Another thing worth drawing your attention to, in regards to our beloved culture war against the Religious Right. If you saw Time mag a few weeks ago, there was an article about how Biblically illiterate many Americans are. Anyways, there are increasing calls for the teaching of the Bible in a strictly historical, non-religious context, under the pretense that religion aside, it is an important historical book that should be taught as part of a well-rounded education.

See, the problem is finding teachers that are able to do that, for most that are willing to seem to be unable to inject the subtle or not-so-subtle proselytizing, as this LA Times article suggests, which is part of a larger article about the not-so-enlightened folks in Texas who are considering requiring Texas schools to offer this as an elective:

“When teachers don’t have solid training in biblical studies and 1st Amendment issues, then they fall back on what they know from prior knowledge,” Chancey told state legislators last week. “Courses end up being sectarian, often despite their best intentions.”

He said one teacher showed students a PowerPoint presentation titled “God’s Road Map for Your Life.” Included was a slide called “Jesus Christ Is the One and Only Way.” Another teacher taught students that NASA had found a missing day and time that corresponded to a biblical story of the sun standing still. One school showed “VeggieTales” videos, which feature computer-animated Christian vegetables that talk.

And interestingly enough, to get a better mindset of who is behind this, it’s Texas state congressman Warren Chisum (R). You might remember him as the nut who was passing around anti-evolution propaganda to his colleagues authored by an organization that believes that Copernicus was wrong, and the earth really is the center of the universe.

What’s really struck me is how many of the Religious Right really want this class taught. It doesn’t make sense, simply because nothing makes an atheist easier than when one analyzes and studies the Bible strictly from a historical context. It’s what sealed the deal for me. When one sees all of the glaring inconsistencies and the dubious nature of the circumstances of its authorship, it suddenly becomes a lot harder to take seriously, other than a work of historical fiction. That is not to say one cannot still find it inspiring, or that their religion is somehow invalidated (unless, of course, it’s one that takes the Bible literally, as many do). So those who say they want this in there for reasons other than subtle proselytizing are full of bunk.

At least WorldNutDaily columnist and action star has-been Chuck Norris is honest about the agenda. He describes it as “your first step to getting God back into public school”, and the big problem he has with it right now are these ‘five unnecessary changes’ that a mainstream liberal Christian group are proposing:

Mandate that teachers have appropriate academic qualifications and sufficient training on legal and constitutional issues surrounding instruction about the Bible in public schools.

Require rigorous, scholarly reviewed textbooks and other curriculum materials for all courses. 

Include strong and specific language that protects the religious freedom of students and their families by barring the use of Bible classes to evangelize or promote personal religious perspectives.

Require the Texas Education Agency to regularly monitor and report on the content of public school Bible courses to ensure that they are academically and legally appropriate.

Continue to allow districts the option to offer – or not offer – such courses.

Funny, because those are all the things that would actually insure that it is taught in an academic, non-religious context. It’s like the ‘Intelligent Design’ non-debate. They think that your kids should all think like theirs do, and they know what they advocate does not pass academic scrutiny whatsoever, so they try to put it under the radar. Makes me proud and relieved to live in the state with the second highest percentage of citizens with no religious affiliation (21%). And it is important to always remember that when these people accuse you of objecting because you fear that they may be right, make sure you correct them and let them know you fear them because they are wrong. Keep an eye out.

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crossposted at five before chaos.

As a contrast to the droolin’ fools who write the editorial page at the Caledonian Record, the Brattleboro Reformer came out with both guns ‘a blazin’ today: stating the obvious, that Bush is the worst president ever. And they’re not letting any of the the players in Vermont off of the hook, either:

History will not look kindly on House Speaker Gaye Symington for her insistence that her chamber must focus on “important matters” and that the House “does not have the time” to deal with impeachment.

History will not look kindly on Senate President Pro Tem Peter Shumlin, who has talked loudly about impeaching Bush and Cheney, but won’t pursue the issue as long Symington says no.

History will not look kindly on Sen. Bernard Sanders, and his successor in the House, Peter Welch, as well as Sen. Patrick Leahy, for treating impeachment as if it were a barrel of toxic waste. Short-term political considerations apparently are more important than the Constitution, which they took an oath to uphold and defend.

Hear, hear! And of course, the editorial ends with the important question still as of yet unresolved:

Does Vermont want to go down in the history books as standing up to the worst president ever? We, the people of Vermont, have the chance to affect the outcome of this story. We must seize this opportunity.

When reading the Caledonian Record for a laugh (which is the only other function I can find for it other than wrapping fish or lining a birdcage), I am often astounded at the sheer idiocy of the writers of the editorial page. Perhaps they really don’t think much of the intelligence of their readers, for just about every editorial parrots the same, discredited right-wingnut talking points. Zero fact-checking, and zero originality, really no different than what you’d read on some typical angry victimized white Christian male joe-shmoe wingnut blog (this guy really feels a lot of sympathy for poor Don Imus, if that tells you anything).

Today, it’s Is Nancy Pelosi Guilty Of A Felony? Typical hit piece like the one CNN has been pushing all week regarding Pelosi’s trip to Syria. And, as usual, no mention of  Congressman Darrel Issa (R-CA), in Syria right now. And also conveniently forgotten were Reps. Frank Wolf (R-VA), Joseph R. Pitts (R-PA) and Robert Aderholt (R-AL) who were in Syria 2 days before Pelosi. Also, no mention of then House Speaker and sweaty wrestling coach Dennis Hastert’s 1997 trip to Columbia, in which he  encouraged Colombian military officials to “bypass the U.S. executive branch and communicate directly with Congress.”

I’ve mentioned numerous times about Univ. of Manitoba’s Bob Altemeyer’s work on the ‘authoritarian personality’. If you read chapter 3 of his excellent free e-book, “The Authoritarians”, which is about how right-wing authoritarians think, a major attribute is the ‘double standard’, which is something the fools at the C.R. have gotten down to an art form.

Now, not like they care what us crazy moonbats think, but if you feel so inclined, give them a call at (800) 523-6397 or write them here and ask them if they feel that those Republican congressmen mentioned above (and Hastert) should be charged with treason as they say Pelosi should be.

crossposted at five before chaos.

I’d like to point you to a great piece by Paul over at Alien and Sedition today, called ‘It’s Not the Liberals Who Should Worry About Evangelicals’. I think that Alien and Sedition is one of those great blogs that really excels at serious, thoughtful analysis of the conservative movement from many angles, and I encourage you to add it to your list of daily reads.

Now, if you follow these kinds of issues like I do, you may have noticed in recent months a bit of a rift in the evangelical camp, between the war-mongering, xenophobic, sex-obsessed faction and the quieter faction who actually take Jesus’ philosophy regarding social justice seriously. Their side encompasses many things that many of us on the lefty side hold dear: environmental stewardship, world peace, and eliminating poverty. Granted, there are still fundamental differences, but there is at least some common ground.

Taking much from an article in the N.Y. Review of Books, Paul seems to believe that there is a coming rise of moderates from the evangelical side, who are not necessarily nutso fundamentalists. And, as someone pointed out in the comments of the Kos cross-posting of this article, if the Dems are able to appeal to those common ground issues, the Republicans truly have a lot to fear, because they are left with nothing but the extreme right-wing base, which is not exactly a sustainable way of keeping power. The key is for the Dems to not go overboard with the God talk, because then they’re going to lose the support of those who hold secularism and rational inquiry in highest regard.

It just goes to show how screwed up some of these people are when talking about the GOP ’08 roster, it still seems like a pro-choice candidate has no chance in hell of getting the nomination. With all the serious problems in the world that affect every single person, this obsession with holy wars, the well-being of pre-humans, and which orifice a penis ends up in may eventually do them in. Although they’re not dead and buried yet, and I still am not convinced the Dems are going to turn everything around (especially as long as the DLC types have any kind of influence, which, thankfully is also on the decline), I think what we are witnessing now is the beginning of another long trek into the political wilderness for the GOP, and the next time they come out of it, it’s going to be harder to pull this kind of stuff off. One can only hope.

crossposted at five before chaos.

One of the many things that helped bring the conservative movement into power was the ability of the operatives to give the illusion of broad grassroots support of a particular issue, when in actuality, it was basically a coordinated illusion. It’s still a rather popular technique today, hence we have front groups such as Working Families for Wal-Mart, or the power utilities-funded Citizens For Sensible Energy Choices. Since so much of that the cons try to do would fall flat on its face were it laid out for the public to see clearly, this is one of the most effective ways of getting support for an issue – giving the illusion that one’s fellow citizens support some toxic policy position.

RJ Eskow has a great piece over at Smirking Chimp that lays out a history of the war against universal health coverage, something that goes way back, complete with red-baiting from of all places, the American Medical Association (AMA). And this shouldn’t come as a surprise, but one of the pivotal figures responsible for laying down the foundations of this conservative nightmare we’ve been living through for the past two decades, Ronald Reagan himself, had a vital role in the initial fake grassroots campaign which eventual led to the demonization of ‘socialized medicine’ which is still a major impediment to serious healcare reform in this country.

As Eskow reports, the AMA has had a long history of opposing any sort of stet-funded medical system, all the way back to 1939. Harry Truman started to take action, but had to retreat due to a successful anti-Socialist campaign. So as the 1960’s started, a few programs were incrementally added. It was at this point that the powers that be started to get worried.

Enter Reagan and what was known as ‘Operation Coffeecup’, the original ‘front group”. As Eskow reports:

Enter the AMA. As Skidmore and Larry de Witt recount, Ronald Reagan was hired as part of a covert campaign to undermine support for Medicare and Medicaid. “Operation Coffeecup” was born.

Reagan recorded an LP (or “long playing” record), “Ronald Reagan Speaks Out Against Socialized Medicine.” The AMA sent it to the “ladies’ auxiliary” of the Medical Association in each county (unthinkable as it is now, medicine was so male and gender roles so different that each county had a “ladies’ auxiliary” for doctors’ wives.)

The “ladies” were instructed to “put on the coffeepot,” play the record for their friends and fellow physicians’ wives, and then get out the stationery (scented, no doubt) so that each of them could write personalized letters to their Senators and Congressmen. (Yes, they were called “Congressmen” then, even if there had already been some heroic women among them.)

There was no public announcement of the recording, or of “Operation Coffeecup.” The idea was to make it seem as if the letters were spontaneously written by distressed citizens. Portions of the recording were also reportedly broadcast as radio commentary.

Needless to say it was successful, and brought the term ‘socialized medicine’ into the public consciousness, replete with visions of Stalin wearing a stethoscope, and today the healthcare crisis is worse than ever. Not to mention the other horrible result of all of this:

The “Socialized Medicine” record was Ronald Reagan’s first venture into political speech. It didn’t just represent smart, well-funded political strategy. It also launched a career that in turn brought about the conservative revolution. Reagan’s efforts in “Operation Coffeecup” were so well-received that he was invited to give a speech for Barry Goldwater at the 1964 GOP Convention.

Now, before you read this, I want it to be known that this piece should not be taken as an endorsement of any of the Democratic candidates. I am still firmly in the ‘none of the above’ camp and will be so for at least another year.

Presidential candidate/Ohio congressman Dennis Kucinich seems to be a favorite of some on the leftier end of the spectrum, in particular in Vermont. I remember his name being tossed around quite a bit back in the’04 race. I read some of the things he stands for, agreed with some  of it, but the ‘electability factor’ was a big issue with me. Aside from anything else, I really couldn’t see a vegan candidate scoring big in cattle country. He might as well have an arm protruding from his forehead or something.

Kucinich is back in for ’08, and I wanted to read up a bit more about him, and really look into why he will seemingly remain a long-shot candidate. Much has been said about his concept of a Department of Peace. Now, I am by no means a pacifist, and I think that sometimes counterviolence is justifiable, but I generally feel that Kucinich’s concept is indeed a noble one. Although, a close read of that page sends up a few warning signals, namely “confirm the presence of universal spirit in our lives”.

Now, those of you who have read me before know that I am a staunch atheist. And that means that I find New-Agey religious stuff just as distasteful and ridiculous as fundamentalist Christianity (although I will admit it is much more benign). Now, Kucinich’s phrase alone is not much cause for concern, but it sent up a red flag for me. I dug around a bit more, and found this speech Kucinich gave at the Dubrovnik Conference on the Alchemy of Peacebuilding, called ‘Spirit and Stardust’:

“Spirit merges with matter to sanctify the universe. Matter transcends to return to spirit. The interchangeability of matter and spirit means the starlit magic of the outermost life of our universe becomes the soul-light magic of the innermost life of our self. The energy of the stars becomes us. We become the energy of the stars. Stardust and spirit unite and we begin: One with the universe. Whole and holy. From one source, endless creative energy, bursting forth, kinetic, elemental. We, the earth, air, water and fire-source of nearly fifteen billion years of cosmic spiraling.”

Uh, okay. Now, I’m not a big Daily Kos fan, it’s a bit too rah-rah for the Dems for me, but I couldn’t say it better than Markos in regards to this New Age hooey: “Clearly, Kucinich resides in a higher plane of existence than I do. But my plane is on the planet earth. I want my president to reside here as well.” And I can see how this kind of speaking does resonate particularly well in Vermont; we have quite a few people here of this particular worldview and mindset. And most of them are some of the kindest, well-intentioned souls I’ve ever met. But I sure has hell wouldn’t want them running the country.

Now, if that’s not enough to put you out, another thing that seems to fly under the radar is that until he started running for president, Kucinich was adamantly anti-choice, and anti-stem cell research, as well, as this article from the Nation a few years ago points out.

  One thing you won’t find on Kucinich’s website, though, is any mention of his opposition to abortion rights. In his two terms in Congress, he has quietly amassed an anti-choice voting record of Henry Hyde-like proportions. He supported Bush’s reinstatement of the gag rule for recipients of US family planning funds abroad. He supported the Child Custody Protection Act, which prohibits anyone but a parent from taking a teenage girl across state lines for an abortion. He voted for the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, which makes it a crime, distinct from assault on a pregnant woman, to cause the injury or death of a fetus. He voted against funding research on RU-486. He voted for a ban on dilation and extraction (so-called partial-birth) abortions without a maternal health exception. He even voted against contraception coverage in health insurance plans for federal workers–a huge work force of some 2.6 million people (and yes, for many of them, Viagra is covered).

Now, those positions would not even be labelled ‘moderate’ by any stretch of the imagination.  Is Sam Brownback going to be his running mate? And considering that a solid majority of progressive women hold reproductive rights in utmost regard, how would those of you respond to this?

Kucinich seems to be a bit reality-challenged, and that’s my issue with him. Even recently, in regards to the Dems pulling out of the Nevada FOX News-sponsored debate, he had this to say:

“But what I am going to say is that FOX is a legitimate news agency that has the ability to reach out to millions of Americans, so why not get that message out?”

Apparently, Kucinich hasn’t seen how FOX always spins the message of Democrats being terrorist sympathizers who hate America. But there’s more. Like Second Vermont Republic’s completely unhinged cult leader with delusions of grandeur, Thomas Naylor, Kucinich goes to imply that the other candidates canceled out of fear of debating him :

“Is it possible that the real conflict was having to take the stage to defend their votes to fund the war?” Kucinich asked.

No, Dennis. You know as well as they do that you are going to have plenty of debates in the near future. I hardly feel they’re feeling threatened that you’re going to steal the nomination when you can’t even crack into the second tier candidates’ poll numbers.

I will say this: Kucinich is really right on on many of the ideas about where this country should be going. He has spoken out about the dangers of the PATRIOT Act, and really puts the notion of world peace and social equality and justice at the top of his priorities, as they rightfully should be. But his about-face on reproductive rights, delusions of grandeur and completely unhinged New Age metaphysical psychobabble should clearly illustrate why this man will not get the Democratic nomination.

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There’s an interesting bit over at ThinkProgress. Now, we are wise to take anything and everything from the TV talking heads with the utmost degree of skepticism, yet once in a while something pans out. On this morning’s ‘Chris Matthews Show’, NBC reporter Andrea Mitchell put out there that the top universal commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, has recently met with the Senate Republican caucus:

“Petraeus went to the Republican caucus and told them, I will have real progress to you by August,” Mitchell said. The Republicans claim they told him that after August, they will end their support for the war. “They have told him at a caucus meeting as very, very recently, that if there isn’t progress by August – and real progress means not a day of violence and a day of sanity – that they will pull the plug.”

Mitchell also states that moderate Repubs had told the they didn’t believe the surge would work and the President has until Labor Day. “After that, they’re running.”

Now, of course, we have no idea how Mitchell came by this information, or if it’s even true for that matter. But I really wouldn’t be surprised if it did ring true. It’s going to be that much closer to Election Day. And the interesting notion is that this latest supplemental bill with the deadlines intact was able to pass both chambers. If there was the solid Republican opposition like there was to the non-binding resolutions, they could have kept this from happening one way or the other, through procedural tactics or some other method.

But they didn’t, and many will say it’s “because the troops need to be funded”, but I have to wonder if more than a few voted for it because of the deadline. They already lost Chuck Hagel, who had jumped ship almost five months ago. Some senators such as “moderate” Republican Susan Collins of Maine are up for re-election soon, and the netroots are also targeting them. It will be interesting to see how much longer before they capitulate to public opinion, and even more interesting to see what happens to the ones who don’t.

The tragic thing about it, if it is indeed true, is how many more Americans and Iraqis will have died by Labor Day. And will Jim Douglas change his tune come August, as well? Let’s hope that we don’t have to wait until Labor Day to find out.

So now it’s official. As odum predicted first, the Governor has chosen attorney Jon Anderson to replace Representative Francis Brooks, now the Statehouse Sergeant-at-Arms. While possessing Democratic bona fides enough to give Douglas a weak pretense of justification (he was briefly city chair and has hosted a few fundraisers), the fact is that there’s a reason why the Montpelier Democratic Caucus rejected him so soundly (out of five possible candidates to appear on the list forwarded by the committee, Anderson came in dead last with 5 total votes including his own – the winners were Mary Hooper with 16 votes, Cary Brown with 15 and Matt Levin with 11). So now the citizens of Montpelier have their own little Joe Lieberman. Thanks, Jim!

The reason, of course, is that he is conservative by Democratic standards in general, and off the charts by Montpelier standards. If you ask people who work around the Statehouse, all you’ll hear is shock at the idea that he is anything other than a Republican. He works with anti-environmental interests and allies himself closely with Douglas’ people – which is, of course, exactly why he got the job – he’s a ‘yes man’ to the nth degree.

But he won’t hold it for long. Mary Hooper is likely already making calls to prepare her primary campaign, and she trounced him by an overwhelming margin in one citywide race already. Montpelier Dems will be livid at this kick in the nuts from Douglas and Anderson and Montpelier residents at large will not put up with a right-winger representing them in the legislature any longer than they have to. Especially in a leftie town like Montpelier.

The Occupation Project, who inspired last week’s non-violent protest at Peter Welch’s office last week is having another sit-in at Bernie Sanders’ office tomorrow in hopes that he will not vote to approve the supplemental funding for the war. From the press release:

Citizen Sit-In  and Call-In at Senator Bernie Sanders’ Office to Protest War Funding
Meet in front of Burlington City Hall on Church Street at 2pm Tuesday, March 27 to plan
Walk to Bernie’s Office, 1 Church Street, between 2:20 and 2:30 pm

There will be a Citizen Sit-In and Call-In at Senator Bernie Sanders’ office in Burlington on Tuesday afternoon to voice dissent about the $100 billion supplemental war funding up for debate in the US Senate. Inspired by a national movement called The Occupation Project and Voices for Creative Nonviolence,  participants from all over the state will be asking Senator Sanders to vote no on the funding approved by the US House on Friday.  Iraq Veterans Against the War, college students, members of local peace organizations, and concerned citizens are all planning on participating either by visiting Sanders’ office or calling the office. They will meet in front of Burlington City Hall on Church Street at 2pm Tuesday, March 27 to plan.
They will then walk to Bernie’s Office, 1 Church Street, to arrive at 2:30 pm.  Participants will each decide for themselves how long they would like to stay at the office.

Odum’s post here last week discussed the war bill, and many of you were not in support of it. I called Sanders’ office a few moments ago, and the person on the phone told me that Sanders has not indicated how he will vote. His statement on the website isn’t clear, either:

In the coming week, the Senate is set to debate legislation that calls for a troop withdrawal from Iraq. Having originally voted against the war, Senator Sanders has been an outspoken advocate for bringing our troops home as soon as possible. “We have got to use the budget to tell the president that this war cannot go on. We have to bring our troops home as soon as possible,” Senator Sanders told Thom Hartmann during his weekly Air America interview program “Brunch with Bernie.”

So, if you are in opposition to the continued funding of the war, this is an opportunity to let Bernie know loud and clear.