Clipmarks | earnric's clips

Amazing -- Yes bigotry lives on. Esp among our elected officials.

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 02:42:10 GMT

clipped by: earnric
clipper's remarks: Left to 'ourselves' I'm sure many states and municipalities would also vote to ban interracial marriage... or other 'activities' the majority didn't particularly approve of, but that are (or should be) protected as individual liberties.

Thankfully, we have a constitution that guarantees equal protection -- or at least it says that.

Clip Source: www.npr.org

A Louisiana justice of the peace said he refused to issue a marriage license to an interracial couple out of concern for any children the couple might have.

Keith Bardwell, justice of the peace in Tangipahoa Parish, says it is his experience that most interracial marriages do not last long.

"I'm not a racist. I just don't believe in mixing the races that way," Bardwell told the Associated Press on Thursday. "I have piles and piles of black friends. They come to my home, I marry them, they use my bathroom. I treat them just like everyone else."

Tags: bigotry, marriage

Let gays serve openly... NOW.

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 03:27:06 GMT

clipped by: earnric
clipper's remarks: In an attempt to allow homosexual service members to serve quietly, a law was created that forces a compromise in integrity, conflicts with the American creed of ‘equality for all,’ places commanders in difficult moral dilemmas, and is ultimately more damaging to the unit cohesion its stated purpose is to preserve.

Clip Source: opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com

“The Battle of DADT is over, and the mopping-up operations are ready to begin.”

The publication, the Joint Forces Quarterly, is considered “the Joint Chiefs’ ‘flagship’’ security studies journal,” and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Adm. Mike Mullen, reviewed the essay before it was published.

After a careful examination, there is no scientific evidence to support the claim that unit cohesion will be negatively affected if homosexuals serve openly. Based on this research, it is not time for the administration to reexamine the issue; rather it is time for the administration to examine how to implement the repeal of the ban.

Several homosexuals interviewed were in tears as they described the enormous personal compromise in integrity they had been making, and the pain felt in serving in an organization they wholly believed in, yet that did not accept them.

Tags: gays, military

Financial foolishness...

Sat, 18 Jul 2009 13:54:31 GMT

clipped by: earnric
clipper's remarks: The US economy is far to beholden to financial markets and Wall street.

The problems started with deregulation under Reagan, and culminated with deregulation under Clinton (the Gramm-Leach-Biley act of 1999) -- allowing inv banks, ins. co's and comm banks to create 'whatever' new investment vehicles they wanted... all outside ANY government regulation.

We saw what happened: they gave mortgages to people who couldn't afford them, know that they could slice-n-dice 'em and sell them off before they went sour.

Now we, the taxpayer, are paying to keep these same institutions afloat.

I only hope for some sensible regulation.

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

Goldman Sachs just reported record quarterly profits

What does this contrast tell us?

First, it tells us that Goldman is very good at what it does. Unfortunately, what it does is bad for America.

Second, it shows that Wall Street’s bad habits — above all, the system of compensation that helped cause the financial crisis — have not gone away.

Third, it shows that by rescuing the financial system without reforming it, Washington has done nothing to protect us from a new crisis, and, in fact, has made another crisis more likely.

growth would be fine if financialization really delivered on its promises — if financial firms made money by directing capital to its most productive uses,

Financial firms, we now know, directed vast quantities of capital into the construction of unsellable houses and empty shopping malls. They increased risk rather than reducing it,

Tags: banking, crooks, finance

The marketing machine...

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 23:28:07 GMT

clipped by: earnric
clipper's remarks: Good read -- how we've become the consumer culture.

There was a time in America when thrift and economy were virtues. Now, keeping up with the Jone's -- even if that means buying a Hummer -- is the rage.

Where will it all leave us?

Clip Source: www.truthdig.com

The pernicious idea that democracy lies in the choice between competing brands and the freedom to accumulate vast sums of personal wealth at the expense of others has collapsed.

American culture—or cultures, for we once had distinct regional cultures—was systematically destroyed in the 20th century by corporations. These corporations used mass communication, as well as an understanding of the human subconscious, to turn consumption into an inner compulsion. Old values of thrift, regional identity that had its own iconography, aesthetic expression and history, diverse immigrant traditions, self-sufficiency, a press that was decentralized to provide citizens with a voice in their communities were all destroyed to create mass, corporate culture. New desires and habits were implanted by corporate advertisers to replace the old.

Tags: american, culture, mess

Conservative non-sense...

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 18:10:29 GMT

clipped by: earnric
clipper's remarks: This is what you get when you put staunch conservatives on the court... The protect the "right" of non-law enforcement to violate YOUR rights on mere suspicion ... because of a perceived boogieman (drugs in this case).

Who could countenance such a thing?

Clip Source: fogghorn.blogspot.com

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Should people working for a local high school have police powers yet not be restrained by the responsibility a policeman has to explain the accused's rights?

Clarence Thomas was the only Supreme Court member to think such things as a summary strip search of an 8th grade girl are legal, although he may or may not think it's wrong. True to his Republican principles, he differentiates between law and justice as though one was not to serve the other.

Thomas clearly stated that the "scourge of drugs" trumps the right to due process and elevates a school principal above the powers and responsibilities a police officer has.

Tags: conservatism, judges, craziness

God, angels, devils --- and science

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 17:35:20 GMT

clipped by: earnric

Clip Source: online.wsj.com

My practice as a scientist is atheistic. That is to say, when I set up an experiment I assume that no god, angel or devil is going to interfere with its course; and this assumption has been justified by such success as I have achieved in my professional career. I should therefore be intellectually dishonest if I were not also atheistic in the affairs of the world.

Harris and Dawkins are simply being honest when they point out the inconsistency of belief in an activist god with modern science.

J.B.S. Haldane, an evolutionary biologist and a founder of population genetics, understood that science is by necessity an atheistic discipline. As Haldane so aptly described it, one cannot proceed with the process of scientific discovery if one assumes a "god, angel, or devil" will interfere with one's experiments. God is, of necessity, irrelevant in science.

Investment in OUR country...

Mon, 08 Jun 2009 17:37:58 GMT

clipped by: earnric
clipper's remarks: Nice for a change... we build roads and infrastructure in Iraq, and the conservatives don't bitch ... but when we do it here: well, I'm sure we'll hear about it!

Clip Source: www.bloomberg.com

The projects are intended create or save more than 600,000 jobs, about four times as many as were affected during the first 100 days since the rescue bill became law, the White House release says.

The new projects are being framed as the beginning of a “summer of accelerated Recovery Act activity” by the administration and include new services at health centers in 50 states, work on 107 national parks, improvements at airports, highway locations and veterans’ medical facilities. They will also provide funding for schools to hire more teachers.

What have scholars - priests & ministers included - been saying about the bible?

Sat, 06 Jun 2009 17:44:39 GMT

clipped by: earnric
clipper's remarks: I'll have to give this one a read. If it is half as fascinating as Misquoting Jesus, his last popular work, it'll be great.

Watch the video -- get the book!

Clip Source: www.youtube.com

[Video]

Tags: religion

Equal protection..

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 18:24:24 GMT

clipped by: earnric
clipper's remarks: Jefferson spoke eloquently of the "rights of the minority in the face of the tyranny of the majority" ... apparently, we've forgotten that lesson.

The idea that 50+% of the people can decide to take away ANY particular groups rights is a scary one...

Clip Source: www.truthdig.com

Proposition 8 represents an unprecedented instance of a majority of voters altering the meaning of the equal protection clause by modifying the California Constitution to require deprivation of a fundamental right on the basis of a suspect classification. The majority’s holding is not just a defeat for same-sex couples, but for any minority group that seeks the protection of the equal protection clause

deny a fundamental right to a group that has historically been subject to discrimination on the basis of a suspect classification, violates the essence of the equal protection clause of the California Constitution and fundamentally alters its scope and meaning. Such a change cannot be accomplished through the initiative process by a simple amendment to our Constitution enacted by a bare majority of the votes; it must be accomplished, if at all, by a constitutional revision to modify the equal protection clause to protect some, rather than all

Tags: gay marriage, law, rights

Gay Marriage -- even staunch conservatives can see the light.

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 22:41:52 GMT

clipped by: earnric
clipper's remarks: This is what happens when you actually KNOW gay people -- you realize they are just like you and me... no difference.

Clip Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Cheney was asked about recent rulings and legislative action in Iowa and elsewhere that allowed for gay couples to legally wed.

"I think that freedom means freedom for everyone," replied the former V.P. "As many of you know, one of my daughters is gay and it is something we have lived with for a long time in our family. I think people ought to be free to enter into any kind of union they wish. Any kind of arrangement they wish.

Tags: gay marriage

Why atheism isn't a religion...

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 20:30:11 GMT

clipped by: earnric
clipper's remarks: PZ says it succinctly ... Relying on reason and evidence is the opposite of fundamentalism and "revealed truth" ...

Clip Source: scienceblogs.com

The "new atheism" (I don't like that phrase, either) is about taking a core set of principles that have proven themselves powerful and useful in the scientific world — you've probably noticed that many of these uppity atheists are coming out of a scientific background — and insisting that they also apply to everything else people do. These principles are a reliance on natural causes and demanding explanations in terms of the real world, with a documentary chain of evidence, that anyone can examine. The virtues are critical thinking, flexibility, openness, verification, and evidence. The sins are dogma, faith, tradition, revelation, superstition, and the supernatural. There is no holy writ, and a central idea is that everything must be open to rational, evidence-based criticism — it's the opposite of fundamentalism.

Tags: religion

Sotomayor

Thu, 28 May 2009 23:47:11 GMT

clipped by: earnric
clipper's remarks: From what I've ready, she sounds very qualified.

And I like the idea of having a woman with her background/life experience on the court. The court should better reflect the country ... and a super-majority of white males hardly represents the US

Clip Source: www.washingtonpost.com

Republicans would be foolish to fight the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court because she is the most conservative choice that President Obama could have made.

And even though they should support her confirmation, liberals would be foolish to embrace Sotomayor as one of their own because her record is clearly that of a moderate. It is highly unlikely that she will push the court to the left. Indeed, on many issues of concern to business, she is likely to make the Chamber of Commerce perfectly happy.

Generation Tweet and gay marriage - on the mark...

Thu, 28 May 2009 22:39:29 GMT

clipped by: earnric

Clip Source: www.sfgate.com

Head on down to your local high school -- hell, make it a junior high or even an elementary -- and take yourself an informal survey. Ask the various wary, bepimpled youth of Generation Tweet what they think about those scary gay people getting married.

Ask them, in your most panicky, alarmist, Mormonified voice: Aren't they horrified at the very idea? Aren't they shocked at the very thought of two people in love having their union officially recognized and validated by the state?

Don't they know the musty ol' Bible mutters some barely coherent, mistranslated silliness about it in a single word or two written 1,500 years ago in a long dead language by acidic church elders with powermad political agendas and violently repressed libidos who nevertheless wish to instruct us all how to live and love and screw?

Tags: gay marriage

Politics & Religon ... an ugly mix

Wed, 27 May 2009 21:26:25 GMT

clipped by: earnric

Clip Source: www.au.org

Last week, Liberty officials informed the president of the Democratic club that it is no longer eligible for university recognition, including funding through student activity fees. The goals of the Democratic Party, school officials insisted, are contrary to Liberty’s evangelical Christian outlook.

In a letter to the IRS today, Lynn officially requested a review of Liberty’s tax exemption. The letter notes the recent flap and argues that by giving official recognition and student funding to a Republican club but not a Democratic one, Liberty has run afoul of the tax code.

Liberty’s Republican club endorses candidates for public office and works on their behalf. It can do these things with university recognition and student funding, which are denied to the Democratic club.

“Liberty University has no right to do partisan proselytizing and still retain a tax exemption,” Lynn remarked. “I urge the IRS to act swiftly to correct this injustice.”

Boxer D...

Fri, 22 May 2009 18:17:14 GMT

clipped by: earnric

Clip Source: news.yahoo.com

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Thursday praised an Army soldier in eastern Afghanistan who drew media attention this month after rushing to defend his post from attack while wearing pink boxer shorts and flip-flops.

Army Specialist Zachary Boyd, 19, of Fort Worth, Texas, rushed from his sleeping quarters on May 11 to join fellow platoon members at a base in Afghanistan's Kunar Province after the unit came under fire from Taliban positions.

When the image wound up on the front page of the New York Times, Boyd told his parents he might lose his job if President Barack Obama saw him out of uniform.

"I can assure you that Specialist Boyd's job is very safe indeed," Gates said in the speech.

Tags: military, army