Bill Maher has never been much liked by the Christian right, and it's no surprise that they are upset about his comments about Jerry Falwell. I might be biased because I am quite a huge fan of Bill Maher's, but, IMHO, calling for him to be off the air is ridiculous.
There are many religous people who think nothing of condemning and belittling those that do not live up to their standards of morality. I think it is only fair that someone speaks up for those demonized by Jerry Falwell et al.
If you agree with Jerry Falwell, I can understand how you'd be offended. However, the Hate he spewed was equally offensive to a host of people, myself included. I guess if I could face the reality that people like Jerry exist and represent Christ (so they say), then the holier than thou crowd have to live with the reality that people like Bill Maher exist and represent a whole ensemble of folk who find no Christ-like quality in Jerry Falwell.
Of course, I simply have to give you the chance to see this for yourself. Hilarious and raw.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Monday, May 07, 2007
Hmmmm...???
| Which God or Goddess are you like? Your Result: Budha You are Budha. You are a very peaceful person, you love all who love you. You are a cheerful personality, and you have a great sense of humor. Congratulations!! You are Budha!! | |
| Jesus | |
| The Christian God | |
| You are your own God or Goddess | |
| Goddess Bast | |
| Satan | |
| God Zeus | |
| Goddess Sekhemet | |
| Which God or Goddess are you like? Make Your Own Quiz | |
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
American Hostages
I was very disturbed to read about the forgotten plight of three Americans abducted in Columbia. I am sure there are efforts underway to bring them home, but yet I wonder I why their ordeal barely registers on the radars of news monitors. Have we reached such a low point that even American life has different value depending on whether a person is abducted in a political hotspot?
More on this story here
More on this story here
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Hmmm, Food for thought?
About the negative ads in the Tennessee senate race targeting Harold Ford, I think this article makes a very valid point. We all tend to look at things through the veil of our expiriences and the fact that we aren't racist doesn't mean there aren't others that are.
In fact, the simple truth that it took 31 years for South Carolina to make the necessary changes to its constitution, and, the fact that ANYONE voted against the change, it a testament to the fact that whether or not we choose to admit it; the KKK didn't simply disapear from the face of the earth.
I used to think it was a gross misconception that there are still people out there who are outrightly racist, and, that blacks hurt themselves by crying foul from a state of self imposed segregation. I finally concede that indeed I am simply a lucky woman to have never encountered the ignorant hateful people, whose only claim to selfworth is the color of their skin.
In fact, the simple truth that it took 31 years for South Carolina to make the necessary changes to its constitution, and, the fact that ANYONE voted against the change, it a testament to the fact that whether or not we choose to admit it; the KKK didn't simply disapear from the face of the earth.
I used to think it was a gross misconception that there are still people out there who are outrightly racist, and, that blacks hurt themselves by crying foul from a state of self imposed segregation. I finally concede that indeed I am simply a lucky woman to have never encountered the ignorant hateful people, whose only claim to selfworth is the color of their skin.
Context provides the moral thicket. Consider that when South Carolina finally repealed its Constitution's ban on interracial marriage in 1998 — 31 years after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down such laws — almost half of white voters voted to keep it in place. These ads and commercials themselves may not be overtly racist, they just hope you are.
LA Times article here
Thursday, October 26, 2006
This guy gets it!
"We rightly criticise that in most Islamic states, the role of religion for society and the character of the rule of law are not clearly separated," he added.
"But we fail to recognize that in the USA, the Christian fundamentalists and their interpretation of the Bible have similar tendencies".
Gerhard Schroeder, former German Chancellor, in his memoirs 'Decisions: My Life in Politics'
A very good observation, I hope he and I are proven wrong. Maybe the power of democracy is stronger, but as I see most of my friends planning for thanksgiving and some don't even know it's election day on November 7Th, I am reminded that it's the extremists in the country, the conservatives and liberals alike that actually vote. Will the over-worked, enterprising, moderate American let the country be hijacked by the extremists? What will it take to break the circle of marked indifference? I wonder...
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Am I a Leftie?
You know, for the most part I am a liberal. I would be more moderate except the right wing scares me, despite being a catholic or perhaps precisely for this reason, I fear extremist Christians just as I would extremist Muslims, even though, I grant you that the former are less likely to blow up people. less likely being the key phrase here.
Honestly I think the ACLU is doing a good job of protecting civil liberties and that job can only be smeared by someone that has no concept of what life under a rouge nation can/would be like. Of course if you are a blond hair, blue eyed all American you probably truly have nothing to fear from wire taps or clandestine prisons or torture techniques. Yet, we forget that in this blend of a multi-ethnic America, there are many people of 'Persian' decent who are American citizens and have a lot to fear. Most of them are well adapted and completely integrated into our American way of life. The argument is one of principle; do we abandon the moral high ground and stop to fighting this war in the manner of the terrorists we seek to undermine? I can understand the argument for that opinion. And yet in taking up the fight with such tactics we become a part of the problem. I think the most telling sign of things going wrong is when you cannot find allies amongst friends.
We cannot look at any nation's human rights record and raise concerns because we now head the league of torturers. Nelson Mandela once said, "it is not enough that justice be served. Justice must also be seen to be served." That's simply food for thought.
What is my point? It is unacceptable that in the interest of trying to seem amicable to cultural differences we lose sight of what America great; freedom. No Muslim should ever be allowed to impose their views on anyone else, in the taxis or anywhere else. In a similar tone though, I don't appreciate the right wing trying to dictate what is acceptable and American either. We have to go for consistence here. If we leave room for Christian rhetoric then it is only fitting we leave room for Jewish and Muslim ones too. We can't both eat our cake and have it. Honestly if republicans stopped peddling to rightwing zealots, I'd be the first to re-assess which side to lean towards. (There's no excuse for Bush though, I think there are many more able men and women.)
So what am I getting at? There are conflicts between, what the conservatives say, and how they act. Don't impose your Muslim ways on me, but I can and will impose my bible totting views on every American. Pick an Ideology and stick to it. Do not argue the issue on both sides of the coin as it suits you.
On the issue of the Iraq war, I was very supportive of the war. I believe Saddam should have been sent packing during the gulf war in the 90s. The humanitarian benefits of a regime change in the region are enormous. Even without WMD there was enough reason to go in there. I honestly believe that the president is right, and, that if we do stay the course, we will win. Not winning that battle has more repercussions for our long term future that we can possible imagine. We cannot, and should not, pull out until the region is stable. That being said, I have major qualms with this administration. Why? Because a very important issue was over simplified and sold to the public under false pretenses, and now, we run an even larger risk, that of pulling out too soon and leaving Iraq worse than we found it. I fault this administration for excessive cronyism, incompetence and arrogance on the world scene, that has lost us many allies in Europe, and, created a hostile environment that has made winning this war all the more difficult. Make no mistake about it, Bush is very right, the situation if we fail in this war is bleak. The problem is that this administration undermined itself, when it presented a complex time staking operation as slam-dunk, when it endorsed torture and gave up the moral high ground, and, when it curtails the very freedoms that we all fight for, in the war against terrorism.
Now I wish there was one single democratic candidate with the guts to have an actual opinion, to break from the rhetoric, and do what's right for this country. So we have a choice between barely competent and completely cowardly. The final choice for me comes down to backing the party that would curb as few of my rights as possible. So I vote for choice, for freedom, for the Idea that I go to church and pray to God, but, for heaven's sake, keep him out of government.
So in this polarized climate, am I a liberal, biased, leftie? I guess so.
Honestly I think the ACLU is doing a good job of protecting civil liberties and that job can only be smeared by someone that has no concept of what life under a rouge nation can/would be like. Of course if you are a blond hair, blue eyed all American you probably truly have nothing to fear from wire taps or clandestine prisons or torture techniques. Yet, we forget that in this blend of a multi-ethnic America, there are many people of 'Persian' decent who are American citizens and have a lot to fear. Most of them are well adapted and completely integrated into our American way of life. The argument is one of principle; do we abandon the moral high ground and stop to fighting this war in the manner of the terrorists we seek to undermine? I can understand the argument for that opinion. And yet in taking up the fight with such tactics we become a part of the problem. I think the most telling sign of things going wrong is when you cannot find allies amongst friends.
We cannot look at any nation's human rights record and raise concerns because we now head the league of torturers. Nelson Mandela once said, "it is not enough that justice be served. Justice must also be seen to be served." That's simply food for thought.
What is my point? It is unacceptable that in the interest of trying to seem amicable to cultural differences we lose sight of what America great; freedom. No Muslim should ever be allowed to impose their views on anyone else, in the taxis or anywhere else. In a similar tone though, I don't appreciate the right wing trying to dictate what is acceptable and American either. We have to go for consistence here. If we leave room for Christian rhetoric then it is only fitting we leave room for Jewish and Muslim ones too. We can't both eat our cake and have it. Honestly if republicans stopped peddling to rightwing zealots, I'd be the first to re-assess which side to lean towards. (There's no excuse for Bush though, I think there are many more able men and women.)
So what am I getting at? There are conflicts between, what the conservatives say, and how they act. Don't impose your Muslim ways on me, but I can and will impose my bible totting views on every American. Pick an Ideology and stick to it. Do not argue the issue on both sides of the coin as it suits you.
On the issue of the Iraq war, I was very supportive of the war. I believe Saddam should have been sent packing during the gulf war in the 90s. The humanitarian benefits of a regime change in the region are enormous. Even without WMD there was enough reason to go in there. I honestly believe that the president is right, and, that if we do stay the course, we will win. Not winning that battle has more repercussions for our long term future that we can possible imagine. We cannot, and should not, pull out until the region is stable. That being said, I have major qualms with this administration. Why? Because a very important issue was over simplified and sold to the public under false pretenses, and now, we run an even larger risk, that of pulling out too soon and leaving Iraq worse than we found it. I fault this administration for excessive cronyism, incompetence and arrogance on the world scene, that has lost us many allies in Europe, and, created a hostile environment that has made winning this war all the more difficult. Make no mistake about it, Bush is very right, the situation if we fail in this war is bleak. The problem is that this administration undermined itself, when it presented a complex time staking operation as slam-dunk, when it endorsed torture and gave up the moral high ground, and, when it curtails the very freedoms that we all fight for, in the war against terrorism.
Now I wish there was one single democratic candidate with the guts to have an actual opinion, to break from the rhetoric, and do what's right for this country. So we have a choice between barely competent and completely cowardly. The final choice for me comes down to backing the party that would curb as few of my rights as possible. So I vote for choice, for freedom, for the Idea that I go to church and pray to God, but, for heaven's sake, keep him out of government.
So in this polarized climate, am I a liberal, biased, leftie? I guess so.
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Paul Hunter 1978 to 2006
Hunter passed away on October 9 2006, aged 27. He leaves his wife Lindsey and young daughter Evie Rose.
Paul Hunter both young and extremely talented, his passing will leave a huge vacuum in the world of snooker. I will never forget the 2004 Master's Final game between Paul Hunter and Ronnie O'sullivan, that captured my heart. There are very few public personna's who capture the hearts of the distant observer, for me, Paul Hunter was such a man. Thay say, 'Snooker is a game for gentlemen' ; Paul Hunter was truly the quintessential gentleman.
Paul Hunter factfile:
1978: Born October 14.
1995: Turned professional at the age of 16.
1998: Won the Welsh Open.
2001: Recovered from 7-3 down to beat Fergal O'Brien 10-9 and win the Wembley Masters title.
2002: Hunter again came from behind to retain his Wembley Masters title, this time beating Mark Williams 10-9 after being 5-0 down.
Won the Welsh Open title and British Open title in Telford later that year.
2003: Reached the semi-finals of the World Championships, leading Ken Doherty 15-9 before slipping to a 17-16 defeat.
2004: Claimed his third Wembley Masters title by beating Ronnie O'Sullivan in a last-frame decider after trailing 7-2.
2005: April 6 - It was announced that Hunter had been diagnosed with neuroendocrine tumours, a rare form of cancer.
April 14 - In his first competitive appearance since his diagnosis, he came from 3-0 down to draw 3-3 with Jimmy White in a Premier League fixture in Doncaster.
April 15: Confirmed he would compete in the 2005 World Championship. Hunter lost in the first round to Michael Holt.
October: Beaten in the last 16 of the German Open.
December: Came from behind to beat Jamie Burnett 9-8 and reach the third round of the UK Championship in York.
2006: April: Played through the pain as he was beaten 10-5 by Australian Neil Robertson in the first round of the World Championship.
July - Was given the go-ahead to take a year out from the game in order to continue his fight against cancer, after an extraordinary general meeting of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association agreed to freeze his ranking.
October 9: Died aged 27 after losing his battle with cancer.
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