Category: Uncategorized

 
From libertarian Michael A. LaFerrara:

People should not be mocked or treated disrespectfully for peacefully practicing their private religious beliefs, even though even offensive comments are expressions of free speech. And certainly no peaceful person should be subject to physical threats or intimidation, which should be subject to criminal prosecution. Freedom of conscience, religious or secular, is an unalienable right.

But I don’t think religious intolerance equates to racism. Race is not a matter of choice. Religion is. A person’s ideas, including religious ideas, are chosen and thus legitimately open to scrutiny and criticism. Granted, mocking a person for their attire is childish and ignorant, and the 101.5 hosts should be brushed off as such.

But mocking a person for their religious beliefs is not the same as racism. I get mocked regularly for my rejection of climate catastrophism and my belief that fossil fuels are a net benefit to man’s life: I get called a “denier”–an equation to Holocaust denial. But that is not the same as when, as a child, I witnessed my father being called a “Mafia gangster” simply because of his Italian descent. You can rationally defend your chosen beliefs from attack. How does one defend against attacks based on attributes for which one has no choice about?

Being called “turban man” is no different in principle to being called “climate” or “science denier.” Such smearing should be called out. But they do not sink to the level or evil of racism. They are not racist.

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From The Life and Times of Bruce Gerencser:

If there is a Christian apologetics argument that irritates the heaven out of me, it is the God of the gaps argument. Can’t explain something? God. Have something happen in your life for which there seems to be no rational explanation? God. Any place you have unanswered questions, you will find Evangelicals suggesting “God did it.”

Earlier this year, two Patrick Henry High School students, ages fourteen and seventeen, were killed in a tragic automobile accident. The Defiance Crescent-News reported at the time:

Two Henry County brothers were killed Wednesday morning when their vehicle became submerged in a Wood County creek just west of here.

Killed were Xavier Wensink, 17, and his passenger, Aidan Wensink, 14, both of Deshler. They were students at Patrick Henry Local Schools.

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From Wisconsin conservative James Wigderson:

Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Evers, the Democratic candidate for governor, may need someone to check his agency’s homework. The Republican Party of Wisconsin found more instances of plagiarism (pdf) by the Department of Public Instruction in budgets submitted to the state in previous years.

“Tony Evers repeatedly plagiarized the education budgets he authored over the course of six years — failing to meet a level of accountability a teacher would require from any 3rd grader,” said Alec Zimmerman, spokesman for the Republican Party of Wisconsin. “When you’re cheating on your schoolwork in Tony’s position, it’s called failed leadership.”

Evers’ 2013-15 biennial budget request contains sections taken almost verbatim from a policy analysis from a national think tank.

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From driftglass:

This is the “Bad” Post-Trump Republican Party (from Vox, today)

The Trump administration reportedly wants the government to revoke civil rights protections from transgender people

They want to define gender at birth — and force DNA tests to prove otherwise.

And this is the “Good” Pre-Trump Republican Party (from The New York Times, 14 years ago):

‘Moral Values’ Carried Bush, Rove Says

WASHINGTON, Nov. 9 – President Bush’s chief political adviser, Karl Rove, said Tuesday that opposition to gay marriage was one of the most powerful forces in American politics today and that politicians ignored it at their peril.

“This is an issue on which there is a broad consensus,” Mr. Rove said, discussing a presidential election that took place as voters in 11 states backed constitutional amendments barring same-sex marriages.

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From Vixen Strangely at Strangely Blogged:

The Saudi government is now willing to admit that Jamal Khashoggi has died, although they are currently saying he died in the event of a fistfight that broke out with himself and about a dozen or fifteen people upon entering the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul. In the way, you know, that nearly 60-year old men simply acquiring paperwork for their upcoming nuptials will engage in a fistfight with a dozen or so men, especially when they are academically-minded and generally practice “using their words” to accomplish things.

This is a story too late in the telling and too peculiar in the offering to be taken at face value.

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From Frances Langum:

All too often, the mainstream cable news networks treat Fox News with kid gloves. “There are some very fine people who work there” “our colleagues at Fox News” baloney.

So it’s refreshing to see Morning Joe actually use a CLIP from “Outnumbered” and call out Harris Faulkner’s words while at the same time showing her saying them. Because what she did was atrocious — saying she was just “putting it out there” that “some people say” (a Fox favorite for pushing right-wing conspiracies) that murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi was possibly affiliated with (insert bad Arab boogie man terrorist organization here).

Mika called out by name the Faulkner line, “just putting it out there” as a complete lie and terribly irresponsible.

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From Kei Kawashima-Ginsberg of Tufts University at The Moderate Voice:

Unlike the much-studied millennials, we don’t know much about Generation Z, who now make up most of the 18- to 24-year-old voting bloc.

These young people started first grade after 9/11, were born with the internet, grew up with smartphones and social media and practiced active-shooter drills in their classrooms.

In 2018, they have taken an active role in political activism on issues like gun control, Black Lives Matter and #MeToo. For example, Parkland high school students started the movement against gun violence and named voting as a way to support the movement.

Yet, many people are skeptical about Generation Z’s commitment to voting. For instance, The Economist explained, in a piece titled “Why Young People Don’t Vote,” that “young people today do not feel they have much of a stake in society.”

Will Generation Z affect the midterm elections?

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• PZ Myers is awed as religionist Pat Robertson goes on air to urge us not to get too upset with Saudi Arabia. The alliance and jobs and money are most important. We shouldn’t be distracted by little details like the ghastly murder and grim dismemberment of a US employed journalist. You can see his point. Like PZ Myers asks: What would Jesus do? Go with the money, I suppose.
   
• President Trump works with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on a cover story around the killing of Jamal Khashoggi. Andy Borowitz reports on a growing international crisis as Vladimir Putin becomes increasingly incensed at the Saudis for using his puppet without permission. Not all satire makes us laugh.
   
• Our favorite Earth-Bound Misfit does a little research and remembers that our President’s concern with a presumption of innocent non-suspicion only applies to him and his friends.
   
• At The Moderate Voice Dr. Arif Ahmad suggests that Donald Trump missed a strategic political bet, way back when, by not following the path paved years ago by the leader of Pakistan. Has to do with accepting responsibility and moving on.
   
• M. Bouffant at Web of Evil watches as Fox News warns about the danger to new Supreme Court Justice Kavanaugh of supernatural curses by witches.
   
• North Carolina pastor John Pavlovitz objects when he is described only as anti-Trump. He points out that his opposition to my President is one result of all he is for.
   
• driftglass turns on the TV to watch a political debate and witnesses an accidental punchline.
   
• Iron Knee at Political Irony speculates, with reason, how Republicans would respond to a killer asteroid.
   
• Jack Jodell at The Saturday Afternoon Post reviews the sad direction of the country and assigns responsibility to deluded, gullible, low-information block of voters. Don’t mince words, Jack.
   
• Libertarian Michael A. LaFerrara at Principled Perspectives argues that any attempt to limit dark-money campaign financing is a vicious attack on free speech.
   
• Wisconsin conservative James Wigderson explains that, since irresponsible groups chant against individual conservatives in public, all non-conservative activists share a moral equivalence to actual mob violence. The headline is “The Democrats Want Mob Rule.” Could be an aberration. James often seems to know better.
   
• Meanwhile Vixen Strangely, at Strangely Blogged, considers a Republican club who wanted to hold a rally of sorts, and actually did invite notoriously violent thugs, who then went out and attacked pedestrians. I may have missed any mention of this incident by James Wigderson. In case we focus on just one instance, Vixen also points to a few more cases of right wing deadly violence. That would be deadly violence. For some reason, she does not proclaim that Republicans favor mob rule. An oversight, I suppose.
   
• Yellow Dog at Blue in the Bluegrass reports that Christine Blasey Ford is dodging deadly threats from conservatives. She may want to call James for advice.
   
• In The Life and Times of Bruce Gerencser, atheist Bruce counts the ways he does and does not miss his days as a preacher.
   
• The Journal of Improbable Research finds a study on what personality types get along best with a variety of cats.
   

 
From ABC News:

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has heard an alleged audio recording of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi’s murder inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, according to a senior Turkish official.

Speaking exclusively and on condition of anonymity to ABC News, the official claimed the recording was played in meetings in Turkey on Wednesday, and that Pompeo was given a transcript of the recordings.

Separately, ABC News has also learned that Turkish officials believe that Khashoggi was killed inside the Saudi consulate following a struggle that lasted eight minutes and that they believe he died of strangulation.

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