Eeney Meeney Miney Mo, Catch A .......

Everybody knows the rest of that little rhyme....and you're lying if you're of a "certain age" and say you don't. Yea...we've ALL been a little racist in our lives. I'm kind of disgusted with all of us at the moment....left and right. Right- for their blatant racism, sexism, and general "me before everybody else" attitude. Left- for their "we're above it all", take the media's version and run attitude. (I thought WE were the ones that had all the facts, didn't join the fray, and were the "lets the story play out" before pointing fingers.) Hypocrites. 

I know, this Paula Deen scandal, you say, is a symptom of all that is wrong with the south. You are using it to prove your point that this part of the country is decades behind the rest of the country, and that Blue states are more "advanced" than Red ones. I get that!! I've lived in both..there is a world of difference.....BUT before you all go around beating your chest about bringing down this lady that has worked for decades to raise her family and build this business (whether YOU like it or not..and you are entitled to your view of old-style southern cooking, etc. I was raised on it..but I now view my diet differently.)...why not bother to get some background. All anybody has heard has been the other side, and Paula's naive and poor attempts to redeem herself. (Where was her attorney? This should have been a NO.) 

Last year was the first attempt at this: http://abcnews.go.com/... 

The original letter (a must-read)  from the plaintiff's attorney: http://media.cmgdigita... 

And now the lawyer of this woman is preparing to file a lawsuit for slander against Bobby Deen for publicly defending his mother and her business? 
 WALMART, the company that gets all its products from dirt cheap labor overseas, cuts everybody's hours, used the "Made in America" meme to con the public for years, has a lawsuit against it in Mexico, and pays everyone so little that they give their new "associates" applications for SNAP when they are  hired......

And TARGET....where they support antigay rights and make employees watch antiunion videos? THESE companies have the gall to say Paul Deen does not reflect their values????

Please......give me a break. Trial by media, a favorite pastime of the American public and our "judicial" system. No matter how far we advance.....our basic nature never changes, I'm sorry to say. 

Post-Post-Post Debate Analysis, Sort of

Ok, the Right is having a field day with the fact that "Romney won the debate." Which he did fairly and squarely...if going for the most phrases spewed in a specific time which had absolutely no basis in fact is a qualified win. Apparently, it is. The technique is known as the Gish Gallop, named for the famed (?) evolution-basher Dr. Duane Gish.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12nYRa8PTzo
&
http://www.omg-facts.com/Other/The-Gish-Gallop-is-the-debating-techniqu/53793

Having to deal with sort of nonsense can make you want to tear your hair out. The President comes in, ready to defend his stances and debate his ursurper-to-be and is bombarded with stuff pulled out of thin air, apparently. To do anything but stare down, and try not to throw something at this fool must have been torture. The Angry Black Man was probably the effect the Repubs were hoping to achieve....at least that's my take.

We know that Mr. Obama is a better person than that...but have we on the Left become as blood-thirsty as those on the Right? There are two more debates and two more chances, now that we've seen which road Romney and Ryan are going to take.
And the past is usually a good indicator of the future: 
http://thepoliticalcarnival.net/2012/10/06/so-much-for-romneys-bipartisanship-claims/

This comment stolen from a discussion today on just this topic, to me, says it all:

"You know what? If the worse you can say about the president is that he decided not to kick ass when we all know he could and that he looked down alot to hide his disgust with wasting his anniversary arguing with a beach sandal, I mean think about it. We knew and he knew he had Bain in his boot, 47% in his belt, non-existent specifics under his jacket and Mitt's tax returns in his breast pocket. You KNOW he was strapped. Come on now, son. If Mitt is busy shooting himself in the foot why would the President bother wasting ammunition? Or worse, pulling a weapon and risk having it used against him by someone insane enough to try to take it from him. You stand back and look at crazy, you don't try to reason with it"  Tomiko Nichols · Executive Director at Drama Kids

To quote Mark Twain:

"Never argue with a fool, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience." 

Rally 'round The Chicken, Boys


You've got to hand it to those on the Right: they certainly know how to throw an anti-protest. Just mention FOOD and they're all there.....

Anybody in this country can have a business. Anybody can have any point of view they want....be it religious or political. Where it gets tricky is when you openly state those views and make it known where you monetary support goes...you know that money that you make from that business you own.
This is where the politics of the situation shows it's ugly head.
The right, sensing a gain to made from this...exploiting again their "Christian family values" and the fact that the entire country must be "Bible-based"...had the likes of Mike Huckabee, Sarah Palin and others take the helm. The left, on the other hand, was simply standing up for their belief that all people are equal. With Fox along for the ride you see how that turned out:

"American Christians are facing uncertain times. Our nation’s values are under assault. Religious liberty has been undermined. We live in a day when right is now wrong and wrong is now right.

The vicious left-wing assault against Chick-fil-A should serve as a wakeup call to people of faith. It’s not about a chicken sandwich. It’s about the future of our country.

“Individuals have the right to decide whether or not to ‘eat mor chikin.’ But no government leader should restrict a business or organization from expanding to their district based on the personal or political views of the owners,” said Leith Anderson, president of the National Association of Evangelicals. 

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2012/07/31/boycott-about-so-much-more-than-chicken-sandwich/#ixzz22PPRtdlf

Yep, you can have any business you want. To say something differently is wrong...and "undemocratic."
The next part is a little tricky: 
“Such evident discrimination and attempts to marginalize those with religious values have no place in American democracy.”Those who preach tolerance – are the least tolerant of all. And I suspect Councilman Kenney spoke for many when he issued a not-so-subtle threat to individuals like Dan Cathy who support traditional marriage.

“If he really, truly believes what he believes, that is his right to do so,” he said. “But there is often a price to pay for that.

In other words, Councilman Kenney wants people with dissenting views to shut up – or else face the consequences.

Apparently they've forgotten little matters such as this:
thttp://www.nashvillescene.com/pitw/archives/2011/06/07/not-welcome-documentary-on-murfreesboro-mosque-controversy-rough-cut

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2010/08/17/kt-mcfarland-ground-zero-mosque-god-september-obama-imam-feisal/

Or maybe even, as this commenter asks:

"What did you think when the American Family Association called for boycotts of Ford, Pepsi, McDonald’s, and Campbell’s Soup because of their pro-Gay stance?

What did you think when OneMillionMoms called for a boycott of Starbucks because they support marriage equality, or a boycott of J.C. Penney because Ellen Degeneres appears in their TV ads?"

Chicken and fast food aside, it all boils down to this for me:

"Denying civil rights to others in the name of Christian love has damaged our witness, alienated millions (including many younger Christians) and done nothing to address the real threats to marriage: the lack of time, energy and material resources necessary to nurture the bonds of love that hold a family together. If the church is to be faithful to Christ, then our political action should focus on what the kingdom of God is all about: .......not gays."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-j-dunn-phd/why-christian-activism-against-gay-marriage-is-not-christian_b_1509200.html

This Is What We're Up Against

The next few months are going to be a nightmare, in case you just dropped in from Mars or somewhere. The GOP is pulling out all the stops when it comes to Koch Brothers' money, instilling fear, spewing hatred (for everybody, it seems), ratcheting up war speech and military spending, disenfranchising would-be-voters, and venting their hatred and distrust of women and gays. Blacks and Hispanics: duck and cover.

I've often wondered if this is instilled into their poor RW youth at an early age, even before they can even comprehend their actions. Sorta like this:

ALERTS:

And then do they grow up to believe it's OK to act like this:

73

How in the world did some of those people on the Right in positions

of authority whether in politics, education, religion, or business, come to feel that THEIR ideas, THEIR reasoning, THEIR interpretation of the rules, are the bedrock of all that we do in this country and the rest of us be damned. Compromise or seeing another person's point of view (and accepting it as valid) is foreign to them.  

Maybe a lot of it is the fact that some people do not actually move around the country much: they are born and raised in a certain area, grow up there, and don't feel the need to venture much further. I'm glad we moved several times as I was growing up, and I got to experience different kinds of people and life styles. So did my kids as they grew up: friends of different races and cultures, gay couples as neighbors, attending different churches or none at all, and of course changing schools.

So, I guess my point is: get out and REALLY see this great land of ours. There shouldn't BE any "enemies". We're all in this together. I firmly believe that people are taught to behave the way they do...and this feeling is reinforced by the "company that you keep." Temper tantrums, name calling, truth twisting, died-in-the-wool hatred of others, and boatloads of money are going to be our downfall....Left or Right.

It's All In The Translation

.........A Guide to Right Wing Politics

It seems we have a bit of trouble talking to one another these days, or at least difficulty in getting our points across. The mindset of the Right and the Left are just miles apart, especially in today's political climate. It seems there can't be debate on ANY topic...especially taxes, women's rights, the poor or the climate. Throw in one's insistence that religion is the backbone of EVERYTHING in this country and watch sparks fly......especially when there is little evidence of said "religiosity' being shown by political figures, except briefly on the campaign trail.

Stealing some examples from satirical site LarkNews.com creator, Joel Kilpatrick, it must just be in your interpretation of some standard biblical passages:

"Remember the poor" becomes "Remember how lazy the poor are and be glad you're not on welfare like them."

"My kingdom is not of this world" means "But for now make sure you keep control of the White House & Congress."

"Do not mistreat an alien or oppress him" today translates to "Vote against government benefits for illegals."

"Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's" obviously means "Only pay taxes on money you can't hide from the IRS."

See how simple that is? Once you get the hang of it, it's quite easy. It's sort of like watching FOX News (though I don't suggest it for long periods of time due to mental health issues): whatever is SPOKEN is the OPPOSITE of what is actually done. And projecting your fears and shortcomings onto the party in question is always a good political measure.