Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Even more misc. news

More miscellaneous news for you to munch on...

The Prez sneaks one in
During a G-8 summit meeting, your president apparently ran up behind German Chancellor Angela Merkel and gave her a quick massage; much to her chagrin. So now he's using world summit meetings to make unwanted advances at women, huh?
Will somebody pul-lease give this guy a little oral attention so that we can impeach him already. Sheesh!

Putin lays the smackdown on the Prez
Speaking of the G-8 conference, did anyone else watch the video where Russian president Vladimir Putin pulled Dubya's pants down in front of everybody during the press Q&A session? I wouldn't do any justice by trying to explain it. See it for yourself.

Seeing how just about every world leader thinks that Bush is a blithering idiot, I'm wondering how people in places like Mexico and the UK feel knowing that their leaders actually worship this guy.

Bush gets recorded cussing at a G-8 lunch
As if Bush's other G-8 antics didn't have the world smacking itself on the forehead, apparently your president was recorded saying that Syria should pressure Hezbollah to "stop doing this [expletive]"; regarding the rise in violence in the Middle east.

As funny as this story is, I can't really blame him for this one. But, as the leader of 'the free world', and allegedly a champion for peace, democracy, and diplomacy, how does it look when comments like this go from off the record to on the record?

A connection between race and politics?
This is a pretty old article, but I think it's worth mentioning anyway. This article points out a study which suggests a sociological connection between political affliation and hidden biases. But, as compelling of an article as this was, I really don't need a study like this to tell me that people who vote Republican are more likely to have racist tendencies. I mean, even many black Conservatives appear to have disdain for anything that is 'black' (or, to use the proper vernacular, "urban").

Last month, I was watching a special on A&E that mentioned that many whites became Republican after the OJ Simpson trial. If this is true, this further supports the idea of a racist, elitist Republican system. Now, pul-lease don't think that I'm implying that Democrats are the good guys here. They're just as culpable. Except, they participate in -- what I call -- unenlightened racism. I discussed this notion in a previous post, when I mentioned that MLK had more of an issue with white do-nothing liberals than he did with blantantly racist conservatives. I'm passing the blame all around...

Church builds a Christian Statue of Liberty
I didn't learn about this one until just now; but apparently a church in Memphis just built what they call a "Statue of Liberation", a 72-foot tall Christian Statue of Liberty. I wish I was making this up...

This $2.5 million 'Statue of Liberation' is designed similarly to the Statue of Liberty, except that the Liberty torch is replaced by a cross, and the "give me your tired, your poor...etc." inscription is replaced by Roman numerals for the Ten Commandments.

Ignorant stuff like this (or, let's say building multi-million dollar life centers, and buying new carpet and pews for your church, while the community is in rumbles) makes me wonder why I even bother fooling around with churches these days.

President is always right?
Last week, the Senate Judiciary Committee heard testimony from Steven Bradbury, head of the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel. As Bradley was being questioned about whether Bush’s interpretation of the Hamdan case was right or wrong, he sarcastically replied, “The President is always right.” See it for yourself.

I don't know about you, but I get a sense of discomfort hearing people openly say this kind of stuff, whether it's said sarcastically or not.

Middle Eastern Death Match
It doesn't look like things are getting any better in Lebanon. After only a few days after being dragged into this nonsense, there have already been over 300 deaths and 1000 wounded Lebanese citizens. Israel's rumble with Hezbollah is costing more than just the lives of Israelis.

Let's continue to pray for a sense of peace and restoration before too many more lives are destroyed.

FMA defeated in the House of Representatives
In an interesting turn of events, the Federal Marriage Amendment proposal was struck down again in the House of Representatives this week. Though the amendment did receive a simple majority, it wasn't enough to satisfy the Constitutionally two-thirds majority to pass.

While I don't subscribe to the homosexual agenda (sin is sin, no matter how you slice it), I think that the banning of this ridiculous proposal is a victory for human rights. Just because I think that homosexuality is wrong doesn't mean that they should be robbed of basic human rights. Before homosexuals are homosexuals, they are human; first and foremost. Discrimination (even against people whom the "moral" society would deem 'wrong') is not to be tolerated on any level.

When it comes to gay rights, I've heard them all:

"If we allow gays to marry, the population will eventually die off." Oh really?! So you mean to tell me that the 8% of the world's gay population (a very generous number. It's probably even lower than that) will kill off the rest of the world?

"The gay increase will increase the spread of AIDS". I don't buy that either. In fact, I think that AIDS is a man-made virus. I mean, the first case of AIDS was reported in an African monkey back in the fifties. It didn't make its way to the states as part of an epidemic until the early 80's.

"It destroys the sacred instituition of marriage." You don't say? So, how do you explain the fact that in 2005, there were 7.8 marriages per 1000 people in this country; matched by 3.7 divorces? That's on a 53% success rate, people. Plus, throw in ridiculous celebrity marriages, marriages for money and security, and "forced" marriages. If anybody's destroyed marriage, its us heterosexuals...

At the end of the day, I don't care about protecting an instituion as much as I am about protecting people. Whether I agree with a person's lifestyle or not, injustice is never acceptable.

Bush vetoes stem-cell bill
Speaking of bills that didn't quite make it, your president officially vetoed his first bill since entering office, when he rejected to expand federal support for embryonic stem cell research.

This move has generated mixed responses from his conservative cohorts. On the one hand, Bush is catering to the "religious" conservatives who take the 'moral' high ground (that's a laugh!) . But -- in doing so -- he's alienating himself from moderates (like Nancy Reagan, Bill Frist, and even Orrin Hatch). I wonder how that'll affect Conservative loyalty to the Prez.

Also, it offends me that Dubya uses the "We can't destroy life in order to save life" mantra every time he justifies his stance on stem-cell research. I mean, isn't that exactly what he's doing with this nonsensical war in Iraq? He's out there making war, with a certainty that some soliders are going to die. It's funny how the ends justify the means for him in one case, but not in another...

Ex-CIA operative to file civil suit
Even after Karl Rove avoided major jail time by outing ex-CIA operative Valarie Plame, he apparently isn't out of the woods yet. According to this article, she and her husband have filed a civil lawsuit against Rove, Dick Cheney, Scooter Libby, along with a few other "John Doe's" for outing her identity, ending her career, and -- essentially -- endangering her life. To think, they went through all this trouble and planning just to get back at Joseph Wilson for calling the President on his lies.

Maybe this will show them that revenge is not always the best way to go.

I guess that's it for now. But, I'm sure that more stupid and wacky adventures are around the corner. Stay tuned...

Have a great day!

- ACL

14 "Insiders" spoke their mind. Join in...:

DobyD said...

Great posts as usual andre. I find that you are a more credible source of information that the media. Hopefully your not one of them in disguise...LoL

I found this statment by Jiddu Krishnamurti that I want to share with you.

"Truth is a pathless land and you cannot approach it by any path whatsoever, by any religion, by any sect. Truth, being limitless, unconditioned, unapproachable by any path whatsoever, cannot be organized; nor should any organization be formed to lead or to coerce people along any particular path. My only concern is to set humanity absolutely, unconditionally free. Man cannot come to it through any organization, through any creed, through any dogma, priest or ritual, not through any philosophic knowledge or psychological technique. He has to find it through the understanding of the contents of his own mind, through observation and not through intellectual analysis or introspective dissection."

It is the closest thing I have found in regards to my belief of the divine. I believe its how peoples brains have to percieve the world in order to fully experience the divinity of omnipresence.

Other than that, keep up the great reporting. I just figured that you would find this quote intresting and helpful.

God bless the world and make the blind(religous fanatics & thier followers etc.see)

Andre said...

Hey Aldo.

I assure you. I'm not from the media. Besides, most of the media is in the government's back pockets.

Thanks, by the way, for the J. Krishnamurti quote. I had to read Freedom from the Known in a philosophy class during my freshman year in college. The dude is challenging! He had a strange, but interesting way of challenging his audience to shape their lives in a way that was contrary to modern conditioning. Our relationship with God can be viewed the same way; especially given how inexhaustible He is.

Thanks, as always, for your insight!

Diane@Diane's Place said...

Hey, Andre, just checking in. I don't comment much on the political posts because it just doesn't interest me very much, and I don't want to argue with anyone about it. I just keep my mouth shut. That's very unusual for me, too! LOL

Thanks for dropping by the blog and commenting. How's the new nephew doing? I hope it's cooler there than it is here right now. It's 97 degrees, headed for 102, and absolutely miserable. God bless the folks who don't have AC and the ones who have to work outside in this heat. Green Eyes appears to be melting in her last post! It's absolutely hideous, Andre!

Take care, Andre. :-)

Greeneyes said...

Hi Andre ~ My G E M
The blogger demons ate my comment again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!I was here and said you should run for political office ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,but it is gone , wait maybe its BUSH"S administration deleting it so you wouldnt get any ideas LOL hahahahahaha ,if it shows up ,I have made my point twice !
Take care
Greeneyes

Andre said...

@ Diane: Hey Momma Jennings! How goes?

If it makes you feel any better, I'm not particularly interested in politics either. It actually disturbs me (hence, my ranting).

Be that as it may, thanks for stopping by...

@ Greeny: Secret government agents destroying your comments? Wow! You're only two riots and a boycott away from being a revolutionary.

I think my work here is done...

The H.C. said...

Great post Andre,
Well, here's my ultra conservative spin.
1)I agree, there has to be an intern out there for G.W.
2)Putin is a villian, history will prove me correct.
3)I like it when people cuss a little, but I like everything Bush does (JK)
4)Democrats in the south started and fought for slavery, just a point.
5)Wow, complete agreement.
6)I get scared when I here anyone say someone's always right.
7)I say the U.S. should take a cue from some of these arab states and form a separate army that "we don't control" and then unleash them on a country. If they responded, we could then play the victim and get world sympathy.As in all wars, the people are the only innocents.
8)Civil Unions=yes Marriage=no
By the way, just because a marriage ends, I wouldn't call it a failure.
9)I almost wrote on this one. The argument on the left is always that we would destroy the embryos anyway. But if we find a cure for say, Alzheimers, we will need millions not thousands of embryos. Then where will we get them? That's right, we will create life just to destroy it. A dangerous step.
10)Politics and nothing else. This is a bigger nothing than Whitewater.

Andre said...

@ HC: Welcome back, Hipster.

(1) I don't get why he hasn't been approached yet. Sure he's not as charismatic as Bill, but he is as sly.

(2) At least this particular villian doesn't side with Bush...

(3) I really think I should just start calling you "The Conservative" (JK, too)

(4) Though Republicans once HEAVILY SUPPORTED blacks/minorities, a lot of THAT has also changed over the years too.

(5) Thanks. Stupid churches...

(6) Well, I'm always right. It just bothers me that anybody would say that Dubya was EVER right about anything. :)

(7) I think that we did that during the Afghan "Freedom Fighters" thing. We all know where that got us...

(8) "Civil Unions" are a cop out. Anything less than marriage is not equal. By the way, I think that any marriage that ends (aside from parting because of death) is a failure. Sure, there are different LEVELS of failure. But they ARE failures nonetheless. If the whole point of marriage is to be with 'the one' until you die, anything short of that doesn't hit the mark; even if the split is amacable. There's no such thing as a "moral victory".

(9) I don't think that the cure is in the embryo itself. That's only where the "testing" is done.

I think it's hypocritical for folks like Bush to say that they value life on one side of their mouth and support war on the other...

(10) Political indeed. It'll be interesting to see how far it goes.

Thanks for your comments. Interesting article about Affirmative Action, by the way. I disagree with it, but it was well written.

Greeneyes said...

HELLO Andre` my Gem
Just popped in to say hey! Hope your having a glorious day ,have a great weekend ,and do something fun ,take care
GREENEYES

Andre said...

Hey Greeny:

I'm having a great day. Thanks for your concern! How about you?

I hope you're getting closer to kicking the pox to the curb...

Anonymous said...

The angry black man strikes again!

Greeneyes said...

Andre~
My GEM
Thanks for asking , all better MY Dr. says and spots ,all gone , Did you ever read Macbeth ??/or see the film
"Out damm spot"
anywaysssssssssss
I'll say it like they do around here /down the bays , said at the speed of light :
"Tis germ free now I is me son !tanks fer askn"
very Irish/English mix sound .
Do you have an accent of any kind?
Greeneyes

Andre said...

@ KC: Just when I think that I've bottled my anger, people go out and do more stupid stuff.

This surely can't be good for my blood pressure...

@ Greeny: Hey my love! Glad you're doing better. But, Macbeth?! Are you saying that the pox turned you into one of the Weird Sisters? LOL!

Your 'written' accent is pretty good, lassie. I can't say that I have any type of accent but "me tinks I caan so sahm Jamaaa-caan, mon..."

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