So What Year Is It Again?

Obama is expected to announce today an amendment to a rule requiring employers to provide health coverage that includes birth control-- something 99% of women in this country use, something that's been on the books since the year 2000, and something that hasn't been remotely controversial for more than two decades.

Meanwhile, NBC, the NFL and FCC are going crazy about a lewd, disgusting act at the Super Bowl that has threatened to destroy the fabric of American life and corrupt the youth of the nation forever...

M.I.A.'s split-second middle finger flash during the halftime show (something NO ONE at my Super Bowl party noticed on a 47 inch HDTV screen.):



Next up, Facebook to be charged with witchcraft because it allows members to "steal people's souls" by posting "photography."

As top YouTube commenter Syrennia Lestrange puts it:

Oh yeah, we should really care about a word people say and a gesture people make on a daily basis when poverty is running rampant and the country is in a recession.

Amen to that.

Obama's Lybia Speech

He made the right decision, but you can see Obama's clearly been struggling with this. He didn't want to be a war President. But it made me realize something. Clinton decided to launch a similar mission in Bosnia back in the 90's. After that, of course, we had Bush launch an all out ground war in two countries, like his father before him. Basically, it boils down to this:

Republicans fight wars on the ground. Democrats fight wars in the air.

That's the way it's been since I was born, anyway. No world wars, but wars nonetheless. Sad.

Then you see things like the Tsunami and earthquake that hit Japan and you wonder... With terror like that in our universe, why the hell are we so afraid of each other??

Great, now I sound like a hippie.

Thanks a lot, Mommar.

It Can't Happen Here

It began with an attack, led by a bearded man, seeking to destroy the government of a country which stood for everything he stood against. Even though he failed, the people of the country began to fear bearded men like him, began to fear men who came from the same religious background. Right-wing religious, political, and media leaders referred to these people as vermin, less than human. They blamed them for the country's woes, a sick economy, a decline of national culture and stature. Popular cartoons appeared mocking their religion. Their places of worship, houses, and businesses were attacked. Their books were burned...

This may sound familiar to anyone following the current trend of anti-Muslim furor in this country. Osama Bin Laden attacked us. Right-wingers have stirred up anti-Islamic feelings. Those feelings have taken root in people who have suffered in our current economic downturn. Recently, a Muslim cab driver and a mosque were attacked. Now a Florida church plans to burn hundreds of Korans, the Muslim holy book, which have been sent to them from people all over the country.

But the story I began with is not the story of America's relationship with Islam following the September 11th attacks. It is the story of a different country, in a different time. Let me tell you the rest.

Over time, the dehumanization of these "enemies of the state" became accepted by the majority. After that, it was easy to pass laws restricting their freedoms. But this didn't make the people of the country feel quite safe enough. It was then suggested that there was an easy solution to the problem these enemies of the state presented. Kick them out.

I'm reminded of the simplistic solution many right-wingers have offered to the influx of illegal immigrants in this country. But this story isn't about Mexicans either.

But the solution wasn't that easy. Where would these people go? Neighboring countries didn't want them. In the meantime, they were forced to move into cordoned-off slums and makeshift encampments. These became overcrowded. Disease was rampant. The manpower and money necessary to keep these places under control was overwhelming. It was then that someone came up with a different solution. A permanent one.

Hopefully, you've figured out what story I'm telling here. It's the first part to a more popularly known story, an introduction that often gets skipped over, simply because the details of the final part are so chilling, so monstrous.

It's the story of a Jew, Kurt Eisner, who led the overthrow of the German government in Munich at the end of World War I, and was a key figure in forcing Germany's surrender. He didn't do it because he was a Jew, he did it because he was a radical communist. But his attack gave fuel to the right-wing forces that claimed Germany's defeat in World War I was due to leftist elements in their own country, not superior foreign might.





In this atmosphere of hatred, a new leader rose to power. He built his constituency by playing to their basest fears-- that Jews and the communists were trying to destroy their country. His hateful words inspired Germans to terrorize all Jews, no matter what their political beliefs. It was just a matter of time before this leader put into action his "final solution."

Could such a thing happen here? We're not at that part of our story yet. But the first few chapters written after 9/11 look eerily similar to that story of the past, with Muslims (and dark-skinned immigrants) instead of Jews. The Koran-burning parishioners are a reminder that people tend to follow their leaders, even into madness. 11,207 people are fans of this event on Facebook.

How many would have been fans of Kristallnacht?

Jews have a saying: "Never Again." I think that includes making sure that no other group is ever subjected to the kind of hate that spurs the most demonic violence in men.

So I've started a "Americans Against International Burn A Koran Day" group on Facebook. Show that there are enough Americans out there who recognize the signs of a country spiraling towards madness.

"Where they have burned books, they will end in burning human beings." -Heinrich Heine

[UPDATE: The book burning was canceled, proving that when the majority of good people stands up to the minority of bigots, the bigots sit back down.]

What Is A Republican? What Is A Democrat?

The GOP is thinking about making its members take a test in order to qualify for party funding. They're given a list of the ten core principles of the Republican party, and if they disagree with 3 or more of them, then they will be fed to Rush Limbaugh, presumably.

Here's the GOP list:

(1) Smaller government, smaller national debt, lower deficits and lower taxes by opposing bills like Obama’s “stimulus” bill

(2) Market-based health care reform and oppose Obama-style government run healthcare;

(3) Market-based energy reforms by opposing cap and trade legislation;

(4) Workers’ right to secret ballot by opposing card check

(5) Legal immigration and assimilation into American society by opposing amnesty for illegal immigrants;

(6) Victory in Iraq and Afghanistan by supporting military-recommended troop surges;

(7) Containment of Iran and North Korea, particularly effective action to eliminate their nuclear weapons threat

(8) Retention of the Defense of Marriage Act;

(9) Protecting the lives of vulnerable persons by opposing health care rationing and denial of health care and government funding of abortion; and

(10) The right to keep and bear arms by opposing government restrictions on gun ownership

I don't score too well. But what's interesting about this test is that all of these ten are given equal weight. Are you pro-choice and believe in Gay marriage? Well as long as you're okay with everything else, the GOP would still consider you Republican. Two of the biggest Republican issues right now, and you could safely take the democratic side without losing precious party funding.

What would the Democratic test be? I thought up this list:

(1) Oppose big-brother government initiatives like the Patriot Act, Guantanamo Bay, and torture programs.

(2) Support a progressive tax structure that relieves the tax burden of middle and working class Americans

(3) Oppose drilling in the Alaskan Wildlife Refuge, support environmental controls and renewable energy

(4) Support maintaining separation between church and state

(5) Support cultural diversity and immigration reform, including amnesty for current illegal immigrants

(6) Support removal of American troops from Iraq and Afghanistan by shifting responsibility to locals and other coalition forces.

(7) Support a foreign policy of diplomatic engagement and working together with our allies.

(8) Oppose the Defense of Marriage Act and other efforts to strip homosexuals of their rights

(9) Support the Supreme Court decision of Roe vs. Wade

(10) Support government-run social programs as a means of ensuring equal freedom for all economic classes.

Sure, the Democrats have a big tent, but most people in it can get behind at least 8 of these ten.

In other news, the Greens are planning a purity test too, but nobody cares.