God Isn't Running For Office

For once I am on topic..This is from Sojourners...

SATIRE: Fox shocks with plot to rock the Vatican vote

Contestants would compete in round after round of grueling auditions as viewers vote for the next pope.
As the Vatican prepares to choose a new pontiff, Roman Catholics worldwide are aghast at the brazen suggestion by Fox network executives to cast aside centuries of tradition by selecting the next pope through an American Idol-style television series.

"Instead of the College of Cardinals meeting in a secrecy-shrouded conclave, contestants would be drawn from open auditions at malls, civic centers, and cathedrals around the world," said Vaughn Wagner, Fox Executive Vice President for Exploiting Religious People. "Each week, they would showcase their talents as they administer sacraments, bless things, maintain balance while waving to crowds from a careening pope-mobile, and of course, the all-important vestment competition. (Tip: It never hurts to show a little leg.)"

Not to be outdone, CBS has asked the Anglican Church to consider stranding its next batch of candidates for Archbishop of Canterbury on a desert island, to be eliminated one by one through a televised series of physical challenges, endurance of disgusting and terrifying ordeals, and resistance to sexual temptations in a no-holds-barred conglomeration of Survivor, Fear Factor, and Temptation Island. The winner will then be rewarded with marriage (because Anglicans can) to a supposed wealthy aristocrat who will turn out to be an adulterous fraud - sort of Hosea meets My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance. Their handling of this final ordeal will demonstrate whether they are capable of honoring the sanctity of marriage in the spirit of the original big fat obnoxious fiance and founder of the Church of England, King Henry VIII.

Excellent work Tut, as usual.

Which brings me to the activities of one Mr. Rush Limbaugh. This is an excerpt from his show yesterday. I have not edited or deleted any portion of this. It's exactly how it went out over the publicly owned airwaves:

Limbaugh, yesterday:

LIMBAUGH: When does he start up this stupid little network? August? Yip yip yip yahoo. You know what Gore said about this? It's going to be liberal. It's going to reflect the point of view of young people.

What the hell is that, Al? What the hell is the point of view of young people? Blow jobs, that's what they're doing out there. They're out there getting oral sex all day long, that's what they're talking about. That's the point of view they can't wait that your boss,

Al made sure that's become the number one sport in high school today. So, I guess you're going to have a BJ network out there, Al, is that what you're going to do? You're going to call your network the oral sex channel out there, start competing with MTV?

No, it's not going to have any of this stuff out there, folks, it's going to be talking about liberalism, no, no, no, that's not what we're about. Classic cannot even admit who he is.
------------
Now, whatever you may think about censorship, there are few facts that are undeniable:

1. Rush Limbaugh was one of the biggest ringleaders in the morality movement following the nanosecond public exposure of Janet Jackson' right breast.

2. When he makes the comments above, he is talking about high school kids, for crying out loud.

3. How does this differ from Howard Stern? Well, let's forget for a moment that everyone who tunes into Howard Stern pretty much knows by now what Howard's act is. Therefore, they have a reasonable expectation of what will take place during the broadcast. On the other hand. I can pretty much guarantee that Rush's audience of listeners in no way expected to hear him talk about high schoolers with the potential for lettering in "blow jobs" (his words, not mine). That is a key distinction under the law.

Here is the current requirement for the FCC indecency complaints:
Obscene Broadcasts Are Prohibited at All Times

Obscene speech is not protected by the First Amendment and cannot be broadcast at any time. To be obscene, material must meet a three-prong test:

An average person, applying contemporary community standards, must find that the material, as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest;

The material must depict or describe, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct specifically defined by applicable law; and

The material, taken as a whole, must lack serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.
------------
So here is the FCC link to request that they hold Mr. Limbaugh to the standards which Mr. Limbaugh has himself demanded.

You know why I sent in my complaint this afternoon?

Because, it's not the sex, it's the hypocrisy.

Because it's not the moral relativism, it's the hypocisy.

Because it's not the fact that Mr. Limbaugh uses the publicly owned airwaves to make unsupported allegations of statutory rape against millions of unnamed high school children, while getting paid millions of dollars to do so. It's the hypocrisy.

Because it's not that the President and the Vice-President legitimized this pig with a microphone. It's the hypocrisy that the administration does so and then acts like he's not a foul-mouthed junkie who just committed numerous acts of indecency and obcenity on the public's airwaves, while they look the other way and yawn.

No, it's not any of that. It's still the hypocrisy.

So, here's the link for filing a complaint:
http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/obscene.html

Contact them. Demand they apply their standards of decency. Make sure to include your local station call sign and the time of the broadcast.

And tomorrow, I am going to listen carefully for the local folks who advertise on his show, and you can bet that I will be making a few phone calls, and I may even take my three year old son and my fourteen year old high school aged niece, about whom Rush said such lovely things yesterday, and maybe pay a few visits to these advertisers and show them the transcript and ask them to cancel their advertising.

Why go to all that trouble?

Because it's STILL the hypocrisy.

Posted by: spinnaker at April 13, 2005 09:15 PM

Do you have a link to the source of the transcript? I've checked his site and one has to become a member (argh) to get anything worthwhile. I'm willing to do that for the DCP, but there's no sense in stooping that low if one of us has already done it. I'd like the link as a reference in the letter I'm going to write to the FCC. (Others may want it as well.) I know you gave us the direct quotes, but I think the actual source will be valuable. Thanks, spinnaker.

You're absolutely right: it's all about the hypocrisy.

madame,

Shower when you're done. You'll need some heavy antiseptic!

Whenever I come to this site, I am blown away by the collective nature of the folks who post here. They're ACTIVE. They're DOING SOMETHING. Each time I come, I go away with another action to take, something constructive to DO to help get our country and our government back on track.

I love the home page. It hits you right in the face with the need to take action, not just complain.

I tell everyone I meet who might be interested that this is the one-stop shopping place for what actions need to be taken by all of us little people. Kind of like a democracy clearing house.

Thank you so much for this site.

My internet server isn't working but I am.

DiAnne,

We are missing you!

~ ~ ~ ~

Most, if not all of you, know that my fundie relatives have been awakened from their dream world where this administration is good, and they can trust them to make sound decisions on their behalf. They have stopped drinking the Kool-Aid.

I would really like to share more with you. This is kind of an interesting story, because I have never before this past year been in a place where I knew something, knew other well-intentioned people were getting taken for a ride, and when sharing the hypocrisy with them was met with such vehement denial and anger.

Now, I find, they are saddened to see some truths behind the lies. They took a big leap to see and admit that all is not as they imagined, and as they went from a place of fear and horror at hearing the truth, to a small acceptance of it, gone is their (false) sense of security. A bit of slight depression has started, and a comment today was:
"You can't trust anyone anymore." We spoke tonight and another comment was "I sure hope some of those big corporations start paying employees a decent wage." (This after reading the MoveOn.org talking points memo today.) Their understanding is still limited, but they know it isn't a moral thing to preach one thing and do another. To dupe people for a hidden agenda. I feel for them, and it does feel like I told them there was no Santa Clause.

They've been played.

~ ~ ~ ~

Tutt, that was a really good article. Laws cannot force people into a belief system. It is nothing more than being a control freak to enforce your set of standards on others, so you can feel good about yourself. And Tutt, you are right, enforcing behavior on people does not produce the desired effect. Control only begets reaction, most of it negative, and it comes out in one way or another. When put under a strict legal system, people's problems will intensify. Addictions will rise, along with the crime and violence rate. And what will it be worth? People going around complying with rules because they have to is not inspiring those people to do something out of their core. It is worth zero.

Legalism kills and destroys. When a person does something because it springs out of their innermost being, it is a beautiful and spiritual thing. The spirit gives life and builds up.

Madame DeFarge,

Prepare to clean your ears out with antiseptic--here's the audio:
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2005/04/12.html#a2433

Truth, as usual, you speak the truth about your spirituality with beauty and elegance that give it both lightness and power.

Thank you for consistently reminding us of the beauty of our faith.

Truth,

Would you mind telling us what you said or did that prevented others from being hostile towards you when you were telling them the truth? It seems to me that our arguments are met mostly with ridicule and scorn; and not only by the neocon front groups.

What did you do which helped others to take that "big leap"? I listen politely to people who don't agree with what I am saying. I always try to apply Lakoff's rules.

Comcast is in & out - very intermittent. It's frustrating.

But we do have our Democracy Cell facilitated retreat Saturday. This is the agenda:

10:00 - 10:15 Introductions
10:15 - 11:00 Exercise - What is needed to elect a Democratic candidate and promote Democratic issues in the state of Washington?
11:00 - 11:15 Break
11:15 ˆ 12:00 Exercise 2 ˆ Timeline for the identified needs
12:00 ˆ 12:45 PM Lunch
12:45 ˆ1:00 Organization Name
1:00 ˆ 2:00 Identify Committee, near term work
2:15 ˆ 2:30 Mission Statement
2:30 ˆ 3:15 Next Steps

Also a couple of friends attended the Voting Reform conference in Nashville.

Here is something:

*THE SILENT SCREAM OF NUMBERS*

As they slowly hack democracy to death, we're as alone - we citizens - as we've ever been, protected only by the dust-covered cliches of the nation's founding: "Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty."

It's time to blow off the dust and start paying the price.

The media are not on our side. The politicians are not on our side. It's just us, connecting the dots, fitting the fragments together, crunching the numbers, wanting to know why there were so many irregularities in the last election and why these glitches and dirty tricks and wacko numbers had not just an anti-Kerry but a racist tinge. This is not about partisan politics. It's more like: "Oh no, this can't be true."

I just got back from what was officially called the National Election Reform Conference, in Nashville, Tenn., an extraordinary pulling together of disparate voting-rights activists - 30 states were represented, 15 red and 15 blue - sponsored by a Nashville group called Gathering To Save Our Democracy. It had the feel of 1775: citizen patriots taking matters into their own hands to reclaim the republic. This was the level of its urgency.

Was the election of 2004 stolen? Thus is the question framed by those who don't want to know the answer. Anyone who says yes is immediately a conspiracy nut, and the listener's eyeballs roll. So let's not ask that question.

Let's simply ask why the lines were so long and the voting machines so few in Columbus and Cleveland and inner-city and college precincts across the country, especially in the swing states, causing an estimated one-third of the voters in these precincts to drop out of line without casting a ballot; why so many otherwise Democratic ballots, thousands and thousands in Ohio alone, but by no means only in Ohio, recorded no vote for president (as though people with no opinion on the presidential race waited in line for three or six or eight hours out of a fervor to have their say in the race for county commissioner); and why virtually every voter complaint about electronic voting machine malfunction indicated an unauthorized vote switch from Kerry to Bush.

This, mind you, is just for starters. We might also ask why so many Ph.D.-level mathematicians and computer programmers and other numbers-savvy scientists are saying that the numbers don't make sense (see, for instance, www.northnet.org/minstrel, the Web site of Dr. Richard Hayes Phillips, lead statistician in the Moss vs. Bush lawsuit challenging the Ohio election results). Indeed, the movement to investigate the 2004 election is led by such people, because the numbers are screaming at them that something is wrong.

And we might, no, we must, ask - with more seriousness than the media have asked - about those exit polls, which in years past were extraordinarily accurate but last November went haywire, predicting Kerry by roughly the margin by which he ultimately lost to Bush. This swing is out of the realm of random chance, forcing chagrined pollsters to hypothesize a "shy Republican" factor as the explanation; and the media have bought this evidence-free absurdity because it spares them the need to think about the F-word: fraud.

And the numbers are still haywire. A few days ago, Terry Neal wrote in the Washington Post about Bush's inexplicably low approval rating in the latest Gallup poll, 45 percent, vs. a 49 percent disapproval rating. This is, by a huge margin, the worst rating at this point in a president's second term ever recorded by Gallup, dating back to Truman.

"What's wrong with this picture?" asks exit polling expert Jonathan Simon, who pointed these latest numbers out to me. Bush mustered low approval ratings immediately before the election, surged on Election Day, then saw his ratings plunge immediately afterward. Yet Big Media has no curiosity about this anomaly.

Simon, who spoke at the Nashville conference - one of dozens of speakers to give highly detailed testimony on evidence of fraud and dirty tricks from sea to shining sea - said, "When the autopsy of our democracy is performed, it is my belief that media silence will be given as the primary cause of death."

In contrast to the deathly silence of the media is the silent scream of the numbers. The more you ponder these numbers, and all the accompanying data, the louder that scream grows. Did the people's choice get thwarted? Were thousands disenfranchised by chaos in the precincts, spurious challenges and uncounted provisional ballots? Were millions disenfranchised by electronic voting fraud on insecure, easily hacked computers? And who is authorized to act if this is so? Who is authorized to care?

No one, apparently, except average Americans, who want to be able to trust the voting process again, and who want their country back.

/Robert Koehler, an award-winning, Chicago-based journalist, is an editor at Tribune Media Services and nationally syndicated writer. You can respond to this column at _bkoehler@tribune.com_ or visit his Web site at commonwonders.com./
--

Tutter,

Do you have any idea where I can get a bumper sticker like that?

"Justice will roll down like water
And righteousness like a mighty stream."
-- Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King

With your overwhelming support, DriveDemocracy.org proudly co-sponsored the launch of a powerful new national movement that will change the direction of American politics. Leaders of the progressive religious community are traveling America, speaking out against immoral and inhumane national policies which widen the gap between rich and poor and feed the military and the unjustified occupation of Iraq at the expense of the poor and middle class at home.

DriveDemocracy.org members became the single largest early financial sponsors, donating $10,000 to the inaugural event at Riverside Church in New York City on April 4 and the ongoing "Break the Silence" tour of America.

We urge you to visit http://www.drivedemocracy.org to view the video of the Riverside Church event, which celebrated the anniversary of Dr. King's historic 1967 speech, "Beyond Vietnam," at Riverside.

Those who have been waiting to hear the voices of progressive religious leaders need wait no longer. The video includes excerpts of remarks by Riverside senior pastor, Rev. Dr. James A. Forbes, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sister Joan Chittister, Rabbi Arthur Waskow, Cleveland Mayor Jane L. Campbell, Gold Star Families for Peace founders Celeste Zappala and Cindy Sheehan, who lost their sons to the war in Iraq, and many other eloquent voices for change. Muslims, Buddhists, Sikhs, Christians and Jews joined together to speak out for freedom and democracy.

Dianne,

Some people from our cell and others concerned about the electiuon process in our county will be at a public forum tomorrow a.m. to request that the county board of elections answers our questions. they have said that they wont answer any of our questions. we intend to have a press presence there as well. Here is some of our communications:

TO ALL:
WE MUST move forward with this!  We cannot let them feel as though we are asking for their permission to ask them questions that are within the realm of public disclosure, if that is dictated by Open Records Law.  I have to make a few calls or else I would have gotten back to you already!

SNIP--
Dear Mr. Saar:

Our committee of concerned citizens is deeply
disappointed that you have declined to answer
these questions about the voting process in public at your
April 14th Board Meeting.

The integrity of the vote goes to the heart of our
Constitutional government and way of life. That
integrity is undermined when public officials
entrusted with the election process refuse to hear questions
about the election process in a public forum.

We are not only disappointed, but suggest that
inherent in the Constitutional oath of office sworn to
by all officials of the DuPage County Election
Commission is a duty to the first three words of that
Constitution, "WE THE PEOPLE." 

We are therefore, respectfully resubmitting the
questions previously sent to you for consideration and
answer by your choice of the Executive Director, or
any member of the DuPage County Election Commission at
the meeting on April 14,.  (Hopefully, an additional comment here
if the Public Records Law, ALLOWS US to ask these questions.)

Thank-you for your continued consideration these
enclosed questions.

Looking on the web, I saw another sticker: Freedom-The distance between church and state.

Ok, so I'll be gone most of the day today. But I'll still make sure I squeeze in my 5 minutes for Democracy.

On my agenda:

1. Call the FCC and file a complaint against Rush Limbaugh. They should fine him the same as if it had been Howard Stern who had said it. Then they should remove him from the air, just like Howard Stern. (Even though I'm not a Howard Stern fan, rules should be applied equally to all.

2. Check with my local House representative to see if he changed his mind about the Yes vote on the anti-average-American bankruptcy bill.

3. Call Senator Chafee's office to see if he voted for confirmation of the Bully Bolton.

4. Talk to people locally and tell them what Joe Shwartz did. Watch the fireworks as the word spreads.

5. Ethics...How could I forget ethics. I'll be calling the Republican House members and the members of the ethics committee to demand an investigation into the illegal (allegedly) activities of Tom Delay. As a former independent voter, I want my Republicans to stand up against this kind of behavior. I call them every day and ask them to stand up to Bush on his propaganda and illegal use of money; I ask them to investigate the alleged illegal behavior of the Bush administration and the cover up of 9-11 and war (specifically Iraq and Halliburton, and now I ask them to stand up for right and wrong and to investigate the alleged illegal activities of Tom Delay.

My representative, Joe Schwartz of Michigan, keeps letting this stuff go on. He promised he would be a moderate republican, but instead he is doing nothing to protect his constituents. He represents Grand Rapids, Jackson, Hillsdale, and parts of Washtenaw County. If you live in these areas, then be the media and tell your friends. Joe Schwartz shouldn't expect to hide in Washington as a NeoCON but pretend in Michigan to be a moderate. BE the MEDIA.

Oh, and I've got a friend working in the Candace Miller area. She is behaving exactly like Joe Schwartz. (That is the area North of Detroit.) So if you live in North Detroit in Candace Miller's area, start today and spread the word. She also voted yes on the bankruptcy bill.

Democrats, meanwhile, sharply criticized the ethics rule changes on Wednesday at a news conference that featured Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, the House Democratic leader, and the Senate Democratic leader, Harry Reid of Nevada. Ms. Pelosi warned that House Republicans, who rode to power in 1994 by portraying Democrats as arrogant, had become arrogant. "I have said for a long time their greed will be their downfall," she said.

At least one Republican, Mr. Shays, seemed to agree on Wednesday. "I'm no fan of Nancy Pelosi," he said. But, he added, "we said we would be different and we were when we started out. We are quickly becoming like they were when they were in the majority."

****Um...does anybody else see the difference here? Arrogant is one thing. And yes, this party is behaving arrogant. But CORRUPT is an entirely different ballpark. And the Democrats may have been arrogant; however, they were not corrupt.

At least ONE Republican is showing some spine, some ethics and is making the attempt to rein in the CONMEN.

DeLay steadily loses any shot at becoming speaker of House
Chicago Sun-Times - 19 hours ago
The drip, drip, drip of negative stories about House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) have already accomplished one thing -- dashing the likelihood DeLay ...
http://www.suntimes.com/output/elect/cst-nws-lynn13.html

DeLay should resign without further delay
Arizona Republic, AZ - 23 hours ago
There have been escalating questions about the ethics of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay over the past few years that need to be addressed. ...
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/articles/0413wedlet131.html

Historic parallels as DeLay's woes deepen
Christian Science Monitor - Apr 11, 2005
By Gail Russell Chaddock | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor. WASHINGTON – The gap between what House Republicans say ...
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0412/p02s01-uspo.html

DeLay Draws Fire From Fellow Republicans
ABC News - Apr 10, 2005
In this photo provided by ABC News, US Sens. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., right, and Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., appear for an interview ...
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=658869

The Loneliest Republican
Washington Post - 1 hour ago
By Dana Milbank. Rep. Christopher Shays (Conn.), the only Republican in Congress to call for Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) to resign as House ...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A51336-2005Apr13.html

GOP congressman says DeLay should step down as House majority ...
By LOU KESTEN, Associated Press Writer
Sunday, April 10, 2005
(04-10) 19:21 PDT WASHINGTON, (AP) -- Private GOP tensions over Tom DeLay's ethics controversy spilled into public Sunday, as a Senate leader ...
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2005/04/10/national/w142109D14.DTL&feed=rss.news

Under Fire, DeLay Apologizes for Criticizing Judges
Los Angeles Times (subscription), CA - 6 hours ago
By Maura Reynolds, Times Staff Writer. WASHINGTON — House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, increasingly under fire for what critics describe ...
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-delay14apr14,1,7781805.story?ctrack=1&cset=true

Senate committee delays Bolton vote
Democrats ask for more time on U.N. nominee

--snip--
Senate committee delays Bolton vote
Democrats ask for more time on U.N. nominee
--snip--
Committee Democrats, who are united in opposing Bolton, want to question State Department officials in writing about the undersecretary of state, said Andy Fisher, spokesman for the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Indiana.
Deferring a vote, which had tentatively been planned for Thursday, would give Democrats more time to try to persuade a moderate Republican, Sen. Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island, to defect to their side.
--snip--
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice rejected, meanwhile, testimony by a former State Department intelligence chief, Carl Ford Jr., that Bolton was a "serial abuser" of lower-level officials who challenged his analyses of other countries' weapons programs.

"That is certainly not the John Bolton I know," she said at a State Department news conference.

Rice, in response to a question, said she believed "in the right of dissent" within the department.

But she said once there was a decision it should be supported across-the-board.
http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/04/13/bolton.vote.ap/index.html

**********
No, Condi, you wouldn't know that John Bolton, because you're on the kiss-up side of him, not the kick-down side... And as for right of dissent, that's called "democracy." Perhaps you've heard of it, Condi? And that "decision across the board" you're referring to -- just whose decision do you mean? Your husb.. I mean, boss's decision?

Don't forget to check the home page for the Five Minutes of Democracy for the day.

From my Indonesian-American friend & cellmate in response to the article about voting which will appear in today's Chicago Tribune (which I posted last night):

Dear Dr. Phillips,

It was an astonishement and thrilled me after read your comprehensive report of 2004 election ! www.northnet.org/minstrel .Since beginning (November 2, 2004) I was SO sure that John Kerry won this election. My believe and what the expert's analyzes (Steven Freeman Phd. from University of Pennsylvania stfreema@sas.upenn.edu) produced exactly like your analyzes, the same result as my gut says.

Though some of my friends thought that I am insane, but I still believe deep in my heart that this election been rigged off.
Now, the whole country need to be united to against this shrub, how ? By put common ground and keep fight for the justice, I think the TRUTH will speak by itself . History has proven, most people has forgotton how Nixon fell down his presidency, but not me.The same pattern will apply to George W. Bush. I am a Christian, lives in Seattle,WA and true believer that "if you spread bad seeds eventually you will harvest the bad result!"

On the exit polls of the election day, I even did not wink my eyes the whole day to monitor the result, every single second is meaningful and valuable to the history of this nation. As you may aware, the process were so frightened and shock , just after 1.30 pm PST the nationwide result shows that John Kerry was leading in the exit polls, but just two hours afterward the result was overwhelmingly unbelievably the opposite side toward George W. Bush (???). Some expert even says that this was never happens in the past elections ....?? what does it mean ? Something must went wrong, as you described "another stolen election", our democracy is raped again for the second time.
My concern now is, why can't we change the election voting machine from an independent source, most possible from overseas. I am doubtful with Diebold system that we , so far using it, even few months before the election day, it's CEO made a public statement said that his company will do everything to ensure that the President would still be in power, isn't it scary to us...? sounds like living in dictatorship country, aren't we the model and leader of "World's Democracy"? it seems that opposite with the reality.

I am happy that such person like you, are dedicated to this country in an honest, objective and fair way with high integrity. Keep up what you were doing and keep me posted of what your findings in coming days.

Thanks and regards,

Ben J. Doko

tut...

PHENOMINAL!

I am going to send that to the editor of our church newsletter... I'll letcha know if it makes the cut.

Anyone wanna lay down odds?

Everything is bigger in Texas...

CNN BREAKING NEWS Texas businessman indicted in federal probe of United Nations' oil-for-food program in Iraq, law enforcement sources say. Details soon.

I guess a repeal of inheritance tax for 99.7% of Americans is not enough for the GOP.Interesting, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett both oppose the GOP bill, but why should the GOP listen to them when MARS Candy wants it repealed.

By a 194 to 238 vote, the House rejected a Democratic counteroffer, which would have shielded $3.5 million of an estate's value from taxation, enough to exempt 99.7 percent of estates from the inheritance tax, according to the Urban Institute-Brookings Institution Tax Policy Center

I too am a Comcast sufferer. This is the second time the network has gone thru this in my area. I am not having any fun.

As far as the post I made that Casey elevated, I really sat and struggled with it. I could not get the entire Florida debacle out of my mind. Then the politics in the aftermath, and the conferences being held gave me more to think about. These people are truly frightening. They would like to be thought of as Bible driven do-gooders doing the Lord's work. But, if you really really listen to them, they are full of anger and rage at being thwarted. There is no spiritual goodness in them to be shared with their fellow man. Rather, they hate entire segments of the population. Their hate of people drives them, not their love of God.

The religious right, and the political right are not the giving people. They are in place to take away. The religious right is prepared to allow their followers to live in near poverty, without decent wages, healthcare, etc. in order to further their moral domination. And the political right is prepared to make morality laws, as long as their corporate and wealthy friends keep getting richer. One hand is indeed washing the other, but the DIRT isn't coming off.

I wonder, who is laughing at whom? Do the fundies think they have the politicos over a barrel, control their fate at the ballot boxes? Do the politicos laugh at how easily the gullible fundies have given them control of the country, all in exchange for a few morality platforms?

I think both groups somehow see themselves as coming out the big winners. That old saying about there being no honor among theives comes to mind. If the country itself is the big prize, it still isn't big enough for them to share it forever.

I've read what everyone is posting. We see what isgoing on, and of course we know that many millions of people have not the faintest clue. People in the dark are the easist people to dominate, use, and abuse. People don't pay attention until it's too late to do anything.

Shed light. It's the only thing we can do. Shed light on the hatred and the greed. Tell people that there is the political right that wants their money, and the religious right that wants their life.

The religious right and the political right both have their plans about what they can TAKE AWAY from people. It's about taking, limiting, silencing, narrowing, curtailing, intimidating, and eliminating.

When you don't know what to say--ask people if they are religious, if they are prepared to give up the God who loves them, for a very different God. And ask people if they want political right morals as the laws of the land. Ask people if they are prepared to never see another Florida again--not because they spoke out and had an opinion, not because there are courts, not because they know the difference between right and wrong, but because left alone, without their voices now, their voices will be outlawed.

'Love one another as I have loved you' That is the ultimate law. That is the one I learned. Judge not. Tolerance. Kindness. Equality. Understanding.

I'm seriously using that question I posed to Rick Santorum, and I think it applies to the vast majority of the religious and political right......

Are you really going to stand in front of God with that soul?

Again, a second thoughtful post by Tutt.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

ONCALL,

Truth,

Would you mind telling us what you said or did that prevented others from being hostile towards you when you were telling them the truth? It seems to me that our arguments are met mostly with ridicule and scorn; and not only by the neocon front groups.

What did you do which helped others to take that "big leap"? I listen politely to people who don't agree with what I am saying. I always try to apply Lakoff's rules.

Posted by: oncall at April 14, 2005 12:16 AM

ONCALL,

I wish I could say I found a formula that will work on everyone, but I didn't. I was just myself. After a while, after many months of slipping facts into our conversations, they could see I was very deeply concerned. They knew it was very important to me, or I wouldn't be persistent and consistent with my concern and message.

I tried to frame things around the morality of the issue, and tried to get behind their eye-balls so to speak, to speak to their sense of values and morals. Refuse to ever let it get to a debate over religious differences or beliefs. Speak to the issues you know are important to these people (equality, fairness, stealing and being stolen from, killing,) and (Social Security, Medicare, our lack of healthcare in this country, lack of compassion by running up a huge deficit, then taking from the poorest families by lessening their social programs including housing and food stamps, thus sending more people out to be homeless, BUSSING over 100 people who have been rehearsed to a townhall meeting to "help" the president tell the common folk about how he is "saving" Social Security.) Tell them they are being manipulated, and are being lied to. Tell them the truth about Iraq. Tell them this administration has been very frivilous about spending money like wildmen, but they want the working Americans to "help" them get their deficit down by going after the worker instead of big business. Tell them that Karl Rove's actions are inconsistent with their own beliefs because one of his biggest tools to mastermind the Republican rise to power has been slander. Expose other shady politicians like DeLay.

The bankruptcy bill is another one that speaks to alot of people, because almost everyone has a few credit cards, and has seen tight times, and is in danger of losing everything they have as a result of this dangerous bankruptcy bill.

I did not frame things very well many times. But I knew which issues are important to their perception of how their true faith should be played out. And I worked from them. They are starting to be able to pick things up now, like the week long campaign for the Catholic vote under the guise of "news", with Poppy and madonna-looking Laura in tow. That rankled them. Also the Terri Schiavo fiasco.

I urge anyone who hasn't read it, to get a copy of the MoveOn.org talking points memo and pass it on to people on both sides of the aisle. It is a great letter.

Now is a great time to talk these points to everyone you can. If they don't believe you, they can turn around and see it for themselves. It is written on the wall.

I think these greedy manipulators have overplayed their hand. Truth has a way of rising to the top.