Politics

Semantics in religion and law

I’m still scratching my head over the furor with Pres. Obama and the Catholic Church about providing contraception for employees. As I understand it, the edict from Washington originally said all Catholic institutions had to cover/pay for/provide contraception for female employees. Church leaders and others had a fit about Obama’s “war on religion.” Obama came … Continue reading »

SOPA/PIPA victory: Behind the scenes

OpenCongress.org played a big role in the success of the Internet’s Stop SOPA movement. This is their wrap-up of how we and they succeeded: Last month’s flurry of Stop-PIPA & Stop-SOPA online protests were an apex of activity for OpenCongress. Not only was January 18th, 2012 the single-highest day of traffic on OC since our … Continue reading »

Europe to protest ACTA on Feb. 11

Europe is getting fired up for ACTA (Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement) protests Saturday, February 11. There’s much less activity in the U.S. because our government has already signed the trade agreement. If ACTA is beaten down in Europe, it fails as a whole, so do what you can to support the European protests.

Handel resigns from Susan G. Komen Foundation

Karen Handel, controversial VP at the Susan G. Komen Foundation, has resigned. About time, considering what she cost the organization. Related articles AP confirms Handel’s role in Komen’s Planned Parenthood decision (piedtype.com) Senators ask Komen Foundation to reverse decision (piedtype.com) Karen Handel Is The Komen’s Katrina (tbogg.firedoglake.com) Susan G. Komen Foundation Backs Down On Cutting … Continue reading »

Feb. 12 set as international day of action against ACTA

February 11, 2012, has been set as the international day of action against ACTA (Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement). See Joseph Hall’s Blog for a history of Internet copyright protection legislation, plus details and links about ACTA, the day of action, and petitions you can sign. The U.S. has already signed the agreement, but we can support … Continue reading »

Study correlates low IQ with racism, conservatism

The Huffington Post headline reads: “Intelligence Study Links Low I.Q. To Prejudice, Racism, Conservatism” and the story says, “The study, published in Psychological Science, showed that people who score low on I.Q. tests in childhood are more likely to develop prejudiced beliefs and socially conservative politics in adulthood.” The study’s lead author Gordon Hodson said: … Continue reading »

Komen relents, sort of

Media are reporting now that the Susan G. Komen Foundation has yielded to public pressure. Komen will continue its funding to Planned Parenthood. Komen’s statement: We want to apologize to the American public for recent decisions that cast doubt upon our commitment to our mission of saving women’s lives. The events of this week have … Continue reading »

Suggestion for Komen Foundation damage control

Nancy Brinker is founder and CEO of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation. She has done a lot of good for American women in her sister’s name. However, in announcing her foundation will no longer issue grant money to Planned Parenthood, another organization that has done a lot of good for American women, … Continue reading »

AP confirms Handel’s role in Komen’s Planned Parenthood decision

Regarding the role of Susan G. Komen Foundation’s vice president Karen Handel in the recent decision to cut grant funding to Planned Parenthood, The Associated Press is now reporting: A source with direct knowledge of decision-making at Komen’s headquarters in Dallas gave a different account, saying the grant-making criteria were adopted with the deliberate intention … Continue reading »

Senators ask Komen Foundation to reverse decision

Twenty-six U.S. Senators have signed a letter to the Susan G. Komen Foundation asking its officers to reverse their decision to withdraw grant money from Planned Parenthood. The letter, as reported by the Washington Post: Dear Ambassador Brinker, We write to express our disappointment with Susan G. Komen for the Cure’s decision to cut funding … Continue reading »

Susan G. Komen officials resign in protest

Several top officials of the Susan G. Komen Foundation have resigned in protest over Komen’s withdrawal of grant money from Planned Parenthood. Anger over Komen’s decision has already prompted enough new donations to PP to make up the loss. As for Komen, no amount of money can repair the damage they’ve done to their own … Continue reading »

Candidate match game

USA Today has a presidential candidate match game on its website. But the multi-choice answers often didn’t include my particular preferences, so my results were disappointing. I matched most closely with Jon Huntsman (out of the race), then Romney, then Obama.

Make it stop!

Am I going to have to turn off the news from now to November so I won’t have to hear Romney sing “America, the Beautiful” again? One more iteration and I’m going to be violently ill.

Here’s how you transport a dog …

Monday David Axelrod, top campaign advisor to President Obama, tweeted this picture of the president in his armored limo, accompanied by the Obama family’s dog, Bo. The message read “How loving dog owners transport their dogs.” Snark! Pow! Zing, Mitt Romney. Let the games begin. *Actually, many experts recommend dogs be safely restrained in harnesses … Continue reading »

Keystone pipeline: Not dead yet

From the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC): Just two weeks after President Obama killed a permit for the Keystone XL pipeline, Republican leaders in Congress are trying to force its approval by attaching it to the payroll tax bill and other unrelated legislation.

Romney: The quintessential weathervane

Fellow Republican Jon Huntsman called him a “perfectly lubricated weathervane.” Others are less precise and call him a flip-flopper or “triangulator.” But for a match-winning takedown of Mitt Romney, there’s Robert Cramer’s commentary, “Why Character and Core Values Could Prove Decisive in Battle for Presidency.” As the title indicates, the article focuses on politicians being … Continue reading »

Iran sending drone back to Obama

Note to the GOP candidates

One of you will probably get your party’s nomination, but while you’re busy doing hatchet jobs on each other, I for one am getting thoroughly sick of you. At the rate you are shredding each other, the survivor will be in no condition to run a creditable general campaign. I suppose that’s fine with people … Continue reading »

Santorum: Raped? Pregnant? It’s a gift

Just when I thought GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum couldn’t impress me as any more extreme, I saw this video on the Huffington Post. His idea of right to life includes not aborting a baby resulting from rape. Not even if the pregnant woman were his daughter. The woman must “make the best out of … Continue reading »

Reid yields, postpones Senate’s PIPA vote

Woot! Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has buckled and postponed the U.S. Senate vote on PIPA originally scheduled for next Tuesday! Details at PCWorld and elsewhere. All the “shelving” and “postponing” of SOPA/PIPA legislation is probably just a maneuver, waiting for the heat and attention to fade, before reviving the censorship efforts. But for the … Continue reading »