4/24/2008

Worst, indeed.

Countdown with Keith Olbermann: Worst Persons, 4/23/2008


Jeez.
Bronze goes to John Ashcroft for defending torture... again. This time, he was at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, which isn't far from where I grew up. Good to know that even out there in the boondocks, they can still stick it to these morons.
Silver goes to the pastor of the Jonesville church of God in Jonesville, SC, who put up a horridly offensive sign saying, "Obama - Osama Hummm Are They Brothers". The pastor claimed it was neither racial nor political, just that "It's because their names are similar" and "it's to realize what could happen if we get someone in (the Whiter House) who doesn't believe in Jesus Christ". Yeah, tell yourself that while you beat the drum over his pastor's comment, idiot.
The WORST PERSON? John McCain, for seeking the endorsement of anti-gay, anti-woman, anti-Catholic, anti-Semitic hate preacher John Hagee. This after Hagee's most recent defense and restatement of his comments about Katrina being "God's punishment" against New Orleans. And remember, McCain sought this man's endorsement.

4/23/2008

A belated note of congratulation.

I admit it's a day late, but I had browser troubles last night. I ended up downloading Opera, since Firefox has been utterly crippled by broken, worthless "updates". Unfortunately, Opera users can't log in to Blogger, and their solution? "DUR GET FIREFOX HUR HUR". Thanks loads.

Anyway, I'd like to congratulate Hillary Clinton for winning in Pennsylvania's primary last night. You beat Barack Obama by ten percent, and all it cost you was all your money and your dignity:


You won, though, and isn't that what's important? Not trying to keep yourself out of the hole, or trying to avoid Rove-like tactics in campaigning, or trying to keep your principles. Nope, just winning.

4/19/2008

[This story has been removed due to copyright claim by the Church of Scientology]

Of Homosexuality, and Scientology
A Podium piece.
"The sexual pervert (and by this term Dianetics, to be brief, includes any and all forms of deviation in Dynamic II [i.e. sexuality] such as homosexuality, lesbianism, sexual sadism, etc., and all down the catalog of Ellis and Krafft-Ebing) is actually quite ill physically... he is very far from culpable for his condition, but he is also far from normal and extremely dangerous to society..."


Westboro is that you? No? It's SCIENTOLOGY! Yes Scientology, Dianetics, Tom Cruise, WACKYNESS ENSUES! I've had issue with this 'religion' for some time, and the more I read into the actual teachings, the more I'm cemented in that idea.

Let's go on shall we?

"Homosexuals don't practice love; 1.1s can't. Their relationships consist of: 1) brief, sordid and impersonal meetings or 2) longer arrangements punctuated by dramatic tirades, discords, jealousies and frequent infidelity. It could hardly be otherwise since the tone is made up of suspicion and hate, producing a darling sweetness interspersed with petty peevishness. Their "love" turns to deep contempt eventually."
OH MY GOD. I feel the hate rising! COMING FOR ME ELIZABETH! ITS A BIG ONE! For reference a 1.1 is a level on their 'tone' scale. 1.1's a bad score, very bad. How bad?

Hubbard had this to say:

"There are only two answers for the handling of people from 2.0 down on the tone scale, neither one of which has anything to do with reasoning with them or listening to their justification of their acts. The first is to raise them on the tone scale by un-enturbulating some of their theta by any one of the three valid processes. The other is to dispose of them quietly and without sorrow."
Fuck you, you psychotic piece of shit. This boils down to this, turn people into Scientologists, or dispose of them. That's it. Genocide.

Now, moving on, what about our homosexual friends? The one's stuck at 1.1 on the tone scale?

Cure em. Yes, you read that right, Scientology says it cures teh gay. Or said, they've since gone "UH UH UH! WE DIDN'T MEAN IT!" Bullshit. Why do I say bullshit? BEHOLD!

From Jason Beghe's new interview on Scientology:

"Beghe says the proof that Scientology was no longer working for him came when he was almost killed in a car accident. After the L's, he points out, that shouldn't happen. 'A clear isn't supposed to have a car accident. You're supposed to be practically immortal.' To the Scientologists, the accident was an indication that someone was 'suppressing' Beghe. So they pulled him in for more interrogation. 'What about this gay person you're friends with,' Beghe says one official asked him, implying that somehow the gay friend was causing Beghe's clear state to be sabotaged. When Beghe objected, he says the official responded, 'Well, he's gay.'"
FUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKK. Like I needed more reasons to be opposed to Scientology. ARGH. I'm going to have to stop here, before I kill something. Seriously. WTF.

4/14/2008

BWOOOOOOOOSH-GLUK-GLUK-GLUK-GLUK

From the ChicagoTribune.com "Change of Subject" weblog: Davis and Sherman -- still more controversy

You remember this story, right? It was well-circulated last week, and for good reason - Davis' blowup referring to the very concept of atheism as "dangerous" was offensive and then some.

But let me offer a little tip to her target, activist Rob Sherman:

DON'T MAKE YOURSELF LOOK WORSE.
On Monday evening, well into the comment frenzy over the story about the verbal attack that Ill. Rep. Monique Davis (D-Chicago) made on atheist activist Rob Sherman, reader "Tony" made note of a passage from Rob Sherman's Web site where Sherman had written:

Now that Negroes like Representative Monique Davis have political power, it seems that they have no problem at all with discrimination, just as long as it isn't them who are being discriminated against.


I appended a note to the comment saying that the use of the term "Negroes" struck me as out-of-bounds because it gives racial offense and deliberately so. By using it, Sherman forfeited the high ground that he occupied in his tiff with Davis.

I then sent an e-mail to Sherman noting these objections. I've interviewed him scores of times in the past 22 years and never detected even a hint of racism or bigotry, so I regarded his use of a once-standard but now unacceptable word to be the result of a moment of rhetorical clumsiness or tone-deafness that he ought to rethink.

Sherman replied to my note:

["Negroes" is] what the group was called when they were being discriminated against, but now that this same group has political power, discrimination is OK, as long as it's not them that's being discriminated against. That's the reason for the use of the term.
Gee, there's the way to get people on your side - use a term solely meant to be an affront in this day and age to insult not just her, but an entire group of people. Yep, you sure sound like a reasonable, rational person to me! And then you try and explain this shit away?
Also, a controversy developed in the blogosphere regarding my use on this page of the word, "Negro," earlier in the week. I still thought, today, that Negro and Black were completely interchangeable with identical context, just as Caucasian and White, and automobile and car are. (...) I then called one of my many Black friends to confirm the validity of my perspective. I've known Clint Harris for 23 years. (...) Clint told me that the only people, besides me, who still use Negro are racists who are trying to sound polite. Now I know. There was certainly no intent to act like a racist. I was mistaken when I thought that the words were fully interchangeable and have removed that word from this web site.
For those who don't have any bullshit filters or the ability to read long, rambling paragraphs, lemme spell it out plainly: He's obviously not a racist douche. He has black friends. Why, his "lookit what them neeegroz do" statement that indicts all people who do or might label themselves "Black", "African-American", or whatever term a given person wishes to be called isn't racist. And if it comes off that way, it's only because of the word "negro", not because of his sweeping generalization stating that black people all discriminate when given a measure of power.

You hear that sound, Rob? That sound that sounds like this: "BWOOOOOOOOSH-GLUK-GLUK-GLUK-GLUK"? That's the sound of you flushing your support down the shitter.

Hope it felt good, Rob. Hope you feel better about yourself.

Left-Wing Mailbag, "Here's to a Well-Turned Phrase" Edition

J-G Letters page, 04/14/2008

There's a letter in there entitled "McCain will extend Bush’s legacy". Clever sort of letter, a callback to a previous missive in support of John McCain.

I wonder who the clever bastard is who wrote it?

4/11/2008

Murderer/Thief Gets Manslaughter Conviction Instead of Murder Because of "Gay Panic" Defense

Verdict in Steven Scarborough case: Guilty of voluntary manslaughter of Victor Manious

Hat tip to Pam of Pandagon and Pam's House Blend for bringing me this infuriating story.

GRAND RAPIDS -- A Tennessee native was found guilty today of voluntary manslaughter in the slaying of Victor Manious, a Gaines Township man whose body was found in the trunk of his own vehicle, parked on a downtown street.

Steven Scarborough, 22, was accused of luring 62-year-old Victor Manious to a friend's apartment to rob him. The prosecution said he then struck Manious in the head with a blunt force object before dragging him down stairs to Manious' car, stuffing the victim in the trunk.

Scarborough testified in his own defense, saying he was knocked out by Manious when the victim arrived at his friend's apartment. He woke to find Manious sexually assaulting him, he testified, so he hit the older man over the head with a baseball bat.

Scarborough had been charged with felony murder and faced mandatory life in prison without parole. Manslaughter carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.
This worries me to no end, as well it should. First, this man admits to trying to get the victim to his apartment for the sole intention of robbing him. Then, probably when it went wrong, he hit the man with a bat and locked him in his trunk, leaving him there to die while he used the victim's credit cards to buy shit.

Brinkman said medical experts will testify that if Manious had received treatment for his wounds right away, he could have survived rather than dying in the trunk of the car dressed only in his underwear.

Brinkman says that while Manious' body remained undiscovered for days, Scarborough used his cell phone and credit cars to pay for shopping sprees, gas and a plane ticket to Texas, where Scarborough was eventually arrested by police.
And what was Scarborough's defense? "He knocked me out (even though I didn't have any signs of being attacked) and when I woke up he was trying to spread TEH GAYQUEERHOMODISEASE to me! And since I'm a gay-hating Southern Baptist who goes to gay bars to find people to rob, I'm obviously justified in killing someone!"

Yeah, seriously:
Scarborough testified that Manious asked for Robinson, then the 62-year-old Egypt native hit the younger man in the head and knocked him out. Scarborough said he woke up to find Manious in his underwear, on top of him, sexually assaulting him by oral sex.

Scarborough testified that he was so unnerved by the assault, which violated his beliefs as a Southern Baptist, that he grabbed a nearby bat and hit Manious in the head.
And to make it worse, the spineless worm of a defense lawyer the murderer picked out made the victim look as sinister as possible, saying that Manious was "living a secret gay life and was 'on the prowl'". Oh, and it's also not his fault because he was just doing what someone else wanted him to do.

“(Scarborough) is not Albert Einstein,” Denenfeld said. “He is more of a follower than a leader.”
He was just following orders, don't you know? Yeah, there's a defense that always works.

That's the value of a human life if that human was gay - it's not murder to lure him to your apartment to rob him, hit him with a bat, lock him in a trunk to die while you shop with his credit cards, and then claim some ridiculous story about how someone three times your age overpowered you, knocked you out without any signs of a struggle, and tried to make you TEH GAY.

If Manious had instead been some blue-eyed, blond-haired, pretty, rich, spoiled college girl who had something like this happen to her, would the jury have let a murderer get away with a much lesser charge? I seriously doubt that. But since you can invoke Gay Panic and get away with murder in today's society (since, you know, all gay people are out to force everyone else to be gay and will rape you if they know you're straight), we know that not everyone deserves equal justice under law, it seems.

Excuse me. I have to go throw up now. This whole thing makes me fucking sick to my stomach.

4/06/2008

It's Always Florida, Part 3,754

Fla. Teens Believe Drinking Bleach Will Prevent HIV
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Florida teens who believe drinking a cap of bleach will prevent HIV and a shot of Mountain Dew will stop pregnancy have prompted lawmakers to push for an overhaul of sex education in the state.

Another myth is that Florida teens also believe that smoking marijuana will prevent a person from getting pregnant, Local 6 reported.

State lawmakers said the myths are spreading because of Florida's abstinence-only sex education, Local 6 reported.

They are proposing a bill that would require a more comprehensive approach, the report said.

It would still require teaching abstinence but students would also learn about condoms and other methods of birth control and disease prevention.

The bill just passed its first vote in a committee, Local 6 reported.

Well, it's still kinda stupid that it still FORCES teaching the ALL SEX IS EBIL AND GAWD HATES IT" viewpoint, but it's a step in the right direction.

And my God, where do kids these days get these ideas? I grew up in a backwater shithole and I still never got ideas that dumb into my head.

4/04/2008

IL Lawmaker: "The Existence of Atheism is Dangerous to Kids!"

From the ChicagoTribune.com "Change of Subject" weblog: Rep. Monique Davis to atheist Rob Sherman: `It’s dangerous for our children to even know that your philosophy exists!'
The following exchange between atheist activist Rob Sherman of Buffalo Grove and Ill. Rep. Monique Davis (D-Chicago) took place Wednesday afternoon in the General Assembly as Sherman testified before the House State Government Administration Committee.

I know from experience that many of you will side with Davis (update -- apparently I was wrong! ), but I ask you to consider what the outcry would have been if a lawmaker had launched a similar attack on the beliefs of a religious person.

Davis: I don’t know what you have against God, but some of us don’t have much against him. We look forward to him and his blessings. And it’s really a tragedy -- it’s tragic -- when a person who is engaged in anything related to God, they want to fight. They want to fight prayer in school.

I don’t see you (Sherman) fighting guns in school. You know?

I’m trying to understand the philosophy that you want to spread in the state of Illinois. This is the Land of Lincoln. This is the Land of Lincoln where people believe in God, where people believe in protecting their children.… What you have to spew and spread is extremely dangerous, it’s dangerous--

Sherman: What’s dangerous, ma’am?

Davis: It’s dangerous to the progression of this state. And it’s dangerous for our children to even know that your philosophy exists! Now you will go to court to fight kids to have the opportunity to be quiet for a minute. But damn if you’ll go to [court] to fight for them to keep guns out of their hands. I am fed up! Get out of that seat!

Sherman: Thank you for sharing your perspective with me, and I’m sure that if this matter does go to court---

Davis: You have no right to be here! We believe in something. You believe in destroying! You believe in destroying what this state was built upon.
Sherman didn't budge, continued his testimony related to Gov. Rod Blagojevich's oddly misdirected $1 million grant intended for Pilgrim Baptist Church, (story) and later told me he "felt like Rosa Parks."
Yes, good Christian love in action here, folks.

Oddly enough, other than a couple trolls, the comments there are actually (currently) pretty intelligent.

Didn't Need to See You Lie, Thanks

Just saw a McCain ad on my TV. "DUR DUR DEM LEEBRULZ IS GUNNA RAISE UR TAXEZ" is the gist of it.

Yeah, you've got the answer, don't you, old man? Let's do just what Bush did, just what you've pledged to do: Keep spending money on failing military operations and corporate bailouts while you slash taxes for the ultra-ultra-rich!

McCain, you're a douche.

UPDATE: Oh look, here it is:

Damian's Random Ten, 04/04/2008

It's the Friday Random Ten, a Jerry Bruckheimer production.

  • 100-200-400 - Fascination MAXX
  • Modest Mouse - Dashboard
  • The Rolling Stones - Start Me Up
  • NAOKI feat. YUKI - Blue Impulse (for Extreme)
  • The Birthday Massacre - Holiday
  • Garth Brooks - Against the Grain
  • Red Hot Chili Peppers - Aeroplane
  • Evanescence - Bring Me to Life
  • Eminem with Bizarre - Amityville
  • Eiffel 65 - Another Race

4/03/2008

Backhanded Blessings If Ever I Saw Them

In his letter of March 27th ("McCain Embodies Presidential Strength"), Mr. Wayne Paschal, Sr. says, "God bless America with (John McCain's) election."

Yes, Mr. Paschal, God bless America with John McCain. God bless America with McCain's pledge of "100 years in Iraq", and that's only after we're there long enough to not see 4,000 soldiers killed in five years. God bless America with the war with Iran McCain is pushing for with his repeated saber-rattling and his "mistakes" where he accuses Iran of "training Al-Qaida". God bless America with four more years of Republican stonewalling, vetoing every law passed by a Democratic Congress. God bless America with four more years of corporate cronyism. God bless America with four more years of institutionalized hatred. God bless America with four more years of tax cuts for the rich. God bless America with four more years of a downward-spiraling economy fueled by cutting taxes for the ultra-rich while spending outlandish amounts on defense. God bless America with four more years of the Bush legacy under John McCain.

If this is your idea of a blessing, Mr. Paschal, you may as well say, "God damn America" and be done with it!

The Three Words That Summarize Damian's Position on the Recent Flap About Barack Obama's Pastor

I.
Don't.
Care.

Seriously, it's just another attempt to smear him by those who fear he might win.

Glenn Beck: Deranged Jackass

Massive Steaming Shitbag Glenn Hack Calls People Who Pushed to Keep Noted Human Rights Abuser Wal-Mart from Suing Former Employee Who Was Left Brain Damaged After an Accident for Medical Bills Paid for with Company Insurance "Terrorists", in Keeping with His Slanderous Statements Spanning His Entire Career
Beck: Wal-Mart Made A ‘Deal With Terrorists’ In Ending Its Lawsuit Against Brain-Damaged Employee

In 2000, then-Wal-Mart employee Debbie Shank was hit by a semi-truck, leaving her seriously brain-damaged and confined to a wheelchair. Wal-Mart covered her medical expenses until she won a settlement from the trucking company that left her $417,000 after legal fees.

Invoking a little-noticed clause in Shank’s contract that kicked in once she won a settlement with the trucking company, Wal-Mart sued the Shank family to recoup the medical expenses it had spent on her care, all $470,000.

In response, MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann last week began decrying Wal-Mart’s actions nightly, four times labeling $9-billion corporation one of his “Worst Persons in the World.” Last night, however, Olbermann was able to announce the good news — that Wal Mart yesterday wrote to the Shanks to tell them it would drop its suit:

Occasionally others help us step back and look at a situation in a different way. This is one of those times. … Wal-Mart will not seek any reimbursement for the money already spent on Ms. Shank’s care, and we will work with you to ensure the remaining amounts in the trust can be used for her ongoing care.


Unfortunately, CNN’s Glenn Beck could not attain a similarly enlightened perspective. He condemned Wal-Mart on his radio show today, insisting the corporation had made a “deal with terrorists” and had succumbed to “blackmail”:

Well, what are the principles? The principles are right is right, wrong is wrong. No matter how much I need it, no matter how hard it is for me, no matter how much it sucks, it’s not right. My word is my bond. I made an agreement. I didn’t see it in there. … This is blackmail. And yet Wal-Mart folds. You don’t deal with terrorists? Really? You just did. You just dealt with economic blackmailers. … But then — and I don’t even put it on the family as much as I do on the media. The media, they just — MSNBC, man, they can just make hay with this.


I just love how this insane, gibbering asshole is given a forum to hate and demean other human beings every goddamn day without so much as a second thought as to the kind of slanderous bullshit he says. For anyone wondering, yes you can see Glenn Beck every day on CNN's Headline News and hear him every day on AM 1190 WOWO, Ft. Wayne home for deranged far-right horseshit. Wait a second, why am I saying this? Craig already said it.

Ah well, it bears repeating.