Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Former Republican Powerbroker Convicted of Money Laundering

Tom DeLay, former GOP majority leader in the House now faces time in the Big House.  Convicted on charges of committing money laundering DeLay, formerly known as "The Hammer" could face life in prison for his crime.

It took the jury 19 hours to come to the verdict and DeLay say stone faced as it was read.  He was convicted of illegally passing $190,000 through the Republican National Committee to candidates from big corporations.  The strategy he created changed the face of politics in Texas and much of the nation.  His gerrymandered redistricting plan shaped what he had hoped would be a permanent Republican majority.

It is unfortunate that the Supreme Court, now fully packed with partisan conservatives has made direct contributions by corporations legal

Pardoning the Turkey?

I know it's a White House tradition to pardon the ceremonial Thanksgiving turkey, but isn't it a bit hypocritical? I mean on Thanksgiving there is a huge turkey feast served in the White House.  Where did that turkey come from?  Why was he sacrificed and the big, showy bird gets the pardon?

It is just another reason people today don't understand where their food comes from.  Milk from the store and turkey from some mythical place called Honeysuckle.  If more people were intimately familiar with how and where their daily sustenance comes from they would be more concerned about our delicate planet.

I have to admit there is a side of me that would like to see the President chop the head off the big bird and invite everyone in for the dinner!
 

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Monday, November 22, 2010

TSA Pat Down Mania - Breaks Ostomy Bag During Screening

The whole pat down thing is getting silly.  First of all I have said it before that the "enhanced" security measures are pure theater.  Unless the TSA starts doing strip searches and cavity probes they cannot assure us that there are no devices hidden on passengers.  And I am not suggesting that!

The inept technique being used left one elderly passenger drenched in his own urine.  Nice.  Thomas Sawyer of Michigan was traveling to Orlando.  He is a cancer survivor and wears a urostomy bag.  During his pat down the agent broke the bag and left Mr. Sawyer drenched in his own urine, with no opportunity to clean up until he boarded the airplane.

The TSA agent was warned by Mr. Sawyer about the bag, but ignored his request to be gentle with it. 

The list of problems will grow steadily longer as this silliness continues and the traveling public and the airlines will suffer as the government tries to convince us that they are protecting us.  The cold reality is they can't protect us from every threat.  The near disaster of the toner cartridges shows that.  The terrorists want to terrorize us and they have succeeded, and we formally surrendered to them when we passed the Patriot Act.

Until we start dealing with the root cause of terrorism and not the symptoms we will continue to find ourselves in situations like this.  We are a nation driven by fear and that is exactly what the terrorists wanted. 

SPLC Officially Designates American Family Association and Others "Hate Groups"

The Southern Poverty Law Center, long-time repository of the official list of hate groups in the US has added a number of anti-gay groups to its list. Most prominent is the American Family Association, the group formed by Donald E. Wildmon that regularly broadcasts their rhetoric over 200 radio stations.

Additionally, on the list is the AFTAH (Americans for Truth About Homosexuality) as well as Beverly LeHay's Concerned Women for America.  This is a major step toward the marginalization of these groups and has been long awaited.  Kudos to SPLC for their stand in this matter.



How To Beat Your Slave - As Revealed in The Bible

While reading one of my favorite blogs, Joe.My.God. I found this juicy tidbit.  Nice little Bible story for anyone who tries to beat you up with a Bible.  Have them watch this video.


Now to those who know me, I am a Christian and I do read the Bible, however I do not believe it is the inerrant word of God. If it is, then the God who wrote it is bipolar and pretty much not the kind of God I would want. Instead, to make the story short, I sincerely believe the Bible is a collection of books and stories meant to reveal how humans have struggled to understand the divine. As I said it's a short explanation.