The crazy conservatives are back in town. A few of the speakers:
Category: politics
Anti-gay discrimination in the name of religion
I cannot tell you how furious I get when hearing a politician or representative from a special interest group trying to justify these so-called “Religious Freedom” bills now making their way through several state legislatures. These bills would allow businesses to deny services to gays because of the employer’s religious beliefs- which isn’t any different from not allowing blacks to sit at lunch counters reserved for white customers.
My take at the Washington Post
UPDATE: Arizona Governor Jan Brewer vetoes bill
RELATED: Oklahoma judge rules Texas’ gay marriage ban unconstitutional; cites “state-imposed inequality”
George W Bush still doesn’t get it
This past Sunday ABC’s This Week ran an interview with the former president where he talked about his involvement with veterans and the difficulties they face when re-entering civilian life. At one point Bush gets somewhat emotional and says “I’m in there with them”. No, you’re not. You (and your administration) are the reason so many are in a place where you are not.
Kiev
Terrible news in Kiev this morning and not a peep from Putin.
Taiwan & China hold first direct talks since 1949
With the Olympics underway and the non-stop Chris Christie coverage, you’re probably not going to get much mention of this historic development in the American media. I worked and lived in Taipei for a short time in the late 1980’s and although I wasn’t interested in politics at the time, I remember very well when my taxicab driver proudly explained to me how Taiwan had many big guns pointed on their north shore towards mainland China in the event of an invasion.
A soldier’s 10th deployment
Last night’s State of the Union proved Speaker Boehner really does need an intervention for his tanning bed use, VP Biden has now officially turned into your crazy old uncle, and the GOP has jumped the shark in choosing patriotic backdrops (notice the apples; pie anyone?) for their SOTU responses. But what continues to stick in my mind is the moment when President Obama introduces Army Sergeant 1st class Cory Remsburg. No, not because of the two minute standing ovation he received and the understandable emotional reaction people (and myself) had- but to this line in Obama’s introduction:
“A few months later, on his tenth deployment, Cory was nearly killed by a massive roadside bomb in Afghanistan.”
His 10th deployment. Think about that for a minute.
Plenty of news orgs are characterizing this as the SOTU high point, but I haven’t read any stories or heard any of the talkingheads this morning pointing out the outrageousness of a soldier on his 10th deployment and how it illustrates the constant state of war this country is in. Our politicians are great at waving flags and giving standing ovations for injured soldiers while ignoring what this does to a country and its people’s souls.
W. Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin: drink the water at your own risk
The governor from West Virginia is certainly earning his pay. At a news conference yesterday Tomblin said that area residents should make their own decisions about drinking the water from West Virginia American Water’s Elk River plant after the Jan. 9th chemical spill. That’s right, your representatives will continue to fight any meaningful regulations protecting your air and water and when something happens, you’re on your own.
West Virginia chemical spill
The spill happened last Thursday but it looks like the MSM is finally understanding the magnitude of this story after the Sunday morning talk shows ignored it. It’s still a developing story, but there’s at least one question which should be answered: Why is a chemical substance which hasn’t been tested for humans allowed to be housed near a river which supplies water to communities?
For more on the spill and methylcyclohexane
For more coverage, go to The Charleston Gazette.
For my animation on the subject, from Monday
Former Israeli PM Ariel Sharon has died
From the archives:
Chris Christie goes on and on and on…
Gov. Christie’s 107 minute press conference gave me plenty of time to do some sketching for the next animation. Here’s the sketchbook drawings, the animation poses, and then the final animation.
Supreme Court sexism?
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has had to deal increasingly with the question whether she’ll step down from the bench while a Democratic president is still in office. Yes, she is 80 years old- the oldest member of the Court- and there’s the danger of health issues forcing a resignation during a conservative presidency. But hey, but the life expectancy of women in the US is five years more than men. That means that Justice Scalia (77) should consider stepping down as well as Justice Kennedy (77) and Breyer (75), right? At least we should expect more interviewers asking them the question only posed to Justice Ginsburg…
Edward Snowden, whistleblower
Yes, Edward Snowden is a whistleblower. Not a traitor, not a spy, and not someone who “…ought to swing from a tall oak tree”. Since the NSA ruling by Judge Richard Leon, I’ve been hearing more of the MSM use the term to describe, or at least pose the question that Snowden is a whistleblower.
Quite a different attitude than when we first learned of Edward Snowden: