Quite coincidentally, my newsfeed pulled up two items on the Vatican today.
The first highlights Vatican's problem with gay priests in Rome who, quite contently, lead a double life. Now, I do not know what the purpose of this exposé was, nor do I want to condemn what the priests in question do outside of their priestly garb; but the fact that they freely pursue their sexual desires while also being ordained into a celibate order highlights the anachronistic nature of celibacy for Catholic priests.
The second item was not as serious and it shows pictures of the current and last popes in what it deemed as their '15 gayest pictures.'
My favorite: Papa Ratzi as a lace-clad, red-shoed prima donna. Dorothy would be jealous....
Conservatives will throw around the phrase 'activist judges' quite liberally anytime there is a judicial nomination to be made on the Federal level, or anytime there is a recognition of the constitutional or human rights of a disenfranchised or targeted minority.
Little do they know (or do they know very well...?) that conservative judges are the most staunchly activist of all. As this report from The New York Times shows, the Roberts Court has been the most conservative in the history of the judicial body and the trend to more conservative decisions shows no signs of weakening, despite a second addition by president Obama.
Perhaps liberals and progressives ought to adopt an equally charged language when referring to judges in the Supreme Court and elsewhere in Federal courts across the nation. After all, what is more activist than a judge who adopts an intractably conservative position and whose decisions can be predicted with almost 100% certainty, as in the case of Antonin Scalia or, the loonier loon, Clarence Thomas? No, Samuel Alito, you were not forgotten; you are sure to give both these justices a run for their money if they want to remain on the extreme right of the Supreme Court.
I'm sure many Californians right now are saying, 'where is global warming?' I have an answer: it's already here. And although you may not feel it in the temperatures and general conditions as of late, look up the definition of 'weather' and 'climate' and reconsider.
For those in the rest of the United States, the case for global warming might be easier to make. As the country swelters, and as crops dry up from the Great Plains to the steppes of Asia, people are coming to terms with the reality of higher temperatures worldwide and their immediate consequences. While many lobbyists and the politicians they have in their pocket will tell you otherwise, stop and think for a moment. 2010 has been, on average, the hottest year on record, second only to 2005, third to 1998. Notice a trend?
In spite of this and regardless of his promise to act on this ever-threatening problem, Obama's White House has given in to pressure and opted for a better score in the popularity contest rather than the right choice on the issue. As the planet cooks—to borrow Paul Krugman's phrase—the Obama administration falters on its promise to deliver what it had pledged to pursue during the campaign. And, although a lot of good legislation has passed in the past year and a half—despite Republican obstructionism might I add—it is worth reminding everyone that it was not as strong as it could have been or need have been.
Unfortunately for us and our posterity, the climate bill will not even get the luxury of a dilution in the Senate. Obama needs to think this through again, unless he wants to alienate Democratic and progressive voters in the upcoming and in the 2012 elections.
The Economist has a couple of articles on America's justice and prison system, one of which gives an overlook of their general problems in comparison with those of our peers, and the other is a more detailed briefing of their current state and the contributing factors that go with it.
The younger Bush is well on his way to becoming a hallowed figure in conservative circles, much like Reagan—the president who expanded government more than anybody since FDR and more than his three predecessors combined—is today. It is the purpose of the well-oiled (double entendre is quite intentional) to portray him as a true conservative who improved everything from taxes and the budget to international relations. Everyone with an ounce of functioning brain knows he did nothing of the sort. On the contrary, his tax cuts were detrimental to the economy itself and, of course, the budget; and the international relations can be summarized in one word: Iraq.
Paul Krugman's latest op-ed in The New York Times says this much better, but is worth reiterating how, time after time, Republicans and conservatives in general come back with a rewriting history or a re-polishing of figures in order to, then, shape the future of politics and return to power and keep doing just the same thing that required the polishing in the first place.
PËRGJIGJE Onufri ka qenë piktor i shquar shqiptar i shekullit XVI. Ai krijoi në fushën e pikturës murore dhe të ikonës. Onufri shkoi drejt përqasjes së pikturës kishtare me jetën e gjallë dhe ambjentin real. Ai ka zbukuruar me pikturat e tij një varg kishash në Shqipëri, Greqi dhe Maqedoni.
Në Shqipëri firmën e tij mbajnë kishat e Beratit dhe ajo e Shpatit në Elbasan. Onufri ka qenë laik në fillimet e krijimtarisë së tij, por më vonë u vesh prift dhe më pas u bë edhe kryeprift i Elbasanit.
Në krijimet e tij Onufri i pajis figurat me bukurinë e lartë fisnike të idealizuar, por edhe me tipare individuale të vjela nga jeta. Parapëlqen kontrastin e fortë të ngjyrave, të kuqen e flakëruar (të kuqen e tij e kanë quajtur «të paimitueshme»), vjollcën, të gjelbrën dhe të artën e shndritshme vezulluese.
Onufri zë një vend të shquar në kulturën ballkanike. Ai la pas disa nxënës, ndër të cilët spikat djali i tij, Nikolla dhe Onufër Qiprioti që njihet si autor i ikonave në Berat, në Çatistër të Gjirokastrës dhe bashkëautor i pikturave të vitit 1622 në kishën e Vllaho-Goranxisë (Gjirokastër).
Just watch this segment and you will understand how medieval and draconian Don't-Ask-Don't-Tell is. Not to mention costly and detrimental to the government, the army, and the individuals involved.
Fox News is an expert propaganda machine and, as such, is also good at demonizing people and forcing qualified, decent individuals to resign from their positions of power.
Their latest victim is Shirley Sharrod, an official in the Department of Agriculture under Obama, who has been accused by right-wind groups of racism. That message was reiterated ad nauseam by their cronies at Fox News and, as a result, she had to resign her post.
The truth of the matter is that the speech that led to accusations of racism is nothing more than a well-edited attack on her person. This is not the first time the right wing machine or Fox News have done something of the sort. On the contrary, many organizations and individuals have fallen prey to their smear tactics and have had to eventually resign or, in the case of ACORN, cease to exist.
Yet, we must admit that there is racism in this situation; only, it is not the racism of which they accuse Sharrod: It is a more concentrated and vitriolic form of the 0ld-fashioned whites-are-better-than-blacks racist stance. More concentrated because it is not the sole example in the last year and a half; more vitriolic because we allow it to happen and 'news' organizations such as Fox News propagate it without the slightest modicum of shame in this day and age. I guess I could call it shameful, too, because it feeds whatever latent traces of racism there are in American society, leading them to amplify and reach the public sphere where they are widely tolerated and touted as manifestations of our democracy.
Of course, this is nothing of the sort. I have said it before and I will say it again: a large chunk of the animosity against President Obama and his policies is a direct consequence of racism in this country. It is unlikely anybody can convince me otherwise. The rhetoric, the actions taken, the condescension with which they refer to the President on many media outlets is nothing more than a return to our shameless past when calling blacks 'uppity' and wanting to 'put (or keep) them in their place' was defended as 'American.'
Aren't we in the same crossroads as 40, 50, 140 years ago? And shouldn't we think before we take our next step into the road of peaceful existence, or into the abyss of hatred and bigotry...?
For more info, watch Rachel Maddow's segment on the issue, as well as the Sharrod's full allegedly 'racist' speech.
Allowed to win a majority in either the House or Senate and left to their own devices, they will do nothing different from the Bush years. What's more, they will repeal none of the bills passed in the past year and a half, despite their outrage and loud calls for repeal after their passage.
This somehow makes the joke of the Democratic Party in South Carolina seem like a good idea.
In the back-and-forths between Sarah Palin and the father of her grand-son, Levi Johnston, it is not hard to see whom to believe. Sure, Levi said everything he said about Sarah because he got attention, but nothing he has said has seemed exaggerated or untrue, considering what Sarah Palin has shown herself to be since her appearance on the national political stage.
Unë isha i mitur, i vogël, si harabel, I çiltër kur nisa të udhëtoj. Udhëtova ëndrrat në fillim, më pas rrugën e madhe Si heronjtë e lashtë të përrallave. Fatin për të gjetur. Ej, ku je, fat? Por hero unë nuk isha, Asgjë heroi s’kisha. Rruga si në përrallë ndahet: Të kthen njëra, E dyta jo, Megjithëse shumë ka kthyer ajo. Në mes të rrugëve, sigurisht, një plak, Një plak madhështor me mjekër të derdhur Nën një ah. Dhe plaku të thotë recetën pa u lodhur, «Bir, kjo rrugë të çon e të kthen, Kjo të çon e s’të kthen.» Unë i vogël u tremba, hero s’isha, asgjë heroi s’kisha Zgjodha rrugën që të kthen, Megjithëse dhe ajo shumë s’ka kthyer... Por tani që më duket se jam rritur E kuptoj që plaku më ka gënjyer.
