Hilarious Chris Kluge for Minnesota Marriage

The Tragic Results Of Paul Ryan's Phony Photo Op: Charity Loses Money But Gains In Right Wing Hate

THIS just posted by Crooks and Liars:

In the wake of Rep. Paul Ryan's embarrassing soup kitchen photo-op last week, the organization that runs the facility tells The Huffington Post that donors have begun pulling their money out of the Youngstown, Ohio charity.

Ryan may have suffered a few late-night jokes, but the fallout for the soup kitchen appears to be far more bruising. Brian J. Antal, president of the Mahoning County St. Vincent De Paul Society, confirmed that donors have begun an exodus in protest over Ryan's embarrassment. The monetary losses have been big. "It appears to be a substantial amount," Antal said. "You can rest assured there has been a substantial backlash."[..]
Antal's charity represents the kind of organization that conservative Republicans might champion. But that was before the Ryan incident went viral a few days ago. [..]

Ryan supporters have now targeted Antal and his soup kitchen, Antal said, including making hundreds of angry phone calls. Some members of Antal's volunteer staff have had to endure the barrage as well, he said. "The sad part is a lot of [the callers] want to hide behind anonymity," he said, adding that if someone leaves their name and number he has tried to return their call. In addition to phone calls, people have posted a few choice words on the charity's Facebook wall, including statements like "I hope you lose your tax [sic] emempt status," Anyone who is thinking about donations to you should think twice" and "Shame on you Brian Antal!"

"Some Girls Rape Easy": Hypocrisy, Sex and The Republican Agenda Against Women

The Romney War Against Women hasn't really entered the debate ... yet.


The Republican Party's "war on women" got just two soldiers of hypocrisy: one Wisconsin congressman who says that "some girls rape easy," and another Tennessee politician - a pro-life doctor, no less - who demanded that his mistress get an abortion:

Crooks and Liars:

"A pro-life, family-values congressman who worked as a doctor before winning election as a Tea Party-backed Republican had an affair with a patient and later pressured her to get an abortion, according to a phone call transcript obtained by The Huffington Post.
The congressman, Rep. Scott DesJarlais of Tennessee, was trying to save his marriage at the time, according to his remarks on the call, made in September of 2000. And, according to three independent sources familiar with the call and the recording, he made the tape himself."

Along with staunch, Christian Right Todd Akin, who argues that women of "legitimate rape" don't get pregnant, that makes three "war on women" soldiers for the battle of keeping women in check.

Oh, and add Paul Ryan to the bunch since he said that women should have their rapists' babies.

"Freshman Rep. Roger Rivard (R-Rice Lake) in December discussed a case with the Chetek Alert newspaper in which a 17-year-old high school senior was charged with sexual assault for having sex with an underage girl in the school's band room.
The newspaper quoted him as saying his father warned him, "Some girls rape easy" - meaning that after the fact they can change what they say about whether sex was consensual. On Wednesday, Rivard told the Journal Sentinel that the article did not provide full context of his comments and that his father's exact words had been slightly different from how they appeared in the Chetek Alert."

Polls show that President Obama is still in good with women and that Romney (and the entire Republican Party) trails abysmally in that regard - and not only in the issue of abortion, but it is the specific issue of abortion in cases of rape and incest that contribute to the Romney campaign's low polling figures. The matter of rape is an unassailable one as far as women are concerned. It is, in fact, a "hands off" issue, considered in poor taste to make light of it or to put its victims in any form of bad light ("sl*ts", ala Rush Limbaugh). And while the Christian Right (and its "church ladies") has no problem with assigning raped women to the ranks of Mary Magdalene, most of America's women have a tendency to believe the testimonies of the alleged victims over their male aggressors.

Don't Mess With Boadicea

Republicans have not yet been clued in to the fact that issues of rape (especially involving abortion) have never been given any slack by women in history. After she was flogged and her daughters raped in front of her, Boadicea, Queen of the Iceni showed almighty Rome what rage against rape was really like: 70,000 people died as a result oif her subsequent revolt and Rome realized what an untenable situation the Britons really were.

Recently, Elizabeth Warren pummeled candidate Scott Brown as bad choice for women on issues of equal pay and on pro-choice: her impassioned stance gave her a six-point edge over the incumbent Brown:

“This is about their future — and I want to be blunt. We should not be fighting about equal pay for equal work, and access to birth control, in 2012.”

The Vice Presidential Debate And Abortion - Sorta

While the vice-Presidential debate featuring Vice President Joe Biden and Republican Vice Presidential candidate Paul Ryan seemed to focus on a wide variety of issues, only the social issues of abortion was addressed and, in no uncertain terms did Joe Biden lay out the Romney "war against women":
Now, with regard to the way in which the — we differ, my friend says that he — well, I guess he accepts Governor Romney's position now, because in the past he has argued that there was — there's rape and forcible rape. He's argued that, in the case of rape or incest, it was still — it would be a crime to engage in having an abortion. I just fundamentally disagree with my friend.

Ryan, of course, countered with Romney's flip-flopped position on the matter of abortion in case of rape: rape and incest were now "exceptions". He did not present his own jaw-dropping opinion that raped women should always carry their rapists' fetuses to term.
Cenk Uygur's recent coverage of the Scott Desjarlais situation pointed out that flip-flopping Romney couldn't be trusted to handle women's issues (see below), especially when it comes to angering the Christian Right. 

Will Boadicea have a say in all this?

If candidates like Elizabeth Warren can speak up about the Republican War on Women, time will tell if women's voices will be heard in the upcoming debates. Will Obama make a stance for Boudicea? 

How A Mitt In The Making Was Foiled: Fighting Romney's Beastly Bourgeois Babbity Elitism With The Wit And Wisdom Of Auntie Mame.

The "47%" Who Think They're Entitled To Food, Healthcare And Housing Might Take Note



Try as they might, the Romneys will never get past the image of being "beastly bourgeois babbity" snobs. No matter how many visits they make to Cosco for publicity purposes, such strategies will never make them into "one of us."

Yes, the "Cosco interview" was a debacle of condescension: what other reason would Ann Romney go to a Cosco for Mitt's shirts than publicity since the concept of them trying to save money to put in a Cayman Islands account is ridiculous. David Letterman debuted a new segment to his show called "The Romney Lies" with the interview, putting the Romney quest for commonality into a perspective the Right wishes would disappear.

The 47% Babbity Blunder

The latest debacle of condescension was the "47% ... think they're entitled to food, to healthcare, to housing, you name it," for which Romney did not actually apologize, instead giving another "trickle down" explanation. However, It was taken for what it was worth: contempt for humanity in stating that everyone does NOT deserve decent housing, food nor health care. And by cutting himself off from that 47% (which, by the way, was the same figure of previously uninsured Americans)

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Already scrambling to steady a struggling campaign, Republican Mitt Romney confronted a new headache Monday after a video surfaced showing him telling wealthy donors that almost half of all Americans "believe they are victims" entitled to extensive government support. He added that as a candidate for the White House, "my job is not to worry about those people."

In a previous statement while on the primary trail, he said he didn't worry about the poor. Same thing. And his extremely narrow focus of economy-jobs-middle class has cut off almost all discussion of social issues and foreign policy. Campaign manager Matt Rhoades has made it very clear that in being a "Polkian President" Romney will ONLY concentrate on jobs: crime, terrorism, gay rights, women's rights, immigration, foreign policy, will be distinctly secondary.

The "47% Babbity Blunder" and Romney's background have had an effect on normally conservative low-income voters:

(Reuters) - Sheryl Harris, a voluble 52-year-old with a Virginia drawl, voted twice for George W. Bush. Raised Baptist, she is convinced -- despite all evidence to the contrary -- that President Barack Obama, a practicing Christian, is Muslim.

So in this year's presidential election, will she support Mitt Romney? Not a chance.

"Romney's going to help the upper class," said Harris, who earns $28,000 a year as activities director of a Lynchburg senior center. "He doesn't know everyday people, except maybe the person who cleans his house."

She'll vote for Obama, she said: "At least he wasn't brought up filthy rich."

The subject of Romney's upbringing has also brought up the subject of class warfare: forget the item about his persecution of a gay fellow classmate, the prep school persona lingered long after his graduation from Cranbrook.



The Philosophy of Auntie Mame

While "Life's A Banquet and Most Poor Sons Of Bitches Are Starving To Death" is ingrained on the American psyche as quintessential Mame, it is her open mind and and her open heart that place Mame in the forefront, leading the way to a better life. In essence, she's a bleeding heart liberal with a mind bursting with creative ways to disperse her presence, her philosophy, and even her money. Her extreme sophistication emanates without a hint of ego or self-satisfaction because it's to be shared and not merely spotlighted as so many snobs do at social gatherings.

At every turn, Auntie Mame redefines social mores to better suit others. She even redefines "family:" in the play, Patrick says "I don't want you airing your old flames and fairy airy friends from Fire Island in front of Gloria." And when Patrick reacts embarrassingly to the stream of people coming into the party for the Upsons, Mame says "Why this IS our family!"

"I won't let you marry him off to an Aryan from Darien with braces on her brains."

Speaking of family, while Ann Romney definitely has some brains, she has little knowledge of the "little people" and none of "you people." Cosco aside, Ann Romney appears clueless, thinking that a woman with two mammoth vacation homes and a horse trained for dressage can appear "down home" ... to anyone.
Pretense. It all boils down to pretense, something for which Mame has no use, especially from any member of her "family". Unlike Ann Romney, Mame wouldn't hide her money because she would have considered it inconsiderate to appear to be something you're not. Instead of hiding her money, she spent it on living ... and on everyone else. Establishing a home for refugee Jewish children was not just to get back at the Upsons, it was a statement as to the kind of person she was.

Bleeding Heart Liberal

One of the most telling things about Mame Dennis is her generosity: one scene has her plunking what seems to be her last dime into a Salvation Army bucket just after she's fired from Macy's. This could be in stark contrast to Romney's runnning mate, Paul Ryan, whose tax returns revealed less than average charitable giving - even after he stated that any social newtwork "slack" would be picked up by charities).



Foiling Mitt

It is perhaps a failure of the Obama campaign not to go the full Auntie Mame route in strategy: Barack Obama's innate sense of compromise has weathered poorly through the last four years, but it still lingers on. Mame would never have compromised on matters concerning the public's welfare, and during the campaign, she would have flaunted conventions with panache, bringing social issues to the fore instead of merely defending economic policies.

In this election, we need an Auntie Mame, to permanently foil Mitt Romney with his own elitism and to point the way for Obama's true focus. 

Writing About God's "Hate"

I hate writing about God's "Hate" but somebody's got to do it. Oh well. Stay tuned for net Monday.

The Speech That Kept Me Awake At The DNC Is Giving Nightmares To The Right

Michelle Obama's speech, although only 25 minutes long, packed too much heart-felt emotions for some people, especially the Right.

They couldn't stand it. 

They also couldn't stand the fact that Ann Romney's speech was, in comparison, cloyingly dull and disingenuous: trying to make here seem like the "happy homemaker" was too much for the American public to bear, especially knowing that she had just had her horse in dressage in the Olympics. "Mrs. Average American Mom" she ain't and looks ridiculous when she tries to portray herself as such. 

But the Right will try to take down Michelle Obama as much as possible: just think what Ann Coulter will have to say!

The Ethics Of Survival Vs. The Politics Of Christofascism: Why Voting For The GOP Is Heading For Moral Bankruptcy

The Republican National Convention has again proven that the Republican Party and its platform is morally bankrupt. With its "pro-family", "pro-life", and pro-corporate stances, the Republican Party is against everything that has made this country the greatest entity for humanity's survival in history. This is not a convolution of progressive thinking, but a statement of fact: America was founded on the premise that "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness" superseded all other ideologies because it was not the most religious, nor the most fiscally responsible, but because it was the most humane.

America is a country of survival, the primordial tenet of any Creator's creation: it was formed to help people survive in a world where oppressive entities ruled, thus honoring its Creator in the best possible way. Those oppressive entities were ruling monarchies, ruling religions and (later) ruling economic factors brought about by greed and colonialism. Today, this American spirit is still seen in its national and global compassion: Social Security, Medicare, food stamps (SNAP) and global welfare organizations sustained by grants from the U.S. government are all testaments. It's compassionate entreaty to survival is inscribed at the base of its own Statue of Liberty. And as to liberty, the American spirit strives to provide the freedom to survive in whatever way each of its citizens wishes. It also enables survival by trying to optimize equality regardless of age, gender, religion, sexual orientation or social class.

For these qualities of the American spirit, our country can be deemed to be among the most ethical nations on earth. And these qualities are sorely lacking in the Republican Party. Why? Simply because it is now a political party that kow-tows to Christofascism, the kind of fascism, (attributed to Sinclair Lewis), that is "wrapped in a flag and carrying a cross." The tyranny of the Christian Right and its votes is fearsome: candidates like Tod Akin parrot its junk science; its dire warnings of moral collapse have breached the wall between church and state too many times to ignore. Indeed, it has come to insist that there is not now nor has there ever been any such a wall. With its insistence that America was founded as a Christian nation (ala pseudo-historian David Barton), its comes perilously close to insisting that it be a Christian ONLY nation. Reconstructionism and Dominionism are creeping dangerously onto the political landscape. Teaching Creationism in public schools is being promoted at the state level. States like Tennessee, Mississippi, Georgia and North Carolina and Texas have rolled back the clock in terms of reproductive rights and given "Bible-minded" students free rein to bully in public schools. There are pastors whose Sunday sermons posit that Medicare and Social Security are not biblical and, therefore, not morally legitimate.

Paul Ryan's ties to the Christian Right are steadfast and troubling: his recent statement about rape and conception mirrors the Christian Right. True, he has made an exception when the life of the mother is in danger, but that is a stance that is even hard core pro-lifers are loath to defy since doing so would make them look totally heartless and give credence to the left's idea that there is a "war on women".*

Ryan's personal ties to the troubled Cardinal Timothy Dolan** have raised some eyebrows, but only on the left. Cardinal Timothy Dolan on Ryan:

And,’ I said, ‘let me applaud some of the things you are doing, namely your call for financial accountability and restraint and a balanced budget . . . and . . . let me also applaud your obvious solicitude for the poor.”

Poverty is no laughing matter, but openly mocking it in the light of Ryan's policies should cause more than a few nervous titters on the Right and loud guffaws on the Left.***

The Akin/Huckabee Show of Morality

Perhaps no other GOP tie to the Christian Right is as strong as the issue of abortion: it defines that the GOP really thinks of women and its treatment of women primarily as vessels for offspring.

And that issue got a jolt with the pronouncement of Senate candidate Tod Akin: "legitimate rape" became the buzzword for a theory that the extreme Right had under wraps by an obscure doctor: Dr. John C. Wilke was the founder of the National Right To Life Committee had written a "Handbook on Abortion" - a not-so-obscure tome in anti-abortion/Christian Right circles. In fact, Akin was merely reiterating what anti-abortion activists had been positing for a long time: women who got "forcibly raped" did not get pregnant. And scientific fact, like evolution, was passed over in favor of wishful thinking. "Junk science" served its purpose: to lessen the consequences of rape, thereby making it more passable to pro-lifers. The immorality of denigrating women was also lessened.

The chief supporter of Akin (admittedly, one of the few left in the Republican Party), is none other than Mike Huckabee.

Politico has an in-depth report about the conference call Friday afternoon between former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and "hundreds of Southern Baptists" in which he invoked Old Testament imagery to explain the task facing Republican U.S. Rep. Todd Akin and his supporters.

In the call, he railed against the pressure being brought to bear on Akin to quit Missouri's U.S. Senate race and compared Republican establishment to "union goons" in their treatment of vendors and consultants. 

But Huckabee is still scheduled to speak at the GOP convention, a move on the part of the GOP that signals just how inextricably tied to the Christian Right the GOP is - for better or worse. In fact, in Huckabee, the GOP has a tri-fold "anti" on board: a former Southern Baptist minister who adheres to the subservience of women, is virulently homophobic and is exceptionally Islamophobic as well. The immorality of the GOP will be glorified by its most "moral" compass.

The Greed Of Grover

Behind the GOP's position on "no new taxes" is the (by now) ubiquitous Grover Norquist. The embodiment of deregulation - the kind that the Bush years gloried in, bringing about the Great Recession - Norquist's greed effects the middle class and the poor to such a degree that the immorality of his philosophy seems obvious. But greed, like the poor, will always be with us and the likes of Norquist will always play upon the greed inherent to believe they can never have enough. Norquist is the beloved of prosperity preachers.

Onward Christian Homophobia

Tony Perkins, head of The Family Research Council, has recently stated that he helped to write the GOP's platform on marriage which will be unveiled at the convention. In addition, it has been posited that debunked historian David Barton ("America was founded as a Christian Nation") also had a strong hand in some elements of the platform. Both have had strong enough stances against LGBT rights to be considered key elements of hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

The Collapse Of Compassionate Conservatism

George W. Bush tried to soften the focus of the GOP through his concept of "compassionate conservatism" - a concept that few actually believed and even fewer ever practiced. But with the present GOP platform - the one formally presented to the nation - "compassionate" can be said to be replaced by "vengeful" ... and in bold letters. It is the immorality of revenge: against Obama, against LGBT rights, against women's rights, against Muslims, against the weight of poverty upon the populace.

And the politics of revenge is perhaps the most immoral attribute of all of the Republican Party.

God help us.


*But there is.

** As archbishop of Milwaukee, Dolan agreed to settlements for priests accused of child molestation (OpEdNews, When Sex With Altar Boys Was Profitable)

*** Now that Ryan's tax returns show that he has given only a tiny portion of his large income to charity, Dolan will be hard-pressed to back up that statement.