Archive for the ‘Common-Place Book’ Category
Rock into Rocket Scientist
My new motto: I evolved from a rock into a rocket scientist. Evolutionists may need billions of years to make people believe a rock can turn into a rocket scientist, but that time just isn’t available. [Dr. Kent Hovind, aka "Dr. Dino", from Universe Is Not "Billions of Years" Old, to be found on his […]
In: All, Common-Place Book, It's Only Rocket Science
Propeller Heads: No Joy
Bull Moose comments (in Corporate not Conservative) on the current state of affairs in Washington, DC: Conservatives are left to wax nostalgic about the long lost halcyon days of free trade, deficit elimination and welfare reform – the Clinton years. Republicans have severely underestimated the popularity of FDR's social security program. Even the Bushies have […]
"Obvious Natural & Social Reality"
Possibly the most quotable paragraph from Superior Court Judge Kramer's decision, released yesterday, finding that the State of California had no compelling interest to deny marriage to same-sex couples: Thus, the cases cited by the plaintiffs do not establish that California courts have recognized that the purpose of marriage in this state is procreation. Instead, […]
Carrying the Sword
"Separation of Church and State" is such a tired old platitude, so 1780s. "Carrying the sword in place of the Lord" just has such a nice modern, authoritarian, patriarchal ring to it: In a 1989 ruling, [Supreme Court Justice Antonin] Scalia cast the deciding vote in Stanford v. Kentucky, concluding that the execution of a […]
In: All, Common-Place Book, Raised Eyebrows Dept.
Dissent vs. Disloyalty
Louisville native Bob Edwards warned last night [in a speech at Centre College] that the United States is in a period like the McCarthy era of the 1950s, in which the government is stifling political dissent while the news media and the public fail to speak out in vigorous opposition. […] He quoted Edward R. […]
Negative Fluidity
From "DeLay Ethics Allegations Now Cause of GOP Concern", by Mike Allen (Washington Post). "If death comes from a thousand cuts, Tom DeLay is into a couple hundred, and it's getting up there," said a Republican political consultant close to key lawmakers. "The situation is negatively fluid right now for the guy. You start hitting […]
In: All, Common-Place Book, Such Language!
"…this goes without saying."
Excerpts from the unequivocating words of Howard Troxler, columnist for the St. Petersburg [FL] Times ("Name-calling only reveals ignorance, not truth"): Well, this goes without saying. But a lot of things that go without saying need to keep getting said over and over anyway. Being gay is not the same thing as being a pedophile. […]
Preserving Citizens' Rights
From an interview that Raw Story had with Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), this excerpt: “It seems like on every front they’re [Republicans] trying to frustrate, obfuscate and make it as difficult as possible for citizens to assert their rights,” he added. Conyers said he believes the American democracy is struggling under the weight of current […]
In: All, Common-Place Book, Splenetics
Refreshing & Threatening
What made Teresa Heinz Kerry so refreshing to some voters, and threatening to others on the 2004 campaign trail, is summed up when THK talks about her speech to last year's Democratic convention: "Nobody told me what to do," she told a Saturday fund-raiser here. […] Heinz Kerry is openly skeptical about results from November's […]
PM Paul Martin: Step Forward Canada
I rise today in support of Bill C-38, the Civil Marriage Act. I rise in support of a Canada in which liberties are safeguarded, rights are protected and the people of this land are treated as equals under the law. […] The second argument ventured by opponents of the bill is that government ought to […]
Those Ill-Bred Ilk
A Press Release from US Congressional Representative John D. Dingell (MI) (thanks to Media Matters), had this to say: Congressman Dingell said, “Helen Thomas is an esteemed, unbiased journalist who deserves respect for her decades covering both Democratic and Republican Presidents. Ann Coulter and her ilk have done nothing but poison our political discourse with […]
So In Love
A PAIR of Scottish councillors yesterday revealed their plans to marry in Britain’s first gay wedding when such ceremonies become legal later this year. Neil Fletcher and John Stewart, who serve alongside each other as Liberal Democrat councillors in Aberdeen, have been together since 1992 and have been waiting to declare their love in a […]
What 'vision'?
That's the title that the Boston Globe used to introduce this Letter to the Editor by Len Jekanowski, which I quote here in its entirety. PERIODIC REFERENCES to George Bush's "vision," though amusing, are misleading and ill fitting. The word "vision" implies an underlying intellect capable of creative and conceptual thinking. Bush and his dangerous […]
"We're all in this alone."
"The administration likes to talk about the ownership society," Assistant Senate Minority Leader Dick Durbin of Illinois said at a news conference in Chicago's Union Station. "Well, the motto of the ownership society that we can see in this budget is the following: `Just remember, we're all in this alone.'" [Quoted in the Chicago Tribune: […]
Not Fair, Governor
IN ATTEMPTING to make points with national conservative audiences, [Massachusetts] Governor Romney is denigrating gay families, practicing divisive, mean-spirited politics. He is also peddling ignorance. To say, as he did last week in Utah, that gay marriage is "a blow to the family" misrepresents the commitment lived by same-sex couples here and all over the […]
On Top
BuzzFlash interviewed Stephen J. Ducat, author of The Wimp Factor; this as the excerpt that caught my eye: Stephen J. Ducat: Absolutely. In the world they [Republicans] live in, you’re either a top or a bottom. Mutuality, democracy, equality–that makes no sense to them. BuzzFlash: Well, as Jon Stewart said recently in the context of […]
Rational Orgasm
Continuing with what seems to be today's look at Big-Brotherism and conservative sex-obsession, herewith an excerpt from "Toying with Your Freedom", by Dimitri Vassilaros, in the Tribune-Review [Pittsburgh, PA]: Alabama had outlawed the sale of what some call "marital aids." The U.S. Supreme Court last week declined to review the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of […]
In: All, Common-Place Book, Raised Eyebrows Dept.
"Science Day" Lesson
Today is Tuesday, and Tuesday is "Science Day." Last Tuesday we learned how Charles Darwin spent the early part of his life sailing around to different places in the world, killing small children and stealing their Bibles. And that's not the half of it. In his later years, the bloodthirsty madman developed a diabolical plan […]
Imagine That
Imagine the kind of nation America would be if the people who love fought as hard for their beliefs as those who hate. Allow yourself to dream of how much good would be accomplished if the rational citizens were as adamant as the superstitious ones, and how much bad would be avoided. Imagine if living […]
Don't-Ask-Don't-Tell: At a Loss
My friend John Cox wrote in an e-mail: [Read "Move To End 'Don't Ask' As GAO Reveals Gay Ban Cost $200 Million"] and see how much money the Don't Ask, Don't Tell military ban on gays and lesbians has cost us American taxpayers. Incredible! What has always perplexed me is the coalition in Iraq: Americans […]
In: All, Common-Place Book