Tag: Conservative Values

How the Headlines Didn’t Read: ‘New Jersey Racist Nominated to Supreme Court’

Trish

Just asking: The question, of which I never tire (just ask my cousin Jon) is, “Why do people only see racism in the south?” When it crops up elsewhere, or is manifested by somebody from elsewhere, it’s not called racism.

Had he been a member of the Concerned Alumni of Auburn,* a group dedicated to keeping Auburn University free of blacks, women, and Latinos, would there be more outrage?

Take the case of one Samuel “Conservative Not Racist” Alito. Had he been a member of the Concerned Alumni of Auburn,* a group dedicated to keeping Auburn University free of blacks, women, and Latinos, would there be more outrage? As it is, not many people are concerned about Alito’s concern for Princeton. After all, it just shows he’s a conservative. Nothing wrong with that.

At least columnist DeWayne Wickham is paying attention.

In 1985, when he applied for a job in the Reagan administration’s Justice Department, Alito burnished his conservative credentials by touting his membership in CAP: “I am a member of the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy … and a member of the Concerned Alumni of Princeton University, a conservative alumni group.”

…When questioned about CAP’s opposition to the enrollment of women in the once all-male university and an article in its magazine that complained that blacks and Hispanics “don’t seem to know their place” in this country, Alito distanced himself from such talk. Alito said he joined CAP because he objected to a school policy that banned the ROTC, even though that decision was reversed in 1972.

“I am and always have been a conservative and an adherent to the same philosophical views that I believe are central to this administration,” Alito boasted in his application. He was talking about the presidency of Ronald Reagan, who launched his 1980 campaign for the White House in Philadelphia, Miss., with a speech in which he declared his support for states’ rights…

Ah ha! I knew sooner or later, we’d get back down south, where everyone feels noble calling a racist a racist. […]

‘Dishonest’ – Oh Look, There’s a Picture of Florida Republicans in the Dictionary

Trish

Worried Florida Republicans are behind a proposed state constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, according to the St. Petersburg Times. Of the $193,000 raised by Florida4marriage.org, $150,000 was given in a lump sum on Nov. 25 by the Florida GOP.

“It certainly was helpful,” Florida4Marriage chairman John Stemberger said of the donation, which he said was unsolicited. “I’m not at liberty to discuss the details, but they came to us and gave us the money.”

The big contribution was something of a surprise because the effective head of the state party, Gov. Jeb Bush, has been decidedly tepid about the proposed constitutional amendment. He has characterized it as well-meaning (sic) but unnecessary because state law already bars same-sex marriage.

That’s right. It’s already illegal to marry just anybody in Florida. The point of this sham movement is to get out the frenzied GOoPer vote. Cynical leaders are betting their high moral principals will ensure these wingers vote to force gays to continue living in sin. And while they’re there, they will vote to keep corrupt Republican lawmakers in office.

Still, it’s turning out to be a little harder sell than anticipated. Their side needs 600,000 signatures by Feb. 1 to get the phony amendment on the primary ballot. So far, they only have 250,000 but

volunteers are working feverishly at 10 makeshift processing centers at churches and offices in Central Florida.

“It is clear we are not where we want to be,” [Florida4Marriage chairman John Stemberger] said, “but we are seeing tens of thousands (of signatures) a day and if the pace continues we could easily do this.”

Rev. Robertson Comforts Ailing PM’s Family by Saying God Smote Him

Jon Ponder

“God considers [Israel] to be His. You read the Bible and He says ‘this is my land’ and for any Prime Minister of Israel who decides he is going to carve it up and give it away, God says ‘no, this is mine.’

“I had a wonderful meeting with [former Israeli Prime Minister] Yitzhak Rabin in 1974. He was tragically assassinated, it was a terrible thing that happened but nevertheless he was dead.

“And now Ariel Sharon who again was a very likeable person, a delightful person to be with, I prayed with him personally, but here he’s at the point of death.

“He was dividing God’s land and I would say woe unto any Prime Minister of Israel who takes a similar course to appease the EU, the United Nations, or the United States of America. God says ‘this land belongs to me. You’d better leave it alone.’”

— Rev. Pat Robertson

Growing Trend Among Florida Latinas: Conversion to Islam

Trish

South Florida Sun-Sentinel:

Scholars say [one convert] is part of a growing number of Latin women converting to Islam for its emphasis on family, piety and clearly defined women’s roles, values converts say were once integral to Hispanic culture but have waned after years of assimilation.

“It’s a kind of empowerment they don’t experience in a culture that is constantly sexualizing them, and Latinas are particularly sexualized.”

The women are among 40,000 Hispanic converts to Islam in the United States, according to the Islamic Society of North America. About a decade ago, Latino converts began forming Internet groups such as the Latino American Dawah Organization and the women’s group Piedad that trace Hispanics’ ties to Islam back to the Spanish Moors…

Sofian Abelaziz, president of the Miami-based American Muslim Association of North America, said one indication of the conversions is the demand for Spanish-language copies of the Koran, which spiked after Sept. 11. In the past two years, the group has filled orders for 5,500 Spanish-language Korans for schools, cultural institutes and prisons around the country, out of 12,000 orders total… […]

More Reasons Why I’m Glad I’m Not George W. Bush

Buck Banks

The cruelist month: If I were George W. Bush, I would definitely NOT be looking forward to this January. With the holidays receding, it looks like January is going to be colder than Newt Gingrich’s heart for the prez.

Here are some of the things I’m looking forward to watching the Worst President Ever deal with in the weeks to come:

  • Illegal wiretaps
  • “Dark prisons” and torture policy
  • Sam Alito’s Supreme Court confirmation hearings
  • Republican corruption scandals
  • Congressional debate over permanent tax cuts, “deficit reduction” and extension of the U.S. Patriot Act
  • Quarterly “progress” reports on Iraq to Congress
  • The “guest worker” plan to inhibit illegal immigration
  • Hurricane Katrina response and ongoing whitewash
  • Unchecked executive power
  • Investigations into the lies that led to the Iraq War
  • Bourbon

Yep, should be an interesting year for the prez and his Repug cronies. Now, if only the Dems can get it together enough to capitalize on the wingnuts’ weaknesses ….

New Hampshire Republicans Declining the Kool-Aid

Trish

Boston Globe:

Republican senators and congressmen are trying to distance themselves from an increasingly unpopular national GOP

…the state’s all-Republican congressional delegation is becoming increasingly at odds with the national Republican Party in a state that was long a GOP bellwether, according to an analysis of votes and other actions in Congress over the past year.

Congressmen Jeb Bradley and Charles Bass voted for expanded stem cell research and opposed drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and Bradley notably declined to endorse Bush’s Social Security plan.

Senator John E. Sununu opposed Bush’s plan for a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, joined a filibuster to insert civil liberties protections into the USA Patriot Act, and voted against his party leadership on several major spending bills.

Even the state’s senior senator, Judd Gregg, who is a member of the GOP leadership and generally backs the party’s priorities, voted against the transportation bill and the massive energy bill that grew out of Vice President Dick Cheney’s energy task force.

The senators and congressmen say they are acting in the tradition of the state’s libertarian brand of conservatism, even if the national GOP moves in a different direction. But Democrats and some independent observers, pointing to the fact that Senator John F. Kerry beat President Bush in New Hampshire, and that Governor John Lynch , a Democrat, is the most popular official in the state, say the Republican senators and congressmen are trying to distance themselves from an increasingly unpopular national GOP.

Poll: Most Folks AWOL from War on Xmas

Buck Banks

Merry ambivalence and happy apathy: The latest national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, conducted among 1,502 adults from Dec. 7-11, found the public is not overly concerned by the controversy over Christmas greetings and holiday displays:

  • By a substantial 60%-23% margin the public does prefer “Merry Christmas” to non-religious welcomes such as “Season’s Greetings.” But given the choice, a 45% plurality says it does not matter much either way.
  • More Americans are bothered, at least to some degree, by the commercialization of Christmas (52%) than by opposition to the display of religious symbols in public places (35%).
  • A great majority of Americans (83%) say displays of Christmas symbols should be allowed in public places. But fewer than half (44%) approve of Christmas symbols being displayed alone, without Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and other holiday symbols.
  • A Gallup Poll on the same topic found that when asked if it bothered them “when stores use the words ‘Merry Christmas’ on their displays at this time of year instead of ‘Happy Holidays’ or ‘Season’s Greetings,'” nearly all the respondents (97%) said it did not. But just 68% said they weren’t bothered in the opposite situation; 32% said they were annoyed when stores said “Happy Holidays” or “Season’s Greetings” instead of “Merry Christmas.”

War on Xmas Moves to House Floor, Gets Sillier

Buck Banks

Saving Baby Jesus: Having balanced the national budget, developed an exit strategy for the Iraq War, ended poverty in America and fixed the education system, the U.S. House of Representatives has turned its attention to … Christmas.

Rep. Jo Ann Davis, R-Va., sought passage Wednesday night of a resolution expressing support for “the symbols and traditions of Christmas.”

The House could vote on the largely symbolic resolution as early as today, but it has started aheated partisan culture clash in the House. While conservative Republicans predictably applaud the measure, many Democrats are critical of the resolution, claiming it is religiously insensitive.

The Daily Press of Hampton Roads, Va., reported that Davis, an outspoken Christian conservative from Gloucester, said she was spurred to act after seeing news reports of retailers telling their employees to wish customers a “happy holiday,” instead of “Merry Christmas,” and schools forbidding everything from Christmas plays to Santa Claus.

“Christmas has been declared politically incorrect,” Davis told colleagues on the House floor. “Any sign or even mention of Christmas in public can lead to complaints, litigation, protests and threats. America’s favorite holiday is being twisted beyond recognition.”

The resolution, if adopted, would simply put the House on record as supporting the use of Christmas symbols and traditions, and opposing “attempts to ban references to Christmas.”

Apparently the Flaming Spirit of the Lord drove her to do it: “It was just something that was burning inside me. At what point did Christmas become so offensive?”

But Democrats protested that Congress has no business praising one religious holiday over others. The war of words has led to some twisted rhetoric and really funny quotes:

“I’m offended by this,” said Rep. Gary Ackerman, D-N.Y., who’s Jewish. “You’ve drawn me out. Why not protect my symbols?”

Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y, asked Davis to amend her resolution to include symbols of other holidays, such as Hanukkah and Kwanzaa, but Davis refused.

“The attack has not been on the menorah or any symbols of the other religions,” Davis said, referring to the Jewish candelabrum used to celebrate Hanukkah. “I will leave it as the resolution stands.”

The divisive public battle appeared to surprise Davis, a Republican and member of the Assembly of God church. “I didn’t realize there would be some opposition, but apparently, there is,” she said before the House floor debate.

An amended version of her resolution, which expressed support for Christmas symbols “for those who celebrate Christmas,” did little to dampen the opposition.

“You can always tell when the right wing is in trouble,” said Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-Calif., who’s Presbyterian. “They invariably cook up some kind of culture war.”

U.S. Rep. Robert C. “Bobby” Scott, D-Newport News, opposed Davis’ resolution as a largely meaningless exercise. He said it masked what he suggested were immoral decisions by Congress to cut food stamps and Medicaid for the poor while cutting taxes for the wealthy. “What really needs to be protected is not the symbols of Christmas but the spirit of Christmas,” Scott said. “We ought to express our passion for Christmas through deeds, not words.”

Conservatives insisted that the measure was needed to combat what they described as a growing assault on religious free speech. “There is a war against Christmas,” said Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite, R-Fla., who’s Catholic. “Our children can’t sing Christmas carols. They can only sing holiday tunes.”

But the Rev. Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, said, “This is possibly the silliest bill ever presented to the United States Congress. If they honestly think there’s some kind of war against Santa Claus or the baby Jesus, they are just not getting out enough.”

Christmas Wars: Bill O’Reilly Caught Lying, Said School Banned Christmas Attire

Pensito Editors

Shameless: If his lips are moving, Bill O’Reilly is lying:

O’REILLY: Plano, Texas, north of Dallas. Students were told they could not wear red and green because they were Christmas colors. Let me repeat that. Plano, Texas. Students can’t wear clothing that have red or green colors because they were too close to Christmas colors. Can you believe this? This is fascism. In addition, it’d be grossly disrespectful.

The facts:

On December 9, Bill O’Reilly falsely claimed on both Fox News’ The O’Reilly Factor and the nationally syndicated The Radio Factor with Bill O’Reilly that the Plano Independent School District (Texas) “told students they couldn’t wear red and green because they were Christmas colors.” He labeled the alleged ban “fascism.” On December 12, the school district released an official statement by Superintendent of Schools Dr. Doug Otto refuting O’Reilly’s contention:

“The school district does not restrict students or staff from wearing certain color clothes during holiday times or any other school days,” noted Dr. Otto, who said that the school district’s attorney has requested that Mr. O’Reilly retract the statement.