Inner City? - What's An Inner City?

Answer: It's Something Bigger Than Wasilla

The Democrats are finally getting around to countering Sarah Palin's jab against community organizers. There's a wonderful video of Barack Obama's work on Reuters. Unfortunately, I couldn't embed it into this post. I was able, however, to come up with an inspirational Obama ad. See it below.

Mocking Obama's service as a community organizer has been, well, mocked. And I'm glad. Palin's comments were as demeaning as they were meant to be. Have you noticed that Palin - like McCain - doesn't give much thought to what she says? Obama, on the other hand, chooses his words very carefully. Thoughtless, quick words point to a politician. Well-considered words denote a statesman. The same goes for McCain's "bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb bomb Iran."

Biden, of course, should not be left out of the subject of thoughtless words. I know that he's had a lot of gaffs, but I think he's thoughtful enough to admit and correct them. Palin's speeches have not corrected themselves: she has repeated the insulting lie "thanks, but no thanks" about 11 times after it was discovered that she not only approved of earmarks, she had at one time hired a lobbyist to get as many as possible, and never had any communication with Washington whatsoever that she refused earmarks.

As to the comparison of a mayor of a small town to a community organizer in Chicago's South Side, yes, there is quite a difference. I would challenge Palin to say that she knows the problems of an inner city ghetto. She doesn't. She couldn't possibly relate. Obama pulled together schools and churches in an area populated by 100,000 (mostly) African Americans to whom gunshots and sirens were more common than the cries of a mating moose. "Actual responsibilities" were more numerous and more serious than Palin experienced in Wasilla, Alaska.

There is a rather silly inversion of Palin's comparison, but there is a ring of truth to it: "Jesus was a community organizer. Pontius Pilate was a governor." In the sense that Jesus was an activist, yes. In the sense that Pontius Pilate had more responsibilities, no: Pilate had responsibilities given to him by Rome, while Jesus had a mandate from God.

Palin's choice of the word "community" was also wrong, since communities are diverse and some quite large.

When it comes to attacks, I think Palin should stick to hunting moose.

Just a thought.

Evolution of a Republican

Evolution of a Republican
Originally uploaded by DiscoWeasel

Thoughts on Evolution and Republicans:

Republicans don't believe in it, so they haven't bothered to evolve.
Republicans don't believe in hairy bodies (this picture was created by a Democrat) because all the "bears" I know are gay!
Republicans hope that some men "devolve" so that they can poach them for their pelts (or shoot them from helicopters to keep the population down)

Holy Homo Sapiens! A Church's Apology to Charles Darwin!

(From Washington Post - On Faith, David Waters, 9/17/08)

Sorry, Charlie: Church Apologizes to Darwin

Proving it's never too late to evolve, the Church of England has apologized to Charles Darwin for vilifying him for having the audacity to question, wonder, and doubt.

Darwin has been dead for 126 years, so it probably doesn't matter much to him, but the apology comes with a fascinating essay that could start a more intelligent conversation between religion and science, especially when it comes to the origin -- or genesis -- of the species.

(From Rev. Dr. Malcolm Brown's Good Religion Needs Good Science)

The anti-evolutionary fervour in some corners of the churches may be a kind of proxy issue for other discontents; and, perhaps most of all, an indictment of the churches' failure to tell their own story - Jesus's story - with conviction in a way which works with the grain of the world as God has revealed it to be, both through the Bible and in the work of scientists of Darwin's calibre.

In other words, Christofascists are very stupid, Or they haven't evolved yet. We might add that the "anti-evolutionary fervor" is a proxy for the frighteningly close ideology of theocracy, not as a discontent, but as a hope to win over secular humanism. The Evolution/Intelligent Design/Creationism debate is a real war to Christofascists - a war that they MUST win.

I am, therefore, fearful for Dr. Brown. Both he and the Church of England will be vilified by America's "men of God" like Hagee, Parsley, Robertson, Crouch, Hinn and Copeland. They need as many churches as they can get to oppose evolution and to eradicate the just-a-theory science from all classrooms. Right now, Paul Hamm of The Creation Museum must be sticking pins in a little Dr. Malcolm Brown doll.

Dr. Brown: thank you. We need some semblance of reason in religion because religion without reason is a mindless cult.

Just a thought.

You Mean Michael Savage Won't Be Appearing With Tony Perkins?

Every Other Self-Righteous Bigot Is!

Michael Savage is America's premier hate speech talk show host, so it came as a surprise that he originates out of KNEW instead of KSFO (both in San Francisco). The lineup at KSFO includes "Dr." Laura, Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity. I was doing research on the California Proposition 8 (ban against same sex marriage), when I noticed that KSFO was mentioned in an ad by Family Research Council. Here it is:

Join Tony Perkins for the Values Advocacy Council Action's "Stand for Marriage" Rally on Sunday, September 28 from 5:30 - 7:30 PM. Keynote speakers include:

• Tony Perkins - President of Family Research Council
• Hon. Louie Gohmert, U.S. House of Representatives, Texas
• Ron Prentice, California Family Council
• Brian Sussman, KSFO Radio

Plus they will have other National, State and Local Christian Leaders. The Rally will be held at:

Church on the Hill
500 Sands Drive
San Jose, CA 95125

I wonder if FRC can stand to be within spitting distance of the sordid, sin city of San Francisco. Idea: besides KSFO, there should be more representation of San Francisco in the form of protesters. What if we got together with our own local Christian Leaders, legislators and media to (quietly, in a more genteel fashion) to tell them that the San Francisco Bay Area is NOT a place for homophobes and bigots. (Also: notice that they have a congressman from TEXAS and not California - figures!)

A counter-rally would be certain to garner the media attention FRC craves.

Oh! Is Rush going to be there? I hope so!

McCain Is To Blame! Or Is It Hoover?

No, Not The Dam, Not The Former Head Of The FBI
And Certainly Not The Vacuum Cleaner!

It's time to sit back and take stock of what history has to say to us. And right now, it's saying plenty! Does this sound familiar? A portent still to come? If McCain echoes Bush, we could be seeing the same things. From wikipedia, Herbert Hoover)

By 1932, the Great Depression had spread across the globe. In the U.S., unemployment had reached 24.9% , a drought persisted in the agricultural heartland, businesses and families defaulted on record numbers of loans, and more than 5,000 banks had failed. Tens-of-thousands of Americans found themselves homeless and they began congregating in the numerous Hoovervilles (also know as shanty towns or tent cities) that had begun to appear across the country. The name 'Hooverville' was coined by their residents as a sign of their disappointment and frustration with the perceived lack of assistance from the federal government. In response, President Hoover and Congress approved the Federal Home Loan Bank Act, to spur new home construction, and reduce foreclosures. The plan seemed to work, as foreclosures dropped, but it was seen as too little, too late.

Prior to the start of the Depression, Hoover's first Treasury Secretary, Andrew Mellon, had proposed, and saw enacted, numerous tax cuts which cut the top income tax rate from 73% to 24%. As the depression worsened, Congress, desperate to increase federal revenue, enacted the Revenue Act of 1932. The Act increased taxes across the board, and the percentage increased with income, to near pre-1928 levels for top income earners. It also implemented a 13.75% tax on corporations. The unintended result of the Act, was decreased spending among consumers and businesses alike, and the country sank deeper still into the Great Depression.

John McCain admits he knows very little about economics. He also voted against a raise in veterans' benefits. If he doesn't recognize the above photos, he'll see them soon enough after he becomes President.

And like the ditty to the left, people will blame EVERYTHING on McCain: Iraq (for staying there 60 seconds too long), the rise of China and India in the global economy, Iran (in whatever it does), teenage drugs and gay teenage suicide, Sarah Palin's taste in clothes, more AK-47s on the streets, housings crises (bet there will be more than one), "McCainvilles," the national debt, war with Equador (why not?) And a drop in the moose population.

McCain: Are you sure you're up to it? I mean, think of the repercussions if Sarah wears blue in a Red State!

Just a thought.

Promises Promises

Promise?
Originally uploaded by Depression Press

Herbert Hoover's 1928 Republican Presidential Campaign slogan slightly amended for 2008.

Remember, this was before the Stock Market Crash of 1929. Hoover campaigned on prosperity, but he couldn't deliver on those campaign promises in any way.

Beware John McCain, beware!

Palin: "Lobby Is My Hobby and I'm Givin' It up!"

Sarah Palin can't talk right now -
she's got a foot in her mouth.

Sarah Palin's relationship with lobbyists died today. In her effort to look like a "Maverick for Change" she practically called lobbyists the scum of the earth. Good thing her campaign manager, Rick Davis, didn't hear her - or pretended not to hear. When questioned by Sean Hannity (speaking of scum) about “relationships between political donations from Fannie and Freddie Mac and the bankruptcy.” Palin switched gears and laid some of the blame on the Jack Abramoffs of Washington:

PALIN: I think that’s significant, but even more significant is the role that the lobbyists play in an issue like this also. And in that cronyism — it’s symptomatic of the greater problem that we see right now in Washington and that is just that acceptance of the status quo.

(From The Politico, July 20)

Davis headed the Homeownership Alliance, a lobbying association that included Fannie, Freddie, nonprofit groups, real estate agents, homebuilders and consumer advocates. … [The group] worked to oppose congressional efforts to tighten controls on Fannie and Freddie.

Will she be able to talk to Rick Davis about her views? Sure. Like most lobbyists (or former lobbyists), Davis is a master at spin control. How he's going to do it, I'm not sure, but if he ever wants to see Washington on either side of the fence, he'll make her remark look profound, but inoffensive.