Is Obama Hatred Rasict?

I read the Y-Buzz on Kosmix and this article caught my attention: Michelle Obama thinks doubts about her have eased I read the article and it's refreshing to see that she had a high approval rating and that she was treated cordially at Fox but all that disappeared when I read the comments. Here's a gem

Yes she's Popular but not in America, Only in Africa and in Philly Zoo

Once again it's clear what Obama hatred is about.

Welcome Back Real Time

Bill Maher roared back from hiatus and I couldn't be happier. He started the show by talking to Elizabeth Warren, the chair of the Congressional Oversight Panel for TARP. Warren said the financial system is so broken that it's literally banking lobbyists against American Families.
His panel Elliot Spitzer, former Governor of New York; Norah O'Donnell, MSNBC correspondent; and Seth McFarlane, creator of Family Guy; were hilarious. Finally Wanda Sykes came out and talked about being black and being gay. It was a great show and you can watch and join the discussions here Real Time.
If you don't have time to watch here are the main points:
1. Bank Lobbyists are destroying any chance of real financial reform
2. Everything that caused the Financial Melt-Down is still happening
3. Eight of the ten new rules to protect consumers from predatory creditors have been subverted
4. Sarah Palin knows how to fain righteous anger and Bill O'Reilly is a douche. Seth McFarlane hired an actress with Down's Syndrome and O'Reilly labeled him as a hater...

The episode features the character Chris falling for a girl with Down syndrome. On a date, he asks what her parents do. She replies: "My dad's an accountant, and my mom is the former governor of Alaska."

Last night, Palin appeared on The O'Reilly Factor and said, "This world is full of cruel, cold-hearted people" and asked, "When are we going to say this stuff isn't really funny?"

O'Reilly then asked her why she called for the resignation of Obama's Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel but didn't come down on Rush Limbaugh even though both men used the "r word?"

Of Course we know that it is OK for Limbaugh to use the r word because HE is a satirist...
5. Obama and the Democrats are PUSSIES. They are on the right side of every issue and still let the Republicans frame the debate.
6. Teabaggers are idiots Only 12 percent of the public say that the Obama administration has lowered their taxes since coming to office, despite the fact that the White House's stimulus package cut taxes for 95 percent of Americans, a new opinion survey found.
7. DADT needs to be repealed.
There's more but you'll have to watch clips to get the real deal.

Type Training Challenge

Here's a 20 minute effort on a type treatment for Thursday/Friday Eve

This Internet Machine Brings Out the Crazies

Every morning I love to read the Yahoo Buzz on Kosmix. It's full of insightful and concise rhetoric about the important stories in the news. Here's a little tidbit for you:
Obama says stimulus bill saved troubled economy from the AP. The first comment is a thoughtful examination of the story

More BS from the greatest liar of all time, the rest of the money will be spent trying to get his pals reelected.
They must go now, vote them out

But, here's what I loved. You have to keep in mind that most of the comments are from deranged neocons and this lone dissenter was taken to task. A user named Dubya says:

Thank you Obama for doing a good job to Rebuild America after Bush Destroyed America

Bush Ruined and Bankrupted America for his greed for Oil

and then 21 people read him or her the riot act (well some agree). Here is one of the best responses:

Well, One day you will grow Up and understand that Not only did Bush not Cause the Recession or Depression if thats what they wish to call it but in fact CONGRESS,, Yes CONGRESS is the Ones that Caused the Recession,,, IE: They are the ones that Passed the LOAN for Homes that people whom were on Lower Income Scales and that is the Program that was put Into Place By CONGRESS and Signed By President Clinton , it is also a BILL that President Clinton Wanted. I commend what He was Attempting to do for those that do pay their Bills on time and deserved to be able to afford a Home but the Same Democratic CONGRESS that paased that also let those same PEOPLE lose their Homes. Read the facts,, as for the War and its Cost,, it has been Paid for by the Taxes of Diesel Fuel. So when you are more better Informed and can Make Rational decissions then you might be a Helpful member of Society, till then you just wasted your Breath as I just have on YOU!

Even if there were good points to be made you wouldn't be able to find them in the mess of poor spelling and bad grammar.

Obviously the real issue here is why did Google name their social networking branch Buzz? Yahoo Buzz has been around for about two years and is only tepidly popular. Google wants it's Buzz to be a Facebook killer but I doubt that will happen anytime soon.

Were They Christian?

It's almost impossible to know what the Founding Fathers believed... Sure you can extrapolate from their writings but it's important to realize the whole mythology and concept of the Founders is over blown. Jefferson and Adams for example became bitter enemies, although the worked together during the revolution. It wasn't until they both retired from politics that they reconciled. Ironically they both died within hours of each other on the fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, July 4th 1826.

So while they Founders were sometimes bitter rivals what did they believe? In the case of Jefferson it was quite radical. On the site Beliefnet you can find a version of Jefferson's Bible. A bible that he cut and pasted to assemble the teachings of Jesus without miracles and virgin birth. Jefferson said he wanted to separate the "diamonds from the dunghill." Exactly what did her remove from his version:
The virgin birth—gone.
Christ's bodily resurrection—gone.
The miracles of the loaves, walking on water, raising Lazarus—none of them made Jefferson's book

What about James Madison? Here are a few quotes:

"Ecclesiastical establishments tend to great ignorance and corruption, all of which facilitate the execution of mischievous projects."

and this

"What influence, in fact, have ecclesiastical establishments had on society? In some instances they have been seen to erect a spiritual tyranny on the ruins of the civil authority; on many instances they have been seen upholding the thrones of political tyranny; in no instance have they been the guardians of the liberties of the people."

Jefferson and Madison are just two examples. Adams was a Unitarian and didn't believe in the concept of the Trinity or the Divinity of Jesus... To say these men were not christian would be a stretch but to say the wanted to establish the United States as a christian nation would also be a stretch.

Christian Nation

Did the "Founding Fathers" intend the United States to be a Christian Nation? Christianistas would have you think so but was that really the case? If you take a look at the first 150 years, of the colonies, you will find religious intolerance was rife. Protestantism was preferable, Catholicism was not, and Jews were an anathema. In Massachusetts Quakers were beaten, arrested, deported and executed. Yes the man on you favorite oatmeal was the scourge of the colonies. Pennsylvania was founded as a refuge for the persecuted Quakers and Maryland was founded for Catholics. Although Catholics were not safe for long in Maryland. The Puritans burned all of the Catholic churches in Southern Maryland. Actually it was George Washington who promoted tolerance of Catholics to curry favor with the French, as an ally, a predominantly Catholic country.

The words God and Creator are each mentioned only once in the Declaration of Independence. The word God is never mentioned in the Constitution. Isn't strange that if the Founding Fathers wanted this to be a Christian Nation that they would leave God out of the Constitution?

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;

It wasn't until the 14th amendment, in 1868, that the Bill of Rights was applied to the States. Until then The States could establish religion and sanction it. The Restoration period, after the Civil War, changed the nature of the Constitution forever.

More about the beliefs of the Founding Fathers tomorrow.

RNC Chair an Idiot

Michael Steele, Republican Idiot, say the Dems are running for the hills. Never mind the fact that only 3 democrats are retiring while 6 republicans are retiring. Since twice as many republicans are retiring compared to democrats does that mean they are already in the hills?

I guess another way to look at it would be 5% of democrats are running for the hills and 14% or republicans are running for the hills. Either way I think Evan Bayh, who was leading his opponent by 20 points, is a pussy. If you don't like something you work to change it not quit!