Here they come, the most unpatriotic, most dispicable.....and they call themselves Patriots!

The Obama records which have not been released include; Passport records, Obama kindergarten records, Punahou School records, Occidental College records, Columbia University records, Columbia thesis, Harvard Law School records, Harvard Law Review articles, University of Chicago scholarly articles, Illinois State Bar Association records, Illinois State Senate records/schedules(said to be lost), Medical records, Obama/Dunham marriage license, Obama/Dunham divorce documents, Soetoro/Dunham marriage license, Adoption records and of course the long-form Certificate of Live Birth.

Look for websites like this one to ramp up the birther rhetoric in the next year.

This is the sure-fire way to keep Obama's name off the 2012 ballots!

Keep working patriots! Urge your state to do the same! Now is the time!

 "In the event we cannot remove the usurper from the current term, don't you think it is vital that we do everything in our power to keep him from running in 2012? God forbid we have to suffer through another year of 'campaign' speeches of hopey changy blah blah blah!

Yes he is sinking his own ship. However we must ensure his ship is destroyed with no hope of floating back to the surface. Take a lesson from the left, don't just promote your own candidates, destroy your opponent as well (legally)! In this case, we absolutely, positively must ensure that Obama won't even be our opponent, meaning, he won't run in 2012 (and ever after)!

To make sure that he won't run, we broadcast the truth that he is constitutionally ineligible. We make sure that his name will not be on the 2012 ballot even if he has the audacity to run again!

No matter what, Odevil will still have blind supporters in 2012. He still has gigantic war-chests, millions of bought voters (unless we manage to remove him prior), rigged voting machines and ACORN/labor union election fraudsters and Soros hand-picked SOS etc etc. If his name gets on the 2012 ballot, we will face a very difficult battle.

Sooooooooo

we better be armed to our teeth to keep his name off the 2012 ballot: (never too early to plot on this!)

1. educate voters, especially the Independents, that Obama is ineligible (seek help from (Globe?) to broadcast his lack of proof of US birth and his 'born a British' status etc.)
2. help/demand individual states to enact 'proof of constitutional eligibility for presidential candidates' legislation.
3. Make sure Congress passes the 'proof of citizenship' bill.
4. line up at DNC to demand proof of his constitutional eligibility before they can send the 'certification of nomination' to the states.
5. line up at every state's election office to demand same proof before his name can appear on the ballot.
6. Have rallies/marches to demand Obama show his constitutional eligibility (will the Tea Party and other group leaders agree to do this? If they don't, is it because they want another 4 years of Obama!?)...............

You get the idea.

So you see how vitally important it is to make sure people know Obama is ineligible so that they won't be deceived again? Removing him is the goal, but keeping his name off the 2012 is just as important!

If you have other better ideas to keep obama's name off the 2012 ballot, please share with us.

Conclusion:

If we want our own candidates elected, we must plan our strategy carefully and cover all bases. It is not enough to trumpet our own candidates, we must also destroy our opponents (legally and civilly), especially odevil, and  Hillary."

 Sounds like Tha Malcontent, huh?

Call me a partisan, call me an Obama-lover, I don't care....But when I read disgusting crap like this it makes my skin crawl. I have a hard time believing we have Americans with so much HATE for our POTUS. As we watch what is going on in Egypt it's so amazing our citizens can not put aside their partisan hate and stand proud of our country and what she stands for, which means respect the office of the president and our elected leader, President Barack Hussein Obama.

I'm confused, are you?

While Mom and I sit and watch the uproar going on in Egypt, she says this is what Sarah Palin wants in America. This is what Sharron Angle was talking about when she referred to second amendment rights, and Glenn Beck when he calls Obama a dictator hell bent on destroying America..."Shoot them in the head" Beck said about the evil liberals...

 I guess you can ask yourself, why aren't our unemployed citizens protesting in the streets of America?  Our government takes from the poor and gives to the rich, wouldn't you agree? Here's where it gets complicated... President Obama is NO dictator, yet some wingnuts call him that... Our government in fact does bend over backwards to please the rich, the banks, Wall St; while some in our government are fighting everyday to help those who are poor, needy, unemployed, homeless... with out help from those who are calling for a revolution, they want an armed and dangerous population, a rising up of US citizens against the big bad government takeover....we are indeed a very confused people...

Here's a good article from The Los Angeles Times...

A call to protest ignites a call to arms. The reaction to Frances Fox Piven's essay urging the unemployed to protest for change shows that we are no longer a democracy but a tyranny of the heavily armed.

January 26, 2011|By Barbara Ehrenreich Why are Americans such wusses? Threaten the Greeks with job losses and benefit cuts and they tie up Athens, but take away Americans' jobs, 401(k)s, even their homes, and they pretty much roll over. Tell British students that their tuition is about to go up and they take to the streets; American students just amp up their doses of Prozac.

SOTU

                                    THANK YOU MR. PRESIDENT, GREAT SPEECH!!!!        

Republicans this morning are criticizing the speech, so what's new...One guy said the "investing" the president talked about was just more of the same "spending money we don't have" rhetoric. What don't they get?? We need to invest in OUR COUNTRY!  We will find the money and put it where it should be! President Obama showed me last night how much we need a Democrat in office and how terrifying it would be to go back to the same ole same ole with a Rethuglican! Which BTW, the Republican on Morning Joe said Obama gave us the same old tired worn out plans... That my friends is psycho talk!!!      

 words used by President Obama last night......words used by Republicans.....doom, doom, doom, gloom, gloom, gloom, cut, cut, cut, no, no, no, stop, stop, stop.....yada yada yada.....

GOP, You had your turn, now SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP!!

Mitch McConnell said he would consider working with President Obama on the "really serious, seemingly intractable problems" we face in this country today...IF...he became one of them..meaning govern from the center, become a republican...... then bipartisanship should be no problem! McConnell says President Obama has signaled he is willing to come to the center and make deals with the Rethuglican-heavy Congress.

"If the president is willing to do what I and my members would do anyway, we're not going to say no," McConnell told an audience of journalists and political insiders at a breakfast meeting hosted by Politico in Washington today.

 Is this arrogance or ignorance? The Republicans have said these things before. They believe now that they have a House majority they can bully President Obama? President Obama has an agenda, he is a Democrat elected by a majority because the majority wanted a Democrat in office, NOT a Republican.  Do the GOPPERS not understand this?  They have consistently said the voters sent a message to Obama in November, the voters want Obama to change course and listen to the Republicans.. NO, NO, NO! that is NOT what happened!!!!

IT'S ARROGANCE!!!

Tuesday night, gonna be a big one!

Watching Ed Schultz at 10pm tonight. I can't miss Ed, but this move to 10 is gonna hurt me for awhile.....

Looking forward to President Obama's State of the Union speech tomorrow night. Will he draw a line in the sand when it comes to Social Security and Medicare? Yea, I think so.... I'm ready for a kick ass speech!

I implore you, watch Paul Ryan speak for the Rethuglicans after the presidents speech. Ryan's "roadmap" for America is dangerous to say the least. This guy is hell bent on destroying Social Security and Medicare as we know it. This will be a must see speech.

Michelle Bachmann will be on the web speaking for the teabaggers.....is it a must hear speech?? Well, if you love this woman and think she should run for POTUS, then don't miss her words LOL!!

A loaded night Tuesday, don't miss a minute of it!  BTW.....Speaker Boner, where are the jobs?.....(just fillin' in for Keith)

Ani Difranco - Swan Dive

I cannot get enough of Ani at the moment....

This comes from her blindingly good album 'Little Plastic Castle.' I am gutted that I will be unable to see her in London this week... One day... One day....

Candlemas

Here's the Wordle of Sunday's Gospel reading from Luke 2:22-40:


When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, ‘Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord’), and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, ‘a pair of turtle-doves or two young pigeons.’ ²³²⁴

25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon;^* this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah.^* Guided by the Spirit, Simeon^* came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the law, Simeon^* took him in his arms and praised God, saying,

‘Master, now you are dismissing your servant^* in peace,
according to your word;
for my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel.’ ^{26272829303132}

33 And the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. Then Simeon^* blessed them and said to his mother Mary, ‘This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed—and a sword will pierce your own soul too.’ ³⁴³⁵

36There was also a prophet, Anna^* the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, having lived with her husband for seven years after her marriage, then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshipped there with fasting and prayer night and day. At that moment she came, and began to praise God and to speak about the child^*3738 to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.

When they had finished everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favour of God was upon him. ⁴⁰

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I am very struck by Simeon's opening words about departing in peace because of the fulfillment of God's promises in and through this child. The promises he refers to are those of salvation for all people and of light (illumination and guidance) for all.

I am also struck by how this may or may not may be connected to the name given to the child - Jesus - which literally means God (YHWH) saves (delivers).

Purely Symbolic and Totally a Waste of our Time...

The symbolic vote to repeal the health care bill passed in the House today, Harry Reid says he will not bring it up in the Senate, GOOD FOR YOU HARRY REID!!  Today's vote did one important thing, it showed Americans exactly who the GOP is and whose side they are on.
If you missed the debate on C-Span take a look at this clip of Rep. George Miller D-California, I love this guy. His speech was one of my favorites of the day!



I can't believe we are back here once again talking about health insurance. As I watched those GOP House members come to the microphone and LIE about "a government takeover of health care" I was stunned they are still using that LIE, That LINE, That rethug talking point...IT IS SICKENING! Listen up Republicans, There is NO PUBLIC OPTION, There is no government takeover of our hospitals, The parts of the bill already in effect rely largely on the free market!

PolitiFact chose  “government takeover of health care” as the 2010 Lie of the Year. Uttered by dozens of politicians and pundits, it played an important role in shaping public opinion about the health care plan and was a significant factor in the Democrats’ shellacking in the November elections.

Readers of PolitiFact, the St. Petersburg Times’ independent fact-checking website, also chose it as the year’s most significant falsehood by an overwhelming margin. (Their second-place choice was Rep. Michele Bachmann’s claim that Obama was going to spend $200 million a day on a trip to India)


Does this sound like a government takeover??
1. Employers will continue to provide health insurance to the majority of Americans through private insurance companies.
2. Contrary to the claim, more people will get private health coverage. The law sets up “exchanges” where private insurers will compete to provide coverage to people who don’t have it.
3. The government will not seize control of hospitals or nationalize doctors.
4. The law does not include the public option, a government-run insurance plan that would have competed with private insurers.
5. The law gives tax credits to people who have difficulty affording insurance, so they can buy their coverage from private providers on the exchange. But here too, the approach relies on a free market with regulations, not socialized medicine.

The Rethuglicans still claim a government takeover is exactly what Obama planned, and the provision that requires Americans to buy insurance is proof, BUT the citizens will be buying their insurance from private insurers, which BTW will increase business for insurance companies......   so where's the logic? There is NO logic when it comes to the GOP.

There is NO equivalency....

There is NO Progressive equivalent to the hateful violent rhetoric coming from the right......

There is no leftist equivalent to the Council of Conservative Citizens (CCC), a group which was created from the mailing list of the old white supremacist White Citizens Councils,

There is no leftist equivalent to Glenn Beck, longtime user of eliminationist rhetoric, including equating universal healthcare to rape, joking about victims of forest fires being America-hating liberals, comparing Al Gore to Hitler, condoning the murder of Michael Moore, accusing Holocaust survivor George Soros of being a Nazi collaborator, joking about poisoning Nancy Pelosi, equating immigration reform with burning US citizens alive, publicly endorsing violent revolution, and winkingly telling his viewers not to get violent,

There is no leftist equivalent to Bill O'Reilly, he  has lied about and stalked his critics, said that

progressive bloggers should be dealt with "with a hand grenade," said Air America hosts were traitors and should be "put in chains," as well as: "And if Al Qaeda comes [to San Francisco] and blows you up, we're not going to do anything about it. We're going to say, look, every other place in America is off limits to you, except San Francisco. You want to blow up the Coit Tower? Go ahead."

There is no leftist equivalent to Pat "The feminist agenda is not about equal rights for women. It is about a socialist, anti-family political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism, and become lesbians" Robertson, host of The 700 Club,

There is no leftist equivalent to the Minutemen and other radical and eliminationist-spewing anti-immigration groups, some of whom have been subcontracted to work the border by the US government.

There is no leftist equivalent to radical and eliminationist-spewing anti-choice groups, who openly target doctors and call for their assassinations—and had a success just last year in the murder of Dr. George Tiller—and whose leaders get featured in whitewashing profiles in the Washington Post.


I know the righties won't read this Alternet article, it's a great one pointing out the wingnuts hateful rhetoric while also saying the left is not without their extremists. But you can not equate the 2 sides and that is a fact, not just my humble opinion. There is NO left equivalent to Sarah Palin, Michelle Bachmann, Michelle Malkin, Ann Coulter... that's a fact. Sarah Palin likes to talk about the crosshairs map of hers saying it originated with the left, while not once pulling back and denouncing that kind of violent advertising. She says she has no intentions of shutting up, she will continue speaking out against the presidents policies as she has been doing, so I guess she takes no responsibility for the political atmosphere today. Thank you John McCain for introducing the country to Sarah Palin, the country will forever be changed, and NOT for the better. Her divisive attitude has permeated our politics. While the right claims Obama ran a campaign on bringing the country together but failed miserably, they have made it a priority to tear us apart. While President Obama has been reaching out to all citizens no matter their party affiliation, the right has maintained they will never take his hand, they will not work with the left to quiet the hate and violent rhetoric. They thrive on that kind of talk....that is who they are... guess we have to get used to it.

Living God's Love

Below is the short version of the sermon that the Bishop of St Albans preached across the Diocese this morning and the transcript of the longer version.

The sermon marks the launching of the new vison for the Diocese of St. Albans - Living God's Love - which sees God challenge us with a three point vision:

To go deeper into God - to renew and resource our faith in Him who calls us
To transform our communities - to see that faith and resurrection life, spill out of our lives and impact the places and people in which we live/work
To make new disciples - to share the life transforming news of the Gospel with others and invite them on a lifelong journey with God...

One of the loveliest verses in the Old Testament is found in the Prophet Isaiah where God says to his people

‘Can a woman forget her nursing child, or show no compassion for the child of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands’ (Isaiah 49.16).

Many people think that God is remote, living far away from us in the heavens removed from our daily lives. But this verse speaks of a God who knows us and who loves us, just as a mother loves her little baby – and there’s no stronger love than that. This is the God who binds himself to us in a covenant - a sure and enduring commitment - of love and fidelity. He holds out his hands to welcome us into his loving embrace.

Yesterday hundreds of Christians gathered in the Cathedral to launch our new vision for the Diocese of St Albans, which builds on the success of Vision for Action. But what does it mean for us to ‘live God’s love’ today? It begins when we respond to his open hands which are beckoning to us to go deeper into God – to discover more of the beauty, the holiness, the grace and
the truth of the God who has made us and who wants to draw us to himself.

When you meet someone whose life is deeply rooted in God there is something both immensely attractive about them but also somethingthat makes you stop and pause. Attractive because the grace of God has so worked in and through them that they are no longer driven by their
personal ambitions. They don’t have to impose on others or to justify themselves. They have an inner freedom and contentment that is almost tangible. They have an openness to others and a transparency of goodness which draws us in.

But such people can also be daunting because when we meet them we come face to face with an example of what God can do in you and me if we dare to open ourselves up to his grace. But that might involve change and that can be threatening.

We are told that Jesus had that same combination. He was both attractive yet there was also something daunting about him. Crowds flocked to him because they recognised something in him that spoke of the presence of God. John the Baptist instinctively knew that this was someone very special. He points to Jesus and said, ‘Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!’

It’s a strange thing to say – to call Jesus ‘the Lamb of God’ but it looks forward to his crucifixion, to the time when those young carpenter’s hands will be nailed to the cross, his palms scarred by rough nails.

For Jesus, going deeper into God’s love was costly, it involved a real dying to his own ambitions and allowing God to raise him to new life. It is this same dying to self which leads us deeper into God. We will never even begin to understand the love of God except through the cross.

The cross reminds us that we are imperfect human beings. However hard we try we can never become holy enough in our own strength to enter into the presence of God. There is no ladder of good works which reaches up high enough to get us into heaven. But the wonderful thing
about the cross is that we don’t have to embark on a process of self improvement. We don’t have to pretend to ourselves or to others that we are especially good or holy or pious. We don’t have to climb up to God, because he has already clambered down to us.

When we know – deep in our guts - that God reaches out to us, that we are his beloved children, then we can joyfully abandon ourselves into his love. As the old hymn puts it

O the deep, deep love of Jesus, vast, unmeasured, boundless, free!
Rolling as a mighty ocean in its fullness over me!
Underneath me, all around me, is the current of Thy love
Leading onward, leading homeward to Thy glorious rest above!

And then there’s transforming communities – if we are going to Live God’s Love then we cannot hold on to it for ourselves. The love of God has to flow out, touching the lives of those around us. Jesus did just this as he reached out his hands to those around. We are told ‘Then people brought little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them’ (Matthew 19.13) and ‘At sunset, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one, he healed them ‘ (Luke 4.40).

As I have been travelling around the diocese I have witnessed many places where Christians are lending a hand and making a real and tangible difference. This has always been the defining feature of the Christian faith. There has been some fascinating research undertaken by an American academic, Rodney Stark, into the way that Christianity took the ancient world by storm in the first three centuries. Very often historians say that the reason that Christianity grew was because of the promise of a better life after death.

Having reviewed all the ancient sources Rodney Stark concluded: The power of Christianity lay not in its promise of other-worldly compensations for suffering in this life, as has so often been proposed. No, the crucial change that took place in the third century was the rapidly spreading awareness of a faith that delivered potent antidotes to life’s miseries here and now! The truly revolutionary aspect of Christianity lay in moral imperatives such as ‘Love one’s neighbour as oneself’…These were not just slogans. Members did nurse the sick, even during epidemics; they
did support orphans, widows, the elderly, and the poor; they did concern themselves with the lot of slave. In short, Christians created, “a miniature welfare state in an empire which for the most part lacked social services”.

Of course, we cannot do this alone. There are so many challenges and opportunities that we could easily be overwhelmed. But by joining hand with Christians of other denominations – and indeed with anyone of goodwill – we can make a real difference.

And then there is making new disciples. When John the Baptist pointed Andrew and his companion away from himself and directing them towards Jesus, they found him with hands
outstretched, inviting them ‘Come’.

We do not make new disciples by asking people to join a religious club. Instead we have to point people away from ourselves: ‘See, the lamb of God’ and we direct them to Jesus Christ, who stands with open hands ready to welcome them.

Making new disciples is not simply a recruitment drive because we want a bigger church. It is handing on the baton of the faith to the next generation. Henri Nouwen said that when we share our faith we need to

Remain convinced without being rigid
Willing to confront without being officious
Gentle and forgiving without being soft
A true witness without being manipulative
Conveying above all else in our very presence the love that is Christ

We are to so witness and pray that others will catch the vision of what it is to Live God’s Love with open hands.

As we launch Living God’s Love will you respond to the welcoming hands of God to go deeper into his love? Will you go out in his name with open hands? And will you work with me in making new disciples, pointing others to Jesus Christ, the One who alone can quell our fears
and fulfil our deepest hopes?

Living God, draw us deeper into your love;
Jesus our Lord, send us to care and serve;
Holy Spirit, make us heralds of good news.
Stir us, strengthen us,
teach and inspire us to live your love
with generosity and joy,
imagination and courage;
for the sake of your world
and in the name of Jesus, Amen.

Come all ye "End Times" Christians and ye Athiests

My brother was just here, a heated argument ensued, he tells me this is not a right or left issue but it is "End Times" and I better get out my Bible and read the message. He told me the exact number of prophesies and the ones that have been fulfilled, he says we are nearing the fulfilling of all which will then bring on the rapture. SO... my friends... all this world wide mess going on, the US turning into a bankrupt socialistic country, which BTW he says is the fault of both parties, is this the actual word and prophesy of God, or is it nonsense? He says God put Barack Obama in power, all that is happening with the jobs leaving, the middleclass dying, the country going to hell in a handbasket are because of the policies put in place since the election of Obama. He says we have turned our backs on God, this is the problem. He also mention Chavez, Venezuela, Soviet Union and socialism, Medicare, welfare....yada yada yada

Give me your truth. Tell me why I should be looking to the skies for signs or just looking at the blue sky and puffy white clouds....

I'm taking off moderation so the comments can flow. But a message to trolls including lisa and pals, your comments will be deleted so don't bother.

A time for unity??

Last night President Obama called for unity, he called for civility in our debates. I do agree, BUT... I can't help but feel that ONCE AGAIN Democrats have to come to the plate, be the adults in the room and BACK DOWN!! Why do we have to constantly retreat and cower to the holier than thou conservatives?? For the past 3 years we have endured horrible lies, distortions and criticisms from those hypocrite Republicans!! Why do we have to take that and turn around and be civil Mr. President?? We have heard our president ridiculed, called every sick and nasty name in the book. His beautiful wife mocked, laughed at, portrayed as an ape.....even the Obama children have been made fun of.  So why do we have to cower to those thugs, to unify, to try and play nice with each other.... I SAY NO MR. PRESIDENT, I will NOT! As long as the righties feel they can be hateful  and disrespectful to my party and to Americas president then I will not calm my partisan viewpoints.

During President Obamas address to the nation, we hear YOU LIE in the Republican side of the room, how disrespectful, how degrading! We also witness a Supreme Court Justice shake his head and mouth the words THAT'S A LIE! Never in our history has that happened. Those Republicans show no respect for our president. If such disrespect happened under a Republican president the Dems would be lambasted!


Joe Scarborough this morning shows a clip of Jon Stewart speaking with Tim Pawlenty about Glenn Beck. Scarborough and Stewart are so Right on this issue of Republican hypocrisy!

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

 Joe said this on his Tuesday show talking about Beck....
"I have a lot of family members that listen to him and watch him and are frightened by the things that he says every night with his chalkboard...my mom and a lot of other people like her that watch him every day start to believe if they hear every day, every day, that there's this guy in Washington D.C., this black guy that hates all white people and he wants to take your money . . . and he wants to destroy the country you grew up in. You feed that vile message to Americans every day, it's going to have an impact."

I like Joe, he's the only one speaking from the right who speaks the truth about conservative rhetoric crossing the line of civility.

Mr. President I hear you, I understand where you are coming from, but until I see changes from the right wingers you won't see any change coming from this blogger. Somebody has to stand up to those thugs!

UPDATE: Immoral Minority proves my point! Here are the live tweets from Tammy Bruce, conservative Palin lover, during last nights memorial service...

Live tweeting Obama's Massacre Rally Theatre
13 hours ago via web

Urkel and Mrs. Urkel have walked in, applause like they're rock stars. Amazing.
13 hours ago via web

OMG, the "Native American" says he's Mexican and the crowd goes wild. Whistles, hoots, cheers.
13 hours ago via web

Urkel is mouthing the words of the anthem, I think the Big Elbow of Karma may have moved into his vicinity
13 hours ago via web

Once again Urkel has found his props--a bunch of murdered people.
12 hours ago via web

It's just a little weird to see The Urkels try so hard to look...like they care.
12 hours ago via web

Oh I see! The Obama Admin are the New Priests. Holder also reading fro Bible. Shouldn't they be reading from Mao's Little Red Book?
12 hours ago via web

Did TOTUS fail? He keeps looking at his notes
12 hours ago via web

This is why Obama should not have gone--he turned it into a circus because he needed it to be "his Oklahoma City."
12 hours ago via web

Once again Urkel has found his props--a bunch of murdered people.
12 hours ago via web

The crowd reaction is making this more like grief porn instead of a memorial. Something is very wrong here
12 hours ago via web

This man has no shame. "If this tragedy prompts reflection and debate--as it should--lets make sure it's worthy of those we have lost"
12 hours ago via web

Obama *used* Giffords opening her eyes as an *applause line*. Saying it over and over again. Stunning.
12 hours ago via web

Chris Wallace also thinks the speech was great. I guess the Dems were right, Obama did need mass murder to rally his base
11 hours ago via web

I rest my case...

President Barack Obama spoke tonight.....

Our President spoke at the memorial service in Arizona for the victims of Saturdays shooting rampage. His words were comforting to the families and to all Americans...

He spoke with elegance and grace..... he has a great love for our country and the people, it showed tonight....he spoke about the victims, about the heros, and about those who are recovering ... Gabrielle Giffords opened her eyes for the first time today!

He showed me tonight why I am proud to have Barack Obama as my president. Beautifully done Mr. President, Beautifully done....

the truth of the matter...

There are many conservatives this week accusing liberals of jumping to conclusions about the Arizona shooter, whether or not this murderer was influenced by rightwing hate. They say it's not fair to blame people on the right. They say how can there be a connection when this man was infatuated with Hitler, hell he was a pot smoking lefty....according to classmates....they say.

Remember, it's the conservatives, the tea party, who are showing such disdain for our government,  they are the party spewing the anti government rhetoric (just like the shooter), it is their tea party princess with the cross hair decorated map targeting Democratic Congressmen and women, it is their precious patriotic tea party members showing up at rallies with guns strapped to their legs,  and holding signs that show guns with violent wording, it's conservative candidates running for office who offer a chance to shoot a gun with them, it's not the liberal candidates doing that...

Remember the HC bill vote, our Republican members of Congress stood on the balcony of the people's House holding the Don't Tread on Me flag, practically inciting a riot, whipping the teabaggers into a frenzy with their hate speeches! Oh but that's good and fine because first amendment rights and all that.....

Remember Texas Gov. Rick Perry and his stance against the government, threatening secession because of taxation, spending, and debt?  Oh yea he loved firing up those teabaggers at the big Texas rallies.

 And the patriotic conservative Chuck Norris who said he might run for president of Texas....
I may run for president of Texas he said, “That need may be a reality sooner than we think. If not me, someone someday may again be running for president of the Lone Star state, if the state of the union continues to turn into the enemy of the state.”The actor claimed “thousands of cell groups will be united around the country in solidarity over the concerns for our nation” and said that if states decide to secede from the union, that Texas would lead the way.
“Anyone who has been around Texas for any length of time knows exactly what we'd do if the going got rough in America".

Remember rightwing hysteria during the HC debates, the town halls where seniors would stand up and scream "Keep your hands off my Medicare!" The death panel lies, this sort of fearmongering turns ordinary civil citizens into raving maniacs. Beck, Limbaugh, Palin..all guilty of stirring up fear and hysteria. This is what could turn a mentally ill person into a murderer. Far fetched you say? If a person targets a political figure, then most likely they are mad at government, right? So take rightwing radio hosts talking dirt on our president and the Democrats in Congress, the liberal agenda they call socialism,  Fox news lies, and you have an ill person soaking it all up, taking it all in and believing....

So see, these few examples of rightwing hysteria are just the sort of thing that can take a mentally unstable person and turn him into a murder. I don't say rightwing fearmongering was a motive for the murderous rampage, I say these examples of hysterical anti-government revolt seep into the brains of the mentally ill and become truth even when it's nowhere near the truth.

Evil Marches On......Rightwing media is to blame

Jared Loughner identifies himself, through his YouTube video, as an anti-Federal Government, ‘Original’ Constitutionalist, angry at the U.S. Armed Force’s Christian proselytizing, and convinced of a government plan to brainwash citizens through grammar.  His posted ramblings are indicative of a deeply unstable personality, pushed to the limits by anti-government fear-mongering, and political environment, that has been teetering on the edge of violence since a black man was elected to the office of President.
Somewhere between his interpretation of the Communist Manifesto (which I’m sure the Right-Wing media will use to label him as a Left-Wing assailant, rather than a simply, and thoroughly, disturbed individual), and Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf – along with an assortment of other conspiracy theories rolled in – Jared Loughner developed his ‘conscience dreaming,’ anti-government , grammar-as-brainwashing ideas.  An act of deadly violence committed by a seriously wounded psyche such as this, encouraged by statements from politicians and media personalities justifying violence, was more than simply a vague potentiality.

The conservatives who are out in force defending their own are not looking at this with wide open eyes and minds. The Fox people have been ramping up the antigovernment hate JUST since the election of Barack Obama. That IS FACT. No other network TV show would allow it's hosts to get away with this kind of talk. How many more have to die before the Becks and Palins, Angles and Limbaughs, admit the violence comes from the mentally deranged who blindly follow their every word and command. DO NOT RETREAT...RELOAD. The first commandment in todays political arena....it's coming from rightwingers...

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords WAS THE TARGET...

It's too soon for me to speak about motive in the killing of 6 people and the wounding of Gabby Giffords in Arizona today, but I will put up for you the press release of  Pima County Sheriff Clarence W. Dupniks opinion......

Sheriff Dupniks offered an emotional, angry assessment of the state of America in the wake of the shootings in Arizona, saying that two of his close friends -- Ms. Giffords and Judge John Roll - were among the victims.
Mr. Dupnik called the shooting a "very sad day for Tucson" and a "horrendous, horrendous, senseless, unbelievable crime." And then he blamed the crime on the rhetoric -- presumably political rhetoric -- in the country.
"When you look at unbalanced people, how they respond to the vitriol that comes out of certain mouths about tearing down the government," he said. "The anger, the hatred, the bigotry that goes on this country is getting to be outrageous and unfortunately Arizona has become sort of the capital. We have become the Mecca for prejudice and bigotry."
Mr. Dupnik said it is time for the country to "do a little soul searching."
He added: "The vitriolic rhetoric that we hear day in and day out from people in the radio business and some people in the TV business ... This has not become the nice United States that most of us grew up in."
Later, he said: "It's not unusual for all public officials to get threats constantly, myself included. That's the sad thing about what's going on in America: pretty soon we're not going to be able to find reasonable decent people willing to subject themselves to serve in public office."

Of course Sheriff Dupnik is speaking about rightwing radio and cable TV hosts. Let me add to that group SARAH PALIN and her map of targeted Congressmen and women.  Conservatives like Glenn Beck warned the people violence is coming and it's coming from the left. Sorry GB, you and your ilk have blood on your hands and they will only get bloodier unless you stop the government bashing. GOVERNMENT bashing is what is bringing these mentally ill individuals out of the closet and into crowds with their fuckin precious GUNS! That's all I'm gonna say for now.....

Not only are they stupid, they are liars too...

The Rethuglicans don't care about reducing the deficit, how can they when their very first vote in the House will be a vote to repeal the healthcare reform bill?!  Repeal of the HC bill will ADD at least 230 billion to the deficit over the next 10 years, this is a CBO estimate which the GOP ignores.  The GOP are still trying to convince you the people want them to repeal the HC bill, amazing since Americans love the new provisions like keeping their kids on their plans til age 26, not being dropped from coverage should you get sick, no denying coverage because of preexisting conditions, tax credits to small businesses that cover their employees.

From Salon...Republicans on the healthcare repeal warpath might want to take a hard look at a recent Los Angeles Times article reporting a surprising -- to the insurers -- uptick in the number of small businesses offering health insurance to their employees. The businesses are taking advantage of a tax break in the Affordable Care Act that is designed specifically for enterprises with fewer than 25 employees and moderate pay scales.

"We certainly did not expect to see this in this economy," said Gary Claxton, who oversees an annual survey of employer health plans for the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation. "It's surprising."
... In the six months after the law was signed in March, UnitedHealth Group Inc., the country's largest insurer, added 75,000 new customers who work for companies with fewer than 50 employees. The Minnesota company called the increase notable but declined to reveal further details.
Coventry Health Care Inc., an insurer in Maryland that focuses on small businesses, signed contracts to cover 115,000 new workers in the first nine months of this year, an 8 percent jump.
In California, Warner Pacific Insurance Services in Westlake Village, a major servicer of insurance brokers, has seen business grow more than 10 percent this year, a company executive said.
And Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas City, the largest insurer in the Kansas City, Mo., area, is reporting a 58 percent jump in the number of small businesses buying insurance since April, the first full month after the legislation was signed into law.

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius warned on Tuesday that repeal of the health-care overhaul law would not only add to the deficit but would also bring back the "worst abuses of the insurance industry." Her remarks came in a telephone press conference with regional reporters in response to a potential early vote by House Republicans to scrap the landmark Affordable Care Act. She said the agency would send Congress a letter on Wednesday showing how Americans are adapting to the first steps taken to carry out the law. She expressed confidence that the law would prevail because she says Americans are now seeing its benefits. She suggested that Republicans needed to have conversations with their constituents to appreciate those benefits. Republicans have argued that Congress overstepped its powers by enacting the law, and that the law itself would add to the deficit. In Washington, incoming House Majority Leader Eric Cantor defended the GOP's upcoming effort to repeal the health-care law, reported the Washington Post, saying, "The American people are expecting quick action from the Republican majority." Sebelius said legal challenges are likely to end in a series of "mixed rulings" over years. She added that two key rulings so far have sided with the law. Another took issue with one provision, the insurance mandate, but did not call for a complete dismantling of the law. She said the Congressional Budget Office's study found that the law would save $1 trillion, adding that the number refutes GOP arguments that the law would add to the deficit. "There is no question that repeal would be a huge step backward that we can't afford," she said. She said her agency would distribute state-by-state data on how the law has benefited individuals, families, seniors and small businesses. She says the data would "show what will happen if Republican leaders in Congress got their way and the law was repealed." She singled out Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas City as an example of how the new law had brought relief to businesses and workers. The insurer, she said, had already enrolled more than 9,000 new members who are insured through 400 employers. About one-third of the new members didn't have health coverage before, she said, and have it now because of tax credits that make it possible for small businesses to help workers get health coverage. In her home state of Kansas, she said, 50 employers and unions have been able to maintain health coverage for early retirees because of the act's early retiree reinsurance program. "If repeal succeeds, it would put care for those retirees in serious jeopardy," she said. She said repeal also would mean 16,000 young Kansans would lose health insurance under their parents' health plans "We know that countless people would continue to see their premiums rise without new rules that now limit the amount of health-care premium dollars that insurers can spend on administrative costs, like marketing and CEO salaries," she says. She added that 30,000 seniors in Kansas had received $250 checks to cover the so-called doughnut hole in prescription drug coverage. This year, she said these seniors would get 50 percent discounts on brand name drugs. "Repeal would take tax credits away from 4 million small businesses," she said, adding that "what's happening in Kansas we can see replicated across the country. We can't afford to take benefits away from families, to bring back all of the worst practices of the insurance industry, to deny coverage to 32 million and add a trillion to the deficit by the end of the next decade." She said Republicans needed to look at the evidence that "reforms are working for millions of Americans." She said HHS would continue carrying out the law and added, "What we intend to do is focus on continuing to implement the law effectively, improving it where we can." SMALL BUSINESS MAJORITY SURVEY Also on Tuesday, the Small Business Majority released a poll showing that the health-reform law would make most of them more likely to provide health insurance for their workers. The organization, a national nonprofit advocacy group for small businesses, said the survey included 619 business owners with fewer than 50 workers. It said 33 percent of businesses that don't offer insurance said they'd be more likely to do so because of the tax credits. To qualify for the credits, the businesses must have fewer than 25 workers whose average annual wages must be under $50,000. The law allows small businesses to get tax credits of up to 35 percent of their health insurance costs, beginning in the 2010 tax year. "These findings are very encouraging," said John Arensmeyer, CEO of Small Business Majority. The poll found that only 31 percent of small business owners were familiar with the insurance exchanges. Insurance exchanges, which go into effect in 2014, will allow small businesses and individuals to band together to buy insurance. Among the survey's other findings: 33 percent of respondents said they would be more likely to offer health insurance because of insurance exchanges. 31 percent said the tax credits would make them more likely to continue providing insurance.  Republicans aren't listening to the American people, if they were they would be voting on improving the HC reform bill, not trying to repeal it. The GOP is playing to the teabaggers, who by the way have been awfully quiet these past few months. Even the teabaggers are full of shit, read the reports, the bill reduces the deficit. Isn't that what the tea party is supposed to be about? How do you explain that one lisa??

We are a shameful, shameful nation of greed and hate...

Something is terribly wrong in our country when the public service workers are losing their average wage jobs while Wall Street fat cats are swimming in their billions. We thought it would change under President Obama but so far, no change.....All we keep hearing from the Republicans is denigration of union workers.....The rich in this country abhor the working class Americans who just want a decent job with a decent pay......

Republicans are STUPID.....

 Oh Nancy, do ya have to hand over the gavel to THAT????

Those dumb Republicans, standing and cheering on John Boehner today. Ya gotta pity them, they really don't have a formidable leader, someone with a little brain power. They keep saying they are listening to the American people but they are not. They don't care what the people want, they care about power. The next 2 years will be more than enough time to prove that. The next 2 years will also show us the real Barack Obama. Will he cave to the GOP demands or will he use his veto power when they throw repeal after repeal at him?  It's gonna be an extremely interesting two years, I'm ready for it.

The Republican Party is not only stupid, I think they are fractured. Here's proof the Republican Party is broken, they are out in LaLa Land, there is not a single credible Republican who can hold a candle to President Barack Obama.....

Michele Bachmann??? PRESIDENT of the greatest nation on Earth?? Sarah Palin?? PRESIDENT??

According to ABC News, Tea Party maven Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) is “seriously weighing whether to seek Republican nomination for president in 2012.” Bachmann will travel to Iowa to meet with “political forces” and “party elders close to the caucus process” before making her final decision.

This has to be a joke. NO??  I don't care how much you conservatives hate Barack Obama, if you put Palin or Bachmann up against President Obama in a debate look for your party to be humiliated and irrelevant for decades to come. Go Ahead, make our day....

Romney, Huckabee, Jindal, Pence, Palin, Gingrich, Bachmann........has it ever been more clear, Republicans are STUPID. These people don't scare me. They want you to believe they are a force to be reckoned with but no,  they are counting on fear and stupidity to steal some power, I don't believe Americans are that stupid.....

Epiphany!

Happy New Year! A warm welcome to Rectory Musings in 2011. Things have been quiet here as I have been blogging on my Five Minutes' Space blog for Advent, but it is good to be back here.

To kick things off - below is a wordle of the Gospel reading for the Feast of the Epiphany on 6th January, which comes from Matthew 2:1-12...

In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men^* from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, ‘Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising,^* and have come to pay him homage.’ When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah^* was to be born. They told him, ‘In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet: “And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd^* my people Israel.” ’ ²³⁴⁵⁶

7 Then Herod secretly called for the wise men^* and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, ‘Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.’ When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising,^* until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped,^* they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure-chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

I am struck in the wordle how the words Bethlehem, Herod, child and homage stand out. God's coming among us happens at a certain time, in a certain place, but in history. In this case, in Bethlehem. His coming among us happens not in majesty and power, but in the vulnerability and yet simplicity of a child waiting to be loved and to love back.

As VAT rises. As credit card bills arrive, as we struggle into January we have a choice still - to whom do we wish to pay homage? Herod - the people and institutions who exercise power amongst us, or this child - who offers us the riches and security we long for, deep down...

Hello Mr. President, what's happening??

I GOT NUTTIN' TO SAY.......

 
EXCEPT I MISS MY BLOG AND MY BLOGGY FRIENDS SOOOOO MUCH!!

I HOPE TO BE BACK THIS WEEK WITH SOME THUG BASHING, BEEN WAY... TO..... LONG!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!