The Liberal Coalition

from All Facts and Opinions

Jerry Falwell must be laughing in Hell. Some Christian fundamentalists say pro-GLBT philosophies are partly to blame for the nation's financial crisis.

From PageOneQ:

In a September 25th blog post titled "The Nation Will Right Itself If It Fixes Sex," Christian Civil League of Maine Executive Director Michael Heath writes that the financial crisis facing Wall Street is a symptom of America's sinful sexual culture, including the acceptance of gay unions.

"Our crisis is a symptom, not the cause," writes Michael Heath. "I am not saying I know whether this financial crisis is God's judgment or not. It is not for me to know that definitively."

Heath goes on to list policy changes that [the writer contends] would make God "crack a smile," including: End abortion rights and defund non-profit groups supporting it, amend state constitutions to ban gay marriage and eliminate domestic partnerships and civil unions for gay and lesbian couples, and end discrimination against private religious schools and homeschools.

A related post by Center for Immigration Studies Executive Director Mark Krikorian at the National Review's web site pushes a similar theme, this time focusing on Friday's failure of [Washington Mutual].

Krikorian suggests the big bank failed because it was too accommodating to minorities, including gays, African-Americans and Hispanics.

In his September 26th post titled "Cause and Effect?," Krikorian writes, "I really thought this was a joke, but it's not. WaMu's final press release, before it sank beneath the waves."

The press release lists the general accomplishments of WaMu in diversifying its workforce, including earning a perfect score on the Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index -- a rating indicative of the gay-friendliness of a company's official policies.

Fundamentalists blame Wall Streets woes on gays

So let's see... gays and their allies are responsible for Hurricane Katrina, the Teletubbies, 9/11, the state of Hollywood, and now the Wall Street mess. For second-class citizens, we sure have a helluva lot of power. No wonder the fundies are so frightened they make up this kind of hateful crap in order to keep us under their blessed, bigoted boots.

An alternative POV: The fundies are in power. They have the pols in their pious pockets. Their religious rules are inscribed in US secular law, and nonbelievers are punished every day in this country for not conforming to fundamentalist Christian values (or Judeo-Christian, in those times when they pretend to be ecumenical). Those are the facts. So even if such a charge would be unfair or untrue (just as is their charge against the inclusive gay community), wouldn't it make more sense to blame them? I'm just sayin'...

Labels: anti-gay, anti-glbt, bailout plan, bailout scheme, bigotry, blame the gays, christian fundamentalists, gop, hate, hate speech, Politics, wall street crisis

posted by nr davis @ 2:18 PM |

Clever Wife regularly participates in a forum for craftspeople who make soap. Lately the forum has included some long digressions into politics. She is usually capable of responding to the misinformation she sees, but occasionally she asks for my help. The other day someone posted a list of "rumors" about Sarah Palin debunked by someone named Charlie Martin, a computer programmer in Colorado. Charlie's list on his blog Explorations is now up to 71 points and has earned him a spot on Fox News along with tens of thousands of blog hits.

Clever Wife thought that Charlie's debunking shows a solid pro-Palin slant. It looks that way to me, too. It's not so much about setting the record straight as it is about presenting a partisan defense of Palin against any criticism. CW asked if I could help her debunk some of Charlie's debunking. Some of his debunking is just fine, but many of the answers leave important information out, simply accept the McCain/Palin version of events, blame the victim, or take cheap shots at the mainstream media. After trying to hit just a few of the more difficult points on his list things rapidly got out of hand. I decided to take on the whole list fisk-style. I wish he included the source for some of the rumors because they really are quite stupid and Charlie is right to dismiss them.

Here's the result of my efforts. I'll continue to refine my list as I get new information, so if you know something be sure to put it in the comments or write me. Links to supporting sources get you extra points. When you collect enough points, you win a new president.

Labels: Elections, palin, Politics

posted by John McKay @ 6:06 PM |

from Natalie Davis' All Facts and Opinions
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http://gratefuldread.wordpress.com

Tonight's speeches at the Republican National Convention are over, and I am exhausted, lemme tell ya. All that force-fed red meat... I'm going to have to stick to wheat germ and water for a week to feel normal again.

Seriously, were you surprised by the heartlessness of Mike Huckabee and the attacks by Rudy Giuliani and Sarah Palin? When it began, I figured we would get a slew of 9/11 references, anti-gay and anti-choice attacks, reminders that poor people are worthless, nods to Abe Lincoln (my 12-year-old moaned, "That's slander! Lincoln wasn't this kind of Republican!"), slick soundbites, hockey mom jokes, more references to 9/11, and outlandish claims that the party faithful won't bother to investigate for veracity. You know, the general sound and fury signifying nothing. And of course, the Grand Old Prosperity crowd roared their approval as Cindy McCain happily bounced wee Trig Palin on her knee. Whee! Well, their worldview always disappoints, and what went down in St. Paul tonight was exactly what I expected.

Did I learn anything new or useful about the Republican nominee for vice-president? Only that she is every bit as mendacious and craven and unacceptable as her number one. Ooh, she can earmark Alaska, shoot the wolves from the plane, and send every ounce of American decency down the drain... and she's a wooo-man... Feh.

Look: I stand with Palin and the insufferable McCain flack Carly Fiorino on this. No one would question a man who had five kids about his fitness for any job, so people need to leave Palin alone on that point. There are plenty of legitimate reasons to dismiss her, which we've already covered ad nauseum. Palin is indeed a firecracker with lots of spunk and apparently limitless ambition, but she has nothing worthwhile to offer in the way of making the US a better country, and her insult-filled, substance-free speech tonight made that all too evident to me.

My recommendation to Barack Obama: Just respond substantively and ignore repugnant Republican insults. Sarah Palin speaks well and looks great, but she has nothing on the Democrat, save three more cute kids and a snarling Rudy "9/11" Giuliani over her shoulder. (Message to RG: Hope is not a strategy -- and no, hope is not Obama's strategy, but cool line, Rudy. I would much rather be hopeful than heartless and greedy, though.)

I'll break the plutocrats' pap down tomorrow if the strength and interest can be mustered. Right now, my stomach hurts, as it always does after a night of listening to rabid right wingers. As a matter of fact, I really must go and throw up. My diet is primarily whole grains, veggies and fish. Red meat in the quantities dished up tonight -- especially when it's raw -- always makes me physically ill.

Labels: anti-republican, conservative, gop, palin, Politics, progressive commentary, republican, right-wing

posted by nr davis @ 11:22 PM |

Labels: Civil Rights, Corruption, Goverment News, Politics

posted by Rook @ 9:35 PM |

Labels: Elections, Politics, Writing

posted by Rook @ 1:54 AM |

Labels: Elections, Humor, Politics

posted by Rook @ 1:03 PM |