Day: January 15, 2008
Huckabee Says Amend Constitution to Meet ‘God’s Standards’ – Outlaw Adultery, Leftovers, Women’s Pants Too?
If you need proof that the evangelical agenda is to impose theocracy on the United States, listen to what their standard-bearer, Rev. Mike Huckabee said yesterday:
“I believe it’s a lot easier to change the Constitution than it would be to change the word of the living God, and that’s what we need to do is to amend the Constitution so it’s in God’s standards rather than try to change God’s standards.”
–Huckabee
“[Some of my opponents] do not want to change the Constitution, but I believe it’s a lot easier to change the Constitution than it would be to change the word of the living God, and that’s what we need to do is to amend the Constitution so it’s in God’s standards rather than try to change God’s standards,” Huckabee said, referring to the need for a constitutional human life amendment and an amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman.
Huckabee often refers to the need to amend the Constitution on these grounds, but he has never so specifically called for the Constitution to be brought within “God’s standards,” which are themselves debated amongst religious scholars.
If we’re going to start basing our civil laws on biblical edicts — the way they do in, say, Moslem countries — then we need to do it across the board. Let’s take adultery, for example. Unlike the biblical prohibitions against gay sex, which are buried in lists of abominations in Leviticus and Deuteronomy, the warning against adultery is in the Ten Commandments, right up there with murder and lying.
Bush Legacy: Presidents Can Be Impeached After They Leave Office
If Alberto Gonzalez gets punk’d at speaking engagements, and Donald Rumsfeld has to be whisked out of France to avoid a war crimes indictment. what does the future hold for George W. Bush after he leaves office one year and six days from now?
Just as hindsight shows that Americans 30 years ago could have prevented the abuses of Bush and Cheney by prosecuting and imprisoning Nixon in 1974, we owe it to future generations of Americans to hold Bush and Cheney accountable for their crimes and incompetence today.
Chris Hedges probably has it right:
Bush will soon be reduced to the cipher he once was, left to spend the rest of his life trying to salvage a legacy of shame and deceit. In a just world he would be put on trial, if not by the International Criminal Court of Justice then by the U.S. Congress. He would be forced to face up to his lies and wars of aggression. But the moral rot that infects the nation has seeped into the bowels of the legislative as well as the executive branch.
There are many organizations and efforts dedicated to the impeachment of George Bush. And Rep. Robert Wexler (D-Fla.) is leading a drive to impeach Dick Cheney — if you haven’t signed his online petition, do it now. Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) introduced articles of impeachment against the vice president last spring.
But there is one insurmountable obstacle to impeachment this year, and it is not Speaker Pelosi — it’s the continued support for Bush by Republicans in Congress. Unless and until it is expedient for them to get rid of Bush and Cheney, the congressional Republicans have shown that they will block any move to hold them accountable.
So while it looks likely that the millions of Americans who believe the Bush-Cheney regime has committed impeachable acts — taking the country to war based on lies, betraying a secret operation that tracked the WMD black market, spying on Americans without warrants, torturing prisoners and firing U.S. attorneys without cause, to name a few — will have to settle for the cold comfort of watching Bush and Cheney grow old in disgrace, there is another option for bringing them to justice:
A Lunar New Year Public Service Notice for Our Readers
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has sent out the following cheery message to warn those of us who might be going to Asia to celebrate the new year with firecrackers and dragon dances and stuff:
Keeping Yourself Safe from Bird Flu: An Important Message for People Traveling to Asia To Celebrate the Lunar New Year (February 7, 2008)
There are several health issues that travelers to Asia should know about. Mosquito-borne illnesses, such as malaria, dengue fever, and Japanese encephalitis, are common throughout Asia. In addition, eating contaminated food and drinking contaminated water can cause illnesses such as travelers’ diarrhea.
Influenza (also called the flu or seasonal flu) is a common cause of illness among travelers and can be prevented through influenza vaccination. In addition, a different type of flu called H5N1 (“bird fluâ€) has been found in poultry and wild birds in Asia, Europe and Africa. While rare, human infection and death from H5N1 infection have been reported. Most reported cases of human infection with H5N1 viruses have occurred after contact with H5N1-infected poultry or birds, but a small number of cases may have occurred following close and prolonged contact with another person who is visibly ill from H5N1 infection.
If you’re planning to celebrate the Lunar New Year in Asia, beware the germs in:
