A proposed law making its way through the Florida legislature would provide up to $75 million in incentives for filmmakers using Florida locations, actors, etc. as long as the film does not include gays or other “nontraditional” families.
Home Schooling Textbooks: F for Fail
March 7th, 2010 by admin No comments »I don’t know what angers me more in this article on home schooling textbooks—that the Christian Right comes right out and dismisses anyone who doesn’t hold their worldview:
“Those who do not believe that the Bible is the inspired, inerrant Word of God will find many points in this book puzzling,” says the introduction to “Biology: Third Edition” from Bob Jones University Press. “This book was not written for them.”
The textbook delivers a religious ultimatum to young readers and parents, warning in its “History of Life” chapter that a “Christian worldview … is the only correct view of reality; anyone who rejects it will not only fail to reach heaven but also fail to see the world as it truly is.”
or the statement from a parent that their child is cheerfully prepared to lie when asked:
Adam Brown’s parents say their 16-year-old son’s belief in the Bible’s creation story isn’t deterring him from pursuing a career in marine biology. His parents, Ken and Polly Brown, taught him at their Cedar Grove, Ind., home using the Apologia curriculum and other science texts.Polly Brown said her son would gladly take college courses that include evolution, and he’ll be able to provide the expected answers even though he disagrees.
You shall know them by their fruits…
The Washington Post Loves Repeating Lies
March 3rd, 2010 by admin No comments »The Washington Post is turning into the party organ of the Republican Party. That’s the only way I can describe Kathleen Parker’s latest column, The health reform debate is political theater worth watching. She can’t help but keep the Sarah Palin “Death Panel” meme alive while writing about what was memorable about the summit.
And, they remember New York Democrat Rep. Louise Slaughter telling about a woman who, because she had no insurance, had to wear her deceased sister’s dentures.
There’s nothing to laugh at here, obviously. If true — and she dared us not to believe her — it’s a pathetic tale. Right-wing talk show hosts who have made sport of Slaughter’s story don’t get much credit for cleverness, but truly, sometimes an anecdote is too strange to be effective.
Maybe Republicans can trade Sarah Palin’s “death panels” for Louise Slaughter’s dentures and call it a draw.
Uh, no. One is a lie, proved so time and time again. And one isn’t. The Washington Post. All the News That’s Bullshit.
Olympic Loss
March 1st, 2010 by admin No comments »Wondering when Liz Cheney will issue a press release blaming the US Hockey team’s loss on Obama’s loss of will in the fight against terror.
Sport
February 28th, 2010 by admin No comments »Spending this afternoon glued to the television watching the CANUSA hockey match from the Olympics. Someone at NBC has sense—the network is broadcasting it LIVE and in HD.
Listening In
February 25th, 2010 by admin No comments »While working today, I’ve been listening to the Health Care Summit going on and glancing at the tweets on #HCR, #HCS, and #HCSUMMIT. I’ve noticed a few things. First, Rep. Louise Slaughter’s remarks about how we’ve been here before, we’ve wavered before, and still, people desperately need help. Hard to believe, but there was a time when the NIH didn’t include women in studies until women (and men) agitated. Here telling the story of a constituent who could not afford denture was particularly poignant:
I even have one constituent — you will not believe this, and I know you won’t, but it’s true — her sister died. This poor woman had no denture. She wore her dead sister’s teeth, which of course were uncomfortable and did not fit.
Do you ever believe that in America that that’s where we would be?
As to the tweets, there was sniping and snark back and forth. We can’t even talk about Health Care unless we include ad hominem attacks that have nothing to do with the subject.
Of course, the news shows tonight will give little time to what went on regarding Health Care Reform. Instead, they’ll concentrate on the rambling of Senator John McCain and President Obama’s admonishment that the campaign was over. McCain forgot that this wasn’t Meet the Press and David Gregory wasn’t there to lob softballs.
The National Health
February 22nd, 2010 by admin No comments »The White House went live with its Health Care Reform proposals this morning, in anticipation of this week’s summit. Supposedly the big news is that they will support using Reconciliation to pass the changes—without support from the Republicans. I won’t go into specifics—Jonathan Cohn at The New Republic does a good job of that.
I’m not surprised by these moves. First, the White House has to corral maverick Democrats in line and then the White House has just let the Republicans let themselves look bad. They’ll have to show how they oppose the reforms, which includes some of their own proposals, without looking like the “Party of NO.”
Reaction so far has been predictable, and I’m not going to link to the usual suspects such as Rush, Beck, etc. If President Obama can pull this off, he’ll have succeeded where others have failed. He listed to Republicans and included some of their own proposals. Now let’s see them try and tear it down. The plan isn’t perfect, but it IS a start.
Database problems
February 21st, 2010 by admin No comments »Database problems again. We’re rebuilding.
