Thursday, January 04, 2007
Jeffersonian Justice
This blog commented yesterday on the molehill-turned-mountain regarding Rep. Keith Ellison's decision to use the Koran during his ceremonial swearing-in. Today, this blog intends to follow up on that story.
Ellison did indeed use the Koran today, but it wasn't just any copy of the Koran. Reportedly, Ellison borrowed a copy of that ancient scripture once owned by Thomas Jefferson. The book is on loan from the Library of Congress.
To make this story that much better, The Detroit Free Press reports that Ellison went out of his way to exchange pleasantries with the hateful Rep. Virgil Goode whose ignorance-fueled bigotry started all of this. In a further example of sweet irony, Goode represents the county in which Jefferson was born.
Ellison did indeed use the Koran today, but it wasn't just any copy of the Koran. Reportedly, Ellison borrowed a copy of that ancient scripture once owned by Thomas Jefferson. The book is on loan from the Library of Congress.
To make this story that much better, The Detroit Free Press reports that Ellison went out of his way to exchange pleasantries with the hateful Rep. Virgil Goode whose ignorance-fueled bigotry started all of this. In a further example of sweet irony, Goode represents the county in which Jefferson was born.
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Stupid Is As Stupid Does
A pair of angry rednecks are confirming every negative stereotype of southerners today.
The first is Republican Congressman Virgil Goode. You may remember the recent controversy about a letter he sent to constituents criticizing an incoming Democratic congressman for wanting to use the Koran during his ceremonial oath.
He wrote that "the Muslim Representative from Minnesota was elected by the voters of that district and if American citizens don't wake up and adopt the Virgil Goode position on immigration there will likely be many more Muslims elected to office and demanding the use of the Koran."
He went on to write that "in the next century we will have many more Muslims in the United States if we do not adopt the strict immigration policies that I believe are necessary to preserve the values and beliefs traditional to the United States of America and to prevent our resources from being swamped."
After an understandable outcry, Goode is still at it. He's making similar outlandish statements in a USA Today op-ed.
The biggest problem with Goode's letter and op-ed are his ignorance of the facts. That "Muslim Representative" is not an immigrant. He was born in the United States and is just as much a citizen as Goode or any of the brown skin-hating people he wrote that letter to.
Furthermore, the use of the Koran, Bible, or Betty Crocker Cook Book is entirely symbolic. The actual oath of office is administered to the entire House at the same time. Everybody stands in front of the speaker's podium and no book is used. Individual members can then use any book they want during a second oath. That second oath is nothing more than a photo-op.
Goode's bigotry is matched by an angry homeowner in Katy, Texas.
Craig Barker is unhappy with hew new neighbors. Land near his home has been legally purchased by a local Islamic association. The association plans to build a school, athletic facilities, community center, and a mosque on that land. They have asked Barker to remove his livestock from their new property.
Barker says the Muslims are trying to run him off of land his family has used for a century. How he justifies such a claim is beyond me. He's protesting the new construction by hosting weekly pig races on his property.
As a Little Rock TV station reports, "pigs are forbidden from the Muslim diet, but officials of the Islamic group are indifferent to Barker's protest. The group's president says Muslims don't hate pigs; they just don't eat them."
I have long thought that bigoted people are somehow lacking in knowledge, and maybe even in intelligence. Goode and Barker have confirmed both for me.
The first is Republican Congressman Virgil Goode. You may remember the recent controversy about a letter he sent to constituents criticizing an incoming Democratic congressman for wanting to use the Koran during his ceremonial oath.
He wrote that "the Muslim Representative from Minnesota was elected by the voters of that district and if American citizens don't wake up and adopt the Virgil Goode position on immigration there will likely be many more Muslims elected to office and demanding the use of the Koran."
He went on to write that "in the next century we will have many more Muslims in the United States if we do not adopt the strict immigration policies that I believe are necessary to preserve the values and beliefs traditional to the United States of America and to prevent our resources from being swamped."
After an understandable outcry, Goode is still at it. He's making similar outlandish statements in a USA Today op-ed.
The biggest problem with Goode's letter and op-ed are his ignorance of the facts. That "Muslim Representative" is not an immigrant. He was born in the United States and is just as much a citizen as Goode or any of the brown skin-hating people he wrote that letter to.
Furthermore, the use of the Koran, Bible, or Betty Crocker Cook Book is entirely symbolic. The actual oath of office is administered to the entire House at the same time. Everybody stands in front of the speaker's podium and no book is used. Individual members can then use any book they want during a second oath. That second oath is nothing more than a photo-op.
Goode's bigotry is matched by an angry homeowner in Katy, Texas.
Craig Barker is unhappy with hew new neighbors. Land near his home has been legally purchased by a local Islamic association. The association plans to build a school, athletic facilities, community center, and a mosque on that land. They have asked Barker to remove his livestock from their new property.
Barker says the Muslims are trying to run him off of land his family has used for a century. How he justifies such a claim is beyond me. He's protesting the new construction by hosting weekly pig races on his property.
As a Little Rock TV station reports, "pigs are forbidden from the Muslim diet, but officials of the Islamic group are indifferent to Barker's protest. The group's president says Muslims don't hate pigs; they just don't eat them."
I have long thought that bigoted people are somehow lacking in knowledge, and maybe even in intelligence. Goode and Barker have confirmed both for me.
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
GOP Sex Suit
This blog has previously chronicled the steamy writings of horny Republicans. Since most of the people discussed in that post are pretty old, it follows that they would turn the old medium of book publishing to...um...expose their fantasies.
That same group of dirty old men (and women) did all of this while piously claiming to be the defenders of virtue and purity. They then tried to hang Democrat Jim Webb for similarly steaming up his own prose. In addition to the painfully obvious hypocrisy, the GOPers were comparing apples to oranges. They were spilling the contents of their oh so virtuous minds on paper while Webb was reporting what he saw on the battlefield, but as John Kerry can attest, that wouldn't be the first time Republicans have criticized what Democrats have actually done in actual battle while they watched from the sidelines.
All of that is not the point of this post, however. This post concerns the latest bit of naughty Republican writing. As reported by the Associated Press, two GOP staffers find themselves on opposite sides of a break-up and a lawsuit.
"When Robert Steinbuch discovered his girlfriend had discussed intimate details about their sex life in her online diary, the Capitol Hill staffer didn't just get mad. He got a lawyer.
"...a former aide to Sen. Mike DeWine, an Ohio Republican, says she created the blog in 2004 to keep a few friends up to date on her social life. Like a digital version of the sex-themed banter from a 'Sex and the City' episode, Cutler described the thrill and tribulations of juggling sexual relationships with six men.
"One of those men was Steinbuch, a counsel to DeWine on the Judiciary Committee. Cutler called him the 'current favorite' and said he resembled George Clooney, liked spanking and disliked condoms."
So, the new generation of racy Republicans is turning to "The Inernets" and "The Google" to publish their smut. I wonder what the GOP-loving tort reform crowd thinks of the lawsuit.
That same group of dirty old men (and women) did all of this while piously claiming to be the defenders of virtue and purity. They then tried to hang Democrat Jim Webb for similarly steaming up his own prose. In addition to the painfully obvious hypocrisy, the GOPers were comparing apples to oranges. They were spilling the contents of their oh so virtuous minds on paper while Webb was reporting what he saw on the battlefield, but as John Kerry can attest, that wouldn't be the first time Republicans have criticized what Democrats have actually done in actual battle while they watched from the sidelines.
All of that is not the point of this post, however. This post concerns the latest bit of naughty Republican writing. As reported by the Associated Press, two GOP staffers find themselves on opposite sides of a break-up and a lawsuit.
"When Robert Steinbuch discovered his girlfriend had discussed intimate details about their sex life in her online diary, the Capitol Hill staffer didn't just get mad. He got a lawyer.
"...a former aide to Sen. Mike DeWine, an Ohio Republican, says she created the blog in 2004 to keep a few friends up to date on her social life. Like a digital version of the sex-themed banter from a 'Sex and the City' episode, Cutler described the thrill and tribulations of juggling sexual relationships with six men.
"One of those men was Steinbuch, a counsel to DeWine on the Judiciary Committee. Cutler called him the 'current favorite' and said he resembled George Clooney, liked spanking and disliked condoms."
So, the new generation of racy Republicans is turning to "The Inernets" and "The Google" to publish their smut. I wonder what the GOP-loving tort reform crowd thinks of the lawsuit.
