The religious right rears its ugly head!
Right wing extremist James Dobson recently was quoted as saying that Barack Obama was:
"deliberately distorting the Bible," "dragging biblical understanding through the gutter," "willfully trying to confuse people," and having a "fruitcake interpretation of the Constitution. "
This type of rhetoric is business as usual for the right-wing; claim some fictitious moral high ground where only they’re interpretation of scripture is accurate or permissible and any other opinion is heresy.
Thankfully the sensible minister Jim Wallis responded:
Obama said that religion is and always has been a fundamental and absolutely essential source of morality for the nation, but he also said that "religion has no monopoly on morality," which is a point I often make. The United States is not the Christian theocracy that people like James Dobson seem to think it should be. Political appeals, even if rooted in religious convictions, must be argued on moral grounds rather than as sectarian religious demands -- so that the people (citizens), whether religious or not, may have the capacity to hear and respond. Religious convictions must be translated into moral arguments, which must win the political debate if they are to be implemented. Religious people don't get to win just because they are religious. They, like any other citizens, have to convince their fellow citizens that what they propose is best for the common good -- for all of us, not just for the religious.
Wallis didn’t let Democrats off the hook completely:
One more note. I personally disagree with how both the Democrats and Republicans have treated the moral issue of abortion and am hopeful that the movement toward a serious commitment for dramatic abortion reduction will re-shape both parties' language and positions. But that is the only "bloody notion" that Dobson mentions. What about the horrible bloody war in Iraq that Dobson apparently supports, or the 30,000 children who die each day globally of poverty and disease that Dobson never mentions, or the genocides in Darfur and other places? In making abortion the single life issue in politics and elections, leaders from the Religious Right like Dobson have violated the "consistent ethic of life" that we find, for example, in Catholic social teaching.
Jim Wallis then gave his opinion on the real reason for Dobson’s attack on Obama:
Dobson has also fought unsuccessfully to keep the issue of the environment and climate change, which many also now regard as a "life issue," off the evangelical agenda. Older Religious Right leaders are now being passed by a new generation of young evangelicals who believe that poverty, "creation care" of the environment, human trafficking, human rights, pandemic diseases such as HIV/AIDS, and the fundamental issues of war and peace are also "religious" and "moral" issues and now a part of a much wider and deeper agenda. That new evangelical agenda is a deep threat to Dobson and the power wielded by the Religious Right for so long. It puts many evangelical votes in play this election year, especially among a new generation who are no longer captive to the Religious Right. Perhaps that is the real reason for Dobson's attack on Barack Obama.
Read the full post here.
Wallis isn't the only one standing up to Dobson check out this site. Rev. Kirbyjon Caldwell is the pastor who married Jenna Bush recently and his name is at the bottom of the site.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Save the Date
Mark your calendars! The Bush Legacy Tour is coming to Michigan. So far the bus has only four Michigan stops:
Saturday, September 20 Kalamazoo MI
Monday, September 22 Grand Rapids MI
Monday, September 22 Lansing MI
Tuesday, September 23 Detroit MI
If you are outside of Michigan here is a list of all the scheduled stops.
The Exhibits on the bus include:
The Iraq War - Workers
The Economy - Katrina
Health Care - Education
The Environment and the solution to the Bush Legacy – The Progressive Vision
Get ready and check the Tour Home Page to see updated schedules.
Saturday, September 20 Kalamazoo MI
Monday, September 22 Grand Rapids MI
Monday, September 22 Lansing MI
Tuesday, September 23 Detroit MI
If you are outside of Michigan here is a list of all the scheduled stops.
The Exhibits on the bus include:
The Iraq War - Workers
The Economy - Katrina
Health Care - Education
The Environment and the solution to the Bush Legacy – The Progressive Vision
Get ready and check the Tour Home Page to see updated schedules.
Friday, June 20, 2008
B.F.F. or Stupid S*%# from Planet McBush pt. 2
They’re so cute when they mimic each other! Dubyah and McBush were out parroting each other with bad policy ideas and photo op.’s.
Drill! Drill! Drill! Was the mantra coming from the right wing this week. Sounding like a scene out of “There Will be Blood” the republican’s continued to fight valiantly on behalf of big oil. McCain actually went and pandered directly to a group of big oil exec.’s and his twin babbled the same nonsense the next day. Usually it takes at least a month for McBush to Flip-Flop on his stances however, for this idea he only needed 3 weeks! Presidential candidate Barack Obama responded to McBush’s flip-flop with this statement:
“His decision to completely change his position and tell a group of Houston oil executives exactly what they wanted to hear today was the same Washington politics that has prevented us from achieving energy independence for decades,”
Well done Senator!
The N.Y. Times completely ripped McSame a new one! Check it out.
Just in case you’re wondering what you can do to stop the right wing for foolishly catering to the interests of big oil even further?
True Majority asks the question: Did Exxon Mobil buy John McCain? And also prepare this letter to your elected officials.
The Sierra Club has a petition it will deliver to congress. Sign the petition here.
NEXT!
It’s hard to believe his campaign people let it happen but John McCain and George W. Bush were both scheduled to observe the damage done by flooding in Iowa on Thursday. Maybe it was just a case of great minds thinking alike.
Either way, when you see two people who say the same things and think of the same things sometimes people call them Best Friends Forever (B.F.F.).
Monday, June 16, 2008
Stupid S*%# from Planet McBush
With about 20 weeks to go before the Presidential election in November I have been noticing so many ridiculous things coming from the right wing that I am going to try to document some of them. I will call it “Stupid S*%# from Planet McBush”; Featuring lies, ridiculous claims and blatant fear mongering from John McCain and the usual host of right wing water carriers.
I will begin the posts with a couple of quotes from Mr. 3rd term “"I'm going to raise the level of political dialog in America and I'm going to treat my opponents with respect and demand that they treat me with respect." Mr. Clean went on “"It's time we did away with a lot of this political rhetoric at the level we're at, including these negative ads. Nobody likes these negative ads. You want to know what we're for, not who we're against."
Let’s begin!
The McCain campaign sent out a letter which claimed:
Last week, John McCain invited Senator Obama to participate in this event, hoping to start what would be a series of ten town hall meetings where both candidates would travel the country to answer questions from real voters. Senator Obama has yet to agree to meet us in these town halls, which would revolutionize our political process and start a real change in the tone of politics.
As you may have seen or read, the TRUTH is that both campaigns passed on an event which would only be covered by one network. Here is the story from USA Today. The two campaigns had already agreed to a series of meetings, which would feature coverage from all networks and possibly be available on the internet, when the letter from the McCain campaign was issued.
NEXT!
McSame’s “gas tax holiday”.
Besides receiving such rave reviews as:
“the most irresponsible policy idea of the year—an idea that actually could aid the terrorists.” Jonathan Alter – Newsweek
“The McCain gas tax plan is a giveaway to oil companies, disguised as a gift to consumers.” Paul Krugman – N.Y. Times
AlterNet put together a lengthy list of economists from all sides of the political spectrum that completely dismantle this idea here.
But McCain actually lied when he spoke about the cost of the “holiday”. In response to the question “What would we sacrifice were such a thing to happen?” McCain replied “Very little, maybe a Bridge to Nowhere, maybe another pork barrel project – and it should be made up by general revenues.” Let’s check the numbers!
Bridge to nowhere: $200 million original estimate/$398 current projection.
A gas tax holiday in June, July and August would actually cost the federal government about $9 billion in lost revenue, according to 2007 figures from the IRS.
Do the math and using the first figure it would take 45 bridges to nowhere to compensate the giveaway to oil companies. If you check the pork barrel project numbers it’s actually a bigger lie! On the left side of the blog is something called PolitiFact and they rated this claim “PANTS ON FIRE” on the “truth-o-meter”!
I will begin the posts with a couple of quotes from Mr. 3rd term “"I'm going to raise the level of political dialog in America and I'm going to treat my opponents with respect and demand that they treat me with respect." Mr. Clean went on “"It's time we did away with a lot of this political rhetoric at the level we're at, including these negative ads. Nobody likes these negative ads. You want to know what we're for, not who we're against."
Let’s begin!
The McCain campaign sent out a letter which claimed:
Last week, John McCain invited Senator Obama to participate in this event, hoping to start what would be a series of ten town hall meetings where both candidates would travel the country to answer questions from real voters. Senator Obama has yet to agree to meet us in these town halls, which would revolutionize our political process and start a real change in the tone of politics.
As you may have seen or read, the TRUTH is that both campaigns passed on an event which would only be covered by one network. Here is the story from USA Today. The two campaigns had already agreed to a series of meetings, which would feature coverage from all networks and possibly be available on the internet, when the letter from the McCain campaign was issued.
NEXT!
McSame’s “gas tax holiday”.
Besides receiving such rave reviews as:
“the most irresponsible policy idea of the year—an idea that actually could aid the terrorists.” Jonathan Alter – Newsweek
“The McCain gas tax plan is a giveaway to oil companies, disguised as a gift to consumers.” Paul Krugman – N.Y. Times
AlterNet put together a lengthy list of economists from all sides of the political spectrum that completely dismantle this idea here.
But McCain actually lied when he spoke about the cost of the “holiday”. In response to the question “What would we sacrifice were such a thing to happen?” McCain replied “Very little, maybe a Bridge to Nowhere, maybe another pork barrel project – and it should be made up by general revenues.” Let’s check the numbers!
Bridge to nowhere: $200 million original estimate/$398 current projection.
A gas tax holiday in June, July and August would actually cost the federal government about $9 billion in lost revenue, according to 2007 figures from the IRS.
Do the math and using the first figure it would take 45 bridges to nowhere to compensate the giveaway to oil companies. If you check the pork barrel project numbers it’s actually a bigger lie! On the left side of the blog is something called PolitiFact and they rated this claim “PANTS ON FIRE” on the “truth-o-meter”!
Saturday, June 14, 2008
The Rogers Recession
America lost another 49,000 jobs in May as our nation plunges deeper into the Mike Rogers/George Bush recession. The community of Saint Johns is still reeling from the loss of 450 middle class jobs when Federal Mogul moved to Mexico. And what did our Congressman, Rep. Mike Rogers do? Why, he voted the overpaid CEO of Federal Mogul and other fat cats a huge tax give-away to 'stimulate the economy'. Meanwhile our neighbors are without jobs and our roads and bridges are crumbling...
Can you afford four more years of Congressman Rogers? Bob Alexander will bring welcome change to Washington!
Can you afford four more years of Congressman Rogers? Bob Alexander will bring welcome change to Washington!
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Frivolous Lawsuits Hypocrisy and Bilking Americans
Frivolous Lawsuits Hypocrisy and Bilking Americans
One of the most often heard battle cries from Republican mouthpieces like Blowhard O’Reilly ,Hannity and Igor and Scarborough is that frivolous lawsuits cost American businesses a ton of money and drive up the cost of healthcare and insurance. Then, these same Republicans do what they do best- hose ordinary Americans.
The National Republican Campaign Committee (NRCC) which is the political and money arm of the House Republicans recently found out that their very own treasurer stole close to $1 million from them. Republicans paid for an audit of their system and accounts and now, have decided to file an insurance claim for the lost money. Who will pay for this? Most likely, people who have insurance policies with this same insurance companies and pension funds who have money invested in this insurer in the form of higher rates and lower investment returns. So, what happened to all the talk about frivolous lawsuits and pulling yourself up by your boot straps?
To make this even funnier, the NRCC has asked the Justice Department to go after the guy who stole their money. It must be nice to have that kind of power to get an agency to divert their taxpayer funded resources to a personal issue like this. This same group is the one that claims that there is too much oversight of businesses. Too many rules to follow and those organizations should police themselves. It’s always sickening to watch their tune change when it comes to political cash. But then again, this is the norm for them.
One of the most often heard battle cries from Republican mouthpieces like Blowhard O’Reilly ,Hannity and Igor and Scarborough is that frivolous lawsuits cost American businesses a ton of money and drive up the cost of healthcare and insurance. Then, these same Republicans do what they do best- hose ordinary Americans.
The National Republican Campaign Committee (NRCC) which is the political and money arm of the House Republicans recently found out that their very own treasurer stole close to $1 million from them. Republicans paid for an audit of their system and accounts and now, have decided to file an insurance claim for the lost money. Who will pay for this? Most likely, people who have insurance policies with this same insurance companies and pension funds who have money invested in this insurer in the form of higher rates and lower investment returns. So, what happened to all the talk about frivolous lawsuits and pulling yourself up by your boot straps?
To make this even funnier, the NRCC has asked the Justice Department to go after the guy who stole their money. It must be nice to have that kind of power to get an agency to divert their taxpayer funded resources to a personal issue like this. This same group is the one that claims that there is too much oversight of businesses. Too many rules to follow and those organizations should police themselves. It’s always sickening to watch their tune change when it comes to political cash. But then again, this is the norm for them.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
ACTION! ACTION! ACTION!
True Majority has put together a letter going out to Senators asking them to consider removing the Bush/McCain $13 Billion tax cut for oil companies and imposing a windfall profits tax on these same oil companies. Please send this letter to your Senator.
The ACLU has a petition demanding the restoration of Habeas Corpus and the immediate closure of Guantanamo Bay prison. The petition can be signed here.
The TRADE Act is a new bill just introduced in Congress that would set standards for labor and environmental issues as well as force renegotiations of existing trade deals with countries that aren’t living up to their end of the deal. Send a letter to your legislators asking for their support here. Global Trade Watch and Public Citizen have a similar letter you can send here.
On May 30, 2008, 111 countries joined together and agreed to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, requiring nations to stop producing and using cluster bombs and to eliminate their stockpiles within 8 years. Unfortunately, the Bush Administration refused to participate in these negotiations. These bombs are very often the most deadly to civilians and can even lay dormant exploding later killing children who happen upon them. Senator Patrick Leahy has introduced a resolution into the Senate that urges the president to sign onto the global ban. You can send a letter to your Senator here.
Our veterans have been disrespected and mistreated by the Bush administration for the last 7 years. Now the VA has been caught intentionally misdiagnosing veterans to save a few bucks while not treating wounded veterans properly. VoteVets.org has written a petition asking the Inspector General of the VA to further the investigation of this matter and to properly correct some of the intentional misdiagnosing procedures that are currently being used.
And in case you haven’t heard it’s time to come together!
The ACLU has a petition demanding the restoration of Habeas Corpus and the immediate closure of Guantanamo Bay prison. The petition can be signed here.
The TRADE Act is a new bill just introduced in Congress that would set standards for labor and environmental issues as well as force renegotiations of existing trade deals with countries that aren’t living up to their end of the deal. Send a letter to your legislators asking for their support here. Global Trade Watch and Public Citizen have a similar letter you can send here.
On May 30, 2008, 111 countries joined together and agreed to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, requiring nations to stop producing and using cluster bombs and to eliminate their stockpiles within 8 years. Unfortunately, the Bush Administration refused to participate in these negotiations. These bombs are very often the most deadly to civilians and can even lay dormant exploding later killing children who happen upon them. Senator Patrick Leahy has introduced a resolution into the Senate that urges the president to sign onto the global ban. You can send a letter to your Senator here.
Our veterans have been disrespected and mistreated by the Bush administration for the last 7 years. Now the VA has been caught intentionally misdiagnosing veterans to save a few bucks while not treating wounded veterans properly. VoteVets.org has written a petition asking the Inspector General of the VA to further the investigation of this matter and to properly correct some of the intentional misdiagnosing procedures that are currently being used.
And in case you haven’t heard it’s time to come together!
Saturday, June 07, 2008
New Link
Joe’s Union Review has been linked to before on this blog. The recent coverage of the deaths of construction workers in NYC lead me to the site again and after reading the WIDE variety of content posted I decided to add it to the links list.
If you haven’t checked out the site please do so. The blog is proudly pro-union, despite the strange site address, and covers everything from organizing drives to music to an unbelievable list of labor links that I was shocked to find myself on!
If you haven’t checked out the site please do so. The blog is proudly pro-union, despite the strange site address, and covers everything from organizing drives to music to an unbelievable list of labor links that I was shocked to find myself on!
Monday, June 02, 2008
Bo Diddley R.I.P.
Bo Diddley passed away today (June 2, 2008). This has absolutely nothing to do with politics but he was a legend and I very much enjoyed his music and was lucky enough to have seen him perform live. I am a huge blues fan and put Bo Diddley on my “top ten musicians that I have seen live, but are now gone” list.
Muddy Water’s live version of Diddley’s song “Mannish Boy” is one of the most beautiful sounds ever recorded! He influenced everyone from the Rolling Stones to Buddy Holly. He reached a wide variety of audiences by touring with the Clash in 1979 and with Ronnie Wood in the late 80’s. Bo also had a small part in the movie “Trading Places”; those of us old enough will also remember the Bo Jackson commercials that featured him.
Bo Diddley, 1928-2008.
Muddy Water’s live version of Diddley’s song “Mannish Boy” is one of the most beautiful sounds ever recorded! He influenced everyone from the Rolling Stones to Buddy Holly. He reached a wide variety of audiences by touring with the Clash in 1979 and with Ronnie Wood in the late 80’s. Bo also had a small part in the movie “Trading Places”; those of us old enough will also remember the Bo Jackson commercials that featured him.
Bo Diddley, 1928-2008.
Sunday, June 01, 2008
Investing in Workers part 2
In case you missed part 1 of this post you can check it out here.
So what’s a working person to do? Many workers are finding it necessary to invest towards their retirements as pensions either dwindle or get eliminated all together. I am not suggesting that anyone avoid investing towards their future retirement. What I am suggesting is that people use their money and investments to their advantage. Here are some examples:
David Sirota writes about a group of ExxonMobil shareholders using their collective power to influence the company to invest in renewable energy investment and research.
While we all won’t be as influential as Evelyn Y. Davis her story is certainly is worth reading.
Here is a resource for anyone looking to learn more about shareholder activism; Confronting Companies Using Shareholder Power: A Handbook on Socially-Oriented Shareholder Activism.
Most of us will never be able to afford traveling to shareholder meetings and voicing our opinions but signing over a proxy to a group that would voice your interests is now an option.
Many employer programs invest in mutual funds and this can hamper voting rights of workers. A share of most mutual funds still allows you to vote on the management of that particular fund. I recently was able to vote online for shares of some of my investments with Fidelity. There was a recent campaign urging them to divest from Darfur, the board of directors recommended that investors vote against this resolution, I naturally voted for the resolution! It was quick, easy and the right thing to do!
There are also entire sites and organizations devoted to “socially responsible” mutual funds and investments. Obviously carefully thought out choices are a must! But using the tools available to us is very important!
So what’s a working person to do? Many workers are finding it necessary to invest towards their retirements as pensions either dwindle or get eliminated all together. I am not suggesting that anyone avoid investing towards their future retirement. What I am suggesting is that people use their money and investments to their advantage. Here are some examples:
David Sirota writes about a group of ExxonMobil shareholders using their collective power to influence the company to invest in renewable energy investment and research.
While we all won’t be as influential as Evelyn Y. Davis her story is certainly is worth reading.
Here is a resource for anyone looking to learn more about shareholder activism; Confronting Companies Using Shareholder Power: A Handbook on Socially-Oriented Shareholder Activism.
Most of us will never be able to afford traveling to shareholder meetings and voicing our opinions but signing over a proxy to a group that would voice your interests is now an option.
Many employer programs invest in mutual funds and this can hamper voting rights of workers. A share of most mutual funds still allows you to vote on the management of that particular fund. I recently was able to vote online for shares of some of my investments with Fidelity. There was a recent campaign urging them to divest from Darfur, the board of directors recommended that investors vote against this resolution, I naturally voted for the resolution! It was quick, easy and the right thing to do!
There are also entire sites and organizations devoted to “socially responsible” mutual funds and investments. Obviously carefully thought out choices are a must! But using the tools available to us is very important!
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