Clipmarks | Opinion Clips

Brave man speaks out against his government

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 13:25:16 GMT

clipped by: jimbo1000
clipper's remarks: We worry for him

Archbishop of Canterbury backs outspoken bishop in Zimbabwe

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has described the Bishop of Harare, Sebastian Bakare, as a "deeply respected and courageous leader who has spoken out not only against injustices in his community but also against corruption within his own Anglican church"

Said Williams: "His continued integrity, for which he has placed himself at considerable personal risk, has brought hope to countless people in Zimbabwe and internationally."

"Bishop Sebastian Bakare is awarded the 2008 Per Anger Prize for having given voice to the fight against oppression and for the freedom of speech and of opinion in a difficult political situation, with courage and personal sacrifice,"

Bakare has denounced Mugabe's treatment of Christians,

Bishop Bakare told journalists: "The ruling system is so oppressive that it has denied the people their human rights

Poll: More Trust Obama than Congress

Sat, 15 Nov 2008 20:12:34 GMT

clipped by: Wisco
clipper's remarks: All in all, good news for the new resident of the White House. The best news is Obama's 35-point lead over Congress in a dispute -- he owns the bully pulpit.

Clip Source: washingtonbureau.typepad.com

The CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll, taken Nov. 6-9, asked whether people thought Democrats controlled both houses and the presidency--which has not happened since January 1995--would be good for the country. Fifty-nine percent thought it was good, but 38 percent said it was bad.

And 86 percent said they'd rather see President-elect Obama implement bipartisan policies rather than strictly Democratic policies.

Fifty-nine percent said they'd trust Obama in a dispute, while 24 percent would side with congressional leaders. Congress returns Monday for a lame duck session, and the 111th Congress convenes Jan. 6.

Tags: news

Thinking about what you think

Sat, 15 Nov 2008 14:26:34 GMT

clipped by: askwhy
clipper's remarks: Karen Demmery of the National Indigenous Times, Australia, writes a useful piece of practical advice for us all.

Clip Source: www.nit.com.au

I ask why. When someone says "they" reckon this or that, I usually ask 'Really, where did they get that information from?'

question where that opinion you hold comes from.

Is it your own? Has it been taught to you by someone and you've never stopped to question it or ask if it's actually working for you and serving you, or is it working against you?

If it's not working for you, or serving your greater good, I'd invite you to respectfully decide if you can let it go or change it.

Are your opinions and thoughts serving your greater good? Or do they work against you and keep you in a place of anger and resentment?

To decide this you must question it.

Sometimes it pays to question your actions.

Our thoughts are wonderful things. We have complete control over them. Good or bad, we decide.

The amazing thing about your thoughts is that you alone have the power to change them, every day, every minute, even every second.

f one person

reading this gets something useful from it, then it was worth it

Tags: thinking, questioning, what we do, what we believe

Revoke LDS Church 501(c)(3) Status

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 05:29:46 GMT

clipped by: reimers

Clip Source: lds501c3.wordpress.com

How to File an IRS 501(c)(3) Complaint

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (also known as the “Mormon” or LDS Church) has gone too far in promoting the 2008 California Proposition 8, which ~~would~~ claims to amend the California state constitution to define marriage as one man and one woman in order to supersede a state supreme court opinion issued earlier this year. [Whether the proposition was a lawful amendment or a revision that cannot legally be made by a voter initiative remains an open question.]

The LDS church, through inciting its members to donate time and means to support Proposition 8 (resulting in millions of dollars of cash contributions from its members and countless volunteer hours), and in-kind campaign contributions to a group that supports Proposition 8, has now made a substantial part of its activities attempting to influence legislation.

You can help! Send the IRS an official complaint about the LDS Church’s activities, either by email, fax or US Mail.

"You don't care what American people think?" Cheney : "No."

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 18:57:40 GMT

clipped by: nobelprize4peace

Clip Source: www.whitehouse.gov

THE VICE PRESIDENT: So?

Q So -- you don't care what the American people think?

Q Let me go back to the Americans. Two-thirds of Americans say it's not worth fighting, and they're looking at the value gain versus the cost in American lives, certainly, and Iraqi lives.

THE VICE PRESIDENT: No, I think you cannot be blown off course by the fluctuations in the public opinion polls. Think about what would have happened if Abraham Lincoln had paid attention to polls, if they had had polls during the Civil War. He never would have succeeded if he hadn't had a clear objective, a vision for where he wanted to go, and he was willing to withstand the slings and arrows of the political wars in order to get there. And this President has been very courageous, very consistent, very determined to continue down the course we were on and to achieve our objective.

Tags: cheney, democracy, irak

Can a 13-year-old refuse treatment?

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 10:06:57 GMT

clipped by: balthazarus
clipper's remarks: "How old is old enough to decide whether to live or die? Priscilla Alderson, professor of childhood studies at the Institute of Education, says her research had found that even very young children could give or withhold informed consent to medical treatment. Decisions about treatment, or even about whether to live or die, cannot be based on age, she argues.

"Our research has found that age isn't a helpful criterion - but experience is," she says. She has found that even at four years old, a child who has diabetes can understand the principle of insulin treatment - and it is vital they do understand or they risk interpreting the pain they as some kind of parental punishment."

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Hannah's choice

'I've been in hospital too much. I've had too much trauma associated with hospital," Hannah Jones said as she tried to explain why she turned down a heart transplant

Instead, she wanted to return home, where she is likely to die in the company of her parents, her younger brother and her two sisters

but Hannah Jones hit the headlines because she is only 13 years old

When Hannah met the child protection officer at her home near Hereford, she took just one hour to convince the officer to argue for the abandonment of the court action

allowing Hannah to remain at home

They have been keen to stress that the decision to refuse a heart transplant was Hannah's alone

When is a child old enough to understand and give consent to complex medical treatment?

What happens if medical opinion goes against a young patient's decision?

"I'm not a normal 13-year-old,"

"I'm a deep thinker. I've had to be, with my illness. It's hard at 13, to know I'm going to die, but I also know what's best for me."

Tags: ethics, children, choice

Priest calls vote for Obama a mortal sin

Sat, 15 Nov 2008 00:30:51 GMT

clipped by: georgecf

Clip Source: newsweek.washingtonpost.com

A Catholic priest in South Carolina has decided that the democratic act of casting a vote is, in some cases, a mortal sin. Therefore, he has decided that parishioners who voted for Barack Obama are not entitled to the grace of Jesus Christ through communion until they've done penance.

Newman is denying communion not to those who have conducted or received an abortion, and not to those who enact laws that allow for abortion, but to those who cast a vote for a candidate who supports abortion rights. In effect, he's saying that thinking is now mortal sin. He's saying that having an opinion is a mortal sin. He's saying that freedom of speech and thought is a mortal sin.

"Persons in this condition should not receive Holy Communion until and unless they are reconciled to God in the Sacrament of Penance, lest they eat and drink their own condemnation."

Tags: obama, priest, catholic

Unfair and Unbalanced

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 03:22:38 GMT

clipped by: spirithiker
clipper's remarks: I listen to talk radio on occasion. It is available, along with sources of opposing view points, as the result of one of America’s greatest freedoms: free speech.
I have never subscribed to the idea of following only individuals that I agree with. That kind of dedication, in my opinion, stifles the mind and leads to a myopic and very narrowed view of life.
Democrats are talking about ending conservative dominance of the radio dial. They would accomplish this through the Fairness Doctrine.
While I don't agree with conservative ideas people like Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Michael Savage and others espouse, they are experiencing a dominance because they have a following. That in itself doesn’t make what they say valid but we no more have the right to shut them down than we do to shut down liberal media outlets.
Taking away freedoms granted by the Constituion is not the action of a free and enlightened society. Doing so will surely negatively affect us all.

Clip Source: www.aim.org

In our 2007 book “The Death of Talk Radio?” Cliff Kincaid and I warned that if Democrats were to retake the White House, they would implement their plan to dismantle conservative talk radio.

On Election Day, Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York went on Fox News and said, “I think we should all be fair and balanced, don’t you?

Anyone who is a consumer of talk radio either for entertainment or to keep up with current events should be concerned

there are prominent Democrats who have openly pined for a “Hush Rush” measure including Sen. Dick Durbin, Sen. Diane Feinstein and Rep. Dennis Kucinich

Congressman Mike Pence introduced “The Broadcaster Freedom Act” in 2007 that would prevent government tampering with free speech on the air

The Fairness Doctrine is going to make a comeback, and the only thing that might stop it is the American people

if the new liberal majority takes away the right of talk hosts to comment—it is also taking away their right to listen

Tags: politics, censorship, free speech, talk radio

Whales lose in Court

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 15:46:42 GMT

clipped by: Kelika
clipper's remarks: Bush Administration said there is little evidence of harm - like global warming doesn't exist and the trickle-down economy works.

Clip Source: www.latimes.com

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court on today lifted restrictions on the Navy's use of sonar in training exercises off the California coast, a defeat for environmental groups who say the sonar can harm whales.

The court, in its first decision of the term, voted 5-4 that the Navy needs to conduct realistic training exercises to respond to potential threats by enemy submarines.

The Bush administration argued that there is little evidence of harm to marine life in more than 40 years of exercises off the California coast.

Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion, which was joined by Justices Samuel Alito, Anthony Kennedy, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas.

The court did not deal with the merits of the claims put forward by the environmental groups. It said, rather, that federal courts abused their discretion by ordering the Navy to limit sonar use in some cases and to turn it off altogether in others.

Tags: environment, whales

The last New England Republican falls

Sun, 09 Nov 2008 01:54:18 GMT

clipped by: keeth

Clip Source: www.rollcall.com

Roll Call Cartoons

More Cartoons | Opinion

Tags: election, 2008, republican, new, england

Bush is less popular than Nixon in final days

Mon, 10 Nov 2008 18:57:37 GMT

clipped by: jano_cabrera

Clip Source: www.politico.com

Bush is less popular than Nixon in final days

With 71 days left in office, President Bush is less popular than President Nixon was at the time of his resignation, according to data released Monday by CNN and Opinion Research Corporation.

The new poll, taken Thursday through Sunday, showed an approval rating of 24 percent and a disapproval rating of 76 percent.

CNN released a chart showing presidential "disapproval" ratings in CNN or Gallup polls for each president dating back to Harry Truman. This list shows the percentage of Americans who disapproved of the way each president was handling his job.

	% Disapprove	Date
G.W. Bush	76	Nov. 2008
Clinton	54	Sept. 1994
G.H.W. Bush	60	July 1992
Reagan	56	Jan. 1983
Carter	59	June 1979
Ford	46	April, Nov., Dec. 1975
Nixon	66	Aug. 1974
Johnson	52	March, Aug. 1968
Kennedy	30	Nov. 1963
Eisenhower	36	March 1958
Truman	67	Jan. 1952

Gays Are Not People???

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 15:04:01 GMT

clipped by: davidfsd
clipper's remarks: Leonard Pitts on Prop 8. Yeah, man!
Read the editorial here: http://www.aberdeennews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081112/OPINION02/811120317/-1/OPINION

Clip Source: www.aberdeennews.com

Blacks embrace discrimination in election

Published on Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Sometimes, progress carries an asterisk.

That's as good a summary as any of a sad irony from last week's historic election. You will recall one of the major storylines of that day was the fact that, in helping make Barack Obama the nation's first black president, African-Americans struck a blow against a history that has taught us all too well how it feels to be demeaned and denied. Unfortunately, while they were striking that blow, some black folks chose to demean and deny someone else.

FRIEDMAN: How to fix a flat

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 12:24:40 GMT

clipped by: bwanclik
clipper's remarks: Somebody ought to call Steve Jobs and ask him if he’d like to run a car company for a year. It wouldn’t take him long to come up with the G.M. iCar.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/12/opinion/12friedman.html?partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

How to Fix a Flat

Last September, I was in a hotel room watching CNBC early one morning. They were interviewing Bob Nardelli, the C.E.O. of Chrysler, and he was explaining why the auto industry, at that time, needed $25 billion in loan guarantees. It wasn’t a bailout, he said. It was a way to enable the car companies to retool for innovation. I could not help but shout back at the TV screen: “We have to subsidize Detroit so that it will innovate? What business were you people in other than innovation?” If we give you another $25 billion, will you also do accounting?

By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN

Published: November 11, 2008

Tags: detroit

U.S. Rep Paul Broun: "We have elected a Marxist"

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 15:44:07 GMT

clipped by: pkronfield
clipper's remarks: Liberals, students, Negroes, and Hispanics. Obama's base. None of these people have lived under Marxist rule. Marxism=Misery. These fools are about to learn this lesson. Unfortunately, this misery will be shared by all.

Clip Source: chronicle.augusta.com

U.S. Rep. Paul Broun attacked President-elect Barack Obama's agenda as "Marxist" and derided some fellow Republicans for abandoning conservative principles during a speech in Augusta on Friday, his first since being re-elected in Georgia's 10th District.

"In my opinion, we've elected a Marxist to be president of the United States," Mr. Broun, R-Watkinsvile, said during a luncheon of the Martinez-Evans Rotary Club at the Doubletree Hotel.

"I'm very disappointed with the McCain campaign," he said. "In my opinion, it was inept."

He said he believes Mr. McCain failed to adequately differentiate himself from President Bush and embrace conservative values.

He referred to Mr. McCain as a "milquetoast" Republican.

Tags: marxism, obama is a trojan horse

Federal Judge Strikes Down Orlando Homeless Feeding Ban

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 09:35:33 GMT

clipped by: katsteevns

Clip Source: www.aclufl.org

Federal Judge Strikes Down Orlando Homeless Feeding Ban

CONTACT:
Brandon Hensler,

ORLANDO, Fla. – The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida won an overwhelming victory today in First Vagabonds Church of God vs. City of Orlando, the highly publicized “homeless feeding” case in Orlando. The 14-page opinion issued by Federal Judge Gregory A. Presnell hinged on the plaintiffs’ right to Free Exercise of Religion and Freedom of Speech.

The lawsuit was filed by the ACLU on October 12, 2006 on behalf of the First Vagabonds Church of God (FVCG), Orlando Food Not Bombs (OFNB) and several individuals. The lawsuit alleged that the City of Orlando’s ordinance on Large Group Feeding violated religious groups’ constitutional rights to free speech, free assembly, free association and freedom of religion. The City’s ordinance required groups and individuals to apply for a permit, only two of which are allowed per year, in order to share food with more than twenty-five people in downtown public parks.