Why Our Youth Doesn't Give A Shit

I found this article very interesting. While some of the points are a little simplistic, the overall article rings true and. Sad.

National Debt: FIXED! Crisis: AVERTED! Non-Rich: SCREWED!

Capitulation. Is there anything our president does better? A deal has been reached and passed through both houses of Congress and signed by the president to extend the debt ceiling. Well, problem solved! Crisis averted! All accept the part where the president gave the Republicans nearly everything they wanted and got nothing in return.

The compromise deal to persuade GOP lawmakers to raise the federal debt limit — U.S. borrowing was to collide with it at midnight — will cut federal spending by $2.1 trillion or more over the next decade. But Obama immediately challenged Republicans to accept higher taxes on the wealthy in a second round of deficit cuts this fall. They adamantly refused to accept that idea during the past months' dispute.

What is it with this guy and making demands after a “deal” has already been capitulated to? The president brokered a deal with the Republicans for $2.1 trillion in cuts and the president got was an “I Fucked the American People” t-shirt. Sounds like a good deal.

Challenging the Republicans to accept higher taxes after they have already won is like asking a bank robber to return the money after he has already gotten away with the crime. This guy has to be the absolute worst when it comes to negotiations. Either that or his heart was never in to fighting for the people that put him in office.

"We've got to do everything in our power to grow this economy and put America back to work," the president said, arguing forcefully for including revenue increases as well as spending cuts in the next round of efforts to trim huge government deficits.

You don’t accomplish growing the economy and creating jobs by cutting money out from under the American people. Austerity measures are going to do nothing here but send us back into a recession and possibly into a depression. I am sure that the economy will shrink when the people who were being supported by social programs are all dead.

I had more sources to add to this article and more to say, but honestly I am so tired of being surprised at the level of stupidity/complicity of this administration. Every time the Republicans fight the Democrats (and especially the President) lay down and take the beat like the good little cowards that they are.

What the president has done since day one is worse than anything a Republican president could have done. Obama gave us hope and then rubbed our face in being stupid enough to vote for him. At least with a Republican president we all know what we are getting. There are no surprises when a Republican president fights to attempt to balance the budget with tax cuts and social program cuts.

Take it from me: if you are stupid enough to vote for this dickhole next year then you deserve to lose everything in the coming depression.

Other Sources:

Washington Post

Associated Press - 1

Associated Press - 2

Why Pay For Schools When You Can Have The DNC?

Hooray for Charlotte! The DNC has chosen Charlotte as the host city for the convention in 2012. I am very excited to have an event to protest next year. However, someone pointed something out to me that I hadn't thought of until now: how are we going to pay for it?

Here is a quick rundown of the situation in North Carolina: teachers are being laid off in droves because we can't find money to keep them employed. The state is slated to lay off another 5300 teachers from our already-strained education system that is already ranked at 23rd in the nation. So lets cram more kids into already overburdened classrooms so they can be taught by underpaid and overworked teachers.

Social services are being slashed which will add to the crime rate and homeless rate because we can't find any money. What happens when mental health services are cut to people who are already living on the fringes of society? Homelessness, crime, and a load of people entering an overburdened prison system.

Those are just two very important aspects of our state and its lack of money. So please, someone explain to me how can Charlotte afford to spend $40 million on the DNC.

Even with restrictions the party has placed on corporate fund-raising, Foxx [Charlotte Mayor] said, "we will raise the money," estimated to be $40 million. "I have no doubts about that." He also said that "a lot of security dollars are going to come into our area."

So when your kids can't go to school and half of your family is on the streets because there are no care centers for those in need of mental health, ask the DNC why they needed to bring a party of Republicans-in-drag to our city and spend money that we don't have.

Hawaii Makes Great Decisions

Hawaii: a land of beautiful weather, beautiful landscape, beautiful people, and as of last month, no prayer during state senate meetings. In a move that would seem unfathomable by any other state in the Union, the senate of Hawaii decided to end the daily prayer that was usually given every day before the session began which more than likely referenced Jesus. Of course!

The ACLU wrote a letter to the senate telling them that they were circumventing the separation of church and state. Instead of asking for prayers that didn't reference any deities, the senate decided to do away with the practice all together. To that, we salute you Hawaii!

¡Viva la Revolución!

I hope everyone is watching what is going on in Tunisia with the intensity that I am. I cannot stress enough how important this “Jasmine Revolution” is. For those of you who don’t know, I recommend reading everything you can about this revolution.

Tunisia is a perfect example of what happens when you take rights and freedoms from people and force them to live in a state of poverty and fear. The situation in Tunisia was, and still is, dire. The people, tired of living under the crushing weight of poverty and restricted access to information, rose up and took back their government. It is sad that it took a young man setting himself on fire to bring about this revolution, but desperate times require desperate measures. Imagine being in a place that your only recourse is to set yourself ablaze.

What makes the situation so volatile now is the danger of a military regime taking over the country. General Rachid Ammar released the following statement:

... he would uphold “the revolution” that brought down the government, and he promised that the military would guarantee stability until the interim government held elections, witnesses said.

Don’t buy what this guy is selling. We have seen this movie before. The military will maintain peace and then continue maintaining that peace by taking over the government. The last thing Tunisia needs is military junta at the helm. The African continent has seen its fair share of military dictators. I don’t think they need another one.

Another reason that this is important is that it shows the rest of the world how bad it has to get before someone does something. How disenchanted with your government do you have to get before you take to the streets in protest? In most places that isn’t really a problem (i.e. the student protests in the UK, workers riots in France, etc) so this message is really directed at the American people.

Are we going to let it get this bad in the US before we take action? What is it going to take to get the populace off of their asses and out on the streets protesting issues like the continued war in Afghanistan, and continued occupation of Iraq, the billions spent on the military every year, and the lack of jobs all while the cost of living continues to rise, healthcare is becoming more and more unattainable for people who aren’t millionaires, jobs pay less if you can find one, and people continue to suffer in poverty? My guess is it is going to take something drastic to get people moving.

Americans have just become too soft. We are comfortable with our central air, our big screen TV, our fridge full of meat, and our counter full of donuts. We continue to drive gas-guzzling pollution machines almost in spite of the science of our deteriorating environment. Well, isn’t that the American way? Maybe when people are too poor to eat at McDonald's and gas is $13.00 per gallon people will wake the fuck up.

Our situation is nowhere near as bad as Tunisia, but why should we let it get that bad before we make real change?

Threatened By Somalia

Oh no. We have been warned.

A leader of Somalia's Islamist insurgency threatened to attack America during a broadcast speech.

"We tell the American President Barack Obama to embrace Islam before we come to his country," Fuad Mohamed "Shongole" Qalaf said Monday.

Well, I guess we should all get on that. I am surprised that the right-wing hasn't lost their mind about this yet. Isn't Obama supposed to be a Muslim already? I guess this would just be further proof that he isn't, and we know how the right-wing feels about proof.

Seriously, I think this threat should be taken seriously. We can make fun of Somalia all we want and ask questions like “How large is your Air Force” and all, but remember, it only took 19 dirt worshipers to take down the World Trade Center.

A History Of Weakness

Two years ago we had just elected Barack Obama as President. The nation was elated because they thought that finally we would have someone who would change the way the government runs and how we do business as a nation. I, like many people at the time, was fully on board with the President coming into office and getting us back on some sort of reasonable course, a course that had been shifted so far to the right that Reagan started to seem like a left-of-center Democrat. As of this week, what little confidence I had in the President to do the right thing came to a halt.

My discontent had been growing with this administration since the health care debate. I was angry enough to declare that I would not be voting for him again, with good reason. The health care bill gave us so little change that it may as well have not even been passed. Health care costs continue to rise, health insurance companies who are forced to cover preexisting conditions in children are just refusing to cover children at all, and the bill as a whole won't start to take a real effect until 2014. In 2014, the bill will have been gutted because it wasn't strong and it wasn't immediate. This entire episode would have been attributed to a new administration trying to find their way. Things would surely get better after this. Right?

Since the health care debate the President has been cowering in a corner, or more precisely he has been on his knees under Mitch McConnell's and John Boehner's desks. He collapses under any kind of pressure from the right and them throws his arms in the air and says “What could I have done? I had to compromise.” I haven't seen compromise, all I have seen is capitulation. There is a lot of big talk coming from this guy. He says he would love to fight the Republicans on every piece of major legislation that he can. When the opportunity presents itself, he runs and hides behind the curtains in the oval office.

Then there are the areas that he has stood up to fight which is a long list of right-wing goals. He failed to close Guantanamo Bay, he continues to policy of warrantless wiretapping, and seems to be apathetic to the issue of Net Neutrality. The only conclusion I can draw from any of these issues is that he doesn't care. If you do not take a stand against a bad idea than you may as well be a supporter of the bad idea. There is no room for compromise when it comes to failed or bad ideas from the Bush Administration.

Now comes to two issues that the President could have redeemed himself on: Repeal of “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” and repeal of the Bush tax cuts. On the issue of DADT, how can he expect anything to get done while he is doing nothing but sitting on his hands waiting for the turtle of congress to take action? I agree that the bill has to be repealed through congress, but there is the option of enacting a stop-loss in the mean time. Then you start to tighten the screws on congress until they scream for mercy. The public is for the repeal of DADT and so is most of congress, minus John McCain who should be treated like a child and told to go stand in the corner until he calms down. Instead, we get a President who pays great lip service but does nothing in the end. Gays are still being discharged under DADT and congress has still not taken up the issue. You know why? Weak leadership, which also applies to Pelosi and Reed.

On the second issue, why is the President making the case for the Republicans? It doesn't make any sense at all. He went out as he usually does and crumbled at the first sign of pressure from the right. Not only did he crumble, but he gave away all of his bargaining chips before negotiations even started. As with DADT, the repeal of the Bush tax cuts was supported by a majority of the nation. The middle class should get to keep their tax cuts (that's anyone making less than $250,000 a year, which is too high in my opinion) and the wealthiest 2% of the nation has to go back to what their taxes were under Clinton (which is way too low in my opinion). However this President can't seem to wrap his mind around standing on principle. He actually thinks that he lost the House in 2010 because he wasn't enough of a Republican. What really happened was people started to wake up to his bullshit and realize that he has no back bone. The people voted for the Republicans because they had no other choice. Why would they vote for a spineless Democrat?

I can only urge the Democrats to run a primary against the President. After he stood on stage and blamed all of his problems on the liberals (his base, you know the ones who support him most) and said that we were being sanctimonious, the entire party should have started the process of finding someone who wasn't going to be a weakling who cowers in fear every time a Republican walks into the room.

I stick by my decision to never vote for this guy again. He is a lost cause at best and a Republican at worst. The question now is who is going to challenge him? Who can beat him for the nomination or who could run as a viable third-party candidate? I'm looking at you Russ Feingold.

A Home-School Survivor

One important part of my life, as with all humans (except those who are in some way mentally handicapped) is social interaction. I love being around people regardless of their belief structures, personalities, or political leanings. I would rather be around a group of people that I disagree with than to be alone. I haven't always been this way though. There was a pretty bleak period in my life when I was home-schooled and social interaction with new people (or anyone outside of my immediate family) was impossible. My parents were well-meaning, but were also stiflingly overprotective.

When I was in the 5th grade, I was taken out of the private Christian school that I attended because my parents could no longer afford the tuition. Instead of doing the right thing, the thing that would have been best for me, my parents decided to take my education into their own hands. It sounded like a great idea; not having to get up early, getting to go play when I got my work done early, getting to stay up late. These should also be reasons that parents wouldn't want their kids at home all of the time. That great feeling of freedom from a structured school system faded quickly however.

My parents are fairly smart people. My dad has a degree in agricultural science and my mom, while not having a degree, was smart when it came to English. However, my family was poor. My dad worked all of the time and my mom stayed at home to teach me, even though her own problems with depression usually lead to her lazing about the house, almost as if she were uninterested in my education. That may not have been what she felt, but that was my observation as a child. When my dad did have time to try to teach me math or science, he would get so frustrated and annoyed that I would just turn off my ears and not ask questions for fear of being yelled at. My parents were smart people, but they had no business teaching anyone anything, much less being in charge of someone else's entire education.

What made this experience so unbearable was the crushing loneliness. It was just me and my mom. My sister by this time had already left the house (I can't understand why she would rather leave than stay under the watchful eye of my parents) so there was no one for me to talk to, no one for me to play with, and no new people to meet. It is amazing how fast a person in that situation can retreat into their own mind. There were programs at the time for home-schooled children to meet each other and have some sort of interaction even though it usually revolved around some sort of church function. However, the laziness that I described earlier prohibited such activities. Again, sheer loneliness.

After about a year of home-school, I had successfully removed myself from the rest of the world. I fantasized all day about a life that wasn't mine. I had plenty of time to do this since no one was making sure I was keeping up with my work, which I wasn't. My parents were supposed to be in charge of my education; it wasn't supposed to have been left up to the 5th grader. What child would police themselves and make sure their work was up-to-date if there were no deadlines, no tests, and no teachers to answer to?

Not being content with having me at home all of the time, my school material had to come from a good Christian institution which for our geographical local happens to be Bob Jones University. Not only was I alone and poorly educated, the education I was getting was skewed so hard by religion that I could scarcely tell my biology book from the Bible. I liken it to receiving an education about lung disease from the Tobacco Institute.

Herein lies the problem with home-school. There is no regulation as to what you teach your child. When the libertarians stand up and scream about abolishing the Department of Education, what they are saying is they want to decide what their children are taught on a level that the vast majority of them do not have the education to understand. I am sure there are some smart libertarians out there, but the vast majority of people who had that much control over their child's' education would end up like I did: getting a great education of how the Bible has all of the answers and science is wrong, wrong, wrong! There are standards and regulations of the education system (not enough, in my opinion) for a reason. Overall, most of the information out there is solid science, minus textbooks from Texas and Louisiana of course.

The other problem with home-school is the lack of social interaction. I am sure that there are some die-hard parents out there who are members of organizations that let their socially inept kids meet up with each other on a weekly basis, but they are in the minority from my experience. There is an institution set up that allows kids to interact with each other now; and amazing system called “Public Education”. There are standards that the kids have to adhere to and regardless of how I feel about the testing system or the way money is divided amongst schools in the affluent areas and the inner-city schools they work pretty damned well.

The education options for people are not perfect; the public school system has it fair share of inadequacies and private schools have loose standards and have to be examined carefully when choosing , but the home-school system is one that is in such a poor state that it shouldn't exist. I think the vast majority of parents who home-school their kids have no business trying to train a dog, much less teach another human being about the world. Home-school is a bad idea and the injustices that are visited upon the children involved amount to child abuse. Giving your children no other option than to sit at home all day and maybe get some work done all while retreating into their own imagination is not only wrong, but immoral.

Ken Cuccinelli: Overt Weirdo

Virginia Attorney-General-for-Jesus Ken Cuccinelli has written an opinion on overtly Christian symbolism being used for recognition of holidays. In his opinion, Cuccinelli wrote that

"... The county is free to communicate its own recognition of the holidays, including Christmas, as long as overtly Christian symbols are balanced with other religious and secular ones in a way that communicates to reasonable, informed observers that the county is not making a religious statement.

So the good people of Virginia can erect a manger scene, complete with live actors, paid for by the government, as long as they symbols are balanced out by secular symbols. How messy is this going to get? I have a feeling that the secular symbols the AG is speaking of are going to end up being Christmas trees and Christmas lights.

How “reasonable” is this policy going to be? Are there atheist groups in Virginia that are going to be able to put up knowledge-trees or a tribute to the Flying Spaghetti Monster for the holiday season, all while being publically funded? I doubt that any of the displays will be allowed to be displayed even if the groups themselves paid for them.

What are the public lawns going to look like with fifty different displays up for holidays? Are they going to also allow Muslims to put up displays for Ramadan or Jews for Chanukah? What about Buddhists, Hindus, Sikhs, Wiccans, Witchdoctors, or Pagans?

I think it would be easier to just not allow anything of the sort on public land, funded by public money. I am sure that Virginia has better things to spend money on, like getting Cuccinelli the clown out of office.

Glenn Beck, Martin Luther King Jr, And The Islamic Community Center

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

There has been a lot of criticism, half-truths, and outright lies surrounding the Islamic Community Center that is going to be built in the old Burlington Coat Factory in New York City. It is the constitutional right of all Americans to worship in their own way and to have places of worship where they want them (pending the area is zoned for said building). When right-wing talking heads like Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and right-wing politicians like John Boehner, Newt Gingrich, Sarah Palin had lost the constitutional argument of the community center, they turned to the “feelings” of the nation.

“How does it make you feel that the people who destroyed the Twin Towers are going to build a military training outpost right next to the crater where the Towers used to be?” This is essentially the question that the right began to ask when they realized they had no constitutional ground to stand on. You had the likes of Rep. Eric Cantor give this somewhat stupid response to the community center:



I mean, come on! The guys are brown and don’t worship Yahweh. How can anyone take these guys seriously? There is no response that follows “The Muslim community has the constitutional right to build the community center.” There is no but, no however, and no “come on!” The end of the conversation has been reached.

I remember during the last presidential campaign that Sarah Palin said that the people who resided in the cities of the east and west coasts weren’t Real Americans™. Undoubtedly, all of the Real Americans™ resided in Texas, Alaska, and the Midwest. In the same campaign, Mrs. Palin had the audacity to speak about the World Trade Center as if it was something near and dear to her heart. I guess that it doesn’t matter that the Trade Center is in the fake American zone of this country when it is politically expedient. Now, a community center that is being built in the same fake American zone is being criticized because it will desecrate the memory of all those people who died on 9/11; or it will be used as a training center for al Qaeda; or it will be the new seat of power for the American Caliphate. No one can keep the arguments coming from the right straight.

There is also the ever-present background noise of Newt Gingrich who says that they (Muslims) can build a mosque at that location when we (Christians and Jews) can build churches and synagogues in Saudi Arabia. You know what I love about America? I love the fact that we aren’t Saudi Arabia. I thought that we prided ourselves on having freedoms that other countries like Saudi Arabia don’t have. The Saudi government can restrict whatever they would like, but (supposedly) in this country, we have the freedom to build houses of worship that the Saudi’s don’t have.

So I suppose that we, as a nation, are going to base all of our laws on the hurt feelings of people, constitution be damned. Fox News and their ilk are telling the people to go with their emotions and forgo the laws that we supposedly, but apparently not anymore, hold so dear. If Fox News wants the nation to operate this way, then why did Glenn Beck go ahead with his rally at the Washington Monument on the anniversary of the famous “I Have A Dream” speech by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr?



There were plenty of people disgusted with the idea of someone like Glenn Beck hijacking the legacy of Dr. King for his own nefarious purposes. Glenn Beck is supposed to be concerned with the feelings of the people of this nation. Why, under such intense opposition, would Glenn Beck go ahead with such a blatant slap in the face to the icon of the Civil Rights Movement? He did it because it gave him the highest visibility to disperse his message of insanity. I mean, he has the constitutional right to do so, but come on!

Glenn Beck, as repulsive as I may find him, has every right to give a speech wherever he can get a permit to do so. He can hold any kind of rally that and spew forth as many lies and as much hate as he pleases. He can do this because of the First Amendment of the Constitution, which is the same amendment that gives the Muslim community of New York City the right to build their community center and worship as they please. It doesn’t matter how someone may feel about the situation.

If it were up to me, no one would be allowed to build any kind of religious institution anywhere ever. Religion has done much more harm than good and it will continue to be the “dark matter” of our society, that invisible force that separates the fabric of our world community. However, the beautiful thing about this country is that it is based on the Law of the Constitution, my feelings and wishes be damned.

There is only one question that can be asked and only one answer that can be given: “Does the Cordoba House have a right to exist in the old Burlington Coat Factory, a building that they paid for?”

Yes.

John Boehner: PWNed By Joe Scarborough

This is fantastic. You know, sometimes I would like to fight Joe Scarborough in the street, then he does something like this and makes me like him, just a very little bit.

Nothing makes me happier then seeing John Boehner getting the smack down, even if it is just an ad hominem attack.

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Sorry to all three of you that I haven't been around for the past few days. I am having some personal changes going on right now and some great projects that I am about to start. I will do what I can over the next week to post every day. I think that the planned projects will be worth it.

Democrats Are Gutless

I hope everyone has heard about the recent flap over a racist USDA official who was fired by the Obama Administration because of her racist comments coming out of her racist mouth that were taped and aired on Fox News. This racist was being racist against a white farmer in her racist position at the Federation of Cooperative/Land Assistance Fund. Way to go, Fox News! Take that racist woman down like you took down that racist/pedophilic/whorish organization ACORN.

Wait for it.

The video that supposedly showed how racist this racist lady is was… EDITED TO MAKE HER LOOK RACIST. Who could have seen that coming? This is a pattern with Republicans/Teabaggers: if you can’t find evidence of wrong-doing, just make the shit up. Take a video of someone and then edit it to make them look like a pedophile, a pimp, or a racist. Seriously, we should have all seen this coming and expected no less from the likes of Andrew Breitbart.

The lying liars in the GOP/Teabag party don’t really piss me off that much, as I expect to see stuff like this from them. What pisses me off is the cowardice of the Obama Administration. See, before this tape really even hit the media, Shirley Sharrod was asked to resign from her position at the USDA. The Administration actually asked her if she could text her resignation in since she was traveling when this all went down. Shortly after, the NAACP condemned Shirley Sharrod for her racially racist acts and comments. All the GOP/Teabag party had to do was mention what they were about to do and the Administration rolled over like Old Yeller.

Why would they have taken the time to investigate when they could just cave in to an edited video? That sounds like a lot of work! Besides, Andrew Breitbart had already done the investigating, so… mission complete? Why do the democrats continually believe anything that the right-wing says? This whole event is an example of the democrats as a whole: never back any of your own people up and bow down to the republicans every chance you get. I am afraid that it is quite clear: the Democrats are completely under the control of Fox News and the Republican Party. It’s the same old song and dance. The Democrats folded under pressure about the public option and gave way to much power to the health insurance industry. They caved in when it came to “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”. They caved in when it came to financial reform. All of this because Fox News and the GOP/BallGagger’s said they were socialists.

Let me tell you right now: I am a socialist and I wish we had a socialist government. However, I would settle for an administration that had the people’s interests in mind and a president that wasn’t a fucking ball-less bitch.

Spartanburg, SC Heads Down The Prayer Path

Does anyone remember when John F. Kennedy had to prove to the nation that his religion (Catholicism) would not interfere with his governance? Neither do I. Neither does the rest of the country. Now, everyone is concerned with their elected leaders wearing their religion on their foreheads like some sort of moronic billboard. It looks like Spartanburg County, SC is about to have their own religious battle for, you guessed it, prayer before county commission meetings.

There is a quote from Chairman Jeff Horton that is very telling about what happens when you mix governance and religion. (emphasis added)

“He prays for all council members and everyone in Spartanburg, and always includes our fire personnel and police officers and our military personnel. He doesn’t try to convert anybody to Christianity in our service, I mean our, um, meeting."

Even that guy is having trouble distinguishing the meeting from church. But, I have to say I love the reason that this even became an issue.

Prayer in the public square has been under increased scrutiny since March, when Councilman O’Neal Mintz — filling in for Chaplain Jerry Clevenger — opened a council meeting with a prayer condemning abortion and same-sex marriage. Clevenger, a Sheriff’s Office employee, typically gives the opening prayer and uses less controversial language. But he does close his prayers “in Jesus’s name.”

Damn, that guy is bold. What do you expect when you let hillbillies run rampant at public functions where they can gain points with the flock of Jesus? It gets better. Horton says:

“But as a Christian, I cannot ask anyone not to say Jesus’ name.”

Yes you can! What you do is stop praying at government functions! This guys is flat out telling everyone that being a Christian supersedes his oath of office. So one night, when this guy hears the voice of God tell him to enact Christian Sharia Law, then he will because Jesus told him to.

The best way to avoid this situation is to stop praying before meetings. Stop praying at government functions. Keep your prayer to yourself. By the way, didn't that Jesus guy that these people seem to not be able to stop talking about have something interesting to say about prayer?

"But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly." - Matthew 6:6

I guess they overlooked that one.

North Carolina Legislature Wastes Time On Prayer

History repeating itself is boring. A pastor who had honorary chaplain duties for the North Carolina House of Representatives was relieved of his dutieswhen he refused to take the name of Jesus out of the end of his invocation.

"I was made to feel like a second class North Carolinian when I was told that my services would no longer be needed if I could not offer the opening prayer in the manner prescribed by the House of Representatives, rather than in the manner my Biblical faith requires," said Pastor Ron Baity.

Waa, waa, waaaaaaaaaaaa! I know that being a pastor in North Carolina must be a horrible thing what with all of the religious people here. However, the problem I have with this whole story is not that this pastor wanted to pray to Jesus, it is that the NC Legislature is wasting time on prayer!

Why does the Legislature need to pray before getting down to business? Why can't these pious politicians pray before they show up to the meeting? I would prefer that the business of the state be taken care of with as little ancient mysticism as possible. Imagine if someone sacrificed a lamb on the steps of the House before every meeting. It would be a disgusting display and a waste of time that would have no bearing on the business of the State.

Just like prayer.

Sharron Angle: Worst. Person. Ever.

Sharron Angle, who is running against Sen. Harry Reid in Nevada, has come out strong. The problem is she came out strong a crazy!

Check out this little conversation on the Bill Manders Show:

Manders: I, too, am pro life but I'm also pro choice, do you understand what I mean when I say that.

Angle: I'm pro responsible choice. There is choice to abstain choice to do contraception. There are all kind of good choices.

Manders: Is there any reason at all for an abortion?

Angle: Not in my book.

Manders: So, in other words, rape and incest would not be something?

Angle: You know, I'm a Christian and I believe that God has a plan and a purpose for each one of our lives and that he can intercede in all kinds of situations and we need to have a little faith in many things.

Someone explain this to me. So, even if a 10 year old girl is raped and becomes pregnant, not only would it be illegal for her to have an abortion under Sharron Angle's laws, but it would also be seen as part of God's plan? Disgusting.

This woman is a train wreck. I don't see how someone could say this shit with a straight face. I love how she started her final answer out with "I'm a Christian." Well, that would be reason enough for me not to vote for her.

If you live in NV and vote for Sharron Angle, then you are a bad person. Plain and simple.

We've Got Crazy In NC

I don't think much can be said about this story about Tim D'Annunzio, GOP candidate in the NC-8th. If this guy didn't actually have a chance of getting elected, this would be hilarious.

"In Hoke County divorce records, his wife said in 1995 that D'Annunzio had claimed to be the Messiah, had traveled to New Jersey to raise his stepfather from the dead, believed God would drop a 1,000-mile high pyramid as the New Jerusalem on Greenland and found the Ark of the Covenant in Arizona," the Associated Press reported.

Well, I guess I have made fun of South Carolina and Texas enough. Now it's our turn in the spotlight; the one that is shinning from the top of the hospital for the criminally insane.

Rand Paul And The Christian Nation™

Rand Paul has finally found the problem with America. The problem is the laws we use. The Constitution is crap and so is the government. I know, he is running for office so that he can work in the government that he wants to abolish, which is a little like pimping yourself out to end prostitution. But why the hell should that stop him?!

Getting back to the point, our laws are the problem. What would really make this country run great is if we were all Christians. Why? Because Christians have the monopoly on Morality™.

I'm a Christian. We go to the Presbyterian Church. My wife’s a Deacon there and we’ve gone there ever since we came to town. I see that Christianity and values is the basis of our society. . . . 98% of us won’t murder people, won’t steal, won’t break the law and it helps a society to have that religious underpinning. You still need to have the laws but I think it helps to have a people who believe in law and order and who have a moral compass or a moral basis for their day to day life.

That is the dumbest point I have ever heard made. Where does he get these facts? Since we don't need any actual research to back up our numbers, I will say that 98% of the population won't murder people, won't steal, and won't break the law. I will also say that 100% of the people that vote for or agree with Rand Paul are bigoted idiots who want nothing more than a great white anarchist America.

Afghanistan: Falling Down

McClathcy did a great article about how the campaign in Marjah has become an utter failure.

The operation in Marjah is supposed to be the first blow in a decisive campaign
to oust the Taliban from their spiritual homeland in adjacent Kandahar province,
one that McChrystal had hoped would bring security and stability to Marjah and
begin to convey an "irreversible sense of momentum" in the U.S.-led campaign in
Afghanistan.

Instead, a tour last week of Marjah and the nearby Nad Ali
district, during which McClatchy had rare access to meetings between McChrystal
and top Western strategists, drove home the hard fact that President Barack
Obama's plan to begin pulling American troops out of Afghanistan in July 2011 is
colliding with the realities of the war.

There aren't enough U.S. and
Afghan forces to provide the security that's needed to win the loyalty of wary
locals. The Taliban have beheaded Afghans who cooperate with foreigners in a
creeping intimidation campaign. The Afghan government hasn't dispatched enough
local administrators or trained police to establish credible governance, and now
the Taliban have begun their anticipated spring offensive.

"This is a
bleeding ulcer right now," McChrystal told a group of Afghan officials,
international commanders in southern Afghanistan and civilian strategists who
are leading the effort to oust the Taliban fighters from Helmand.

"You
don't feel it here," he said during a 10-hour front-line strategy review, "but
I'll tell you, it's a bleeding ulcer outside."

We have got to get out of Afghanistan. We are spending lives there that will never be recovered. This article coupled with the fact that we just crossed the 1000 mark in troops killed in Afghanistan is like a giant flashing "WARNING" light.

Progess Towards Ending "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

The President signed onto a deal today that would allow Congress to vote on repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" only after the 'study' from the Defense Department was completed on December 1.

This may shock some of you, but I am not thrilled with this compromise (does Obama know any other word than compromise?). This is set to take place after the November elections. There is a chance out there that the Democrats will lose their majority in at least one of the chambers of congress. It's hard to pass or repeal legislation when the opposing party is the equivalent of the Knights Templar.

Also, why would you compromise with the people who would rather see gays dead than being comfortable in their own skin? What you do is grab your party by their collective balls and tell them what they are going to do. Exercise some goddamn party discipline!

This antiquated bill needs to be struck down. If you want to wait until December, then at least write a directive that will stop all prosecutions under DADT. I think part of the article is very telling of how DADT is looked upon.

Already this year, the administration has taken significant steps toward doing
undoing the policy; just last month, the Secretary of the Army, John M. McHugh,
said he was effectively ignoring “don’t ask, don’t tell” and had no intention of
pursuing discharges of active duty service members who have told him they are
gay.

As he should.

Sanford Loves Argentina

It's been a busy night. My TV finally took a dump on itself. So, after spending three hours at Best Buy, I have a new TV. However, that left me little time to produce a good post tonight. So instead, I leave you with a love story.

When ever I think it is bad living in North Carolina, at least it isn't South Carolina. Christian values, my friends.