To you Godless Atheists on Good Friday...

BenGoshi

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Friday April 02, 2010 · 8:37 AM PDT

2010/04/02 · 08:37

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. . . remember, the vast majority of Christians neither belong to creepy, hokey, but very dangerous Rapture Militias.

Anyway, please enjoy this 3 min & 15 sec classic scene -- perhaps something we can (most of us) agree on:

H/T to lgmcp in the comments who helped me figure out the new "embed" thing.

BenGoshi

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Tuesday March 23, 2010 · 7:45 AM PDT

2010/03/23 · 07:45

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Just days old and already a Modern Classic (and I think Pulitzer worthy):

From this site, by the way.

And then there's the new Facebook page that a few (3 or 4) of my "friends" have signed-up for/on/with, to wit: "304,059,724 AGAINST OBAMA'S HEALTHCARE TAKEOVER."

Given that 304,059,724(+/-) constitutes the entire man/woman/child population of the United States, I'm thinking their count is a bit off. And, of course, you can't argue with them. I'm just backing off, letting them stew, and waiting about 6 or so months when provisions of the bill begin to kick in.
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BenGoshi

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Monday March 22, 2010 · 5:21 AM PDT

2010/03/22 · 05:21

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Last night 34 House "Democrats" voted "Nay" -- voted against HR 3590, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Just as we've come to expect that mendacious, rapacious, citizen-betraying crap from Republicans, we've also come to demand that Democrats act like Democrats, even if they have to be brought kicking and screaming into the fold of those who give more of a damn about their constituents and the American citizenry than the Insurance Lobby and their own cowardly asses.

To me the worst and most craven offender was Alabama 07's Artur Davis. Please allow me to make my case.

BenGoshi

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Sunday March 21, 2010 · 7:24 AM PDT

2010/03/21 · 07:24

=A reworked and updated diary=

Let history be your guide.

Conservatives, Bigots, those who are loath to cede any Power... they always fight tooth & nail against Reform. And --eventually-- they always lose. Then you know what happens? After a few years that thing that they predicted would bring about the "End of America as We Know It" winds up becoming, well, normal. Few Conservatives would today advocate abolishing the Nineteenth Amendment (giving women the vote), but 90 years ago it was a Thing of Horror to America's Right Wing.

Same with Truman's Integration of the Military in 1948 (over Southern Politicians' vociferous objections), Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the Social Security (Medicare) Act of 1965 and the Fair Housing Act of 1968.

See this summation of the travails of the Nineteenth Amendment, and how it came to be by the skin of its teeth in 1920:

Below the fold...

BenGoshi

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Friday March 19, 2010 · 3:28 PM PDT

2010/03/19 · 15:28

Conservatives, Bigots, those in power who are loath to cede any of that power . . . they always fight tooth and nail against Reform. And -- eventually -- they always lose. Then you know what happens? After a few years that thing that they predicted would bring about the "End of America as We Know It" winds up becoming, well, normal. Few Conservatives would today advocate abolishing the Nineteenth Amendment (giving women the vote), but 90 years ago it was a Thing of Horror to America's Right Wing.

Same with the President Truman's Integration of the Military in 1948 (over Southern Politicians' vociferous objections), Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the Social Security (Medicare) Act of 1965 and the Fair Housing Act of 1968.

I offer this fascinating summation of the travails of the Nineteenth Amendment, and how it came to be by the skin of its teeth in 1920:

-- see below the fold --

BenGoshi

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Saturday March 13, 2010 · 7:41 AM PST

2010/03/13 · 07:41

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The weirdnesses, contradictions and rifts are running rampant within the so-called "Tea Party" movement.

Here's the latest (but certainly not the largest) in a series of "clouds on the horizon" re the whole Tea Party circus. "Tea Parties Stir Evangellicals' Fears":

"'There’s a libertarian streak in the tea party movement that concerns me as a cultural conservative,' said Bryan Fischer, director of Issue Analysis for Government and Public Policy at the American Family Association. 'The tea party movement needs to insist that candidates believe in the sanctity of life and the sanctity of marriage.'"

source

Nothing like a "cultural conservative" -- embracing a gov't being intimately acquainted with our bedrooms and bodies; advocate of America's kids being indoctrinated by the gov't re a 6,000-year-old earth and Jesus Horses -- fearing that "libertarian streak."

Not the only rift here. That's Exhibit A. Below are a couple more, Exhibits B and C

BenGoshi

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Friday March 12, 2010 · 5:24 AM PST

2010/03/12 · 05:24

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Just hitting the newswire:

"The CIA has uncovered an al Qaeda plot to crash 1 fully-loaded 747 every other day for a full year and to continuing crashing 747s until the world bows to this terrorist group's demands. It is estimated that over the course of a year this would result in about 45,000 deaths."

Emphasis added

Source

What's almost as (more?) disturbing is that -- according to anonymous sources -- when the Obama Administration disclosed this plot to the House and Senate Intelligence Committees and laid-out its plan to begin, at least begin, thwarting these attacks, Republican members of those committees objected strenuously to the Administration "interfering" in al Qaeda's plans. According to leaked reports, Republicans on Capitol Hill are holding fast to their belief that "The Market" would be better suited to manage this crisis.

BenGoshi

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Thursday March 11, 2010 · 7:56 AM PST

2010/03/11 · 07:56

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To wit: "that the White House fruitlessly chased Republican votes on health care rather than take advantage of the ripe environment to pass legislation."

Here's another excerpt from the full article:

"What is very sad is we had hopes that [the] election was transformational in the sense of bringing people into the political process who have never been in it before," Sanders said. "I tried very hard in Vermont to bring young people into the political process. It is very hard to do. Obama did it. But you know where those young people are now? They are not in the political process. They really aren't. We have lost them. We have antagonized trade unionists. We have not done well with seniors. I don't think we have done well with women. And I think that was a tragic mistake."

It appears -- if the last couple of weeks are any indication -- that President Obama is beginning to "get" this, and it's high time he did and I for one am very happy about that. Better late than never, right?
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BenGoshi

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Tuesday March 09, 2010 · 4:54 AM PST

2010/03/09 · 04:54

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President Obama traveled to Pennsylvania yesterday and talked about something dealing some legislation having to do with some stuff and blah, blah, blah . . . But the important thing he did was welcome the Crimson Tide to the White House:
^.

President Obama also quoted Paul 'Bear' Bryant: "The most important thing for any winning team is a winning attitude." Spot-on, Mr. President. Spot-on.

Of course Gibbs was all sulking: he's from Auburn. Sorry, Robert.

BenGoshi

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Sunday March 07, 2010 · 6:15 AM PST

2010/03/07 · 06:15

^{Right out of the gate: h/t to 'mooncat' and Left in Alabama & to Real Clear Politics for this}

No Laugh-Track Needed, the Guffaws Should Come Naturally

This is a rather simple, "Before & After" thing. First, though, The Setting:

In 2008 Huntsville, Alabama, physician Parker Griffith ran for Congress, for Ala's 5th Congressional District seat (which spans a big swath of North Alabama). He made no bones about being a "Blue Dog", but after looking at the field, the Parties' respective positions, platforms and assorted candidates, he choose to run as a Democrat.

. . . stay with me . . .

BenGoshi

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Thursday March 04, 2010 · 2:40 PM PST

2010/03/04 · 14:40

As if we haven't been noting this about the GOP since, hell, 2001.

From a Yahoo "Newsroom" report that cites a Politico "scoop":

The memo candidly confirms that the aim of such caricature is to amp up "fear" among the GOP's conservative base. The memo also makes fun of major RNC donors, categorizing some as "ego-driven" and easily pacified with "tchochkes" (a Slavic word for toys).

The embrace of harsh rhetoric and the swipes at the large donor set seem to signal the GOP establishment's growing comfort with employing tactics associated with the activist Tea Party movement-and with plying Tea Party sympathizers for cash.

BenGoshi

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Wednesday March 03, 2010 · 7:10 AM PST

2010/03/03 · 07:10

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The big stink over Harlem Congressman Charlie Rangel is this:

"The ethics committee said Rangel violated standards of conduct by accepting 2007 and 2008 trips to Caribbean conferences that were financed by corporations. The committee said it could not prove whether Rangel knew of the corporate payments but concluded members of his staff knew about them — and the congressman was responsible for their actions."

Source

So he's stepping down as Ways & Means Chair. Fine. He broke the rules or knew or should have known that rules were being broken. O.K., we get that.

But while Congress is "tut-tutting" and clucking over the Shame of Representative Rangel, The Big Picture seems utterly lost on them, especially Democrats (Republicans damn well know what the deal is).
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To you Godless Atheists on Good Friday...

Screw Me! (Updated)

Artur Davis & the Other 33 "No" Dems. We'll remember.

Hx Lesson: the 'scary thing' always eventually wins.

Conservatives have always fought reform. And lost.

Jesus Horsers Don't Like Tea.

Ghastly Al Qaeda Plot Uncovered. =Update=

Bernie Sanders on the White House's "tragic mistake."

Obama yesterday: "Roll Tide!"

GOP Brings T'baggers/Liberals Together in the South

GOP Memo: "Fear" to be used in 2010. = Update =

Rangel's Ramblings. Congress thru the Looking Glass.