Deeply Held Beliefs Update

For the life of me I don't know how someone could say something like this--using the words she used--then later reverse it.  Only a true politician could reverse a 'sacred bond'.



There will no doubt be an elaborate explanation for this reversal coming soon, including hints that the reversal itself was due to the hatred of the vast right wing conspiracy.  The question is whether she will get away with it.

Press on Cathy Passing

Lots of stories this morning about the passing of Truett Cathy, the founder of Chick-fil-A. Here's a snippet from the AP's eulogy:

Those religious views helped win Cathy and his family loyal following from conservative customers, but also invited protests when Cathy’s son denounced gay marriage. Cathy’s son, Dan, who is currently chairman and president of the chain, had told the Baptist Press in 2012 that the company was “guilty as charged” for backing “the biblical definition of a family.”

The WaPo described this comment in both headline and story as 'controversial'.  CNN also used 'controversial' and featured a picture of Cathy with the evil George W. Bushitler.  True, it was controversial in the gay community, but in late 2011 the President said:

“I’m still working on it,” Obama said when asked by ABC’s George Stephanopoulos whether he would move from supporting civil unions for same-sex couples to supporting gay marriage.

The president's rationale for opposing gay marriage was religiously based. But apparently opposition to Biblical traditional marriage became 'controversial' in 2012 as soon as Obama changed his mind. 

So a poor kid in America gets an idea for a chicken sandwich, develops a very successful business employing thousands of people and making billions while at the same time staying true to his faith by closing the restaurant on Sundays.  A great success story in America.

But after passing it on to his son, the son replies to a question about homosexual marriage by essentially agreeing with the former positions of Obama and Hillary on the matter and the mainstream media describes this as 'controversy' and makes it a prominent feature of their eulogy on the founder.  And the politicians who never had any real views on the issue or took any principled stands are heralded as brave.  Such is the state of America in 2014.

Back from the 90s

The 90s were an interesting time.  Great economy, peace in our time.  Except for AQ and the menace overseas..


Now MSNBC is running a 10 year anniversary Bush lied special.  So if Bush lied wasn't Bill Clinton lying back then?   Does Bush lying prove that Bubba was really wagging the dog after all to avert attention away from Monicagate?   He had most of the same intel, after all.  When will MSNBC ask Bill Clinton these important questions?  

Meanwhile the same impeached president once felt strong enough about gay marriage to sign the Defense of Marriage Act.  Now he has evolved.  The same guy said 'the era of big government is over'.  The era of big government is back--what does he think about it?    

And Hillary. Once opposed to gay matrimony, now all warm and fuzzy smiley pants suity over it.  Once an Iraq hawk and now... well, wait, she's never really come down off that position, despite it costing her the election, which is weird.   Either she truly believed or she's covering her husband's legacy.  Maybe she'll have to climb off that mountain before 2016.    

Speaking of Obama, he was smart on Iraq.  He didn't call Bush a liar, he just said it was a 'dumb war'.  Triangulation, a Clinton trait!  He knew there were too many of his fellow compatriots who called Saddam a menace or voted for the war that calling Bush a liar might leave them in the same box, which would be counter-productive.  It worked. 

In other words, any way the wind blows. But too few in the country care enough to remember. 

Various and Monday

A few things....

Hillary, and Obama and Stevie, sitting in a tree.  Coronations aren't a news function.  CBS should be ashamed of itself.  When liberal pundits use analogies like this it's time to reshuffle the news department.   Well, if they care about real news reporting.  

As it is, Madam Hillary is now the best SoS since Jefferson or something.  Yep, she rescued the country's rep, evidently cleaning up after the two black people who preceded her.


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The Boy Scouts to consider allowing gay scoutmasters and kids?   Well first, if a boy scout is engaging in sex he's already breaking the Scout Oath.  Second, gay men should not be in charge of Scout Troops.  Yes, that sounds intolerant; there are some decent people who happen to be gay and only a few are pedophiles (probably in line with the overall population).  And yes, God is in charge of judging, me as well.  But I'm just not going to be tolerant on every issue.  The Boy Scouts should simply disband if it comes to violating their own principles.    

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Comprehensive immigration reform?   Still politics.  Still an attempt to isolate the bitter clingers, clinging to their guns, religion and xenophobia, etc.   My opinion hasn't changed one atom since the 2006 attempt at doing this.  A smart society does not reward illegal behavior.  If there are fines and green cards, it may be do-able, assuming the borders can be controlled.

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From the NRO:  Office Established by Obama with the Intent to Close Gitmo, closes.   Hey, that could have been a question from Stevie Kroft as well. 


  

Will They Ban...

...churches, too? 

Proco “Joe” Moreno announced this week that he will block Chick-fil-A’s effort to build its second Chicago store … following company President Dan Cathy’s remarks last week that he was “guilty as charged” for supporting the biblical definition of marriage as between a man and woman….

The alderman has the ideological support of Mayor Rahm Emanuel. “Chick-fil-A values are not Chicago values,” the mayor said in a statement when asked about Moreno’s decision. “They disrespect our fellow neighbors and residents. This would be a bad investment, since it would be empty.”

So if Chick-Fil-A's "values"--which boil down to it's founder's support of traditional marriage--are not 'Chicago values' then how are Christian, Muslim and Jewish churches supporting Chicago values by supporting the same exact thing?   Will the Alderman and Mayor now push to block new churches in Chicago?  Don't they value diversity?  

WE'RE TALKIN' VALUES!  7/26/12

Chicago values.  Like Louis Farrakhan..   Does the Nation of Islam support gay marriage? 

Back to Zero

This is the best article I've seen lately on the political games being played by Obama over gay marriage. An excerpt:

Newsweek editor Tina Brown—she of the “First Gay President” cover—described Obama’s reaction thusly, “He stumbled into it because of Joe Biden. The hero of the hour is Joe Biden, right?" Obama had a different take.

Asked about his inspiration, he cited not Joe Biden, but the Living Word. “When we think about our faith,” said Obama speaking for himself and Michelle, “the thing at root that we think about is, not only Christ sacrificing himself on our behalf, but it’s also the Golden Rule, you know, treat others the way you would want to be treated.”

For the record, Jesus summed up the Golden Rule thusly, “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you.” Given this understanding, Jesus implored his disciples to treat the marginalized, like, say, Mary Magdalene, with respect. He did not demand that they legalize prostitution. He certainly did not call them “bigots” if they hesitated.

He also mentions them using the "old school socialist exploitation of Christianity", which is really the girding underbelly of Obama's true ideology.  Oh, and not to keep harping on Biden, but he came out of the closet in late 2010, right after the mid-term shellacking.  So Obama didn't 'stumble on' anything due to Joe. 

Obama Finally Takes a Position..

..and comes around to Dick Cheney's stance on gay marriage.   So which was gutsier, Cheney bucking most of the GOP conservative establishment or Obama deciding to stop pandering to blacks and moderates? 

No matter, it was a a gutsy call following Biden like that.  After all, gay troops are out there fighting for him!  Forward!!

BIG FNG DEAL  5/8/12

Everybody seems to be focused on Biden's big mouth leading to Obama finding his landing pad on the issue.  Maybe--we are talking about Joe.   But what's to say the entire thing wasn't scripted?  After all, Biden came out Sunday on an NBC program, mentioning an NBC sit-com as being transformative, which leads to Obama's revelation.   Why didn't Biden's comments in 2010 trigger an Obama revelation?   And c'mon, we already know the O favored gay marriage when he was loosely backed by the Democratic Socialists in 1996, so as Jon Stewart says, what did he evolve to?   Sounds like another orchestrated stunt designed to talk about something other than the economy and make Romney look like a neanderthal.

The NY Gay Marriage Decision

Pat Robertson is making news again, saying the NY gay marriage decision will be the end of America. This same man also thought 9/11 was punishment from God for our collective sin (whereas Reverend Wright blamed it on our overseas policies and white men).

But this seems a little extreme. Homosexuality is one of many sins God mentions in the Bible, so it can't by itself be the end of us. It could be a beginning to an end, but it will be hard to top the destruction already caused by a breakdown of hetero marriage, among other national vices.

At any rate get ready for the predictable comparisons between Robertson and nuts like the Westboro Baptists, but one thing you will NOT see is a comparison between him and people like Imam Rauf. Or any Muslim, for that matter. And nobody will be saying 'we are creating more terrorists' by allowing this new freedom as they did when we locked up religious killers at Gitmo.

Wonder if there are any gay rights activists planning to ride along on the "Audacity of Hope" as it floats to Gaza in support of Hamas? Judging from the penalties enacted in that part of the world for such behavior it's unlikely, but then again it's hard to figure out the left sometimes.

In truth, if there's any significant downfall from a sweeping legalization of gay marriage it will probably be in the realm of a new intolerance of those opposing such things, where opposers are publicly ostracized and perhaps eventually prosecuted for hate speech. Well, except for Muslims.

More Police "Acting Stupidly"?

That's what the DC Park Police are saying about the strange event yesterday when Lafayette Park (in front of the White House) was closed as gay service members stood handcuffed to the fence out front. Politico reported, then reported the explanation:

"We had some young officers who, when they were told to move the people back -- which we typically do when we're going to make arrests - they moved the people back a lot further than we typically do," said Schlosser. "That was a rookie, amateur error and they screwed up on that."

Many possibilities--1) they are telling the truth, 2) the White House didn't want the specter of service members being arrested in front of the White House to make the evening news (assuming it would), 3) the Park Police or Secret Service didn't want that image, totally independent of the WH (as with the Sahali party crashers, evidently), 4) nothing happened at all--it was actually created by a CIA hologram.

Assuming it's not 4 or 1, that leaves 2 and 3 as most plausible and the answer to that question is probably in the realm of don't ask, don't tell. Interesting though--at least some in the media are appalled for the first time and many in the gay community are not buying it for a minute. But wait, could this really just be a clever stunt designed to get the right onboard with gays in their quest to abolish DADT due to their mutual outrage, in other words, an enemy of my enemy is my friend thing? Yeah, plain old incompetence or politics makes more sense but with these cats it's never clear.

Obama and Miss California

You might have seen this video yesterday on Hot Air showing Miss California (who looks as good without the beauty pageant getup) sparring with CNN's Roland Martin. My interest is in the very last few seconds when they switch back to the anchor desk..



Said the woman on the end, "I think like Barack Obama, Miss California sounds like an open-minded person who's willing to hear both sides; an independent thinker; and perhaps her mind would change over time". Well, doesn't that also apply to the president as well? Or does the left simply think his wink, nod on the issue is a cleverly disingenuous done deal?

The Iowa Gay Marriage Ruling

I usually don't bother with the gay debates, partially because other adults' bedroom activity doesn't interest me and partially because taking a position on the issue can sometimes lead to name calling nastiness.

But gay marriage is a little more serious. To me it seems intuitive that gays--or first cousins--or aunts and uncles, or polygamists, or adults and children, should not have the right to marry. It's also intuitive that awarding gays the rights of full marriage will cause a tilting of the slope until it becomes slippery, even if there aren't many skaters on it. Marriage is in enough trouble as it is.

To me the institution provides the basic framework for a productive society despite the ills (perhaps we've made divorce too easy). It's also intuitive that all other things being equal, children will do better with a mother and father. This isn't rocket science.

The other side might ask whether my neighbor's gay marriage affects mine? The answer is no, but does theirs, and thousands of others, affect society at large over the long term? I don't think we know that yet. Sometimes the good of society has to outweigh the rights of individuals, which is why most states prohibit cousins from marrying now.

So that's my piece on the matter. And with that I disagree with Tom Maguire's rather nasty call-out of Rod Dreher as to the Iowa decision, bashing him for something he didn't even say. Personally I think it WILL get harder for Christians--and MUSLIMS alike--and atheists who believe in the laws of nature--to freely express their dissent on this issue if gays gain the acceptance they want by a grant of full marriage instead of civil unions.