Category Archives: Society

Dec 21 2012

NRA’s LaPierre Says Put Armed Guards In Schools

NRALaPierre

 

National Rifle Association Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre has called for armed guards in schools to protect children from gun violence like the recent Sandy Hook school massacre in Newton, Connecticut.

“You know, five years ago, after the Virginia Tech tragedy, when I said we should put armed security in every school, the media called me crazy,”  LaPierre said. “And here we are five years later and I’m still a batshit looney!”

The NRA has called for a wide-ranging “fight fire with fire” campaign, saying we should treat cancer by giving people more cancer, and we can cure congestion of the nation’s roadways by getting more people on the roads. LaPierre also called for more debt to fix the country’s current debt crisis, and suggested we could cure political gridlock by being even more fixated on divisive rhetoric designed only to play to a core constituency – say like gun owners, for example.

Dec 11 2012

NC Pro-Life License Plates Unconstitutional

NCPlate01

This license plate design adopted by North Carolina has been declared unconstitutional by a federal judge because there is no alternative plate available for pro-choice drivers. North Carolina responded immediately with another design that not only provides an alternative but still manages to convey the spirit of the original message.

NCPlate02

Nov 9 2012

An Open Letter To All Depressed Republicans

I know, I know: you lost another election. You’re faced with four more years of a black man residing in the White House and you’re feeling hurt and confused – after all, why is it called the “White” House if blacks can live there? You did your best spending billions of dollars on campaigns that you weren’t willing to spend on taxes, to make sure you don’t have to pay more taxes. Not being good with math you still aren’t sure how that works-out. And that contributes to your feelings of insecurity.

But cheer up! You may never win the presidency again, but you do still control the House of Representatives, and that means you get to continue to do what you do best: obstruct legislation, take symbolic votes on bills you know will never make it through the Senate, and stuff things up women’s vaginas when they get pregnant. You can continue to say you speak for all Americans even though you are predominantly old white men with prostate problems. And you can see to it that the Democrats make absolutely no progress with the economy because good economic news is bad news for Republicans.

You’ve still got your fantasy world of white supremacy, male domination, and Protestant Christian values to live in! Don’t let reality intrude now when you’ve managed to delude yourselves that you are still relevant 112 years after the 19th century ended! All you have to do is keep saying “we just have to be more conservative and people will love us!” until it seems the same as the truth.

Come on, you can do it. Jam that stick of moral superiority up your backside and march in lock-step into a future that looks just like a black-and-white musical from the 1930s, where white men rule the world and black men serve them drinks! A world where there are still a few new ways to creatively work rape into a positive context! That’s your world – even if it is just make-believe!

Oct 24 2012

R.I.P.: Russell Means

Activist, actor, musician – one of the leaders of the American Indian Movement (AIM) and Native American protest occupations at the Mayflower II, the monument at Mt. Rushmore, the Bureau of Indian Affairs hq in Washington D.C., and of course most famously at Wounded Knee in South Dakota.

Sep 26 2012

France: “Mother” And “Father” Removed From Documents

France’s new law making same-sex marriage legal will entail the removal of the words “mother” and “father” from all official documents – which is really no big deal since in France these words are speculative at best.

Sep 18 2012

Boy Scouts Cover-Up Molestations

The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) has called on the Boy Scouts of America to purge any officials involved in covering-up incidents of sexual abuse by adult volunteers. The group made the demand after a story appeared in the Los Angeles Times dealing with a review of over 1,600 “confidential ‘perversion files,’ a blacklist of alleged molesters, that the Scouts have used internally since 1919. Scouts’ lawyers around the country have been fighting in court to keep the files from public view.”

The LA Times story reveals that in numerous cases the Boy Scouts of America not only covered-up the incidents of abuse but “Scouting officials frequently urged admitted offenders to quietly resign — and helped many cover their tracks”. This apparently did not keep some individuals from re-joining the organization to repeat their offenses.

Sep 3 2012

Friar Apologizes For Having Said Anything

A Catholic friar has apologized for saying some pretty creepy stuff that makes him at least sound as if he sympathizes with pedophiles, if not actually makes one suspect he may be one.

Rev. Benedict Groeschel, in comments in the National Catholic Register, seems to be saying that pedophiles are the victims of the children. Groeschel is a founder of the Trinity Retreat House where he works with priests accused of child sexual abuse. In his original statements Groeschel says “in a lot of cases” it is actually the child who takes advantage of the adult, who may be in an emotionally weakened state.

Is pedophilia sick? Yes. Is it a disease? Probably. Can it be treated? Maybe. Does that mean we should be understanding of it? Not at all.

Jul 21 2012

Dear NRA: Please STFU!

The National Rifle Association says it’s official Tweet that was posted after the tragic shootings in Aurora, Colorado, was done while “unaware of events in Colorado”.

Which begs the question: are they unaware that among the world’s 23 wealthiest countries 80% of all gun deaths happen in the U.S.? Are they unaware that among those 23 wealthiest nations 87% of all shooting deaths of people under the age of 18 happen in the U.S.? Are they unaware of the fact that approximately 30,000 people die by gunshot in the U.S. each year? Are they unaware of the fact that a dozen guns are sold legally in the U.S. every minute? Are they unaware there are over 300 million guns in public hands in the U.S., most of which are in the hands of a small minority of gun owners?

They must be unaware, or simply uncaring, if anyone at the NRA can happily tweet “Good morning, shooters”.

Jul 11 2012

Barney Frank Marries Long-Time Partner

Congressman Barney Frank (D – Massachusetts) married his long-time partner Jim Ready on Saturday. Frank says while his Democrat colleagues in Congress have wished him well, his Republican colleagues has mostly ignored his marriage.

Jul 8 2012

New Mexico Court: Photgrapher Can’t Refuse To Photograph Lesbian Ceremony

The New Mexico Court of Appeals has ruled against a photographer who refused to take a job offered by two lesbians who wanted pictures of their commitment ceremony.

“This is just wrong! It’s against religious freedom!” said the Christian photographer who owns Elane Photography. “I told them I couldn’t do the job because of my beliefs! It says right there in the Bible ‘Thou shalt not photograph lesbians’!”

Jul 2 2012

An Exchange Upon The Importance Of Anderson Cooper Saying He’s Gay

HER:So we have the right to demand that people lay their personal lives bare for the good of the cause? I don’t know what it says about me but I’m not comfortable with that. I disagree that his not addressing the issue marred his credibility. Had he been pretending to be a straight man out on the town every night with a different woman then maybe. But as everyone keeps saying, we all knew. Why did we need it to be a headline?I don’t know. I have mixed feelings as I expressed in the original post. Above all, I just fervently wish I live long enough to see a time when things like this don’t happen anymore.

ME: A time when the choices people make don’t matter? I don’t see that coming. It will just be about different choices.

HER: Not the choices – people’s sexual preference.

ME: That’s the choice that is the current issue – it’s the community that is fighting for equal rights. It isn’t quite like the civil rights struggle in the mid-twentieth century since that was based on the color of someone’s skin – although I recall several well-known people who had passed as white “coming-out”, and what a huge milestone that was. They made a choice to pass, and then made a choice to toss that aside and make a stand.

There is Anderson Cooper the private individual, and there is Anderson Cooper adult gay man. Until the struggle bears fruit that dichotomy is imposed by society. And it obviously takes a long time for it to dissolve, as we still talk about “what do black Americans think?” and “what do Hispanic Americans think?” as if they are these monolithic societal blocks that don’t allow for individualism.The difference at this point in history is there is importance attached to the question “what do X People think?” Someday that may just melt into “what do people think?” – but I doubt it. The bizarre caste system we have in this country generally elevates the lower castes to “interest group” because we have a history of such groups looking-out for their own rights.Anderson Cooper the out gay man is more positive than Anderson Cooper the gay man who avoids identifying himself in a society that is currently charged with the issue of gay equality. Especially as he is in a role where he investigates the roles others play in society. As a journalist this was less important; as a CNN anchor it was somewhat more important; but now as a daily talk show host who grills people about the issues in their lives it has an impact on his credibility to not be open about who he is.

He’s obviously trying to play-down his avoidance of the “are you gay?” question that he has been asked point-blank in the past. But the letter he wrote said he avoided the issue in the past because it would make doing his job more difficult: more difficult for him. He can say that is because he wanted to do the best job he could – but that in itself is an indicator of just how important public self-identification is! To get to a place where being a gay man wouldn’t make his job more difficult requires going through the difficulty to get it out of the way.

Whew! I had no idea I had such a specific opinion about this. This implies that, at least subconsciously, I have considered this at some depth. Great – now I have to wonder about my own identity!

Thanks a lot, [Her Name]

Jun 24 2012

Of Pledges, Anthems, And B.S.

People have been making a big deal out of this picture, some even saying it’s proof Obama is a Muslim terrorist. How do they know the other three aren’t saluting the “Horst Wessel Song”? Or maybe Obama’s heart is in his pants?

Actually, to be serious for a moment, at my elementary school we put our hand over our heart for the pledge, but only stood for the “Star Spangled Banner”.

By the time I got to jr. high I had already decided worshiping inanimate objects was dumb, so I stopped doing either one, and got into a LOT of trouble for not saying the pledge or standing for the anthem (but I enjoyed trouble).

Later as an adult I decided to stand for the anthem even though it’s actually a song about a battle at Fort McHenry during the War of 1812 – a war the U.S. declared against Britain for no really good reason except to make a land grab for Canada that didn’t work out.

The Pledge of Allegiance is a silly bit of war hysteria from 1942 that is more of an embarrassment for our country than anything else (the words “under God” were added in 1954 to make sure Commies wouldn’t say it, because everyone knows Commies don’t believe in God), and fortunately it hasn’t come up as an issue for me since school (and I still wouldn’t say it if it did).

Vote, pay taxes, respect the Constitution – that’s what makes you an American. Plus being pretty sure you’re better than everyone else. Everything else is propaganda.

Jun 19 2012

Thought For The Day….

From Wikipedia:

Carlin was arrested on July 21, 1972, at Milwaukee’s Summerfest and charged with violating obscenity laws after performing this routine ["Seven Words You Can Never Say On Television"].[42] The case, which prompted Carlin to refer to the words for a time as “the Milwaukee Seven,” was dismissed in December of that year; the judge declared that the language was indecent but Carlin had the freedom to say it as long as he caused no disturbance.

The Seven Words are: shit, piss, fuck, cunt, cocksucker, motherfucker, and tits.

Jun 15 2012

Author Gladwell Says People Will Forget Steve Jobs

Author Malcolm Gladwell says that within 50 years most people will have forgotten who Steve Jobs was, but Bill Gates will be remembered as one of the most important human beings who ever lived. Gladwell also thinks Jerry Sandusky is innocent, John Edwards got a raw deal, and Newt Gingrich is beautiful.

Jun 11 2012

Endangered Mexican Spotted Owls Complicate AZ Water Problem

The tussle between the U.S. Forest Service and the city of Tombstone, AZ, over the city’s right to maintain their water pipeline through public lands has now been complicated by the appearance of Mexican Spotted Owls in the vicinity of the pipeline. The owls are a threatened species, although some conspiracy theorists think the U.S. government may have encouraged the owls to illegally cross the border.