Signs saying “racist” are being posted on, but not covering, ads that are, well, racist. Anti-Islamic advertisements are now gracing New York City’s subway system after a federal judge ruled that the city’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) could not legally refuse to display the signs because they expressed “demeaning” language. The ads say ”In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man. Support Israel. Defeat Jihad” and are the creation of American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI), an organization considered a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center watch group. Pamela Geller, the executive director of AFDI is so Islamophobic, that the very “pro”-Israel Anti-Defamation League says she ”fuels and fosters anti-Muslim bigotry in society.” She campaigned to shut down an award-winning museum exhibit in Washington D.C., which highlighted Muslim contributions to science because it “has indoctrinated hundreds of thousands of children into a rosy and romanticized view of Islam that makes them less appreciative of their own culture’s achievements and more complacent about Islamization in the West.” Pamela Geller may oppose freedom when it comes to something that reflects real history and culture, but she’s all about her freedom to distort and demean, and said ”I will not abridge my freedoms so as not to offend savages.”
As we’ve blogged about in the past, three members of the Russian punk feminist band Pussy Riot have spent the last six months in prison singing a protest prayer against Russian leader Vladimir Putin inside an Orthodox cathedral.
On Friday, Yoko Ono, who has been vocal in her support of the three women, who were sentenced to two years in August, awarded Pussy Riot the LennonOno Grant for Peace, saying
I thank Pussy Riot for standing firmly in their belief of freedom of expression and making all women of the world proud to be women. And I am, too. Each injustice like this is very important. And there are many, many activists in this world now, and they are fighting for each one of them. And I’m fighting for many, many injustice—situation of injustice.
I’m really excited about being in the movement of the 99%, we’re the 99%, that’s inspiring, isn’t it? It’s also a lot because I want to be for the 99% but I don’t now if you realize this, that’s a lot of people– some of you are a step ahead of me– including a lot of assholes. And most of us, given the opportunity, would be able to stay “I’m for the 99% asterisk, except some people.” And we’d all have our own lists, you know what I mean? So, like for me I’d be for the 99% except for human resources, and the yoga people, and Jessica from high school because she broke my heart.
Conservatives love pointing to the Clash of Civilizations theory any time there is any clash. Historical, political, economic circumstances… shmistorical, political, economic circumstances. And many have already presented the attack and tragic killing of the US ambassador Christopher Stevens and three others to a cultural war between Libyans and Americans, or Muslims and non-Muslims, as if all Libyans, Muslims, people of the Middle East, were one American-hating monolith. […]
hild advocates, former prosecutors, mental health professionals, former jury members, and the victim’s widow are asking for clemency for a survivor of child sexual abuse who killed his abuser and is scheduled to be executed October 3. Terrance “Terry” Williams was raised by a physically violent mother and was first raped at the age of 6, before being raped repeatedly by his school teacher. As a teenager, he was sexually abused by two adult men, one of whom used his position as a church leader to prey on teenagers and boys. Three months after turning 18, Terry killed one of his abusers, the day after he had raped him.
But the jury had no idea about this abuse. Terry was too ashamed to bring it up. The prosecution, which knew about the abuse, didn’t share it with the defense lawyer, who was soincompetent he met with his client for the first time the day before the trial started. Terry’s co-defendant didn’t testify about the abuse because, as he now states in a sworn affidavit, the police and prosecution pressured him not to because they wanted to present the murder as a robbery. […]
When you hear the name Joe Walsh, you may think of the Eagles guitarist. But Joe Walsh is also the name of a tea-partying Republican lawmaker from Illinois. That Joe Walsh has released several of his own hits — really, really offensive hits.
Most recently, the congressman attacked law school grad and women’s reproductive rights advocate Sandra Fluke (although by the time you read this, he may have produced another hit). But what makes Walsh great is his range. He doesn’t limit himself to attacking any one group, but rather slams African Americans, veterans, the disabled, Muslims, and even his own constituents. The incumbent House member’s fluid bigotry crosses genres, genders, races, and ages. Here are some of Rep. Joe Walsh’s not-so-rocking greatest hits:
At a campaign event for his re-election, Walsh released his latest hit, Get a Job, Sandra Fluke. It begins with, “Think about this, a 31-32 year old law student who has been a student for life, who gets up there in front of a national audience and tells the American people, ‘I want America to pay for my contraceptives’…You’re kidding me. Go get a job. Go get a job Sandra Fluke.” Walsh’s vitriol comes as no surprise, since he defended Todd “legitimate rape” Akin: “I’m bothered by this rush to pile on…And I’m bothered by the silence of members of our own party to stand up for him.”
In April, at a town hall in Wheeling, Illinois, Walsh came out with Idiotic Obama Wouldn’t Be President if He Weren’t Black: “He’s our first African-American president. The country voted for him because of that… it helped that John McCain was about 142 years old…But he never would have gotten there without his historic nature.” Walsh also told Slate’s David Weigel, “Why was he elected? He was black.” Joe also told the “idiotic” president to “quit lying.”
It’s not easy to disrespect the disabled and the military in the same breath. And yet, Joe managed to rise to the challenge in his recent classic, Shut Up, You Disabled Veteran. In an interview with Politico, Walsh dismissed the fact that congressional contender Tammy Duckworth lost two legs in Iraq. Here’s that news outlet’s account of what he said:
“‘I have so much respect for what she did in the fact that she sacrificed her body for this country,’ said Walsh, simultaneously lowering his voice as he leaned forward before pausing for dramatic effect. ‘Ehhh. Now let’s move on. What else has she done? Female, wounded veteran…Ehhh.'”
More recently he suggested Duckworth wasn’t a true hero: “Now I’m running against a woman who, I mean, my God — that’s all she talks about. Our true heroes, the men and women who served us, that’s the last thing in the world they talk about.”
It also takes a special kind of artist to insult both Jews and Palestinians. But Joe Walsh accomplishes that with his release of Wake up Jews, Stop Complaining Palestinians. “Too many American Jews aren’t as pro-Israel as they should be and too many share this belief that the Palestinians are victims of Israeli occupation,” the Catholic Congressman said. “Nothing could be further from the truth.” Not only are the Palestinians not victims, they have it great, according to Walsh: “The Arabs living in that land right now under Israeli control have a better quality of life. They’re freer, more prosperous than in any other Arab country.”
In his hit, I’m a Deadbeat Dad, but I’m Gonna Tell You how to Raise Your Kids, Walsh claimed that studies show it is better for children to be raised by a mother and father than by a same-sex couple. This advice comes from a man who tried to fight paying his wife the more than $100,000 he owed her in child support.
Stay tuned for more releases from the bigoted songwriter as Election Day nears. As for the Eagles guitarist by the same name, he’s backing Rep. Walsh’s opponent, Tammy Duckworth.
Anyone following politics knows Republicans are launching a full out war on women. But you may not know how many anti-women votes the Republicans cast since January 2011. Well, areport released last week by Rep. Henry Waxman (D – Ca.) has the answer: 55! That’s right, Republicans voted to take away women’s rights or make their lives miserable 55 times. […]
A test that determines the grade level of writing found Michelle Obama broke a record by delivering a speech written at the 12th-grade level. Ann Romney broke a record too, with a 5th-grade levelspeech — the lowest in the history of convention speeches by wives of presidential nominees.
The grade level is based on sentence length and the number of polysyllabic words used. Longer sentences with longer words mean a higher grade level. For example, on women’s issues, Mrs. Obama said, “He believes that women are more than capable of making our own choices about our bodies and our health care…that’s what my husband stands for.”
Mrs. Romney addressed women by saying, “I love you women…You are the best of America. You are the hope of America. There would not be an America without you. Tonight, we salute you and sing your praises.”
To be fair, Ann Romney’s original draft was written at a much higher level than the speech she wound up delivering. I found a copy of her draft edited by Romney’s campaign managers. Here’s an excerpt.
“While there are many important issues we’ll hear discussed…tonight I want to talk to you from my heart about our hearts. I want you to turn off your brains, especially if you’re a woman, and really concentrate on your hearts. That’s what I try to do. That’s the only way I’m able stand up here tonight and encourage you to vote for my husband…
Remember when Mitt Romney said that “corporations are people”? In all fairness, Mitt may be a little less human than others, which could explain his confusion. Well, at last night’s convention, a very patient Elizabeth Warren broke down the difference between people and corporations for those who don’t quite get it.
katiehalper.com 