Category Archives: On Politics

Rocky mountain no way

By Dennis Hartley

http://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/3/20/320c8eac-a0b2-5cdc-99e8-e516d80132d8/515487e250267.image.jpg

Thank god he caught it in time:

(from Rolling Stone)

Joe Walsh will not be performing at a July 18th concert he was initially scheduled to perform in Cleveland, OH. In a statement he released on Wednesday, Walsh said the event was billed to him as a benefit for the families of veterans, but after he discovered it was part of the Republican National Convention, he made the announcement that he is withdrawing from the show.

“It was my understanding that I was playing a concert which was a nonpartisan event to benefit the families of American veterans on Monday, July 18 in Cleveland. The admat I approved said this specifically,” the singer said in the statement. “Today it was announced that this event is, in fact, a launch for the Republican National Convention.”

[…]

“I am very concerned about the rampant vitriol, fear-mongering and bullying coming from the current Republican campaigns,” he continued. “It is both isolationist and spiteful. I cannot in good conscience endorse the Republican party in any way. I will look at doing a veteran related benefit concert later this year.”

As some guy who somehow ended up in the White House once said, “Fool me once, shame on…shame on you. Fool me…you can’t get fooled again.” Or something to that effect. Anyway…way to go, Joe!

Free to be you and me…but not them

By Dennis Hartley

http://washingtondc.showbizradio.com/images/logo/free-to-be-you-and-me.gifhttps://ss8h11.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/lester-maddox-1.jpg

Thank the Lord Vishnu this isn’t your father’s Georgia. Or is it?

(from The Guardian)

Administrators at an elementary school in Georgia are making changes to yoga practices for students, after parents complained such practices encouraged non-Christian beliefs.

Bullard elementary, in Cobb County, is one of a number of schools across the US and in Georgia to offer yoga and other mindfulness practices rooted in Hinduism and Buddhism as stress management methods for students.

Some parents at Bullard, however, felt the introduction of yoga was akin to pushing Hinduism on their children, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

“No prayer in schools. Some don’t even say the pledge [of allegiance], yet they’re pushing ideology on our students,” one mother, Susan Jaramillo, told 11Alive, an NBC affiliate. “Some of those things are religious practices that we don’t want our children doing in our schools.”

Really, Georgia? Seriously? Wait…it gets even more absurd:

Bullard is now making changes to how students go about the practice. When they go through the yoga moves, they will not say “namaste” or put their hands by their hearts, because the term and gesture are derived from Hindu custom.

Students will also no longer be allowed to color mandalas, spiritual symbols in Hinduism and Buddhism.

Oy. OK. First off, let’s examine the etymology of the word namaste:

(from the Urban Dictionary)

…an ancient Sanskrit greeting still in everyday use in India and especially on the trail in the Nepal Himalaya. Translated roughly, it means “I bow to the God within you”, or “The Spirit within me salutes the Spirit in you” – a knowing that we are all made from the same One Divine Consciousness.

That seems fairly benign. Like “hello”, or “good morning”.  No…wait:

(from All Experts)

There is agreement among etymologists that Goodbye, Good morning, Good afternoon, etc.  all derive from the word ‘God’; (Goodbye specifically from ‘God be with you’.) and times of the day inserted accordingly;   All these greeting and parting expressions are found in earliest literature; recorded as early as 1200 in Layamon’s ‘Chronicle of Britain).

OK, that tears it. I demand that homeroom teachers immediately stop greeting their students with  “good morning, class”. Because this is obviously pushing some kind of Christian agenda. I’m offended.

Wasn’t that a silly stretch on my part? I agree.  Namaste. Peace out.

http://images.fineartamerica.com/images/artworkimages/mediumlarge/1/mahatma-gandhi-1869-1948-in-1946-everett.jpg

UPDATE:  Oh, Georgia…just when I thought you were incorrigible:

(from the Washington Post)

Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal (R) on Monday vetoed a controversial religious liberties bill that had provoked outrage from Hollywood, sports leagues and corporations for what critics said was its discrimination against gay and transgender people.

“I do not think we have to discriminate against anyone to protect the faith-based community in Georgia, which I and my family have been a part of for generations,” Deal said at a news conference announcing his decision.

Deal’s decision comes two weeks after the state legislature passed a bill aimed at shoring up the rights of religious organizations to refuse services that clash with their faith, particularly with regard to same-sex marriage. Deal, who had already expressed discomfort with the measure, came under enormous pressure to veto the bill after the National Football League suggested it might pass over Atlanta for future Super Bowls, and leading Hollywood figures threatened to pull production from the state.

The decision drew immediate praise from gay rights groups.

[…]

Social conservatives, however, accused Deal of flinching in the face of liberal opposition. Among those who immediately expressed disappointment via Twitter was Russell Moore, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission at the Southern Baptist Convention.

United States of Ozzy

By Dennis Hartley

http://s3.amazonaws.com/quietus_production/images/articles/4718/ozzy-osbourne_1280407168.jpg

Something tells me Paul Ryan won’t go for this:

(from Ultimate Classic Rock)

It doesn’t take much more than an internet connection and an idea to start a movement these days, and for our latest example, look no further than the recently launched petition urging Speaker of the House Paul Ryan to change the national anthem of the United States to Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs”. 

“The current national anthem has served America proudly for many a year now. However … it’s time that we retire that old standard and choose a song that better reflects America and its policies and practices,” writes organizer Shannon Madden. “I nominate ‘War Pigs’ by Black Sabbath. I’m open to suggestions, but I’m hard pressed to think of a more honest assessment of where we are in 2016 America.”
I’m with Shannon in spirit, but my marketing instincts would have had me caution her to go with a more nuanced choice of artist and song; a “wolf in sheep’s clothing”,  if you will…something Mr. Ryan and his fine Republican colleagues would be less likely to dismiss out of hand (y’know, like a politically nebulous Supreme Court nominee).
How about an American band, with a patriotic name, with a rousing, historically accurate song about how “we” got to where we are now?

 Alright…now let’s play ball!

Toddler exercises his 2nd Amendment rights!

By Dennis Hartley

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EGcS5AAUEAA6LRV.jpg

I know it’s  only March, but here’s a shoo-in for Mother of the Year:

Hours after gun-rights advocate  [my emphasis] Jamie Gilt bragged on Facebook that her 4-year-old son “gets jacked up to target shoot,” the same child accidentally turned his mother into a target, shooting her in the back.

The 31-year-old Jacksonville woman was driving down a road in Putnam County, Fla., on Tuesday when her son managed to get hold of a gun while he was sitting in the back seat of the vehicle, according to a statement released by the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department.

Officials told the Florida Times-Union that the child fired a .45-caliber handgun that he found on the truck’s floor into the driver’s seat.

“She was shot through the seat and the round went through her back,” Sheriff’s Capt. Joseph Wells told the Times-Union. “There was a booster seat in the back of the vehicle, but, however, the boy was not strapped in when the deputy got to them.” 

[…from the Washington Post]

She’s lucky to be alive. (NRA) card-carrying dumb, but lucky. But now’s not the appropriate  time to talk about gun control..right?

All the children sing:

Hey, Bungalow Bill
What did you kill
Bungalow Bill?

Hey, Bungalow Bill
What did you kill
Bungalow Bill?

He went out tiger hunting with his elephant and gun
In case of accidents he always took his mom
He’s the all-American bullet-headed Saxon mother’s son

All the children sing
Hey, Bungalow Bill
What did you kill
Bungalow Bill?

Hey, Bungalow Bill
What did you kill
Bungalow Bill?

Deep in the jungle where the mighty tiger lies
Bill and his elephants were taken by surprise
So Captain Marvel zapped him right between the eyes

All the children sing
Hey, Bungalow Bill
What did you kill
Bungalow Bill?

Hey, Bungalow Bill
What did you kill
Bungalow Bill?

The children asked him if to kill was not a sin
“Not when he looked so fierce”, his mommy butted in
“If looks could kill, it would have been us instead of him”.

All the children sing
Hey, Bungalow Bill
What did you kill
Bungalow Bill?

— “The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill” (Lennon/McCartney)

Dennis Hopper explains the Trump phenom

By Dennis Hartley

http://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.2200745.1421947005!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_620/image.jpg

OK, it’s official.  The Clock has moved one minute closer to midnight:

What he’s been able to accomplish, with his um, it’s kind of this quiet generosity. Yeah, maybe his largess kind of, I don’t know, some would say gets in the way of that quiet generosity, and, uh, his compassion, but if you know him as a person and you’ll get to know him more and more, you’ll have even more respect. […] God bless you! God bless the United States of America and our next president of the United States, Donald J. Trump!”

Ah! So this is how the world ends. Suddenly, this makes perfect sense:

Bury my heart at the visitor center

By Dennis Hartley

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/68/eb/84/68eb84ff1ba953f5c312e4ee4ad7ad28.jpg

Oy, vay.  Disenfranchised white men with guns Patriots are takin’ a stand ‘ginst them revenooers. An’ don’t call ’em terrorists! From CNN:

Armed anti-government protesters have taken over a building in a federal wildlife refuge in Oregon, accusing officials of unfairly punishing ranchers who refused to sell their land.

One of them is Ammon Bundy, the 40-year-old son of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, who is well-known for anti-government action.

He spoke by phone to CNN Sunday morning. Asked several times what he and those with him want, he answered in vague terms, saying that they want the federal government to restore the “people’s constitutional rights.”

“This refuge — it has been destructive to the people of the county and to the people of the area,” he said.

“People need to be aware that we’ve become a system where government is actually claiming and using and defending people’s rights, and they are doing that against the people.”

The group is occupying part of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge near Burns after gathering outside for a demonstration supporting Dwight and Steven Hammond, father-and-son ranchers who were convicted of arson.

Prosecutors said the Hammonds set a fire that burned about 130 acres in 2001, to cover up poaching. They were sentenced to five years in prison.

The Hammonds, who are set to turn themselves in Monday afternoon, have said they set the fire to reduce the growth of invasive plants and to protect their property from wildfires, CNN affiliate KTVZ reported.

The Hammonds have been clear in that they don’t want help from the Bundy group.

They’re getting “help”,  nonetheless.  Apparently, an infinite amount:

When asked what it would take for the protesters to leave, Bundy did not offer specifics. He said he and those with him are prepared to stay put for days or weeks.

[…]

“We are using the wildlife refuge as a place for individuals across the United States to come and assist in helping the people of Harney County claim back their lands and resources,” he said.

Oh, I see. “Their” lands, and resources.  I know this may be American History 101, and you’ve heard this a million times before, but if I am not mistaken, the only “people” who can truly claim original “dibs” on the United States of America’s lands and resources are these guys:

https://mediacenter.smugmug.com/010-HISTORICPHOTOS/National/2013-12-20-Wounded-Knee/i-GW6pb8C/0/XL/wounded-knee-041-XL.jpg

The above photo was taken in 1973. That’s the assistant Attorney General of the U.S. at the time, being escorted by members of the American Indian Movement into Wounded Knee,  South Dakota, during the the organization’s  armed occupation of the village.

The two and a half month-long standoff was ostensibly triggered by frustration over the failure of the Oglala Sioux Civil Rights Organization to impeach a tribal president, who had been accused by tribal members of corruption and abuse of opponents. However it soon doubled as a platform for the activists to air ongoing grievances regarding the United States government’s failure(s) to honor treaties. By the time it all ended, 2 people had been killed, 15 were wounded.

Obviously,  armed insurrection has not proven to be the most sensible method for airing grievances here in the USA, at least since we became a democracy following the Revolution (and I think we can all agree that, generally speaking, the Civil War was a very bad idea).

That said…on a sliding scale of “injustices” (I’m just using the 1973 Wounded Knee incident comparatively here, not excusing  or condoning the AIM activists’ ill-advised decision to carry guns), and from a purely academic standpoint, those Native American folks at least had some historically documented reasons to  get all “up in arms” about it.

But these guys?

https://wehco.media.clients.ellingtoncms.com/img/photos/2016/01/16/92261193_92257012-f5372a49aa5c48619095b555d81867e7_t800.jpg?90232451fbcadccc64a17de7521d859a8f88077d

Not so much.

I just hope this situation ends peacefully. Erm…Happy New Year?

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UPDATE: Via Digby retweet…