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Wednesday, August 26, 2015

The Daily Drift

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Two people were in the news last week who represent the opposite extremes of public life in America

One is a profoundly decent man, deeply modest, humble and soft-spoken, who for years has worked quietly to improve human kind and achieve a more humane world, helping the poor, and shunning publicity. 
The other -- well, let's just say he doesn't share these same traits. 

You Called Me A ‘Liberal Prop’ 2 Years Ago – Let’s Review Your Shameful Failure To Lead Since Then

by Madison Kimrey
Maddie-Kicks-it
Hello, Governor McCrory! It’s the two year anniversary of you calling me a liberal prop, so I thought I’d drop you a line. I’ve been really busy over the last two years. It’s amazing just how many citizens and leaders in our state and federal government don’t think my desire to talk about getting young people involved in the democratic process and preparing them to vote when they turn 18 is ridiculous.
While I’ve been talking to people all over the country about the importance of responsible citizenship and encouraging the involvement of next generation of leaders, you have done nothing to promote the core values of our democracy to the youth of our state, seek our input, or demonstrate that you are listening to our concerns.
I had the honor of attending the President’s remarks to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act earlier this month. Here are some parts of what the President said:
“There are all kinds of battles we have to fight.  But we miss the forest for the trees if we don’t also recognize that huge chunks of us, citizens, just give away our power.  We’d rather complain than do something about it.  We won’t vote, and then we’ll talk about the terrible political process that isn’t doing anything.”

“…how do we mobilize, how do we galvanize, how do we get people focused not only on laws but also on our habits — our habits of citizenship?  How do we instill in people a sense of why this is so critically important?”

“The bottom line is everybody here has a part to play.  Members of Congress need to do the right thing.  State legislators and governors, they need to do the right thing.  Businesses — make it easier for your employees to vote.  Do the right thing.  Universities, other civic institutions — help register people to vote; provide civic education.  Do the right thing.”
Governor McCrory, you have not done the right thing. Two years ago, when you called a then 12 year old girl’s request to meet with you ridiculous and called her a liberal prop, when you failed to even read the part of the bill that eliminated the pre-registration program that registered over 160,000 teenagers in our state along with the education programs that went along with it before you signed the bill, and when you later called opportunities for our students to be educated and prepared to vote a bureaucratic burden, you did not do the right thing. By your continued failure to put in place a reasonable alternative to the eliminated programs that have been proven to increase voter turnout among our young people, you have not done the right thing.
But it’s not too late. It is not too late to demonstrate the qualities of leadership our youth need to see modeled by the person occupying the highest office in our state. Last year, to commemorate our very special anniversary, I presented the idea of you making a video to be shown to high school students across the state to encourage them to become lifelong voters. President Obama recently honored one of our state’s citizens, Miss Rosanell Eaton, in a letter to the editor published in the NY Times. Miss Rosanell has been a personal inspiration to me. Every time I see her, she encourages me, and even though there is an 80 year age difference between us, we share a passionate desire to improve our state and our country and an affinity for awesome hats. What can you do to honor this great citizen of our state, Governor, and learn from her example? What can you do to bridge the gap between generations and show our young people they can join with people of all ages, races, backgrounds, beliefs, and political leanings to make our state great?
When I traveled to Washington State earlier this year to speak in commemoration of Martin Luther King Jr, I said:
“In our steadfast and faithful watch over the American dream, we are each other’s keepers. And when we sense indifference in any of our fellow watchmen, it is our duty to shake them awake and remind them that what they guard is precious and has been granted only through the sacrifices made and the blood shed by those who came before them… The task before us is to engage our neighbors in democracy. And that doesn’t mean only those neighbors who we know are going to vote the same way we will. No, we must fight against the polarization and divisiveness of our current political landscape and reclaim OUR role as the government of the UNITED States of America. Because the short space across the aisle is not the Grand Canyon and when we focus less on commentary and more on the common good, we will find solutions to the problems we face and find that the path to progress and prosperity is not as treacherous as we once thought when we walk it together.”
Wake up, Governor McCrory. In the 2014 election, more than 75% of voters under 30 across the country and more than 80% of voters under 30 in our state failed to participate in the voting process.
In 2013, you said, “I had a 12 year old girl outside my gate at 10:30 at night, saying that she was hungry.” My response was that, “The young people of this state and this nation will stand at every gate and we will make our voices heard at every hour. Make no mistake what it is we are hungry for.” The young people of our state are still hungry for the kind of leadership we deserve, Governor.
My baking skills have improved a great deal over the last two years. My offer is still open if you’d like to sit down over a piece of cake and discuss how we can work together to educate and encourage the youth of North Carolina to secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.
Forward Together,
Madison Kimrey

5 Examples Showing the Differences Between Liberals and Wingnuts on “Religious Freedom”

by Allen Clifton
I’ll give wingnuts this much – when they latch onto a piece of propaganda, they sure as heck dedicate themselves to it. For years they’ve been trying to violate our First Amendment by interjecting religion into our laws. And on some levels they’ve been successful. But generally they’ve been defeated because our First Amendment is pretty clear that laws cannot be based on religion.
Though the newest “trick” Republicans have tried to employ is the argument they call “religious freedom.” Essentially it’s their way to try to discriminate against people, or deny others their rights, based on the argument that not allowing them to discriminate against certain individuals based on their religious beliefs is somehow a violation of their “religious freedom.”
Though I find it amazing how these people have deluded themselves that attempting to restrict the freedoms of others is somehow “defending liberty and freedom.”
So I thought I’d give 5 examples showing the differences between how liberals and wingnuts view “religious freedom.”
1. Abortion
Liberals: Tend to support the right for a woman to decide for herself whether or not she will have an abortion. Even many christian liberals are pro-choice. Though I’ve rarely met anyone who’s “pro-abortion.” There’s a difference between supporting someone’s right to have control over their own body and liking the decision they make. I’m pro-choice yet anti-abortion. Being pro-choice means that every single American woman has the right to decide for herself what she should do with her own body. If you want to have an abortion, go for it. If you don’t, then you don’t have to. But the point is, liberals support the right for every woman to have the freedom to choose for themselves. If a woman objected to abortions based on her religion she wouldn’t have to have one. But that would be her choice, someone else wouldn’t be making that choice for her.
Wingnuts: Under their system of delusions, abortion would be completely banned. No woman would have the right to have control over her own body. The moment she became pregnant she would lose almost all control she has over what happens to her body over the following 9 months. Under their delusional system, every single American woman would be forced to adhere to the religious delusions of a certain percentage of the population whether they shared those views or not. A woman who didn’t believe in any kind of dog whatsoever would be forced to abide by laws restricting the control she has over her body based on a dog in which she didn’t believe. Where under the liberal pro-choice banner every woman has the right to choose for herself, if wingnuts had their way every woman in the United States would lose the freedom to choose for themselves.
2. Same-sex Marriage
Liberals: Most liberals support same-sex marriage. Under liberal beliefs every American (gay or straight) would have the freedom to marry whomever they love, as long as it was another consenting adult. Americans would have the freedom to choose for themselves who to marry. It’s pretty simple: If you don’t support gay marriage, that’s great, nobody is forcing you to marry someone of the same-sex. But at the end of the day, nobody’s right to marry another consenting adult is restricted – and no church’s right to perform those marriages is restricted either.
Wingnuts: Most wingnuts believe same-sex marriage is against what their false bible does not define marriage as. If wingnuts had their way, millions of gay Americans would lose their right to marry whomever they love based on the religious delusions of other people. Under this situation (as we still see in many states right now) rights of Americans are restricted based on the views of others. So even if a 'christian' cult wants to marry a gay couple, if the state still doesn’t allow gay marriage, that cult’s “religious freedom” is restricted because a few other cults don’t believe that they should have that right. Under wingnut delusions on marriage, millions of gay Americans would be denied their rights to marry the person they loved.
3. Birth Control
Liberals: This kind of ties in with the abortion issue. See, most liberals (as I said earlier) aren’t pro-abortion. And the best way to lower abortion rates is to increase the accessibility and availability of birth control. Even if some liberals might oppose some methods of birth control, they don’t mandate that other people must be restricted from using them. Again, liberals support the right for Americans to choose for themselves. And being that for many women birth control is an actual health issue, not just a way to help prevent unplanned pregnancies, it’s vital that health care plans offer access to these contraceptives. For liberals it’s about people having the choice to choose for themselves. If people want to use them, great, they have the freedom to do so. If some people object to contraceptives, that’s fine too, they don’t have to use them.
Wingnuts: Many wingnuts oppose birth control. They believe it’s against their delusion. If it were up to many of them they’d do as much as they could to limit and restrict access to all forms of contraceptives. Even in the Hobby Lobby case, one business owner argued that their business should have the right to deny thousands of women the choice of birth control methods based on their religious delusions. By winning that case, one person’s religious delusions are now being forced on thousands of women who might not share them.
4. Prayer in School
Liberals: This one is pretty simple – keep religion out of public school. If some students want to personally pray while they’re in class, they’re more than free to do so silently to themselves. I know I did. But guess what, nobody ever knew. Because I kept it to myself. Religion has no place in a place of public education. No one is saying people can’t pray to themselves in class, we’re just saying public schools shouldn’t promote or organize religious prayers or events. That way nobody is forced to observe the religious practices of religions in which they do not believe.
Wingnuts: Many wingnuts believe that public school should include religion. Heck, many believe that creationism should be taught alongside evolution. They also often support organized prayer in school ('christian' of course). If wingnuts had their way millions of American students in public school would be forced to observe religious rituals that they do not follow. The right to freedom from religion for those students (and parents) who don’t want themselves or their children subjected to delusions that they don’t follow or believe in would be violated.
5. Freedom of Religion in General
Liberals: For liberals, it’s pretty simple. If you want to believe in a particular religion, you’re free to do so – privately. People can go to church 7 days a week if they want to and read the Bible every single day. People can believe in whatever religion they want. If people chose to not believe in any kind of religion at all, that’s perfectly alright too. The issue is that every American is free to live their personal lives as religiously, or as detached from religion, as they want. If someone believes that all homosexuals are going against dog, that’s their right to personally feel that way. Just don’t try to tell others they have to share that particular view. In the liberal world, every American gets to choose for themselves. In the liberal world every single religion is viewed equally and not one single American would be forced to follow laws based on a religion in which they do not believe.
Wingnuts: Many believe that this country was founded, and should be based on, christianity. They want laws to be written from scripture. To them our First Amendment only applies to 'christian' Americans and not Americans who follow other religions or don’t follow any religion at all. Many wingnuts believe that denying them their right to impose their delusion on others violates their rights – yet they don’t seem to believe that others who don’t share their same deluded views should be given any kind of religious rights. Under their ideology, one religion would rule over 330 million people.
Notice the difference? When it comes to “religious freedoms” and wingnuts, it’s all about them forcing their views on others. When it comes to liberals, it’s all about keeping religion private and out of government so that not one single American is forced to adhere to laws based on a delusion they don’t follow.
So, while wingnuts go on and on about “religious freedom” what they really mean is their “right” to have one religion ruling over 330 million Americans. When it comes to liberals, it’s about actual freedom. It’s about letting every American decided for themselves what religion (if any) that they’ll follow.
Because true “religious freedom” is about letting every individual decide for themselves whether or not they’ll follow a particular religion. It’s not about telling millions of Americans that they must adhere to the rules set by a certain delusion whether they believe in it or not.

IRS Getting Pressured To Crack Down On Televangelists Following John Oliver’s Segment

The IRS is getting pressured to begin cracking down on televangelists following a John Oliver segment on HBO’s “Last Week Tonight.”
Oliver blasted televangelists this past Sunday for what he called “seed faith,” where they tell donors they will reap the rewards by giving money to them.
“They preach something called the prosperity gospel which argues that wealth is a sign of dog’s favor and donations will result in wealth coming back to you. That idea sometimes takes the form of seed faith – the notion that donations are seeds that you will one day get to harvest,” Oliver said in the segment.
He continued, “The argument is ‘sow your money into the ground, you will reap returns multiple times over,’ except as an investment you’d be better off burying your money in the actual ground because at least that way there’s a chance your dog may dig it up and give it back to you one day.”
People have donated millions to televangelists through the “prosperity gospel,” believing by giving money, dog will help them.
“They keep trying to send more money, more money, more money so they can get healed,” Trinity Foundation president Ole Anthony, whose group investigates religious fraud, told CBS News.
Anthony explained to CBS News that televangelists are able to receive millions because the IRS has turned a “blind eye” to their tax-exempt cults.
“A few years ago, the IRS named Scientology a cult. Since that happened, anybody can call themselves a cult,” Anthony said.
CBS News reports the IRS only conducted three cult audits from 2013 to 2014 after suspending them completely from 2009 to 2013.
“You are always going to find abuses and excesses in the non-profit community, and even in the church world,” Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Erik Stanley told CBS News.
He added, “There is no surer way to destroy that free exercise of religion than to begin to tax it.”
Oliver set up his own cult called “Our Lady of Perpetual Exemption” to prove his point.
“Our Lady of Perpetual Exemption will not be able to accept donations from Cult supporters from the states of Mississippi, Nevada, Pennsylvania, or South Carolina. We apologize for any inconvenience. Our Lady of Perpetual Exemption may choose to wind down and dissolve in the near future,” the website states. “Upon dissolution, any assets belonging to the Cult at that time will be distributed to Doctors Without Borders, a non-profit charitable organization that is tax-exempt under § 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (EIN: 13-3433452) and which provides emergency medical  aid in places where it is needed most.”

Wingnut Website Owned By Republican Cabal Debate Sponsor Directs Threats Against Women, Minorities

Michelle Malkin, Twitchy Founder
Women, minorities singled out for abuse by this site.
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BLM Activist Accused Of ‘Being White’ Stands Up To His Critics

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Racists Flip Out Over Town’s Plan To Rename Road ‘President Barack Obama Highway’

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A proposal to rename a section of highway in a Florida town after President Obama is not going over too well with some.

Congressman Enraged At Private Email Double Standards

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Perkins Says President Obama Treats ISIL Better Than 'Christians'

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Santorum: Let’s Spend MORE Money Making MORE Immigrant Children Wards Of The State

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Kentucky Republican cabal votes to let Paul run for his Senate seat in 2016 in case that Pretender thing doesn’t work out

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Iowa Republican cabal chairwhimp: dog raised Cruz specifically to be our next pretender

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Walker: "Handful Of Reasonable, Moderate Followers Of Islam"

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Trump Actually Kept A Book Of Adolf Hitler’s Speeches By His Bedside

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Trump Vows To ‘Assault’ The ‘War On Xmas’ And 'Christianity'

Donald Trump Vows To ‘Assault’ The ‘War On Christmas’ And Christianity (AUDIO)
Fox News just got its poster child.
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Carlson Calls ABC Reporter 'Sensitivity Enforcer' For Asking Trump About 'Anchor Babies'


Buchanan Defends Trump: 'Political Correctness Is Killing This Country'

Trump Declares War On Oreo Cookies: ‘I’ll Never Eat Them Again!’

Donald Trump Declares War On Oreo Cookies: ‘I’ll Never Eat Them Again!’ (VIDEO)
Perhaps Trump should be in a mental hospital rather than a pretender primary?
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