Friday, August 13, 2010

Newt Gingrich Lies Again - Calls Unemployment Insurance "Welfare"

I guess I should expect this from Newt. He loves twisting the truth to fit his agenda, and calling unemployment payments welfare is just another example. This clip shows an unemployed mechanic whom Gingrich postulated was just lazy because of his "welfare" payments.

I can spin as good as the next guy, but this is a bit much Newt!

Debbie Riddle & Louie Gohmert Believe in Terror Babies. Oh Puleeze!

Texas state Rep. Debbie Riddle and Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) are idiots. Either that or they think all Texans are idiots, and heck, I might be right about both of those statements.

These two jokers actually got on national television and put forth the insane theory that pregnant women are sneaking into the country to have babies who will become citizens by birthright , only to raise them for sleeper cell terrorist organizations. Seriously. And I wonder why people think Texans are idiots? Well when we elect Bozos like these two, heck I 'spect we are!

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Mexico Leads US in Human Rights

As some of you know, I lived for about a year in Mexico City back in the 1980's.  I was working for the television network Televisa and had an apartment in the DF as well as here in Dallas.  It was an eye opening experience for me and one that I would never trade.

Mexico City is about as cosmopolitan a city as any in Europe.  It has a thriving arts and culture scene, world-class restaurants with every cuisine and entertainment of all types.  There is even a thriving LGBT scene and was even back in the 1980's.  What's more, my employer knew I was gay and even offered to move me and my partner to Mexico if I so desired. 

It was not so much of a surprise when I heard that Mexico City was issuing same-sex marriage licenses this year.  What was a surprise was a ruling by the Mexican Supreme Court stating that couples married in Mexico City would be legally married anywhere in Mexico's 31 states. 


In a New York Times article one of the judges was quoted as asking, “What’s going to happen to a same-sex couple” who marry in Mexico City “when they cross the border” to another state. Does this marriage disappear? They go on vacation and they’re no longer married?” The judge, Justice Arturo Zaldívar, makes the point clearly and precisely.  Equal is equal or it is not.

It is telling when the US falls behind its Latin American neighbors.  Our place as the premier world power is slipping away.  Our economy has been sold down the Yang-see River by greedy corporations looking to squeeze every nickle from consumers by outsourcing the production of just about everything.  Our knowledge base is slipping as we dumb down text books to pander to back woods religions and our record in human rights looks pretty bad these days.  It's time we reversed this trend.  Maybe we should take a lesson from Mexico?

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Rand Paul - Gov. Should Not Regulate Mining Industry

Rand Paul is the gift that keeps on giving.  I have said it before and I will say it again but this guy is industrial strength wacko.  Aside from the whole kidnapping and "aqua Buddha"  stuff he just keeps getting in way over his head.

In an interview with Details magazine, the Republican candidate for Kentucky Senate says the government should keep out of the mine safety business.  He feels companies should be allowed to self-regulate.  Yea that would work!

In response to questions about the recent Massey Energy mine explosion which killed 29 miners back in April he responded in his trademark cryptic way.
"Is there a certain amount of accidents and unfortunate things that do happen, no matter what the regulations are?" Paul says at the Harlan Center, in response to a question about the Big Branch disaster. "The bottom line is I'm not an expert, so don't give me the power in Washington to be making rules. You live here, and you have to work in the mines. You'd try to make good rules to protect your people here. If you don't, I'm thinking that no one will apply for those jobs."
Paul also said that the practice of mountaintop removal mining simply needs to be rebranded.
"I think they should name it something better," he says. "The top ends up flatter, but we're not talking about Mount Everest. We're talking about these little knobby hills that are everywhere out here. And I've seen the reclaimed lands. One of them is 800 acres, with a sports complex on it, elk roaming, covered in grass." Most people, he continues, "would say the land is of enhanced value, because now you can build on it."
 You just can't make this stuff up!

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Orthodox Jews Issue Ground Breaking Statement on Homosexuality

As many of my readers know, I was raised in the Reform Jewish faith, the liberal end of the Jewish spectrum.  That is why the story that came out recently about Orthodox Judaism is so surprising.  A group of Orthodox Rabbis have issued a "Statement of Principles on the Place of Jews with a Homosexual Orientation in Our Community", and it's quite a bombshell.

Previously the orthodox view was the same as in Leviticus, but this is a major departure and a real nod toward the real contemporary world we live in.  The first two tenants of this amazing document are worth reading in total.
1. All human beings are created in the image of God and deserve to be treated with dignity and respect (kevod haberiyot). Every Jew is obligated to fulfill the entire range of mitzvot between person and person in relation to persons who are homosexual or have feelings of same sex attraction. Embarrassing, harassing or demeaning someone with a homosexual orientation or same-sex attraction is a violation of Torah prohibitions that embody the deepest values of Judaism.

2. The question of whether sexual orientation is primarily genetic, or rather environmentally generated, is irrelevant to our obligation to treat human beings with same-sex attractions and orientations with dignity and respect.
 All I can say is oy!  The Orthodoxy is apparently ready to step into the 21st century.  That is a mitzvah of the highest order.