Day: February 26, 2012

From the New York Daily News:

RICK SANTORUM on Sunday said President Kennedy’s famous 1960 speech pledging to keep Pope and politics separate “makes me want to throw up.”

He spoke about the importance of political leaders respecting people of faith — then slammed President Obama for apologizing for the accidental burning of Korans at an American military base.

“I think it shows weakness,” he told ABC.

“I don’t believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute.

“To say that people of faith have no role in the public square? You bet that makes me want to throw up.”

On NBC, he said, “This idea that we need to segregate faith is a dangerous idea, and we’re seeing the Obama administration not only segregating faith but imposing the state’s values.”

Most Americans have always admired JFK for his ability to convince  the voters that he intended to keep church and state separate.  He later became the first (and to date, only) Catholic president.  He assured America that he would not be under the control of the Vatican in a speech given to ministers  in Houston, Texas in 1960.  Had Kennedy left doubt in the minds of voters, he would have not been elected president of the United States. 

Rick Santorum seems to be trying to tear down that wall of separation so many of us revere with his bare hands.  He simply doesn’t get it. 

On Saturday Rick Santorum dug himself deeper into the cultural warrior quagmire by calling President Obama a snob because he wants all kids to have the opportunity to go to college.  According to the Washington Post:

“President Obama once said he wants everybody in America to go to college. What a snob,” the former Pennsylvania senator said. “There are good, decent men and women who go out and work hard every day and put their skills to test that aren’t taught by some liberal college professor to try to indoctrinate them. Oh, I understand why he wants you to go to college. He wants to remake you in his image.”

Is wanting to go to college the making of a snob?  Since when did going to college stop being the American dream?  I will be the first person to say not everyone should go to college.  Academically  some folks simply don’t belong there.  But not going to college shouldn’t be because of inability to pay.  Santorum also took a slam about liberal arts colleges.  Liberal Arts colleges, according to Wikipedia:

Students in the liberal arts generally major in a particular discipline while receiving exposure to a wide range of academic subjects, including sciences as well as the traditional humanities subjects taught as liberal arts.

A “liberal arts” institution can be defined as a “college or university curriculum aimed at imparting broad general knowledge and developing general intellectual capacities, in contrast to a professional, vocational, or technical curriculum.”

Since when is being literate and possessing general knowledge a sign of snobbery?  Does he want us all to be dumb asses?  That makes no sense if the United States is going to compete in a global economy. 

Is it possible that any one would consider Rick Santorum for president?  In one weekend he has managed to shred the very fabric of what makes most of us Americans.  Rick Santorum makes ME want to throw up. 

  What is this foolish man trying to do?  He attempted to dilute the first amendment and he bashed our egalitarian educational system.  He is unelectable. 

Hear Barry Lynn from Americans United for Separation of Church and State

www.au.org

 

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

 

 

 

 

 

Bob McDonnell is is walking a thin line as he is  quietly trying to do damage control on the devastating mess the far right wing of his party made last week, in particular, with two extremist abortion bills.  One bill, sponsored by anti-abortion activist Bob  Marshall, defined personhood  to be at conception.   The other required all women seeking  an abortion to undergo an ultra sound first.  The sneaky part of that bill was that 90% of all women seeking abortion would require a trans-vaginal probe in order to determine gestational age. 

Governor McDonnell had originally stated that he would sign the ultra sound bill until last week when Virginia became the laughing stock of the nation on Saturday Night Live, Rachel Maddow, Colbert Nation, and Jon Stewart’s Daily Show.   He quickly back-pedaled when those shows started informing the public what all was really involved.  Two protests  on the Virginia State Capital Grounds last week punctuated the attitude of Virginia women.  One protest was silent.  Legislators had to past hundreds of protesters who just stared at them and said absolutely nothing. 

 The good governor, not wanting to be known as the Vaginal Probe governor, should he be selected as the Vice presidential candidate,  tried to talk the lawmakers into less draconian measures.  Probably the Maddow prop like the one shown above that stated “I can see the White House from here” probably smarted the most as McDonnell attempted to reined in his maverick legislators.  Some refused to listen.  According to the Richmond Times Dispatch, Bob Marshall was having none of that and was more than willing to throw Gov. McDonnell under the bus:

Del. Robert G. Marshall, R-Prince William, among the most conservative members of the legislature — and the sponsor of the “personhood” bill that the Senate scuttled Thursday — disagrees. Marshall said the governor badly mishandled the abortion issues in particular.

“You don’t attempt to correct the manipulations of your opponent (and) you sound the call for retreat? Who the hell would put that person in charge of an army in the field?” he said.

Marshall suggested that McDonnell’s maneuvering was an attempt to salvage independent and moderate votes in November.

“This is clearly an abandonment of Ronald Reagan’s legacy,” he said. “He’s also abandoned the Republican platform.”

Is it any wonder that many in the GOP want Marshall out?  He simply is not a team player.

On the other hand, McDonnell might be getting what he deserves.  He should research all bills before he signs them or says he will sign them.  Furthermore, the hyspocrisy of this bill is astounding.  Is Virginia not one of the states suing the federal government over mandated health care?  How about mandated ultra sounds that are an unnecessary medical procedure that add cost and discomfort to the entire procedure.  I guess that’s OK though.  The outcome on the ultra sound bill is still unclear.  There are still several more anti abortion bills that will require attention.

Has anyone noticed 2 missing people from TV news shows?  We all know that Juan Williams was fired by NPR over remarks they felt were not politically correct.  Well, 2 other people have disappeared.  Where is the Judge?  Judge Napolitano vaporized from Fox News.  At least they gave Glenn Beck a send off.  The Judge just poofed. 

He isn’t the only MIA.  Pat Buchanan also was fired from MSNBC, very quietly.  He too poofed.  I hadn’t missed him.  I noticed he hadn’t been on for a while.  Apparently in his case,  his book, “Suicide of a Superpower: Will America Survive to 2025?”     irritated too many people who called for his ouster.  Pat has written about his firing in a piece he calls  The New Black List.

Juan Williams interviewed Pat Buchanan.  The two journalists have a few things in common, the main one being that they were both fired for stating their opinions.  During the interview, he asked Pat Buchannan if he was a racist.

 

 

 

 

 Pat Buchanan claims that what some of the groups who clamored for his ouster are black-listing those they want to silence.  Juan Williams agreed with him.  Both men had a very congenial conversation.  This is an interview worth watching. 

 Are people being black-listed and who is responsible?   By the way, Buchanan said no, he wasn’t a racist.