AND AS LONG AS WE'RE KIND OF IN THAT ARENA...

This is for Dick--no pun intended..... Can you tell me why there is such opposition on the right to gay marriage.... Okay, I admit the whole concept is a little bizarre, but so what? I mean, how does the fact that two same-sex people want to be married affect my marriage to my wife? That's the argument, from what I've been able to gather..... that allowing people of the same sex to marry will destroy the institution of marriage. How so?

ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST

Florida Rep. Mark Foley resigned in disgrace yesterday, a victim of his own twisted desire to bugger a teenage boy. But is this all the justice we can expect - to have him lose his job. Why hasn't he been arrested? Why isn't his name and photograph listed on the state's website of known pedophiles? Is there some tiny print in the state law that says rich and powerful are immune from prosecution?

REPUBLICANS GETTING TARRED WITH THE SAME BrUSH

Another political ad this week connecting Bob Ehrlich to George Bush. It was a weak connection, saying the two are alike in that they put business interests ahead those of the common man when making political decisions. ... Like I said, it was weak. But then, given the president's approval numbers , 34 percent in a recent Baltimore Sun poll, it's still like tossing a cinder block to a drowning man.
In fact, the Fearless Leader and head of the Republican party is looking more and more like the biggest impediment to republican candidates getting elected this year. And the second biggest obstacle may be their party affiliation as, for the first time in my life, I'm noticing that republican candidates are not mentioning their party membership in their advertising. To their credit, it may indicate they're smart enough to know a cinderblock when they see one. And if they are, then does that mean they were smart enough to know better when they supported the Bush administration's policies on secret prisons, torture, illegal wiretaps, domestic spying and gutting the Bill of Rights. If so, that could only mean they are malicious, power-hungry fascists who think the right of the government to exist under its own terms supersedes the right of the people to exist under the protections and liberties afforded by the Constitution.

EXCERPTS FROM "THE DOCTRINE OF FASCISM," BY BENITO MUSSOLINI (1932)

Anti-individualistic, the Fascist conception of life stresses the importance of the State and accepts the individual only in so far as his interests coincide with those of the State, which stands for the conscience and the universal, will of man as a historic entity (11). It is opposed to classical liberalism which arose as a reaction to absolutism and exhausted its historical function when the State became the expression of the conscience and will of the people. Liberalism denied the State in the name of the individual; Fascism reasserts the rights of the State as expressing the real essence of the individual (12). And if liberty is to he the attribute of living men and not of abstract dummies invented by individualistic liberalism, then Fascism stands for liberty, and for the only liberty worth having, the liberty of the State and of the individual within the State (13). The Fascist conception of the State is all embracing; outside of it no human or spiritual values can exist, much less have value. Thus understood, Fascism, is totalitarian, and the Fascist State - a synthesis and a unit inclusive of all values - interprets, develops, and potentates the whole life of a people (14).

Oooooo..... THAT'S GOTTA HURT... SOMEBODY BRING IN THE PUPPIES FOR CONSOLATION

Michael Steele had a good TV ad campaign going for a while, telling us how's he is a different kind of politician and is going to clean up DC and do things differently. Really. He's animated and at-ease in front of the camera, and it's just like he's talking to us face-to-face.... and for the record, he loves puppies. It was a very well-crafted message, very warm and fuzzy -- aside from that pitiful looking dog.
But that warm and fuzzy feeling took a jolt this week when his opposition launched its own campaign reminding voters that Steele is a Repiglican, first and foremost. He supports a ban on abortions, they said, opposes stem cell research. And worst of all, he loves George Bush (great picture, guys.) Any W&F I may have had left me like with the suddenness a sucker punch. Yes, of course he's a Republican, so all that down-home, likeable, smart and reasonable image is a lie. George Bush has taken that party so far down the road toward fascism that it's no longer a question of being a moderate in that party.... We can't forget the president's speech to the world in the days following 9/11; there's no middle ground, he said, you're either with us or against us. He wasn't talking just to the Islamic fundamentalists, or the Arab states. He was talking to Americans too, telling us if we didn't support him and his administration then we were his enemies.

THE LINE BETWEEN BETWEEN CENSORSHIP AND FREE SPEECH

River Rat is correct. Censorship is a a first step to fascism, or any kind of totalitarian government. But he is wrong if he thinks the free speech concept, as it's applied in this country, allows him to spout any hateful language he pleases. It does not.
Further, the Constitutional protection of free speech applies to the government, not to individuals, so I am under no legal or moral obligation to provide a venue for hateful or disagreeable speech of any type.
That said, I will continue to provide a venue for social, political, philosophical and even theological commentary without restriction. But if and when posters go beyond those confines they risk ejection. You are free to disagree with my posts. You are free to argue your point for or against my, or any other, comments using whatever language you see fit. You are not free to engage in personal attacks. Period.

THE SECRET'S OUT. ... SO WHY WAS IT A SECRET IN THE FIRST PLACE ?

Seeking to quell disturbing news reports quoting a classified NSIE report that the president's war in Iraq has actually increased the risk of terrorism rather than decreased it, the First Moron this week declassified more of the report in hopes of turning the political spin back in his direction.
While it failed to do so, it did slow the negative spin to something less than tornadic speeds. But it also spawned other questions about the president's conduct that will not be good for the party on the edge of the election. Among those questions are why the report was secret in the first place. From what we've seen so far, there is nothing in the report that would threaten national security if it were made public. So that, combined with the fact that the president had no problem declassifying more of the document, makes us wonder if its classification was not based upon national security concerns but upon political concerns in an election year.
It also makes us wonder what else the Whitehouse is hiding under that blanket of national security that is more properly in the domain of public information.

MORE CHANGES

Sorry about this guys, but Geezer and River Rat have forced changes. From here in, you need to register and your comments will be scanned before they are published.
For the most part, nothing you've written here to this point will be spiked, and you are still free to express yourselves fully on any topic. We will not, however, provide a forum to those who have nothing worthwhile to say and merely pollute this blog with invectives and name calling. Should you need further clarification, please refer to the very first post of this blog.
Those who will automatically be admitted are; Tricky Dick, Symmy, Michael Swartz , Historical Wit, Swampy, Warfarin. River Rat, as you know, your admittance is provisional.
Geezer is out.

WELL THAT WAS A GOOD EXPERIMENT, BUT A COUPLE OF ASSHOLES, SEWER RAT & GEEZER, HAVE FORCED CHANGES

Two idiots, Sewer Rat and Geezer have caused me to reconsider my censorship policy. From here forward, Geezer is banned, as will anyone else be who has nothing appreciable to contribute.
RIVER RAT: You too are on notice. The only reason I'm giving you some slack, is that in the past you have contributed to discussions. But this wil be your only warning. Don't fuck around. Got it Bubba?

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

"The trust of the innocent is the liar's most useful tool."
--Stephen King

IF BUSH GETS MORE U.S. MILITARY KILLED THAN THE 9/11 TERRORISTS KILLED, DOES THAT MEAN WE WIN ?

We only ask this question because parts of a classified government report were leaked this week indicating that the war in Iraq has actually increased the risk of terrorism in the USA. Yup. The administration's plan to prevent terrorism is having the opposite effect.
Now, God knows how much this secret report cost to produce, but we have to ask if these results couldn't have been foreseen four years ago.
I mean, how many highly-educated Whitehouse advisors does it take to posit the question of how the Arab world might react if one of their countries is invaded and occupied by a traditionally Christian nation who deposes its leader, dissolves it government, destabilized the entire region and rains death on anyone who opposes it's presence ? Well, one actually. But it takes an experienced and intelligent leader to listen to that question and be able to answer it fully before running off to play John Wayne.

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

"The administration of justice is the firmest pillar of government."
-- George Washington Sept. 27, 1789

PICK A SCHOOL, ANY SCHOOL ...

The Daily Crime has an interesting community argument going on about taxes and school choice.
Some are positing that tax dollars paid by the parents should follow the child to the school he attends. Others say they should not have to pay tax dollars for a school system they don't use. Both positions are just plain freaking wrong. Look, let's go back to our first year of philosophy.... uh, better make that the first semester of philosophy, and discuss Plato's "Crito" where he outline the concept of the social contract. For those that slept through this part of the class, a quick review may be in order..... In essence, a social contract is an implicit or explicit agreement between an individual and the society in which he lives that holds that for society to be mutually beneficial to the group as a whole, as well as the individual, each party provides something to the group and demands something from the group.
The extrapolation of that idea means that the individual gains something from his association with the society. So, you're born into the society and a protected by the rules and laws of that society because you are a citizen of the nation and state where you were born and a member of society that places value on human life and justice.
And in order to underpin those rules and laws there has to be an infrastructure of support for the the common good. That's what taxes pay for, and for someone to suggest that the tax monies used to pay for public schools should go to a private school is ridiculous. An individual's tax dollars do not pay for their child's education, any more than they pay for their individual police and fire protection, or any other of the countless services that taxes pay for. In fact it is everyone's taxes that pay for those services. Tax monies are to the common good, and even though an individual may not use of all the services available to them, it does not mean they don't have to pay for them. ... If that argument had validity it would mean that because I've never used the U.S. Army, I should not have to pay for it. Or, because I've never been to outer space, my taxes should not pay for NASA.
Here's the thing, we are members and citizens of American society and we all have certain rights. But with those rights come the responsibilities of paying to see those rights are applied equally to everyone. And if the government were obligated to pay for private-school educations for one, or 100, or 100,000 children, they they would be giving each individual much more than they put into the tax pot. Would it then be fair for the government to then say that because you've gotten much more than you've given, you have no right to any other tax-supported services?