

Lovely Republican discourse

Yeah, the Tea Partiers went back to Washington on 9-12. Why? Of course, to demonstrate their superior patriotism, as the above banner shows. Because, Tea Partiers are the only true Americans and are willing to shoot people--or at least threaten it. Why? Well, because their President is not even American. Just ask them. They are all convinced that our elected President is not legitimate. And they are threatening a revolution by force if he remains in office.

Because they are fucking morons.

But it isn't just them, of course. The former Speaker of the House and Man who Would Be President spoke out today (of course, while he is releasing a movie that will encourage more Americans to distrust any Muslims they know or meet--Why? Because Racism is good politics for the Republican base. LB, I know you disagree with me, but I would like some evidence to the contrary. Palin does it, and Gingrich does it. Throwing red meat like "fear brown people, they want to blow you up or take your job or whatever" has become the go-to play for the far right). And so Gingrich speaks, and says Obama is a ‘Kenyan, anti-colonial’ thinker:

"What if [Obama] is so outside our comprehension, that only if you understand Kenyan, anti-colonial behavior, can you begin to piece together [his actions]?” Gingrich asked, according to the report. “That is the most accurate, predictive model for his behavior.”

Of course that isn't some kind of race baiting dog whistle, is it? And why is Obama so completely out of our comprehension? What makes him this otherly world figure in Gingrich's mind?

Duh. He thinks that everyone should have health insurance. Hell, he is so crazy that he thinks that even Muslims get religious freedom in this country. He wants--can you imagine the insanity--our government to maybe watch the giant banks who oversee our economy. Hell, he wants to give money to the states so they can pay their bills and keep people employed. The man is clearly just like Hitler. Of course, if Hitler were Kenyan and hated colonialism at a secret dream level that only idiots at the National Review can see.

Just remember. That is what we are dealing with. All this anger and rage and hatred over fucking healthcare.

What is Christianity?

I have really avoided the Anne Rice story. If you don't know, she came back to her faith after years and then just recently suggested that she was leaving institutional Christianity even as she remains a Christian by belief. She found the anti-gay sentiment among so many Christians finally too much to bear, including a "Christian" punk band that evidently believes that gays should be executed--a band that Michelle Bachmann supports.

Rice's resignation from institutional Christianity has elicited a lot of responses--including, I believe, some like my friend Greg who found her response naive. Did she really not know that the conservative church was this bad?

But others, including me, see her as a fellow traveler who is just simply repulsed by the co-opting of a faith that has some real meaning. How in the hell did an itinerant preacher who reached across racial and class and very importantly, gender, boundaries become the patron saint for the gated community of anti-feminist, anti-Muslim, Republicans connected to power and wealth? How the hell does that happen?

Michael Rowe suggests that Rice is actually exhibiting Christian values and notes that what the right is doing is deadly to the faith of Christ:

"Still, it is possible to murder faith.

You murder faith same way you murder love: one bruise at a time, with small, daily cuts, with grinding contempt, with neglect. You murder faith by exposing it to bullets inscribed with Bible verses that kill Afghan and Iraqi children. You murder it by separating an elderly lesbian couple in a hospital because their union is considered 'unnatural.' You murder it by linking it to greed, to the 'God wants you to be rich' movement which marinates in loathing for the poor and needy, in defiance of Christ's commission to care for them, then call it 'good for America.' You murder it by exposing it to any number of atrocities wrapped up in an inviolate nationalism that claims divine authority as its basis, with no room for dissent, and no mercy for dissenters. You murder it with self-righteous, violent militarism, with intolerance, with lack of compassion, with lack of humility and, most importantly, with lack of humanity.

It dies a little bit more every time a gay or lesbian teenager commits suicide because they've been taught to hate themselves because God 'loves' them but hates what they are."

Our friend, Natalie (where we found this story, btw) agrees and notes sadly:

"Pretty soon there will be so many people who are this disappointed with institutional Christianity that we will outnumber those who consider themselves still in the fold, if not already. I say "we" because I haven't found a church community yet and am still feeling pretty disillusioned with Christianity-with-a- capital-C."

Yeah. That is me too.

Sunday reflections

This has been a tough time, it seems of late. Streak is doing better, mind you, and we are grateful for that and for the fact that we are largely doing ok ourselves. I am going in for an MRI here in a few hours to see what is wrong with my right shoulder, but that is in the minor annoyance category. Yeah, I can't play golf or tennis right now, but that pales in comparison to what so many around us face.

Friends around us have struggled mightily of late. Another friend is in the hospital after a routine endoscopy nicked her intestine. She is stable, but quite sick, and we are miles away and unable to help in any way. It is at this time that I understand the way many people talk about prayer. It gives some people a way to do something in a situation where they can do little else. I don't quite see prayer that way, but I have been thinking about our friend and her family all weekend. If God does stuff in these situations, I trust that he (or she) is aware of the situation and how much we care about our friend and her family. They have had more than their share of health issues of late.

This morning started out rough. Some very weird dreams, a little anxiety about the MRI, and then I read this morning a reminder that Republicans want to repeal healthcare and further cut taxes. I have two fears about our healthcare situation. The first is that Republicans will end up repealing or gutting the meager advancements we have made, because of their ignorance (largely). I understand some are legitimately concerned about the process and even the role of government, but I am rather stunned that extending healthcare to others or removing lifetime bans or pre-existing conditions makes me a fascist. Or a socialist. Or a Kenyan--fuck, I can't even keep it straight.

Meanwhile, I am reminded of the issue from the last post, that Republicans would rather cut programs for the needy and working poor than raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans. That is so messed up I can't even wrap my head around such insanity. That so many of them identify as Christians baffles me even more. It is as if they truly believe--despite the mounting evidence--that private charities can take care of all the needs of the poor. Or that they believe that the poor, as I have been told by a few, must be really lazy or stupid if "they can't make it given all the breaks we give them." Seriously.

My second fear is that our healthcare reforms have been so watered down that it will not change the mounting healthcare bills that so many of my friends face. We have so demonized government that we are incapable of coming together as a people for anything other than bombing another nation. That is sad beyond belief.

Anyway. I will hope that things get better for my friends. And I wish I could do something.

For my racist fundy trolls

From The New Yorker this poignant image reminds us that when we talk about Islam and Muslims, it is not we (non-Muslims) v. them (Muslims), but rather us (hopefully peaceful and compassionate people of all faiths) v. them (extremist terrorist and hate-filled racists).

Argh! Why are we negotiating with terrorists like Terry Jones?

And why are prominent Muslims even acknowledging this asshat's existence, much less trying to negotiate with him?

I think the media has completely dropped the ball on this and has treated an ass and an idiot as if he is worthy of news coverage--and then prominent people like Robert Gates and a Muslim leader from Florida have further elevated his status. What is to stop the next fundy idiot from desecrating something Islamic?

Disgusting.

And in further sign that I might have to stop listening to even NPR, I heard this story last night about how programs that help the working poor will be sacrificed in this current budget crisis. Heard last week on our local station that the University of Oklahoma will close clinics that service the poor in Tulsa because they can no longer raise the private funds necessary to pay for them. Now the Feds will pull back because conservatives of both parties claim to be concerned about the budget deficit. Not enough to ask the richest people to pay more in taxes. No, of course not. We only ask the poor and the minority to sacrifice. Don't be silly.

There is a joke in one of the West Wing seasons where Donna dates a Republican and asks him why he is one. He responds, "because I hate the poor." That guy is joking, but I am no longer convinced that it isn't true of most Republicans. If raising the taxes on Warren Buffett is off the table, but cutting programs that help poor people get jobs (after all, Republicans are all about "get a job, you lazy git," right?) or cutting funding to provide healthcare and assistance to the poor--then you tell me what this means.

Come on. Tell me.

Koran burning people are idiots. But where are the conservatives who like to "protect the troops?"

Fred Kaplan has an interesting piece noting that the usual suspects who like to claim to be better for the troops have been silent--even after General Petraeus said that the burning endangered US troops.

On one hand, I agree with some critics who have suggested that the General should have stayed out of this, and that this is something covered by the first amendment. Doesn't mean, of course, that we can't tell these idiots what we think, but they have a right to express themselves and that is part of being an American. Perhaps we could do better to stand up with one voice and tell the Afghan protestors that we understand their frustration, and even agree that this is a hate-filled expression--but it is part of freedom where sometimes you don't get what you want and freedom includes the right to be a raving idiot. It even allows you to quite your job as Governor and then "write" books to make millions as you trumpet your fake family values.

Oops, off the topic there. But in that vein, where are the conservatives who told me that protesting the Iraq war "emboldened the enemy?" Or who told me that accusing the President of participating in war crimes (water boarding) undermined our war effort and made our soldiers vulnerable?

You don't get to have it both ways. You can't wrap yourself in the flag and say that your political opponent is helping the enemy kill American soldiers and be silent now.

Well, isn't this just lovely? It isn't just the Koran burning bigots, but a Baptist pastor who is encouraging anti-Muslim sentiment

I am seriously losing my ability to even look at some of these pastors and not vomit in my own mouth. As horrified as I am when Afghans protest and threaten to kill Americans because of the Florida idiot passing himself off as a Christian while planning to burn the Koran on 9-11, I am equally appalled to see the fucking pastor of First Baptist in Dallas first call Islam evil, and accuse them of promoting pedophilia and then defend that statement and claim he is "loving" Islam. Jesus Christ. Seriously. Where is Jesus Christ? Because I can't find him in the christian Right at all. I see people who, at best, look the other way on torture. At best! At worst, some 60% of white evangelicals defend torture.

Now they stand by while their leadership encourages Americans to distrust and dislike their Muslim neighbors. As Fred at slacktivist, notes:

If any of these people attend a Christian church, then that church has failed them. Utterly. That church has failed to teach them the one thing that matters more than anything else.

Yes, I know, I'm a lefty liberal hippie and so my views are viewed as beyond the bounds of acceptable thought in our evangelical community. But this isn't my opinion. The Bible is abundantly, explicitly clear on this point:

Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him. ...

Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. ... No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. ...

If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.

What would Jesus do? I will be damned if I know. Not looking at these people-people who can talk endlessly about their personal relationship with Christ and how important he is in their lives.

Maybe their Bible has a lot of footnotes that mine didn't. Maybe when the Bible said to love their enemies, their version said in small print, "unless you really don't want to."

As a side note, btw, Dallas Morning News columnist Steve Blow (who I used to read religiously and may need to add back to my reader) actually spoke up against Jeffries.

Because that is what adult moral people do.