Saturday, September 13, 2008

Mary Cheney and Her Strange Bedfellows: Will FRC Take This One Lying Down?

If Family Research Council and Focus on the Family disliked Mary Cheney before, they sure as hell detest her now:

Though she long sat on the sidelines as her father served as second in command over the past eight years, Vice-President Dick Cheney’s daughter Mary is flexing her political muscle and joining the fight to stop Prop. 8.

According to the website RepublicansAgainst8.com, Cheney pledged $3,000 back in July to the campaign to stop the ballot measure attempting to re-ban gay marriage in California.

RepublicansAgainst8.com features a slew of high profile celebrities who have donated money and/or voiced their opposition to the California ballot measure, including Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, comedian Dennis Miller and Desperate Housewives creator Marc Cherry.

Holy Family Values! There are REPUBLICANS who agree with the Homosexual Agenda!! Well, it IS California, but still! But Dick Cheney will be out soon and we're sure that good Pentecostal Gun-Toting, Anti-abortion Sarah Palin will set things right!

Yeah, Mrs. Mooseburger will set things, ah, straight. The Cheneys have had a hard time with the unGodly baby and all. Of course, hard as I try, I can never feel sorry for Dick Cheney. I just can't. There is simply no pathos in his face, no humor in his eyes. There's something so cold about him that to think about him as human is, in a way...heretical.

In a fundraising letter 2 years ago, Family Research Council (FRC) had this to say about our beloved Vice President's daughter:

We have our work cut out for us as you know. In the past few weeks, the media have been filled with appearances by Mary Cheney and others who are working to undercut the importance of marriage to our survival as a society.

The media have delighted in the fact that Vice President Cheney's daughter publicly opposes the very convictions that brought her father's political party into the White House.

And when Mary Cheney had the unGodly baby, Christofascists REALLY went to town:
"There should be no touch of sadness when a healthy baby boy is born
into a home with two parents, but in this case, we’re afraid, there is."(Americans for Truth)

So now Mary Cheney is backing No on Prop 8. She has just dropped off the radar screen of the Christofascists. They will use her in any way they can. They'll scrutinize every grade the boy earns at school. If he's a failure, they'll point it out with billboards blazing. If he's a brilliant student, they'll just chalk it up to the genes his grandfather gave him.

Such is the way, the Christofascist mind works.



I don't trust him when he smiles

Sarah Palin or ....Gracie Allen?

Who would you pick?

One of the first women to run for President was the brilliantly ditzy Gracie Allen.
Party: The Surprise Party Platform: solid wood
Party Mascot: kangaroo
Party Slogan: It's In the Bag! Notable policy statements:

"I don't know much about the Lend-Lease Bill, but if we owe it we should pay it."
"Everybody knows a woman is better than a man when it comes to introducing bills into the house."
"Down with Common Sense!"
In 1940, George Burns and Gracie Allen did a cross-country whistlestop campaign tour, performing their live radio show in various cities with the theme of Gracie running for President. They published a book, Gracie Allen for President, containing photos during the tour and the Surprise Party Convention. Not surprisingly, when time for the actual presidential election came up, Gracie Allen got more than a few votes.

Sarah Palin gasve an interview yesterday with Charles Gibson, some of the statements making no sense at all. And if they made any sense, they were still miles away from the proper answer. When Gracie talked to men, they all left with a "there's a logic in what she said that I can't quite find, but she was so gracious I'll go with it."

Do you think that Palin will have the same effect on dignitaries? I somehow doubt it.

Another thing: Gracie had class - she didn't shoot wolves from a helicopter.

Just a thought.

Never Place a Period Where God Has Placed a Comma

The title of this post is as enigmatic as it's creator was funny: Gracie Allen. Enigmatic because it can be interpreted in different ways. However, I take it to mean that life is not as definitive as we think. And things don't necessarily end when we say they end. We "interpret" writings such as the Bible, putting "words" into God's mouth. How presumptuous is that!

I started to write about Gracie Allen running for President, but instead wound up with two posts: one about Gracie Allen, and another about the presumptuousness of attributing words in the Bible to God. And when you think about it, not only is attributing the Bible solely to God presumptuous, it's rather stupid. Yes, I'm taking on the Christofascists here again (yawn!).

Especially the Assemblies of God Church (yes, Sarah Palin, too - double yawn!!).

Assemblies of God churches are Pentecostal churches rather virulent in their application of their doctrine. Are they "denominational"? Yes, in the sense that they espouse certain avenues of belief to be the "right" way to attain heaven. They do not look kindly upon other "Christians" (some of them overtly hate Catholics) nor do they tolerate any apostates: when you're cast out - you're OUT! As strict inerrantists they dismiss any attempt to point out the hundreds of thousands of errors and inconsistencies in the Bible. Assemblies of God followers never ever question the Bible. Adult Bible study classes are not about questioning, but interpreting correctly. They frequently do not consider that to interpret, you must question. Every word in the Bible is definitive. Period.

Now think of Gracie Allen's statement. AOG followers place periods to
everything in the Bible. It's arrogant, self-indulgent and vain to think that the book you have in your hands comes directly from God. And quite ridiculous. It's ridiculous to think that people who do not follow all of the precepts of the Bible are sinners. It's ridiculous because the assumption that we are all sinners is both ridiculous and insulting. Blame Augustine of Hippo for Original Sin, but don't blame mankind. I know you think my reasoning is faulty: AOG/Pentecostalism decrees that the Bible is totally inerrant - Sarah Palin is an AOG/Pentecostal follower - therefore Sarah Palin takes the Bible literally - therefore Sarah Palin is stupid. O.K., but what if Sarah Palin was exposed to different ideologies and theologies yet still thought that Pentecostalism was the ONLY way to attain enlightenment? Yes, THEN she would be stupid.

Am I spouting a form of religious intolerance? Maybe I am. But think of how Sarah Palin's theology prevents her from viewing other people and problems objectively. The thought just came to me: do you think that Sarah Palin could relate in any way to families living in the inner cities - in an objective manner? Could she relate to the 1.2 million Muslims living in this country? To the many Buddhists, Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and yes, atheists? Could she relate on ANY religious level accept to Christofascists who believe that EVERYONE MUST BE CHRISTIAN!

I don't think so.
From God's Mouth to Our Ears? I think not.

Just a thought.