Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Post: Tolerance a Sign of Toxicity

Every morning I walk out to the end of the driveway and pick up the Washington Post and look it over while I have breakfast. I have read the newspaper since before the Internet, before cable TV, even in ye olde dayes when I rented a cheap place and hitchhiked everywhere and did not have television and lived on Kraft macaroni and cheese (5 for $1) I subscribed to the newspaper. But these days I can barely stand to read it.

Example. This morning's Post had a front page story that began like this:
Not long ago, pasta-maker Barilla was just one more major company that had run afoul of the gay rights movement, a distinction it earned last year when its chairman said he would never feature a same-sex couple in an ad. If gays didn’t like it, he added, they could eat something else.

But in a sign of how toxic it has become for a company to be viewed as unfriendly toward gays, Barilla has made a dramatic turnaround in the space of one year, expanding health benefits for transgender workers and their families, contributing money to gay rights causes, and featuring a lesbian couple on a promotional Web site. Human Rights Campaign says Barilla has turned around its policies on LGBT
BTW the print headline was "A recipe for recovery: Barilla makes amends to gay groups."

Now, honestly, I don't know what a "Barilla" is, and I was unaware that they were anti-gay. There are some people in the world who still cling to that but generally I am comfortable that our society has risen above the negative stereotypes and fear of LGBT people.

And of course I'm glad that a company has come around and stopped being jerks. I am pleased whenever I read these stories, people who "evolve" or states that approve marriage equality, "ex-gays" who come out and marry someone they love, but I don't really follow all the news. I check out the headlines and move on, knowing that a major public attitude has changed and the world is a better place for it. It's nice if a company becomes more accepting of something it can't change anyway.

But how in the world does The Post take this as "a sign of how toxic it has become for a company to be viewed as unfriendly toward gays"? There is nothing at all toxic about any of this. If the word needs to be used, you could say that Guido Barilla has stopped being "toxic". But I wouldn't say that, I would say he has overcome his ignorance.

Imagine The Post in 1947 saying "But in a sign of how toxic it has become for a company to be viewed as unfriendly toward Negroes, the Brooklyn Dodgers have made a dramatic turnaround, hiring a Negro to play on their team..." "But in a sign of how toxic it has become for a country to be viewed as unfriendly toward democracy, Germany has agreed to surrender ..." "But in a sign of how toxic it has become to be viewed as unfriendly toward mass murderers, some chick married Charlie Manson this week..." It is a terrible explanation for almost anything that can possibly happen.

This story was featured on Page One of the newspaper today. Thousands of people did what I did, shivered out to the street to pick up the paper, propped it up on the counter while they buttered their toast, and read about this proud Old World company caving to the toxicity of the homosexuals. Most of the readers have not been immersed in the culture wars like I have and believe that they are simply reading an objective account of something that has happened. The gays put so much pressure on this company that they buckled and now give money to gay causes, they even feature lesbians in their ads. We imagine the executives cowering in fear in the conference room, pleading with the gays not to pummel them or -- gasp! -- disparage them in public.

Apparently Barilla is an old-school Italian pasta company, and Guido Barilla said last year he would never feature a gay couple in an ad: “Ours is a classic family where the woman plays a fundamental role." Okay, old-country guy, he hadn't thought this through. I totally understand that a lot has changed in the last twenty years or so and not everybody gets it the first time around.
Guido Barilla issued multiple video apologies in the wake of the scandal. Barilla Group did not make Guido Barilla available for an interview, but in a statement, he apologized again, adding: “I am proud to say that, as a result of these discussions, we have all learned a great deal about the true definition and meaning of family, and over the past year we have worked hard to reflect that throughout our organization.”
So, yes, a lot of people have gone through that.

The idea that Guido's opening up and accepting something he didn't initially understand is "toxic" is just a horrendous misinterpretation. And here's the thing -- every day there is something like that. The Post has fallen into the gutter but it's not alone, you see these things everywhere you look. Trying to correct the bias in the media would take more time than anyone has and this is just a drop in the bucket -- I bet you don't even see a letter to the editor about this one. Fair-minded people see this sort of article and roll their eyes but they've got things to do, you can't respond to every one of these stupid things. And so it goes on, day after day, people pick up the paper and read this stuff and believe that it accurately reflects what is going on in the world.

71 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

“I am proud to say that, as a result of these discussions, we have all learned a great deal about the true definition and meaning of family, and over the past year we have worked hard to reflect that throughout our organization.”

Here's hoping every old time bigot learns this same lesson Guido Barilla has learned so well.

What a wonderful world that would be!

November 20, 2014 10:51 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

actually, if worst thing happening in the world was that people disagreed on what relationships should be called marriage and would stop try to bully people into their personal view

what a wonderful world that would be

November 20, 2014 11:25 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

hey, guess what, kids?

the gay agenda is about to lose another Senate seat

incumbent Democrat Mary Landrieu of Bayou country is down 15% in the run-off coming in early December

party on Bourbon Street!!

November 20, 2014 1:19 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Good riddance to the DINO!

Just this week she was defeated by the spirit of Red Cloud in her quest to bring the Keystone Xtra Pollution pipeline right through the heart of the Lakota Sioux nation and Grey Cloud sang in jubilation in the galley of the US Senate!

November 20, 2014 3:02 PM  
Anonymous NOLA said...

welcome the RINAR

a real Dem wouldn't have a snowball's chance on Madri Gras of winning

November 20, 2014 3:29 PM  
Anonymous 2011 Obama said...

“Now, I know some people want me to bypass Congress and change the laws on my own. And believe me, right now dealing with Congress -- believe me -- believe me, the idea of doing things on my own is very tempting. I promise you. Not just on immigration reform. But that's not how -- that's not how our system works. That’s not how our democracy functions. That's not how our Constitution is written.”

November 21, 2014 7:59 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Bush, 2006: "Some in this country argue that the solution is to deport every illegal immigrant and that any proposal short of this amounts to amnesty. I disagree."

Obama, 2014: "I know some of the critics of this action call it amnesty. Well, it's not."

Bush, 2006: "There is a rational middle ground between granting an automatic path to citizenship for every illegal immigrant, and a program of mass deportation. That middle ground recognizes that there are differences between an illegal immigrant who crossed the border recently and someone who has worked here for many years, and has a home, a family, and an otherwise clean record."

Obama, 2014: "Mass deportation would be both impossible and contrary to our character. What I'm describing is accountability — a commonsense, middle-ground approach: If you meet the criteria, you can come out of the shadows and get right with the law. If you're a criminal, you'll be deported."

Bush, 2006: "The vast majority of illegal immigrants are decent people who work hard, support their families, practice their faith, and lead responsible lives. They are a part of American life but they are beyond the reach and protection of American law."

Obama, 2014: "They work hard, often in tough, low-paying jobs. They support their families. They worship at our churches. ... As my predecessor, President Bush, once put it: 'They are a part of American life.'"

November 21, 2014 8:34 AM  
Anonymous Inconvenient facts said...

Global Temperatures Are the Hottest on Record for a Fifth Month This Year

"That's despite the U.S. experiencing a bit of a deep freeze

The world is heading for the warmest year on record with October the fifth month to break worldwide heat records.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced Thursday that the average global temperature for October was 58.43ºF (14.74ºC).

“It is becoming pretty clear that 2014 will end up as the warmest year on record,” said Deke Arndt, chief of climate monitoring for NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center. “The remaining question is: How much?”

This year, the world’s temperature is averaging 58.62ºF, (14.78ºC), already beating other hot years 2010 and 1998.

Arndt says man-made global warming is to blame. The burning of coal, oil and gas causes heat to be trapped in the earth’s atmosphere. The world’s oceans absorb this heat and because of their size, are slow to cool down. Over the past six months the world’s ocean temperatures have been their warmest on record.

Scientists say the year-on-year, decade-on-decade rise in global temperatures is proof that climate change is real and not slowing down.

“[This] is climate change, and we are seeing it in spades,” Katharine Hayhoe, a climate scientist for Texas Tech, told the Associated Press.

The freezing temperatures and snowstorms in the U.S. won’t have an affect on the heat records as the area experiencing the cold spell is just 1.5% of the entire globe.

In 2014, October, September, August, June and May all set global heat records."

November 21, 2014 8:38 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

oh, I'm in favor of allowing as many immigrants as is feasible in

and since these people have been here a while, it's obviously feasible

I's also favor abolishing corporate income tax

but I'd have a problem with Obama doing it unilaterally

every banana republic dictator says he had to make his own laws because the legislature won't do what he tells them to do

Obama belongs in a banana republic

November 21, 2014 8:40 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"“It is becoming pretty clear that 2014 will end up as the warmest year on record,” said Deke Arndt, chief of climate monitoring for NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center.

Arndt says man-made global warming is to blame. The burning of coal, oil and gas causes heat to be trapped in the earth’s atmosphere."

tell Obama

the U.S. has reduced carbon emissions more than any other nation the last two decades

we are on target to meet the goals of the Kyoto agreement that we didn't sign

meanwhile, Obama, the Keystone cop President, just went to China and signed an agreement that they can keep increasing their carbon output for sixteen more years while we'll reduce ours 25% more

and he does nothing about Brazil deforesting the largest stand of trees on the planet

despite the fact that he won't act even based on his priorities, there is no evidence that CATASTROPHIC climate change is coming

November 21, 2014 8:54 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

now that Barack Obama has set up precedent that Presidents can decide, of their own accord, to decide what laws to enforce, this will make everything more efficient

expect President Huckabee to announce in January 2017 that he will no longer enforce payment of tax on corporate income

no need to get Congress involved

November 21, 2014 10:21 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

tee hee!!

Wheeeee!!!!

TTF has lost the argument and realizes it's no use

November 21, 2014 1:42 PM  
Anonymous ugg-a-wug said...

just when you thought the misery of TTFers couldn't get worse, consider this:

Bill Cosby was a beloved figure for years

Power — who has it, who doesn’t, can for years insulate the holder of it

but not forever

for no particular reason, all the old rape allegations re-emerged

was the media just saving it up for the right moment?

Cosby has lent the Smithsonian his collection of art for a high-profile exhibit and was getting all kinds of attention

which brings us to Bill Clinton

why is he tolerated by respectable feminists?

Juanita Broaddrick, a Clinton campaign volunteer from the early Arkansas days, accused Clinton in 1998 of raping her when he was attorney general. Clinton eventually settled a sexual harassment lawsuit filed in 1994 by Paula Jones, relating to incidents she said happened when he was governor of Arkansas and she was a low-level state employee. Kathleen Willey, a White House volunteer who worked on Clinton’s 1992 campaign, accused him of groping her in the White House in 1993.

Then, of course, there was Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinsky. While consensual, the details showed Clinton exploiting the huge power differential between a president and a White House intern, and the deniability Clinton believed it gave him. “I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky,” he famously declared.

could the media just be saving this for after Hillary secures the nomination?

have a nice day!!

November 21, 2014 1:57 PM  
Anonymous Dems' creeping misery spreads said...

oh, those Bills

November 21, 2014 1:59 PM  
Anonymous what a miserable time for the gay agenda, TTF can't be happy said...

{:0)

November 21, 2014 2:36 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

GOP Lifer: The missing story of the 2014 election

"Few things are as dangerous to a long term strategy as a short-term victory. Republicans this week scored the kind of win that sets one up for spectacular, catastrophic failure and no one is talking about it.

What emerges from the numbers is the continuation of a trend that has been in place for almost two decades. Once again, Republicans are disappearing from the competitive landscape at the national level across the most heavily populated sections of the country while intensifying their hold on a declining electoral bloc of aging, white, rural voters. The 2014 election not only continued that doomed pattern, it doubled down on it. As a result, it became apparent from the numbers last week that no Republican candidate has a credible shot at the White House in 2016, and the chance of the GOP holding the Senate for longer than two years is precisely zero.

For Republicans looking for ways that the party can once again take the lead in building a nationally relevant governing agenda, the 2014 election is a prelude to a disaster. Understanding this trend begins with a stark graphic.

Behold the Blue Wall

The Blue Wall is block of states that no Republican Presidential candidate can realistically hope to win. Tuesday that block finally extended to New Hampshire, meaning that at the outset of any Presidential campaign, a minimally effective Democratic candidate can expect to win 257 electoral votes without even trying. That’s 257 out of the 270 needed to win.

Arguably Virginia now sits behind that wall as well. Democrats won the Senate seat there without campaigning in a year when hardly anyone but Republicans showed up to vote and the GOP enjoyed its largest wave in modern history. Virginia would take that tally to 270. Again, that’s 270 out of 270.

This means that the next Presidential election, and all subsequent ones until a future party realignment, will be decided in the Democratic primary. Only by sweeping all nine of the states that remain in contention AND also flipping one impossibly Democratic state can a Republican candidate win the White House. What are the odds that a Republican candidate capable of passing muster with 2016 GOP primary voters can accomplish that feat? You do the math.

By contrast, Republicans control a far more modest Red Fortress, which currently amounts to 149 electoral votes. What happened to that fortress amid the glory of the 2014 “victory?” It shrunk yet again. Not only are New Hampshire and probably Virginia now off the competitive map, Georgia is now clearly in play at the Federal level. This trend did not start in 2014 and it will not end here. This is a long-term realignment that been in motion for more than a decade and continues to accelerate.

The biggest Republican victory in decades did not move the map. The Republican party’s geographic and demographic isolation from the rest of American actually got worse.

A few other items of interest from the 2014 election results:

- Republican Senate candidates lost every single race behind the Blue Wall. Every one.

- Behind the Blue Wall there were some new Republican Governors, but their success was very specific and did not translate down the ballot. None of these candidates ran on social issues, Obama, or opposition the ACA. Rauner stands out as a particular bright spot in Illinois, but Democrats in Illinois retained their supermajority in the State Assembly, similar to other northern states, without losing a single seat.

- Republicans in 2014 were the most popular girl at a party no one attended. Voter turnout was awful.

- Democrats have consolidated their power behind the sections of the country that generate the overwhelming bulk of America’s wealth outside the energy industry. That’s only ironic if you buy into far-right propaganda, but it’s interesting none the less...."

November 21, 2014 3:19 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"...- Vote suppression is working remarkably well, but that won’t last. Eventually Democrats will help people get the documentation they need to meet the ridiculous and confusing new requirements. The whole “voter integrity” sham may have given Republicans a one or maybe two-election boost in low-turnout races. Meanwhile we kissed off minority votes for the foreseeable future.- Across the country, every major Democratic ballot initiative was successful, including every minimum wage increase, even in the red states.

- Every personhood amendment failed.

- For only the second time in fifty years Nebraska is sending a Democrat to Congress. Former Republican, Brad Ashford, defeated one of the GOP’s most stubborn climate deniers to take the seat.

- Almost half of the Republican Congressional delegation now comes from the former Confederacy. Total coincidence, just pointing that out.

- In Congress, there are no more white Democrats from the South. The long flight of the Dixiecrats has concluded.

- Democrats in 2014 were up against a particularly tough climate because they had to defend 13 Senate seats in red or purple states. In 2016 Republicans will be defending 24 Senate seats and at least 18 of them are likely to be competitive based on geography and demographics. Democrats will be defending precisely one seat that could possibly be competitive. One.

- And that “Republican wave?” In Congressional elections this year it amounted to a total of 52% of the vote. That’s it.

- Republican support grew deeper in 2014, not broader. For example, new Texas Governor Greg Abbott won a whopping victory in the Republic of Baptistan. That’s great, but that’s a race no one ever thought would be competitive and hardly anyone showed up to vote in. Texas not only had the lowest voter turnout in the country (less than 30%), a position it has consistently held across decades, but that electorate is more militantly out of step with every national trend then any other major Republican bloc. Texas now holds a tenth of the GOP majority in the House.

- Keep an eye on oil prices. Texas, which is at the core of GOP dysfunction, is a petro-state with an economy roughly as diverse and modern as Nigeria, Iran or Venezuela. It was been relatively untouched by the economic collapse because it is relatively dislocated from the US economy in general. Watch what happens if the decline in oil prices lasts more than a year....

November 21, 2014 3:19 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"...- For all the talk about economic problems, for the past year the US economy has been running at ’90’s levels. Watch Republicans start touting a booming economy as the result of their 2014 “mandate.”

- McConnell’s conciliatory statements are encouraging, but he’s about to discover that he cannot persuade Republican Senators and Congressmen to cooperate on anything constructive. We’re about to get two years of intense, horrifying stupidity. If you thought Benghazi was a legitimate scandal that reveals Obama’s real plans for America then you’re an idiot, but these next two years will be a (briefly) happy period for you.

This is an age built for Republican solutions. The global economy is undergoing a massive, accelerating transformation that promises massive new wealth and staggering challenges. We need heads-up, intelligent adaptations to capitalize on those challenges. Republicans, with their traditional leadership on commercial issues should be at the leading edge of planning to capitalize on this emerging environment.

What are we getting from Republicans? Climate denial, theocracy, thinly veiled racism, paranoia, and Benghazi hearings. Lots and lots of hearings on Benghazi.

It is almost too late for Republicans to participate in shaping the next wave of our economic and political transformation. The opportunities we inherited coming out of the Reagan Era are blinking out of existence one by one while we chase so-called “issues” so stupid, so blindingly disconnected from our emerging needs that our grandchildren will look back on our performance in much the same way that we see the failures of the generation that fought desegregation.

Something, some force, some gathering of sane, rational, authentically concerned human beings generally at peace with reality must emerge in the next four to six years from the right, or our opportunity will be lost for a long generation. Needless to say, Greg Abbott and Jodi Ernst are not that force.

“Winning” this election did not help that force emerge. This was a dark week for Republicans, and for everyone who wants to see America remain the world’s most vibrant, most powerful nation."

November 21, 2014 3:19 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"Where's global warming?"

November 21, 2014 3:30 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Here's some:

Heatwave hell as 5000 dead bats drop from trees in Casino, northern NSW

November 22, 2014 7:10 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

And here:

2014 Warmest Year: California, World Set To Break Records

November 22, 2014 7:26 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"The Blue Wall is block of states that no Republican Presidential candidate can realistically hope to win. Tuesday that block finally extended to New Hampshire, meaning that at the outset of any Presidential campaign, a minimally effective Democratic candidate can expect to win 257 electoral votes without even trying. That’s 257 out of the 270 needed to win."

so sad that someone could get this far out of touch from reality

if so many of these "blue wall" states have Republican governors, including Maryland and Massachusetts, why can't they go for the GOP in a presidential election?

November 22, 2014 1:49 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

You need to ask?

< eye roll >

Massachusetts
State House/Assembly 131 Dems/29 Reps
State Senate 35 Dems/4 Reps/1 vacancy (5 Middlesex)

Massachusetts, one of the original 13 colonies, joined the Union in February 1788, and has participated in all 57 presidential elections. The state has been reliably Democratic since 1928, but has voted Republican four times since then – twice each for Dwight Eisenhower and Ronald Reagan.

Maryland
State House/Assembly 98 Dems/43 Reps
State Senate 35 Dems/12 Reps

Maryland, one of the original 13 colonies, entered the Union in April 1788 and has participated in all 57 presidential elections. Maryland has been primarily a “blue” state since the founding of the modern political parties (around the time of the Civil War). Since 1960, Maryland has voted Republican only in the landslide wins of Richard Nixon in 1972, Ronald Reagan in 1984 and George H. W. Bush in 1988. In 2012, Barack Obama easily overcame Mitt Romney here (62% to 36%).

November 22, 2014 4:32 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The new NBC/WSJ poll conducted November 14-17 provides a post election snap shot of American voter expectations, including their priorities for actions Congress should take. Can you guess how they match up with GOP Lawmaker's priorities? It's a real shocker folks.

The People's agenda for Congress:

1. Access to lower cost student loans--80% support.
2. Increase spending on infrastructure--75%
3. Raising the minimum wage--65%
4. Emergency funding for fighting Ebola in Africa--60%
5. Addressing climate change/reducing carbon emissions--59%
6. Building Keystone Pipeline--54%

Agenda items registering below 50% support were: lowering taxes by closing loopholes; approving U.S. troops to fight ISIS in Iraq and Syria; reducing Medicare and Social Security benefits for wealthy retirees; new trade agreements with Asian nations; lowering corporate tax rates; cutting funding for ACA; path to citizenship; and raising Social Security retirement age.

November 22, 2014 4:42 PM  
Anonymous GOP eats crow said...

A two-year investigation by the Republican-controlled House Intelligence Committee has found that the CIA and the military acted properly in responding to the 2012 attack on a U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, and asserted no wrongdoing by Obama administration appointees.

Debunking a series of persistent allegations hinting at dark conspiracies, the investigation of the politically charged incident determined that there was no intelligence failure, no delay in sending a CIA rescue team, no missed opportunity for a military rescue, and no evidence the CIA was covertly shipping arms from Libya to Syria.

In the immediate aftermath of the attack, intelligence about who carried it out and why was contradictory, the report found. That led Susan Rice, then U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, to inaccurately assert that the attack had evolved from a protest, when in fact there had been no protest. But it was intelligence analysts, not political appointees, who made the wrong call, the committee found. The report did not conclude that Rice or any other government official acted in bad faith or intentionally misled the American people.

November 22, 2014 4:54 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"You need to ask?

< eye roll >"

the history of Maryland and Massachusetts is fascinating but irrelevant to my question

if the are electing GOP governors, which is statewide election, there is no logical reason to think that the state's can't vote Republican

most importantly, however, is the fact that those two states are the most reliable of the supposed "blue wall", and they could potentially go red

the others are much less solid

also, polls show all major Dem base groups are fading but especially young people

"The new NBC/WSJ poll conducted November 14-17 provides a post election snap shot of American voter expectations, including their priorities for actions Congress should take. Can you guess how they match up with GOP Lawmaker's priorities? It's a real shocker folks."

yeah, it's a real shocker

they want a bunch of programs and don't care how it's paid for

it's called bread and circuses

Obama alienates them daily and, as fortune would have it, he continues as President for two more years

Dems will have to come up with some real tricky ways to disassociate themselves from him if they want to win

which will likely deliver some big victories for America over the next couple of years and people will be so glad for red Congress, they'll want to double down

party down: Dem

party on: Repub

" two-year investigation by the Republican-controlled House Intelligence Committee has found that the CIA and the military acted properly in responding to the 2012 attack on a U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi"

well, Obama didn't

he accused a writer of causing the problem by not heeding Islamic censors

this inflamed and encouraged unrest throughout the Muslim world leading to many deaths

Obama lied to cover himself

this lead to many problems

November 22, 2014 10:47 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The elections of GOP governors in MA and MD happened during a non-presidential election year, the only years the GOP tends to do well any more. During Presidential years like 2008 and 2012, the GOP lost House seats, Senate seats and the Presidency, but in non-presidential election years like 2010 and 2014, the voter turnout is lousy and the GOP does relatively well.

Voter turnout was especially lousy in 2014. In fact, 2014 midterm election turnout lowest in 70 years

"...in blue states like Maryland and Massachusetts, turnout was down in those states by 10 percent as compared to 2010," another non-presidential year with low turnout.

Elections results illustrate how it works:

Maryland vote 2008
Obama 1,629,467
McCain 659,862
Others 33,062
TOTAL VOTERS 2,322,391

Maryland vote 2010
O'Malley 1,044,961
Ehrlich 776,319
Others 35,600
TOTAL VOTERS 1,956,880

Maryland vote 2012
Obama 1,677,844
Romney 971,869
Others 47,305
TOTAL VOTERS 2,692,018

Maryland vote 2014
Brown 818.890
Hogan 884,400
Others 29,887
TOTAL VOTERS: 1,733.177

These results look a lot like the last time the GOP won a statewide election in Maryland, in 2002 when the voting results were: 879,592 Ehrlich, and 813,422 Townsend

In Maryland, the lower the turnout, the better the GOP does.

And the same is true of Massachusetts.

Massachusetts voter turnout
2008 -- 3,102,995

2010 -- 2,319,963

2012 -- 3,184,196

2014
"The election had a final turnout of 2,123,349 votes out of the 4,342,841 registered voters in Massachusetts as of 2012, which is about 48.89 percent, according to the Associated Press with 99 percent of precincts reported at press time. Compared to the 2010 midterm general election, about 55.35 percent of registered voters showed up to the polls, about 200,000 more people than in 2014. In the 2012 election with a presidential race, about 73.32 percent of registered voters cast their ballot."

November 23, 2014 8:59 AM  
Anonymous burp!! said...

"The elections of GOP governors in MA and MD happened during a non-presidential election year, the only years the GOP tends to do well any more. During Presidential years like 2008 and 2012"

you're making some assumptions here that aren't warranted

those may not be the new norm

those two years were unique in that we had a first two African American candidate and his first re-election

this changes things in ways that will likely never be repeated

and, btw, the dynamic won't be the same for the first woman candidate

the GOP holds the majority of state house and governor mansions

expect this to cement their majority in the House for decades because of gerrymandering

and, right now, their are few worthy candidates in the bullpen

if you are a lousy un-American Democrat, you've got lots to worry about

November 23, 2014 3:57 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Republicans Are Blocking The Only Congressional Response To Ferguson

"WASHINGTON -- The only Congressional response to this summer's brutal police crackdown in Ferguson, Missouri appears to be dead, with the House GOP leadership blocking a vote on a bipartisan bill introduced by Reps. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) and Raul Labrador (R-Idaho).

The legislation seeks to curb controversial transfers of military weapons and equipment to local police forces. It would ban the Pentagon from granting local police free automatic weapons, armored vehicles, weaponized drones, combat helicopters, grenades, silencers, sound cannons and other equipment, although police could still purchase such gear with local budgets or through grants from the Department of Homeland Security.

It would also impose more stringent safeguards to account for the equipment that does get transferred. Collectively, more than $4 billion in military weaponry and equipment has been distributed to police forces across the U.S. since the inception of the initiative, known as the 1033 Program.

The bill is Johnson's baby, crafted prior to the protests in Ferguson but introduced in September after Johnson courted backing from Labrador and other Republicans, including Reps. Justin Amash (R-Mich.), Walter Jones (R-N.C.) and Tom McClintock (R-Calif.)..."

November 25, 2014 9:36 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

sounds like a stupid bill

Republicans are being responsible to block it

personally, I'd prefer that my local police not go commando but let's leave it up to the localities

November 25, 2014 1:51 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The One Battle Michael Brown's Family Will Win

Body-worn cameras are poised to become standard for police around the U.S. after the tragedy in Ferguson

In the fevered moments after the grand jury’s decision not to charge Ferguson, Mo. police officer Darren Wilson in the fatal shooting of Michael Brown, the family of the slain 18-year-old released a statement pleading for peace — and urging people to join their campaign to get police around the nation to wear cameras.

“We need to work together to fix the system that allowed this to happen,” the statement read. “Join with us in our campaign to ensure that every police officer working the streets in this country wears a body camera.”

The crusade is understandable. No video recordings of the Aug. 9 confrontation between Wilson and Brown exist, and eyewitness accounts of the incident were often in conflict. Some said Brown had his hands up when he was shot. Others said Brown was charging toward Wilson when he officer fired. To many, a camera on Wilson’s uniform would have ended the uncertainty and potentially avoided the subsequent tumult that engulfed the St. Louis suburb.

The lesson wasn’t lost on other police departments. In the weeks after Brown’s death, numerous law enforcement agencies around the U.S. began experimenting with body cameras. Anaheim, Calif., Denver, Miami Beach, Washington, D.C. and even Ferguson have all begun outfitting officers with cameras or announced plans to start. The movement Brown’s family called for the night Wilson was cleared has actually been growing since the day their son was killed.

“Police realize that they’re under greater levels of public scrutiny,” says Art Lurigio, a professor of psychology and criminal justice at Loyola University Chicago. “And the Michael Brown case is elevating this urgency. It’s bringing this discussion of cameras to a more fevered pitch.”

November 26, 2014 9:26 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

this is long overdue and an important step to secure our constitutional rights, considering how easy and cheap technology makes this

November 26, 2014 10:14 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

We have to do better.

Thanks, King James.

November 27, 2014 8:31 AM  
Blogger Priya Lynn said...

Happy holidays everyone.

And remember, a big party in the middle of winter is the reason for the season.

December 01, 2014 10:27 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

yes, happy holidays!!

and, remember, holiday means Holy Day

a big party where the world sings about, celebrates, and strives to emulate Jesus

is the reason for the season!!!

WWJD

thanks for reminding us, RS

December 01, 2014 4:12 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2016/president/ia/iowa_republican_presidential_caucus-3194.html

Huckabee's leading for the nomination of the ascendant American political party

December 01, 2014 4:18 PM  
Anonymous what light through yonder window breaks said...

here in the capital of the greatest country in the world, it snowed on Thanksgiving Eve

in LA, there is a forecast for rain tomorrow and Wednesday

a hundo percent chance

so much for the big global warming caused drought

meanwhile, ice is increasing at the poles in their cold seasons

atmospheric temperatures haven't climbed in 17 years

Global Warming: full of sound and fury, signifying nothing

(thanks to William Shakespeare)

December 01, 2014 8:58 PM  
Anonymous the artist formerly known as reality said...

did you ever notice how our society defines delusion as mental illness?

if you think you're a porcupine but you're really a human, you have a mental illness

if you think you're Anne Boleyn but you're really a barista at Starbucks, you have a mental illness

if you think you're Merlin but you're really Barack Obama, you have a mental illness

a delusion, a belief in the unreal, is consistently considered a mental illness

unless you think you're a gender you're not

if you have that delusion, you belong in a special protected class, and everyone must pretend your delusion is correct

when will our society give these poor souls the treatment they deserve?

December 01, 2014 9:10 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Knock it all you please, it’s a party celebrating and extolling the Golden Rule. That's something.

December 02, 2014 3:29 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Four days after Thanksgiving, it was 70 degrees here in the capital of the greatest country in the world.

And on the fifth day after Thanksgiving, it's snowing about 100 miles west of DC.

I hope you are enjoying all these wild weather extremes as predicted by the IPCC.

Why is this nation the greatest country in the world? Because we believe all men are created equal, even delusional believers in "the big man upstairs."

Unfortunately, those rains in California are coming close together after years of drought, therefore, those rains are causing mudslides and flooding.

Anyone who thinks we've been cooling for 17 years has their head firmly planted in some cool sand. Relying solely on "atmospheric temperatures" tells only one small part the story.

NOAA, using both land and ocean yearly-averaged temperatures, tells us the Top 10 Warmest Years (1880–2013) were:

1. 2010
2. 2005
3. 1998
4. 2013
5. 2003
6. 2002
7. 2006
8. 2009
9. 2007
10. 2004 TIE
10. 2012 TIE

Further, UPI reports 2014 could be hottest year on record, says NOAA

But by all means, enjoy keeping your delusional head in the sand.

December 02, 2014 8:18 AM  
Anonymous no wonder I always win said...

"Four days after Thanksgiving, it was 70 degrees here in the capital of the greatest country in the world.

And on the fifth day after Thanksgiving, it's snowing about 100 miles west of DC.

I hope you are enjoying all these wild weather extremes as predicted by the IPCC."

I am, indeed, enjoying the "wild weather extremes". Makes me feel nostalgic because it's same as it ever was.

Do let us know where and when IPCC predicted the DC area's current weather. Seems to me they have predicted everything other than a Garden of Eden, Mediterranean style global climate. When you predict every possible outcome, it's not easy to be wrong.

"Why is this nation the greatest country in the world? Because we believe all men are created equal, even delusional believers in "the big man upstairs.""

Seems like the idea that everything in the universe magically appeared without cause is delusional. Even Stephen Hawking has said something got this all going and that if you think that something is God, he has no quarrel with you.

"Unfortunately, those rains in California are coming close together after years of drought, therefore, those rains are causing mudslides and flooding."

whine, whine, whine

I lived in Southern California decades ago. This is nothing unusual. Mudslides have always happened because they have always had droughts that give way to sudden ends.

"Anyone who thinks we've been cooling for 17 years has their head firmly planted in some cool sand."

Well, it's not me. I said temperatures haven't risen. I didn't say we've cooled.

"Relying solely on "atmospheric temperatures" tells only one small part the story."

Yeah, the relevant part.

"NOAA, using both land and ocean yearly-averaged temperatures, tells us the Top 10 Warmest Years (1880–2013) were:

1. 2010
2. 2005
3. 1998
4. 2013
5. 2003
6. 2002
7. 2006
8. 2009
9. 2007
10. 2004 TIE
10. 2012 TIE

Further, UPI reports 2014 could be hottest year on record, says NOAA"

well, look at that

1998 was hotter than all except two years since. Doesn't sound like a warming trend over the last 17 years.

Matter of fact, its sounds like I'm right.

Again.

"But by all means, enjoy keeping your delusional head in the sand."

Talking to yourself again. Further sign of mental illness.

December 02, 2014 8:46 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Do you think a person refers to their own head as "your head?"

Your lack of reading comprehension is yet another sign of your intellectual preference to continue living your life as a head-in-sand-keeper and to continue to confuse weather with climate.

Heads-in-sand-keepers think *one* variable, atmospheric temperature, is the *only* variable that is relevant to the scientific inquiry about climate.

Actually it's the *only* variable that gives comfort to head-in-sand-keepers' delusional beliefs that all the pollution man has created and continues to create is not damaging Earth or Earth's climate in any way.

Relying on *one* variable of global atmospheric temperature is comforting to head-in-sand-keepers and science deniers who cannot bear to acknowledge all the facts, convenient or inconvenient.

Take for instance the fact that since humans started recording land and sea global average temperatures, ten of the warmest years on Earth have been found to have occurred since 1998.

In fact, the data shows land and sea average global temperatures have risen over recent decades and continue to rise, displacing the hottest year that was 1998 in both 2005 and 2010, which in turn will likely both be eclipse by an even hotter 2014 land and sea global average temperature.

December 02, 2014 2:42 PM  
Anonymous they're goin' out of their mind said...

"Do you think a person refers to their own head as "your head?""

only if they're crazy

and empirical evidence appears to indicate you are

"Your lack of reading comprehension is yet another sign of your intellectual preference to continue living your life as a head-in-sand-keeper and to continue to confuse weather with climate."

oh, I read, and comprehended, fine

but if there is no effect on the weather, it's really not a problem

and, let's be honest, alarmists have used weather-related scenarios as a scare tactic and are now looking for data undetectable to the layman to save face

the alarmists are losing

and, despite their scare tactics, no problems have arisen

show some integrity and admit you were wrong

"Take for instance the fact that since humans started recording land and sea global average temperatures, ten of the warmest years on Earth have been found to have occurred since 1998."

that's because the Earth has been warming since the end of the last Ice Age, not that long ago

it's cyclical

in the last, the Earth has been much warmer

and life thrived

"In fact, the data shows land and sea average global temperatures have risen over recent decades and continue to rise, displacing the hottest year that was 1998 in both 2005 and 2010, which in turn will likely both be eclipse by an even hotter 2014 land and sea global average temperature."

oh, nothing much is changing

2010 was slightly hotter than 1998 but 2011 wasn't even in the top 10

change in the weather

is gonna be extreme

but what's the point of changing

horses in mid-stream?

December 02, 2014 3:05 PM  
Anonymous easy to be hard said...

always fun to see someone make the TTF alarmist look reeeeeeallly stupid!!

December 02, 2014 4:07 PM  
Anonymous More for Head-in-sand-keeper to ignore said...

This West Antarctic region sheds a Mount Everest-sized amount of ice every two years, study says

"For centuries, exploration of the remote Amundsen Sea was an exercise in futility. Too distant. Too cold. Too much ice. The first ship didn’t reach the nearby continental shelf until 1774. Then decades later, in the mid-1800s, one voyage commanded by American William Walker of the Flying Fish was repelled by ice and bad weather. A century after that, a report shows there was even less luck when “persistent sea ice cover, thickened by heavy snowfall,” defeated the U.S. Navy’s Eltanin.

Things, however, are beginning to change — and change faster than anyone anticipated, according to a new study published in the Geophysical Research Letters. Despite its formidable lineage, the Amundsen Sea is widely recognized as the weakest link in the West Antarctic’s splintering chain of ice sheets. But only now is it becoming clear just how fast change is coming.

There, the melting rate tripled in the past decade. Since 1992, the researchers found, the loss rate accelerated by 6.1 gigatons per year. Between 2003 and 2009, that rate nearly tripled to 16.3 gigatons per year. That surge in the melt rate, according to scientists at the University of California at Irvine, means the region, in the past 21 years, shed a Mount Everest-sized amount of ice every two years.

“The mass loss of these glaciers is increasing at an amazing rate,” Isabella Velicogna, the paper’s author, said in a statement. With sea level steadily rising in locations like Miami, connecting the dots back to glacial melt has become a vital endeavor, she added. “It’s critical that we maintain this [observing] network to continue monitoring the changes,” she said. “Because the changes are proceeding very fast.”..."

December 03, 2014 9:20 AM  
Anonymous Robert said...

DC passed a law prohibiting reparative therapy on minors.

I wonder if congressmen from someplace else will try to stop it.

rrjr

December 03, 2014 11:22 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Good catch, Robert.

Breaking: DC Passes Bill Banning Conversion 'Therapy' For Children

December 03, 2014 11:33 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Gay marriages set to begin in Florida next month after court refuses to extend ban

Take that mom, and the rest of you who voted for that supremacist piece of bigotry!

December 04, 2014 12:36 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"DC passed a law prohibiting reparative therapy on minors"

and they wonder why we won't let them be a state....

"Good catch, Robert."

omegursh, you guys didn't catch something together, did you?

"Gay marriages set to begin in Florida next month after court refuses to extend ban"

this is going to the Supreme Court now

and it doesn't look good for the gay agenda

expect them to rule that each state can make their own decision, democratically

not by judicial fiat with constitutional misinterpretation to serve the demands of a bullying constituency

December 05, 2014 2:10 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

a couple pf articles explaining why the Democratic Party is screwed:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/charles-krauthammer-the-real-fight-is-among-the-democrats/2014/12/04/380743f2-7c00-11e4-84d4-7c896b90abdc_story.html

http://nationalinterest.org/feature/wounded-donkey-the-democratic-partys-obamacare-disaster-11788

December 05, 2014 2:15 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

You sound upset something, anon.

December 06, 2014 6:38 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

perceptions can be delusional, Patrick

I'm rarely upset and this isn't one of those rare times

December 06, 2014 8:31 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

"perceptions can be delusional, Patrick"

That’s why I asked.

"I'm rarely upset and this isn't one of those rare times"

Then what is your point?

December 06, 2014 5:15 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

"omegursh"

The spelling alone is patronizing, do you mind if I use it?

December 06, 2014 8:00 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

"Expect [SCOTUS] to rule that each state can make their own decision, democratically"

I’ve got news for you, 51% of the population voting that 49% of the population should not be able to vote just means that 51% of the electorate despises democracy.

"not by judicial fiat with constitutional misinterpretation to serve the demands of a bullying constituency "

Call it “fiat” if you like but the courts are there for persecuted minorities when society fails their protection.

Constitutional misinterpretation?

The Fourteenth Amendment: "No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction THE EQUAL PROTECTION OF THE LAWS."

That’s pretty plain, not much if any interpretation needed.

Unlike Genesis, I don’t think the founding fathers were being metaphorical when they were writing the Constitution.

If you think the Constitution is wrong and want to change it to favor you and those you approve of, have the guts to admit it.

December 06, 2014 8:54 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"Then what is your point?"

I had more than one comment. To which were you inquiring as to the point?

""omegursh"

The spelling alone is patronizing, do you mind if I use it?"

Go for it, improv. I don't have the copyright. It's Walt Disney's. Something Goofy says all the time.

"I’ve got news for you, 51% of the population voting that 49% of the population should not be able to vote just means that 51% of the electorate despises democracy."

Don't think anyone here has suggested that less than 100% of the people should be able to vote.

"Call it “fiat” if you like but the courts are there for persecuted minorities when society fails their protection."

Minority status based on behavioral characteristics is not deserving of any protected status. How has your thinking become so messed up?

"Constitutional misinterpretation?

The Fourteenth Amendment: "No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction THE EQUAL PROTECTION OF THE LAWS."

That’s pretty plain, not much if any interpretation needed."

It is plain. And well understood. All people have the same protection given the same behavior. But discrimination based on behavior is the definition of "law".

Why don't you understand such a basic concept?

Has your mind been blown by drugs?

"If you think the Constitution is wrong and want to change it to favor you and those you approve of, have the guts to admit it."

No, I like the Constitution. Unlike liberal Democrats, I think it should be adhered to.

December 08, 2014 8:19 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

"Minority status based on behavioral characteristics"

We’re talking about orientation here, not behavior. Orientation is intrinsic, behavior is not. Orientation exists regardless of behavior or lack thereof. I understand your point the way you put it, but calling something that’s intrinsic doesn’t make it so no matter how much you want it to be. You’re judging a book by it’s cover, and all you’re really saying is we’re confused heterosexuals.

Since you really believe that, why don’t you use those words instead of furtively dancing around them with your “behavior” speak.

December 08, 2014 11:38 AM  
Anonymous disrespect said...

"We’re talking about orientation here, not behavior"

that's what you want all behavior attributed to and then dismissed under the logic "I can't help what I do"

but, really, no one in our legal system is saying you have less "protection" because of what you think or feel, quite apart from the issue of whether you have responsibility for them, basically whether you have responsibility for yourself

marriage is an action, a behavior

it is perfectly legitimate for a society to preference certain behaviors

indeed, it's what the law is for

society is perfectly within its purview to encourage and define marriage

so, go ahead and feel any way you want

the law won't remove your protection

but if you engage in behavior that society doesn't consider marriage, you won't have the preferences of marriages

"You’re judging a book by it’s cover, and all you’re really saying is we’re confused heterosexuals"

don't know about the metaphor but, yes, I believe heterosexuality is the default setting of biological beings and homosexuality is warped

"Since you really believe that, why don’t you use those words instead of furtively dancing around them with your “behavior” speak"

well, there are a lot of aspects to discuss

why do I have to sling up the whole enchilada every time?

and why should I dwell on the slice you prefer to argue about?

if you can't keep with the argument and want us to only stick to things you think you can handle, why don't you just say so?

at least, we could respect that!!

hahahahahaha!!!!

December 08, 2014 6:17 PM  
Anonymous Robert said...

"don't know about the metaphor but, yes, I believe heterosexuality is the default setting of biological beings and homosexuality is warped"

That's pretty clear, thank you. Some people disagree. The question is whether your opinion should be enshrined in law, or other's. Is that a question for the ballot box?

December 09, 2014 11:48 AM  
Anonymous Gibson unburies head!!! said...

The U.S. House of Representatives is about to see something truly unprecedented: a pro-science resolution acknowledging the scientific reality of man-made climate change. It’s about time.

Chris Gibson — congressman from upstate New York, Republican, not a scientist — announced his intentions last week at an event hosted by several Republican advocacy groups, National Journal reports. His speech highlighted the threats that a changing climate poses to his district, and made clear the important distinction between scientific facts and policy.

“My district has been hit with three 500-year floods in the last several years, so either you believe that we had a one in over 100 million probability that occurred, or you believe as I do that there’s a new normal, and we have changing weather patterns, and we have climate change. This is the science,” Gibson reportedly told his audience.

“I hope that my party — that we will come to be comfortable with this, because we have to operate in the realm of knowledge and science, and I still think we can bring forward conservative solutions to this, absolutely, but we have to recognize the reality,” he continued. “So I will be bringing forward a bill, a resolution that states as such, with really the intent of rallying us, to harken us to our best sense, our ability to overcome hard challenges.”

That this accepted scientific reality requires a bill affirming its existence basically tells you everything you need to know about the House GOP’s crusade against science, and about the growing confusion among Republicans, in general, about how to address a fact that carries unsavory political implications (acknowledging that we humans are causing climate change means acknowledging it’s up to us to do something about it.)

As a caution to those ready to celebrate a Republican turning point, it’s important to note that Gibson holds the distinction of being “the most liberal House Republican,” and that he still doesn’t agree with many of the policy options touted by climate hawks: he’s pro-Keystone, National Journal reports, and has voted to expand offshore drilling. But he’s also refrained from supporting several House bills that take aim at EPA regulations. And more importantly, he’s calling for his colleagues “to operate in the realm of knowledge and science.” That’s the very least we should be asking of our elected officials. But it’s an important start.

December 09, 2014 1:51 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"The question is whether your opinion should be enshrined in law, or other's. Is that a question for the ballot box?"

Actually, nobody wants a vote on whether homosexuality is normal.

The question is what should society encourage, endorse, license, and specially prefer. I think that's always been a given but I don't mind a vote on it.

"The U.S. House of Representatives is about to see something truly unprecedented: a pro-science resolution acknowledging the scientific reality of man-made climate change. It’s about time."

Actually, that sounds inappropriate. Congress passes laws not scientific positions. In fact, even science shouldn't definitely rule on a cause. Science is never settled. Climate change is a fact: exaggerated by the liberal press, but still a fact.

Whether the cause is human activity remains open to interpretation of data.

"“My district has been hit with three 500-year floods in the last several years, so either you believe that we had a one in over 100 million probability that occurred, or you believe as I do that there’s a new normal, and we have changing weather patterns, and we have climate change. This is the science,” Gibson reportedly told his audience."

Where's the man-made part? I don't see it.

"“I hope that my party — that we will come to be comfortable with this, because we have to operate in the realm of knowledge and science, and I still think we can bring forward conservative solutions to this, absolutely, but we have to recognize the reality,” he continued. “So I will be bringing forward a bill, a resolution that states as such, with really the intent of rallying us, to harken us to our best sense, our ability to overcome hard challenges.”"

Trying to manipulate nature usually backfires.

"That this accepted scientific reality requires a bill affirming its existence basically tells you everything you need to know about the House GOP’s crusade against science,"

It's not reality and, even if it were, Congress is not there to pass meaningless philosophical statements. Come January, we'll get down to important business: repealing most of Obamacare. This time, when the House votes repeal, as it already has many times, the Senate won't be jammed up by Harry Reid and Democrats will have to go on record: do you want to be re-elected in 2016 or do you want to save Obamacare?

You can't have it both ways. Ask Chuck Schumer.

"and about the growing confusion among Republicans, in general, about how to address a fact that carries unsavory political implications"

Must be a lot of growth to come because I don't see any "confusion" at present. When will this "confusion" grow big enough to see?

"he still doesn’t agree with many of the policy options touted by climate hawks: he’s pro-Keystone, National Journal reports, and has voted to expand offshore drilling"

Neither position has even a fleeting effect on climate change.

"he’s calling for his colleagues “to operate in the realm of knowledge and science.”"

You mean like Democrats, who continue to espouse unscientific positions like: fetuses aren't alive until birth or kids are better off with gay parents or dangerous inner schools are better than letting parents use vouchers for private schools or giving free health insurance to 30 million people would make everyone's health insurance cheaper and balance the budget or oil pipelines cause global warming or...we could go on

December 09, 2014 3:00 PM  
Anonymous AAA said...

"Minority status based on behavioral characteristics is not deserving of any protected status. How has your thinking become so messed up?"

That probably happened when they made religion a protected status. Those wankers have all sorts of weird behaviors but we have to give them special protections anyway so we don't hurt their feelings.

December 09, 2014 3:35 PM  
Anonymous a very smart individual said...

actually, there are many weird religious practices and courts have usually declined to make rights out of them

best example is marital: there are certain religious cults that endorse polygamy but the courts have not ruled it a right

in fact, the analogy of homosexuality to heretical religious cults is a good one

we should treat them exactly the same

do what you want, think what you want

don't ask us to endorse you, license you, encourage you, or specially preference you

we don't do that for weird religious cults

why do it for weird sexual preferences?

December 09, 2014 4:04 PM  
Anonymous greatly admires very smart individuals said...

guess that puts the kibosh on any more stupid comments from TTFers!!

LOVE IT!!

December 09, 2014 4:19 PM  
Anonymous MR. KIBOSH said...

why, thank you kindly!!

December 09, 2014 4:21 PM  
Anonymous Toro!! said...

I'm thinking of renaming the blog from teachthefacts to kiboshthebull

December 10, 2014 9:22 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"Trying to manipulate nature usually backfires."

Yes, that's right. Dumping all our trash on the land, in the water, and in the air since the Industrial Revolution has caused huge disruptions to nature, such as having "three 500-year floods in the last several years."

December 10, 2014 12:52 PM  
Anonymous iron man said...

don't know how old you are, but I was around 50 years ago

and I can tell you: the land, water and air are much cleaner now than they were then

not only that, wildlife is thriving more today than it was before Europeans starting colonizing

it's not unusual in city limits these days to see herds of deer, raccoons, oppossums- last week a saw a fox at nighttime on a Baltimore street

in the suburbs, you even see bears and sometimes cougars

"Dumping all our trash on the land, in the water, and in the air since the Industrial Revolution has caused huge disruptions to nature, such as having "three 500-year floods in the last several years.""

there you go again

there is no proof that human activity has caused warming

and, if it is from a natural cause, we need to think twice before interfering

we don't need a Frankenplanet

December 10, 2014 1:58 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

another devastating kibosh!!!

December 10, 2014 2:31 PM  
Anonymous AAA said...

"in fact, the analogy of homosexuality to heretical religious cults is a good one

we should treat them exactly the same"

Don't sell yourself short! The only difference between a "religion' and a "religious cult" is who has the highest percentage of followers. The one (or similar ones) that make up the majority define themselves as "the norm," and if they so choose, the get to define any religious minority they want as a "cult." Christianity was a whole collection of cults until Constantine converted, saw a great chance to strengthen his empire, and forced all the disparate cults to vote on a common creed. This gave him much better control over all those folks and kept them from causing him problems. Well, that and killing his wife and son shortly thereafter, presumably for infidelity. He didn't use the biblical method of stoning though, preferring to boil his wife instead, setting the precedent for the Catholic church for many years to come, but I digress. Christianity became the "norm" by out-converting, out-killing, and out-breeding all of the competing religious cults.

"don't ask us to endorse you, license you, encourage you, or specially preference you

we don't do that for weird religious cults"

We give both religious cults and religions wonderful tax breaks for selling salvation. They make MILLIONS of dollars at it. Salvation is a GREAT product. It's invisible, non-polluting, doesn't take up any space or cost anything to ship, and it doesn't seem anyone ever wants to return it! I wish I had thought of that kind of business model! Wonder how I can get that kind of preference for my business! Hmmmm... maybe I can give "forgiveness notes" for cash... if I do it right, I could make a fortune, tax free... gotta think on that one.

"and I can tell you: the land, water and air are much cleaner now than they were then

not only that, wildlife is thriving more today than it was before Europeans starting colonizing

it's not unusual in city limits these days to see herds of deer, raccoons, oppossums- last week a saw a fox at nighttime on a Baltimore street"


Wow, you are so cute! I love how you tell a pithy little animal anecdote and think that it negates empirical data and facts! You should get your article published in a peer reviewed journal like "Environmentalism for Dummies!"
Meanwhile here in the real world, the Chesapeake Bay's oyster population is down to 1% of historical levels: http://chesapeakebay.noaa.gov/fish-facts/oysters

The last sturgeon harvest in the Chesapeake Bay was down 99.7% from historical peaks: http://www.fws.gov/chesapeakebay/sturgeon.html

Forget about namby-pamby reasons for cleaning up the environment so we can breathe without asthma, or drink water without getting cancer, those to species alone would provide MILLIONS in revenue if we can ever get them back to historical levels that are about 100 times higher than they are now. That's a whole lotta jobs that can't be shipped overseas. Having a blue crab population that wasn't on the verge of colapse might be nice too.

I mean, who wants to have thin, clear air you can breathe when Bejing has nice thick soupy grey air that hides all those ugly buildings?

"another devastating kibosh!!!"
Better change that to "kabob," I just had you for a snack.

December 11, 2014 1:34 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

A+ AAA
---
in fact, the analogy of homosexuality to heretical religious cults is a good one … we should treat them exactly the same … do what you want, think what you want

I wanna get married, and not get beat up and killed because the protected status of your religion happens to require the use of hate speech and large audiences.

don't ask us to endorse you, license you, encourage you, or specially preference you

Oh I see what you mean now -- do what YOU want and don’t ask to be protected from you, or equally under the law.

"we don't do that for weird religious cults?"

We do it for yours. You endorse genocide (Lev. 20:13), you give license to lie your little buns off, you encourage the abuse of gay youth, violence against them and the adult LGBT community -- or anyone else who even seems like they might be LGBT -- you want conservative christianity to be treated as superior to all other religions and you honestly think you should be rewarded for expressing your "God hates fags" brand of hatred in public.

And again, conflating being with behavior, behavior with orientation, action with static immutable characteristic, body movements with race. You can call us “liars” or “confused” or “confused liars” in as many different ways as you like to hide your true colors but it will never change the fact that you’re wrong. The personal pursuit of someone else’s happiness is not your call to deny. You may have the power to persecute, you might even regain currently lost powers of persecution, but the moral question is whether or not you have the right. The sin is in not caring about what’s fair but only about getting what you want at the expense of others. Apparently all so you can feel better about yourself.

"why do it for weird sexual preferences?"

Better yet, why obsess over “weird sexual preferences?” Seriously, and maybe you can speak for your people here, but it seems like you enjoy thinking about gay sex. Or is it more about our Love/Hate relationship, like how you love to hate us. But since more people love us than hate us, I can see how your demon worship might start to stagnate every so often, but what better way to fix that than to imagine two naked gay people bumpin’ nasties, or are you just naturally drawn to things that repulse you?

December 11, 2014 1:12 PM  

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