Last Week’s Most Insane Republican Moments

Posted by TomCat at 4:10 pm Politics, Religion

Jun 122016

Almost every week, Republicans join a competition to see who can say the most outlandish things, and in the process, they push the envelope on just how insane InsaniTEA can become. I trust that you will believe it, when I tell you that last week was no exception.

Good Christian Republican senator just has a teeny tiny request for God.

Boy, those evangelicals sure do know how to have a good yuck-fest, with biblical jokes and everything! But we’re pretty sure Jesus Christ would not have been amused by the prayer offered by Republican Senator Frank Perdue, who made a hilarious joke about Obama at this week’s Faith & Freedom Coalition’s Road to Majority conference.

“I think we are called to pray,” the junior senator from Georgia told those who were gathered. “I think we are called to pray for our country, our leaders, and yes, even Barack Obama."

Specifically, he suggested, “we should pray like Psalms 108:9 [sic] says. It says ‘May his days be few.’"

Oh, titter, titter, chuckle, chuckle went the crowd.

Yes, it is the Christian thing, to pray for the death of a president whose politics you don’t like.

The cited psalm goes:

Let his days be few; Let another take his office.
Let his children be fatherless And his wife a widow.
Let his children wander about and beg; And let them seek sustenance far from their ruined homes.
Let the creditor seize all that he has, And let strangers plunder the product of his labor.

Yes, Republicans have plunder in mind.

From <Alternet>

The author made a typo in the verse. It’s actually 109:8

Barf Bag Alert!!

This pseudo-Christian purveyor of hatred is only the second of five listed insane Republican moments from last week alone. Click through for the other four.

Open Thread–4/26/2016

Posted by TomCat at 1:13 pm Open Thread, Personal, Politics, Religion

Apr 262016

I slept poorly last night, because the druggies partied into the wee hours on the street below and made a lot of noise. So I took another Lona nap this morning. Store to door called and I gave them my grocery order.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:18 (average 5:49). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From The New Yorker: Charles and David Koch, the billionaire industrialists who have spent decades acquiring a world-class collection of Republicans, revealed over the weekend that they are considering purchasing their first Democrat.

“We’ve always bought Republicans, and our father bought Republicans before us,” Charles, the elder Koch, said. “They’re bred to be obedient, and they respond to simple commands.”

He said that he and his brother had considered acquiring a Democrat only after determining that none of the Republicans on offer this year was worth adding to their collection.

Fortunately, Andy, both Bernie and Hillary are too principled to become Koch suckers.

From Daily Kos: James Van Kuilenburg, a trans teenager, attended a Ted Cruz rally with his mother on Thursday. His goal was to hear what Ted Cruz had to say, but also, as The Frederick News-Post reported, "to show Cruz supporters that rhetoric about gay and transgender rights hurts real people, like him."

Republicans consider the First Amendment their exclusive property. Nobody else may exercise it.

From Upworthy: Witness this amazing letter he wrote in 1790 to the largest Jewish community in America at the time, the Hebrew congregation of Newport, Rhode Island. The Newport Jews had sent a message to Washington, basically congratulating him on being awesome.

A few days later, Washington responded (emphasis mine):

Gentlemen:

While I received with much satisfaction your address replete with expressions of esteem, I rejoice in the opportunity of assuring you that I shall always retain grateful remembrance of the cordial welcome I experienced on my visit to Newport from all classes of citizens.

The reflection on the days of difficulty and danger which are past is rendered the more sweet from a consciousness that they are succeeded by days of uncommon prosperity and security. If we have wisdom to make the best use of the advantages with which we are now favored, we cannot fail, under the just administration of a good government, to become a great and happy people.

The citizens of the United States of America have a right to applaud themselves for having given to mankind examples of an enlarged and liberal policy — a policy worthy of imitation. All possess alike liberty of conscience and immunities of citizenship.

It is now no more that toleration is spoken of as if it were the indulgence of one class of people that another enjoyed the exercise of their inherent natural rights, for, happily, the Government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance, requires only that they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens in giving it on all occasions their effectual support.

It would be inconsistent with the frankness of my character not to avow that I am pleased with your favorable opinion of my administration and fervent wishes for my felicity.

May the children of the stock of Abraham who dwell in this land continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other inhabitants — while every one shall sit in safety under his own vine and fig tree and there shall be none to make him afraid. May the father of all mercies scatter light, and not darkness, upon our paths, and make us all in our several vocations useful here, and in His own due time and way everlastingly happy.

G. Washington

Now try to imagine a similar epistle coming from a President Fecal Dump Trump or a President TRUSed Uranus Cruz to America’s largest Muslim community. Then vote in November!

Cartoon:

0426Cartoon

This Week’s Worst Republican Moments

Posted by TomCat at 12:49 pm Politics, Religion

Apr 172016

Almost every week, Republicans join a competition to see who can say the most outlandish things, and in the process, they push the envelope on just how bad InsaniTEA can become. I trust that you will believe it, when I tell you that last week was no exception.

And from the lunatic Christian fringe, this just in.

The mystery of Stonehenge has been solved, at long last. Turns out that giants created by Satan built it.

Yeah, that makes sense.

This exciting revelation—and when we say "revelation" we mean it in the biblical sense—comes courtesy of televangelist Jim Bakker, who hosted one Dennis Lindsay [pseudo-Christian talibangelist delinked]on his program on Wednesday [pseudo-Christian talibangelist delinked] in order to discuss Lindsay’s latest "discovery" in the realm of Creation Science.

So what happened was, Satan made these giants who moved those big ol’ rocks into the structure we now call Stonehenge. That was pretty smart of Satan to create a supersized labor force.

That’s the reasonable part. Here’s how Lindsay explained how the devil wants to destroy God’s creation, Israel, and "contaminate the whole human race," per RightWingWatch:

Satan wants to “have his own seed and make his own family,” Lindsay explained, and so he created a race of giants who would attack Israel.

“He build his little squatter’s hut up there on the Temple Mount, you know that temple, because he knows what the Bible says about that place,” he said. “I weaved through why and what is the evidence for giant beings on this earth. We all know about Stonehenge, right? That’s just one of hundreds and hundreds of gigantic places around the world that testify that some sort of supernatural power or giants were involved in its construction.”

So there you have it. Satan has a "squatter’s hut" and you have Satan’s giants to thank for those all those "gigantic places in the world."…

Inserted from <Alternet>

I have one major bone to pick with this author for calling these nut-jobs “the lunatic Christian fringe”. They are Republican Supply-side pseudo-Christians. Nothing could be further from authentic Christians. They are as representative of Christianity as the Daesh is of Islam: not at all!

That said, this is the fifth of five worst Republican moments listed from last week alone. Click through for the other four.

Open Thread–4/17/2016

Posted by TomCat at 12:49 pm Open Thread, Personal, Politics, Religion

Apr 172016

I got up super early this morning to do my taxes on the last possible day. It went quite well. I posted the Squatch’s birthday article first, because I wanted to be sure that was up, no matter what else happened, I don’t owe Infernal Revenue or the State of Oregon any money. I did, however, have to pay a $35 Portland Arts Tax. The poor and middle classes get to pay for the rich to attend events that the rest of us can’t afford. It’s been a pet peeve of mine for years. Also on a positive note, I’m stable enough on George that I can now pee standing up. At this rate, it won’t be long, before learn how to miss the pot like a normal guy. Tomorrow I have an appointment with one of Megan’s (PCP)associates. Julie, cannot approve my Oxycodone, because she’s a PA. It should be an interesting trip, because I’m taking the normal bus, and the forecast high is 88°. I may have only a Personal Update tomorrow.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 2:56 (average 5:23). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos: Donald Trump’s father, Fred, was a pretty crummy guy. He was a low-income housing profiteer who used state and federal subsidies in developing his real estate empire—the one his son Donald benefits from—and abused his position.

As the man who controlled the FHA’s New York office, Powell controlled the flow of money for Beach Haven, a big apartment complex Fred Trump built with FHA loans. He allowed Trump to start building before Beach Haven was actually approved and start renting to vets and others six months before he had to start repaying his loan.

In that time Trump pocketed $1.7 million in rent payments. Trump was also allowed to pocket most of a fee—5 percent of the Beach Haven development’s cost—that was earmarked for architectural work. Trump was also permitted to borrow more in federally subsidized funds—$3.7 million, to be precise—than he actually needed.

Beach Haven was the apartment complex Woody Guthrie moved into in 1950. Unfortunately for Woody, Trump was a racist shit (apples and trees).

Here’s Woody!

Like Republican father, like Republican son!!

From TPM: In an extraordinary display of internal discord, the chairman of the Republican Party’s rules committee is accusing top GOP officials of "a breach of our trust" by improperly trying to impede a proposed change in bylaws that would make it harder for party leaders to nominate a fresh candidate for president.

Bruce Ash, RNC committeeman from Arizona, wrote the harshly worded email to the other 55 members of the GOP rules committee that he chairs. The confidential email, obtained by The Associated Press on Saturday, was written days before party officials gather in Hollywood, Florida, for preliminary discussions about what rules the GOP will use at its presidential nominating convention this July.

Ash wrote the note at a time when some top Republicans consider the party’s two leading presidential contenders, billionaire Donald Trump and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, to be likely November election losers and have discussed how to replace them with alternatives at the summer convention in Cleveland, Ohio. It is possible that no contenders will have the 1,237 delegates needed to clinch the nomination at that gathering, which would produce the first GOP convention without a presumptive nominee since 1976.

Because this has become such a contentious issue, I’m going to leave the current poll up for the rest of the month. May Republicans have a civil war between themselves. Nothing could be better for our down-ballot candidates.

From Raw Story: Saturday Night Live took aim at a multitude of subjects associated with the rise of religious freedom laws that are anti-LGBT legislation in disguise, with a parody film preview of an “oppressed Christian” baker forced to not only make a cake for a same-sex couple but also to declare that “God is gay.”

Dang!! It looks like God and I have something in common!! Smile with tongue out

Cartoon:

0417-2Cartoon

Religious Reichsfuhrer Pretended to Duck in McCrorystan

Posted by TomCat at 12:18 pm Politics, Religion

Apr 132016

The graphic with this article is the State Flag of the Republican Theocratic Dictatorship of McCrorystan, formerly North Carolina, led by Religious Reichsfuhrer Pat McCrory. You are probably aware that McCrorystan has taken some major economic hits over their recent display of hatred for Transgender folks who want to use the rest room. To try to stem that tide Religious Reichsfuhrer McCrory pretended to duck.

Gov. Pat McCrory of North Carolina, whose state has been the subject of withering criticism since he signed legislation limiting bathroom access for transgender people and eliminating anti-discrimination ordinances based on sexual orientation, announced Tuesday that he would strengthen workplace protections for state employees and urge the General Assembly to modify part of the law.

But he stopped short of opposing limits on which bathrooms transgender people could use, and the law will be left largely intact. Critics said his action was more cosmetic than real.

Mr. McCrory signed the legislation immediately after it was passed last month and, 20 days later, made his slight retreat with an executive order that he said would alter the equal employment policy for state workers to cover discrimination claims related to sexual orientation and gender identity.

He also said he would urge lawmakers to reverse course and allow people to bring discrimination cases in state court… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <NY Times>

Rachel; Maddow covered the story and extended it to Tennessee.

Note that neither the Times, nor Rachel came out and said McCrory’s pretense at ducking is just smoke and mirrors. I say so because it’s all talk. He hasn’t actually done anything.

It wouldn’t surprise me if xhamster is Religious Reichsfuhrer McCrory’s favorite site. Whether it is or not, threatening Bubba Bagger’s access to Republican family-values porn, could crash the state government.

It will be interesting to see what Tennessee does.

Happy Easter

Posted by TomCat at 11:25 am Holiday, Politics, Religion

Mar 272016

Easter

In the time I have available, I don’t think I can improve on last year’s Easter message, so here it is again.

Whether or not you are a Christian, I respectfully invite you to join me in the celebration of the my faith’s most central holiday, even though many of its traditions are borrowed.

Jesus was a fascinating man. He associated most closely with the social rejects of his day. He respected people with faiths different from his. He did not burn their religious writings or try to prevent them from their own forms of worship. Sometimes he used them as an example of what is right, like the Good Samaritan. He had a heart for meeting the needs of the poor, and admonished us to care for them. His concern for the rich was that their own greed would blind them. He had no trouble getting along with sinners. He met people at the point of their need, and accepted all, except for the religious hypocrites who used their position to enrich themselves at the expense of the poor and to force their own piety codes, which they often ignored themselves, onto others. Those were only people Jesus condemned. Sadly, they are still among us.

If we are followers of Jesus, our faith will help us to follow the example of what he did. Of course, none of us is perfect in that way. God knows that I fall short every day. It is important to know that those who preach the things Jesus was against, but condemn those who contend for the things Jesus supported, are not followers of Jesus. They are pseudo-Christians. Authentic Christians try to follow Jesus’ example.

And now, for your listening pleasure:

Brussels Unprepared

Posted by TomCat at 1:28 pm Politics, Religion

Mar 232016

The Daesh, political extremists that are hijacking Islam for their own perverse ends, just committed a horrific act of terrorism, by attacking the the Brussels airport and subway station, killing over 30. Whenever such attacks happen, their counterparts, political extremists hijacking Christianity for their own perverse ends, call for religious discrimination and a crackdown on civil liberties. They are wrong about the problem. In Brussels, the problem was, at least in part, inadequate preparation.

A week after the attacks early last year in Paris against the magazine Charlie Hebdo and a kosher grocery, Belgian police officers were fired on as they executed a search warrant in the town of Verviers. Officials learned that the assailants were members of a terrorist cell that had been planning a significant attack on Belgian police officers or civilians.

The incident changed the way counterterrorism officials perceived the Islamic State threat in Europe and made clear that Belgium itself had a greater problem on its hands than it realized.

Before the plot was disrupted, the United States Department of Homeland Security would later explain, nearly all of about a dozen Islamic State plots and attacks in the West had involved lone assailants or small groups. But, the report presciently warned, “the involvement of a large number of operatives and group leaders based in multiple countries in future ISIL-linked plotting could create significant obstacles in the detection and disruption” of new plots.

Indeed, that is now the case, and as the investigation of the even more brutal November attacks in Paris showed, Belgium is a major source of the threat. The attacks on Tuesday in Brussels raised the most serious questions about how prepared the nation was for that threat…

Inserted from <NY Times>

Click through for more detail on how Brussels was unprepared to defend their inhabitants against a terrorist attack.

While Rachel Maddow did not come to a conclusion on preparation, she does provide some excellent background.

Republican responses to the attack have been what we would expect from the pseudo-Christian version of the Daesh. Fecal Dump Trump would close our borders, infiltrate mosques, and torture suspects. TRUSed Uranus Cruz blamed Obama for the attack, and called for closing the borders, increasing support for Israel, and carpet bombing civilian populations where the Daesh has fighters. KKKsich called for closing the borders.

Those are not the answer. Whenever we, whichever nation we are, respond to terrorism by making ourselves less fess free, the terrorists win. Every time we respond to terrorism by discriminating against the religious population that the terrorists are hijacking, the terrorists win. That guarantees them new recruits. The best thing we can do is to harden our targets, vet potential immigrants carefully without ethnic profiling, and build a discrimination-free economy where all ethnic groups can thrive. And as for the people of Brussels…

Je Suis Bruxelles

Open Thread–3/22/2016

Posted by TomCat at 2:14 pm Open Thread, Personal, Politics, Religion

Mar 222016

I felt tired and chilly, so I opened the Lona box and made a withdrawal. I ordered groceries from Store to Door for delivery tomorrow. I expect Lu to arrive in about an hour to help me with my shower. Hugs to all!! My thoughts and prayers go out to to the victims of the terrorist attacks in Brussels, that have killed at least 30 and wounded at least 230, and to all their loved ones. I am not covering it as a news item today, except to make this statement and condemn all political violence, especially when it hijacks religion.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:43 (average 7:24). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos: I’m a Bernie supporter. I canvassed for him. I phone-banked for him. I have contributed $2,100 to his campaign so far, and plan to keep giving until either I hit the maximum or he is no longer in the race. Have I established my bonafides?

I am not, however, an absolutist. I recognize politics is a win or lose proposition and, in the end, we often have to support the better of the two options, even if they are not the options I would want. In other words, if Bernie loses, I will be canvassing for Hillary, phone banking for her, and shifting my contributions to her.

Here are a few numbers that explain why:

17 million: The number of people who will lose their health insurance if Hillary or Bernie is not elected.
2: The number of Supreme Court Justices who will likely be named in the next four years. That amount is high enough that it will lock SCOTUS in either a conservative or liberal position for decades.

4.75: The minimum amount per hour that people working for minimum wage will not receive for at least through 2021.
33: The percent of women who will seek an abortion sometime in their lives who will not be able to obtain one because Republicans will be in power in all three branches of government.
1: The minimum number of international accords on controlling climate change that the United States will abrogate

I don’t have the author’s bonafides, because I lack his time, mobility, and resources, but I fully agree with him. Click through for the rest of the list.

From NY Times: The Justice Department said on Monday that it might no longer need Apple’s assistance in opening an iPhone used by a gunman in the San Bernardino, Calif., rampage last year.

The disclosure led a judge to postpone a court hearing over the issue and temporarily sidesteps what has become a bitter clash with the world’s most valuable company.

In a new court filing, the government said an outside party had demonstrated a way for the F.B.I. to possibly unlock the phone used by the gunman, Syed Rizwan Farook. The hearing in the contentious case — Apple has loudly opposed opening the iPhone, citing privacy concerns and igniting a heated debate — was originally set for Tuesday.

Donation requests have been going around, claiming to have forced the FBI back down. They forced nothing. Such scam requests should not be rewarded. Finding another way to hack the phone is not backing down. It isn’t even a win, unless their activity keeps our cell phone privacy secure. It clearly has not done so. Left wing organizations who use lies to solicit money are acting like Republicans. Boycott them.

From Crooks and Liars: Once again, we turn to the inimitable Samantha Bee to make sense out of the senseless Republicans’ need to obstruct President Obama’s Supreme Court nomination.

I may start calling her Samantha Bingo.

Cartoon:

Older Entries Newer Entries