Why We Need Separation of Church and State

This video of the beginning of the Anti-Historical Texas State Board of Education demostrates why the founding fathers wanted this separation.  This "prayer" is full of lies and historical untruths regarding the USA:



I'm actually appalled that a governmental body like this is allowed to open in prayer at all.  At one point in the past, having a little opening prayer was non-partisan, but this prayer is so obviously skewed and demonstrates the warped agenda of the Anti-Christian "Christian" Right that this kind of thing needs to be banned completely.  Just like the Day of Prayer has been hijacked by the religio-political interests of the Dobsonites, the idea of prayer during any goverment event needs to questioned and, perhaps, eliminated.

Democratic Triumph in Maine!!

Well, I hope that's what this means. Otherwise it means the first step into fascist-ville courtesy of the teabaggers.

The idiot teabaggers of Maine have released a platform that would open the floodgates to a theocratic nightmare (The comments in brackets are from "Bill in Portland Maine," author at the daily kos link) :

Reassert the principle that "Freedom of Religion" does not mean "freedom from religion".
[What part of "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion" do you not understand?]

We recognize the sanctity of life, which includes the unborn.
[But later they say in their platform that "Healthcare is not a right" but a "service." I'm confyoozed. I guess if you're gonna be born you better come out rich.]

Discard political correctness, make public the declaration of war (Jihad), made against the US on 23 Feb 1998, and fight the war against the United States by radical Islam to win.
[And we will only accept their unconditional surrender on the deck of a battleship!]

Espouse and follow the principle: It is immoral to steal the property rightfully earned by one person, and give it to another who has no claim or right to its benefits.
[Translation: Gimme back my lawnmower, Herb!]

[The] government takeover of healthcare is not only unconstitutional, but detrimental to the entire healthcare system. Only market based solutions will solve the problems.
[Yes, the insurance industry has done such a STELLAR job solving the problems. Although, to be fair, they did solve the problem of how to increase profits by finding new and exciting ways to deny coverage to sick people.]

Defeat Cap and Trade, investigate collusion between government and industry in the global warming myth, and prosecute any illegal collusion.
[No comment---pretty much speaks for the whole document.]

Seal the border and protect US citizens along the border and everywhere, as is the prime directive of the Federal Government.
[Yes, but which border, Mr. Spock? Which...border...must...be sealed? Mexico? Canada? So...many...borders and we're just one...small...starship! Lost! In a nebula of...uncertainty and...confusion.]

Cut spending, balance the budget, and institute a plan for paying down debt. Proclaim that generational debt shifting is immoral and unconscionable and will not be tolerated!
[Disclaimer: Except when Republicans are in the majority, in which case such generational debt shifting will be relabeled "freedom investing."]

Restore a vigorous grounding in the history and precepts of liberty, freedom, and the constitution to the educational process. As Thomas Jefferson said, "If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be."
[Ahem---that pot-smoking liberal hack Jefferson was written out of the history books, remember? You'll need to find a more suitable quote by St. Thomas Aquinas, John Calvin or Ayn Rand. With sloppiness like this, how can we be expected to take the Maine GOP seriously?]

And then, for their grand finale, a swan dive into a Dixie cup of cuckoo:

Repeal and prohibit any participation in efforts to create a one world government.
[Twitch Twitch]

How unrealistic can a platform be? This further demonstrates how completely out of touch this tea party movement actually is with political (and constitutional) reality.

The big question that everyone should really have is: Why are the Republicans even listening to these idiots?

FOX vs White House: It's about the TRUTH

I have been spending more time than I should on trying to understand the "war" between the White House and Faux News. The White House simply says what is a well-documented and carefully illustrated truth: FOX creates the news through its commentary and repeats it as news on its "news" coverage. I don't need to document this here for it is already well documented by Media Matters. Now that idiot Sean Hannity says he doesn't trust mediamatters, because it is liberal. The White House's main point is that they don't trust FOX, and nor should anyone else, because they are just a propaganda machine for the conservatives. The White House's response to any criticism from FOX is simple now: "It's not a legitimate news organization. We've made that clear. We can't trust the source, so come back to us when you have facts to back up your criticism that are not FOX-based."

This video is spectacular in how it illustrates the FOX bias and agenda:



The White House is calling a bully a bully. They don't really need to do or say anything else. As for the argument about Fox's increased ratings: that's a red herring. It doesn't matter if Faux's ratings are through the roof. It's all about truth - which is not something that happens by majority vote: Truth just is.

Fox lies, distorts and manipulates the truth to serve its own conservative agenda. The White House is simply stating that. There is no "attack" on FOX: They can still broadcast. They have the freedom to say whatever they want. They insist on the freedom to say whatever they want. It's a shame they don't want anyone to have the freedom to oppose their destructive agenda.

More on this debate

Opposites

If you haven't noticed - I've been BUSY with many things. Among them, writing papers for the graduate courses I finished a month ago. Although, don't feel sorry for me - I'm still loving every minute of it!

I'm down to my last two papers. One is on censorship (just about finished) and the last one is about free will (read a lot - haven't started yet...). It just occured to me only yesterday that I'm writing about opposites. I wanted to write this note about two books I've read recently and how they relate to my writing.


The first book is by Al Gore and it is a devastating critique of the Bush administration. It is all about censorship, it turns out. Bush/Cheyney had a vision: invade Iraq - they had it right from day 1 and September 11 was just the excuse they needed. There was,and is, no connection between Saddam and 9/11. Afghanastan is left for Canada to sort out, even though the US did nothing about finishing the job. If even half of what Gore says is right - George Bush should be put on trial for crimes against humanity. The Department of Homeland Security is a waste of taxpayer money - the administration knew all they needed before 9/11 and just didn't act on the information they were given. All the extra security measures in the airport - having gone through that joke this summer - was not even needed. Our intelligence system before 9/11 worked just fine, thank you very much. If the executive branch had listened to their own intelligence, there could have been prevention. They knew all the hijakers before the flight. They knew they were training to fly commercial jets! Bush and Cheyney & co. were so set on Iraq, they blinded themselves, and continue to blind themselves to reality. It's amazing there aren't more protests. It's also amazing that Gore isn't running for president, because this book would make a good platform. Here's hoping Hilary reads it (how could she not?)



**WARNING:SPOILERS TO THE 7TH HARRY POTTER BOOK AHEAD!!

The other book to deal with censorship is the book than many have been screaming to ban from school libraries: Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Please note that I've given the link for the far superior Canadian edition. I have never forgiven the USA publishers for ruining the title of the first book. The title in the rest of the world is: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone! Another form of censorship in the US. It's amazing that this book has been so condemned by fundamentalist Christians, especially considering, as stated by Jack Zipes (He's an expert on children's literature) - That Harry Potter, despite being formulaic and sexist (I really don't agree with him on the second), is a "Christian knight". In fact, interviews with followers of Wicca say that Harry Potter bears more resemblance to Christianity than to the Wiccan religion! Does anyone listen, though? I guess not. Here is a hero, who is singled out and hunted down by evil. Evil knows he will triumph and evil also knows that only he or Harry must survive via the other's death. So, what is the final solution? Harry puts his life on the line, not only for the wizarding world, but for the muggle world. Harry dies to save the world. He then is able to return to life. Does that story sound vaguely familiar to ANYONE???

Having a Voice

I've had two letters published in the local papers so far, with apologies to Ruth. I've gone through the phase of sitting back and letting others settle issues. After all, I think, I can't vote being an immigrant and all. I'm still an American citizen only. I haven't become a dual citizen. Why not? I have this issue with saying I'm a citizen of two countries at the same time. It just seems....well...impossible. However, I've come to the point where I really do care about what happens here as much as anyone else. Therefore, I am writing letters to the editor because I can't think of anything else at the moment.

I'm very concerned: not about the projects but in the contradictions in numbers that seem to be happening. Right now, everything about Plan A seems to be very murky and confusing. City hall refuses to give out number about how the tax payers' money was used to fund the "Vote yes on Plan A" campaign. City hall did not allow an official 'no' campaign at all. City hall has suddenly come out and said the tax increase is only 7.5% when the 'pro-Plan A' media has said that it will be 16% that's a huge difference.

I may be a landed immigrant, but I am a taxpayer, too. Just like a Canadian. I hate dishonesty and deception. Build the projects, but be honest about the costs. I, unlike many immigrants, have the skill and command of the English language to write letters that demand honesty from those who are spending our tax money. It's the least I can do for my family's hometown.