Osama Bin Laden Is Dead. And So Is "Cowboy Diplomacy" (We Hope!)

Justice Is Served. 
Obama Is Lauded.
Statesmanship Is 
Re-established. 
And The Right is
...check-mated. 

A statesman does not gloat: in an hour when United States needed supreme statesmanship, Barack Obama made the announcement of Osama Bin Laden's with a slightly somber note. He did not smile. He simply noted that justice had been served and that we must be ever-vigilant in the war on terrorism. He also reinforced his image as a Nobel Peace Prize laureate in declaring:

We must also reaffirm that the United States is not –- and never will be -– at war with Islam. I’ve made clear, just as President Bush did shortly after 9/11, that our war is not against Islam. Bin Laden was not a Muslim leader; he was a mass murderer of Muslims. Indeed, al Qaeda has slaughtered scores of Muslims in many countries, including our own. So his demise should be welcomed by all who believe in peace and human dignity.

He did not gloat. Instead, the gloating was done for him around the country, and while people are justified in being satisfied with the Al Qaeda leader's death as a point of closure to horrific events in our history, the current hysteria may look to the world exactly like the joy Islamic militants had demonstrated on 9/11. Obama's calm hopefully countered that image.

The cheers may also signal a blow to the Right, for those jubilant crowds at Ground Zero are the people the Republican Party counted on to destroy Barack Obama. After all, they are cheering Obama's "gutsy" but intelligent strategy. Not...George...Bush's. 

And it's very obvious that conservatives across the country are holding back tears of frustration. After all, Bush's "cowboy diplomacy" was an oxymoron: it was no diplomacy at all. His desire to wear a white stetson and go into the Middle East with guns blazing was loutish and engendered more fear of the U.S. than admiration. It was the result of an excuse to annihilate Saddam Hussein, an act of bravado that cost more U.S. lives than were lost on 9/11 and spiraled the economy down into debt. Bush was derided as a brute - history's greatest diplomatic dimwit.

Reactions by Republicans have tried to temper their commendations of Obama with references to Bush:

Eric Cantor: "I commend President Obama who has followed the vigilance of President Bush in bringing Bin Laden to justice." 

Tim Pawlenty: In the hours after the 9/11 attacks, President Bush promised that America would bring Osama bin Laden to justice -- and we did."

Donald Rumsfeld: "All of this was made possible by the relentless, sustained pressure on al Qaeda that the Bush administration initiated after 9/11 and that the Obama administration has wisely chosen to continue." 

And some didn't bother to commend the President at all: reactions eliminating any mention of Obama include Sarah Palin, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, Condoleezza Rice, Sen. Saxby Chambliss, Rep. Darrell Issa,  Sen. Marco Rubio to name a few.

Those Amazing Conspiracy Guys

Perhaps the most loyal adherents to cowboy diplomacy are the country's conspiracy theorists: Obama's comparatively restrained militarism helped them paint him as un-American. And on the outset, the publication of the long form birth certificate coupled with Bin Laden's demise should render the brand of un-American moot and pointless. Of course, conspiracy theorists are still having a field day because of the manner in which the body of Bin Laden was disposed of: dumping it in the ocean was not (to them) conclusive. No matter that the comprehensive coverage of the assault by CBS IN THE WAR ROOM leaves no doubt that Obama, Vice-President Biden, Secretary of State Clinton and other officials viewed the assault in real time. No matter that one woman in the compound made a positive identification of the body. No matter that photos were taken. No matter that positive DNA results were released. 

No matter.

We have Birthers (some refuse to believe the legitimacy of the long form) and now there will be (Bin Laden) "Deathers" as well. Ho hum. We can only hope that all these theorists whose raison d'etre is to "get" Obama at any cost may find their numbers dwindling, not because of the last two events, but because the pile up of conspiracy theories may increase to such a point that the industry itself may implode. Too many jokes founded on too many theories will eventually bore the public and adamant theorists will be looked upon for what they are: rubes who will grasp at anything to discredit him and make him look un-American. 

And when that happens, let's hope that they will take cowboy diplomacy along with them. It's too expensive. We can't afford it any more.

Birthers DEMAND That Obama Birth Certificate Be A Forgery - For The Economic And Political Good Of The Nation!

Disclosure Of Obama Birth Certificate Puts MILLIONS Out Of Work!! Breadlines Begin To Sprout Up!

With the disclosure of President Barack Obama's birth certificate, the REAL conspiracy has come out: create a booming industry of Birthism, then when it's at its height and Presidential candidates attach their stars to the movement, pull the rug out from underneath it all! Ingenious! The stock market will collapse! Birther leaders will be raining onto city pavements! Donald Trump's three hairs will fall out!


OK, so none of that has happened, but give Birthers some credit: they've created a unique industry based on one conspiracy theory and now they have nothing.


Well, almost nothing. Spin doctors and conspiracy-hungry Right Wingnuts are hard at work trying to mold the news into something sustainable or coming up with new theories. From the Washington Post, and Talking Points Memo (Best of the Birthers) we can see Birthers scrambling as if to stabilize themselves after an earthquake:


Orly Taiz - "Queen of the Birthers." She still thinks there's something fishy about the long form because Obama didn't show it until now. She also thinks it might be fake because it stated "African" rather than "Negro" on the long form. She thanked Donald Trump for "forcing the President's hand."


Donald Trump - real estate mogul and reality TV star. He agrees with Orly: he now thinks he has power over Obama. However, on George Stephanopoulos' program last week he said that he's proud of his company and would welcome full disclosure:

TRUMP: I have a great company, I’ve done a great job which I’ve run you’ll see what a great job because I’ll do a full disclosure of finances. STEPHANOPOULOS: Including tax returns? TRUMP: Maybe I’ll do the tax returns when Obama does his birth certificate. 

We're waiting.

Sean Hannity - FOX News pundit, major shill for the Republican Party and "journalist" responsible for "Dijon-Gate". Hannity has stated that he was "birther curious." However, Hannity and FOX kept the birther movement alive by airing it in at least 52 different segments.

Joseph Farah - founder and chief editor of World Net Daily (Or Wing Nut Daily, whichever you prefer)

It would be a big mistake for everyone to jump to a conclusion now based on the release of this document, which raises as many questions than it answers.”

Farah also offers a new spin on the Birther movement and citizenship:

“Now we can have an intelligent discussion about what it means to be a natural born citizen,” Farah said, suggesting in what direction conservatives will now push the issue. “If your father is Kenyan, how are you an American citizen? If your adopted step-father was Indonesian, how are you an American citizen? At best you are a dual-citizen.”

Next up: who was your great, geat grandfather?

Michele Bachmann - Presidential hopeful, House Representative from Minnesota, nicknamed "crazy eyes" by Joe Jervis (Joe.My.God). Bachmann fueled the Birther movement, but sidestepped the issue directly. After all, she doesn't need Birthers, since she's dreamt up some theories of her own: Obama's $900 million-dollar-a-day trip to India, the intrusive and secretive 2010 Census, etc.

Phil Berg - attorney who filed first lawsuit claiming Obama was not a U.S. Citizen. Now he says that the birth certificate is not that important:

Obama may have been born in Hawaii, Berg says, but he renounced his American citizenship when he was adopted by his stepfather Lolo Soetoro while living in Indonesia. Berg claims Obama's Indonesian school records list him as an Islamic Indonesian named Barry Soetoro.

Jerome Corsi - author of new book, Where's the Birth Certificate? Although it hasn't been published yet, the book hit #1 on Amazon. Joseph Farah is publishing the book and plans to go ahead - with no updates or re-edits. Sales should go through the roof - as a "period piece."

Rush Limbaugh - The Bloviator. Even though he fanned the flames of Birtherism, he now claims that HE WARNED PEOPLE that the birth certificate issue was a "dead end" (listen below)

Amidst all the chaos, other Birthers: Matt Drudge (Drudge Report), Chuck Norris, Arizona State Rep. Carl Seel (introduced Birther law) ands Alan Keyes (perennial president candidate).


So now we have a lot of fools who are busy trying not to look like fools. Isn't American politics entertaining as hell?

“The trouble ain't that there is too many fools, but that the lightning ain't distributed right.”

                                           - Mark Twain

Drama Queens: New Research 2000 Poll Shows 30% of Republicans To Be Reactionary And Irrational

You've got to hand it to Christofascists and Right Wingnuts - they scream and rant and explode and stomp and faint and cry, well, they're just the greatest emoting animals on the planet! Their rhetoric makes every day Halloween with images of political demons and hellish moral catastrophes. They defend us all (yes, the sinners too!) with buzzwords that sting their enemies, like "God" "Bible" "Hell" "Satan" "Taxes" and "Tinky Winky!" They expand hyperboles, sometimes going on into infinity: "Throughout the history of mankind!" "They'll burn in hell - FOREVER!" "Your children and your children's children and their children's children will never, ever see the end of paying for this disastrous bill!"

They have deep-seated persecution complexes and are the biggest source of conspiracy theories. Meeting Democrats at a party makes them spout doom and gloom: they will never again see the return of Eisenhower's 50's or Reagan's 80's! Things were so much, much better!

Now a new poll conducted by Research 2000 released today shows us that:



39% of Republicans want President Obama to be impeached.

63% think Obama is a socialist.

52% do not believe Obama was born in the United States.

21% think ACORN stole the 2008 election --

AND EVEN SCARIER:

53% think Sarah Palin is more qualified than Obama to be president.

23% want to secede from the United States.

73% think gay people should not be allowed to teach in public schools.

31% want contraception to be outlawed

The poll

The last several weeks were particularly active and agitating weeks for Christofascists: the Prop 8 trial and, well, just about everything else.

The first one may not be classified as a "rant" because it's more like severe contempt, but it gets the party started:

On Haiti:

Right Wing Watch

Mark Krikorian, director of the predictably anti-immigrant Center for Immigration Studies (CIS)

My guess is that Haiti’s so screwed up because it wasn’t colonized long enough.

Then, of course, there was Maggie Gallagher of NOM:

When this trial [Prop 8] began I told you: gay marriage activists were putting 7 million Californians on trial. But this week it got worse: They are clearly putting Christianity itself on trial. Why else have an expert read statements of Catholic and Southern Baptist doctrines into the record?

Bill Donahue, borrowing a trite and erroneous statement from Rick Warren:

Society cannot exist without families; families cannot exist without reproduction; reproduction cannot exist without a sexual union between a man and a woman; and every society in the history of the world has created an institution called marriage to provide for this end.

And Tony Perkins of Family Research Council showed us that when you're feeling frustrated and desperate, it's time to call the other side DESPERATE!

The desperation of the Left
January 22, 2010 | Share with Friends

Dear Daniel,

The Left is preparing a desperate 120-day ASSAULT on your values to appease its CULTURE OF DEATH, ANTI-MARRIAGE political base before the 2010 election campaigns begin.

And Family Research Council (FRC) is preparing to meet that BLITZ head-on.

Perkins' wild pronouncements included: (the good guys)

Reclaiming marriage
Defending innocent human life
Protecting children

(the bad guys)

radical agenda
Silencing faith
Silencing Christian and conservative radio

And ending with:

2010 is a turning-point year for faith, family, and freedom!!!.

And from another part of the globe, we have a drama queen's rant coming from the new archbishop of Belgium, Andre-Joseph Leonard:

"Homosexuality is not the same as normal sex in the same way that anorexia is not a normal appetite."

Drama. Irrational, baseless drama. Unfortunately their drama will create REAL drama.

Challenge To Birther, Obama Hater And Alleged "Reverend" James David Manning: Show Us YOUR Documents!

Or At Least Tell Us Why You Think Al Sharpton And T.D. Jakes Are Witch Doctors

I was going to include this with a piece on right wingnut stupidity, but the subject is too serious: it reeks of mindless hatred hiding behind Scripture.

It also smells suspiciously of fraud.

A minister who preaches the reclamation of property and heritage to African Americans, while hiding behind Scripture and possibly bogus credentials could be considered lower than the President he bloviates about.

On Oct. 26, “Rev.” James David Manning delivered a speech posted on You Tube that was one of the most flagrant “kill Obama” harangues to come out of a “pulpit” since Barack Obama came on the political scene. “If Obama lives, America dies” has now hit the Internet with gale force winds while the MSM ignores it as just another right wingnut screaming rude and unintelligible rants. His interview on FOX's Hannity and Colmes in March of last year was so riddled with faulty reasoning that even Sean Hannity dismissed him as simply someone who had no tact (nor decency) when it came to attacking the would-be candidate and his family. (Watch the video below)

Manning's bio on his website reads, in part, like a wikipedia article. Word for word. With some deletions and additions both minor and major. A mistake on the part of the website's webmaster, but a major blunder on the part of Manning since the article begs questions and the ATLAH website gives conflicting material in other places.

And the wikipedia article is none too flattering:

Manning also holds a Doctor of Philosophy degree from his own ATLAH Theological Seminary, an unaccredited educational institution.

The website deletes the words "his own". It should also have deleted "an unaccredited educational institution." In the eyes of most Americans, this means no institution at all. What if one of the "Seminary" graduates decides to apply for ministerial duties at another church: not a ghost of a chance - especially when you take a look at the courses.

So Manning gave himself his own Ph.D. and its probably worthless. Another faux pas: the ATLAH website states "Attended Oxford Round Table at St. Antony’s College in the University of Oxford ,16 August 2004" while the wikipedia article states "According to Manning, he attended the Oxford Round Table ..." Click on the link and you'll find the Oxford Round Table is NOT affiliated with the University of Oxford. It is a California-based company currently involved in litigation over misrepresentation. Additionally, it looks as if someone from ATLAH had a hand in the wikipedia article.

Manning's time in prison for armed robbery in two states (New York and Florida) also throws his bio off in several ways, but for some inexplicable reason, simple arithmetic elludes right wingnuts. If (as his own website parroting wikipedia says) he became a Christian while in prison "before his release in 1978" how could he have gotten his Master of Divinity at Union Theological Seminary while founding ATLAH in 1981? A Master of Divinity usually takes six years to complete.

BTW: Those six years include New Testament Greek, church history, canon law, Hebrew and Christian education - none of which "Rev." Manning seems to know anything about.

But the most egregious discrepency in the ATLAH website:

James David Manning is the energetic and visionary pastor of the ATLAH World Missionary Church located in ATLAH, New York. He has founded three schools and developed a national church ministry. He holds a PhD in philosophy, the author of The Oblation Hour book, a former Marketing Executive with Proctor and Gamble and the Ford Motor Company.

HUH?!

Apparently it's been a very difficult task for "Dr." Manning to keep his bios straight: his "official" bio on the website mentions nothing about being an executive for two Fortune 500 companies and neither does the wikipedia article! So, let's challenge the dear "Dr./Rev." for some documents just as he's been asking for the birth certificate of President Obama.

To "Rev." James David Manning:

Please provide the following documents:

• Certificate of Graduation from The New Rochelle College
• Award Certificate for Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary
• Letters from probation officers in the State of New York and the State of Florida stating dates of incarceration and the crimes for which both stays were meted out
• Proof of employment from Proctor and Gamble
• Proof of employment from Ford Motor Company
• Passport with dated stamp showing entry into the United Kingdom for the year 2004
  

You do NOT need to provide an award certificate for your alleged Ph.D. since we need to save paper. And even if you can't produce these documents, please clarify:

• Why you think that Al Sharpton is a witchdoctor.
• Why your studies courses are still available only on cassette (especially How To Become A Prophet)
• Why a course on "Aliens" is included in your ATLAH Theological Seminary courses. (And by "aliens" do you mean illegal immigrants or the beings with super-large brains as in Mars Attacks!?)
  

To the earnest and worthwhile residents of Harlem: if you haven't already, please start delving into the "credentials" of this man and other "men of God" in your community. Words from Scripture coupled with words of abject hatred could be a clue that the man you trust isn't preaching on your behalf.

Resumes aren't always truthful. Neither are bogus "ministers."

Just a thought.