Mon 1 Feb 2010
MONDAY MUSINGS
Posted by admin under politics
Now that we have completed the final weekend of January, it is time once again for AWMD’s Monday Musings. There are plenty of news items to choose from after the weekend. If any of my “Musings” interest you, let us know what you think. Hell, even if it doesn’t interest you, let us know! We are interested in your opinion too!
I have to admit that it was a real pleasure to see the video evidence of President Obama finally taking it to the Republicans and challenging their lies and deceptive claims at the House GOP retreat. We could have used this reformed President this past year. http://thinkprogress.org/2010/01/29/russert-gop-obama/
It was also good to see the revitalized President Obama taking questions directly from citizens via YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/citizentube#p/c/EB843ABAF59735FD I just can’t imagine President Bush being able to handle pointed questions like the one Obama got on his decision to close Gitmo. http://thinkprogress.org/2010/02/01/obama-gitmo-rank-politics/. I could get used to this new and improved Obama.
I was interested to read that the Republican’s claims that the recent victory in the Massachusetts special election for Ted Kennedy’s old seat is evidence of a Republican movement throughout the country, is all wet. According to a recent Gallup Poll, most of the states have remained in the Blue category. “The compiled results of Gallup’s year-long polling of more than 353,849 adults in all 50 states last year and the District of Columbia, found that far more states are safe havens for Democrats than for the GOP. Democrats can count 24 states solidly in their column, according to Gallup, as they have more than a 10 percentage point party affiliation advantage there. Another 10 can be counted as “lean” Democratic, with a 5 percentage point advantage. ”
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0210/32310.html As long as the Democrats don’t shoot themselves in the foot, the Congressional majority seems safe. What do you think?
My last Musing concerns one of my least favorite people on the planet. Sorry Qman, I am not talking about George W. this time. I am talking about that fine example of Christian values, our old friend, Pope Benedict XVI. It seems that the Pope, in preparing for a trip to Great Britain, seems to be forgetting what Jesus taught and chided Britain over its laws that are friendly to Gays. http://rawstory.com/2010/02/pope-condemns-gayfriendly-british-laws-visit/ We all know how Jesus just hated people who were different from other people. Good thing Lazarus wasn’t gay! I bet Mary Magdalene is also happy that JC didn’t discriminate.
What do you think? It is time for you to let us know what you think! Don’t be shy. I won’t bite! And if I do happen to bite, I don’t have enough teeth left to do too much damage! Get busy and give us your two cents!
“My Dad”, wasn’t Gitmo promised to be closed in January of 2010? I thought that by now they would be frolicking in Illinois snow.
It’s not that the laws are “friendly to gays”; it’s that they would prevent the Church from opting against employing practising homosexuals as, say, Sunday school teachers, or press officers. In the case of Catholicism, one form the Government was proposing might even have made it illegal to refuse women as ministers.
Perhaps you think the Catholic Church is a bigoted organisation. I’d think you wrong to do so, but surely we should be able to agree that the Church must be allowed to determine how it imparts the faith to younger generations, practises its faith and presents its faith to the wider world? Otherwise let’s quit pretending that so-called liberal democratic secularism can accommodate religious freedom.
English Catholics only earned civil liberties in the 19th century, and they know what can happen when the State runs rampant. The picture is a lot more complicated than your little paragraph would have it.
Qman,
You are right that Obama promised to close Gitmo by January, 2010. Unfortunately, the Republicans have been doing what they do best. They have continued the Bush regime’s use of fear to try to prevent the closure of that evil place. I will recommend a good book for you to read that will open your eyes as to what atrocities went on at Gitmo. The book is Guantanamo Lawyers. The Gitmo prisoners will end up in prisons like the one in Illinois, it will just take a little more time. How long did Bush hold these men and children at Gitmo without any rights and in some cases, without even telling the Red Cross who was there. Be patient, Gitmo will be closed and even Gen. Petraeus wants it closed.
Andrew,
Welcome to Argue With My Dad. As an American Catholic, I can understand your defense of the Holy See. You are correct that Catholics were discriminated against for many years in Britain and here in the States. However, just because Catholics were discriminated against, it doesn’t make sense for Catholics to discriminate against any minority. It is also against the tenets of the Church. At least the Church that the Benedictine Nuns instructed me on many years ago. Don’t you think not allowing women to be Priests is not discriminatory? I am sure that if the priests in Great Britain are anything like the priests here, many of them are closet gays. Is the Pope trying to emulate our unfortunate Dont Ask Don’t Tell policy currently used in our military?Andrew, gays are already in the Church so why not offer the hand of Christ’s Peace to them as well?
I have no problem with any religion being free to practice its tenets, but morally it should not be allowed to discriminate when it comes to non-religous positions.
“My Dad”, you are learning your political lessons from the great and powerful OZbama.
It doesn’t matter how many States appear to be blue when the bluest of blue States went red trying to replace the most liberal of liberal Senate seats.
I can only hope that you all keep thinking this way.
Qman,
You are sounding just like the Fox News guys who seem to think that a single seat in the Senate is the end of the world. As the Gallup Poll that I linked to above tells us, you can’t believe Fox News.
Hey Daddy O,
I agree with you on Teddy Kennedy’s seat. The Rebublicans are crazy to say this is a grass roots movement.
I mean even though this seat had been held by John F. Kennedy and Teddy Kennedy for 53 years. JFK 1954-1960, Teddy 1962-till his death in 2009. The 2 years between
1960-1962 the seat was held by Benjamin Smith a Democrat who was appointed by the Governer or as Democrats like to say he was selected not elected.
And even though the Democrats held this seat for over 55 years and Massachutes is and has been one of the most liberal states, Scott Brown’s(R)victory couldn’t possibly be a conservative grass roots movement.
I mean even though his entire campaign platform was run squarely in opposition to Obama’s agenda, I mean come on the people of Massachutes only voted for him because he reminded them of JFK, right? Not because he had a agenda that opposed all things Obama.
I mean what were these loyal Democrat voters thinking of when they voted for him? Certainly we know it wasn’t because of his opposition to Government Administered Healthcare, they have state run health care.
I am sure they were opposed to his stance on terrorism; Scott Brown said, ” Our taxes should be used to buy the weapons to stop the terrorists, not to fund the terrorists’ lawyers.” I know everyone in this country disagrees with such a crazy statement as that, I mean terrorist are only people we need to understand, right?
No you are right there is no conservative grass roots movement occuring across the nation. New Jersey and Virginia voters might feel different, I mean they did vote for Republic Governers. I am sure that also reinforces your argument of the conservative grass roots movement, is all wet, right?
Jack,
Welcome again. You might want to look at the post voting polls that actually confirmed that the votes for Brown were not part of a grass roots movement against Dems. Only 11 percent of all voters in Massachusetts and 19 per cent of Brown’s voters stated that they were trying to stop the Dems. http://thinkprogress.org/2010/01/25/mass-health-care/ Here is another link to the complete poll report since I know you love to read the facts: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/polls/WaPoKaiserHarvard_MassPoll_Jan22.pdf?sid=ST2010012203176
To make matters worse for your claims, a Gallup Poll suggests that nationwide, more voters still lean Democratic, even Virginia who you mentioned recently elected a Republican Governor. http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/78977-poll-most-states-remained-democratic-in-2009
Have a nice day reading the real facts.