A Special Bible Message for the GOP and My Journey Back to Where I Started

• "No" on raising the minimum wage?  
• "No" on expanding Medicaid in (most) red states?
• "Yes" on reducing access to food stamps?  
• "No" on tax reform that would see the rich pay their fair share?  
• "Yes" to the belief that poor people are poor because of an in-bred "cultural pathology" that makes them unwilling to work as hard as their "betters?"
• "Yes" on thinking we should be the boss of the world and that war on our terms is the answer?  
• "No" on student debt relief?  
• "No" on an extension of unemployment benefits?
• "Yes" to the belief that conservatives know more about what God wants and He wants them to say"No" on science?

Why, yes, the Bible does have something to say about that:

what eye thynk:   This photo put me on a journey of self-examination.  

When I first saw this photo, it made me smile.  Then it made me feel a superior kind of anger.  Then I realized it is exactly that feeling of superiority which makes the GOP tick and I was left with feeling sad...for myself for having fallen into a trap; but mostly for them and their particular, self-important, self-perpetuating species of self-delusion and for their inability to see their pride as antithetical to the beliefs they tout so loudly.

I thought about how sick I have beccome of the far-right Christian minority claiming they know how everyone should live--that their Christianity is better than your Judaism, better than your Buddhism, your Islamism--even that their Christianity is better than your Christianity.

I realized I have reached the point where I have to consciously remind myself that these uber-conservative Christians ARE, in fact, the minority.  And I thought about people I know, believers like my husband, like a NY actor friend of mine and another friend who is a local pastor--Christians who don't condemn those who are different or claim to have a direct line to God's home phone.  

Then I looked at the photo again and remembered that the guy in the middle recently got himself "removed" and realized I had come full circle.  I was smiling.

Quick Note: Florida Makes a (Sort of) Move for LGBT Rights

If you thought it was hard to keep same-sex marriage laws, state bans, over-turned bans, over-turned bans under a court-ordered stay, over-turned bans in appeal and over-turned bans that lost their appeal and are now headed for a higher court straight in your mind before...consider Florida.

from the Associated Press:

"A judge legalized same-sex marriage in Monroe County on Thursday, siding with gay couple in the Florida Keys who said the state's ban, approved by voters in 2008, is discriminatory and makes them second-class citizens.  The ruling applies only to Monroe County and was immediately appealed by Attorney General Pam Bondi.  Judge Luis M. Garcia, appointed by Gov. Jeb Bush, said couples could get marriage licenses as early as Tuesday."

So, if a same-sex couple living in Pinellas County goes to Monroe County, will they be issued a license?  And if yes, will they be permitted to marry back home in St. Pete?  And if a Monroe County same-sex couple gets married in the Keys, will their marriage be recognized if they move to Jacksonville?

In Miami/Dade County where it is still illegal for same-sex couples to marry, a recent court case ended in a decision saying they can adopt children together as a couple or adopt each other's children.

Good grief!  While any step to remove restrictions on the rights of LGBT citizens is welcome, I have to ask:  Could  Florida have made this issue any more confusing?

Quick Note(s): Arizona Republicans Stand On Immigration May Need a Little Work

Arizona #1

 State Rep. Adam Kwasman (R)

Arizona State Representative Adam Kwasman (R) is running for the U.S. Congress.   On Wednesday, he decided to show his unhappiness with the influx of illegal immigrant children into the United States by participating in a demonstration as one of the border patrol buses loaded with immigrant children passed on its way to a Tucson shelter.

He snapped pictures of the bus and tweeted to his followers:  "Bus coming in.  This is not compassion.  This is the abrogation of the rule of the law."  As local reporters recorded the event, Mr. Kwasman called for the White House to abide by the law and enforce our border.
Later, Mr. Kwasman told one reporter he could "see some of the children" and noted "the fear on their faces."

As boasts go, this one seems oddly discordant to me.  Or is the ability to frighten children something GOP voters actually look for in a candidate?

As he continued to hold court, undoubtedly looking forward to a couple of good sound bytes on the local news, 12News reporter Will Pitts noted that, what he saw as the bus passed were children laughing and taking pictures of the demonstrators--which is when the demonstration and Adam Kwasman's "fear on their faces" vaunt fell apart.

You see, that bus was filled, not with immigrant children, but with local kids on their way to a YMCA summer camp. At first, the protesters tried to make this out to be an elaborate trick to help get the bus past the demonstrators; but, no, these were really just local Arizona adolescents on their way to the Triangle Y Camp.

In an on camera interview, Mr. Pitts asked the candidate, "Do you know that was a bus with YMCA kids?" Mr. Kwasman did a quick about face.  "They were sad, too.  Okay, I apologize.  I didn't know. I was leaving when I saw them."

Huh?  Leaving what?  Where?  And how, if the reporter saw kids laughing, did Mr. Kwasman see "fear"...or maybe it was sadness. (Backtracking on camera can be so embarrassing.)

"People are not happy down the line.  That was an error by me.  Those were not migrant children.  That's fine.  It was a mistake.  That was a mistake.  That was not correct and that's a mistake." 

In the end, it was Mr. Kwasman's supporters who were "sad" that such a stellar opportunity to bully immigrant children ended up being mocked by the media and it was Mr. Kwasman who was left to "fear" for his credibility.

Arizona #2 

Sheriff Paul Babeu

Paul Babeu, sheriff of Pinal County, Arizona decided to assist local anti-immigrant demonstrators by publishing the exact location where some of the children who had recently crossed our border illegally were to be housed.  He posted the information on social media sites, issued a press release and gave the information to an anti-immigrant activist.

When CNN's Anderson Cooper asked if this wasn't counter-productive to the sheriff's job of keeping the peace in Pinal County, Sheriff Babeu said he was acting over concerns that some of the children might have gang connections or be carrying diseases that could threaten the health of local residents.  "My question to Homeland Security was, give us a sense of the profile of these individuals."

Mr. Babeu's actions resulted in the children being rerouted to other locations.

It should be noted that, while the sheriff's enterprise was successful, it was also ripe with the scent of hypocrisy.  

In 2012, while he was a candidate for Congress, it was revealed that Sheriff Babeu, who is gay, was having an intimate relationship with a man who was an undocumented, illegal resident of the U.S.  At that time, the Phoenix New Times reported that a "Mexican man identified only as Jose alleged that Babeu and his attorney, Chris DeRose, threatened that he could be deported if he didn't sign an agreement not to disclose his romantic affair with Babeu, who has a national reputation as a border-security hawk."

Don't you just love the way anti-immigrant GOP-ers have one set of rules for "them" and a totally different set of standards for "us?"  Or maybe I'm wrong and Sheriff Babeu asked Homeland Security to vet Jose's gang affiliation and medical records before welcoming him into his bedroom.

Quick Note: A Message for All Those Fact-Adverse Republicans:

(Thank you to my friend, Eric for sharing this.)

I doubt anyone watching Fox will see these numbers; but, oh, don't they speak loudly?

Eye Recommend --- Top House Republican Admits That There Are No Grounds to Impeach President Obama

House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R)

TOP HOUSE REPUBLICAN ADMITS THAT THERE ARE NO GROUNDS TO IMPEACH PRESIDENT OBAMA, by Jason Easley --
http://www.politicususa.com/2014/07/13/top-house-republican-admits-grounds-impeach-president-obama.html

On Sunday, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee Bob Goodlatte (R-Virginia) told ABC's George Stephanopoulos that, despite election cycle rhetoric, there are no grounds to impeach President Obama.

"'We are not working on or drawing up articles of impeachment.  The Constitution is very clear as to what constitutes grounds for impeachment of the President of the United States.  He has not committed the kind of criminal acts that call for that.'"

In his article, Mr. Easley wonders if the lawsuit proposed by House Speaker John Boener (R-Ohio) against the President is an attempt to curtail the impeachment talk. (More on the lawsuit here.)

"If Boehner was trying to take impeachment off the table with this lawsuit, he is failing miserably.  The lawsuit is whetting the appetite among the Republican rank and file for impeachment.  It is almost as if they expect impeachment if Republicans win back control of the Senate...

...(But) Republicans have been calling for this president to be impeached for things that George W. Bush did.  Currently, some Republicans want to impeach Obama for Bush's immigration policy.  It never stops, but the Boehner lawsuit has thrown gasoline on the fire. Instead of calming the impeachment talk, House Republicans have made things exponentially worse with their lawsuit scheme.

Veteran congressional Republicans understand what impeaching Bill Clinton did to their approval ratings.  That's why they are trying to steer the base away from impeaching President Obama.  However, the lawsuit could backfire on the House Republicans.  Instead of firing up Republican voters for November, a refusal to impeach might cause them to stay home. Republican voters have been told for years that Obama needs to be removed from office, so they aren't going to be happy when their elected members of congress refuse to follow through."

Since 2008, the Republican party has made attempt after attempt to derail the Obama presidency--promises to their voters that they could not deliver.

• They promised to make him a one-term president. *President Obama is now half way through his second term.
• They promised to repeal the ACA.  *After nearly 50 votes to repeal, even Republicans are beginning to admit that the ACA is a success. 
• They promised to remake the federal budget solely on their terms.  *The 2013 Republican-forced federal government shutdown gained them exactly nothing.
• They filibustered presidential nominee after presidential nominee in an effort to keep Mr. Obama's influence on the courts to a minimum.  *The Democrats finally had enough and changed the filibuster rule.
• They have spent millions of dollars mining for scandals at the IRS and in Benghazi.  *Current result: bupkis.

With each failed attempt, the GOP chose to up the ante, promising the party faithful that success was within their reach.  They are now facing the fact that they have "upped" themselves to the edge of cliff with the faithful salivating at their backs over the promise of that final leap.  

"Top House Republicans have painted themselves into a corner, and they are being forced to admit that they don't really want to impeach Obama.  The lawsuit still sets up a path to impeachment, but it is clear that the House Republican leadership is losing their nerve and they apparently don't want to go down that road."

Congressional Republicans have effectively reached the end of their ante-trail. With nothing left in their arsenal, it's time for Boehner to admit their approach has been wrong.  It's time to work to salvage something of his party's dignity and to rebuild a viable, workable federal government.  They have to believe that the faithful can take the truth.

Quick Note: A "Wish I'd Said That" Response to Hobby Lobby

Hobby Lobby owner and CEO David Green

The week after the Supreme Court's Hobby Lobby decision, Time magazine published an in-depth article about Hobby Lobby owner David Green.  This week's magazine included reader responses to that article.  

This one from Norman Powers of Sarasota, Florida caught my eye:

"No matter that Time presents (CEO David) Green in an honorable light, in my opinion, an honorable person has tolerance for other people's beliefs."

Yep, wish I'd said that.

July 14 - Monday Quote

This comes from a recent msnbc interview where Col. Wilkerson talked about his fellow Republicans, racism within his party and specifically Dick Cheney; but it applies to so much going on in this country today and to so many issues.

monday quote:   Immorality is something that can be ferreted out, checked and balanced.  Amorality is an altogether different affair, especially when you're exploiting the politics of fear in order to carry out state purposes, which is what Dick Cheney's forte is. (Retired U.S. Army Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson, former Chief of Staff to Colin Powell, 1945 -    )