Well, folks it’s official. The Democratic party has kicked off it’s week long celebration of the diversity within the Democratic party with an event that explicitly shuts out any Democrat or democratically inclined person that doesn’t believe in some kind of god.
Be nice. Smile as you wave goodbye. It’s the atheist thing to do.
An event this coming Sunday is to be a first for the Democratic Party. At exactly two pm at the Denver Convention Center the Democratic party will kick off the only “inter-faith” service it’s ever played host to.
This gathering will include clergy of a variety of faiths, Democratic leaders, elected Democrats and community leaders. It’s alleged purpose is to “showcase our nominee, our strength, our diversity and our shared values”.
If it were merely a side event it’d be easy to ignore for the most part. It is, however, not a side event. It is the first official event of the convention itself and it’s not only a religious service, but one that actively excludes all non-theists from kicking off the week long celebration of Democratic diversity.
On July the second Ron Miller of the Secular Coalition sent Leah Daughtry, the Pentecostal minister running the convention this year, a letter addressing this. It was a pretty nice letter too. After expressing his concern Miller asks
Is this event open to Democrats who do not hold a god-belief? I assume your answer is yes, but I would be very interested to know how you plan to make the nontheist community feel welcomed. Without an inclusive plan you will make nontheistic Americans feel like second-class citizens at the convention.
Things were quit for a while, then Eric Gorski of the AP wrote an article wherein he explicitly implied that we atheists had attacked Daughtry. His exact words (cached version):
Daughtry, 44, was preparing for an Aug. 24 interfaith service that will open the Democrats’ gathering here — a first for a party that hasn’t always gotten God. Before her was an angry letter from a secularist group that wanted to know whether atheists would be on the podium.
Now it’s possible that’s exactly how Daughtry described it, but I’ve got my doubts. The common theme, especially in the media, is that we atheists are raving lunatics who snack on poor little theists for no reason whatsoever. They were just standing there, minding their own business when this pack of angry atheists just jumped ‘em. It’s like the wild wild west meets Bill Donahue’s severely altered reality.
Daughtry, whom Gorski apparently described as “befuddled“, said she’d get back with Miller. That was more than a month ago today. Daughtry’s apparently still befuddled. That didn’t stop a certain editor though. He might be many things, but befuddled isn’t one of them.
A confident Barack Obama raised an extraordinary $7.8 million Sunday at three California fundraisers, most of it in large checks to a Democratic Party committee.
“I will win. Don’t worry about that,” he said to the crowd of about 1,300 at his third event of the evening, according to the pool report.
He was warmly received by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who called him “a leader that God has blessed us with at this time.”
Back in the day we progressives, liberals and Democrats used to vote against people who pulled this kind of crap. Those days are apparently over.
I never thought I’d ever be in a position where I’d actually hate the Democratic nominee for president, but here I am. I actively dislike Obama and want him to lose. It’s kind of strange. I’m used to hating Republicans and cheering for their loss.
I know, I know. A loss for the Democrats in November will cause hellfire to rain down on America. I don’t care. Maybe America needs some hellfire falling on it’s ass to snap it the hell out of this sickening obsession with religiosity on both sides of the political aisle.
He has introduced 35 impeachment articles against George Bush.
This is his second attempt to start impeachment procedures against George Bush (he abandoned another attempt earlier this year). I have no doubt that there will be no impeachment of George Bush, but it feels good to know that there’s at least one of our person in Washington DC who wants to do the right thing by Americans.
when I wish I could shoot lightening bolts at people.
Today is one of them.
Reason? Well, I just read an opinion piece that takes the gold, silver and bronze metal when it comes to loathing Hillary Clinton.
She would never be content to be vice president. She’d be plotting against him from day one. She’d put poison in his tea.
I’ve seen this Hillary as Murderous Harridan sentiment in several places in the last week and I’m beyond disgusted. It’d be one thing if it was just Republicans like Noonan saying this shit (they are, after all, the ones who started the slanderous lie that Hillary had Vince Foster murdered), but it isn’t.
Most of what everyone “knows” about Hillary Clinton can more or less be tracked back to the Rethugs. Her viciousness, her alleged self-centeredness and so on and so forth. They’ve been “talking points” for the rethugs for nearly two decades now.
I think they’re going to hate Michelle Obama also and will be attempting to “hillary-ize” her sometime in the new future. Why? Check out this video of Barack & Michelle just before he gave his speech a couple of days ago:
That bump, that “thumbs up”. It says a whole lot about Barack & Michelle’s relationship and maybe him too. She ain’t just his wife. She’s his partner – his equal. He’s going to listen to her. Her view, her opinions do and will continue to matter to him.
The rethugs are going to hate her with a passion.
I still don’t know what I’m going to do in November, but there’s one thing I’m quite sure of right now.
Cut Michelle. Cut Me.
I didn’t like it when the rethugs attacked Hillary and it has galled me to no end to see alleged progressive use the same tactics on Hillary. I simply will not stand to see the same done to yet another woman.
One of the arguments for supporting the democratic nominee this fall is that a failure to put a democrat in office will result in the further erosion of reproductive freedom.
This argument annoys and angers me because 1) it’s fear-based and 2) democrats have been selling out women for years now. If there’s one thing Democrats have become quite consistent at it’s declaring the rights of women to be something “we” can afford to undermine.
The latest example is SB 776 in Michigan which was just passed 74-32 with 24 Democrats voting for it. It outlaws, on the state level, so-called “partial birth abortions”. There is no exemption for the health of the mother.
Yet, board after board, blog after blog, talking point after talking point insists that unless I vote Democrat this fall my rights as a woman will be eroded. That sound you just heard? That was me snorting at the preposterous idea that my rights as well as the rights/privileges of others will be protected by Democrats.
It’s become quite clear that when an election season rolls around, there isn’t any group/idea the Democrats won’t sell out in order to get/remain in power.
So until such time as the Democrats quit selling out women, gay people and a host of other groups/ideas – fuck them all. I will no longer be party too such a scam.
Apparently there was a “debate” last night on ABC involving Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. I wasn’t aware of it myself and had I been I would’ve probably still went out and had a few beers. Judging from the response this morning, I missed what was the most asinine thing the mass media has done in quite some time.
There are nearly 14,000 responses on ABC’s site and here’s a sample of what the people who may wish they’d went out and had a beer or two instead have to say:
This so-called debate was ABSURD! Why do talking politico newspeople think the show is about THEM! This goes for everyone from Tweety, Russert and now obviously to Glib-son and Staphocoluous. I don’t give a hoot who wears a pin that’s made in China but shaped like a Flag, or what Reverend W. said or didn’t say, and who the hell is Ayers anyway? Bosnia – J.C. boyz, move on. Talk about GASOLINE, COST OF FOOD that I can’t afford any longer, or CRIME or our CRUMBLING BRIDGES. Stop with the gotcha moments. That doesn’t fill up my tank or pay my bills, you IDIOTS.This was just as Tom Shales said – shoddy and despicable performances – put on by ABC. I didn’t get a damn thing out of it.
Stephapoulus was a disgrace. He should resign. Edward R Murrow must be rolling over in his grave. The National Enquirer would not hire him. 45 minutes of nonsense when we are near a depression with the worst military blunder in US history. Gibson should apologize for his role.
Was Charles Gibson wearing a flag pin during the “debate”?Was George Stephanopoluos wearing a flag pin during the “debate”?Was Hillary Clinton wearing a flag pin during the “debate”?No, no and no.Why then, was it an issue as to whether Barak Obama wearing one?Since when did ABC become a subsidiary of FOX?
I take this “debate” charade as an insult to my intelligence and a terrible disservice to the American viewing audience that is trying to understand the positions of candidates on the real issues. I know that I can turn it off if it is offensive, but this is too damn important to be left to the major networks any more. ABC abdicated its responsibilitie. Time to return to the League of Women Voters doing the moderating with exclusive broadcast rights to PBS. This needs to happen for the general elections, in what is likely the most important presidential election of our generation.
I think it’s fair to say that the people are pissed off, eh? If you missed it also take a look at this video for the allegedly “important” questions put to both of them during the first hour of the ‘debate’:
Barack Obama is getting on my nerves. First he gave that asinine interview in The Advocate where he pretty much told the gay community that explicitly fighting for equal rights via marriage was a bad political move that could upset the bigots on this side of the sexual identity fence. Now he’s went and decided that those of us who have the weird idea that women are entitled to make their own reproductive decisions have made a “mistake”.
“It may be that those who have opposed abortion get a sense that I’m listening to them and respect their position even though where we finally come down may be different,” he told reporters at a news conference.
“The mistake that pro-choice forces have sometimes made in the past, and this is a generalization so it has not always been the case, has been to not acknowledge the wrenching moral issues involved in it,” he said.
“Most Americans recognize that what we want to do is avoid, or help people avoid, having to make this difficult choice. That nobody is pro-abortion, abortion is never a good thing.”
This is total bullshit. We do acknowledge that individual women have their own opinions on abortion and that there are women who consider abortion to be a serious moral issue. We have never made the mistake of not acknowledging that.
If I’ve heard it once, I’ve heard it a million times. Vote for Change. Vote for Obama. There’s only one problem. Obama doesn’t appear to be about actually changing anything if this photo of him in front of one of his signs is to be taken at face value:
“Believe” in change? No, thanks. I’d rather have real change right now. I want to actually see things change. I don’t care who’s nose gets bloodied in the process. Fighting ain’t bad by default. It’s what you’re fighting for or against that makes the fighting good or bad.
I want to see an end to the attacks on the rights of women. I want to see an end to the attacks on the gay community and want to see them get the same rights and privileges that my partner and I enjoy without question.
I want the religious reich kicked so hard in the nuts they’ll still be on the floor a hundred years from now. Hell, I want to to see the GOP go from God’s Official Party back to the Grand Old Party.
I do not want to believe these changes as well as others are going to happen someday. I want to know that these changes are going to happen.
