Bigotry Alert

Trolls Go Away! (This Means You, "Democrat in Salem, OR")

Mark C. Eades — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 14:42:47 EDT

"Democrat in Salem, OR" is nothing but a Republican troll trying to make trouble on our site.

(http://www.democrats.org/page/community/blog/madamex)

I regularly report people like this to the webmaster and have seen their accounts deleted in the past because they do not belong here. I just reported this troll to the webmaster, and encourage everyone else to do the same.

The purpose of this site is to help Democrats win, not to give a free soapbox to every right-wing nut in America. There is no reason to engage people like this in arguments: They are not here to be reasoned with. They are here to make trouble.

Simply report them to the webmaster until their accounts are deleted.

The Actual Purposes Which are Served by the Separation of Church and State.

Rob-33704 — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 12:24:44 EDT

We have separation of church and state in the United States of America because the state - all states - exalt themselves above all other groupings of people.

When we ask ourselves, ‘what is the state?’ We quickly realize that we must first ask, ‘ what are people?’ Human beings are individual organisms. Long age, however, these individuals came to realize that they could accomplish a great deal more as members of groups than as individuals.

The individuals formed families, clans, tribes, and eventually states. At first city-states, then groups of city- states which became nation-states. The state is itself, however, a group of people.

So, the answer to our question - ‘What is the state’ - is that the state is an organization - a group of individuals. These individuals may originally be a tribe, a clan, or a family which has become capable of influencing - exerting power over - the other groups within that particular state.

Organizations exercise power through control. To effectively exercise control the state has to be the focus of the individual’s loyalty. The state must, therefore, eliminate the other organizations within the state which are capable of competing with it for the loyalty of the individual.

We can now understand that the chief proponents of the rise of a state are, themselves, a group and that they are the dominant group within the state. It doesn’t matter whether this dominant group is an aristocracy, or a group of businessmen. Whatever it’s composition the group’s continued dominance is dependent upon control. The state must, therefore, eliminate the tribal leader, the clan chief, and the family patriarch through assimilation, or execution.

In the context of a struggle for dominance the priesthood is as great a rival of the state for the loyalty of the individual as are the tribe, the clan, and the family. Like the tribal leader, the clan chief, and the family patriarch the chief of high priest can be assimilated or executed but not the entire priesthood.

Assimilation of the high priesthood is not practical because the head of the state must also become the state religion’s high priest or another individual must be invested with that power. State religions run the risk of undermining the loyalty of those who practice a different faith. Power sharing with a high priest might result in a rivalry for control of the state.

The question then becomes how best to dominate the priesthood without turning them into rivals or martyrs. When the question is posed in this fashion the obvious solution is the "separation" of church and state. Being separate from the state the priesthood can be dominated by the state through the "rule of law" as easily as any other group of individuals within the state.

Separation of church and state is, therefore, a method of control and dominance by the state. That is why the state extends tax free status to those religious organizations which do not meddle in "politics." That is, those religious organizations who do not concern themselves with whether the state is actually managed in a fair and equitable manner.

Religious Intolerance at McCain Rally in Davenport, Iowa

Mark C. Eades — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 23:45:30 EDT

The voice of religious intolerance spoke loudly and clearly Saturday at a John McCain rally in Davenport, Iowa. During his invocation preceding the rally, Rev. Arnold Conrad told the crowd not only that they should pray for a McCain victory but also that alleged enemies of Christianity around the world were praying for Barack Obama to win the US presidential election (see video).

"There are millions of people around this world praying to their god - whether it's Hindu, Buddha, Allah - that [McCain's] opponent wins, for a variety of reasons...," Rev. Conrad said, "...And Lord, I pray that you will guard your own reputation, because they're going to think that their God is bigger than you, if that happens."

Now, if Rev. Conrad has an actual degree in theology or divinity from some reputable institution of higher learning (which I doubt), then his program obviously didn't include any studies in comparative religion as any such program should. If it had, then Rev. Conrad would know that "Hindu" is not the name of a god to whom one prays, but of a religion and the followers of that religion. "Buddha," the founder of Buddhism, was a man, not a god, despite his earned sacred status; and in any case, Buddhists don't "pray to Buddha" for things they want. "Allah," Rev. Conrad should also know, is simply the Arabic name for the same God worshipped by Jews, Christians, and Muslims alike. Arabic-speaking Christians also call God "Allah." Most ridiculous in Conrad's remarks was the idea that Christians and non-Christians ought to be fighting over whose god is "bigger" - an assertion so childish and stupid that it hardly merits discussion at all.

What if, perchance to dream, there had happened to be some Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, or even atheist Republicans in the audience when Rev. Conrad gave his invocation? And what if these Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, and even atheists considered themselves every bit as American as any Christian, indeed every bit as American as Rev. Conrad himself? This is why we have separation of church and state in this country, a fact of which Rev. Conrad seems wholly and blissfully unaware.

Rev. Conrad is obviously an ignorant bigot. His remarks not only fly in the face of the fact that Obama himself is a Christian, but also posit a world in which people of different faiths must always be at war with one another, and in which anyone who doesn't happen to be a particular type of Christian must be considered an enemy of Christianity. Rev. Conrad also seems dangerously disposed toward something strongly resembling an American evangelical religious state and state religion, in defiance of the First Amendment to the US Constitution. Rev. Conrad's is the same mindset that brought us the Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, and the Salem Witch Trials; and it has no place in the 21st Century.

Rev. Conrad's remarks came before McCain arrived at the rally, and the McCain campaign - anxious to salvage what little remains of its reputation following weeks of shameless hate-mongering at rallies such as this - quickly put out a statement distancing itself from the remarks, saying that they "distract from the real questions in this race about Barack Obama's judgment, policies and readiness to lead as commander in chief."

The McCain/Palin campaign's sudden change of heart on hate speech at rallies may be too little, too late, however: The hate-mongering of recent days at these events appears likely to have unalterably set the tone for the McCain/Palin campaign, which in its final weeks has come increasingly to look like a lynch mob, if not some ridiculous would-be holy war.

See also: CNN, AP, LA Times, WSJ, Iowa Independent.

Mark C. Eades
http://www.mceades.com

Rage Grows at McCain/Palin Rallies as Obama Strides Toward Victory

Mark C. Eades — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 15:11:07 EDT

Red-faced, racially-charged Republican rage appears to be growing at McCain/Palin rallies as Barack Obama's national and swing-state lead over John McCain continues to build. New videos from McCain/Palin events in Pennsylvania and Ohio provide an up-close look at the face of hate as McCain/Palin supporters shout abuse at reporters and at peaceful pro-Obama demonstrators. These echo written accounts from McCain/Palin events published recently in the national press.

Video from a rally in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania includes shouts of "Obama is a terrorist!" and "Obama is a Muslim!" in addition to epithets directed at pro-Obama demonstrators such as "commie faggot!" and "socialist swine!" Some even shouted, "Go back to Russia!" as though lost somewhere back in the middle of the Cold War. One man shouted "Die...! European socialists!" at pro-Obama demonstrators. When asked by the videographer if he really thought they should die, the man replied: "Everyone dies, don't they?" Asked by a pro-Obama demonstrator if a rape victim should have to pay for her own rape exam (as in Wasilla under Palin's watch as mayor), another McCain/Palin supporter shouted: "She should die!" Video from a rally in Strongsville, Ohio includes similar charges that Obama is a terrorist and that he is a secret Muslim. Asked if she believed Obama is a terrorist, one woman affirmatively replied, "He has the bloodlines"; and referred to Obama's middle name, Hussein, clearly indicating that Obama's heritage makes him suspect in her view. Video from a rally in Johnstown, Pennsylvania shows a man with a stuffed monkey doll wearing an Obama sticker around its head. Once the man realizes he is on camera, he removes the Obama sticker from the monkey's head and then passes the monkey off to a child.

These video records strongly echo recent written eyewitness accounts from the national press. A McCain/Palin rally Oct. 9 in Waukesha, Wisconsin was observed by Michael D. Shear and Perry Bacon Jr. of the Washington Post, who describe intense anger toward Obama, Democrats, and the media among attendees. "I can't stand to look at him, I don't trust him. I don't like the circle of friends he keeps, I don't like his policies...," one woman said of Obama, "...I'm pissed off by it. I'm beyond mad. How is he climbing up in the polls?" Others at McCain/Palin events have shouted "treason!" and even "Off with his head!" at the mention of Obama's name, as the Huffington Post and Associated Press discuss in detail.

As Dana Milbank observes in the Washington Post, Palin's line of attack on Obama at an Oct. 6 rally in Clearwater, Florida, prompted one man to shout, "Kill him!" (a secret service investigation is currently underway in response to this incident, which is hardly good press for the campaign). As Milbank further observes, Palin's media-bashing likewise produced a hateful response from the crowd, who turned on reporters in the press area, waving thunder sticks and shouting abuse while others hurled obscenities at a camera crew. One Palin supporter shouted a racial slur at an African American sound man and told him, "Sit down, boy" (see also ABC News).

McCain appeared Friday (Oct. 10) to have finally come to realize that the anger and hate he and Palin have helped stoke might be getting a little out of hand. At a rally in Lakeville, Minnesota, McCain was booed by the crowd for suggesting a more respectful tone toward Obama, and was visibly uncomfortable when forced to correct a woman from the crowd who said of Obama, "He's an Arab" (see video).

McCain's feeble efforts at calming his crowd attest to the difficulty of getting the Hate Genie back in its bottle once it has been set free.

Mark C. Eades
http://www.mceades.com

What Most of You People are Not Understanding

Rob-33704 — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 10:08:18 EDT

What most of you aren't understanding is the depth of the anger on the right and left of the electorate in this country.

That is what John McCain is hearing at his rallies and you are seeing on CNN. Democrats don't hear it at their rallies because the left long ago discarded the democratic party.

This anger is not something that will somehow evaporate and just go away. The right is just now discovering how much they have been misled and betrayed.

Taking care of the needs of the citizens is not PANDERING - it is what ruling classes do to stay in power.

Hate followed by HOPE...

Gretchen — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 02:32:31 EDT

This video brought tears to my eyes... The horror and the hate that the McCain/Palin has stirred up followed by the HOPE Obama brings...

Please watch this-- It brought tears to my eyes...

http://complainjane.wordpress.com/

You Are Giving Socialism a Bad Name.

Rob-33704 — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 17:33:40 EDT

Could some of you PLEASE talk to your friends in the news media and get them to stop referring to this as a "Socialist" bailout?

You know, I know, and they know that is not true.

Thanks for you help.

No. We're not in a recession.

Mike Barack Hussein — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 16:53:01 EDT

We're in a depression. More evidence from Wave 3 TV news here in Louisville.

LINK

I would add to that the fact that the number of people at the closest "Dare to Care" food bank (free, "fresh" food) has increased from about 30-40 a year ago to over 80 today and gradually clmbing.

McCain will simply make things worse even IF (and it's a big if) he doesn't start more wars we can't win.

Obama must win and carry a lot of Democratic congressional reps with him.

The current fiscal crisis...

Lee — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 15:19:26 EDT

I happened to be enjoying a cup of joe at a local cafe when Bush held a news conference this morning. The stock markets of the world are all down substantially and he was trying to reassure us (and the world???) that all will be well if we have patience. I quote Bush..."Fellow citizens, we can solve this crisis...and we will." Really???? I just read that Bush's approval rating is at 25%. No one listens to him anymore....did anyone watch Saturday Night Live last week? How long will it be before the Dow Jones Average falls below 8,000? I am spending as much time as I can getting people registered to vote and talking to people about Barack Obama. I have noticed that a lot main stream Republicans here in MA who had planned to vote for McCain are now shifting to Obama....McCain's choice of Sarah Palin and her subsequent performance have convinced them that "they can not vote for a dose of the same"!!!! I read that in a history text written in 1933. The author pointed out that in 1932, although 54 million voted for FDR....27 million voted for a dose of the same. I just hope that we get a more honest vote than the last two presidential elections.

Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a Republican. But I repeat myself.-Harry Truman(1948 Presidential race)

" The future ain't what it used to be "-Yogi Berra

" It's deja vu all over again"-Yogi Berra

The United States of America should declare a Year of Jubilee - the "forgiveness of all debts."

Rob-33704 — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 09:51:54 EDT

The United States of America should declare a "Year of Jubilee" - the "forgiveness of all debts." The requirement for a Year of Jubilee is clearly established in chapter 25, verse 10 of the of the Old Testament/Torah Book of Leviticus. Verses 28, 40, 50, 54, of the 25th chapter and verse 24 of the 27th chapter clearly require the forgiveness of all debts by all believers every 50 years.

This is a requirement, it is not an option. This is why in Chapter 6, verse 12, of the New Testament Book of Matthew (The Lord’s Prayer) Jesus prayed, "And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors."

McCain pisses off some more folks

Pale Rider — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 16:50:30 EDT

Evidently, John McCain is determined to alienate as many folks as he can by virtue of his mouth shooting off his foot.

McCain Forced to Fire Virginia County Chair Following Racist Newspaper Attack on Obama

Mark C. Eades — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 06:38:58 EDT

The John McCain campaign has been forced to fire its campaign chair in Buchanan County, Virginia, following his publication of a racist newspaper attack on Barack Obama. Bobby May, pictured here, who has also served as treasurer and correspondence secretary of the Buchanan County Republican Party, recently penned a column containing an overtly racist attack against Barack Obama for a local newspaper, The Voice, which lists Mr. May among its columnists. May's column contained a number of inflammatory charges against Obama, including the following on Obama's plans for America if elected:

"FREEDOM OF RELIGION: Mandatory Black Liberation Theology classes taught in all churches - raise taxes to pay for this mandate. Put Rev. Jeremiah Wright in charge...."

"DRUG CRISIS: Raise taxes to pay for free drugs for Obama’s inner-city political base...."

"2ND AMENDMENT: Under Obama will only apply to gang-bangers, illegal aliens, Islamo-Fascist terrorists, and Senator Jim Webb’s aide...."

"FOREIGN RELATIONS: Appoint Rev. Al Sharpton as Secretary of State, Jesse Jackson as UN Representative, and let Bill Clinton handle all other "foreign relations" ... As long as Hillary doesn't find out...!"

"THE WHITE HOUSE: Hire rapper Ludacris to “paint it black.” Taxes to be increased to buy enough paint for the job plus spray-paint for graffiti...."

"THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES: Raise taxes to send $845 billion, most of it to Africa so the Obama family there can skim off enough for them to free their goats and live the American Dream...."

"NATIONAL ANTHEM: Change to the "Black National Anthem" by James Weldon Johnson...."

"US CURRENCY: Update photos to reflect US diversity; include pictures of "great Americans" such as Oprah Winfrey, Ludacris, Sheila Jackson-Lee, Paris Hilton, and Louisiana Congressman William Jefferson (Obama's new Secretary of the Treasury - 50 Cent refused position after learning that he would lose his crazy check if he accepted the nomination)...."

"US FLAG: Replace 50 stars with a star and crescent logo; red stripes changed to green to represent Obama’s tree-hugging radical environmentalism and his lack of experience. Flag lapel pins, having become a substitute for "real patriotism," will henceforth be banned...."

At the end of his column Mr. May challenged Obama to meet him on "County Talk," a Friday morning talk show on radio station WMJD 100.7 in Grundy, Virginia. Mr. May seems quite the local mover and shaker in Buchanan County Republican circles: In addition to his work with The Voice and WMJD, May has appeared in the Virginia Mountaineer with other local Republican leaders. Mr. May's photo above was cropped from a larger photo of him here with GOP gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell, formerly posted at the Buchanan County Republican Party's website, now purged from that site but heroically rescued from oblivion and posted at the Daily Kos with news of May's dismissal from Team McCain. According to the Daily Kos, Mr. May also provides the advertising specialties for Virginia congressman Virgil Goode, currently seeking re-election and noted for his opposition to Minnesota congressman Keith Ellison's taking the oath of office on the Quran rather than the Bible. Here is a photo of May with Buchanan County GOP leaders from a March 2006 edition of the Virginia Mountaineer:

GOP MEMBERS elected Saturday [3/25/06] were, from left (front), Delores Childress, treasurer; Leona Ratliff, recording secretary; Harriett McClanahan, second vice chairman; Jerry Lester, chairman; David Lowe, first vice chairman; and (back) Bobby May, corresponding secretary; and Bobby Hall, parliamentarian.
(Photo/Tucker Davis)

First noted in a Los Angeles Times political blog, Mr. May's story spread via blogs such as the Daily Kos (including this blog: see Oct. 5 below). May's dismissal from the campaign was finally noted by Keith Olbermann on the Oct. 8 edition of MSNBC's Countdown, when Olbermann named Mr. May "Worst Person in the World" for his racist attack on Obama (see video). Meanwhile, the Buchanan County Republican Party's website, which contained material by or about Mr. May throughout its pages when I previously looked (including the photo with Bob McDonnell above), has at time of this writing been taken offline as references to and photos of him are presumably being purged, Mr. May himself presumably expelled, any potential career for him in politics presumably ended. Like Trotsky in Stalin's USSR, Mr. May will now be airbrushed out of photos with prominent Republicans like Bob McDonnell. Wild!

The bigot Bobby May has been fired from his GOP campaign job and crowned Worst Person in the World as he deserves, John McCain has taken another notable hit in return for the overwhelmingly negative and "racially tinged" campaign he and Sarah Palin have been waging against Obama, and a county Republican website in Virginia has been forced offline. I call this a score.

Mark C. Eades
http://www.mceades.com

QUESTION RE: Austan Goolsbee

Rob-33704 — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 16:40:59 EDT

Do we know where Mr Goolsbee studied as a Fulbrigth scholar?????

From Mr Goolsbee's CV:

HONORS AND AWARDS

Fulbright Scholar, 2006-2007

Named one of the Young Global Leaders, World Economic Forum, Switzerland, 2005

Named one of the 100 Global Leaders for Tomorrow, World Economic Forum, Switzerland, 2002

Lumina Award for Pioneering Research in E-Commerce (with co-author Jeffrey Brown), Global Reinsurance, Monte Carlo, 2001

Bill Gates Lecture on "Creative Capitalism" at the World Economic Forum.

Rob-33704 — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 16:22:29 EDT

Bill's basic idea:

"....innovative ways to solve major problems for one billion of the world's poorest people, who don't get enough food or don't have drinking water or reliable access to mediication, which the rest of us take for granted, he said.

Bill apparently doesn't understand:

"As of September 2008, the world's population is estimated to be about 6.7 billion (6,700,000,000). In line with population projections, this figure continues to grow at rates that were unprecedented before the 20th century, although the rate of growth has almost halved since its peak of 2.2% per year, which was reached in 1963. The world's population, on its current growth trajectory, is expected to reach nearly 9 billion by the year 2042"

What about the 6,700,900,000 thousand of us???????????

Goldman Sachs Fined $43.5 Million

Rob-33704 — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 13:15:47 EDT

The New York Times reports:

"Goldman Sachs spokesman, Ed Canaday, said that the firm was pleased to put the matter behind it, and that it would continue to expand its compliance training and oversight. Spear, Leeds & Kellogg will pay $43.5 million. "

5 firms were charged with violating

"....laws by executing their own orders for the shares they managed ahead of customers' orders, depriving clients of fair trades and possibly better prices, the regulators said. "

NYT reports that the five firms which paid $241 million are:

"....a Bear Stearns subsidiary, Bear Wagner Specialists; a FleetBoston subsidiary, Fleet Specialist; LaBranche & Company; Van der Moolen Specialists; and a Goldman Sachs subsidiary, Spear, Leeds & Kellogg. "

Dow Jones Down - 160

Rob-33704 — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 10:56:51 EDT

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. stocks recovered after a sharp drop at the open Wednesday, following the announcement of emergency rate cuts by global central banks.

Spear, Leeds & Kellogg, L.P. - Goldman Sachs Execution & Clearing, L.P - Fined $1 Million Dollars

Rob-33704 — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 10:31:58 EDT

FINRA reports:

Spear, Leeds & Kellogg, L.P. (now known as Goldman Sachs Execution & Clearing, L.P.) was fined, "$1 million for creating and implementing an internal system to conceal sales of securities allocated in initial public offerings (IPOs) from the Depository Trust Corporation (DTC)."

Watch this and tell me if you consider this a handshake...

Gretchen — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 02:26:05 EDT

McCain couldn't even lift his hand high enough to actually shake Obama's hand-- More of a wave...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WI0iIOqPGak

McCain/Palin Rallies Get Ugly: Obama Hatred Turns to Open Racism and Death Threats

Mark C. Eades — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 23:20:57 EDT

As the McCain/Palin campaign gets uglier, so do the crowds at their rallies. Stoked by what the Associated Press called "racially tinged" attacks on Barack Obama particularly from Sarah Palin, by Republican anger at Obama's surge toward victory, and probably by their own deep-seated bigotry, the crowds at McCain/Palin events have begun expressing their Obama hatred in increasingly disturbing terms.

As eyewitness Dana Milbank observes in the Washington Post, Palin's line of attack on Obama at an Oct. 6 rally in Clearwater, Florida, prompted one man to shout, "Kill him!" (a secret service investigation is currently underway in response to this incident, which is hardly good press for the campaign). Others at McCain/Palin events have shouted "treason" and even "terrorist!" at the mention of Obama's name, as the Huffington Post discusses in detail. At the Clearwater event, as Dana Milbank observes, Palin's media-bashing likewise produced a hateful response from the crowd, who turned on reporters in the press area, waving thunder sticks and shouting abuse while others hurled obscenities at a camera crew. One Palin supporter shouted a racial slur at an African American sound man and told him, "Sit down, boy" (see also ABC News).

Of course none of this looks good for the McCain/Palin campaign, which is coming increasingly to resemble a lynch mob.

Mark C. Eades
http://www.mceades.com

Did you see that McCain did not shake

Gretchen — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 22:40:45 EDT

Barack's hand-- Barack went up to him and tapped him on the shoulder to shake his hand and he pushed his hand away so that Barack shook only Cindi's hand-- OUCH!!! I was appalled by that!! Did anyone else see that???