The Skinny on Political and LGBT News
So does this mean that Christianity is just a cult?
One characteristic of cults is that they strongly believe they alone are right in their beliefs and everyone else is wrong. Thus they reject the central truths of the Bible that Christians have held in common for almost 2,000 years and substitute their own beliefs for the clear teaching of Scripture.
via BILLY GRAHAM: Cults can’t take God’s place – Kansas City Star.
Between Sarah Palin and Sam Wurzelbacher A.K.A. Joe-the-Plumber, A.K.A. Joe-the-War Correspondent and now A.K.A. Joe-the-GOP Adviser, these people won’t give up the spotlight. It’s been well over 4 months since these jokers’ 15 minutes of fame were up but they just won’t go away, and I admit that’s partially the fault of the blogosphere and the Corporate Media who can’t seem to stop reporting on these two attention whores.
When GOP congressional aides gather Tuesday morning for a meeting of the Conservative Working Group, Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher – more commonly known as Joe the Plumber — will be their featured guest. This group is an organization of conservative Capitol Hill staffers who meet regularly to chart GOP strategy for the week.
Wurzelbacher, who became a household name during the presidential election, will be focusing his talk on the proposed stimulus package. He’s apparently not a fan of the economic rescue package, according to members of the group.
If nothing else, GOP aides are using the appearance to get staffers to attend the 9 a.m meeting.
“In case you weren’t planning to attend CWG tomorrow morning, you might want to reconsider because Joe the Plumber will be joining us!” Kimberly Wallner, an aide to South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint, wrote in a message to her e-mail list this afternoon.
I wonder if the Republicans are ever going to make a stink about his failure to pay back taxes or even apologize for not doing so? I mean, fair is fair right?
Joe the Plumber advises GOP-ers – Alex Isenstadt – Politico.com.
Oh. My. Goodness!
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. Exodus 20:16
(paraphrased by InterstateQ!) Pastor Ric’s News & Views: Marriage Part 1
…what do you really believe about gay marriage? Let me just lay it out for you, my members. My views have not changed in 30 years. I’ve been accused of equating gay partnerships with incest and pedophilia. I believe no such thing. You’ve never heard me in 30 years talk like that.
I’ve in no way ever taught that homosexuality is the same as a forced relationship between an adult and child or between siblings. I’ve never taught that in 30 years. I understand why people think that because of a recent BeliefNet interview. In that interview I named several other relationships such as living together, a man with multiple wives, a brother and a sister relationship, adults with children or common-law relationships. I don’t think any of them should be called marriage. There should only be one definition: one man, one woman.
But, Rick, didn’t you say in that BeliefNet interview:
WARREN: The issue to me, I’m not opposed to that as much as I’m opposed to redefinition of a 5,000 year definition of marriage. I’m opposed to having a brother and sister being together and calling that marriage. I’m opposed to an older guy marrying a child and calling that marriage. I’m opposed to one guy having multiple wives and calling that marriage.
BELIEFNET: Do you think those are equivalent to gays getting married?
WARREN: Oh, I do! For 5,000 years, marriage has been defined by every single culture and every single religion – this is not a Christian issue. Buddhist, Muslims, Jews – historically, marriage is a man and a woman.
See, Rick, we have this thing called The Internet which allows us to look up what you said in the past. If you did not say these things then there might not be a controversy. Now you have the gall to attack us: AmericaBlog
Merry Christmas from Rick Warren! You’re all hateful, evil, and not even Christian!
Barack Obama’s good buddy Rick Warren recorded a video yesterday, talking about the outcry over his being chosen to given the invocation at Obama’s swearing in. And it’s a doozie. Warren’s big mouth, and apparent ego, is pretty much guaranteeing that this controversy will continue all the way up until the inauguration and beyond.
In the new video, Warren accuses gays of “hate speech,” of launching “hateful attacks” against him, and he then says that gay and lesbian Americans have “Christ-ophobia,” a clear effort to mock the term “homophobia.” He goes on to explain that gays are “afraid of any Christian,” suggesting that gay and lesbian Americans – gay and lesbian Obama voters – are not Christians. He then goes on to call gays criticizing him “evil.” All this from a man who compared gay marriage to incest and pedophilia, and who explicitly bans “unrepentant gays” from his church membership.
Now we find out that you haven’t really had a change in heart of welcoming gays and lesbians but you’d rather clarify with more condemning language. What can Barack Obama do to mitigate this situation? Nothing at this point. Either he rescinds his invitation to Pastor Warren and faces the ire of the evangelical community or he keeps Warren and alienates his base supporters.
It’s bad enough that they don’t want to say how they’re spending our money some of them don’t even know:
The Associated Press contacted 21 banks that received at least $1 billion in government money and asked four questions: How much has been spent? What was it spent on? How much is being held in savings? And what’s the plan for the rest? None of the banks provided specific answers.
“We’re not providing dollar-in, dollar-out tracking,” said Barry Koling, a spokesman for SunTrust Banks (STI), which got $3.5 billion.
Some said they simply didn’t know where it was going. “We manage our capital in its aggregate,” said Regions Financial (RF) spokesman Tim Deighton, who said the bank is not tracking how it is spending the $3.5 billion it received as part of the bailout.
What, did they just think it was a Christmas present from the taxpayers?
Where’d the bailout money go? Banks aren’t saying – USATODAY.com.
I’ve been scratching my head for several days now, trying to figure out why practically every news story about Rick Warren explains that he’s not anti-gay, and in fact quite progressive and moderate, because he’s worked on AIDS in Africa. Well, bully for him. But there are two problems there:
1. I’m not African; and
2. AIDS in Africa is a predominantly heterosexual disease.
The Closet has many costs. Apparently teen pregnancy is another.
VANCOUVER – Lesbian and bisexual youth are up to seven times more likely to get pregnant than their heterosexual peers, a study of British Columbia students has found.
The surprising findings were published in the Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality. The data used for the research were gathered from adolescent health surveys done in B.C. schools in 1992, 1998, and 2003.
The heightened risk is explained by several factors, including an attempt among closeted gay, lesbian and bisexual teens to prove they are heterosexual to avoid harassment and discrimination.
“For some gay, lesbian and bisexual teens it’s camouflage,” said Elizabeth Saewyc, lead author of the study and an associate professor at the University of B.C.’s school of nursing, “because it’s still pretty stigmatized and they still face a lot of harassment at school.”
Why can’t our opposition in the anti-gay ranks understand the consequences of what happens when the closet doors are held closed?
Recently announced, on their own website, the Lesbian and Gay Band Association will be marching on the parade route with the newly elected Barack Obama. This, despite Rick Warren’s presence during the invocation speech at his inauguration.
The LGBA last performed at Bill Clinton’s inauguration, not marching, but playing while President Clinton passed by.
New York, NY – December 8, 2008 – The Lesbian and Gay Band Association (LGBA), a musical organization comprising marching and concert bands from across the United States and around the world, has been chosen to perform in the parade for President-elect Barack Obama’s inauguration on January 20, 2009. This is the first time in history that a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender group will march in a Presidential Inaugural Parade.
The 177-piece LGBA band will join groups from across the country as well as from the Armed Forces in the historic parade down Pennsylvania Avenue, which follows President-elect Barack Obama’s swearing-in ceremony on the steps of the Capitol.
“I am honored to invite these talented groups and individuals to participate in the Inaugural Parade,” Obama said in a news release. “These organizations embody the best of our nation’s history, diversity, and commitment to service. Vice President-elect (Joe) Biden and I are proud to have them join us in the parade.”
Of course, Peter LaBarbera can’t let that happen. Check out his latest missive. (emphasis Peter’s)
Bob oh boy! A band created by the Lesbian and Gay Band Association — built around men and women who share disordered sexuality and, for some, gender confusion — is marching in Barack Obama’s inaugural parade — the first ever “gay” Inaugural marching band! What a civil rights achievement — the Democrats should be so proud. Despite the enormity of this “progressive” milestone, apparently it is only somewhat of a technical “first”: the Aberrant Sex Band played twice for Bill Clinton but reportedly never marched for the … Aberrant Sex President.
In a statement, President-elect Obama said, “”I am honored to invite these talented groups and individuals to participate in the Inaugural Parade … These organizations embody the best of our nation’s history, diversity, and commitment to service. Vice President-elect (Joe) Biden and I are proud to have them join us in the parade.”
Questions: what deserving, hard-working high school band from Anytown, USA was bumped out by the homosexual marchers in the intense competition to march in the Inaugural Parade? We’re also wondering: do the bisexual LGBT band members get to march in any direction they want? (Sorry, couldn’t resist.)
Stay classy, Peter!
Well here we go again. Did we really just vote for “business as usual” in Washington or did we vote for change? I’m starting to think the former.
It was reported today over at Pam’s House Blend that Rick Warren, the mega-pastor at the mega-church who wrote the mega-best-selling book The Purpose Driven Life, has been asked by the Obama transition team to do the invocation at President-elect Barack Obama’s inauguration on January 20th, 2009.
This is the same Rick Warren who has, on numerous occasions defended the passage of Proposition 8 in California, and compared gays and lesbians to zoophiles, pedophiles and polygamists.
(listen around the 2:10 mark)
The last time the President-elect was confronted with this sort of situation it was almost forgivable because the person was rather obscure. In particular I’m talking about the Rev. Donnie McClurkin, an ex-gay pastor who would sing at Obama campaign rallies.
Pam’s House Blend:: Homobigot Rick Warren to deliver invocation at inauguration .
George Bush ducked shoes thrown by an Iraqi tv reporter this weekend during a surprise visit to Iraq. Mr. Bush was about to as questions of reporters when the size ten shoes sailed past his head.
The reporter shouted in Arabic “This is a gift from the Iraqi people. It is your farewell kiss, you dog,” as the first shoe sailed through the air as fellow reporters and even Secret Service paused for a moment in shock and awe (pun intended). He then shouted, “This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq,” and threw the second shoe.
The reporter wasn’t scheduled to be at the presser. He frequently reported from an area of Baghdad where he, himself has had many relatives killed in the violence of the US Occupation.
Mr. Bush successfully ducked out of the way of both shoes.
Ok, so we here at Get-The-Skinny get some strange email on occaison, but I have to laugh hysterically. This is what just landed in my inbox.
I’m sure I could find about $42 Million in between the couch cushions. After all I could make quite the profit. In this economy we need to do all we can. Maybe, I could buy the Illinois Senate seat vacated by President-elect Obama? After all it is the Holidays Christmas!
As the Busy Legacy circles the drain, so does his history. This, from the University of Illinois Independent Student newspaper.
Scott Althaus, professor of political science and communication, and Kalev Leetaru, coordinator of research in the Cline Center for Democracy, recently found that the U.S. White House Web site has modified, and in some cases, deleted key documents in the public record.
When the U.S. invaded Iraq, the U.S. government released a statement on the White House Web site listing the nations involved in the “Coalition of the Willing.” However, over a period of several years, different versions of the three releases all appear to be originals. In the case of two releases from the U.S. government Web site, the original document is completely missing from the site.
“I think that it raises the question of whether or not we can trust the government to maintain public records of things that were said or done that later prove embarrassing,” Althaus said.
Does the current administration really think they can get away with this considering the near permanence of our footprints on the Internet?
Found via AmericaBlog: The White House Web site meets the memory hole.
Crossposted @ Pam’s House Blend
Now is our time. Now is our place. Let’s march on those who would take our rights away. No more Mr. Nice Gay! Fight discrimination! Fight Hate!
UPDATE: After this was posted at the DailyKos, I got a lot of responses and I realize that I made a lot of errors in my post. Error 1: The President cannot pardon the impeachment (although he might try, since the Constitution is his personal toilet paper). Error 2: Just because the Chief Justice presides over the trial in the Senate he cannot dismiss the trial. Error 3: Forgot to mention the importance of trying anyways regardless that there would probably not be enough votes in the Senate to carry out either conviciton.
Again sorry for my errors.
After the news of the commutation of “Scooter” Libby’s sentence by Mr. Bush, there has been a renewed call for impeachment among those in the liberal mainstream. And we’re not talking just the fringe of our side of the fence. We’re talking about those all the way to the middle and even some on the “right.” While commuting Libby’s sentence is not an impeachable offense there are many more for which BushCheneyCo. are probably responsible for.
This is where I’d have to break from my friends but only in the viability of an impeachment and the hopefully consequential conviction of either Cheney or Bush. While impeachment would be music to my ears, I fear that with all of the entrenched cronyism in the current administration, absolutely nothing would be accomplished.
Scenario number 1 and the one most discussed right now as a “two pronged approached,” Impeach the Vice President:
Vice President Cheney is Impeached. While this seems like a good strategy to prevent him from becoming president should Bush be impeached, Mr. Bush still has the presidential power of granting pardons. The house would vote for impeachment which is the equivalent of charging the person of a crime and Mr. Bush would pardon him and wipe the slate clean. Cheney could not be charged again for the same crimes and would remain the veep.
Scenario number 2: Impeach the President
George W. Bush is impeached towards the end of his second term. While the president can’t pardon himself, he’s already played the best hand any administration could have. In fact, the Republicans have allowed and helped the administration “stack the deck” just for this reason. Two words: Supreme Court. Mr. Bush has successfully appointed two of his cronies in the SCOTUS, Chief Justice John Roberts, and Justice Alito. In the event of the president’s impeachment, the Chief Justice presides over the trial as the senate president, a position normally taken by the Vice President but due to the possible succession of the president by the veep it would be a conflict of interest. The Chief Justice could call an end to the trial before it even began or came to a vote to get the two thirds required vote to convict. The President would return to his normal duties and pretty much chastise those who brought charges against him and sadly business would return to what is considered normal under this tyrannical administration.
Like I said before, while I’m all for impeachment I don’t think it’s possible to get any desired conclusion with this administration.
