1884 - The Equal Rights Party was formed in San Francisco, CA.
1962 - James Meredith, a black student, was blocked from enrolling at the University of Mississippi by Governor Ross R. Barnett.
COINCIDENCE? I THINK NOT!
Quote:
"There are a score of great religions in the world. . . and each is a mighty fortress of graft."
--Upton Sinclair, 1918
FROM THE CHURCH OF INEFFABLE STUPIDITY:
a) Iraq war architect, Surge Cheerleader, NeoConMan Fred Kagan
In September and October, Kagan repeatedly lied to the public, claiming that there was no ethic cleansing in IraqNam, and that the only reason peace reigns is because of the surge.
As simple-minded as he obviously thinks we are, not even the GAO agrees with him.
Fact: The surge was not the cause to even a relative peace, rather our bribes to sectarian leaders did far more than the surge.
Fact: Ethnic cleansing in Baghdad alone displaced 35% of residents in some areas, and up to 60% in others. The million additional homeless do exist, without shelter, water, food, or jobs. Kinda like New Orleans or Galveston, but without the additional love and attention of FEMA.
Fact: Fred Kagan is a confirmed liar, a scoundrel, a cheat, and a jerk, a person of ill-repute who never lets a fact get in the way of his opinions.
Fact: the media, in their short-sighted, moronic efforts to appear even handed, give morons like Kagan way too much attention. Frankly, he earns about the same level of respect and consideration as Alan Keyes or Sarah Palin.
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b) John Bush McCain
His solution to our growing medical problem, uninsured, underinsured, etc? Make it more like our financial markets. Paul Krugman says it like only he can:
OK, a correspondent directs me to John McCain's article, Better Health Care at Lower Cost for Every American, in the Sept./Oct. issue of Contingencies, the magazine of the American Academy of Actuaries. You might want to be seated before reading this.
Here's what McCain has to say about the wonders of market-based health reform:
Opening up the health insurance market to more vigorous nationwide competition, as we have done over the last decade in banking, would provide more choices of innovative products less burdened by the worst excesses of state-based regulation.
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/...
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c) The John Bush McCain Four-Step
No, not some new method to get his trophy spousette off the narcotics she stole. It is a brand new dance which is based on the GOP presidential nominee and his constantly changing positions on minor issues like the:
i) economy
ii) mortgage & credit collapse
iii) health care
iv) stem cells, woman's reproductive rights
v) Georgia, Ukraine, & Russia
vi) pretty much everything else.
vii) Pakistan, (which after today's horrific explosion, is even more ineffably stupid)
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d) Condi Rice
Medvedev and Putin call for closer cooperation and communication with the US.
Condi Rice openly threatens Russia in a recent speech, as we start to built anti-missile missile stations in eastern Poland, seek to invite Georgia into NATO, and make really shortsighted demands of Russia.
sigh.
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e) CNN.com Headline that says it all:
"President Bush heads to Texas; Residents urged to leave."
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Sometimes, we need to celebate, er, celebrate those who have their heads on straight. America's Librarians will hold its annual Banned Books Week, from September 27 through to October 4, which celebrates the freedom to read.
Sarah Palin's purported list of which books to burn will be one of the major issues.
According to the American Library Association (ALA) the most challenged book of 2007 was And Tango Makes Three, by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell. This book was challenged because of instances of sexism, homosexuality, religious viewpoint, and anti-ethnic and anti-family reasons.
Several other books that made the ALA's top-ten in books that were challenged are The Golden Compass, by Philip Pullman, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou and The Perks of Being A Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky. They were all challenged based on allegations of racism, sexuality and religion.
During Banned Books Week, various libraries throughout the States will have displays and events to celebrate the existence of freedom in reading. The ALA also encourages people to fight censorship in their community, which might keep book banning from being an issue in the 2008 presidential election.
http://www.religiousintelligence.co....
There are few things that rub Pastor Ag the wrong way more than a the burning of a book, any book. Except those who seek to choose which books to burn or ban - like Sarah Palin.
There always is something to be learned from the Koran and the Torah, from Mao's little Red Book and Hitler's treatise Mein Kampf, even from J.K.L.M.N.O.P.Rowling's Harry Potter books. And by the mere fact that you can learn something from all of those books, it makes each and every one of those books precious.
In the case of Mao, you learn about duplicity of the highest order, what with the Great Leap Backward, and his Cultural Devolution. You learn how hundreds of millions of people can be subjugated, controlled by fear and strong government, and misled by its leaders. (Hey, George, wasn't THAT your plan?)
In the case of Hitler, you can see his perceived need for liebenstrum, living space to the east, with lesser Russian critters to be replaced by Aryans. What a warning he gave humanity! only to see it ignored until it was too late.
In the case of Ben Gurion, the father of modern Zionism, you learn how he made his motto, "We shall never be forgiven for the sin of weakness, should we even act as angels. Woe to the weak. That is the philosophy of history." You learn about how his ideals and ideas led directly to the mess we now have in the Muddle East.
And, from JKLMNOP Rowling, you learn about the magic of your own imagination, about the power that words have to entertain, to entice, to savor.
_______________________
"There was never a good war or a bad peace."
Benjamin Franklin
P.S. ALA's top 100 banned books, from 1990-2000
Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz
Daddy's Roommate by Michael Willhoite
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling
Forever by Judy Blume
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
Alice (Series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
http://www.ala.org/...