Category Archives: Wingnuttery at work

It’s four years from 2016, and he’s already stepped in it

One of the young bucks in the wingnut bullpen, Senator Marco Rubio, gets an early start on his 2016 debacle with a GQ interview:

How old do you think the Earth is?

I’m not a scientist, man. I can tell you what recorded history says, I can tell you what the Bible says, but I think that’s a dispute amongst theologians and I think it has nothing to do with the gross domestic product or economic growth of the United States. I think the age of the universe has zero to do with how our economy is going to grow. I’m not a scientist. I don’t think I’m qualified to answer a question like that. At the end of the day, I think there are multiple theories out there on how the universe was created and I think this is a country where people should have the opportunity to teach them all…

(Emphasis mine.)

So, in less than one question’s answer, Rubio has

  • sidestepped the question in order to talk about what he wants to talk about
  • ignored mountains of verifiable scientific facts
  • paid homage to his billionaire conservative controllers donors
  • backed the notion of teaching creationism in science classes
  • shuffled off any responsibility for the non-answer he gave

Oh, aside from his wife, Rubio’s best friend is  Jim DeMint.

Did Rubio and Rmoney change bodies sometime over the weekend? And would you want someone who’s not qualified to read a high-school geology text running your country?

About these ads

Wanna know where your Catholic tithes go?

Look no further.

Per NOM Exposed, the Roman Catholic Church and its minions in the Knights of Columbus spent $2 million to discriminate against your gay friends and neighbors. NOM itself, who gets great big checks from the Church, spent another $5 million.

That’s 7 million of your donated dollars,  American Catholics. This money should have been spent on the charities and worthy causes for which it was intended. Instead it was spent by a gang of homophobic haters who are supposedly looking after your spiritual well-being. As if.

American Catholics, why are you putting up with this? Are you afraid of the Church and what it might do…

…like this? (Here’s a hint, Lennon. It’s not just the priest — it’s the whole goddam Church.)

UPDATE 16 November: And then there’s legal defense of repeat pedophiles in Australia:

…at least two Catholic orders have continued to fund the legal defences of some of their religious members as they went to trial for the second, third and even fourth time for the sexual abuse of children.
This includes the funding of multiple appeals, hiring top barristers who charge thousands of dollars a day, and hiring private investigators.

Perspective requires the desire to see properly, don’tcha know?

Found this on Facebook tonight:

Along with the documentation:

  • June 14, 2002, Karachi, Pakistan: Bomb explodes outside American consulate in Karachi, Pakistan, killing 12. Linked to al-Qaeda.
  • May 12, 2003, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: Suicide bombers kill 34, including 8 Americans, at housing compounds for Westerners. Al-aeda suspected.
  • May 29–31, 2004, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: Terrorists attack the offices of a Saudi oil company in Khobar, Saudi Arabia, take foreign oil workers hostage in a nearby residential compound, leaving 22 people dead, including one American.
  • June 11–19, 2004, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: Terrorists kidnap and execute Paul Johnson Jr., an American, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Two other Americans and a BBC cameraman are killed by gun attacks.
  • Dec. 6, 2004, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: Terrorists storm the U.S. consulate, killing 5 consulate employees. Four terrorists were killed by Saudi security.
  • Nov. 9, 2005, Amman, Jordan: Suicide bombers hit 3 American hotels, Radisson, Grand Hyatt, and Days Inn, in Amman, Jordan, killing 57. Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility.
  • Sept. 13, 2006, Damascus, Syria: An attack by four gunman on the American embassy is foiled after two security guards are wounded.
  • Jan. 12, 2007, Athens, Greece: The U.S. embassy is fired on by an anti-tank missile, causing damage but no injuries.
  • Dec. 11, 2007, Algeria: More than 60 people are killed, including 11 United Nations staff members, when Al Qaeda terrorists detonate two car bombs near Algeria’s Constitutional Council and the United Nations offices.
  • Sept. 16, 2008, Yemen: A car bomb and a rocket strike the U.S. embassy in Yemen as staff arrived to work, killing 16 people, including 4 civilians. At least 25 suspected al-Qaeda militants are arrested for the attack.
  • Nov. 26, 2008, India: In a series of attacks on several of Mumbai’s landmarks and commercial hubs that are popular with Americans and other foreign tourists, including at least two five-star hotels, a hospital, a train station, and a cinema. About 300 people are wounded and nearly 190 people die, including at least 5 Americans.

So, the next time Willard, Glenn, Rush, or a Teahaddist starts bleating about the attack in Libya, ask them what happened to their outrage at the  administration’s apparent security lapses during the Bush administration.

Or is it all because Obama is a skeery black man?

 

“All animals are equal. But some animals are more equal than others.”

 

  • One of Romney’s top advisers, Bay Buchanan, told Buzzfeed:

“Governor Romney supports a federal marriage amendment to the Constitution that defines marriage as an institution between a man and a woman.”

Like any family, the Romneys have faced hardship: Ann was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1998, and more recently fought a battle with breast cancer. She credits her husband’s unwavering care and devotion to her for helping her through these ordeals.

And as the New Civil Rights Movement states:

So, while Mitt and Ann recognize how important it is to face health crises together, he would actually allow states to prohibit same-sex couples from having the same hospital visitation rights that he and Ann have. We’re not allowed to exercise “unwavering care and devotion” like the Romneys.

The latest demand by the Catholic Church, transparently disguised as NOM

From this snip of her speech, you’d think that Ms. Morse was referring to Catholic priests that have committed pedophilia or ephebophilia:

What the Catholic Church teaches is very simple, that they can be saved, but they have to live a life of chastity — and that God does want them to be saved. In fact, their same-sex attraction can be their personal path to holiness. That can be the thing that gets them to Heaven: dealing with that, dealing with it in a good, and decent, and wholesome way.

–Jennifer Roback Morse, head of the National Organization for Marriage’s Ruth Institute

You’d be thinking wrong. She was referring to gay people. All gay people.

When that jokingly embarrassing excuse for an astroturf organization called NOM is saying here is “It’s all right to be gay. It’s just not all right to have sex outside of marriage. Oh, and by the way, you can’t get married either. Sucks to you.”

And make no mistake — Morse is a six-figure a year executive in NOM, and she’s speaking for the entire organization.

The complete speech is here:

“Thus endeth the lesson. So mote be it!”

Our local Catholic archbishop, His “Excellency” John Nienstedt, recently hosted a meeting of Catholic muckymucks and representatives of hate groups such as NOM — all in the name of supporting the upcoming Minnesota amendment vote permanently banning same-sex marriage in the state.

Here’s what Minnesota Viking’s player Chris Kluwe has to say about this:

Millions of children grow up raised in the Catholic faith. Some of these children will be gay, through no choice of their own, but because of how God created them. What does it say to those children when the head of their religion in this state, a man who claims to “explain and defend the teaching of the Church because I have been ordained to do so and I believe those teachings with all my heart”, a man acting under the direct auspices of the Pope himself, tells them that they can’t be as worthy as everyone else, even though they believe in the teachings of Jesus? What will these children think, as they suffer the barbed insults of their classmates and teachers; I ask you, sir, what will these children think as they are belittled and tormented due to teachings you espouse? What judgment will be passed on your soul when yet another poor child reaches for the knife or the noose to end his or her earthly torment due to your example?

Do you presume to speak for God, Archbishop Nienstedt? Will you tell these children, faithful children who attend Sunday school and earnestly pray every day, that they are somehow lessened in God’s eyes? Will you grasp that millstone, Archbishop Nienstedt, grasp it all the way to the bottom, clutching at the heavy weight of earthly power and influence even as it drags you down?

Hear the brother preach, folks!

Damned if you do, damned if you don’t

I actually kinda  buy the “rock at a McDonald’s” sentiment, but for very different reasons.

I have had very mixed feelings about Islam lately. On the one hand, U. S. laws dictate that religions qua religions must all be treated equally and fairly. On the flip side is the mounting pile of evidence demonstrating that even moderate Muslims support (or at least passively support) the violence instigated because someone said something insulting about their religion.

Political suicide made easy

The Republican Party starts its quadrennial political convention next week. Such conventions have two purposes:

  • nominate the party’s presidential and vice-presidential candidates
  • publish its party’s political platform

We all know about the candidates’ work — it has dominated political news in America for the last year. However, the far more important aspect of the convention is the platform adoption.

And here’s where it gets interesting. The draft of the 2012 GOP platform, to be submitted to the convention next week, contains the following notions:

Faithful to the ‘self-evident’ truths enshrined in the Declaration of Independence, we assert the sanctity of human life and affirm that the unborn child has a fundamental individual right to life which cannot be infringed. We support a human life amendment to the Constitution and endorse legislation to make clear that the Fourteenth Amendment’s protections apply to unborn children.

~~~

A serious threat to our country’s constitutional order, perhaps even more dangerous than presidential malfeasance, is an activist judiciary, in which some judges usurp the powers reserved to other branches of government. A blatant example has been the court-ordered redefinition of marriage in several States. This is more than a matter of warring legal concepts and ideals. It is an assault on the foundations of our society, challenging the institution which, for thousands of years in virtually every civilization, has been entrusted with the rearing of children and the transmission of cultural values.

~~~

That is why congressional Republicans took the lead in enacting the Defense of Marriage Act, affirming the right of States and the federal government not to recognize same-sex relationships licensed in other jurisdictions. An activist judiciary usurps the powers reserved to other branches of government and endangers the foundation of our country.

What would this mean if these and the other platform propositions were enacted into laws?

  • No civil unions or domestic partnerships for gay citizens
  • No birth control that involves expulsion of a fertilized ovum (almost all pills, IUDs, and “morning after” medications)
  • No IVF, frozen embryos, or other artificial means of conception
  • No stem cell research from embryonic sources
  • Arizona-style immigration laws
  • Reintroduction of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”  into the military
  • No judicial protection for cases of discrimination based upon sexual orientation

I’m not really sure how anyone going to the Republican national convention could look at themselves in the mirror.

And I don’t understand why any Republican could think they could win an election while standing on such a morally bankrupt platform.

I hope he chokes on that answer

Wanna see how Paul Ryan answers a direct question about abortion in the event of rape?

QUESTION: Should abortions to be available to women who are raped?

RYAN: Well, look, I’m proud of my pro-life record. And I stand by my pro-life record in Congress. It’s something I’m proud of. But Mitt Romney is the top of the ticket and Mitt Romney will be president and he will set the policy of the Romney administration.

I hope he’s proud of that answer. I hope he chokes on it.

Selling your soul, one book at a time

Most of us have heard about the recent kerfluffle about Chick-Fill-A. I’ve written about them a couple of times before, and I still don’t know why anyone would eat there. (Nasty, dried-out chicken and dry potatoes.)

It seems that the publisher Harper-Collins has been working to clinch a deal with C-F-A to give away Berenstain Bears books in their children’s meals. The keenly ironic detail here is that the creator of the Bears isn’t very happy about this, but has no control over what his publisher does with the books.

Let Harper-Collins know what you think about them doing business with someone who spits in the face of some of your friends.

Here’s what the Berenstains think about the affair: