Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Head Reform rabbi: Israeli society is falling into a deep pit of racism - Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News

Head Reform rabbi: Israeli society is falling into a deep pit of racism - Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News: "The head of Israel's Reform Judaism movement on Tuesday harshly criticized a letter by 30 rabbis' wives calling on Jewish girls not to date Arabs, work with them or perform national service in the same places where they work.

'Israeli society is falling into a deep, dark pit of racism and xenophobia,' said Rabbi Gilad Kariv, who two weeks ago also vocally condemned a move by a number of leading rabbis who signed on a ruling to forbid renting homes to Arabs."

Remember my earlier screed about Anglicans? Here's one possible future for them, too.

The Fix - Judge dismisses Miller lawsuit in Alaska Senate race

The Fix - Judge dismisses Miller lawsuit in Alaska Senate race

Further evidence of the Tea Party's irrelevance. I think the TPers reached their expiration date November 3, 2010. A new batch won't be needed for a year or so, in time for 2012.

Joe Miller was Tea Party and Sarah Palin endorsed, yet lost to the first successful write in candidate for Senate in a half century in Palin's home turf. Other TP Purity Over Practicality "wins", like Christine O'Donnell in the east and Ken Buck in the west, assured Democratic control of the Senate.

A ramp-up of Tea Party frothing in selection of a GOP Presidential candidate seems, at this point, to be a boon for Obama. With a new election to energize the Beckian fringe it's possible a resurgent Tea Party might give the House back to the Dems, too.

For this admittedly speculative scenario to unfold, the Tea Party will need to rise once more to the GOP siren call. I don't think that's unlikely. The TP is really not much more than the old Religious Right resurrected for one more sodomy session. The weirdest thing about old white Christians is their complete willingness to be taken advantage of over and over again.

Joe Miller and his patroness Palin have made a specialty of exploiting the Tea Party for mostly personal gain. And the Tea Party has mostly been a willing accomplice to its own seduction. It looks like the winter of 2020-2011 might be a rest period before the franticism of 2012.

You're a Bishop in the State Religion & You Feel Oppressed...

UK Bishop Laments Discrimination Against Christians | Christianpost.com

It's a pretty humorous day. The Bishop of Winchester laments a lack of "religious literacy" that has led British courts to rule as though religion didn't deserve special consideration!

Since the Church of England is a state-sanctioned religion, you'd think it already gets about as much support as any religion should reasonably expect. The fact that British judges are annoying Anglican hierarchies is probably a healthy sign for the British judicial system and a wakeup call to the Church. A religion that fails to evolve with its society is fairly quickly a fringe religion.

Monday, December 13, 2010

Atheist Bus Ads Rattle Fort Worth - NYTimes.com

Atheist Bus Ads Rattle Fort Worth - NYTimes.com:

"The Fort Worth group is affiliated with the United Coalition of Reason, whose local chapters have bought bus ads in Detroit, northwest Arkansas, Philadelphia and Washington, as well as billboards in more than a dozen cities, among them Chicago, Houston, New Orleans, Seattle and St. Louis. Most show a blue sky with variations on this message: “Don’t believe in God? You are not alone.”

The ads have incited anger in some places. Vandals destroyed two bus ads in Detroit, ruined a billboard in Tampa, Fla., and defaced 10 billboards in Sacramento. One billboard in Cincinnati was taken down after the landlord received threats."

God Is Love. His followers, however, often resemble demented monkeyfuckers.

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Government Workers Ordered Not to Read Cables - NYTimes.com

Government Workers Ordered Not to Read Cables - NYTimes.com:

"“Classified information, whether or not already posted on public websites or disclosed to the media, remains classified, and must be treated as such by federal employees and contractors, until it is declassified by an appropriate U.S. Government authority,” said the notice sent on Friday afternoon by the Office of Management and Budget, which is part of the White House, to agency and department heads, urging them to distribute it to their staff"

Looks pretty much like the declassification has already taken place. OMB might want to spend a little time thinking about why so much of these gossipy little bits of snark deserved classification to begin with.


Florida Follows Arizona's Lead With New Bill Cracking Down on Illegal Immigrants - FoxNews.com

Florida Follows Arizona's Lead With New Bill Cracking Down on Illegal Immigrants - FoxNews.com:

"and would punish some legal immigrants who aren't carrying proper documentation."

Charming. Florida now has Getapo re-enactors.

Creative Commons