"It is not the function of our government to keep the citizen from falling into error; it is the function of the citizen to keep the government from falling into error." U.S. Supreme Court Justice Robert H. Jackson
"That it will never come again is what makes life so sweet." Emily Dickinson
"Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." Carl Sagan
"Once the shift is made from a process of reason to one of faith, everything can be made to fit your thesis." Alexander Shulgin
"Well behaved women rarely make history." Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
"For a true scientist there can never be a crisis of faith, just new equations." Majutsu
"Question with boldness even the existence of God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason than that of blindfolded fear." Thomas Jefferson
"We travel together, passengers on a little spaceship dependent on its vulnerable supplies of air and soil; all committed for our safety to its security and peace, preserved from annihilation only by the care, the work, and I will say the love we give our fragile craft." Adlai Stevenson
I just came across this most disturbing video on YouTube. I’d heard rumors from some vets my husband works with that McCain wasn’t quite the war hero he likes to pretend he was, as well as some statements from generals, etc., to that effect, but I’d had no idea of the scope of his anti-heroic actions during the war and afterwards. The information he volunteered to his captors, simply to get medical treatment, before any sort of torture, cost many American lives. Treason. Watch this.
Not only should this man not be president, he doesn’t belong in the Senate, either. He belongs in a jail cell. It’s a testament to his astounding arrogance, the admiral’s son that he is, that he ran for President. Did he think this truth wouldn’t come to light? It usually does, eventually, no matter how hard you try to keep it under wraps.
Nevermind Hindus, Muslims, or Jews. Even most Protestants don’t have it right, and a civil war among the protestants will be necessary to purge the churches of demonic influence before Jesus will come again. I just read this article over at HuffPo, and I have to say that I think Sarah Palin should be kept as far away from power as possible, not just in this election, but for forever.
These do not seem like nice people.
Although the terms ‘intercessory prayer’ and ‘prayer warrior’ are widely used in Christianity, Sarah Palin has been been claimed, as a member, by one very specific and well defined prayer-warfare network: the Global Apostolic Prayer Network, formerly called the “Spiritual Warfare Network”. This ‘prayer warfare’ network considers Catholics, and everyone else who does not share its particular interpretation of Christianity to be under demon influence and damned to hell; it hunts witches and is mapping out “demon influences” in cities and towns across America.
Global Apostolic Prayer Network leaders compare Catholicism to Freemasonry and have conducted prayer warfare which they claim may have helped to kill Mother Theresa. One top leader and apostle of this spiritual warfare movement endorses the activities of church-based Central American death squads.
On September 6, 2008, Norwegian Spiritual Warfare leader Jan-Aage Torp confirmed that Sarah Palin was currently a ‘prayer warrior’ in Mary Glazier’s prayer-warfare network.
Glazier has claimed that in 1995 her network drove an employee of the Alaska State Prison System, whom Glazier had accused of witchcraft, out of Alaska with ‘spiritual warfare’. As Glazier told Spiritled Woman Magazine,
“As we continued to pray against the spirit of witchcraft, her incense altar caught on fire, her car engine blew up, she went blind in her left eye, and she was diagnosed with cancer.”
And just in case any of you kind, forgiving Catholics want to pray that these people actually hear Christ’s message of the brotherhood of man, don’t bother:
The Global Apostolic Prayer Network…claims that a planetary-level demon spirit blocks prayers of Catholics from reaching Heaven.
All I can say is, wow. What century is this? Even after this election (which I’m pretty optimistic will NOT land Sarah the Prayer Warrior anywhere near the White House), I think we need to be vigilant that this Global Apostolic Prayer Network not continue to subvert democracy and rationalism around the world.
I’m really starting to love Campbell Brown. When the ignorant lady at a McCain rally recently said she couldn’t trust Obama because he’s an Arab (she didn’t quite manage a sentence as complex as that, but it’s what she tried to say), McCain corrected her by saying that no, Obama is a decent family man (that’s the opposite of Arab?). Ms. Brown decided that the underlying assumption that Arab and Muslim are slurs finally needed to be addressed:
Now, anyone who reads this blog knows I’m not keen on religion, and that one of the things I am keen on is the separation of Church and State. And key to that separation is the idea that it shouldn’t matter what religion someone is (despite the fundies’ paranoia and Turkey’s misunderstanding of what secularism means, it does not mean getting rid of religion entirely) when they run for public office. It also shouldn’t matter what ethnicity someone is, which is more to the point with the word Arab, though I know for the ignorant folk like this McCain supporter Arab and Muslim are synonymous, since they’re clueless of the fact that there are actually secular and Christian Arabs, and, for all I know, Buddhist and Hindu and Wiccan and Zoroastrian Arabs, as well, especially here in America where they are free to choose.
America is not a Christian country. America is a free country where people of all religions or no religion can and must coexist, and I’m glad some people in the media are starting to speak up about it.
Thanks to Deanie Mills at TPM for bringing this video to my attention, of Richard Trunka, President of the AFL-CIO, addressing the problem of racism being used against Barack Obama in this election. He points out the illogic of working-class folk voting for McCain, who will do nothing to help their struggling families. It’s lovely to behold.
Here’s a scary video for you. This guy is a total nut. (He’s also quite wrong about the founding of America, btw, since our founders were actually Masons who, as their iconography shows, are very sympathetic to Islam.) At one point he says, in a frenzy, that “we were created for the conflict; we get off on warfare.” That sounds a lot more like Constantianism than Christianity to me.
I never thought I’d say this, but right now, I love Hollywood. Check out this celebrity-studded ad beautifully using reverse psychology. Don’t vote! (Warning…this is for adults — who’re the only one’s who CAN vote — and uses some adult language.)
Here’s a sad article about a horrifying incident of anti-Islamic terrorism perpetrated by Americans right here on our soil, against women and children attending a prayer service at a mosque. I think it’s no coincidence that this occurred after the distribution of fear-mongering anti-Islamic DVDs in newspapers by a pro-McCain group. I agree with the author of the article:
John McCain has a moral obligation to publicly censure the Clarion Fund; to denounce the inflammatory, anti-Muslim message of Obsession; and to do everything in his power to stop any further campaign activities by his supporters that have the potential to incite violence
What I really don’t get is that those who most fear and hate Islam are Christians, presumably, right? Would the Christ of the gospels have gassed women and children? I think not.
Over at Huffington Post I just read this excellent article written by a married couple, Kathlyn and Gay Hendricks, who’ve been doing marriage counseling for years, about having an authentic couple, equal partners, in the White House, and the benefits that would have for all of us.
Elect Barack Obama. That way, we get the gift of seeing two people having an easeful friendship with each other. We get as a role model two people who communicate with each other as equals and stand beside each other as true partners. If we elect Barack Obama we are electing a new possibility in our relationship lives as a nation: respect, affection and authenticity. Michelle and Barack speak clearly and openly. You know she won’t bullshit you or embarrass you by playing the demure little wife. We’re ready to see that kind of relationship, and we hope you are, too. The question is: are we as a nation ready to end our national addiction to duplicity, phony adoration and Stepford wifedom in the White House? If not, we’re going to get what we deserve.
We have a chance now to make a real difference in the world. If we elect Barack Obama, we can all focus on the critical challenges that must be met now. Speaking personally, we feel a sense of warmth and pride when we think about the support and love the Obamas have for each other. We breathe easier when we see how they live their lives with balance, honesty and clarity. They’re the real deal. In November, let’s give ourselves this new mirror of our own value.
Contrast that with a man who once called his wife a cunt in public, who left his first wife after she was in a car accident that ruined her looks, who cynically chose an unqualified female as his running mate in a ploy to gain attention and some female votes, and who opposes legislation that would mandate equal pay for equal work.
Here’s an excellent post from a blog I just discovered in a comment at MudFlats; the author, Chris Blask, had attended this talk down in Florida, and I’m afraid it won’t get enough national coverage, so I wanted to bring it whatever attention my little blog can.
The message from the speakers was clear: Senator McCain has been making dangerous decisions for our country for the past eight years and cannot be allowed to take us down the road the current administration has set us on.
Make sure you check out the video, too, of Mr. Clarke talking about Sen. Biden and his ability to step into the presidency if needed.
CNN Anchorwoman Campbell Brown makes an excellent case that McCain’s campaign is treating Sarah Palin in a sexist manner by shielding Gov. Palin from the press as if she were a “delicate flower.” It’s a riot, and fun to watch. You go, girl!