Patriots

I was going to write something in here yesterday about something political.. oh I remember! The Southern Poverty Law Center had "identified" 40 "patriots" who they think some "patriots" should be "watched". First off: their definition of "patriot" is: "people who generally believe that the federal government is an evil entity that is engaged in a secret conspiracy to impose martial law, herd those who resist into concentration camps, and force the United States into a socialistic 'New World Order.'"  The SPLC also considers "traditional Catholicism" as at "hate group" including, but not limited to the Fatima Crusade and Catholic Family News, and The Remnant! **insert eyeroll here*

Glenn Beck tops the list, natch. WND's Joseph Farah also makes the list and has this to say:

WND Editor Joseph Farah is described as "a leading fomenter [sic] of the baseless claim that President Obama was not born in Hawaii, but in Africa, and so is not qualified to be president." It also says he could not be reached for comment.
"Could not be reached for comment?" asked Farah in a response column. "Let me state unequivocally and for the record, the gutless, little cowards at the Southern Poverty Law Center with their $300 million annual budget never had the courage to call me, leave a message or send an e-mail! I would have been amused to answer the accusations of [SPLC Founder Morris] Dees or one of his little minions. Anyone who knows me understands how much I like to mix it up with those who disagree with me. Could not be reached for comment, indeed. Larceny and cowardice are the trademarks of Dees and company.

The full list of these eeeeeeeeeeeevil patriots can be found here For some reason I didn't make the list. Oh well.

Lanny Davis wants to clear things up

Yesterday I posted a link to a post at Michelle Malkin's blog, which linked to a Politico statement by Lanny Davis. Mr Davis sent MM an e-mail to clear up any misunderstandings about his position and opinions.

From: Davis, Lanny J.
Sent: Wed Aug 05 22:21:11 2009

To readers of Michelle Malkin’s blog who responded to my post on Politico earlier in the morning:

I received a number of thoughtful emails and wanted to express my appreciation to those who communicated their sincere concerns. There was a misimpression that I was in favor of suppression or discouragement of dissent concerning Democratic positions on national health care issues at congressional town hall meetings. This was not my intent. I do not wish in any way investigate, photo, or suppress the opinions of people who show up to these meetings regarding concerns about Democratic health care proposals. Indeed, I welcome that because we need more debate on this important issue.

My post specifically criticized only those who shout down and prevent others from speaking. Indeed, I specifically expressed my respect in that post for those who are genuinely concerned about the health care proposals.

Finally, some sincere people who communicated with me asked whether I had or would condemn those on the left who disrupted meetings or shouted down speakers on the conservative side of the spectrum. The answer is: Yes I would and I have. Publicly.

I believe that thoughtful and civil people on the left and the right share a desire for debate and have respect for other people’s opinions. This is fundamental to a civil society and our great democracy. In my post, I only wished to protest strongly those who believe it is acceptable to attend a meeting for the purpose of disrupting and preventing honest and vigorous debate.

I take the same position if it is people on the left side of the spectrum who use such tactics as those on the right side.

Sincerely,

Lanny Davis

Obama wants YOU....

...to snitch on dissenters.

From the White House website blog:

There is a lot of disinformation about health insurance reform out there, spanning from control of personal finances to end of life care. These rumors often travel just below the surface via chain emails or through casual conversation. Since we can’t keep track of all of them here at the White House, we’re asking for your help. If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov.

That's right Comrades! If you see or hear any criticism of Dear Leader's reforms, let him know! He can't keep track of all of the dissenters and needs our help!

In the meantime, Lanny Davis wants those who show up at town hall meetings and express their mistrust of Obama-Care and/or Dear Leader Himself, photographed and investigated. You know, just to make sure you aren't a shill for the insurance companies. Which they must be because they're just dressed too nice.

Governments to Catholic Church: Shut up or else

Three years ago, the City of San Francisco (named after St Francis of Assisi, by the way) passed a resolution that officially condemned the teachings of the Catholic Faith, calling them "hateful", "callous" and "insulting" and urged Catholics to disobey the teachings of the church. Catholics, particularly Bill Donahue of the Catholic League, represented by the Thomas Moore Law Center took exception to this resolution naturally and sued saying it violated the First Amendment. The 9th Circuit Court heard the case and sided with San Francisco. The Catholic League is appealing. Can you imagine if any government officially condemned the religious teachings of say, oh, Islam? Yeah, me neither. In essence: shut up Catholics. You are officially second-class citizens.

Over in Connecticut, legislators thought it would be a good idea to take control of the Catholic Church's finances and structuring (Bill 1098). Catholics, including the Bishops, thought this was not such a good idea, and let their reps in the state gov't know it by protesting on the steps of the State Capitol. Well, the authorities over in the "Constitution State" (ha!) thought the Catholics got a little too uppity and are now saying the Diocese of Bridgeport violated lobbying laws, a.k.a shut up. So +Bishop William Lori is suing claiming Establishment Clause violations. You go Bish!

In New York, New York Asslemblywoman Margaret Markey made a not so veiled threat against the Bishop of Brooklyn by saying he should "walk very cautiously" lest the Church loses it's tax-exempt status. In other words: shut up. The Bishop had previously spoke against Markey's bill that targets Catholic schools and gives a free pass to public schools. +Bishop DiMarzio supports a bill introduced by Asslemblyman Vito Lopez which treats public and Catholic schools equally when dealing with accusations of abuse. (source: Catholic League).

So here we have 3 different governments, all interfering or directly attacking the Catholic Church which can be summed up in two words: shut up. When the government is telling you to shut up, that's when we need to speak out the most.

Eco-stupidity

Here is a classic example of stupid laws with the intent to "save the environment" that end up doing more harm than good.

Apparently in Spokane, WA one cannot purchase certain dishwasher detergents because it's "bad" for the environment. So all that is available on the shelves are "green" products which aren't very effective. So what are people doing? Driving to Idaho to buy the detergent that actually works; no doubt in their SUV's. So not only is Spokane not keeping phosphates out of the water supply, they're adding carbon emissions from the cars that make the trip to the next state over. Some are running their dishwasher on the "pots and pans" cycle, which uses more water than the normal cycle.
This is just like the stupid "low-flow" toilets now mandated by the Government. You use less gallons per flush, yet have to flush more often just to get the shit to go down, therefore using more water than if you just flushed once with a "regular" toilet. More proof that government interference creates more problems than it solves.