Prior to the election in 2008 the masshole media was all a twitter abnout Barack Obama's pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Now re-read that phrase..."Pastor Rev. Jeremiah Wright." You see he was a pastor of a Christian church, Trinity Unity Church of Christ in Chicago. Everyone From Sean Hannity to Bill O'Reily was upset that Rev. Wright mentioned that it was America's foreign policy that led to 9/11 not a holy war. Oh there was a great rending of garments and gnashing of teeth!
Now those same people who bought off on that non-crisis are most likely the same ones who believe President Obama is Muslim. I swear the attention span of our nation is worse than that of a squirrel. Perhaps the average intelligence is somewhere in that range as well.
As testament to that stupidity, Jon Stewart did a great piece last night that detailed how the Masshole Media first applauded the Muslim leader in charge of the Islamic Cultural Center a few years ago and now are beating the drums of hate about the "Mosque" on Ground Zero. Why is it that The Daily Show has a clearer and more rational view of the News than ... the news?
It seems the threat of aliens works in Europe, too. In France, conservative President Sarkozy has pounced on the whole illegal alien thing as a political football or soccer ball. Instead of Mexicans, he has used the Roma, (Gypsies) as the scapegoats and deported a plane load of them to Romania.
Having a very slight bit of Roma heritage this story caught my eye. It is not the first time the ROma have been used as pawns in European politics. You will remember back in the 1930's Gypsies as well as Jews and Homosexuals were blamed for all the problems of Germany. They were first relocated and then herded into camps for ... well you know the rest.
The point is that it seems like history is starting to repeat itself. For the sake of the Roma and for all of Europe, I sincerely hope this is not a harbinger of something worse. It also creates a problem for EU unity which seems a bit shaky lately.
Inside the Pentagon, there is such a chapel and Jews, Christians, Hindus and Muslims use it regularly for prayer and meditation and nobody has a problem with it. Why in New York City, one of our country's great melting pots of culture and religion is there a stink about a Muslim Cultural Center being built on the site of an old Burlington Coat Factory?
Maybe because the talk show pundits have used this non-issue as a chew toy for the right wing? Why shouldn't Jews protest German Restaurants within walking distance from synagogues? It's a bunch of malarkey and the controversy is completely manufactured.
Meanwhile, our peace chapel nears completion and I invite anyone to visit it. Designed by the late Phillip Johnson, the chapel is part of the larger cathedral planed for the church. Inside will be symbols of all major religions in a sacred space that everyone can enjoy. Funny thing for a Christian church to build? Not for the Christians of our congregation.
Welcome to the land of idiots. Here in Stupid we have a general lack of intellectual curiosity. All our information needs are met with convenient sound-bites and bumpersticker slogans. Our new national motto should be "If you can't say it in 10 words of less...."
If you don't get that joke, I understand, you are a citizen of our Great Republic of Stupid. Discussion is carried out in Tweets and text messages rather than conversation. Listening is a lost art, unless it's the latest pop song.
The latest polling proves my point with this lovely fact. One in five Americans believe President Obama is a Muslim. That's an astounding 20% who apparently either have an inherent distrust of facts or listen to nothing but talk radio. The even more disturbing result of that poll was this little slice of stupidity: an amazing 30% of Americans say followers of Islam should be barred from running for president or serving on the US Supreme Court.
So what happened to civics classes in schools? When did we start teaching our population that religious minorities are not allowed to run for public office? I know that home schooling is not solely to blame. Much of this crap comes from the bigotry of preachers and pundits who have successfully framed America as a "Christian Nation". That would come as a big shock to our Founding Fathers, but heck why look up that info when you can just tweet to your pals that the "durned Muslims are trying to take over the country".
I have really been out of touch. Seems Ann Coulter is the new darling of the allegedly gay Republican group GOProud! Say what?
What's more strange is that she was then diss-invited to another conservative event because she is speaking to the gay neocons!
A spokesperson for World News Daily who was throwig the "Taking America Back" conference gave this reasoning:
"Ultimately, as a matter of principle, it would not make sense for us to have Ann speak to a conference about 'taking America back' when she clearly does not recognize that the ideals to be espoused there simply do not include the radical and very 'unconservative' agenda represented by GOProud,"
OMG! Next there will be dogs and cats living together! And yes it really is called Homocon!
OK, anyone who knows me will tell you I am overweight. Yes I struggle with it and yes I want to shed some pounds. That said, I can spot someone who is having weight problems, both too fat and too thin, but the latest freak show that passes for fashion is going way too far.
Proenza Schouler has decided that thin isn't enough and so with the aid of Photoshop has made their models look like circus freaks. If the girl in this picture was really this thin, she would be on crutches.
And we wonder why women often have a distorted body image?
OK, I understand the issue. Target gave $150,000 to a PAC called Minnesota Forward. That PAC in turn gave the cash to a candidate for governor, Tom Emmer. Well Emmer is a conservative, but that is not what the brouhaha is all about. Apparently Emmer gave some money to a rock band. That band Junk Yard Prophets, part of the You Can Run but You Can't Hide ministries and there is the rub. The Band and the ministry are vehemently anti-gay and even intimated that Muslims execution of homosexuals was a good idea. He also spouts a lot of insane crap like "gays molest 117 people each before they are "found out". (say what?)
Now how much money did he give? From what I can find he donated $250 to the homophobic group.
OK, let's do the math. $150,000 goes to a PAC that gives that money to a conservative candidate who gives $250 to a bunch of jerks that play guitars. That around 0.16% of that money that made it into the hands of the jerks.
Now, do I dislike that idea. You betcha. However, thanks to our lovely Supreme Court, corporations can give whatever they want to whoever they want. When I look at Target as a company, they support a lot of LGBT causes as well as have a pretty good employment policy for equal rights. They score 100 on the Human Rights Campaign scorecard of corporations and that's pretty good.
So when I consider boycotting Target, an action that will have negligible results, I just have to wonder if it's the right idea. Companies donate money to candidates across the political spectrum, it's unfortunate but true. If I boycotted every company that ever gave a dime to a conservative cause I would be making my own soap and growing veggies in the back yard.
So if you want to boycott Target, good for you. Will it do anything? Probably not, but it might make you feel good. While you are at it don't shop at WalMart either, they scored a dismal 40 on that report card from HRC, and same with Office Depot and Radio Shack and stay away from Exxon, AutoZone and ....well the list goes on.
My point is, a one time donation is paltry compared to corporate policies that discriminate against LGBT people. Boycott Target? I might, but I prefer to give them a little more time. Meanwhile the HRC is stewing and wondering how to react. They gave $150,000 to the challenger in the Minnesota race, so at least some of the money I give to HRC is actually going to facilitate change, but I prefer to wait a bit and see all the facts in this mess.
UPDATE: Below is an ad produced by Move-On encouraging a boycott. Here is my problem. They give absolutely no statistics, no facts just a bunch of catchy slogans. "Target is trying to buy elections." Well, duh yes they are and so are every other company in the country since the Supreme Court opened the flood gates.
I would expect something a little more substantial from Move-On, but they have fallen into the world of mindless advertising that works well for the right wing. Make it catchy, and avoid any facts! Welcome to America the Stupid.
Every time I see the musical South Pacific I have a really hard time believing that DADT is still in place. This advertisement from the 1940's for Cannon Towels gives the impression that LGBT Americans have been serving in the armed forces for a long time and nobody seemed to care back then.
I found this lead on Joe My God and it's a corker!
Seems a find pastor of an Assembly of God church in Bryan, TX was using Craig's List to pose as a 17 year old boy looking for sex with men. (The pastor was 51) He would then masquerade as the stepfather of the person the victim had been emailing and coerce them into giving him a blow job.
The Pastor, George Randall Scott has been arrested and has resigned his post at the Bethel Temple Church. So far no word on how his wife has taken the news or just what the pastor will do now that he has posted bail.
And you thought the Catholic Church had a lock on the whole sex scandal thing?
I have been a political activist since the early 1970's and I am an active educator presenting topics related to alternative sexuality, a filmmaker, author and marketing professional...and a Christian who tries to live out my faith. Sound like a strange combination? Perhaps, but I am a firm believer that living an honest open life is both the way to happiness and to changing the world.
My articles appear on a semi-regular basis on Q-Texas and Leatherati.
Currently I am exploring erotic fiction in my serialized story,...The Bohemians. It is intended for adults, so remember that when reading it. Enjoy!
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