Flame-throwing Republican gubernatorial hopeful Carl Paladino today blasted "dysfunctional homosexuals" in an anti-gay diatribe in Borough Park [...]Speaking to a group of Orthodox Jewish leaders in Borough Park, Paladino noted how he boycotted the Gay Pride parade Democratic foe Andrew Cuomo marched in, along with his daughters, this summer.
"There is nothing to be proud of in being a dysfunctional homoxsexual," he said. "That's not how G-d created us, and that's not the example that we should be showing our children -- and certainly not in our schools."
Not suprisingly, Paladino said he would veto any legislation that seeks to legalize gay marriage in New York.
"I just think my children and your children would be much better off and much more successful getting married and raising a family, and I don't want them brainwashed into thinking that homosexuality is an equally valid and successful option," he said. "It isn't."
And the Paladino gay sex scandal will emerge in 5... 4... 3... 2...
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Year Ten: Over 60% Of Afghans Suffer Mental Illness. Who Cares?
By Steve Hynd
If I were a well-known "progressive" military fanboy blogger, I would have titled this post something like "This is the Happy House" or "Welcome To My Nightmare" and topped the post with some belittling and mostly inappropriate music video to prove how switched on and hip I am. I'm not. This is shocking, disgusting, atrocious and ignored:
"This is a major problem," Suraya Dalil, Afghanistan's acting public health minister, told a ceremony in Kabul on World Mental Health Day. "More than 60% of Afghans are suffering from stress disorders and mental problems."
..."There are only 200 beds for psychiatric services in the country, with only two psychiatrists in the country covering the entire population," said WHO representative Peter Graaff.
Public health ministry spokesman Ghulam Sakhi Kargar Noryghli said the 60% estimate dated from a study carried out with the WHO in 2004.
"Since war has continued, poverty or economic problems have increased in some parts of the country. We believe that the number of those suffering from mental illnesses has increased and now it is more than 60%," he said.
The population of Afghanistan is estimated at roughly 28 million.
As we enter Year Ten of false promises of "some small progress", this is the progress we have definitely made. More than 18 million people suffering from post-traumatic stress and other mental problems. It dwarfs the total number of drugged-up US servicemen with similiar problems, estimated to be as many as 600,000 after a decade of dumb interventionist occupations, who get far more attention from the media. But even that attention isn't very much.
Albert R. Hunt, executive Washington editor for Bloomberg News, writes to the NYT today to point out the debate deficit:
There is a total disconnect: The Woodward book depicts Afghanistan as a quagmire-to-be with no clear and coherent strategy. There are almost 100,000 young American men and women deployed there at an annual cost of $119 billion — almost three times the ultimate cost to U.S. taxpayers of the Troubled Asset Relief Program to rescue the financial system — and with casualties rising.
In Senate and House races all across the United States, the venue for debating important issues, the candidates are largely silent about the war, irrespective of their contest, region or party.
This absence from the agenda reflects the dominance of the economic concerns facing many Americans. It is also is a matter of political convenience: Democrats with reservations about the war do not want to criticize an already beleaguered president, and Republicans want to appear muscular and tough without providing any plan or specifics.
...It is reasonable to expect these candidates to discuss and debate how long we are willing to put our troops in harm's way, at what cost in treasure and with what consequences. In a democracy, that is what elections are about.
In 2010, while brave young American men and women put their lives on the line halfway around the world , the politicians at home are flunking this test.
Instead we're debating O'Donnel's fake witchery, some dude who likes to play Nazi dress-up and whether the "professional Left" should continue to support Dem candidates who are suits full of bugger all.
Color me disgusted.
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Campbell's Soup - Jihadist enablers
In case you missed the story earlier this week.
Earlier this year, Campbell Canada introduced a line of halal-certified soups. The 15 soups comply with Islamic dietary regulations which, much like kosher regulations, prohibit certain foods and define the right way to slaughter animals.
The line, which includes low fat cream of broccoli and vegetarian vegetable, was certified by the Islamic Society of North America, which has been certifying halal foods since 1988.
Naturally, the right-wing Bigot Brigade freaked out.
- "M-m-good for the Islamists. Not so yummy for the rest of us," reads the blog of Scaramouche.
- Robert Spencer, who writes Jihadwatch.org and has been saying for years that ISNA is tied to Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood,* quickly echoed the alarm. "So why is Campbell's Soup rushing to do its bidding?" Spencer wrote on Tuesday. "'M-M-Muslim Brotherhood Good?'"
- Park51 opponent Pamela Geller is now calling for a boycott of Campbell's.
- The Tea Party Nation.
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Conservatives have truly reached the point where they have become oblivious to their own hate and illogical rhetoric. They scream out for free markets but have restricted the definition of 'free' to those principles which they and they alone uphold to be good and true. By their rules, a corporation like Campbell's is entitled to practice free market capitalism as long as they abide by the fear-mongering bigotry laid out by the Tea Party and their minions of idiotic and hate-filled jackasses.
Give these fools the reins of power for a decade and the United States will surely evolve into the Christian equivalent of Pakistan.
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Some of the language in the Citizens United ruling is pretty astounding:
This Court now concludes that independent expenditures, including those made by corporations, do not give rise to corruption or the appearance of corruption. That speakers may have influence over or access to elected officials does not mean that those officials are corrupt. And the appearance of influence or access will not cause the electorate to lose faith in this democracy.
What's ridiculous here is that campaign finance issues have already caused much of the public to lose faith in this democracy…and that was under a system that demanded more disclosure (at least for corporate spending) than this post-Citizens United system. Democrats are right to keep ramming home the point that the sources of funding for this season's outside ads remain largely undisclosed.
Stealing Democracy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hvm0cWgHp6A&feature=player_embedded
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Rand Paul constantly argues that we need to let rich people horde all of their money, since they are the chosen people who create jobs and wealth, and anyone who advocates taking money from them is committing class warfare and most likely a socialist/collectivist/statist.Read the whole thing.But we all know how Rand Paul acts when he faces political pressure. Stop, squirm, and run, like the very worst kind of stereotypical politician. And since he's under a deluge of pressure because of his stupid Medicare deductible remarks, guess who has to duck now?
Republican Senate candidate Rand Paul brought up the idea of having wealthier people pay more for Medicare coverage during a speech in his hometown of Bowling Green.
I'm so glad that Rand Paul is now down with "punishing people because they're successful" and "spreading the wealth". Karl Marx is smiling up at him from Commie Atheist Hell.
