Je Suis Charlie

what eye thynk:  I cannot imagine a more perfect response than this, the cover for the next Wednesday's issue of "Charlie Hebdo."

Quick Note: "Christian" Self-Help Book Ends Atlanta Fire Chief's Career

Former Atlanta Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran

Atlanta Fire Chief, Kelvin Cochran, wrote a Christian self-help book., "Who Told You You Were Naked?" intended to be used as a Bible study aide.  

In one section, he defines "uncleaness" as "whatever is opposite of purity; including sodomy, homosexuality, lesbianism, pederasty, bestiality, all other forms of sexual perversion."  

In another he writes, "Naked men refuse to give in, so they pursue sexual fulfillment through multiple partners, with the opposite sex, the same sex, and sex outside of marriage and many other vile, vulgar and inappropriate ways which defile their body-temple and dishonor God."

Rather than use the book appropriately within his church and belief circle, he decided to pass copies out to co-workers, including those who worked under him.  Gay rights supporters took offense and brought the book give-away to Mayor Kasim Reed's attention last November.  The Mayor immediately suspended Fire Chief Cochran and began an investigation of the Chief's actions. 

In announcing the suspension, Mr. Reed said, "I profoundly disagree with and am deeply disturbed by the sentiments expressed in the paperback regarding the LGBT community.  I will not tolerate discrimination of any kind within my administration."

Last week, Mayor Reed formally fired Kelvin Cochran, saying that he questioned Mr. Cochran's judgment and management capabilities.  "This is not about religious freedom.  This is not about free speech.  Judgment is the basis of the problem."

Mr. Cochran responded to his firing this way: "It's ironic that the city points to tolerance and inclusion as part of its reasoning. What could be more intolerant and exclusionary than ending a public servant's 30 years of distinguished service for his religious beliefs?"

Why is is that religious bigots are the first ones to yell "foul" when faced with the consequences of their own bigotry?  No one is telling Mr. Cochran or his church they must support or accept homosexual members.  No one is trying to prohibit Mr. Cochran from writing any hateful thing he wants to put in print.  Atlanta's mayor is saying that choosing to share your hate with co-workers--especially those who need your good opinion in order to keep their jobs--is not an acceptable management style.

Proselytizing on the public dime is not America's way--at least not yet.

Of course, state religious leaders are up in arms about this. Georgia Baptist Convention President Robert White said, "It's a frightening day in the United States when a person cannot express their faith without fears of persecution following."

I wonder if Mr. White was equally frightened by Georgia's public, open, and ultimately unsuccessful persecution of same-sex partners by fighting to deny them the right to marry?  And don't get me started on Georgia's fight against legal abortion--a fight based entirely on one side's religious views without respect or acknowledgement that not everyone goes to the same church--even in Georgia. 

A so-called "religious freedom" law has been pre-filed in Georgia's State House of Representatives in anticipation of the session that starts on Monday.  State Representative Ed Setzler (R) cites the Cochran case as one of a number of "outright examples of individuals' religious beliefs being deemed unacceptable by government entities."

The separation of church and state has been in place for 238 years for a reason. 

Last January, the Orange County, Florida School Board voted to allow Bibles to be passed out in their schools.  The Satanic Temple sued for equal representation and a state judge agreed.  So this school year, students are not only bringing home the Good Book in their backpacks, but a copy of "The Satanic Children's Big Book of Activities" as well.

Be careful what you wish for, Georgia.

January 12 - Monday Quote

The past couple of days have been exceptionally cold here in North East Ohio, and today it is snowing--a beautiful even coating of white.  

Some people see Winter as a dead season.  I see it as beautiful. 

I've always been fascinated by what must be going on below the snow.  When I was a little kid, I imagined there was a secret, tropical world just out of my sight populated by tiny subterranean fairies busy serving droplets of water to baby tulips.  (Yes, I was a weird child.)  I was also 700 years behind.

monday quote:  I don’t think the garden loses its ecstasy in winter.  It’s quiet, but the roots are down there riotous. (from "Form is Ecstasy," by Rumi, Persian poet, 1217-1273) 

Quick Note: Bryan Fischer on Charlie Hebdo "God Did It to Punish Christians"

Bryan Fischer took to his radio show this past week and told listeners that the terrorist attack on Charlie Hebdo was God's way of punishing Christians for committing blasphemy.   He called Muslims a "pagan, evil, foreign, wicked nation" that God has chosen to use in order to punish Christians.

As Stephen D. Foster Jr. of AddictingInfo.org wrote:  "At a time when we desperately need mutual peace among the religions of the world, Fischer is actively portraying Muslims as the villainous instrument God supposedly uses to punish Christians who break commandments...

...Religious satire is protected free speech and always should be.  If God is the creator of all things, that means he granted us a sense of humor, meaning an all-powerful deity should be able to take a joke.  Apparently, Bryan Fischer was not granted such a gift, as he is incapable of taking a joke.  Probably because he is one."

Mr. Foster, I don't know whether to wince or cheer.  

Hate is hate, whether it comes from a radicalized Muslim jihadist or a self-styled "Christian" evangelical who chooses to ignore the verses in the Bible that declare "God is Love." 

Republicans Say the Darndest Things: That Mitch, What a Jokester

Senate Majority Leader 

Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky)

"After so many years of sluggish growth, we're finally starting to see some economic data that can provide a glimmer of hope; the uptick appears to coincide with the biggest political change of the Obama Administration's long tenure in Washington: the expectation of a new Republican Congress."

I've been a political junkie for more years than I care to count, but I cannot think of a statement that is more blatantly self-serving or more completely lacking in fact than this from Mitch McConnell...ever.  Mitch has demonstrated a startling lack of respect for the average American's awareness of what has been going on in Washington for the past six years while exhibiting a pair of cojones that he surely must need extra support to carry around.   

It is obvious the GOP needs a new slant on the improving economy...how long can they continue to blame the President for failing when he clearly isn't? But this credit grabbing is so obvious it comes off as laughable, (so the White House wasn't really "cooking the books" on the economy as Republican leadership claimed just a few months ago?), and more than a little desperate.  

As Democratic National Committee's Communications Director Mo Elleithee said about Mitch's claim, "The fact is, under President Obama we have had 57 straight months of private sector jobs growth leading to nearly 11 million jobs added.  All the Republicans have given us is a government shutdown that cost the economy 24 billion.  I get why he wants to take credit for the economic recovery, but maybe he should first do something to contribute to it."

Mitch has worn the Majority Leader mantle for only a few days, and already I'm entertained.

Quick Note: The New, Responsible GOP: Where Dismantling Trumps All

This month marks the beginning of having a Republican majority in both Houses of Congress, the beginning of their promise to prove they are capable of "governing responsibly."  So, how is it going so far?

1. Dismantling "Obamacare"
On Thursday, the House passed legislation that would redefine full-time employment under the Affordable Care Act as someone who works 40 hours/week instead of the current 30 hours.  Their argument is that, at the 30 hour threshold, employers can easily cut workers back to 29 hours to avoid having to provide employer mandated healthcare.   

Apparently, it has never occurred to these geniuses that it would be just as easy to cut 40 hours to 39 in order for employers to gain the same result.  

And, how does a change from 30 hours effect government spending?  The Congressional Budget Office said this legislation will move 1 million people onto government insurance programs raising federal spending by $53.2 billion over the next decade.  And, according to government statistics, since more than half of American workers actually put in a 40 hour work week, the threat of all of them losing employer provided healthcare would add even more to government spending.

Representative Kevin McCarthy (R-California) had this to say, "Mr. President, you say you care about those who have fallen on hard times.  show it, and sign this bill.  You care about low-income workers, about working women, and about small businesses.  Then show it, and sign this bill."

No explanation was offered on how denying health care to low-income workers, working women or those who have fallen on hard times is supposed to improve their lot in life.

2. Dismantling the President's Executive Action on Immigration
Disappointment reigned when Republicans found out they couldn't stop the president's executive action by defunding the Department of Homeland Security because Citizenship and Immigration Services, the agency charged with carrying out the president's order, is completely funded by the fees it collects from immigration applications.  No congressional approved funds are used.

What's a Republican to do?  Enter Representative Mick Mulvaney (R-South Carolina) and Representative Harold Rogers (R-Kentucky).  They are developing legislation that would change the way fees are processed by depositing them directly into the main Homeland Security budget and then allowing Congress to allocate their use.

3. Dismantling Environmental Regulations
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) has vowed to halt the Environmental Protection Agency's attempt to curb pollution from power plants through new regulations that were approved by executive action last year.  

One of the loudest and proudest climate deniers is Senator James Inhofe (R-Oklahoma), new chairman of the Senate's Environment and Public Works Committee, who claims the earth has experienced "no warming for the last 15 years."

With attitudes like these, it is no surprise that one of the first pieces of legislation to be passed was the Keystone XL pipeline.  The President has promised to veto it, and Republican leadership is already busy drumming up support for overriding that veto; but it is all still a publicity stunt.  Nothing can be done until a lawsuit currently making its way through Nebraska's court system reaches its conclusion.  It may look good to GOP supporters and they can rant about the President stopping it, but it's nothing but stage dressing, and they know it.

4. Dismantling Social Security
The funds budgeted to pay for those on Disability Social Security is running low.  Over a period of years--years overseen by both Republican and Democratic presidents--money was transferred without debate from the main Social Security account to cover this shortfall.

On the first day of the 114th Congress, buried in a list of new rules, Republicans voted to stop the transfer unless there is a tax increase or spending cut to cover the dollar amount.  

Now everyone knows that a Republican led Congress is never going to pass a tax increase; so, by the end of 2016, 11 million disabled Americans will see their monthly payments reduced by one-fifth.

5. Dismantling Roe v. Wade
The House began its tenure by voting to ban abortions at 20 weeks, in direct contradiction of current U.S. law.

The War on Women continues.  

6. Dismantling the Hope of Bi-Partisanism
Heritage Action, the political arm of the Heritage Foundation, the breeding ground for conservative ideals, is planning a two-day Republican conference next week to push right-wing legislators to be more aggressive on far-right issues.  The conference will feature Senators Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Rand Paul (R-Kentucky), neither known for their belief in working with the other side.

The foundation has issued a booklet saying that they intend to convince attendees to embrace the "reform conservative movement;" and Jim DeMint, former Republican senator from South Carolina and current president of the Heritage Foundation said the purpose of the conference is to show congressional Republicans that "there's a pathway for bolder ideas."

One of the issues on the docket is the re-thinking of across-the-aisle ideas that were evident in last month's spending bill.  Proposals on how to address student loan debt, health care and the tax code will also be taken up.

The conference is being billed as "Opportunity for All, Favoritism to None;" but, in light of the fact that it will be held just days before Republicans and Democrats leave Washington for a joint retreat meant to promote working together in Washington, I would suggest that it would be more accurate to call it "We Heart Bi-Partisanism As Long As We Don't Have to Do It."

Quick Note: Everything this new Republican-led Congress has either accomplished or proposed is focused on dismantling, blocking or denying.  Where are the new ideas to move the country forward?  Where are the new attempts to raise the living standards of the citizens these men and women represent?  Where is the responsibility? 

They seem only to want to return the country to some time in the past, when healthcare was only for those who could afford it, when immigrants came only from Europe, when polluting the environment was accepted practice, when Social Security was just a twinkle in FDR's eye and when women died from back alley abortions. 

What they want is a world where a black man could never be president.

What Eye Thynk-Politics Reaches a Milestone. Thank you!

There is a LOT going on today: the GOP started "governing responsibly" by passing legislation that could cut Social Security benefits for 11 million disabled citizens by 20 percent, Mitch McConnell is looking for malleable Democrats to vote with his party to override the President's promised veto of the Keystone XL pipeline, a few Democrats will also be needed to raise a full-time work week to 40 hours/week from its current 30 hours--the first step in Mitch's promised gutting of the Affordable Care Act.  

And then there's the horrible shooting deaths in Paris. The youngest suspect, an 18 year old, surrendered and told authorities that he was inspired to act because of the way Americans treated Muslim prisoners in Abu Ghraib prison.  (Thank you, Dick I'd-do-it-again-in-a-minute Cheney.)

While I'm sure I'll touch on all these subjects later this week, today is a celebration of sorts for me.  Today marks my 1000th post since I started this blog in March of 2012! 

This blog started when I found myself sitting in front of the TV with tears running down my face watching another news story about the Republican campaign to take away my right to a legal abortion.  Writing became a release; but writing for myself alone seemed pointless.  I wanted to shout out loud, I wanted to be heard.  I needed to know that there were other men and women who shared my frustration, and so What Eye Thynk was born.

I thought I'd write a couple of times a week for a few months, maybe through the election, and then let it go,  Nearly three years later, I'm writing more, I'm better informed and I'm still angry; but I also know I'm not alone.  

Thank you to everyone who reads, comments and sends me e-mails.  Thank you for to everyone who shares my Twitter posts.  And a huge thank you to Republican Family Values for allowing me to share my posts with their wide audience.  

It hasn't been all sunshine and flowers.  I've gotten quite a few responses that were, shall we say, on the unfriendly side of the scale?  When it comes to hostile readers, I'm happy to remind them that there are people like me out here  and we're watching.  (Thumbs down to the Democratic Underground for calling me racist and banning me. Refusing to listen doesn't make you more liberal, it just makes you a left-wing Fox News.)   

 Here's to a second 1000, because we're not done.  The fight isn't over.