If you watch this, you probably aren’t.
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May 182010
May 172010
The GOP does not seem to think so.
On Thursday, Rep. Steve King (R-IA) took to the floor of the House to rail against the Obama administration’s policies on immigration and combating terrorism. King complained that Obama is against racial profiling, saying “it had better be used” in cases involving, for example, “a young Middle Eastern male.” He added, however, that racial profiling couldn’t be the “exclusive component” of screening people:
KING: He has said to all of his Federal officers from the White House down, ICE, CBP, Border Patrol, all of them, well, he really doesn’t want to see immigration law enforced. And it’s clear, of course, that he doesn’t want to have racial profiling used, and I would agree with him–as an exclusive component. However, if it’s part of the other indicators, it had better be used. Would we say that we can’t use as an indicator when it comes time to enforce the law against international terrorism that a young Middle Eastern male cannot be considered as one of the factors? We’ve kind of said that when people go through the airport. I think it’s wrong. I think it’s foolish. And in fact, Mr. Speaker, I think it’s downright stupid to set aside our common sense for the sake of political correctness.
Watch it:
What is ironic about King’s endorsement of using the race of a “young Middle Eastern male” to profile terrorist suspects is the fact that the last major attempted terror attacks in the United States were not commited by men from the Middle East. Faisal Shazad, the chief suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing, is an American citizen originally from the country of Pakistan, which is located in southwest Asia on the Indian subcontinent. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the chief suspect in the Christmas Day bombing attempt, is from Nigeria, which is located on the continent of Africa.
As a counterterrorism strategy, racial profiling is completely ineffective. A study released last year by the Proceedings of the National Academies of Science conducted a mathematical analysis to compare random screenings to racial profiling. It found that racial profiling is “no more effective” than using the random method in detecting terrorists… [emphasis original]
Inserted from <Think Progress>
Were it not for a Muslim American, the time square bomber might have gotten away. Most Muslim Americans are every bit as loyal to our nation than you or I, but Bush and the GOP tried to win support for their war for oil and conquest in Iraq by making it a jihad against Islam. Followers of the bogus GOP Supply-side Jesus love jihad. Republicans refuse to abandon their bigotry, because their base is 99.44% pure bigoted hate-mongers. If racial profiling were an effective way to prevent terrorism, even I might be inclined to support it. But since it is no more effective than random selection, racial profiling serves only as a smoke screen to justify Republican racism.
Fortunately the majority of Americans are different from that.
A 24-year-old Arab American from Michigan beat out 50 other women to take the 2010 Miss USA title Sunday night, despite nearly stumbling in her evening gown.
Rima Fakih of Dearborn, Mich., won the pageant at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on the Las Vegas Strip after strutting confidently in an orange and gold bikini, wearing a strapless white gown that resembled a wedding dress and saying health insurance should cover birth control pills.
When asked how she felt about winning the crown, she said, "Ask me after I’ve had a pizza."
Fakih, a Lebanese immigrant, told pageant organizers her family celebrates both Muslim and Christian faiths. She moved to the United States as a baby and was raised in New York, where she attended a Catholic school. Her family moved to Michigan in 2003…
Inserted from <ABC>
I congratulate Fakih on her achievement and the judges for not bowing to GOP racism. I have no doubt that the right wing noise machine will give us a redux of their outrage over Carrie ‘sex tape’ Prejean’s loss. Since the runner up was Miss Oklahoma, I predict that Inhofe needs an underwear change.
Now, if only I were 35 years younger. 😈
May 162010
Never ‘correct’, and sometimes offensive, Bill Maher is always funny.
Enjoy!
May 092010
Bill is usually irreverent and sometimes offensive, but always funny.
This clip contains profane language.
To view all the videos I have uploaded to YouTube, click here.
May 022010
I’ve heard that the right wing is trying to compare Obama attending the Correspondents’ Dinner with Crawford Caligula’s fiddling while New Orleans drowned.
First, once we realized that BP had lied about the size and severity of this disaster, ordained in Cheney’s secret meetings with oil company executives, Obama has deployed competent people to deal with the disaster to the maximum extent possible. Except for a wishy-washy position on offshore drilling, his response has been praiseworthy.
Second, there is nothing that his failure to attend the dinner could have done to lessen the plight of Gulf Coast residents.
I intended to watch, but alas, I was so tired I slept through the whole thing. Fortunately I found his speech in case you missed it too.
Part One
Part Two
I think Obama was both funny and wise in what he said.
Apr 232010
The First Church of the Ellipsoid Orb has many holy days. Often unnoticed among the uninitiated are the Days of Selection of Acolytes. On these days, those deemed most worthy are selected to serve in one of the church’s thirty two orders. The First Day contained a special blessing. Here are the results:
|
Pick # |
NFL Team |
Player |
|
1 |
STL |
Bradford, Sam, QB, Oklahoma |
|
2 |
DET |
Suh, Ndamukong, DT, Nebraska |
|
3 |
TB |
McCoy, Gerald, DT, Oklahoma |
|
4 |
WAS |
Williams, Trent, OT, Oklahoma |
|
5 |
KC |
Berry, Eric, SS, Tennessee |
|
6 |
SEA |
Okung, Russell, OT, Oklahoma State |
|
7 |
CLE |
Haden, Joe, CB, Florida |
|
8 |
OAK |
McClain, Rolando, LB, Alabama |
|
9 |
BUF |
Spiller, C.J., RB, Clemson |
|
10 |
JAX |
Alualu, Tyson, DE, California |
|
11 |
SF |
Davis, Anthony, OT, Rutgers |
|
12 |
SD |
Mathews, Ryan, RB, Fresno State |
|
13 |
PHI |
Graham, Brandon, DE, Michigan |
|
14 |
SEA |
Thomas, Earl, SS, Texas |
|
15 |
NYG |
Pierre-Paul, Jason, DE, South Florida |
|
16 |
TEN |
Morgan, Derrick, DE, Georgia Tech |
|
17 |
SF |
Iupati, Mike, OG, Idaho |
|
18 |
PIT |
Pouncey, Maurkice, C, Florida |
|
19 |
ATL |
Weatherspoon, Sean, LB, Missouri |
|
20 |
HOU |
Jackson, Kareem, CB, Alabama |
|
21 |
CIN |
Gresham, Jermaine, TE, Oklahoma |
|
22 |
DEN |
Thomas, Demaryius, WR, Georgia Tech |
|
23 |
GB |
Bulaga, Bryan, OT, Iowa |
|
24 |
DAL |
Bryant, Dez, WR, Oklahoma State |
|
25 |
DEN |
Tebow, Tim, QB, Florida |
|
26 |
ARI |
Williams, Dan, DT, Tennessee |
|
27 |
NE |
McCourty, Devin, CB, Rutgers |
|
28 |
MIA |
Odrick, Jared, DT, Penn State |
|
29 |
NYJ |
Wilson, Kyle, CB, Boise State |
|
30 |
DET |
Best, Jahvid, RB, California |
|
31 |
IND |
Hughes, Jerry, DE, TCU |
|
32 |
NO |
Robinson, Patrick, CB, Florida State |
Those of you who know me well, know that I worship in the Denver Order. The acquisition of former Heisman Trophy winner, Tim Tebow, by my order was completely unexpected. This has left me in a state of religious ecstasy, which may last for several seasons.
Apr 142010
If you’ve read the ‘About Me’ page here, you know that, during the sixties, I was an activist for Civil Rights and against the Vietnam War, was heavily involved in MLK’s Vietnam Summer, was present at two of his greatest speeches, and actually met Dr. King on several occasions.
A memorial for this great American is under construction in Washington, DC. Yesterday I received an email from Lowell Dempsey. It was actually a second email. I did not receive the first due to my computer crash last week, or if I did, I lost it in the shuffle of rebuilding my computer. I consider it too important not to share it in its entirety,
Hi again Tom
I sent you an email last week and I didn’t hear back so I wanted to try you again. I’m reaching out to ask if you would help spread the word by posting about the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., National Memorial on Politics Plus. This month of April marks the 42nd anniversary of the death of Dr. King and we are commemorating his life and work by creating a memorial in our nation’s capital. The Washington, DC, Martin Luther King, Jr., National Memorial will honor his life and contributions to the world through non violent social change.
I’ve put together this micro-site to help get the message out – there are videos, photos, banners, and even a web toolbar that, when used, donates money to the creation of the memorial:
After many years of fund raising, the memorial is only $14 million away from its $120 million goal. If you are able to post or tweet about this please let me know so I can share it with the team. If you have any questions please pop me an email. And if you are able to help, thank you so much.
Lowell
—
Lowell Dempsey,
BuildTheDream.org
Twitter @mlkmemorial
Facebook.com/MLKNationalMemorial
"An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity"
–Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
You probably also know that I do not ask for money, not for me or for anyone else, because I want Politics Plus to be about truth, not finances. However, I will say that, in spite of poverty, I made a small donation. I would encourage to at least spread this around.
Thank you.
Apr 142010
This could be fantastic news!
Scientists have made a fundamental breakthrough in their attempts to replicate photosynthesis – the ability of plants to harvest the power of sunlight – in the hope of making unlimited amounts of "green" energy from water and sunlight alone.
The researchers have assembled genetically modified viruses into wire-like structures that are able to use the energy of the sun to split water molecules into their constitute parts of oxygen and hydrogen, which can then be used as a source of chemical energy.
If the process can be scaled up and made more efficient, it promises to produce unlimited quantities of hydrogen fuel, a clean source of energy that can be used to generate electricity as well as acting as a portable, carbon-free fuel for cars and other vehicles.
Replicating photosynthesis – in which plants convert sunlight into a store of chemical energy – has been a dream of the alternative energy business for decades. The drive was given an extra boost yesterday with warnings by the US military that there could be serious global oil shortages by 2015.
Splitting water molecules into oxygen and hydrogen is seen as a critical first step in this process of artificial photosynthesis. Although it is possible to split the molecules using solar electricity, the process is not very efficient. In the latest study, scientists were able to split water directly with sunlight, without using solar panels…
Inserted from <Common Dreams>
It will likely be a few years before this becomes commercially viable. My biggest fear is that, since greedy US corporations often choose against developing products that do not turn an immediate profit, the process will be sold overseas.