CPAC conference churning and so is my stomach
Right now as I speak, The Conservative Political Action Conference is underway.
This conference is where conservatives get together, plan, and generally complain about those "Godless liberals."
The following is basically the conference:
Blah blah blah, Jesus was a conservative, blah, blah, blah, liberals like to squeeze the Charmin and snatch tags off of matresses, blah, blah, blah, a gay man felt my ass while I was coming here.
Okay maybe I'm exaggerating a bit:
CPAC is expected to draw nearly 9,000 activists and college students from across the country, up from the record 7,000 who attended last year, when the main attractions were personal appearances by President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and the four remaining Republican presidential nomination hopefuls - former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, Rep. Ron Paul of Texas and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.
To get a good view of what these folks are going to talk about, I will present links from People for The American Way's Religious Right Watch.
Religious Right Watch deserves much kudos for having the high tolerance level to stand the nonsense going on at the CPAC conference (even though it has yet to add my blog to its list of links - hint, hint, hint).
Proceed at your own risk with barf bag in hand:
CPAC: Marriage Equality Will Create a Generation of Violent Criminals
CPAC: Obama's a Communist and a Foreigner, Bush was a "Pseduo-Socialist President"
CPAC: Carlson Attempts to Defend the New York Times, Gets Booed
CPAC: Bay Buchanan Calls DC Conservatives a Bunch of Sell-Outs
And from John Aravosis at Americablog:
Bush UN ambassador jokes about nuking Chicago since Obama is from there
Ah yes. Nothing like a good traditional family values gathering - that is if your family is the Sawney Beane clan or the Bloody Benders.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Concerned Women for America exploits scholarship program for the sake of fear and hyperbole
Some members of the religious right are especially unhappy with the Democratic party. They are claiming that a spending bill passed by the House will strip disadvantaged children of educational opportunities:
Disadvantaged children in the District of Columbia will be losing an educational lifeline if a new spending bill is passed on Capitol Hill. At the same time, abortionists and homosexual activists stand to gain from the Omnibus bill.
Dan Lips, a senior policy analyst with The Heritage Foundation, warns that the new Omnibus bill -- passed by the House on Wednesday essentially along party lines -- will terminate the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program.
The article continues to brag on the attributes of the scholarship program and tells of attempts to stop its possible elimination.
Now the next part of the article is confusing:
Joining the ranks of groups opposed to the Omnibus spending bill is the Washington, DC-based group Concerned Women for America. The pro-life/pro-family organization notes that the bill includes a $7-million raise for Planned Parenthood, the non-profit, federally-funded abortion organization that makes a sizeable annual profit. In addition, says CWFA president Wendy Wright, it pumps $50 million into the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), an agency she says is "intimately involved in the forced abortion, forced sterilization program in China."
The United Nations agency will receive the money regardless if it engages in coercive abortion activities. The pro-life activist cites several other objections to the legislation.
"This Omnibus bill would eliminate funding for school-choice programs that have helped to rescue children from dangerous and failing inner-city schools," says Wright. "[In addition] it has language that will reintroduce the Fairness Doctrine, and it has funding for controversial 'school bullying' programs which in the past have promoted homosexual programs to children."
So does that mean CWA wants to save the scholarship program or is the organization using its possible demise for another attack on so-called Godless liberals, "homosexual activists," and "abortionists?":
In short, says Wright, the Omnibus bill is loaded with spending for "liberals bent on destroying American values."
You tell me.
Some members of the religious right are especially unhappy with the Democratic party. They are claiming that a spending bill passed by the House will strip disadvantaged children of educational opportunities:
Disadvantaged children in the District of Columbia will be losing an educational lifeline if a new spending bill is passed on Capitol Hill. At the same time, abortionists and homosexual activists stand to gain from the Omnibus bill.
Dan Lips, a senior policy analyst with The Heritage Foundation, warns that the new Omnibus bill -- passed by the House on Wednesday essentially along party lines -- will terminate the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program.
The article continues to brag on the attributes of the scholarship program and tells of attempts to stop its possible elimination.
Now the next part of the article is confusing:
Joining the ranks of groups opposed to the Omnibus spending bill is the Washington, DC-based group Concerned Women for America. The pro-life/pro-family organization notes that the bill includes a $7-million raise for Planned Parenthood, the non-profit, federally-funded abortion organization that makes a sizeable annual profit. In addition, says CWFA president Wendy Wright, it pumps $50 million into the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), an agency she says is "intimately involved in the forced abortion, forced sterilization program in China."
The United Nations agency will receive the money regardless if it engages in coercive abortion activities. The pro-life activist cites several other objections to the legislation.
"This Omnibus bill would eliminate funding for school-choice programs that have helped to rescue children from dangerous and failing inner-city schools," says Wright. "[In addition] it has language that will reintroduce the Fairness Doctrine, and it has funding for controversial 'school bullying' programs which in the past have promoted homosexual programs to children."
So does that mean CWA wants to save the scholarship program or is the organization using its possible demise for another attack on so-called Godless liberals, "homosexual activists," and "abortionists?":
In short, says Wright, the Omnibus bill is loaded with spending for "liberals bent on destroying American values."
You tell me.
Janet Porter's pathetic attempt to connect hate crimes legislation and ENDA
From Pam's House Blend and Tips Q comes news that one of my favorite religious right spokespeople, Janet Folger-Porter, has gone on a tear about the Employee Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA):
The Employment Non-Discrimination Act, or “ENDA” is “hate crimes” – or more accurately, “thought crimes” – for the workplace. It means the “ENDA” freedom of speech, the “ENDA” freedom of religion, the “ENDA” freedom of association and the “ENDA” freedom of conscience.
And like pretty much all religious right spokespeople, Porter provides "examples" of cases in which people's freedoms have been "trampled" by us "evil homosexuals."
All of her examples are vague rehashing of actual events - so vague that we don't know the truth behind the cases. And a lot of them are from foreign countries - you know, countries that don't have our Constitution, laws or legal system.
One of Porter's examples that come from the United States has to do with the Ocean Grove Pavilion controversy:
. . . the Christian Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association in New Jersey, which was found “guilty of discrimination” for standing by their beliefs instead of renting their facilities to a homosexual couple who wanted to use the Christian camp for their same-sex union in March 2007.
Of course Porter is being highly deceptive about this situation. I will let Tips-Q tell you why:
Janet sort of forgets that the gay couple wanted to rent an oceanfront pavilion that is owned by the Christian organization but is open to the public. Indeed, as part of their zoning law variance, the organization entered into a written agreement to comply with New Jersey’s anti-discrimination laws.
Another example caught my eye:
The 16-year-olds who were charged with felonies in Chicago for handing out flyers that criticized homosexuality . . .
Just like in the case of Ocean Grove, Porter leaves out crucial details:
Two female 16-year-old Crystal Lake South High School students face hate-crime charges after allegedly plastering their high school's halls and distributing anti-gay fliers directed towards a fellow student in the school's parking lot.
. . . McHenry County State's Attorney Lou Bianchi told Windy City Times that despite arguments being made by many locals about the right to free speech, what the two girls did is clearly a hate crime.'They had the intent to alarm and disturb another, and they were successful in that,' Bianchi said. 'In alarming and disturbing, they also committed a hate crime. Their words ... were directed against a specific individual of a certain sexual orientation.'
Bianchi would not comment on the exact wording of the flier because it is evidence. However, other sources quote those who have viewed the flier as containing a picture of the male student kissing another male, with the wording 'God hates fags.'
The hate crimes charges were dropped because the two girls pleaded to lesser charges. For Porter to attempt to make them poster children for "gay oppression" is beyond the pale.
I'm more concerned about the target of their vendetta.
If Porter was any type of Christian, she would have been too instead of attempting to distort the case to suit her agenda.
From Pam's House Blend and Tips Q comes news that one of my favorite religious right spokespeople, Janet Folger-Porter, has gone on a tear about the Employee Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA):
The Employment Non-Discrimination Act, or “ENDA” is “hate crimes” – or more accurately, “thought crimes” – for the workplace. It means the “ENDA” freedom of speech, the “ENDA” freedom of religion, the “ENDA” freedom of association and the “ENDA” freedom of conscience.
And like pretty much all religious right spokespeople, Porter provides "examples" of cases in which people's freedoms have been "trampled" by us "evil homosexuals."
All of her examples are vague rehashing of actual events - so vague that we don't know the truth behind the cases. And a lot of them are from foreign countries - you know, countries that don't have our Constitution, laws or legal system.
One of Porter's examples that come from the United States has to do with the Ocean Grove Pavilion controversy:
. . . the Christian Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association in New Jersey, which was found “guilty of discrimination” for standing by their beliefs instead of renting their facilities to a homosexual couple who wanted to use the Christian camp for their same-sex union in March 2007.
Of course Porter is being highly deceptive about this situation. I will let Tips-Q tell you why:
Janet sort of forgets that the gay couple wanted to rent an oceanfront pavilion that is owned by the Christian organization but is open to the public. Indeed, as part of their zoning law variance, the organization entered into a written agreement to comply with New Jersey’s anti-discrimination laws.
Another example caught my eye:
The 16-year-olds who were charged with felonies in Chicago for handing out flyers that criticized homosexuality . . .
Just like in the case of Ocean Grove, Porter leaves out crucial details:
Two female 16-year-old Crystal Lake South High School students face hate-crime charges after allegedly plastering their high school's halls and distributing anti-gay fliers directed towards a fellow student in the school's parking lot.
. . . McHenry County State's Attorney Lou Bianchi told Windy City Times that despite arguments being made by many locals about the right to free speech, what the two girls did is clearly a hate crime.'They had the intent to alarm and disturb another, and they were successful in that,' Bianchi said. 'In alarming and disturbing, they also committed a hate crime. Their words ... were directed against a specific individual of a certain sexual orientation.'
Bianchi would not comment on the exact wording of the flier because it is evidence. However, other sources quote those who have viewed the flier as containing a picture of the male student kissing another male, with the wording 'God hates fags.'
The hate crimes charges were dropped because the two girls pleaded to lesser charges. For Porter to attempt to make them poster children for "gay oppression" is beyond the pale.
I'm more concerned about the target of their vendetta.
If Porter was any type of Christian, she would have been too instead of attempting to distort the case to suit her agenda.
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