You got your 15 minutes, now crawl back to where you came from…

“We must send a clear message to the radical element of Islam” - Terry Jones, some no name pastor of some no name Florida church.

Ok, you put  your non-denominational church on the map. Now be happy with your 15 minutes of fame and go away for the sake of all of us.

I can only imagine his thought process, though, if this wasn’t simply a publicity stunt and this guy actually thinks burning the Koran is making a statement and taking a stand against the  crazies in this world. “Hmmm… what would hurt those towel-heads most? Really teach em a lesson? I know! Burn Korans! We’ll even make it a holiday or something!” You know who else burned books? Nazis.

Hey, I guess fight fire with fire, right? What better way to send a message to radical Islamists than by burning sacred text? They burn our flag,  we burn their books. As they say, tit for tat only makes the whole world blind, or something like that.

Not that this sort of thing has ever sparked  a violent reaction from the muslim world before… In regards to the very real danger of such a violent reaction being directed at Americans, Mr Jones had this to say.

Mr Jones said the church was “very concerned” after hearing Gen Petraeus’ warning and was taking his words seriously. He said the church was praying on the matter but he said the group had “firmly made up our minds”.

“How long do we back down?” he said on CNN.

I’m sure the Marines on guard duty in Afghanistan the night this goes down are reassured that Mr. Jones’s non-denominational church is praying for them, and they appreciate the church not backing down and taking a stand…

Perhaps we sane Americans should stage a counter-protest. Burn a symbol of intolerance and bigotry. Oh wait, I forgot cross-burning is already the KKK’s thing and it would probably piss off a lot of black people. But it’s the message that’s important. We won’t keep backing down to the radical christian elements in this world.

And although I am glad the majority of Americans think this is a bonehead idea, I would have liked to have heard a stronger rebuke from our President. Shit, call this idiot out for what he is, on national TV. Sure, he gets the publicity he seeks, but I think a world leader calling you a retard (Noun: a mentally retarded person. b – a person who is stupid, obtuse, or ineffective in someway: a hopeless social retard.) would sting the pride a bit, and hopefully take away the credibility of said retard’s  message. (with apologies, I intend definition b of the r-word, rather than a, but it was the most appropriate word for this situation.)

On hiatus

posts will be sporadic while i am busy moving.

toodles!

Wonder where they got their inspiration?

So Arizona just passed new immigration law. Great. It is also the most racist law this country has seen since Jim Crow was king. Except this time its those illegal Mexicans who are getting the shaft. The more conservative (and generally less educated) among the population is hailing this law as a tougher stance on the illegal immigrant “problem”.

Well, uh, change of plans for a sec. During a quick search for the exact stipulations of the law, I found this post from the San Francisco Sentinel-which is the exact comparison I was about to make.

So, despite the wishes of the anti-defamation league, I’m gonna compare Arizona circa 2010 to Nazi Germany, circa 1930′s.

Lets play a game called “word substitution” and see if the comparison still makes sense.

“No matter how odious, bigoted, biased and unconstitutional Arizona’s new law may be, let’s be clear that there is no comparison between the situation facing immigrants, legal or illegal, in Arizona and what happened in the Holocaust. Let’s remember that the Nazi Arizona Immigrant identity cards were part and parcel of a plan to force Jews Mexicans into ghettos Detention Camps and for their ultimate deportation to extermination camps Mexico. Comparisons to the Nazis may be politically expedient and serve an agenda of demonizing those who supported the bill, but in the end they do great damage to the memory of six million Jews and the millions of others and soldiers who fought to defeat Nazism.”

Yes, this comparison is serving an agenda, just as the stance against the comparison is serving a political agenda. And lets be honest, half the people who really support this legislation are most likely racist and don’t give two shits about the Holocaust, that is, if they even acknowledge it at all. I was always told in history class that we had to learn all that crap so history didn’t repeat itself, or something like that. Well, true the illegals aren’t being rounded up and gassed, but lets keep in mind that Hitler didn’t start gassing and mass murdering until long after the Jews lost their human rights-not just their rights as German citizens/residents. How long do you think it takes before the first latino is gunned down for “resisting” a search attempt? And how much outrage do you think there will be over the death of this person? Answers: “Not very long”, and “Not a whole lot”.

In fact, the only thing that isn’t similar between the situations is genocide. Does that mean we are one step away from that awful word? (Yes, but it’s a big step)

Would J-lo be subject to carrying an identification card? Cuz she sure looks Latino to me and could potentially be Mexican, or Guatemalan, or El Salvadorian, or Puerto Rican (oh wait…). Or she could be Italian, or Spanish (old world), or even Jewish. But even if a person has been under a rock for the last 20 years and didnt know who she was, no one would suspect J-lo of being an illegal immigrant. She doesn’t look like the grubby migrant workers who this law targets, who are most likely illegal. The fact that this discrimination will be a daily fact of life for any poor or un-American-looking Hispanic American makes the law unjust.

Or we could just dehumanize them completely and give them radio tags… I <3 the GOP!!!

See, pollution is good and proof god wants big business

Just a little excerpt from a link that was shared with me this morning.

From this site

The Gowanus Canal:

This Brooklyn, NY canal is one of the foulest places on Earth, and it was recently named a federal Superfund site. As housewife Eda Figueroa told the New York Daily News, “Any fish that goes in there dies of poison or if it lives, it becomes a zombie.” But the canal’s extreme pollution, including cancer-causing agents, may turn out to be a blessing in disguise. Two City College professors, the Haque sisters, have discovered evidence that the canal’s micro-organisms may have adapted to survive in such a toxic environment. Explains Nasreen Haque, “Despite the canal’s toxicity, which includes cancer-causing chemical agents, microorganisms are surviving by adapting to the harsh environment there that shouldn’t survive at all. Working in synergy, they seem to sense if nutrients are available; they exchange genes and secrete substances — some of which operate like antibiotics. I believe these substances may provide clues that lead to the development of new drugs to combat human disease.” The canal’s evolved organisms could provide the keys to curing Alzheimer’s, heart disease or AIDS. Photo by Damon Winter for the New York Times.

Oh my…

It’s the most wonderful time of the year!

Today is the most important day of the year in America – the NFL draft kicks off. Yup, more people give a shit about which muscle bound co-ed their team will select than, well, pretty much anything else. In all honesty, more people would be pissed off if their team made the fatal mistake of drafting Jimmy Clausen (with the 9th overall pick – I WILL disown them for real this time…) than if Sarah Palin somehow became President. So this blog is on hiatus due to the national holiday. But as they say, when in Rome…

What is a TeaBagger??

Couldn’t decide what to bitch about this morning. Tea Party or Sexting? So I’m gonna write about both, although I think I’m done with the Tea Party for a while after this post (Sexy times post to come this afternoon, when I finish all the “important” things I have to do today). I don’t want to give the bullshit movement any more of my time (until they do/say their next radical thing and force my hand). Anyways, I give you my summary of a Washington Post Op-Ed, with help from the New York Times and CBS News, who did some community service last week exposing the Tea Party for what it truly is – rich, old, white racists, (and radical right wingnuts – see post from 4/19).

They are rich: The majority of TeaBaggers are self described as financially well to very-well off. So of course they are against any social welfare reforms, as they don’t benefit themselves. Except for Medicare and Social Security. But when asked about raising taxes on households making more than $250,000 a year to provide health care for the uninsured, 54 percent of Americans favored doing so vs. only 17 percent of Tea Party backers.

They are old: The majority of TeaBaggers are over 45, meaning out of touch with the younger generations and worried about fading into obscurity and political minority status. They are doing what all old people do – bitch and moan about the good ol’ days, when George Dubya was still runnin’ the show and giving them tax breaks and loopholes.

They are white: Almost all TeaBaggers are white. So obviously they are against social welfare systems because white people aren’t poor. oh wait…

They are racist: yes, I said it. But take a closer look at the numbers: over half of TeaBaggers think “too much” has been made of the problems facing blacks in this country. A quarter of TeaBaggers think Obama’s policies favor black Americans, compared to only 11% of Americans as a whole. Given the rumors about outright racist epitaphs being shouted at Tea Party rallies and former Civil Rights Heros being spat on, these numbers tell us something.  A racist is a racist, whether you dress him up in hood and gown or suit and tie…

But basically the Tea Party is a repackaging of the radical right. And they really don’t have much in common except for extreme pessimism towards the government and a distinct self interest. Exemplified by this little nugget from the NY Times article: “I don’t know what to say. Maybe I don’t want smaller government. I guess I want smaller government and my Social Security.” She added, “I didn’t look at it from the perspective of losing things I need (feel entitled to). I think I’ve changed my mind.” TeaBaggers don’t know what the eff they want…

please go away…

Good Morning!

——————–
News Alert: D.C. voting rights bill won’t get vote this week
10:53 AM EDT Tuesday, April 20, 2010
——————–

House majority leader Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) says D.C. vote bill won’t get a vote this week and is unlikely to come up at all this session of Congress. “At this point in time I do not see the ability to move it in this session of Congress,” Hoyer said.

For more information, visit washingtonpost.com:
http://link.email.washingtonpost.com/r/LI37JS/G4XKO/FQVDFG/SC3BDI/358L1/XL/t

——————–

It’s because somehow repealing DC’s gun control laws has become earmarked into a bill about representation for DC residents. WTF…

Right wing nuts want to talk about how the current administration is taking away individual rights?? How about the right to vote? the right to representation? These rights are being denied to the citizens of the District of Columbia and a bill to rectify this is basically dead in the water because certain people are “…keeping their guns…”

Related articles

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dc/2010/04/gray_voting_rights_bill_unacce.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/17/AR2010041702500.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/14/AR2010041403637.html