Torture + Outed Florida Gov. + Salvation Army Child Molester + Masters and Johnson Fraud =

A Thoroughly Horrible, Atrocious,
Hidiously Rotten,No Good Day!
...For Right Winguts and Christofascists!

Ever had one of those days...? Well, April 23rd just didn't sit well with the Right Wingnuts (religious or otherwise). First, there was Rep. Boehner's slip of the lip: He used the dreaded T-word (gasp!):

From Crooks and Liars:

Regarding his use of the T-word, Boehner spokesman Michael Steel writes, "It is clear from the context that Boehner was simply using liberals' verbiage to describe these interrogation techniques. The United States does not torture."

Give this man a Rick Warren Cigar!

Then a movie called Outrage came out (pardon the pun) and has named names - Republican names - of closeted Republican gays.

From: Pam's House Blend:

LOLOLOLOLOLOL! Whoa, is anyone surprised at this? I haven't seen Outrage, but a lot of journalists took in a screening. The Florida governor and almost-ran wannabe McCain veep, who announced his engagement (to a woman) at a politically convenient time, would have to be at the top of any list to try to finally decloset him.

Other names: Former Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho), Rep. David Dreier (R-Calif.) and former Rep. Jim McCreary (R-La.) and Ken Mehlman, former chairman of the Republican Party. Fox anchor Shepard Smith is named, even though he is not a politician.

Today it was revealed that a Salvation Army youth pastor has been charged with child molestation:

(HT Dan Savage):

A Salvation Army youth pastor in Greenwood has been arrested on preliminary child-molestation charges involving three 15-year-old girls. Jonathan James Hartman, 29, Indianapolis, was arrested Tuesday... One of the girls told police that she is pregnant with Hartman's baby, the release stated.

I'll never look at another one of those bellringers at Christmastime in the same way again.

In the vein of "If the Bible says it's true, it is" comes a book which not only questions the dependable Masters & Johnson study, but intimates that fraud was involved:

(from 365gay.com)

The New York Times’ John Tierney reports on his blog today that a new book questions whether Masters & Johnson faked the conversion of gays and lesbians into happy heterosexuals. Ex-gay groups, like Exodous International, often use the Masters & Johnson study to say that the ability to turn gays into ex-gays has a scientific basis. Fail!

Then a double dose of torture angst came from Andrew Sullivan (the Atlantic):

Today the Dish learned that interrogators from both the FBI and CIA resisted torturing Zubaydah, and only did so because the White House sought to find an Iraq-Qaeda connection. Also, they used spiders. Churchill and even the Luftwaffe in wartime had higher moral standards than Cheney, whose incompetence eclipsed even his vanity.

So there you have it:

• A Republican has to do damage control on his gaff about torture.
• Two agencies of the federal government refused to torture but were commanded by the White House to do so.
• A long-time "reliable source" of the ex-gay movement is given the axe.
• A Salvation Army youth pastor is arrested for child molestation of two girls, one of whom may be pregnant with his child!
• And a documentary "outing" Republicans creates a firestorm too formidable to be doused in the foreseeable future!
  

Will this "bad karma" day continue? As you're reading this, do you hear careers and ideologies crumbling? We can only hope. Now for a bit of a diversion, I found this YouTube piece about the state of today's Republican Party to be almost "inerrant." Enjoy!

Glenn Beck (ala Jan Brady): "That's All We Hear! Militia, Militia, Militia!"

Can D.C. Stand Even More Stupidity?

A...MILLION...MAN...MILITIA...MARCH. So much for debunking "bitter people who cling to their guns and religion."

From Historian Marc Pitcavage (courtesy, Wikipedia)

The militia movement is a right-wing movement that arose following controversial standoffs in the 1990s. It inherited paramilitary traditions of earlier groups, especially the conspiratorial, antigovernment Posse Comitatus. The militia movement claims that militia groups are sanctioned by law but uncontrolled by government; in fact, they are designed to oppose a tyrannical government. Adherents believe that behind the "tyranny" is a left-wing, globalist conspiracy known as the New World Order. The movement's ideology has led some adherents to commit criminal acts, including stockpiling illegal weapons and explosives and plotting to destroy buildings or assassinate public officials, as well as lesser confrontations.

As an outgrowth of the (unsuccessful) tea parties, people (all anonymous) are talking about a march on Washington composed of all those disgruntled people who see Barack Obama as the anti-Christ, talk about the coming terrors of The New World Order, think Hannity, Limbaugh and (possibly) O'Reilly are the only believable media people left, and feel Sarah Palin has a God-given right to shoot wolves from planes.

From Crooks and Liars:

"...the latest idea from the militiamen who are starting to see their paranoid ranks rising:

A peaceful demonstration of at least a million — hey, if we can 10 million, even better — but at least one million armed militia men marching on Washington. A peaceful demonstration. No shooting, no one gets hurt. Just a demonstration. The only difference from any typical demonstration is we will all be armed.

Throw in Christian Identity, the Ku Klux Klan, Neo-Nazis, Pastor Rod Parsley (for religious respectability), people who make pilgrimages to Ruby Ridge and Waco, and brother, you've got a kickass party!

Try getting a permit for this shindig! "No shooting, no one gets hurt." WTF? One million men (no women?) and one million guns loaded with about 8-10 million rounds of ammunition and no one gets hurt?

"Peaceful" Impossible. If one "wrong" tattoo shows up (perhaps Jonathan and David kissing) there will be way too much bloodshed.

And pointless. Except to Fox News, the sponsor of the event.

Just a thought.

Of Susan Boyles and Barack Obamas: Cheers and Jeers

It's All About Expectations

When Barack Obama took the political stage, a great many people cheered. Now some people are jeering: loudly.

When Susan Boyle took the London stage for "Britain's Got Talent", a great many people jeered at her. Now the entire world is cheering: loudly.

It's all about expectations: what we expect to see come out of people we truly do not know. With respect to President Obama, we needed change so much that when he told us he would make that change, well, we expected too much from one man. But the change is there. How do we know? You don't have to look any further than the people who were predisposed to hate him from the beginning. Any success agitated them. They hate him even more now. From Fox News to Rush Limbaugh, to Ann Coulter(geist), their media pick at errors as if a frantic dance. Some of them even collide. There is no choreographer. The dance is chaotic. They each want to dance the way they feel and there is no cohesiveness: can you see them sitting around a table to agree on policies? Palin. Gingrich. Jendal. Steele. The odds that they would produce anything would be worse than the odds of a hundred chimpanzees typing out all the works of Shakespeare.

American society is a very, very dichotomous: we expect legislators, judges and administrators to carry the weight of the world on their shoulders, but we are suspicious of intelligence. We put up with eight years of ineptitude and buffoonery, with world class stupidity even, but we are frightened of an administration that is perhaps the most intelligent diplomatic force we have seen in over half a century.

Obama's first 100 days is drawing to a close and people are drawing imaginary battle lines. But what he has had to face and the way he has faced it is extraordinary, especially for one man. Those who jeer him, however, will never be satisfied no matter how many times he reaches across the aisle to them. They hate him, because need to hate him. They have foolishly set up "tea parties" to oppose a stimulus package that was badly needed. Even economists say that the stimulus package is not just a bandaid, but an honest attempt at helping America's economic mess. George Bush deregulated everything he could, then in his last 100 days, deregulated everything that was placed on his desk (he may have, for all we know, deregulated the desk itself) He certainly didn't know WHAT he was deregulating, only that he was deregulating something, and that was enough.

So what, if at all, is the similarity between Barack Obama and Susan Boyle? Again, it's all about expectations. Both were prepared to be mocked. Susan Boyle experienced low expectations. Barack Obama experienced high expectations. Both had to OVERCOME those expectations. Both had to admit they could make mistakes.

A big difference between Boyle and Obama: Boyle won her contest, but Obama's contest is just beginning, with people "hoping he fails" all along the way.

Who's happier?

Just thought.

Postscript:

Susan Boyle reminds me of Britain's late Queen Mother: not a conventional beauty by any means, but at the end of her 101 turbulent and eventful years was one of the most beloved women in the world. If Susan continues to beguile people with her unique voice and quirkiness, she too can join the ranks of Queen Mum.

If Texas Secedes, It DESERVES Chuck Norris For President!

"Chuck Norris's tears cure cancer. Too bad he never cries. Ever."

And For Vice President...Pat Robertson!

Today we've got TWO super-duper right wingnnut stories to chew on (of course there's more, but these are the most ridiculous, so we couldn't resist!): Tea partying is old news, but the new stuff about what RESULTED from the parties is still on top; and now that the Obama administration has released DHS memos about what everyone already knew - that we stand as much chance being attacked by right wing extremists as from outside terrorists - every right wingnut is crawling out of the wood work to say "How DARE he!" That, of course, includes Pat Robertson (see video below!).

The first story shows just how desperate Republicans are getting these days. Granted, some Texans (especially the ones with roots in Crawford, Midland and even Dallas) are indelibly stupid. It may be something in the water. In the past (before Alaska) all Americans outside of Texas knew about the state was that it had bragging rights brought on by its size and its oil. Since then, it's been eclipsed by Alaska in size and by Saudi Arabia in oil production. So what does it have to brag about now? Education? (nah, it's 26th in the nation with lower than average reading scores - figures!*). The fact that Texans consume the most energy in the nation per capita? How about the fact that Texas leads the nation in executions (400 for the last 27 years)? Or possibly the most interesting fact: that Texas emits the most greenhouse gases in the US? Now Texas, it seems, is considering secession:

Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX) was one of the dozens of Republican lawmakers who are addressing the anti-Obama tea parties today. He told the crowd he didn’t believe they were all “right-wing extremists,” as others had sought to portray them. “But if you are, I’m with you!” he shouted. After, he told reporters that Texas might have to secede from the union: Perry told reporters following his speech that Texans might get so frustrated with the government they would want to secede from the union.

And a pronouncement from "the poor man's Arnold Schwarzeneger" Chuck Norris:

On Glenn Beck's radio show last week, I quipped in response to our wayward federal government, "I may run for president of Texas."

That need may be a reality sooner than we think. If not me, someone someday may again be running for president of the Lone Star state, if the state of the union continues to turn into the enemy of the state.

Story #2 involves the DHS memos released stating what we already knew: radical right-wing terrorists are a threat to the country just as much as Al Qaeda.

This, from U.S. News & World Report in Bush's 2005:

By Danielle Knight

Posted 7/12/05

In the 10 years since the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing killed 168 people, roughly 60 right-wing terrorist plots have been uncovered in the United States, according to an upcoming report by the Southern Poverty Law Center's Intelligence Project. The plots, all foiled by law enforcement, reportedly included violent plans by antigovernment militia groups, racist skinhead organizations, and Ku Klux Klan members to use various types of chemical bombs and other weapons.

Interestingly enough, Texas has a very high per capita hate group ranking. Washington D.C., has the highest: must be all the Republican lobbyists.

There are over 965 hate groups in the country. One of them is Pat Robertson.

From Crooks and Liars:

For the past few days, the right wing has been going after a new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) report warning that “rightwing extremists…may be gaining new recruits” because of Barack Obama’s election and the “economic downtown.”

ROBERTSON: It shows somebody down in the bowels of that organization is either a convinced left winger or somebody whose sexual orientation is somewhat in question.

But it’s that kind of thing, somebody who doesn’t think that we should have abortion on demand, is labeled a terrorist! It’s outrageous!

Crooks and Liars also points out that Robertson urged his viewers to “jam up” the homeland security phone lines by calling in to complain.

Telling people to purposely obstruct the operations of DHS might be considered treason, right?

Just a thought.

Texas ranked 26 in the American Legislative Exchange Council's Report Card on American Education. Texas students ranked higher than average in mathematics, but lower in reading. Between 2005–2006, Texas spent $7,584 per pupil ranking it below the national average of $9,295. The pupil/teacher ratio was 15.0, slightly below average. Texas paid instructors $38,130, below the national average. The state provided 89.22% of the funding for education, the federal government 10.8%.

A Call For Obama's Waterboarding: Tea Party or Palin Rally?

Bashobama At It's Best! (Or Worst?)!

From Think Progress.com:

Tea party organizers and participants have repeatedly insisted that their nationwide protests today are completely non-partisan and not meant to be anti-Obama. However, there didn’t seem to be any anti-Republican or anti-Bush signs at the protests. Instead, not only were there signs/clothing protest Obama’s policies, but some had violent or racist rhetoric. One participant even asked Joe the Plumber about waterboarding Obama!

Watch it (below)

One participant had a deprecatory sign "Homey don't do dat!" Showing how low Fox News has gone with it, Media Matters counted the ne'er-do-well's coverage of the tea parties:

From Think Progress:

...between April 6 and April 13; it aired at least 73 in-show and commercial promotions for the parties as well. Of all the Fox programs, Neil Cavuto’s “Your World” dedicated the most time to the tea parties.

Second runner-up was Sean Hannity with 2 segments, 10 in-show promotions and 3 commercials. Way to go Sean! Bet you got a kick out of the waterboarding comment too!

"Tea parties" have shown us the poor, poorer and poorest of our society in terms of open-mindedness. Fox News has shown us that they'll cater to those bigoted minds as much as possible.

Dobson, Hagee, Parsley, Warren and Perkins Go Back Into Their Cages

...For Now.

The First World War was supposed to be "The War to end all wars." Pity no one told the Germans, the Koreans, the Vietnamese, the Serbs, the Iraqis, most of the countries in Africa or George Bush. After WWI, an enormous sigh of relief gave way to an explosion of joy and good times, even decadence. Then in a period of little more than twenty years, we found out that our WORST enemy had to be faced: complacency.

The same kind of complacency that engulfed gays who came out in the late seventies and some feminists who rejoiced at Roe vs Wade. It was the kind of complacency that gave us a sense of invulnerability, a false hubris. And this lull in vigilance was what Christofascists in our country were waiting for: the Moral Majority had room to grow. Thus started the "culture war."

Steve Benen, Political Animal, Washington Monthly, April 14, 2009:

Anti-gay animus is not only waning, four states now allow gay marriage. Abortion is still legal and a majority of Americans are still pro-choice. School prayer isn't even on the political world's radar screen anymore. Pornography is not only a multi-billion industry; it's more accessible than ever. The single fastest growing segment of the American spiritual landscape is non-believers and those with no religious identification.

That's fine, but what we've still got on our hands is: Prop 8, DOMA, Don't Ask Don't Tell, state constitutional amendments prohibiting same-sex marriage, Focus on the Family, Rush Limbaugh, Family Research Council, the Mormon Church, the Vatican, Michelle Malkin, The Creation Museum, Bill O'Reilly, Fox News, Ann Coulter(geist), the NRA and hate groups breeding hate crimes in growing numbers.

When James Dobson delivered his parting speech to Focus On The Family, he wasn't abdicating nor was he waving a white flag of surrender. Not by a long shot.

"Humanly speaking, we can say that we have lost all those battles, but God is in control and we are not going to give up now, right? ... I have been assured by the board and by many of you that we're not going to cow, we're not going to be discouraged."

Christofascists may have lost some battles for America's souls, but still have the rest of the world's non-Christians to deal with. And they're making inroads in Africa, China and the Middle East. All Christian groups have to do is to scream "persecution" and money rolls in along with a particular kind of politics - religious politics. "AIDS in Africa? We'll help, just don't distribute condoms, and preach abstinence only." They're making inroads where Jerry Falwell failed.*

Yes, today's Christofascists are very much like caged animals. And they will do, as Rick Warren so often proscribes: "Whatever it takes."

*Along with food and clothing, during the Asian Tsunami catastrophe, Falwell tried to distribute 600,000 Christian tracts of scripture. The Muslims and Hindus pulled a Sarah Palin: "Thanks, but no thanks."

MORE TARNISH THAN VARNISH: Even Rick Warren's Pulpit Thinks He's A Liar!

MORE TARNISH THAN VARNISH?

Were the fumes from a freshly varnished pulpit to blame for Rick Warren's sudden no-show on George Stephanopoulos' This Week? Better yet, who came up with that lame idea for an excuse?

Maybe the pulpit got tired of hearing the totally erroneous "one man, one woman for 5,000 years..." bit. Maybe the pulpit realized what a front it's been for lies and half-truths.

Or maybe, just maybe, the pulpit finally saw that the real Rick Warren was covered over in particle board, "real wood veneer" and... varnish.

A persona is not necessarily truthful.