Category: Politics

Topic Header

Will Science Kill Homophia?

Jon Ponder
“Selectively hanging onto these ancient proscriptions for gays and lesbians exclusively is unfair according to anybody’s standard of ethics. We lawyers call it ‘selective enforcement,’ and in civil affairs it’s illegal.”
— “Buzz” Thomas

The rationale for institutional homophobia is based on the belief that sexuality is a choice. It is a central tenent in most religions: people choose to be gay. It’s okay to discriminate against gay people because they are willful sinners.

Sexuality is not a choice, of course. It’s a natural phenomenon that occurs in dozens of species. “Buzz” Thomas — a minister and a lawyer from Tennessee who is described here as an evangelist for the separation of church and state — has a column up at USA Today, in which he warns Christians and others that they may need to re-read the Bible:

[Why] are so many church leaders (not to mention Orthodox Jewish and Muslim leaders) persisting in their view that homosexuality is wrong despite a growing stream of scientific evidence that is likely to become a torrent in the coming years? The answer is found in Leviticus 18. “You shall not lie with a man as with a woman; it is an abomination.”

As a former “the Bible says it, I believe it, that settles it” kind of guy, I am sympathetic with any Christian who accepts the Bible at face value. But here’s the catch. Leviticus is filled with laws imposing the death penalty for everything from eating catfish to sassing your parents. If you accept one as the absolute, unequivocal word of God, you must accept them all.

[…]

Breaking: Marine Commandant Says Iraq Is Putting Corps Is At Risk

Trish

ABC News is reporting that the new commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. James Conway, says that the strain on resources caused by the war in Iraq is jeopardizing the Marines’ worldwide mission.

“There is stress on the individual Marine, and there is stress on the institution,” Conway told reporters today.

Conway expressed concern that the Marines could be hampered from successfully deploying if a significant new crisis were to erupt.

Hersh: Cheney Lying About Iran Nukes

Trish

History repeats itself. Vice President Dick Cheney is trying to bury a classified draft assessment by the CIA that shows Iran, like Iraq before it, might be telling the truth about it nuclear weapons program. Be sure to pick up the Nov. 27 issue of the New Yorker, with the full article by Seymour Hersh.

The C.I.A. assessment warned the White House that it would be a mistake to conclude that the failure to find a secret nuclear-weapons program in Iran merely meant that the Iranians had done a good job of hiding it.

The C.I.A. found no conclusive evidence, as yet, of a secret Iranian nuclear-weapons program running parallel to the civilian operations that Iran has declared to the International Atomic Energy Agency….

But Cheney and the Bush administration aren’t going to let little details like the truth stop them from pursuing their goals, whatever the hell they are.

Cheney and his aides discounted the assessment, the former senior intelligence official said. “They’re not looking for a smoking gun,” the official added, referring to specific intelligence about Iranian nuclear planning. “They’re looking for the degree of comfort level they think they need to accomplish the mission.” […]

Bush Could Change the Tone with One Syllable

Jon Ponder

When I hear a Republican refer to my party as the “Democrat Party,” rather than “Democratic Party,” it’s a signal to me that the speaker is an asshole. It sounds insulting because it is supposed to. When the President of the United States repeatedly refers to the “Democrat Party” it sends the message that he is only the President of the Republican Party — and that he is an asshole. Ruth Marcus expresses the same idea more nicely in today’s Washington Post:

If he wanted to, President Bush could change the tone in Washington with a single syllable: He could just say “ic.” That is, he could stop referring to the opposition as the “Democrat Party” and call the other side, as it prefers, the Democratic Party.

The derisive use of “Democrat” in this way was a Bush staple during the recent campaign. “There are people in the Democrat Party who think they can spend your money far better than you can,” he would say in his stump speech, or, “Raising taxes is a Democrat idea of growing the economy,” or, “However they put it, the Democrat approach in Iraq comes down to this: The terrorists win and America loses.”

But even as he promised to work to change the tone in Washington after the elections, the president couldn’t manage to change his language. In his day-after-the-elections news conference, Bush employed this needling locution five times. “This morning, I spoke with Republican and Democrat leadership in the House and Senate,” he began, adding, “it is clear the Democrat Party had a good night last night.” That was followed by references to “Democrat leaders,” “Democrat leadership” and “Democrat votes,” as in, “We got some tax cuts passed with Democrat votes.” Geez, you’d think he’d at least give them the -ic when they vote for his tax cuts.

Poppy Gets an Earful about Junior

Jon Ponder
“I think that’s weird and it’s nuts,” Bush said. “To suggest that everything we do is because we’re hungry for money, I think that’s crazy. I think you need to go back to school.”

President Bush 41 got a dose of reality about his son at an an event in Abu Dhabi earlier this week, and the harsh words appear to have genuinely shocked him:

Former President George H.W. Bush took on Arab critics of his son Tuesday during a testy exchange at a leadership conference in the capital of this U.S. ally.

“My son is an honest man,” Bush told members of the audience harshly criticized the current U.S. leader’s foreign policy…

“We do not respect your son. We do not respect what he’s doing all over the world,” a woman in the audience bluntly told Bush after his speech.

Bush, 82, appeared stunned as others in the audience whooped and whistled in approval.

A college student told Bush his belief that U.S. wars were aimed at opening markets for American companies and said globalization was contrived for America’s benefit at the expense of the rest of the world. Bush was having none of it.

“I think that’s weird and it’s nuts,” Bush said. “To suggest that everything we do is because we’re hungry for money, I think that’s crazy. I think you need to go back to school.”

The hostile comments came during a quesion-and-answer session after Bush finished a folksy address on leadership by telling the audience how deeply hurt he feels when his presidential son is criticized.

“This son is not going to back away,” Bush said, his voice quivering. “He’s not going to change his view because some poll says this or some poll says that, or some heartfelt comments from the lady who feels deeply in her heart about something. You can’t be president of the United States and conduct yourself if you’re going to cut and run. This is going to work out in Iraq. I understand the anxiety. It’s not easy.”

…He told the audience — including dozens of women in black robes and head scarves — he was extremely proud of his sons, President George W. Bush and Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.

He said the happiest day of his life was election day in 1998 when George and Jeb were elected to the governorships of Texas and Florida, but he also described the pain he feels when his sons are attacked.

“I can’t begin to tell you the pride I feel in my two sons,” Bush said. “When your son’s under attack, it hurts. You’re determined to be at his side and help him any way you possibly can.”

…Bush said he was surprised by the audience’s criticism of his son.

“He is working hard for peace. It takes a lot of guts to get up and tell a father about his son in those terms when I just told you the thing that matters in my heart is my family,” he said. “How come everybody wants to come to the United States if the United States is so bad?”

Wonder If Her Phone Has Paris’ Number in It

Trish

Brian Ross:

First Daughter Barbara Bush had her purse and cell phone stolen as she had dinner in a restaurant in Buenos Aires, Argentina, even though she was being guarded by a detail of Secret Service agents…

The purse snatching took place on Barbara’s first night in town while she was dining in the picturesque San Telmo neighborhood. According to the reports, the Secret Service agents failed to notice the incident.

The Secret Service would not comment on the purse snatching, and the First Lady’s office said they would not comment on any personal trip made by the daughters. There have been recent reports, however, that Jenna Bush has been living and working in Panama as an intern for UNICEF.

Weiner-Savage: Gays Are the ‘Most Powerful Group’ in US, a ‘Purple Hand’ Runs Hollywood, Gay Friendly Societies Are Doomed

Jon Ponder

“With God’s will and your listenership, we shall nuke Iran.”

Savage once sold herbal extracts and supplements

“I know [this screed against gays] is going to wind up tomorrow in several of the blogs run by gays — and they think only of that ’cause they’re like drug addicts.”
— Michael Weiner Savage

Rightwing radio philosopher Michael (ne Wiener) Savage — who lives in San Francisco and once posed nude with gay poet Alan Ginsberg, and who was fired by MSNBC for saying to a caller, “Oh, so you’re one of those sodomites. You should only get AIDS and die, you pig” — is an increasingly familiar type: a GOP homophobe who is obsessed with homosexuality. On the Nov. 16 edition of his radio show, the former salesman for herbal dietary supplements challenged gay liberal bloggers to post his latest thinking on the “radical homosexual agenda.”

I’m happy to oblige. But readers who are eager to learn — as I was — exactly what it is we radical queers are up to that is causing the destruction of civilization will be disappointed. What Mr. Weiner offers instead is a a stream-of-consciousness spleen-vent of ugly buzzwords loosely tied together with a string of ad hominen attacks and Freudian slips:

[…]

Pres. McCain Will Be 72 on Election Day 2008

Jon Ponder

He’d Be 76 at His Second Inauguration in 2012, and 80 At the End of His Second Term.

Pres. McCain’s superannuation will put a lot of pressure on him to choose a young and healthy vice president. (We’ve heard that Dan Quayle is tanned and rested.)

By contrast, Ronald Reagan, our oldest president to date, was 69 years old at his inauguration in 1980.

As regular readers know, I am a huge supporter of Newt Gingrich to be the GOP nominee in 2008. Republican voters please note: Newt will be a spry and 63 years old in 2008.

Draft Women First

Jon Ponder

Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-New York) says he will reintroduce a bill to reinstate the military draft. Rangel believes putting the lives of sons of the middle class on the line would deter the Republicans’ penchant for war-making. I think he should go one step further and draft young women first. Putting their daughters in harm’s way would really give the chickenhawks pause before going to war on whim.

This won’t happen, I know. We haven’t even had the debate yet about whether to draft women when (not if) the draft is needed again.

As a feminist, I believe the argument against drafting women in moot. Women have demanded equality in our society, and that means they should be called up equally with men in an involuntary muster.

Still, I think Rep. Rangel is right. We need the draft to keep rightwing hawks like Pres. Bush, Vice Pres. Cheney and the rest of their cabal honest in their war-making.

One solid indicator that the threat to the United States is real would be the willingness of the country’s leaders to send their daughters into the conflict first.

(Except, of course, Cheney’s daughter Mary is who is gay and thus would get a free pass.)

Military Refuses to Show Documentary on Vets’ Crises after Service

Jon Ponder
An Army spokeswoman replied: “First of all, I actually only know one place they went to, and that was West Point. … This is more of an activist piece than a documentary,” she said. “If you look at ‘The Ground Truth,’ it has a definite point of view. We don’t say, ‘Don’t go see it,’ but we don’t see why we should promote it.

In the Bush era, when the military censors a documentary about the crisis faced by veterans returning from war, it’s treated as a gossip item in the New York Daily News:

Cher had 5,000 DVDs of “The Ground Truth: After the Killings” made, but unless American soldiers are on her mailing list, they’re not getting to see it.

Army, Navy and Marine Corps base officers have refused to show the documentary, about difficulties Iraq War vets have after they return home, according to director Patricia Foulkrod.

“It’s hard for them to reconnect to their families,” Foulkrod told us. “They’ve been in a very dramatic situation. The adjustment is so difficult. They come back and are offered only minimum wage. We spent so much money on the war, the government didn’t really set aside the proper money to take care of these guys when they get back.”

During one phone pitch to a Colorado base, a commanding officer told a Focus Features distribution exec that the content of the film was “inappropriate” and would be “detrimental” to the servicemen and their families.

Actresses Olivia Wilde (“The O.C.”) and Susan Sarandon are also trying to get the word out. “I understand why the Armed Forces would be afraid to show this film because it shows the huge gap in recognizing and providing help for returning soldiers’ psychological and physical needs,” Sarandon told us.

An Army spokeswoman replied: “First of all, I actually only know one place they went to, and that was West Point. … This is more of an activist piece than a documentary,” she said. “If you look at ‘The Ground Truth,’ it has a definite point of view. We don’t say, ‘Don’t go see it,’ but we don’t see why we should promote it.

“We don’t get too many requests on documentaries,” she said. “It’s usually more things with entertainment value, people saying we’d like to do something nice for the troops – like the movie ‘Sahara.'”

Thanks, Rush & Malloy — doing your bit for the military-industrial complex!