I Just Can't Shut Up

Change we can Believe In!

Do Not Discard Brain.

The danger of Certainty.

Readers of Who Hates Whom might recall the conclusion, which reviewed various conflicts worldwide and found only one thing in common: certainty. Certainty that one god, culture, language, political or economic system, or miscellaneous dogma is right and best allows believers to see everyone else as other, and therefore lesser. And that seems to be a fairly necessary threshold for megaviolence to begin. In short, "you're either with us or against us" is one of the single most dangerous ideas a human can hold, in any culture, anywhere, any time.

Early voter has vote stolen by "voting" machine.

Joe the Plumber's information illegally obtained. Whoever got into his records better prove the reason was legit, and if not they better be punished. I don't care what side of the political divide you are on, privacy is privacy!

Ah, More Ranting

Do I ever get tired of ranting? Yeah, actually. I'm really tired. I can't wait until November 5th.

Mark Evanier on ACORN. The Brad Blog on ACORN. Ex-ACORN worker explains himself. "A person is more likely to be struck by lightning than to impersonate another voter at the polls."

Will shows what makes a true Democrat. *sigh*

Airport Security is a sham, a theater that doesn't actually make us any safer.

Um. Ok.

The Spiral of Silence. I've apparently violated it, and now I'm persona non grata.

Colin Powell speaks the truth.

Prop 8 of California

I guess I'm not done with the subject yet after all. Here's the lies that "Yes on Prop 8" people have been spreading to scare people into voting for their hate law:

THE LIE: Four activist judges ignored four million voters.
THE TRUTH: Voters were far from ignored. Proposition 22, which originally made same-sex marriage illegal, was at the center of the court case. The California Constitution has not been this carefully examined since interracial marriage was made legal in 1959. Three of those four judges were appointed by Republicans.

THE LIE: Churches can lose their tax-exempt status.
THE TRUTH: Churches have the right to preach whatever they believe, and deny marriage to anyone on any grounds. This does not affect their tax-exempt status at all. Prop 8 would do nothing to protect this right any further.

THE LIE: Schools will have to teach about gay marriage.
THE TRUTH: The State of California does not control curriculum about marriage. They mandate that children are taught about the financial responsibilities of marriage, but not about what marriage is; that is completely up to the school and the parents. Parents have the right to remove their children from class any time they would be taught something about health and families that the parents disagree with. Prop 8 would do nothing to protect this right any further.

THE LIE: Prop 8 ensures religious freedom.
THE TRUTH: Considering some churches allow same-sex marriage, Prop 8 would actually take away a religious freedom. The judges in the court ruling took extra steps to ensure that freedom of religion was preserved. Prop 8 would do nothing at all to ensure religious freedom.

THE LIE: Prop 8 ensures free speech.
THE TRUTH: The court ruling did nothing to free speech, and neither would Prop 8.

THE LIE: Prop 8 means less government.
THE TRUTH: Prop 8 is an amendment to the California Constitution that dictates what a marriage is. It actually means that the government is more involved in our lives.

Even worse, the proponents of Prop 8 are trying to extort money from companies that have contributed to Equality California.

I think Eric and I may have to contribute to No on Prop 8, just to fight the hate.

To My Sister

You say you don't read my blogs. That's cool. I don't care who reads my blogs. They are my way to get my words out of my head before I explode. And the neat thing about them is that I can say whatever I want and no one has to read them. I'm not forcing them down your throat by arguing them at a family dinner. I'm not constantly emailing them to you. I'm not shouting them at you in the street. They just sit quietly in this corner of the 'net, ignored unless you choose to read them.

And yet you made a point of claiming that I was forcing my beliefs on you. Funny that. I don't recall even talking to you more than a couple of times in the last ten years, and that was mostly to say, "Hi, how are the kids?" And I have worked to keep my politics off the family blog, because I know you disapprove of my opinions. Pity you don't have the same respect for me.

You claim I insulted your beliefs. You claim I insulted the military. Show me where. Please, by all means, e-mail me and quote me exactly what I said that's so insulting to the military. I'm angry at the military's mission, I think our armed forces have been misused and abused by the current administration, but I don't recall ever insulting the military the way you imply I do. Frankly, I'm offended by your implication. Apparently any questioning of the current political policies is offensive to you. THAT is offensive to me.

You claim I have venomous hatred. Excuse me? What was that comment you made toward me if not "venomous hatred"? Pot. Kettle. Black.

As for Proposition 8, which started this whole argument... I think I know plenty more about it than you do. For instance, I know B and J, two gay men who have been denied the basic right to "the pursuit of happiness" because religious people have decided that B and J are perverse and that any attempt on their part to get the same rights as other married people is "inflicting their perversions" on the rest of society.

Frankly, sister, get a clue.

There are real people being affected by this. Proposition 8 is based in hatred and fear of the unknown. If God didn't mean for people to be homosexual, he wouldn't have made them that way. It's not a choice. Do you really think anyone would CHOOSE to be gay, knowing he might be beaten and killed for it? Seriously? If you do, you need to get your head checked. Homosexuality is genetic. And if God made the Earth, he also made homosexuality. So, what, exactly, was His intentions with them? A loving God wouldn't torture his children, but your beliefs say that that's exactly what he's doing. I don't worship that God. I never will.

Proposition 8 is the Anti-Miscegenation Law of the current century. And it's exactly as moral as those previous laws. Perhaps we'll need another Loving v Virginia to clear this up, but I hope the people of California have enough love of the Constitution of the United States and the rights of people to live their lives that they soundly defeat Proposition 8 at the polls. It is an attempt to constitutionalize hate. That's ALL it is. Any freedom-loving person will vote against it.

You claim that Proposition 8 will prevent some horrible scenarios of churches being forced out of tax exempt status and your children being indoctrinated in schools to accept the gay lifestyle. You are attempting to prove a negative. By banning gay marriage, you plan to prevent these future things which may not happen at all. I have an idea! Let's ban having children! That will prevent war! Your logic is the same. You've set up a strawman... things that haven't happened yet... and are telling everyone that those things will happen if Proposition 8 isn't passed. BULL. Stop lying to yourself and everyone else.

Churches will go on as they always have, and court decisions will protect them as they always have. Parents will always have the right to teach their own children what to believe, and children will pay attention or ignore as they always have. Teachers will go both ways, and the arguments will always be there. Gay marriage isn't the end of the world, anymore than interracial marriage was. Did the world end in 1967? Perhaps it did, for you.

Whatever. I'm done with this topic. If your state chooses to pass this hate law, then I'll be severely disappointed in the state and forever disgusted by the church that poured so much money into supporting a hate law. You can celebrate that future children will be "protected" from the evil gays, but I'm guessing that it will all be there anyway, just hidden away and forbidden... more enticing to examine, more painful to endure if genetically inclined. I can only imagine the number of people who will be hurt by this abomination if it passes. I suspect you don't care at all about them.



Lastly, I don't expect you to read this. It's here, on my blog. I'm not going to direct you to it, I'm not going to force you to read it. If you read it, it's your own lookout. If you get angry, tough. I didn't make you read it. Unlike you, who posted your hate in a family blog that I thought was supposed to be about family events, not politics. At least this blog has the distinction of being the place where I spew most of my "venomous hatred", so you should know better. I didn't expect to get slapped across the face in the family blog. Perhaps you should get your own blog to post your politics in, huh? Unlike you with my blogs, I would probably read it even though I suspect I'd mostly disagree with you. Because, unlike you, I actually DO respect other people's opinions enough to listen to them.

Just leave it off the family blog, ok?

ACORN Speaks

YouTube Video explaining ACORN. If you are convinced that ACORN is perpetuating voter fraud, watch the video. If you still believe it after watching the video, you are either hopeless or a hardcore Republican who hates the poor.

A Poem For The Election

This is from The Digital Cuttlefish:

Of course there are Christians, of course there are Muslims,
And Atheists, Pagans, and Jews
Supporting McCain or supporting Obama—
Supporting a spectrum of views—

Of course there are numbskulls, and ignorant pinheads
Whose views are incredibly dense,
And of course they reside on both sides, red and blue
Of the nation’s political fence

It gets to the point where we almost expect it—
Perhaps it’s what humans just do—
We forget these are merely the vocal extremists
Whose numbers, in truth, are quite few.

These salient images seen in the media
Show us ourselves at our worst
But just look around, and you’ll see something different,
And not what it looked like at first:

The people who back both McCain and Obama
Are people like you and like me
And most are intelligent, thoughtful and kind,
And like us, they don’t like what they see.

This silent majority, not in the news,
When confronted with ignorant hate
May decide to combat it, or maybe ignore it,
Or challenge them to a debate

And sometimes you’ll find that these ignorant cowards
Back down when you call out their bluff
So… if you’re like me, and you’re sick of the lying,
Decide that enough is enough!

And remember, the ignorant liars can shout
Until all of their faces are blue;
When you get in that booth, and you pull shut the curtain…
The one with the power is you.

You might want to watch the video in that link as well. It gave me hope that the truly bigoted McCain fans are in the minority.

And, if you are like me, sick of the nasty rhetoric... pass the poem and link along.

I'm an Acorn Small And Round...

Voter-Fraud Fraud.

Former US Attorney David Iglesias "is astounded" that the fake ACORN investigations are "being trotted out again."

Iglesias, who has been the most outspoken of the fired U.S. attorneys, went on to say that the FBI's investigation seemed designed to inappropriately create a "boogeyman" out of voter fraud.

McCain to ACORN: You Are "What Makes America Special".

His name is not Joe, and he's not a licensed plumber.

Not Photoshopped

Political Garbage

I'm very interested to see if this account of McCain at a resort is truth or myth. I'm betting myth.

ChicletsMom directs us to a Fark Thread that is not for the weak. Of course, Fark in general isn't for the weak.

Is it time for A New New Deal? Goodness knows the infrastructure DESPERATELY needs work.

Rossi trying to avoid testifying. Why? Is he guilty? Lazy? It shouldn't take more than a few hours. And he'd be better off proving himself innocent than letting people think he's crooked (innocent until proven guilty doesn't mean a thing in popular opinion). Unless he is crooked, and not just a whiner.

Anti-Drug Ad? No...

Rant Rant Rant

I'd prefer an elite president.

An Election Video (warning, strong language at the end).

More about ACORN and the ridiculous raids on their offices.

The Republican Voter Fraud Hoax.

A comment about the state of the nation.

ACORN Rant - Damned if you Do, Damned if you Don't

ACORN is not my favorite organization. Early in their existence, they were extremely careless and hired morons who made up names to put on voter registration forms, because ACORN stupidly paid those morons by the registration. D'oh! They now pay people by the hour.

The organization has reformed and gotten better at what they do, which is register the poor and otherwise disenfranchised to vote. They only register them: they do NOT, as an organization, force people to vote or vote using the registrations they turn in. THIS IS IMPORTANT. THEY ONLY REGISTER PEOPLE TO VOTE.

Recently, there's been some buzz about ACORN being "dirty" and "cheating the system" because they have turned in false and duplicate registrations. But here's the problem with that charge. THEY HAVE TO TURN IN EVERY REGISTRATION, even if they know it's false.

Most states have laws for organizations that register people to vote that require those organizations to turn in every single registration form. This is to prevent, say, a Democratic organization from pulling out all the forms that the voter has registered as a Republican and dumping those forms while turning in the rest. That event has actually happened... only it was a Republican group that dumped any form that didn't register the voter as Republican.

As an aside: I think it should be illegal to require a party preference to register to vote. I live in Washington, where you don't have to put a party at all, which is the way it should be. If you didn't have to put a party, the registration dumping wouldn't be as serious a problem.

Ok, so, ACORN wants to register people to vote. They know they'll get some fake and duplicates. So when they spot fake and duplicate registrations, they flag them and send them separately to the voter registration office. Sounds like a no-brainer, right? The job of the voter registration office is to check that voters are legal and to finish the registration process, so if ACORN is legally obligated to turn in all registrations, it only makes sense to make the job of sorting them easier for the voter registration office.

HA! Not in Republican-world! In Republican-world, if you attempt to get out the vote by registering people, you apparently must be PERFECT at it. You must be able to magically determine when someone is lying about having already registered (or determine if they just forgot, as well). You must be able to magically determine if a registration is fake BEFORE IT'S WRITTEN. You must ONLY turn in perfectly valid registrations, despite being required by law to turn in EVERY SINGLE REGISTRATION FORM you collect. So, in Republican-world, unless you are a super-magical person, you shouldn't be registering people to vote.

Because ACORN is now being investigated for turning in false and duplicate forms.

Forms that they FLAGGED as being possibly false or duplicate.

Flags that the voter registration office IGNORED because it was too much effort for them to actually do their jobs and check the forms.

But apparently it's ACORN's fault for obeying the law. This is the logic Republicans are using. ACORN is damned if they do: they turned in the registrations as required by law and even flagged the possible fake ones. ACORN is damned if they don't: if they threw away the false registrations they would be breaking the law.

So what's the solution? Republicans would (and do) say that ACORN should just give up the effort. Only people who go to the voter registration office and register themselves should vote. Never mind that ACORN is fighting years of racism and ignorance to get people to understand that, yes, they can vote and they need to be registered if they want to vote. Apparently that effort should be abandoned because it's not perfect.

The whole ACORN story is being misreported and misrepresented by the media. And moronic people are buying into the "ACORN cheats" lie. I'd like to see the same people who are criticizing ACORN take the same amount of money and the same people and do a better job. My bet is that none of them would even do half as well. And most of them wouldn't even be able to do it at all.

McCain's "Health Care" Plan

John McCain would pay for his health plan with major reductions to Medicare and Medicaid. So, if you want to lose Medicare, vote for McCain.

Rants

When Palin was mayor of Wasilla, her police chief fought hard to make sure rape victims had to pay for forensic kits. Alaska has a high rate of rape, and charging the victims for the investigation discourages them from reporting the crime. As one nurse put it, it's like raping them again. CNN also covers the story. Palin may be physically female, but her attitude about women is positively medieval.

Who are you calling a Maverick?

How America Treats Her Veterans.

Diebold van has McCain sticker. Yeah, real classy. No doubt their voting machines are totally objective. Uh-huh. And if you believe that, I've got a bridge to sell you in Arizona.

Reason on puppycide. Because fully trained police officers on drug raids are clearly terrified of Jack Russell terriers.

DJ Coffman's "Will Draw Anything" covers Dubya's Deserved Fate.

Obama, the Norwegian Connection

A story about Obama from 1988. If you know Norwegian, the original is here.