Tag: Conservative Values
Is God Planning to Smite Republicans in Florida?
Remember when Christian Coalition founder and former presidential candidate Pat Robertson said the American Civil Liberties Union, feminists, blacks, and gays were responsible for the Sept. 11 terror attacks? Or when he said that Hurricane Katrina wiped out New Orleans as God’s answer to those who were pro-choice? How about when he said a Haitian earthquake was the result of a deal early Haitians made with the devil?
It looks like Florida, which Pat previously predicted would feel God’s wrath over Disneyworld’s annual “Gay Days” park admission, is finally getting its due. When Pat warned us in 1998, he turned out to be wrong, and the hurricane he thought was coming to Disney instead turned north to Virginia and smote the state that the 700 Club calls headquarters.
Now it looks like God is pissed again, and what is, as of this writing, Tropical Storm Isaac (but which will likely become Hurricane Isaac) is set to hit as Florida opens itself to the pit of inequity that is the Republican National Convention.
Consider how Republicans have recently earned God’s anger.
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Meet U.S. Rep. Kevin Yoder (R-Ks.), aka, the Naked Swimmer of Galilee
Those are not his beautiful kids.
It was all fun and games on Aug. 4, 2011 until U.S. Rep. Kevin Yoder (R), 36, of Hutchinson, Ks., decided to strip naked before plunging into the Sea of Galilee.
Yoder’s idea of an apology: ‘Regrettably I jumped into the water without a swimsuit’
“There’s no question there was a sense of lightheartedness and there were those who were drinking alcohol,” said Rep. David Schweikert of Arizona, who was at the dinner but did not swim.
After prodding from the waiters, some of the Americans dived in. Of the 30 members of Congress on the trip, a little more than half went swimming in the Sea of Galilee.
Yoder, who’s serving his first term in Congress, was among the last to jump in, and was the only one who was completely nude. As he dived into the water naked, someone screamed that he was not wearing any clothes, according to the GOP sources.
Soon after that the swim came to an end.
This wasn’t the first time the freshman Congressman took things a little too far.
Breaking: Tea Baggers Steeped (Naked? OMG!) in the Sea of Galilee
This story is too great to believe — but it’s the sometimes right-leaning Politico breaking it, so we must.
Hooo-weee.
The FBI probed a late-night swim in the Sea of Galilee that involved drinking, numerous GOP freshmen lawmakers, top leadership staff – and one nude member of Congress, according to more than a dozen sources, including eyewitnesses…
During a fact-finding congressional trip to the Holy Land last summer, Rep. Kevin Yoder (R-Kan.) took off his clothes and jumped into the sea…
These GOP sources confirmed the following freshmen lawmakers also went swimming that night: Rep. Steve Southerland (R-Fla.) and his daughter; Rep. Tom Reed (R-N.Y.) and his wife; Reps. Ben Quayle (R-Ariz.), Jeff Denham (R-Calif.) and Michael Grimm (R-N.Y.). Many of the lawmakers who ventured into the ocean said they did so because of the religious significance of the waters. Others said they were simply cooling off after a long day. Several privately admitted that alcohol may have played a role in why some of those present decided to jump in.
The Sea of Galilee, a Christian holy site, is where Jesus is said in the Bible to have walked on water.
The story is well reported by Jake Sherman and John Bresnahan, so please read it from the source.
Mormons are Killing the Boy Scouts
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Percentage of Boy Scouts who are Mormon, compared to 2 percent of the American population. Mormons, who also largely bankrolled the reversal of same-sex marriage in California, are taking over the Boy Scouts even as the group’s numbers have shrunk in the face of anti-gay activism by the group. In the 1970s, the Boy Scouts had 4.8 million members; today the figure is 2.7 million.
Fast Food Restaurants Used as Proxy for Ludicrous Culture Wars in America News Now…It’s time for all of America’s fast food chains just to come out and reveal their positions on the most important political issues affecting America right now. Would Taco Bell let the Bush tax cuts expire, Andy? Does KFC think it’s time to restore diplomatic relations with Cuba? What is the Cheesecake Factory’s position on abortion? These are important questions, Andy. What is Dairy Queen’s attitude toward a pre-emptive strike on Iran? America needs to know. I can’t enjoy a Strawberry Cheesequake, Andy, wondering whether Dairy Queen would allow Iran to get a nuclear weapon. And hold that burrito, Chipotle! Why don’t you let me know your view on the ethics of stem cell research first?
John Oliver, on the podcast he shares with fellow comedian Andy Zaltzman, The Bugle. Oliver was marveling at how American opinion is shaped.
John Oliver, on the podcast he shares with fellow comedian Andy Zaltzman, The Bugle. Oliver was marveling at how American opinion is shaped.
Olympics Illustrate the Failure of Romney-esque Ideas
The Olympics, known for being above politics yet always in the shadow of them, haven’t even started but the games are a showcase for the themes that are driving election year debate.
Privatization, a tenet of American conservatism and tea baggery, isn’t providing a very good answer to the question, “How’s that working for you?” The private security firm the British government hired at an equivalent of $444 million is unable to provide enough trained staff members in time for the games.
Guess who’s bailing them out? That’s right, Mr. and Ms. British taxpayer will provide army troops and police officers to make up the for the failure of the private sector to prepare security guards.
And then there’s outsourcing. American politicians and members of the public expressed outrage that the Ralph Lauren designed Team USA uniforms were — like almost everything else sold in this country — made in China. The company was caught short by the criticism, China was offended, and let’s face it, the entire country can be embarrassed that the lack of confidence corporations have placed in the American worker, coupled with our desire for more and ever cheaper goods, was exposed on the world stage. It did, however, lead to one of the lamest assurances ever released on company letterhead.
Ralph Lauren promises to lead the conversation within our industry and our government addressing the issue of increasing manufacturing in the United States and has committed to producing the opening and closing ceremony Team USA uniforms in the United States that will be worn for the 2014 Olympic Games.
Should we expect the role of tax cuts for the rich, issues around unionized labor, and restriction of women’s reproductive rights to make appearances before the games end?
Florida Wants to Know: Is Our Lt. Gov. Gay?
After a term with Gov. Charlie Crist, you’d think Floridians would be used to rumors of gay goings-on in the governor’s suite. But even normally unflappable Floridians are reeling at the news that Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll (R) might be…How did that one really rude web site put it? Oh yeah, a “carpet muncher.”
Carroll, 52, a former Navy veteran born in Trinidad and married mother of three, including Miami Dolphins player Nolan Carroll, is known as an ultra social conservative, pushing abstinence-only education, among other favorite rightwing initiatives. She’s also had to explain shifting income reporting (her net worth has varied depending on whether she was filling out tax returns or applying for low-income minority business set-asides), how she made speeding tickets in her former legislative district disappear without paying any fines, and how she rented an office whose location would have shown eligibility to bid for additional female-owned business set-asides, except it was already occupied by a private detective.
Report: ‘When she entered the office, she found the Lieutenant Governor and her Travel Aide, Beatriz Ramos, in what can only be described as a compromising position’
Carroll, like her boss, Gov. Rick Scott, also has a reputation for dealing harshly with perceived enemies. Scott, for example, recently tried unsuccessfully to have three judges that he considered liberal prosecuted for improper election filings because they had their paperwork notarized by a state worker, a practice so common no one realized it was verboten.
Carroll took it even further with a former aide, having her arrested for disclosing to the press a conversation recorded in the lieutenant governor’s office. The practice of taping visitors and colleagues was said to be routine under Carroll, but the aide, Carletha Cole, shared the recording with a newspaper. The tape confirmed the chaos and dysfunction alleged in Carroll’s office.
But the arrest and resulting investigation might have consequences Carroll never envisioned, like allegations of an affair with her female travel aide, Beatriz Ramos.
Does Wishing the South Had Won the Civil War Make Ted Nugent a Racist?
I’m beginning to wonder if it would have been best had the South won the Civil War.
One-hit wonder Ted Nugent, somehow relating the Supreme Court decision to uphold the Affordable Care Act to the Civil War, which nearly ended the United States and split the nation in two. Perhaps Nugent is trying to say that two Americas, one liberal and one conservative, would be more harmonious. Or perhaps he’s trying to say that he’s a big ol’ fat stupid racist.
¡Probrecito Mitt! Spanish-Language Commercials Rip Romney on Immigration
Priorities USA and immigrant labor union SEIU are airing a second round of Spanish-language commercials using Mitt Romney’s own words on immigration to motivate Hispanic voters in Colorado, Nevada and Florida.
Romney: “A lot of people come across the border with no skills, no education, looking for a free deal.”
Videos available here.
