Day: April 18, 2006

Bush: ‘I’m the Decider’

Jon Ponder

Via Crooks & Liars:

Reporter: What do you say to the critics who believe that you are ignoring the advice of retired generals and military commanders who say there needs to be a change?

Bush: I say I listen to all voices but mine’s the final decision and Don Rumsfeld is doing a fine job. He’s not only transforming the military, he’s fighting a war on terror – He’s helping us fight a war on terror. I have strong confidence in Don Rumsfeld. I hear the voices and I read the front page and I know the speculation but I’m the decider and I decide what is best and what’s best is for Don Rumsfeld to remain as the Secretary of defense.

In Bush’s world, responsibility for being “the decider” ends when the decision goes wrong and it’s time to lay blame — same as it ever was in every aristocracy in world history.

Duke Rape Suspects Are from New York and New Jersey

Jon Ponder

I’m not saying that North Carolina boys are more or less likely to be rapists than boys from the Tri-State area. And I’m not saying there aren’t Southern racists attending Duke University this very moment. But I suspected from the start that the early line on this incident, that it was a typical small town Southern racial incident, was wrong:

Duke lacrosse players Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann were arrested early Tuesday on charges of first degree rape, first degree sexual offense and kidnapping…

Finnerty and Seligmann arrived at the rear sally port of the Durham County Jail about 5 a.m. in a Sheriff’s Office squad car. Handcuffed, they were taken inside to be booked and photographed.

Finnerty, 19, of Garden City, N.Y., is sophomore who plays attack for the lacrosse team. Seligmann, 20, of Essex Fells, N.J., is a sophomore midfielder.

Personally, I believe that if there was a rape at the off-campus party that night, race was only a minor factor. I mean: they would have raped her if she’d white, black, Asian or any mix thereof.

Tony Soprano Agrees with Sen. ‘Sanatorium’ on Gays

Jon Ponder

Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pennsylvania — whose chief of staff is gay — once suggested that if society is forced to accept homosexuality it will eventually be forced to accept bestiality, ignoring the fact, of course, that bestiality by definition is nonconsensual.

On Sunday, we heard from a (fictional) representative of Sen. Santorum’s base. America’s favorite mafia don, Tony Soprano, a fictional resident of New Jersey, agrees with the senator from his neighoring state:

On Sunday night’s episode of “The Sopranos,” Tony (James Gandolfini) told his shrink Dr. Melfi (Lorraine Bracco) that when it comes to homosexuality, he agrees with “that Sen. Sanatorium, who says if we let this stuff go too far, pretty soon we’ll be f—ing dogs.” Santorum, several years back, made similar remarks, only he used more delicate language than Tony did.

We called Santorum’s office yesterday to ask if he was flattered about getting a shout-out on a popular show.

Apparently not.

“We’re not gonna dignify that comment by commenting on it,” said Santorum communications director Rob Traynham.

Blair Cancels U.S. Trip to Avoid Photo Op with President Bush

Jon Ponder

Stank on Ya: As we surmised on Sunday, because British Prime Minister Tony Blair is facing polling a few points lower even than President Bush’s, he opted Great Britain out of Bush’s latest scheme to improve his approval ratings by nuking Iran.

Now the Huffington Post is reporting that Blair has abruptly canceled a trip to the U.S.:

Tony Blair has canceled an upcoming trip to America to avoid being photographed with Bush. The prime minister was scheduled to visit the US this spring for meetings with the president, but the trip was called off after Blair decided that being photographed with Bush would be too toxic for his image.

Conservative Religious Cult Leader Reveals Right’s Hatred of Sex

Jon Ponder

If you follow the money that has created the rightwing movement that dominates the political culture of the United States, one place the funding trail will lead you is to the upper reaches of one of the most notorious cults in American history, the Unification Church.

Women who don’t procreate should have their breasts and sex organs removed. For men, Moon prescribes daily genital self-mutilation.

The cult leader, Rev. Sun Yung Moon, controls the Republican newspaper, the Washington Times, as well as the once vaunted United Press International. He has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to President Bush’s political campaigns and doubtless millions to other conservative causes.

Rev. Moon has some very peculiar ideas about how human sexual behavior that cross the line firmly into the psychotic — and that provide a window into the self-hatred that propels today’s religious conservativism:

“After the act of love,” read the instructions from the Rev. Moon’s conservative Family Federation, “both spouses should wipe their sexual areas with the Holy Handkerchief. Hang the handkerchief[s] to dry naturally and keep them eternally. They must be kept individually labeled and should never be laundered and mixed up.”

His advice for the ladies:

“The women are the problem in history,” he said in 2004. “Women who don’t want to have children should cut away their breasts, bottoms and love organ because the purpose for those was first for the children. If they don’t fulfill that purpose, then they are not needed.”

“Woman’s sexual organ is like the open mouth of a snake filled with poison,” he said in 1996.

For men, daily genital self-mutilation is prescribed:

Keep pliers in your pocket, he says, “and when you go to the bathroom, once a day, pinch your love organ. Cut the skin a little bit as a warning.”

Gay men — into the burning fires of hell for ye:

Moon told an audience he’d like to see them removed in a “purge on God’s orders…. Gays will be eliminated, the three Israels will unite. If not, then they will be burned. We do not know what kind of world God will bring, but this is what happens. It will be greater than the Communist purge but at God’s orders.”