Headlines From Around the Blogasphere

Wednesday, March 23, 2005

Happy Easter and Other Misinformation From the Radical Evangelical Right

The Restored Church of God

Great site! Learned a lot! Thought I would share.

Got there from here, Dances With Fruit Flies. Good article, but all wrong! Evolution; Facts, Fallacys and Implications explains why.

In the article, Dances With Fruit Flies, from USA News, it states that "some 55 percent of Americans balk at the idea that humans evolved at all." How accurate do you think this statement is? And why might this be? These are the first two questions that popped into my head. So, off I went in search of clues that might lead to what I am going to call the "dumbification" of America.

First stop, The Christian Broadcasting Network. CBN is the broadcaster responsible for the 700 Club that boasts a viewership of approximately 1.5 billion people worldwide.

Seen in 95 percent of the television markets across the United States, the program is carried on ABC Family Channel cable network, FamilyNet, Trinity Broadcasting Network, and numerous U.S. television stations, and is seen daily by approximately one million viewers. CBN WorldReach broadcasts, which include the international edition of The 700 Club, have been translated into more than 70 foreign languages, can be seen in more than 200 countries, and are accessible throughout the year by more than 1.5 billion people around the world.

Very impressive numbers to say the least. This is what CBN, Pat Robertson and Dr. Jonathan Wells had to say about evolution,

Wells evaluated ten major textbooks on seven examples of evolution. Out of the seventy total grades, the books earned 25 Ds, but mostly Fs — 40 of them to be exact. In other words, all the books flunked the truth test.

For example, the books discuss an old experiment supposedly showing how chemicals came together to begin life. They won't admit the presence of oxygen in the early atmosphere because oxygen would prevent evolution from even getting off the ground.

This wouldn't have anything to do with outdated textbooks in the classroom, would it? Or the strain that the No Child Left Behind Act puts on local budgets? Or is it that schools are delaying the ordering of new textbooks, materials and supplies because President Bush wanted to cut even more money from the education budget? Maybe. But lucky for us the G.O.P. moderates in Congress came through and voted to add back the $5.4 billion that President Bush would have liked to have seen slashed from the federal budget this year.

With outdated textbooks, budget cuts and an outright attack on education from the radical right, coupled with faith-based community leaders teaching our children to ignore evolution it's no wonder 55% of Americans today are dumbing down.

Next stop, Focus On the Family. All aboard!!! The train to stupidity is leaving exactly when the big hand hits twelve and the little hand hits eight (for those of you that have a Casio digital watch). 

Focus On the Family states that their newsletter reaches some 2.6 million readers, give or take a few thousand lost souls with a ton of baggage.

Worldwide, Focus on the Family is broadcasting in 25 languages on over 8,300 radio facilities heard in 164 countries.

Dr. Dobson's commentaries are heard by more than 200 million people by way of radio every day, including a program translation carried on state-owned radio stations in the Republic of China. He is seen on 80 television stations daily in the U.S.

This is what James C. Dobson and Mark Hartwig have to say about evolution,

Now we’re in a position to give a broader description of specified complexity: Specified complexity is displayed by any object or event that has an extremely low probability of occurring by chance, and matches a discernible pattern. According to contemporary design theory, the presence of highly specified complexity is an indicator of an intelligent cause.

I guess "random" isn't as random as it used to be. Strike it from the dictionary and tell Random House to change their name to Specified Complexity House. This is hardly what I call candidates for Faith-Based Initiatives here in America.

The Administration has eliminated regulatory and policy barriers that have kept faith-based organizations from partnering with the Federal government to help Americans in need. It has also worked to put into place regulations to ensure that faith-based organizations are able to compete on an equal footing for Federal funding within constitutional guidelines, without impairing the religious character of such organizations and without diminishing the religious freedom of beneficiaries.

James Dobson holds a doctorate from the University of Southern California (1967) in the field of child development and is a licensed psychologist in California. These are hardly qualifications for debunking the theory of evolution.

Mark Hartwig has a doctorate in educational psychology from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Active in the origins debate since 1985, he was one of the early organizers of the intelligent-design movement. These are exactly the qualifications needed to manipulate and intimidate the minds of America's youth.

I have to admit Einstein and Darwin have nothing on these guys. Two psychologists from California influencing millions of people every day is just what we need to further the intelligence of our youth in this great nation of ours.

The Nazi propaganda machine of the 1930s and 1940s had about as much education as these two guys and they were able to mobilize millions to kill hundreds of thousands worldwide.

Goebbels was the father of modern propaganda in a totalitarian state (a term that he coined), in which he made use of every available means. The propaganda he spread was remarkably replete with defamations, libels, and lies; he was convinced that people would believe the lies if only they were repeated often enough, and the bigger the lie, the better chance it had of being believed. Goebbel's propaganda always incited hate against some enemy. He was a radical and fanatic anti-semite, but his hatred of Jews was also based on utilitarian considerations of exploiting anti-semitism for the furthering of his propaganda aims.

I have to ask, is this a danger? Is this a campaign for the hearts and minds of our youth in America? Is this a terrorist campaign within our own borders? Here's the definition of "terrorism" taken from Webster dictionary published by Specified Complexity House.

Noun

1. terrorism - the calculated use of violence (or threat of violence) against civilians in order to attain goals that are political or religious or ideological in nature; this is done through intimidation or coercion or instilling fear

Now at this point you are probably saying, "Come on Bastard, that's a stretch!" But is it really? They have all three symptoms of a terrorist group, they're just not blowing things up yet! They use the intimidation of funding to push our politicians around, they use coercion to convince their parishioners that evolution is a myth and they instill fear into their followers by telling them that gays, activist judges and Planned Parenthood, among other things, are the downfall of this great nation. And they repeat this hatred over and over and over again. These radical right preachers are employing Goebbel's strategy for propaganda. This is no different than the terrorist mastermind telling the next fanatical suicide bomber to save one of their 72 virgins for him.

They don't need to blow anything up, they are psychologists using the one WMD that fails to be listed as such, the manipulation of the human mind. The end run to win the hearts and minds of our youth. Governments use this tactic all over the world. These radical right organizations are using it within our own borders and calling it religion.

Not only are these organizations at the forefront of the "dumbification" of America they are also being funded by the government. Yes, your tax dollars are going to help these cults teach our children that evolution and other silly theories do not hold water next to the preachings of these upstanding citizens. Again, from the Specified Complexity House dictionary,

Noun

1. cult - adherents of an exclusive system of religious beliefs and practices
2. cult - an interest followed with exaggerated zeal; "he always follows the latest fads"; "it was all the rage that season"
Synonyms: craze, fad, furor, furore, rage
3. cult - a system of religious beliefs and rituals; "devoted to the cultus of the Blessed Virgin"

I wouldn't be surprised if I woke up tomorrow and learned that 55% of the U.S. population had died from drinking a mix of Kool-Aid and cyanide because these radical evangelical leaders had expressed an interest in catching the next comet to heaven.

Well anyway, Happy Easter! Have a great day and let's not worry about the  "dumbification" of America.

P.S. You thought this post was actually going to be about Easter, the bunny rabbit and all the chocolate and eggs? Well, sorry. But not to let anyone down, you can go read that stuff here, the festival of Eastre.

cross posted at (Bring It On)

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Tuesday, March 22, 2005

Where Do We Go From Here?

contributed by The Cranky Liberal;

To the left, or to the right.

That’s the debate being waged in liberal circles these days as we are trying to figure out how to “right the ship” and rebound after loosing the last two presidential elections. A lot of people are arguing that we need to embrace the middle ground and try to capture some of that moderate right vote – the people who may not be comfortable with the James Dobson’s and Pat Robertson’s and all the influence that they wield in the Republican Party these days. And, I agree we need to reach out to those people, but I don’t think we should do it by trying to embrace the “rights” policies. I think we need to do it by articulating our own policies. If we need to move more to the right, what does that say about all the issues that we’ve fought for and believed in for the last century?

That we’re wrong?

Now, I know some people out there would say that’s exactly it – we’re wrong, but think about that for a second. Is what we stand for wrong? What do we stand for? Equality; Tolerance; Freedom; Personal Liberty; Equal Opportunity. Those aren’t bad things. Those aren’t things I want to throw away just to pick up a few votes. I’m not willing to compromise on those issues because, THOSE issues aren’t mine to compromise on. They are fundamental human rights! You don’t get rid of equal opportunity to control the White House. You don’t trade away Civil Liberties to control the Senate. You can’t negotiate with those things because they are non-negotiable.

The problem isn’t our ideals; it’s our lack of cohesion. Right now we don’t have two equal combatants in this market place of ideas. You have a well funded, well organized “radical right” that’s spending hundreds of millions of dollars a year to shape the messages we hear every day. Then you have a group of really smart and really smug individuals who all think they each have the right answer to the worlds problems – and if you don’t share their answer your just as bad as the idiot in the White House.

That’s the attitude we need to stop.

We need to start compromising, but it needs to be with each other not with “the right.” We need to come together and form a cohesive unit and realize that while I may not agree with everything you say, by working together we will be a lot better off than we would be alone. By working together we will be a lot stronger than we ever could be as individuals.

And we need to start now!

We can’t afford to waste any time. We need to use every opportunity we have to get our message across.

We need to come together, we need to work together and we need to go on the offensive. We need to quit being so timid that we’re even afraid of being called liberal. When they call us a “tax and spend” liberal, ask them what they are – a “big deficit” conservative?

When they say “You’re pro-abortion” tell them that no one is “pro- abortion” and ask what they are doing to cut down on the need to have abortions. Ask them to join you in supporting real sex education and access to birth control. If they’re not willing to do that, ask them who is perpetuating the abortion industry now.

When they say “You’re being divisive” tell them hell yeah you’re being divisive because it’s not your job to support stupid policies. It’s not your job to sale your kids down the river so that Bernie Ebbers and Ken Lay and Dick Cheney can all get richer off of their backs.

And when they say “Your being unpatriotic” because you question the president” remind that America was founded by people who disagreed with their government. What could be more patriotic than that?

We NEED to stand together now and just say NO. We need to tell the radical right that we are not buying the bill of goods their trying to sell anymore. Now is the time for us to be Churchill and not Chamberlain.

We don’t need to move to the right.
We are Right.

cross posted at (The Cranky Liberal and Bring It On)

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Medical Terrorism????

Did I miss something or did Al-Qaeda actually infiltrate a Florida hospice?

"House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) called the removal of the feeding tube "barbarism" and "an act of medical terrorism."

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Monday, March 21, 2005

Terri Really Isn't That Important

George W. Bush commenting on the Terri Shriavo case.

"In cases like this one, where there are serious questions and substantial doubts, our society, our laws, and our courts should have a presumption in favor of life,"

George W. Bush March 21, 2005

REALLY?????? Then while Governor of Texas why did you pass this law?

Texas Futile Care law which expressly gives hospitals the right to remove life support if the patient could not pay and there was no hope of revival, regardless of the patient's family's wishes.

Under this law, a baby was removed from life support against his mother's wishes in Texas just this past week. A 68 year old man was given a temporary reprieve by the Texas courts a few days later. Gee that guy was lucky that atleast one hospital thought he was a keeper plus he could pay.

The truth is George W. Bush and the radical right don't really care about Terri or the 6 month old baby that was pulled off life support. They only care about the 25 seats up for grabs in the 2006 election as explained here.

Hey, right to lifers where was your prayer vigil for this case?

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Saturday, March 19, 2005

A Question for the Terri Fan Club

Did you ever think that maybe God sent for Terri 15 years ago and all you rightwing, Bible humping fucknuts are just meddling in divine will?

You go against science when officials say stem cell research will possibly save thousands of lives because you all believe that would be "playing God." But,  you all "play God" and back science up every time you force the feeding tube back into this lady.

Yeah, that's right, she is alive only by the miracle of science and not the hand of God. She's alive because all you Bible cock stars have personal agenda's. You will defend her because you say she is defenseless but your the first to pull the switch on retards and minors because they did something wrong. They might not understand what they did wrong but Fuck'um, pull the switch! You can't have it both ways, either defend everyone or keep quiet. Your intentions are meaningless if you don't defend everyone. Are we not all Gods children? Or does that only apply when you want someone to send in a check?

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Friday, March 18, 2005

The Radical Right Says, "F**K YOU, PAY ME!"

"If the debtor be insolvent to serve creditors, let his body be cut in pieces on the third market day. It may be cut into more or fewer pieces with impunity. Or, if his creditors consent to it, let him be sold to foreigners beyond the Tiber."

A report released last month by Harvard Medical and Law has been nice enough to point out that our bankruptcy system works differently from ancient Rome's; creditors carve up the debtor's assets, not the debtor.

They were also nice enough to point out that after conducting their survey they found out that half of the bankruptcy filings in 2001 were due to medical causes. Here are some highlights from their study;

Who Files For Bankruptcy?

The average debtor was a 41-year-old woman with children, and at least some college education. On average, each bankruptcy involved 1.32 debtors with 1.33 dependents. The 1.4 million personal bankruptcies filed in 2001 involved a total of 3.7 million people: 1.9 million were the debtor and the other 1.8 million were their children or dependents. More than one quarter cited illness or injury as reasons for their bankruptcy, 46.2% fit the criteria for "major medical bankruptcy," 54.5% met the criteria for "any medical bankruptcy."

During the two years before filing, 40.3% had lost telephone service; 19.4% had gone without food; 53.6% went without needed doctor or dentist visits because of the cost (but wait, aren't they sick?); and 43.0% had failed to fill a prescription (but wait, how do they get better?).

Following bankruptcy filings, about one-third of debtors continued to have problems paying bills (under the new law they should have no problem paying some of it back). 3.1% were turned down for jobs (don't worry, they will be able to pay it back); 5.8% were turned down for mortgages; 4.9% were turned down for apartment rentals; and 9.3% were turned down for car loans because of the bankruptcy on their credit reports.

In three-quarters of cases the person experiencing the illness/injury was the debtor; in 13.3% a child; and in 8.2% an elderly relative.

Almost 60% of families bankrupted by medical problems indicated medical bills (from medical providers) as the primary reason for bankruptcy; 47.6% cited drug costs; 35.3% had curtailed employment because of illness---often (52.8%) to care for someone else.

Almost 76% of these debtors were insured at the onset; 60.1% initially had private coverage, but one-third of them lost coverage during the course of their illness. 5.7% had Medicare, 8.4% had Medicaid and 1.6% were veterans with military coverage.

The Human Face of Bankruptcy

Debtors' narratives painted a picture of families arriving at the bankruptcy courthouse emotionally and financially exhausted, hoping to stop the collection calls, save their homes, and stabilize their economic circumstances.

Many of the debtors detailed ongoing problems in access to care. Some expressed fear that their medical providers would refuse to continue their care, and a few recounted actual experiences of this kind. Several had used credit cards to charge medical bills they had no hope of paying.

The co-occurrence of medical and job problems was a common theme. For instance one debtor underwent lung surgery and suffered a heart attack. Both hospitalizations were covered by his employer-paid insurance, but he was unable to return to his physically-demanding [sic] job. He found new employment, but was denied coverage due to his pre-existing conditions which required costly ongoing care. Similarly, a school-teacher who suffered a heart attack was unable to return to work for many months, and hence her coverage lapsed. A hospital wrote off her $20,000 debt, but she was nonetheless bankrupted by doctor bills and the cost of medications.

A second common theme was sounded by parents of premature infants or chronically ill children; many took time off from work or incurred large bills for home-care while they were at their jobs.

Finally, many of the insured debtors blamed high co-payments and deductibles for their financial ruin. For example, a man insured through his employer (a large national firm) suffered a broken leg and torn knee ligaments. He incurred $13,000 in out-of-pocket costs for co-payments, deductibles and uncovered services---much of it for physical therapy.

It's time to play political hard ball with this issue! If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. If you don't want to play with the big dogs than go sit on the porch you rightwing corporate lap dogs!

Before you radical, Bible thumping, ass clowns start spewing onto your blogs that people need to be responsible for their bills and stop applying for credit cards, maybe you should do some research and think for yourselves. Your usual ramblings of the rightwing party line are not only getting boring, they are downright ignorant to the problem at hand.

"It seems to me to be fair to those people to whom they pay their debt. We preserve the principle of a fresh start, but we also establish a principle that if one has the ability to repay some of their debt, they are not going to get off scot-free,"

Senator Charles E. Grassley

Now let me be the first to translate this into plain English so that all you rightwing nuts can understand the basic concept of the new law if passed;

“That’s the way it was with a wise guy partner. He gets his money no matter what. You got no business? Fuck you, pay me. You had a fire? Fuck you, pay me.  The place got hit by lighting and World War III started in the lounge? Fuck you, pay me…”

Mobster Henry Hill

This is not a Republican versus Democrat issue! We all get sick in similar ways and all have the same problems with medical coverage. This is about greedy corporations wanting more and Bush & Co. all to happy to oblige them. Is this what you call compassionate conservatism?

So, if this law passes the House, all you rightwing fanatics that think this is all about people being more responsible with their credit cards can take this post, put it in your pipe, smoke it, get cancer, go bankrupt from treatments, claim bankruptcy, get turned down and die (in that order)!

And to think they also wanted to cut Medicaid!

Comment Here!

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