On The Internets 08.20.2010
- Just like a chip off the old block! Influential Minister Franklin Graham (son of Billy Graham who has a lengthy history of anti-Semitism and other forms of religious bigotry) told CNN that President Obama's problems stem from his coming from "Muslim seed." Yep. He really said that. Then he went on a lengthy, fact-free bashing of both Muslims and the president,"'I think the president's problem is that he was born a Muslim, his father was a Muslim. The seed of Islam is passed through the father like the seed of Judaism is passed through the mother. He was born a Muslim, his father gave him an Islamic name,' Graham told John King. 'Now it's obvious that the president has renounced the prophet Mohammed and he has renounced Islam and he has accepted Jesus Christ. That's what he says he has done, I cannot say that he hasn't. So I just have to believe that the president is what he has said.'" Damn. So many wrong things stated by Mr. Graham. First of all, he was not "born a Muslim." Second, he never "renounced" Mohammed nor Islam since he never was a Muslim in the first place! Third, his name is not "Islamic" it was his father's name, and his father gave it to him - there is precedent for this kind of thing, you know. How can Graham go on television and just make shit up like that!? This is a perfect example of why religion and politics do not mix. All it does is divide and stigmatize, and it brings out the worst in people. In addition to the vile things his father said in the past about Jews, this Rev. Graham publicly stated that Islam is a "very evil and wicked religion." Miraculously, neither Rev. Graham has ever been held to account for the horrible things they have uttered in the name of their "religion."
- How strange. Apparently black Republicans are upset with Sarah Palin for her strident defense of Dr. Laura and her using the N-word 11 times on the air. Timothy Johnson, chairman of the Frederick Douglass Foundation (an organization that works to increase African-American membership in the Republican Party), questions why Palin never criticized Dr. Laura for the hate speech she used in addition to acknowledging her First Amendment right to say what she said. "She is a leading Republican, but from what I can tell many black Republicans don’t use Sarah Palin as a benchmark. I hope Chairman Steele comes out in relationship to this issue….You can support the sinner and not the sin. We need to separate respecting the doctor versus respecting what she says. If she chooses to run for President in 2012, she is going to have to answer to black Republicans." In the ultimate irony, Mr. Johnson uttered the following statement, "This is an unwise endorsement. It wasn’t appropriate. Just because you have the First Amendment right doesn’t give you the right to hurt somebody." Hmmm... where have I heard that before? UPDATE: More black conservatives have come out to criticize Palin for her defense of Dr. Laura, and they are not holding anything back.
- Orly Taitz, the dentist/lawyer and Queen Birther, is now claiming that President Obama is undermining her case against him. Taitz has lost every single case she has filed in her ridiculous attempt to "prove" President Obama was not born in the US, and is therefore not actually the president. A judge in California even fined Taitz $20K for continuing to file "frivolous law suits." Taitz appealed the fine all the way up to the US Supreme Court where Justice Clarence Thomas declined to hear the case. Taitz then claimed that Thomas' signature was forged and she demanded to speak personally to him or Justice Alito. When the Court passed on hearing the case again (this time with a signature from Alito), Taitz alleged that the president was intentionally trying to undermine her case and is asking for restitution. "Obama attempted to influence the decision of this Honorable court as well as the decision of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and further persecute political dissident Attorney Dr. Orly Taitz and cause her to pay $20,000 of sanctions, endanger her law license and cause her severe emotional distress." Sorry Orly, your case is undermined by the fact that what you are alleging is 100% pure unadulterated bullshit. Pay up. You took your case all the way to the Supreme Court, and even that radical, conservative court refused to buy the nonsense you're selling. You have been treated more than fairly, and you are not above the law. Pay the fine or go to jail. I don't care which one, personally.
- Maybe I missed it, but did the 9/11 hijackers attack Temecula, California, Murfreesboro, Tennessee and Florence, Kentucky? I'm curious because now, in those cities, the construction of new mosques is being protested and prevented from being built. "This week, the anti-Muslim fear campaign stepped up a notch with an anonymous flier that's being distributed, warning residents that the Muslims are coming to get them. 'Everyone needs to contact Florence City Council to have this stopped,' the flier reads in part, according to the Louisville Courier-Journal. 'Americans need to stop the takeover of our country.'" So, if proximity to, and sensitivity about, 9/11 is the reason for the protests in NYC (and not religious bigotry), then why the protest in Florence, Kentucky? Or Temecula? Or Murfeesboro?
- The internet is the most dangerous invention since the Atomic Bomb. This is according to rocker John Mellencamp in an interview conducted recently at the Grammy Museum. "I think the Internet is the most dangerous thing invented since the atomic bomb. [...] It's destroyed the music business. It's going to destroy the movie business." Not sure I agree with him 100% on that, but later in the interview he discussed the decrease in sound quality of music in the mp3 age, which I totally agree with.
- Baseball legend Roger Clemens is being indicted for perjury in a federal court. The indictment stems from testimony Clemens gave to Congress regarding steroid use back in 2008. My lord, what a colossal waste of time and money! Who gives a shit if professional athletes take steroids!? Sports is entertainment, and who cares if entertainers take drugs? I certainly don't. No matter how many steroids I took, I could never pitch at a professional level, nor could I hit a home run. This is such a dumb issue. Should federal prosecutors really spend resources pursuing this?
- There are a lot of famous musician birthdays today. Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant turns 62, Thin Lizzy legend Phil Lynott would have been 61, Doug Fieger of The Knack would have been 58, and Pantera guitarist Dimebag Darrell would have been 44. Here is a live performance from Thin Lizzy from 1978 in Sydney, Australia!
5 comments:
I finally listened to the audio of the whole Dr. Laura call. As I figured, the whole thing is ridiculous and completely out of context. Dr. Laura's problem is that she should have known better than to even say the "N-word".
She didn't call anyone that vile name. She simply stated that the word is common amongst black people, including its usage on cable and by black comics. The fact that she had the "audacity" to actually say the word is what has all of these politcally correct folks' panties in a wad is typical.
I don't know about Palin's defense of her. I would agree that Dr. Laura's use of the word was not even remotely racist, but the fact that "her 1st amendment rights were violated", well I am with you on that one. That is also ludicrous.
Orly Taitz is a nutjob. Hey your side has them too! (I give you the Speaker of the House and the Senate Majority leaders as two prime examples!) :)
I also strongly agree 100% with your sentiments regarding the building of mosques elsewhere throughout the country. I sure as heck hope that this does not become the norm, as Muslims absolutely have the right to build a mosque and pray as per their 1st amendment rights.
Dang! I need to see a doctor. I also am going to agree with you on the Roger Clemens issue. What is the point of prosecuting him on this?
If you want to prosecute someone for lying to congress, how about Pelosi? She claimed she was never briefed about waterboarding terrorists when there are multiple witnesses, even from her own party claiming she was there.
She called Leon Panetta a liar to try and remove her own responsibility on the issue when SHE was the one lying to congress and the American people. THAT is far more egregious than what a damned ball player said.
I hope my last comment came through as I don't wish to re-type it all again.
I got an error message though. Hopefully you will get it.
Cheers!
So, if it's just "political correctness" that one can't say the N-word in public, and righties hate political correctness, then why don't you use it freely? Why not use it to address the President? Or his wife? Or Condoleeza Rice? Or Colin Powell?
The notion that somehow it is an issue of personal freedom for whites to be able to say it whenever they want is silly and offensive. Technically, we all have the first amendment right to say what we want, but just like the case of the NYC mosque, one has to be "sensitive" to victims of the word and the sentiment behind it.
To me, that is what is so troublesome about Palin's defense. She never even acknowledged what it was that Dr. Laura said nor that she thought it was inappropriate. And she also intimated that Dr. Laura was fired. She wasn't. She is choosing to retire. No one's rights were violated. And even Dr. Laura said she was wrong to say what she said, why can't Palin go that far?
Taitz = nutbag. Yes, hardly a controversial sentiment. But the examples of a similar person on the left you provided are absurd. If you'd said Cindy Sheehan, maybe I could have agreed with you.
I don't use the N-word because I care about other people and it is offensive, even if some people of color are silly enough to call each other that name.
I also choose not to use profanity, but very rarely, even though I suppose I could do so.
My point was that Dr. Laura wasn't using it in a name-calling situation or as an epithet towards someone. She was stating the word as something commonly used by some people of color.
I also acknowledge that her rights weren't violated and that she herself chose to step down.
Why is it absurd to label the name-calling, double-standard applying and corrupt Pelosi as a nutjob?
Personally, I do not use the N-word, but I did type it out in my original post about the incident. I've purchased plenty of rap CDs over the years where the word was used, and have seen plenty of movies and TV shows with it as well.
I guess my view is that I, personally, don't care if black people use the word. If it helps take the sting out of the word for its victims, then I'm fine. The same way I'm fine with hearing a Jewish joke from another Jew, but have a big problem hearing it from a non-Jew (unless I know them and understand their real motivation).
Is it a double standard? Technically, yes. But are someone's rights really being violated by not being able to say Jewish jokes in mixed company? Are whites really being damaged by their inability to say Ni&*$r in polite society? I don't see this as a real problem, and I accept the need for a double standard here.
I like profanity and do use it frequently. But I also respect others' rights not to have to hear it.
Not even going there regarding your characterization of Speaker Pelosi.
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