Political Rants

Talk tough, shoot first, ...dress casual.

Cheney Criticized for Attire at Auschwitz Ceremony

Vice President Dick Cheney raised eyebrows on Friday for wearing an olive-drab parka, hiking boots and knit ski cap to represent the United States at a solemn ceremony remembering the liberation of Auschwitz.

..."The vice president...was dressed in the kind of attire one typically wears to operate a snow blower," Robin Givhan, The Washington Post's fashion writer, wrote in the newspaper's Friday editions.

Between the somber, dark-coated leaders at the outdoor ceremony sat Cheney, resplendent in a green parka embroidered with his name and featuring a fur-trimmed hood, the laced brown boots and a knit ski cap reading "Staff 2001."

"And, indeed, the vice president looked like an awkward boy amid the well-dressed adults," Givhan wrote.

Thanks to Todd G.

Cuz heaven forbid this administration shouldn't follow the oh-so-progressive viewpoint of James Dobson and Focus on the Family, a la the Spongebob controversy. Article about the Ed. Secy is at CNN.com:

The not-yet-aired episode of "Postcards From Buster" shows the title character, an animated bunny named Buster, on a trip to Vermont -- a state known for recognizing same-sex civil unions. The episode features two lesbian couples, although the focus is on farm life and maple sugaring.

A PBS spokesman said late Tuesday that the nonprofit network has decided not to distribute the episode, called "Sugartime!," to its 349 stations. She said the Education Department's objections were not a factor in that decision.

I'm so disappointed with PBS...

Thanks to Amy M. on Library Underground.

Cute cartoon from (I think) the Palm Beach Post.

Thanks, Lola!

Okay, so here's an amusing update to the whole 'Spongebob is Gay' thing (link is to previous post). The United Church of Christ (bless 'em!) extends a welcome to our little yellow spongy friend. The photo is absolutely precious.

Link in the article is to Accessible Airwaves, where they also have a copy of the controversial UCC 'extravagant welcome' ad.

Thanks to Ang.

Partial text of UCC president Rev. John H. Thomas' response to the Focus on the Family accusations against Mr. Squarepants:

"Absolutely, the UCC extends an unequivocal welcome to SpongeBob," the Rev. John H. Thomas, the UCC's general minister and president, said, only partly in jest. "Jesus didn't turn people away. Neither do we."

...The UCC's welcome comes in the wake of laughable accusations by James C. Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, that the popular SpongeBob and other well-known cartoon characters are crossing "a moral line" by stressing tolerance in a national We Are Family Foundation-sponsored video that will be distributed to U.S. schools on March 11, 2005.

Later, an assistant to Dobson called SpongeBob's participation in the video "insidious."

Thomas said, on the contrary, it is Dobson who is crossing the moral line for sending the mistaken message that Christians do not value tolerance and diversity as important religious values.

"While Dobson's silly accusation makes headlines, it's also one more concrete example of how religion is misused over and over to promote intolerance over inclusion," Thomas said. "This is why we believe it is so important that the UCC speak the Gospel in an accent not often heard in our culture, because far too many experience the cross only as judgment, never as embrace."

An amusing addendum to my previous post on the whole 'Spongebob is Gay' thing. Drew Johnston over at Political Strategy runs down the list of beloved children's characters who have been accused of gayness:

Let me see if I understand this: the President, a conservative, “born-again� Republican is reelected by (what people tell me was) a landslide. This “mandate�, the CW continues, was caused by the so-called “values voters� going to the polling places to vote against those dirty homos and sticking around to prop up the Emperor. In short, the religious/moral community now controls the seat of power. More than any time, this group has the potential to reshape this country.

So what do these groups do with this newfound power? Go after Roe v. Wade? Push the FMA? Petition the increasingly values-friendly FCC to tighten up regulations on mass media productions? Nope, they do something even better - they go after a popular cartoon character who they believe is gay.

JibJab does it again, this time for the Inauguration. Hard to tell where they come down, sometimes...

Thanks, Tracey.

...Aaron McGruder of Boondocks is a genius.

I'm not sure I've ever been so depressed by an article. A new NY Times/CBS News poll has Americans gloomy about Bush ever accomplishing anything...except making abortion illegal. And they're okay with this?? WTF? And if they're not, WHY did they vote for him in record numbers? Come on, people, a little consistency, please!

n the eve of President Bush's second inauguration, most Americans say they do not expect the economy to improve or American troops to be withdrawn from Iraq by the time Mr. Bush leaves the White House, and many have reservations about his signature plan to overhaul Social Security, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News Poll.

Seventy percent, however, said they thought Mr. Bush would succeed in changing the Social Security system. The poll found that 43 percent of respondents expect most forms of abortion to be illegal by the time Mr. Bush leaves the White House, given Mr. Bush's expected appointments to the Supreme Court.

The Times/CBS News Poll offered the kind of conflicting portrait of the nation's view of Mr. Bush that was evident throughout last year's presidential campaign. Nearly 60 percent of respondents said they were generally optimistic on the eve of Mr. Bush's swearing-in about the next four years, but clear majorities disapproved of Mr. Bush's management of the economy and the war in Iraq.

Nearly two-thirds said a second Bush term would leave the country with a larger deficit, while 47 percent said that a second Bush term would divide Americans. A majority of those surveyed said that they did not expect any improvement in health care, education, or in reducing the cost of prescription drugs for the elderly by January 2009.

Just under 80 percent, including a majority of those who said they voted for Mr. Bush in November, said it would not be possible to overhaul Social Security, cut taxes, and finance the war in Iraq without increasing the budget deficit, despite Mr. Bush's promises to the contrary. [emphasis mine]

So most folks think he'll do a lousy job, but that's just okay with them?

UPDATE: Poll from CNN.com shows Americans split on whether Bush is a 'uniter or a divider'. I can only hope they ultimately unite in realizing the obvious...but the Cult of Dubya is strong.

A favorite bit taken from this list by a British writer, blogger and satirist: "Anyone can lead when right, yet to do so when obviously and catastrophically wrong takes true genius."

There's been much talk about using Inauguration Day as a day of protest: Not One Damn Dime Day. To be honest, I'm dubious as to its efficacy. Who are we hurting here? To whom are we sending a message? Why would either BushCo. or corporate America even bother to sit up and take notice for one day of bad sales? And considering that the 'Nascar crowd' will still be shopping, they'll barely notice our blip.

If you want to make noise, don't keep your mouth (or wallet) shut. Stand up, speak out, make a fuss. And ask a million of your closest friends to join you. That's how change is done. If the best we can manage is to do nothing for a day, they've already won.

Addendum: My friend Todd K. had an interesting take:

I don't think we should boycott everything. Boycotting has unfortunately become a knee-jerk political reaction. The concept of "we'll hit 'em where it hurts, the bottom line" reduces everything to money. That's not the world I choose to live in.

Congressman Robert Matsui (D-California) died on Saturday.

He was being tapped to help save Social Security from privatization and other nonsense, cuz he had the clout on Ways and Means. We'll see what happens. Sigh.