Tag Archives: Video
Conservatives prove once again why we have protections under the First Amendment
Thank You Republican/Tea Party types for making my point as to why DOMA and Prop 8 were unconstitutional; if your opposition to same-sex marriage and banning it by law is based on your religious values then those laws are clearly unconstitutional under the separation of Church and State provisions of the First Amendment.
Bill Armistead, Chairman of the Republican Party in Alabama
“I am disappointed to learn that SCOTUS has struck down DOMA and will now require that federal benefits be extended to homosexual couples. This is an affront to the Christian principles that this nation was founded on. The federal government is hijacking marriage, a uniquely religious institution, and they must be stopped. This is a nation founded on Christian values and the Bible is very clear on marriage – one man and one woman. Alabama’s state law banning gay marriage will prevent these benefits from being extended in Alabama, but our tax dollars will still go to support a lifestyle that we fundamentally disagree with.”
Of course any student of the Bible knows that Armistead’s views on marriage being between “one man and one woman” are not even close to true. In Genesis chapter 16 we read that Sarai gives her hand maid Hagar to Abram as his wife; Sarai was Abram’s first wife and by giving him Hagar she created a plural marriage.
In Genesis 25 we learn that Abram – now Abraham – takes another wife, this one’s name is Keturah. Let’s see, so far that makes three wives in this plurality.
In Genesis 30 Jacob marries Bilhah and Zilpah after already being married to Leah and Rachel. Seems like the Biblical definition of marriage being between “one man and one woman” isn’t quite so clear, now is it? Perhaps Mr. Armistead should pay a little more attention in Sunday school.
In Deuteronomy 21 the inheritance rights of children born into a plural marriage are established.
In Samuel 2 we read how David took his two wives, Ahinoam and Abigail with him when he went to Hebron.
In 1 Kings 11 we learn that Solomon had 700 wives – 700!
In 2 Chronicles 13 we can read how Abijah had fourteen wives.
FOX Huckster Mike Huckabee
“My thoughts on the SCOTUS ruling that determined that same sex marriage is okay: “Jesus wept.”
And this would be? Jesus wept because the Supreme Court of the United States upheld the Constitution? Of course He did Mike, of course He did; whatever. If Jesus is weeping it’s more likely because of the hate being spewed in His name by so-called Christians like yourself, and less likely based upon the Court’s decision to allow people freedom of choice in whom they will marry.
Congresswoman Michelle Bachman
“This decision is one that is profound because the Supreme Court not only attacked our Constitution today, they not only attacked the equal protection rights of every citizen under our Constitution, they attacked something that they have no jurisdiction over whatsoever, the foundational unit of our society, which is marriage.
“That is something that God created. That is something that God will define. The Supreme Court, though they may think so, have not risen to the level of God.”
How did the Court attack the Constitution? Was it by upholding it?
Marriage, by-the-way Congresswoman, IS regulated by the state, and hence the Court certainly DOES have jurisdiction over it.
And, since laws in this nation aren’t supposed to founded on the religious whims of fanatics like the soon to be retired Bachman, pointing out that her views of the legality of DOMA and Prop 8 are strictly religious in nature she helps make both mine and the Court’s point.
Senator Rand Paul
“If you change one variable — man and a woman to man and man, and woman and woman — you cannot then tell me that, you can’t logically tell me you can’t change the other variable — one man, three women. Uh, one woman, four men…. If I’m a devout Muslim and I come over here and I have three wives, who are you to say if I’m an American citizen, that I can’t have multiple marriages? I think this is the conundrum and gets back to what you were saying in the opening — whether or not churches should decide this. But it is difficult because if we have no laws on this people take it to one extension further. Does it have to be humans?”
Attacking the rulings from the point of view that it might lead to polygamy, and of course the inevitable far-right white bread Christian leap that it will lead to people marrying animals, which is such a leap it doesn’t deserve to be answered. But of course he couldn’t resist the dig at Islam, throwing out the fear card that this will lead to a Muslim state of polygamous Shariah law. His fear of course is that the First Amendment would, and in all reality should, protect the right of the Islamic belief of plural marriage, being a religious tenant. Funny how religion in America to these types only extends to their own narrow views of Christianity.
Bush says he’s “comfortable” with his legacy?
Former President George W. Bush has said during a recent interview with the Dallas Morning News he’s comfortable with his decision-making regarding the Iraq War.
“I’m confident the decisions were made the right way,” Bush explained. “It’s easy to forget what life was like when the decision was made.”
Actually, no it’s not; we were recovering from the 9-11 attack, troops in Afghanistan were closing in on Osama Bin Laden, our nation’s debt and deficit were nowhere near where you left them and U.S. troops hadn’t started torturing prisoners.
“I’m comfortable with what I did,” he said. “I’m comfortable with who I am.”
Well, that makes two people I suppose, you and Dick Cheney.
Bush’s legacy will be one of abject failure; he failed to keep American’s safe, ignoring intelligence reports prior to the attacks on 9-11; he failed to get Osama Bin Laden, and probably allowed him to escape into Pakistan when he invaded Iraq; he led the country off a fiscal cliff into the worse economic downturn since the Great Depression. He’s not just a failure however, he’s a delusional failure, there’s no other explanation for being “comfortable” with one of the worse presidencies in United States history.
How quickly they forget
I think it almost goes without saying that Republican Tea Party (GOTP) Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin is an idiot, and he most recently proved this point while making a big splash in the little pond of far-right American conservatism for his disrespectfully unprofessional heated confrontation with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during her testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
It was during that hearing this moron alleged President of the United States had “purposefully misled” about the nature of the Benghazi, Libya, terrorist attack on Sept. 11, 2012 that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.
What is there to mislead about Senator? It was a terrorist attack, by a small group of individuals, which killed four Americans on a consulate building which had inadequate security because the GOTP House had cut spending for such frivolous things. By-the-way, the President said it was a terrorist attack as soon as the very next day after the attack, but of course when it comes to GOTP Senators facts are merely inconveniences in today’s world.
Concerning Johnson’s open criticism; how quickly the weak minded forget what they’ve said in the past; in fact during his senate bid in 2010 against Democratic Senator Russ Feingold, a very outspoken critic of the Bush Administration’s mishandling of two wars, then candidate Johnson disapproved of criticizing foreign policy publicly when there are troops in the field. “There’s an appropriate way of opposing a policy and an inappropriate way,” he told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. “The appropriate way if I’m a U.S. senator is going to be not public. If I’m opposed to something, I’ll make those views known very, very well, but privately with the administration.”
Johnson obviously has forgotten he ever held such a view, and even called Secretary Clinton’s answers a “good excuse,” to which Clinton replied, “Well no, that’s a fact.”
Eventually the Secretary of State had enough of the Senator’s sophomoric behavior and told Johnson, “With all due respect, the fact is we had four dead Americans. Was it because of a protest or was it because of guys out for a walk last night who decided to kill some Americans? What difference at this point does it make? It is our job to figure out what happened and do everything we can to prevent it from ever happening again, Senator.”
“Senator” Johnson’s a bully plain and simple; he’s a disgrace and embarrassment in an ever growing long line of disgraceful and embarrassing conservatives currently serving Washington. But that’s OK; keep it up, eventually there’ll be enough sound bites and video clips for your next opponent to be able to show what an absolute waste of space you’ve been. The people of Wisconsin, and certainly the American deserve better than this.
NRA Robocalls Newtown residents?
According to news reports some moron at the National Rifle Association thought it was either a good idea, or maybe just funny, to make robocalls to residents of Newtown, Connecticut site of the infamous Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in December, and the states two senators were not amused.
- NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre
Senators Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy posted a letter to NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre demanding his organization stop making the calls.
Saying the calls “absolutely beyond the pale,” the two Democratic senators went further declaring the calls, which contained political messages attacking gun control, “open a wound that these families are still trying hard to heal.”
“You’d think [the NRA] could have scrubbed the list [of Newtown residents], just to be decent,” Newtown resident Tom Maurath told HuffPost. “Instead, you’re making an unsolicited call with no opt-out that my children could answer.”
Senator Blumenthal also reportedly wrote a blog post about the robocalls for Think Progress, saying, “NRA leadership demonstrated yet again last week just how low they are willing to go in their unconscionable effort to block any and all common sense, life saving gun violence legislation.”
Perhaps the NRA has overplayed its hand and enough people will take this latest affront to common decency as the opportunity to slap the group and its followers with real gun control – but I doubt it, the Democratic leadership in the Senate lacks any such courage.
NRA’s LaPierre’s claiming the President’s ‘Trying To Take Away’ Americans’ Guns?
According to his appearance, and subsequent spanking, on “FOX News Sunday”, Wayne LaPierre, executive vice president of the National Rifle Association (NRA) is accusing the President of the United States of wanting a universal gun registry, “trying to take away” guns and believing his children deserve security while others do not. The spanking then ensued at the hands of host Chris Wallace.
Wallace begin LaPierre’s comeuppance by asking the NRA “spokes head” to explain – if he could – the NRA’s video accusing President Barack Obama of wanting armed Secret Service Agents for his own children but allegedly opposing armed security for others. Wallace was quick to point out the President’s children face a larger threat than most – if gee, I don’t know? All other American children?
“Tell that to the people at Newtown,” LaPierre brazenly replied attempting to deflect the fact the so-called “right” for private citizens to own the XM-15 assault rifle used in the monstrous massacre of 20 first graders is being protected by his organization.
“Do you really think that the president’s children are the same kind of target as every schoolchild in America?” Wallace asked. “It’s ridiculous, and you know it, sir.”
LaPierre wasn’t able to defend his asinine argument so he attempted to change the subject by claiming while there could be more severe law enforcement against gangs, measures such as regulating certain semi-automatic weapons would have dire consequences. Just one problem Mssr LaPierre, gangs weren’t responsible for any of the mass shootings using assault rifles in America.
“If you limit the American public’s access to semi-automatic technology, you limit their ability to survive,” he weakly mewed. Because we’re likely to be invaded any minute by North Koreans, or perhaps you were referring to the conspiracy theory threat of the federal government coming to throw its citizens into secret prisons?
LaPierre also attempted to prophesy a universal gun registry’s next; a measure, Wallace reminded him, has not been proposed.
“Forgive me, sir, but you take something that is here and you say it’s going to go all the way over there,” Wallace said. “There’s no indication — I mean, I can understand your saying that’s the threat, but there’s nothing that anyone in the administration has said that indicates they’re going to have a universal registry.”
LaPierre’s falling back on the same old tried and true method of the uber-right, fear monger. You don’t need to tell the truth, you don’t need facts on your side, just fear monger. He’s a liar, and sooner or later the majority of Americans, members of the NRA, and hopefully the members of Congress will call him on it; hopefully before anymore of our children are lost.
The Liberty Tree 