***
***
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
The GOP Platform – Extremism Becomes Mainstream
***
What the G.O.P. Platform
Represents
AUG. 21, 2012
Over the years, the major
parties’ election-year platforms have been regarded as Kabuki theater scripts
for convention week. The presidential candidates blithely ignored them or
openly dismissed the most extreme planks with a knowing wink as merely a
gesture to pacify the noisiest activists in the party.
That cannot be said of the
draft of the Republican platform circulating ahead of the convention in Tampa , Fla.
The draft document is more
aggressive in its opposition to women’s reproductive rights and to gay rights
than any in memory. It accuses President Obama and the federal judiciary of “an
assault on the foundations of our society,” and calls for constitutional
amendments banning both same-sex marriage and abortion.
In defending one of the last
vestiges of officially sanctioned discrimination — restrictions on the rights
of gay men and lesbians to marry — the platform relies on the idea that
marriage between one man and one woman has for thousands of years “been
entrusted with the rearing of children and the transmission of cultural
values.”
That familiar argument
ignores the fact that the number of children raised by one-parent families has
been rising steadily since the 1970s, long before anyone was talking about
same-sex marriage. Census figures indicate that one out of every two children
will live in a single-parent family before they reach 18. Studies purporting to
show that children of lesbians are disadvantaged have been shown to be junk
science. Marriages between people of the same gender pose no threat to
marriages between men and women.
The draft attacks President
Obama for not defending in court the Defense of Marriage Act, which prohibits
federal recognition of same-sex marriages. It calls that decision a “mockery of
the President’s inaugural oath,” when in fact Mr. Obama would have been wrong
to ignore lawyers who concluded that the law is unconstitutional.
In passages on abortion, the
draft platform puts the party on the most extreme fringes of American opinion.
It calls for a “human life amendment” and for legislation “to make clear that
the Fourteenth Amendment’s protections apply to unborn children.” That would
erase any right women have to make decisions about their health and their
bodies. There are no exceptions for victims of rape or incest, and such laws
could threaten even birth control.
The draft demands that the
government “not fund or subsidize health care which includes abortion
coverage,” which could bar abortion coverage on federally subsidized
health-insurance exchanges, for example.
The platform praises states
with “informed consent” laws that require women to undergo medically unnecessary
tests before having abortions, and “mandatory waiting periods.” Those are among
the most patronizing forms of anti-abortion legislation. They presume that a
woman is not capable of making a considered decision about abortion before she
goes to a doctor. The draft platform also espouses the most extreme Republican
views on taxation, national security, military spending and other issues.
Over all, it is farther out
on the party’s fringe than Mr. Romney ventured in the primaries, when he
repudiated a career’s worth of centrist views on issues like abortion and gay
marriage. But the planks hew closely to the views of his running mate, Paul
Ryan, and the powerful right-wing. Mr. Romney has a chance to move back in the
direction of the center by amending this extremist platform. It will be
interesting to see if he seizes it.
***
Friday, August 24, 2012
The House GOP Crazies
***
The Crackpot Caucus
by Timothy Egan
AUG. 23, 2012
The tutorial in
8th grade biology that Republicans got after one of their members of
Congress went public with something from the wackosphere was instructive, and
not just because it offered female anatomy lessons to those who get their
science from the Bible.
Take a look around key
committees of the House and you’ll find a governing body stocked with crackpots
whose views on major issues are as removed from reality as Missouri
On matters of basic science
and peer-reviewed knowledge, from evolution to climate change to elementary
fiscal math, many Republicans in power cling to a level of ignorance that would
get their ears boxed even in a medieval classroom. Congress incubates and
insulates these knuckle-draggers.
Let’s take a quick tour of
the crazies in the House. Their war on critical thinking explains a lot about
why the United States is laughed at on the global stage, and why no real
solutions to our problems emerge from that broken legislative body.
Clockwise, from top left: Seth
Perlman/Associated Press; Manuel Balce Ceneta, via Associated Press; Stephen
Morton, via Getty Images; Daniel Acker for The New York Times; Chris tian Gooden/St. Louis Post-Dispatch, via
Associated Press; Paul Morigi, via Getty Images for OvationClockwise, from top
left: Representatives John Shimkus of Illinois, Joe Barton of Texas, Jack Kingston of Georgia, Michele Bachmann of
Minnesota, Todd Akin of Missouri and Paul Broun of Georgia
We’re currently experiencing
the worst drought in 60 years, a siege of wildfires, and the hottest
temperatures since records were kept. But to Republicans in Congress,
it’s all a big hoax. The chairman of a subcommittee that oversees issues
related to climate change, Representative John Shimkus of Illinois is
— you guessed it — a climate-change denier.
At a 2009 hearing, Shimkus said not to worry about a fatally dyspeptic planet: the biblical signs have yet to properly align. “The earth will end only when God declares it to be over,” he said, and then he went on to quote Genesis at some length. It’s worth repeating: This guy is the chairman.
On the same committee is an
oil-company tool and 27-year veteran of Congress, Representative Joe L. Barton
of Texas
Barton cited the Almighty in
questioning energy from wind turbines. Careful, he warned, “wind is God’s way
of balancing heat.” Clean energy, he said, “would slow the winds
down” and thus could make it hotter. You never know.
“You can’t regulate God!”
Barton barked at the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, in the midst of discussion on
measures to curb global warming.
The Catholic Church long ago
made its peace with evolution, but the same cannot be said of House
Republicans. Jack Kingston of
Georgia, a 20-year veteran of the House, is an evolution denier,
apparently because he can’t see the indent where his ancestors’ monkey tail
used to be. “Where’s the missing link?” he said in 2011. “I just want to know
what it is.” He serves on a committee that oversees education.
In his party, Kingston Gallup
Another Georgia
Broun is on the same science,
space and technology committee that Akin is. Yes, science is part of their
purview.
Where do they get this stuff?
The Bible, yes, but much of the misinformation and the fables that inform
Republican politicians comes from hearsay, often amplified by their media wing.
Remember the crazy statement
that helped to kill the presidential aspirations of Michele
Bachmann? A vaccine, designed to prevent a virus linked to cervical
cancer, could cause mental retardation, she proclaimed. Bachmann knew this, she
insisted, because some random lady told her so at a campaign event.
Fearful of the genuine damage Bachmann’s assertion could do to public health,
the American Academy
Nor is there is reputable
scientific validity to those who deny that the globe’s climate is changing for
the worst. But Bachmann calls that authoritative consensus a hoax, and faces no
censure from her party.
It’s encouraging that
Republican heavyweights have since told Akin that uttering scientific nonsense
about sex and rape is not good for the party’s image. But where are these
fact-enforcers on the other idiocies professed by elected representatives of
their party?
Akin, if he stays in the
race, may still win the Senate seat in Missouri
A handful of Republicans have
tried to fight the know-nothings. “I believe in evolution and trust scientists
on global warming,” said Jon Huntsman, the former Utah
And in an on-air plea for
sanity, Joe Scarborough, the former G.O.P. congressman and MSNBC host,
said, “I’m just tired of the Republican Party being the stupid party.” I
feel for him. But don’t expect the reality chorus to grow. For if
intelligence were contagious, his party would be giving out vaccines for it.
***
Sunday, August 19, 2012
100 Greatest Maniacal Movie Laughs
***
[click to play then click the gear icon on the lower right of the screen to choose 720 dpi HD]
[click to play then click the gear icon on the lower right of the screen to choose 720 dpi HD]
List
of films used.
1.
Batman and Robin
2.
Wizard of Oz
3.
The Matrix
Revolutions
4.
Austin Powers:
International Man of Mystery
5.
How the Grinch
Stole Christmas
6.
The Little
Mermaid
7.
Beauty and the
Beast
8.
Highlander
9.
Monsters Vs.
Aliens
10.
Aladdin
11.
Finding Nemo
12.
Inglourious Basterds
13.
Batman Forever
14.
Princess Bride
15.
A Christmas Story
16.
Cars 2
17.
Raiders of the
Lost Ark
18.
Super Mario Bros
19.
Snow White
20.
A Nightmare
Before Christmas
21.
The Muppets
22.
Oldboy
23.
Back to the
Future
24.
True Romance
25.
Fight Club
26.
Harry Potter and
The Deathly Hallows Part 2
27.
The Exorcist
28.
Hook
29.
Bad Lieutenant:
Port of Call - New Orleans
30.
Deadfall
31.
Face Off
32.
Grindhouse
Trailer: Werewolf Women of the SS
33.
Face Off
34.
Deadfall
35.
Evil Dead 3: Army
of Darkness
36.
Bride of Chucky
37.
Kung Fu Panda
38.
Star Wars: Empire
Strikes Back
39.
Thor
40.
Blue Velvet
41.
The Incredibles
42.
The Shining
43.
The Assassination
of Jesse James
44.
Roadhouse
45.
The Great
Dictator
46.
The Money Pit
47.
Toy Story 2
48.
Power Rangers
49.
Batman (1966)
50.
Batman (1989)
51.
The Dark Knight
52.
Troll 2
53.
Deathproof
54.
Monsters Inc.
55.
Sin City
56.
Megamind
57.
Kill Bill Volume
2
58.
True Romance
59.
Leon
60.
Fifth Element
61.
Hannibal
62.
Bram Stoker’s
Dracula
63.
Kung Fu Panda 2
64.
Dr Strangelove
65.
Akira
66.
Predator
67.
Blazing Saddles
68.
A Clockwork Orange
69.
Batman Forever
70.
Toy Story
71.
A Streetcar Named
Desire
72.
Lord of the
Rings: The Return of the King
73.
A Nightmare
Before Christmas
74.
Black Dynamite
75.
A Nightmare on Elm Street
76.
Toy Story 3
77.
Labyrinth
78.
Young
Frankenstein
79.
101 Dalmatians
80.
Demolition Man
81.
Lion King
82.
The Dentist 2
83.
Pirates of the
Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
84.
Stephen King’s IT
85.
American Psycho
86.
Zoolander
87.
Street Fighter
88.
The Simpsons
Movie
89.
Despicable Me
90.
Spiderman
91.
Star Was: Revenge
of the Sith
92.
Shrek
93.
Inglourious
Basterds
94.
Live and Let Die
95.
Evil Dead
96.
Die Hard
97.
Die Hard II
98.
Die Hard III
99.
Evil Dead II
100.The Muppets
***
Religion & Cross-Culturalism
***
From the Huffington Post:
Dr. Charles Negy, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Central Florida, had to email an extra,
elementary lesson to his students -- one so basic and of such societal value
that it was posted on Reddit.
Striking a tone somewhere
between ivory tower and a mother's lecture, Negy challenged his students to
step outside the context of their own cultures for a frank discussion on
religious bigotry, a talk apparently interrupted by several students expressing
bigoted views, in Negy's opinion.
"We're adults. We're at
a university," he concludes. Read the letter below to how he arrived at
this point.
^^^
Hello, Cross-Cultural students,
I am writing to express my views on how some of you have conducted yourself in this university course you are taking with me.
It is not uncommon for some-to-many American students, who typically, are first-generation college students, to not fully understand, and maybe not even appreciate the purpose of a university. Some students erroneously believe a university is just an extension of high school, where students are spoon- fed "soft" topics and dilemmas to confront, regurgitate the "right" answers on exams (right answers as deemed by the instructor or a textbook), and then move on to the next course.
Not only is this not the purpose of a university (although it may feel like it is in some of your other courses), it clearly is not the purpose of my upper-division course on Cross-Cultural Psychology.
The purpose of a university, and my course in particular, is to struggle intellectually with some of life's most difficult topics that may not have one right answer, and try to come to some conclusion about what may be "the better answer" (It typically is not the case that all views are equally valid; some views are more defensible than others).
Another purpose of a
university, and my course in particular, is to engage in open discussion in
order to critically mine beliefs, behaviors, and customs.
Finally, another purpose of a
university education is to help students who typically are not accustomed to
thinking independently or applying a critical analysis to views or beliefs, to
start learning how to do so. We are not in class to learn "facts" and
simply regurgitate the facts in a mindless way to items on a test. Critical
thinking is a skill that develops over time. Independent thinking does not
occur overnight. Critical thinkers are open to having their cherished beliefs
challenged, and must learn how to "defend" their views based on
evidence or logic, rather than simply "pounding their chest" and
merely proclaiming that their views are valid." One characteristic of the
critical, independent thinker is being able to recognize fantasy versus
reality; to recognize the difference between personal beliefs which are nothing
more than personal beliefs, versus views that are grounded in evidence, or
which have no evidence.
Last class meeting and for 15 minutes today, we addressed "religious bigotry." Several points are worth contemplating:
Last class meeting and for 15 minutes today, we addressed "religious bigotry." Several points are worth contemplating:
(1) Religion and culture go
"hand in hand." For some cultures, they are so intertwined that it is
difficult to know with certainty if a specific belief or custom is
"cultural" or "religious" in origin. The student in class
tonight who proclaimed that my class was supposed to be about different
cultures (and not religion) lacks an understanding about what constitutes
"culture." (of course, I think her real agenda was to stop my
comments about religion).
(2) Students in my class who
openly proclaimed that Christianity
is the most valid religion, as some of you did last class, portrayed precisely
what religious bigotry is. Bigots-racial bigot or religious bigots - never
question their prejudices and bigotry. They are convinced their beliefs are
correct. For the Christians in my
class who argued the validity of Christianity
last week, I suppose I should thank you for demonstrating to the rest of the
class what religious arrogance and bigotry looks like. It seems to have not
even occurred to you (I'm directing this comment to those students who
manifested such bigotry), as I tried to point out in class tonight, how such
bigotry is perceived and experienced by the Muslims, the Hindus, the Buddhists,
the non-believers, and so on, in class, to have to sit and endure the tyranny
of the masses (the dominant group, that is, which in this case, are Christians).
(3) The male student who
stood up in class and directed the rest of the class to "not
participate" by not responding to my challenge, represented the worst of
education. For starters, the idea that a person-student or instructor- would
instruct other students on how to behave, is pretty arrogant and grossly
disrespects the rights of other students who can and want to think for
themselves and decide for themselves whether they want to engage in the
exchange of ideas or not. Moreover, this "let's just put our fingers in
our ears so we will not hear what we disagree with" is.... appallingly
childish and exemplifies "anti-intellectualism." The purpose of a
university is to engage in dialogue, debate, and exchange ideas in order to try
and come to some meaningful conclusion about an issue at hand. Not to shut ourselves
off from ideas we find threatening.
***
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Welcome to Toad Suck
***
Toad Suck, Arkansas
by Eric Pheiffer, Yahoo! News
Toad Suck, AR (wikicommons)
A new poll across seven
English-speaking countries has chosen Toad Suck, AR as having the "most
unfortunate" town name in the U.S.
Toad Suck, an unincorporated
community in Perry County, Arkansas, took top dishonors, edging out Climax, GA
and Boring, OR.
The poll was conducted by the
genealogy site Findmypast.com, polling respondents in the U.S. UK, Ireland,
Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
"Some people are
disconcerted to learn that their forebears came from somewhere called Toad
Suck, Roachtown or Monkey's Eyebrow," said Josh Taylor, genealogist and
spokesperson for the site, said in a press release.
Toad Suck reportedly takes
its name from a once popular drinking location for boaters on the Arkansas River . The toadsuck.org site explains in more detail, "While
they waited, they refreshed themselves at the local tavern there, to the dismay
of the folks living nearby, who said: 'They suck on the bottle 'til they swell
up like toads.' Hence, the name Toad Suck."
Interestingly, Climax's
unique name isn't it's only claim to fame. It's also home to the annual "Swine Time" festival.
The Top 10 list was voted in
the following order:
Toad Suck, AR
Climax, GA
Boring, OR
Hooker, OK
Monkey's Eyebrow, KY
"I maybe expected
Squabbletown to rank higher," Taylor
***
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Politicians
***
> The problem with
political jokes is they get elected. ~Henry Cate, VII
> We hang the petty
thieves and appoint the great ones to public office. ~Aesop
> If we got one-tenth of
what was promised to us in these acceptance speeches there wouldn't be any
inducement to go to heaven. ~Will Rogers
> Those who are too smart
to engage in politics are punished by being governed by those who are dumber.
~Plato
> Politicians are the same
all over. They promise to build a bridge even where there is no river. ~Nikita
Khrushchev
> When I was a boy I was
told that anybody could become President; I'm beginning to believe it.
~Clarence Darrow
> Why pay money to have
your family tree traced; go into politics and your opponents will do it for
you. ~Author Unknown
> If God wanted us to
vote, he would have given us candidates. ~Jay Leno
> Politicians are people
who, when they see light at the end of the tunnel, go out and buy some more
tunnel. ~John Quinton
> Politics is the gentle
art of getting votes from the poor and campaign funds from the rich, by
promising to protect each from the other. ~Oscar Ameringer
> The Democrats are the
party that says government will make you smarter, taller, richer, and remove
the crabgrass on your lawn. The Republicans are the party that says government
doesn't work and then they get elected and prove it. ~P.J. O'Rourke
> I offer my opponents a
bargain: if they will stop telling lies about us, I will stop telling the truth
about them. ~Adlai Stevenson, campaign speech, 1952
> A politician is a fellow
who will lay down your life for his country.
~Texas
> Any American who is
prepared to run for president should automatically, by definition, be
disqualified from ever doing so. ~Gore Vidal
> I have come to the conclusion
that politics is too serious a matter to be left to the politicians. ~Charles
de Gaulle
> Instead of giving a
politician the keys to the city, it might be better to change the locks. ~Doug
Larson
> Don't vote, it only
encourages them. ~Author Unknown
> There ought to be one
day - just one - when there is open season on senators. ~Will Rogers
> I think it's about time
we voted for senators with breasts. After all, we've been voting for boobs long
enough. ~ Clarie Sargent , Arizona
***
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