Newt Gingrich on death threats and vandalism against Democrats.
I think the Democratic leadership has to take some moral responsibility for having behaved with such arrogance, in such a hostile way, that the American people are deeply upset. So let's be honest with this. This is a game that they're playing. People should not engage in personal threats. I'm happy to condemn any effort to engage in personal threats.
But I think the Democratic leadership has to take some real responsibility for having run a machine that used corrupt tactics, that bought votes, that bullied people, and as a result has enraged much of the American people. And I think it'd be nice for President Obama, Speaker Pelosi, and Majority Leader Reid to take some responsibility over what their actions have done to this country.
I'm out of words to describe these slimeballs so let me just quote from the comment section.
Johnny, why did you hit Billy ?
He made me do it.
How did he make you do it ?
He got an A on his paper and I got an F.
President Obama has announced 15 recess appointments in an attempt to get a fully functioning government in the face of unrelenting Republican obstructionism. This is 15 out of 74 that have been blocked ...That's it, homeboy, shove it up their collective ass!
In an interview published last Friday on pontifex.roma.it, a website created to 'prove and defend Christianity', Bishop Francesco Nolè declared that 'irregulars' such as criminals and homosexuals should not be given communions or funerals. This, he said, is not to be seen as discrimination, but rather as 'healthy medicine' for those close to the person: "Our behaviour, which could be perceived as mean or cruel, in the long-run often heals and evangelises." He added: "We must have the courage and tact, perhaps first informing the individual, or the families if he has passed, that it's not possible to administer a communion or funeral. We would perhaps pray for his soul, which must be done."
Christopher Hitchens on the Vatican child abuse scandal.
"The only worry [the Pope] had was 'Would this damage the church?' Would it hurt the church–not the children. Now what I want to know is this: what is the attorney general of the state of Wisconsin now going to do? Are we going to say these people are above our law. I appeal to people. I mean, that's what's being asked for. If you're a clergyman, you're not liable to the laws…. Don't let's call it child abuse. It's the rape and torture of children."
Hitchens is right. The Church hierarchy has always placed the well-being of their institution above the welfare the children placed under their care. And it is unfortunate that the clergymen who have served honestly, guided by the true tenets of their religion, are tainted by the sex scandals of the last hundred years. But the fact remains that the Church is corrupt and has been since its inception. And while it's a start, it is going to take a hell of a lot more than a pope stepping down to set things straight.
The problem, I believe, lies less with the Catholic Church itself and more in the concept of organized religion…or for that matter, organized anything. As soon as one abdicates their right to think for themselves and arrive at conclusions based on truth and critical thinking as opposed to being told what to believe and how to behave, there will be abuses. And the victims will be the intellectually weak and those too young or old to fend for themselves.
Power corrupts is as true a statement in regards to religion as it is for politics.
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Why Google should terrify you.
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The news coverage of the child rape stories in Ireland triggered victims to emerge in Germany. Now with the latest coverage of abuse in Germany and Holland, other victims in Europe are emerging including Italy. The Guardian.
It gets worse by the day and, obviously, goes all the way to the top. At least, during the centuries of "Emperor Popes", you knew what their motivations were; it was about gaining wealth for the church and influence over the barbarians. Nowadays, it's nothing more than a pedophiles club that makes NAMBLA look like a bunch of pikers.
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It's nice to know that Republicons managed to slip $250 million into the health care legislation for the ineffective Abstinence Only programs - and then voted against the bill anyway.
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With a little help from my friends:
It was just a single contract for a single job on a single base in Iraq. The Department of Defense agreed to pay the megacontractor KBR $5 million a year to repair tactical vehicles, from Humvees to big rigs, at Joint Base Balad, a large airfield and supply center north of Baghdad. Yet according to a new Pentagon report [PDF], what the military got was as many as 144 civilian mechanics, each doing as little as 43 minutes of work a month, with virtually no oversight. The report, issued March 3 by the DOD's inspector general, found that between late 2008 and mid-2009, KBR performed less than 7 percent of the work it was expected to do, but still got paid in full.
The $4.6 million blown on this particular contract is a relatively small loss considering that in 2009 alone, the government had a blanket deal worth $5 billion with KBR (formerly known as the Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg Brown & Root). Just days before the Pentagon released the Balad report, KBR announced it had won a new $2.3 billion-plus, five-year Iraq contract. But the inspector general's modest investigation offers new insight into just how little KBR delivers and how toothless the Pentagon is to prevent contractor waste. Moreover, the government's own auditors predict that as the military draws down its forces in Iraq, KBR will keep most of its workforce intact, enabling it to collect $190 million or more in unnecessary expenses. Much of any "peace dividend" from the war's gradual end—potentially hundreds of billions of dollars—could wind up in the hands of contractors.
Perhaps the right wing freakout at the time was because those who were even then fanning the flames of violence knew it was spot-on accurate. It just took time for what the DHS reported a year ago to reach critical mass.
Give me an act of kindness motivated by humanistic impulse over one forced by superstitious extortion any day.
This is such a sweet story: a little boy willingly hands out cheerful notes and cookies to his neighbors, simply to make them feel good. It's such a feel-good story that a Christian inspirational site picks up on it and shares Logan Davis's good news.
"I wanted to do something to brighten our neighbors' day," the motivated youngster told the news source. "My parents have always taught me it's good to be nice to others."
What none of the stories seem to mention, though, is that it's a godless family.Bwahahaahahaa! Our plans are working: we shall conquer the world with our niceness and our habit of raising happy, well-adjusted children! And cookies and flowers!
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If Allawi can wrest cooperation out of that nest of vipers, Obama should sic him on the repugs. "The leader of the secular alliance that narrowly won Iraq's parliamentary election has offered to work with all parties to form a coalition government. Iyad Allawi said his Iraqiya bloc would start by talking with the rival State of Law alliance of Prime Minister Nouri Maliki, which it beat by two seats. Mr Maliki has refused to accept the result and said he would challenge the count through the courts. Both the UN and US envoys to Iraq have said the 7 March poll was credible. There is concern that a challenge to the result could be lengthy and divisive, endangering progress towards greater stability. Sectarian violence erupted in Iraq as politicians took months to form a government after the last parliamentary election in 2005. Police on Saturday raised the death toll to at least 52 from twin bombings a day earlier near a restaurant in the town of Khalis, 80km (50 miles) north of Baghdad. More than 70 people were injured in the blasts."
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Willard Romney, who once strapped the family dog to the roof of the car and went on vacation, struggles to distance RomneyCare from ObamaCare: Ours was 'bipartisan'
